Collection Spotlight! New New York by Black Rose Minerals!

Purchased

When I was younger, I preferred the Simpsons over Futurama. But when I binge watched Futurama in college, I finally noticed the adult-variety jokes and the show was suddenly hilarious. I'm a bit sad that it had a short run but each reboot was progressively worse and I'm glad that they let it go before it went the route some of Matt Groening's other works.

Picking up Black Rose Minerals' New New York collection was a no-brainer for me. BRM has some great eyeshadows and after seeing these swatches from Ivy of Rock, Roll, Glam and Ellie from Personellietea, I was impressed by how well the eyeshadows matched their character inspirations.

See what I mean?

Individual swatches after the jump!

Shiro is Blushing Fuchsia!

Purchased

Hey everyone! Shiro Cosmetics recently hit 10,000 likes on Facebook, and they're celebrating with a bold new blush! In this mini post, I'd like to give you a quick look at this beautiful new product. Caitlin hasn't publicly stated yet how long the blush will be available, but you can find her thoughts on it on this Facebook post, as well as some speculation about the product's availability in the comments.

You're Making Me [blush] - Special Edition 10K Blush

Note: this photo was edited for color accuracy. Swatches done over bare skin. Photos taken outside in natural light.

Shiro says:

This is a color created in celebration of 10,000 Facebook likes! Thank you to everyone who's helped us get there. <3

Slightly muted fuchsia-rose with subtle blue shift. FDA approved for facial use, but not eyes or lips.

Ingredients: mica, kaolin clay, titanium dioxide, tin oxide, red #33, red #27, ferric ferrocyanide.

First things first - congratulations Caitlin and the Shiro team for your exciting milestone! It should come as a surprise to no one that this glitter-happy crew has brought us a glitterbomb blush to celebrate their 10,000 glitter lovers on Facebook (I tease because I love). The subtle blue shift in Shiro's description looks like a metric ton of very light blue sparkles to me, but hey, that just adds to the fun. Shiro also chose a sleek black lid and new cover art for this blush, which was a fun surprise when I opened my package. The outer wrapping was also sealed with the same sticker, a silhouette of a dragon perched high on a castle tower.

You're Making Me [blush] has a touch more purple than you see here, making it a little more fuchsia than I was able to capture in the photo. I color corrected the photo to bring it as true to life as I could.

I love Shiro's blushes, so it was a no-brainer for me to buy this in a full size as soon as it launched. You'll see it again soon in my upcoming post, when I'll be swatching and reviewing all the brand's blush, highlight, and bronzer shades! Stay tuned!

Purchase Link

Swatch Post! Brilliant Deductions by Aromaleigh Mineral Cosmetics! Part 3 of 3.

Purchased

Click Here for the Collection Overview and Part 1 of the swatches!
Click Here for Part 2!

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From the website: A muted warm mauve with coppery iridescence and bright golden sparks.

Eye Shadow Ingredients: Contains: Mica (CI 77019), Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Boron nitride, May contain: Ferric Oxide (CI 77499, 77491, 77492), Nylon-12, Manganese Violet (CI 77742), Ultramarines (CI 77007, ), Hydrated Chromium Oxide (CI 77289), Chromium Oxide (CI 77288), Ferric Ferrocyanide (CI 77510), Nephrite Powder, Tin Oxide (CI 77861), (Silica (+) Bronze/Copper/Aluminum Powder), Tin Dioxide (CI 778161), Red #40, Calcium Aluminum Borosilicate

VEGAN

Personal Comments: Another of my favorites from this collection. Password Protected is a purple-red shade with a golden highlight and a satin finish. Applied over Urban Decay Primer Potion and Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy. This picture was taken outside in natural light.

Purchase Link

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From the website: A smooth liquid metallic bronze with rose tones and bright sparks of green.

Eye Shadow Ingredients: Contains: Mica (CI 77019), Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Boron nitride, May contain: Ferric Oxide (CI 77499, 77491, 77492), Nylon-12, Manganese Violet (CI 77742), Ultramarines (CI 77007, ), Hydrated Chromium Oxide (CI 77289), Chromium Oxide (CI 77288), Ferric Ferrocyanide (CI 77510), Nephrite Powder, Tin Oxide (CI 77861), (Silica (+) Bronze/Copper/Aluminum Powder), Tin Dioxide (CI 778161), Red #40, Calcium Aluminum Borosilicate

VEGAN

Personal Comments: A bronze with a satin finish. There are hints of a red tone in the color but it's more like a peripheral flash than anything else. Applied over Urban Decay Primer Potion and Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy. This picture was taken outside in natural light.

