Hi everyone! Today I'd like to tell you more about the brand new indie shop called Little Sparrow Cosmetics. In case you missed it, you can check out swatches of the shop's whole line (as of November 2013) in this post. I purchased some of these products myself, and shop owner Jessica kindly included the rest of her products for my consideration. This post contains my honest impressions of the shop and products.
Packaging:
Little Sparrow's packaging is on point, especially for such a new company! When I opened the bubble mailer, I pulled out an invoice with a handwritten thank you note and the following package:
All products currently sold in the shop come in the form of a lip balm tube, which is safety sealed along the entire length of the tube. I'm not overly concerned about safety seals when I'm receiving products directly from the seller, but the seals make me feel really happy about gifting these products to friends. The tubes are enhanced by a professional-looking label indicating the brand and product names. Here's how the products arrived:
Selection:
The selection is small but growing - exactly what I would hope for from a new company. Jessica seems to be focusing on quality over quantity. As of writing this post, Little Sparrow offers two different lipsticks in lovely fall colors and five different lip and cheek tints (called Lip Jellies) in a lovely range of shades.
Samples:
Little Sparrow does not currently offer samples of any of the products, but in the shop's announcement header, Jessica notes she is in the process of preparing them.
Quality:
The quality of these products is excellent - I'll give a more thorough review in the Personal Thoughts section below. I had some trouble with the Guava Smoothie, but I understand Jessica is already reworking the formula.
Cost:
As of writing this post, all products are $5.50 each.
Customer Service:
The customer service I've experienced is excellent! Jessica is sweet and helpful. When I mentioned a couple critiques in the Little Sparrow swatch post, she contacted me with a very gracious response accepting the critiques and describing how she was already working on improvements. I didn't experience any issues in ordering, but I feel confident she would handle them beautifully.
TAT:
Near-instant. I placed an order during the Black Friday sale, late at night on a Thursday. I received a shipping notice eight hours later, first thing the next morning. My package arrived on Monday. It was beyond impressive. I hope Jessica is able to keep this up as her business grows!
Shipping:
Inexpensive and fast. What more can I say?
Personal Thoughts:
I think it's clear I'm in love with this shop, and I promised a more detailed review in the swatch post, so I'd like to share my experiences with the products here.
Lip Jelly thoughts: On my dry cheeks, these are exquisite, and truly one of my favorite discoveries of 2013. They can be easily sheered out or built up, they blend out beautifully on my cheekbones, they are immensely comfortable to wear, and they look very natural. My cheeks feel a little slippy to the touch for ten to fifteen minutes after applying - not greasy, oily, or shiny, but as though I've just applied moisturizer and the last of it hasn't sunk in quite yet. Since the main ingredient is avocado oil, I'm not surprised they need a bit of time to absorb, but I sincerely think I wouldn't have noticed had I not been poking at my cheeks for the purposes of writing this review. I have been raving about these ever since I received them, and they have replaced the marvelous Silk Naturals cream blushes as my favorite non-powder cheek products. I haven't done a full-day test yet, but they have lasted on my cheeks for many hours without fading, even through sweating.
On my lips, they take more precision to apply than I expected. They instantly look messy if I go outside the lip line, as if I've devoured a popsicle with a bit too much enthusiasm. That said, once on, they are beautiful to wear. They feel precisely like a lip balm - I get a pleasant bit of slip when I rub my lips together, and they actually feel moisturizing!
Lipstick thoughts: The lipsticks are also very well done. They build to opacity in a couple of swipes and feel great on. I don't find them actively hydrating, but they feel quite comfortable on my ever-dry lips.
Unfortunately, I can't speak to how long the Lip Jellies and lipsticks last on my lips. Since receiving these products I have determined I have a food allergy to avocados. Since avocado oil is the main ingredient in all the products, I haven't applied them to my lips since taking the swatch photos. I will be using the gorgeous Lip Jellies exclusively on my cheeks, and trying not to cry as I give the lipsticks to a friend.
In short - I love Little Sparrow, and I'll be watching closely for future product releases!
