Best known for their complex duochrome eyeshadows and glitter nail polishes, Femme Fatale Cosmetics offers Australian and international customers unique products at competitive prices (Australian beauty addicts like myself always moan and groan about the prices of imported cosmetics!). This is what initially drew me in - I was tired of being overcharged so I turned to indie brands, and I was lucky enough to stumble upon an Australian indie brand.
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| Femme Fatale Cosmetics products - left bag contains nail polishes, middle bag contains eyeshadow and blush jars, right bag contains eyeshadow jars. I repackaged these myself to photograph them for this post, scroll down to see photos (cell phone quality) of the packaging in its original form. |
Here's a snippet from their History page:
"We’re a small home based business located in sunny Brisbane, Australia. We started our journey in September 2011, and with each month our customer base and reputation grows both nationally and internationally. You can read some of our reviews here from our wonderful customers.
We specialise in hand blended mineral based cosmetics that offer not only unique and stunning finishes such as colour-shifting, but also have a high level of adhesion, pigmentation and quality. Nothing is more important to us than producing the best products possible – we do not sell anything we would not use ourselves, nor do we offer any products for sale that we are not 100% passionate about."
Packaging: eyeshadow and blush samples or jars are grouped into plastic zip lock bags then placed into small organza bags which are adorned with funky, cute ribbons. Nail polishes are individually wrapped in a zip lock bag, then are grouped together in a larger zip lock bag and tightly wrapped so they can't move and are mailed in a padded envelope with bubble wrap (note: this is for customers ordering directly from Femme Fatale Cosmetics in Australia. International customers ordering from an international stockist may receive a different style of packaging).
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| Original packaging of eyeshadow jars |
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| Original packaging of eyeshadow jars |
Eyeshadow jars come in 3g mini and 5g full sizes, with an optional sifter for mini jars. Blushes come in a 10g jar with a sifter. All jars contain labels which list shade names, ingredients, whether or not it is vegan and whether or not it is lip safe. Eyeshadow and blush jars come in plastic shrink wrapping to ensure cleanliness and safety during transit.
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| My top five Femme Fatale Cosmetics eyeshadow picks - Archangel, Moonglow, Sunfire, Mysticism, and Smokebomb. Photographed in natural sunlight. |
Vegan shopping experience: Femme Fatale Cosmetics products are not tested on animals. There is a selection of vegan products, click here to see vegan-friendly eyeshadows. Individual product links also include under "Product Information" whether or not they are vegan.
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| Dry swatches on bare skin of Archangel, Moonglow, Sunfire, Mysticism, and Smokebomb. Photographed in natural sunlight. |
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| Dry swatches on bare skin of Archangel, Moonglow, Sunfire, Mysticism, and Smokebomb. Photographed in indirect sunlight. |
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| Eyeshadow and blush samples - from the left of the card: The Queen of Life Eyeshadow Collection, Exotic blush, Moonberry blush. Second row: Heart Blossom illuminator, Sunkissed Wine blush, Fierce blush |
Cost: Mini eyeshadow jars without a sifter cost $3.10AUD, and $3.20AUD with a sifter. Full sized jars cost $5.85AUD. Full sized blushes cost $8.25AUD. Femme Fatale Cosmetics' own brand of nail polish cost $9.85AUD. Nail polishes from other indie brands they stock range from $8.25AUD to $15.50AUD. There are also product sets available, and the 10 Full-Sized Eyeshadow Set and Regular Range Eyeshadow Set come with a 10% discount code.
Customer Service: In my experience, everything has been good. I emailed them once asking about shade selection for a set and received a response the same day. They always update their customers via their website, Facebook page, and Twitter page regarding any TAT changes, sales, new stock or general site updates.
TAT: Their current TAT is 7 business days and is updated on their home page.
Shipping: for both domestic and international customers, the minimum order amount is $8AUD and sample-only orders ship for free. Shipping within Australia starts at $6.50AUD for those lucky enough to live in Brisbane, and increases depending on the weight of the package and the distance.
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| My favourite Femme Fatale Cosmetics nail polishes - Star's Lament, Miasma, and Winter Hyacinth. Photographed under a lamp. |
For international (non-Australian) customers, shipping starts at $10AUD without insurance and increases depending on weight and distance. International customers who wish to purchase nail polish can request a shipping quote here. You can still purchase nail polish from an international stockist such as US based Color4Nails, Canada based Harlow & Co., Singapore based Beauty So Fly and Norway based Norway Nails.
Personal thoughts: I own more Femme Fatale Cosmetics products than any other indie brand, and I have been consistently impressed with every product I have ordered. Their duochromes are gorgeous and fun, and their packaging is practical and professional. I know some people prefer samples to be in jars, but I like the baggies since I can bring 3 or 30 without it taking up too much space/weight in my suitcase when I travel. Femme Fatale Cosmetics' eyeshadows are so pigmented anyways I usually only need to dab my brush lightly against the side of the bag to get enough product! I'm also very impressed with the layout of their website, it's very clean looking and easy to navigate and in my opinion, better than some websites of mainstream makeup brands. If anything on their site catches your eye, I encourage you to place a sample order - you won't be disappointed! 
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