Purchase Link

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From the website: A frosted periwinkle blue with an intense golden iridescence and bright lemon gold highlight shimmer.

Eye Shadow Ingredients: Contains: Mica (CI 77019), Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Boron nitride, May contain: Ferric Oxide (CI 77499, 77491, 77492), Nylon-12, Manganese Violet (CI 77742), Ultramarines (CI 77007, ), Hydrated Chromium Oxide (CI 77289), Chromium Oxide (CI 77288), Ferric Ferrocyanide (CI 77510), Nephrite Powder, Tin Oxide (CI 77861), (Silica (+) Bronze/Copper/Aluminum Powder), Tin Dioxide (CI 778161), Red #40, Calcium Aluminum Borosilicate

VEGAN

Personal Comments: A really pretty light blue shade with a gorgeous almost duo-chromesque purple shift under the golden highlight. Applied over Urban Decay Primer Potion and Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy. This picture was taken outside in natural light.

Purchase Link

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From the website: A vibrant medium grape purple with subtle aqua iridescence.

Eye Shadow Ingredients: Contains: Mica (CI 77019), Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Boron nitride, May contain: Ferric Oxide (CI 77499, 77491, 77492), Nylon-12, Manganese Violet (CI 77742), Ultramarines (CI 77007, ), Hydrated Chromium Oxide (CI 77289), Chromium Oxide (CI 77288), Ferric Ferrocyanide (CI 77510), Nephrite Powder, Tin Oxide (CI 77861), (Silica (+) Bronze/Copper/Aluminum Powder), Tin Dioxide (CI 778161), Red #40, Calcium Aluminum Borosilicate

VEGAN

Personal Comments: A bright purple with hints of pink. Recreational Scolding has a mostly matte base with added shimmer. Applied over Urban Decay Primer Potion and Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy. This picture was taken outside in natural light.

Purchase Link

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From the website: A smooth taupe frost with golden highlights and interference shimmer of green and blue..

Eye Shadow Ingredients: Contains: Mica (CI 77019), Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Boron nitride, May contain: Ferric Oxide (CI 77499, 77491, 77492), Nylon-12, Manganese Violet (CI 77742), Ultramarines (CI 77007, ), Hydrated Chromium Oxide (CI 77289), Chromium Oxide (CI 77288), Ferric Ferrocyanide (CI 77510), Nephrite Powder, Tin Oxide (CI 77861), (Silica (+) Bronze/Copper/Aluminum Powder), Tin Dioxide (CI 778161), Red #40, Calcium Aluminum Borosilicate

VEGAN

Personal Comments: A mid brown shade with a frosty finish and a bright gold highlight. Applied over Urban Decay Primer Potion and Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy. This picture was taken outside in natural light.

Purchase Link

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From the website: A deep low-sheen evergreen with brilliant sparks of warm yellow gold and cool silver.

Eye Shadow Ingredients: Contains: Mica (CI 77019), Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Boron nitride, May contain: Ferric Oxide (CI 77499, 77491, 77492), Nylon-12, Manganese Violet (CI 77742), Ultramarines (CI 77007, ), Hydrated Chromium Oxide (CI 77289), Chromium Oxide (CI 77288), Ferric Ferrocyanide (CI 77510), Nephrite Powder, Tin Oxide (CI 77861), (Silica (+) Bronze/Copper/Aluminum Powder), Tin Dioxide (CI 778161), Red #40, Calcium Aluminum Borosilicate

VEGAN

Personal Comments: A mostly matte dark green shade with added bright green shimmer. Applied over Urban Decay Primer Potion and Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy. This picture was taken outside in natural light.

Purchase Link

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From the website: A smooth saturated dark purple with lush rose and violet iridescence, and smoke tones. (* contains carmine)

Eye Shadow Ingredients: Contains: Mica (CI 77019), Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Boron nitride, May contain: Ferric Oxide (CI 77499, 77491, 77492), Nylon-12, Manganese Violet (CI 77742), Ultramarines (CI 77007, ), Hydrated Chromium Oxide (CI 77289), Chromium Oxide (CI 77288), Ferric Ferrocyanide (CI 77510), Nephrite Powder, Tin Oxide (CI 77861), (Silica (+) Bronze/Copper/Aluminum Powder), Tin Dioxide (CI 778161), Red #40, Calcium Aluminum Borosilicate, Carmine (CI 175470)

NOT VEGAN

Personal Comments: A darker purple with a muted finish and shimmer in contrasting colors. Applied over Urban Decay Primer Potion and Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy. This picture was taken outside in natural light.

Purchase Link



Company Overview: Taking a look at a lesser known indie, Dark Heart Designs!

