Makeup Geek is the creation of Marlena, known for her amazing YouTube tutorials. I've favourited several of her basic tutorials and refer back to them often. When Marlena first announced the Makeup Geek line in 2011, she demonstrated professional, high quality makeup for a fraction of high-end makeup prices. Having over 800,000 subscribers on YouTube, Makeup Geek has had a massive potential customer base, and most reviews I've seen online have been positive. Makeup Geek has also taken a more traditional route in terms of makeup production, with products similar to what would be seen in a MAC store (as opposed to loose pigments and mineral based products that are usually associated with indie brands). Those of you who are pressing-fiends and hate the mess from loose pigments should definitely take a look at Makeup Geek's lineup!
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| L-R: Sensuous, Burlesque, Razzleberry, Mango Tango. Photographed on bare skin in direct sunlight. |
Packaging:
I don't have any photos of the original packaging and it's been quite awhile since I received my order so I can't remember exactly how it came, sorry! My order contained only Eyeshadow Pans, which come in cardboard sleeves similar to MAC eyeshadow pans meant to fit into empty palettes. The pans also fit into MAC palettes, as you can see in my photos I've attached small magnets to them since they're not magnetised (I have the old style of MAC palettes with a black lid, I'm unaware of their compatibility with the new style of MAC palettes that have a clear lid). A Google search shows a lot of amazing photos the packaging of Pigments, Lipsticks, and Gel Liners.
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| Source: Makeup Geek |
Selection:
Makeup Geek currently has Eyeshadows (both pans and compacts available), Gel Liners, Lipsticks (that are soon to be discontinued), Pigments, and Brushes. The Makeup Geek store also carries a selection of products from other brands including Sugarpill, LA Splash, NYX, Palladio, Eve Pearl, and FACE Atelier.
Quality:
I can only speak on the quality of the Pressed Eyeshadows, and thus far, I've been very impressed. All of the ones I have are nicely pigmented, smooth, and easy to apply. One of my favourites and most used is Unexpected, a matte mauve-y brown which is cool-toned shade that I place in my crease for blending out darker colours.
Samples:
Makeup Geek does not offer samples of their products, probably due to the fact that their eyeshadows are pressed rather than loose. They used to offer samples of MAC pigments in their store, but it does not appear that they are offering samples of their own brand of pigments.
Cost:
- Eyeshadow pans are $5.99
- Eyeshadow compacts are $7.99
- Gel liners are $7.99
- Lipsticks are $6.99 (previously $7.99, discounted to clear stock)
- Pigments are $6.99
- Brushes range from $5.99-$18.99
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| L-R: Unexpected, Shimmermint, Sea Mist. Photographed on bare skin in direct sunlight. |
I have not contacted Makeup Geek's customer service. They have one Facebook page that represents Marlena's YouTube channels and the shop with over 175,000 fans and from what I've seen, they do a very good job at responding to customer inquiries. Marlena also has her own Facebook page that is connected to Simply Marlena, her personal blog. She/her team are also active on that Facebook page.
TAT:
From the store FAQ - "Sometimes we can get orders shipped out within one business day, but in most cases first class orders could take an extra business days (sic) or two before shipping." I made my purchase from Makeup Geek nearly two years ago, and it shipped two days after I had placed my order. At the time I was living in the US and I don't remember how long it took to arrive, but I think it was less than a week. Since Makeup Geek products are presumably made and stocked before-hand (and not hand-blended and filled per order like some indies), as long as they are in stock they are ready to ship.
Shipping:
The order that I placed nearly two years ago while I was living in the US cost almost $4 to ship. According to their Shipping & Policies page, small orders within the US will be $4 or $5 and First Class International will be $6 to $8. They also note that international orders may have extra duty fees, and like many other indie companies, they stated they have had issues shipping to Italy and Ukraine.
Personal Thoughts:
I think Marlena has done a great job by creating high quality, budget-friendly products with an impressive shade range. Their store is a great place to find products for casual consumers and probably even professionals, especially those starting out and building their kits. Since I stopped buying MAC because I find their products to be overpriced here in Australia and they are no longer cruelty-free, I'm glad I found an inexpensive and cruelty-free brand that I can fill my MAC palettes with. I also like that the eyeshadows come in both pan and compact form; I've broken several eyeshadows from other brands while I was de-potting them. I'm definitely interested in trying out other products from their range and am very curious to see what they come out with next!
Thank you for that lovely review! I already know a decent amount about makeup geek, but I was curious about what this had to say, and I think this is such a nice review. It's probably been write a few years since this was written since their lipstick had been gone for quite some time and they now sell blushes (in single pan and compact), contour powders (in single pan and compact), glitters (they call sparklers), z pallets of their own, and even concealer withacolor corrector duo. She always uncles weather it's a cool of warm product if it's for the face, and if it fits light or dark skin tones best. I love, absolutely love, makeup geek. They've come so far since they started. It's now 2016,and her sales are better than ever, and rising, lots are preferring it over mac these days. Her shadows have changed formulation just a tad, if I'm not mistaken, but they're still cruelty free, and lots of the shadows are vegan as well, and highly highly pigmented. Anyone who's anyone that reads this article, and or my comment, you neeeeed to try makeup geek. It's changed the makeup world/game for me! I love love love Marlena and makeup geek. Shipping has changed a small bit, is still around $4.00 to ship standard ups innovations meaning the past office will take over the actually delivery, but ups will be the ones driving it from factory to your town, and then post will take over. Then you've got 2 day air which is typically around 16-20 dollars depending on your order, and where where you're located. 2 day air means once it's processed it will deliver in 2 business days by ups airlines. I've ordered both ways, and 2 day air is the best option, BUT it will make it to your house (if you live in the U.S.) within a week or less, and they say it could take up to 7 days to process, but it never takes that long, and that it could take up to 7 days to be delivered, and that never ever takes that long, but they say up to 14 business days to cover their basses so no one's suing or blowing up customer service all angry that it took 2 weeks due to some horrible earth quake or whatever, but it's never that long. Once it's processed, I usually get my orders within 2 to 4 days, and usually it only takes 1 to two days to process. I've never had my packages come broken as they pack each eyeshadow in its own bubble wrap, and then put them all in a big bubble wrap together, and then pack whatever else you ordered in bubble wrap,and then take everything and put it all in more bubble wrap and peanuts. They're extra prepared so they don't get any complains of broken stuff, and I've really never heard of anyone getting broken shadows or anything from makeup geek. I'm honestly glad I've found Marlena and her awesome makeup brand. I'm so happy for her, and happy that I found cheap makeup without the cheap quality.
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