Hey everyone! It's been quite some time since I placed an order with a new-to-me indie brand, so today I've chosen to talk about a really impressive 100% vegan company whose items I received as gifts from the owner:
Blackbird Cosmetics. I won't be able to give you details about shipping or customer service, but since the products are excellent and I've heard delighted reports from Blackbird customers, I feel confident giving it my full support. I don't have individual swatch collages yet, but I'll share my arm swatches of eyeshadow Volumes I and II throughout this post.
Disclosure notes: I was fortunate enough to be paired with Maleah, the owner of Blackbird Cosmetics, in a gift exchange a few months ago. Maleah gifted me samples of her full line of matte shades (Volumes 1 and 2) as well as six full size jars of shadow. She also recently sent me press samples of her new eyeshadow formula, which my co-blogger Kristin and I will feature in an upcoming post.
Let's take a look!
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| Blackbird Cosmetics Volume I swatches over silicone primer, from top to bottom: Fire Pledge, Fiction, Dog Days, Dim Tradition, Beau |
Packaging
Blackbird's product packaging is pretty standard for the indie world. Sample shadows come in clear zip-top sample bags with 1/8 teaspoon of product and full sizes are 1.5 grams of product packed into 5 gram jars with sifters. Magic Trick Super Powders (color-correcting face powders) are sold as 10 grams of product in 30 gram jars with rotating sifters. Skulpting Powders (contour powders) are sold as 6 grams of product in 20 gram jars with rotating sifters. Both the face and contour powders are also available as 1/4 teaspoon of product in sample bags.
All the full size jars have labels on top, but unlike the usual paper stickers, Blackbird's are laminated for a glossy finish. The eyeshadow jars are topped with the brand's lovely logo, which features the brand name written in script with two black birds perched on top of it. Full size Skulpting Powder jars appear to feature a hand-drawn skull on the label. I'm not sure what the Magic Trick Super Powder labels look like, but I suspect they feature the same brand logo as the eyeshadows.
Selection
Blackbird's 100% vegan selection is small (but growing!) and well-edited. Owner Maleah wisely kicked off her brand by developing a great matte formula, so all of the current general catalog shades are mattes. The brand specializes in muted neutrals. Shadows are divided into two sets of ten each, Volume I and Volume II, for a total of twenty shades in the current general catalog.
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| Blackbird Cosmetics Volume I swatches over silicone primer, from top to bottom: Thirteen, Lucid, Imogen, Immortals, Gravity |
In addition to the eyeshadows, face powders, and contour powders I've already mentioned, Maleah offers a custom eyeshadow service. I've seen some bright and glittery custom shades come out of her workshop, so you're certainly not limited to muted mattes. Additionally, it looks like Blackbird is slated to expand its offerings very soon - this month's Hello Waffle Visage subscription box contained the first glimpse of a Blackbird blush (!) and the recently launched
Blackbird website shows slots for lip, skin, and hair care products.
Samples
As described in the Packaging section above, samples appear to be available for all products currently listed in the shop.
Quality
Overall, I'm really happy with everything I've tried from Blackbird so far. Smudge (a cool taupe) and Dog Days (a neutral brown) instantly became two of my favorite crease colors, so they have a permanent home in my cubby of most frequently used shadows. I will say some of my shades (old formula) take a little more work to blend out than others, but the recent reformulation should address this nicely. I'm still testing out the new samples I received, so I'll talk more about this in the upcoming old-vs-new formula post I mentioned earlier.
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| Blackbird Cosmetics Volume II swatches over silicone primer, from top to bottom: Juliet, Half Full, Figment, Everest, Atlas |
Cost
Blackbird products cost a touch more than what I consider "standard" in the indie world, but not prohibitively so by any means. As of writing this post, eyeshadows cost $1 for samples and $6.50 for full sizes. Both Magic Trick and Skulpting Powders cost $2 for samples and $12 for full sizes. Custom shadows cost $10 for the first jar and $6 for additional jars of the same color. Shipping is flat rate - $3.25 for US orders and $7 for international orders. It looks like there's an option to waive or discount shipping on sample-only orders, so do make sure to read the
Policies page before ordering!
Customer Service
Since I have not yet placed an order through the website, I can't comment on the customer service. All my interactions with Maleah have been excellent, though, and I hear nothing but raves from Blackbird customers. Maleah is a total sweetheart, and I have full confidence that she'll handle any issues quickly and effectively!
TAT
I don't have any personal experiences with the shop's turnaround time, though as of writing this post it's listed as 2-6 days. You can find the current TAT on the
Policies page of the website.
Shipping
Though they haven't been traditional orders, everything I've received from Maleah has been packaged carefully and has arrived in perfect condition.
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| Blackbird Cosmetics Volume II swatches over silicone primer, from top to bottom: Whisper, Vintage, Smudge, Ruca, Modesty |
Personal Thoughts
In case it wasn't perfectly clear, I'm a fan! On first use, Blackbird's shadows instantly became tied with Detrivore's for my favorite mattes, and not just because muted shades tug at my heartstrings. I also really appreciate Maleah's interest in and apparent knack for cosmetic chemistry. Her shadow formula is really unusual, and through some magic she has figured out how to press her mattes without destroying them, so she'll be offering pressed shadows for sale soon. Her pressed shadows and blushes are on my list of must-buys when they launch, and I'll be waiting with excitement to see what other products she's developing. In brief: Blackbird Cosmetics was one of my favorite discoveries of 2014, and I definitely think it's one to watch.
Have you tried Blackbird Cosmetics yet? Do muted mattes make your heart sing, too?
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