Purchased

I'd never heard of Dark Heart Designs until I stumbled upon their shop one (probably) rainy afternoon. A little surprising since they've been in business since 2010 and they have a 5000+ followers on their Facebook page.

They have a bit of an odd online presence. There's the Dark Heart Designs website which seems to just exist to be a page of links to social media and to their storenvy page. To see their actual products, it's better to go to the storenvy page where products are listed by product type and/or collection.

Packaging: 
Super cute! Dark Heart Designs goes all the way with stamps and a seal on the actual package and then all of my sample jars came in a branded canvas baggie.

I wish that the sample baggies had the Dark Heart Designs name on them just because they can get a little mixed up in my stash of sample bags but other than that, I thought that the packaging was excellent.

Selection: 

Dark Heart Designs offers several kinds of products. They have the standard mineral eyeshadows and blushes but they also offer gel eyeliners, lip slicks (glosses), lip sticks, primers, and shimmery serums. They're also one of the only indies I've ever seen to make an indie mascara.

Unfortunately, much of their stock seems to be perpetually on "Preorder" or "Sold Out" status. I definitely appreciate letting people know that an item is sold out but it's disappointing that so much of their content is listed as such.

Samples: 
Eyeshadows samples in clamshells can be purchased for $1.50 each or samples of all the eyeshadows can be bulk purchased for $75. I received two sample baggies with my order though these don't seem to be listed as a sale item. Other kinds of products are not offered in a sample size.

I like the clamshells that the eyeshadows come in. They're taller than the usual flat clamshell and there's less spillage when opening them. However, I find them a little harder to open.

Swatch from this post!

Quality:
I have only tried their eyeshadows but I thought they were nice.

Of the ones that I've tried, the eyeshadows listed as duochromes have a very subtle highlight to them and aren't the overly dramatic duochromes that other indies offer.

Cost: 
Full Sized eyeshadows are listed at $5.99 which is right around the full sized cost of most other companies.

Eyeshadows can be purchased with both sifters or no sifters. The cost is the same.

Customer Service:
No personal experience here! My order went well so I had no need to contact!

TAT:
The FAQ page states:

Turn around time is 1-4 business days, but may extend to 6 during sales. If your order is not shipped from our shop by then, you may request a refund for the full order amount, & your order will still be shipped within a reasonable amount of time.

It looks like they just had a sale because it also says:

Temporary 14-20 day TAT extension until I can finish my current sale orders

When I placed my order in November, I received a shipping notice the day after I placed the order and received it three days later.

Shipping:
Shipping for my order of samples was $0.99 in the US. I put a few full-sized eyeshadows in my cart and shipping was free!

Personal Thoughts:
Special note! This is mentioned on their FAQ page:

In order to prevent fraudulent charge-backs/PayPal disputes, I reserve the right to limit your first order to under $50. Once you've placed 2 or more orders, the limit will be lifted. Please contact me for any more details, or if you wish to make special arrangements at tina@darkheartdesigns.com

Definitely something to keep in mind.

I had a good experience with Dark Heart Designs and would purchase again in the future. I'm pretty sad that a lot of things are listed as sold out. Dark Heart Designs doesn't post any swatches on their website, just cropped pictures of their shadows but they note in their FAQ that they share blogger swatches on their Facebook.

Have you heard of Dark Heart Designs before?

Make sure to like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, follow us on Pinterest, and/or follow us on BlogLovin to get all of our updates!

Swatch Post! Brilliant Deductions by Aromaleigh Mineral Cosmetics! Part 2 of 3.

Purchased

Click Here for the Collection Overview and Part 1 of the swatches!

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From the website: A smokey cocoa frost with shimmering highlights of fuchsia and violet (* contains carmine)

Eye Shadow Ingredients: Contains: Mica (CI 77019), Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Boron nitride, May contain: Ferric Oxide (CI 77499, 77491, 77492), Nylon-12, Manganese Violet (CI 77742), Ultramarines (CI 77007, ), Hydrated Chromium Oxide (CI 77289), Chromium Oxide (CI 77288), Ferric Ferrocyanide (CI 77510), Nephrite Powder, Tin Oxide (CI 77861), (Silica (+) Bronze/Copper/Aluminum Powder), Tin Dioxide (CI 778161), Red #40, Calcium Aluminum Borosilicate, Carmine (CI 175470)

NOT VEGAN

Personal Comments: This is one of my favorites from the collection. It's a soft taupe color with a reflective pink shimmer. It has a satin finish. Applied over Urban Decay Primer Potion and Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy. This picture was taken outside in natural light.

Purchase Link

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From the website: A deep smokey grey with russet/violet tones and overall fine pink highlight shimmer.