Make sure to like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, and/or follow us on BlogLovin to get all of our updates!
Packaging:
Little Sparrow's packaging is on point, especially for such a new company! When I opened the bubble mailer, I pulled out an invoice with a handwritten thank you note and the following package:
All products currently sold in the shop come in the form of a lip balm tube, which is safety sealed along the entire length of the tube. I'm not overly concerned about safety seals when I'm receiving products directly from the seller, but the seals make me feel really happy about gifting these products to friends. The tubes are enhanced by a professional-looking label indicating the brand and product names. Here's how the products arrived:
Selection:
The selection is small but growing - exactly what I would hope for from a new company. Jessica seems to be focusing on quality over quantity. As of writing this post, Little Sparrow offers two different lipsticks in lovely fall colors and five different lip and cheek tints (called Lip Jellies) in a lovely range of shades.
Samples:
Little Sparrow does not currently offer samples of any of the products, but in the shop's announcement header, Jessica notes she is in the process of preparing them.
Quality:
The quality of these products is excellent - I'll give a more thorough review in the Personal Thoughts section below. I had some trouble with the Guava Smoothie, but I understand Jessica is already reworking the formula.
Cost:
As of writing this post, all products are $5.50 each.
Customer Service:
The customer service I've experienced is excellent! Jessica is sweet and helpful. When I mentioned a couple critiques in the Little Sparrow swatch post, she contacted me with a very gracious response accepting the critiques and describing how she was already working on improvements. I didn't experience any issues in ordering, but I feel confident she would handle them beautifully.
TAT:
Near-instant. I placed an order during the Black Friday sale, late at night on a Thursday. I received a shipping notice eight hours later, first thing the next morning. My package arrived on Monday. It was beyond impressive. I hope Jessica is able to keep this up as her business grows!
Shipping:
Inexpensive and fast. What more can I say?
Personal Thoughts:
I think it's clear I'm in love with this shop, and I promised a more detailed review in the swatch post, so I'd like to share my experiences with the products here.
Lip Jelly thoughts: On my dry cheeks, these are exquisite, and truly one of my favorite discoveries of 2013. They can be easily sheered out or built up, they blend out beautifully on my cheekbones, they are immensely comfortable to wear, and they look very natural. My cheeks feel a little slippy to the touch for ten to fifteen minutes after applying - not greasy, oily, or shiny, but as though I've just applied moisturizer and the last of it hasn't sunk in quite yet. Since the main ingredient is avocado oil, I'm not surprised they need a bit of time to absorb, but I sincerely think I wouldn't have noticed had I not been poking at my cheeks for the purposes of writing this review. I have been raving about these ever since I received them, and they have replaced the marvelous Silk Naturals cream blushes as my favorite non-powder cheek products. I haven't done a full-day test yet, but they have lasted on my cheeks for many hours without fading, even through sweating.
Here's a demonstration of just how buildable the Lip Jellies are - medium swatch on the left, blended out swatch in the middle, heavy swatch on the right. This is the Cherry Pop Lip Jelly over bare skin in natural lighting.
On my lips, they take more precision to apply than I expected. They instantly look messy if I go outside the lip line, as if I've devoured a popsicle with a bit too much enthusiasm. That said, once on, they are beautiful to wear. They feel precisely like a lip balm - I get a pleasant bit of slip when I rub my lips together, and they actually feel moisturizing!
Lipstick thoughts: The lipsticks are also very well done. They build to opacity in a couple of swipes and feel great on. I don't find them actively hydrating, but they feel quite comfortable on my ever-dry lips.
Unfortunately, I can't speak to how long the Lip Jellies and lipsticks last on my lips. Since receiving these products I have determined I have a food allergy to avocados. Since avocado oil is the main ingredient in all the products, I haven't applied them to my lips since taking the swatch photos. I will be using the gorgeous Lip Jellies exclusively on my cheeks, and trying not to cry as I give the lipsticks to a friend.
In short - I love Little Sparrow, and I'll be watching closely for future product releases!
Make sure to like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, and/or follow us on BlogLovin to get all of our updates!
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