My Favorite Lesser Knowns - part I

Visiting beauty blogs and boards, there are plenty of items that get a whole lot of love. Early on in my foray into the great cosmetics of the internet circa 2005, there was a lot of love for Smith's Rosebud Salve (maybe there still is but I don't hear about it nearly as much). I tried the stuff and just couldn't get into the potted balm and I wasn't a fan of rose so I got the strawberry kind. Still reminded me of lightly tinted over-priced petroleum jelly. I still have that little tin somewhere... hm...

But there are some great things out there that are infrequently mentioned, and that is what today's post is about!

Prescriptives Moonbeam Reflective Eye Color $16 - I'm sure many of you have heard about the unfortunate end to Prescriptives. They will stop selling the line at counters globally January 31st 2010. I'm quite crushed over the fact that I will no longer be able to purchase the custom foundation that I have come to love. It's really the only thing that matches my super pale, super pinky skin. But I'm going to talk about the eye color. Moonbeam Reflective Eye Color is awesome. Although you would never expect it to be, the color that I love the most is called Satellite Wine. You would think it's a cranberry or burgundy color, right? Wrong! It's a beautiful taupey plum. Sheer it's the perfect base for taupe eyeshadow and layered a bit it is a great neutral eye for those of us on the go. I'm about halfway done with my tube (insane for the amount of makeup I have) and it's already gone from the website (curses!). I will miss it when it's gone. Wish it and the line got more love.

Studio Gear eyeshadow $14 - Studio Gear is one of those lines that not everyone knows about and they seldom get introduced either in store or online. This line is only carried at ULTA and I got introduced to it when they were giving out gratis in the store that I worked at several years ago. I was allowed to pick $50 in product so I selected the eyeshadow in Crystal Taupe (above), one of their lipsticks (a color Bliss which has a texture similar to MAC's lustres) and their pressed powder. Very underrated brand. The eyeshadows are ridiculously silky and pigmented and the lipsticks are moisturizing, have no offensive smell or taste and come in tubes that lock in place (the thing I may hate most is when lipsticks open in the makeup bag in my purse smearing their color all over everything else).

So those are my first two. What are your favorite lesser known products?