Eye Shadow Ingredients: Contains: Mica (CI 77019), Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Boron nitride, May contain: Ferric Oxide (CI 77499, 77491, 77492), Nylon-12, Manganese Violet (CI 77742), Ultramarines (CI 77007, ), Hydrated Chromium Oxide (CI 77289), Chromium Oxide (CI 77288), Ferric Ferrocyanide (CI 77510), Nephrite Powder, Tin Oxide (CI 77861), (Silica (+) Bronze/Copper/Aluminum Powder), Tin Dioxide (CI 778161), Red #40, Calcium Aluminum Borosilicate

VEGAN

Personal Comments: A dark purple with a satin finish and added shimmer. Applied over Urban Decay Primer Potion and Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy. This picture was taken outside in natural light.

Purchase Link

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From the website: A lush smoked navy blue with bright and saturated sparks of sapphire blue.

Eye Shadow Ingredients: Contains: Mica (CI 77019), Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Boron nitride, May contain: Ferric Oxide (CI 77499, 77491, 77492), Nylon-12, Manganese Violet (CI 77742), Ultramarines (CI 77007, ), Hydrated Chromium Oxide (CI 77289), Chromium Oxide (CI 77288), Ferric Ferrocyanide (CI 77510), Nephrite Powder, Tin Oxide (CI 77861), (Silica (+) Bronze/Copper/Aluminum Powder), Tin Dioxide (CI 778161), Red #40, Calcium Aluminum Borosilicate

VEGAN

Personal Comments: The description says navy blue but this looks more like a darkened purple to me. Not quite a dark as Codes & Ciphers but still along the same purple line. Applied over Urban Decay Primer Potion and Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy. This picture was taken outside in natural light.

Purchase Link

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From the website:  A soft dove grey with violet-blue tones, and tiny shimmers of cobalt blue and copper.

Eye Shadow Ingredients: Contains: Mica (CI 77019), Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Boron nitride, May contain: Ferric Oxide (CI 77499, 77491, 77492), Nylon-12, Manganese Violet (CI 77742), Ultramarines (CI 77007, ), Hydrated Chromium Oxide (CI 77289), Chromium Oxide (CI 77288), Ferric Ferrocyanide (CI 77510), Nephrite Powder, Tin Oxide (CI 77861), (Silica (+) Bronze/Copper/Aluminum Powder), Tin Dioxide (CI 778161), Red #40, Calcium Aluminum Borosilicate

VEGAN

Personal Comments: The only matte-ish shade in the collection. How Quaint is a mauve-y grey shade with a bit of added shimmer. Applied over Urban Decay Primer Potion and Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy. This picture was taken outside in natural light.

Purchase Link

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From the website:  A smooth cinnabar frost with bright shades of jade green.

Eye Shadow Ingredients: Contains: Mica (CI 77019), Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Boron nitride, May contain: Ferric Oxide (CI 77499, 77491, 77492), Nylon-12, Manganese Violet (CI 77742), Ultramarines (CI 77007, ), Hydrated Chromium Oxide (CI 77289), Chromium Oxide (CI 77288), Ferric Ferrocyanide (CI 77510), Nephrite Powder, Tin Oxide (CI 77861), (Silica (+) Bronze/Copper/Aluminum Powder), Tin Dioxide (CI 778161), Red #40, Calcium Aluminum Borosilicate

VEGAN

Personal Comments: A bright orange-red shade. Lucky Cat Emporium has a bit of a frosty finish and an orange/gold highlight. Applied over Urban Decay Primer Potion and Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy. This picture was taken outside in natural light.

Purchase Link

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From the website: A strong weathered gold with olive and khaki tones and tiny borealis shimmer.

Eye Shadow Ingredients: Contains: Mica (CI 77019), Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Boron nitride, May contain: Ferric Oxide (CI 77499, 77491, 77492), Nylon-12, Manganese Violet (CI 77742), Ultramarines (CI 77007, ), Hydrated Chromium Oxide (CI 77289), Chromium Oxide (CI 77288), Ferric Ferrocyanide (CI 77510), Nephrite Powder, Tin Oxide (CI 77861), (Silica (+) Bronze/Copper/Aluminum Powder), Tin Dioxide (CI 778161), Red #40, Calcium Aluminum Borosilicate

VEGAN

Personal Comments: A light brown with added gold and green shimmer and a muted finish. Applied over Urban Decay Primer Potion and Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy. This picture was taken outside in natural light.

Purchase Link

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From the website: A warm brown frost with iridescent gold and rose effects, and brilliant sparks of teal and blue.

Eye Shadow Ingredients: Contains: Mica (CI 77019), Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Boron nitride, May contain: Ferric Oxide (CI 77499, 77491, 77492), Nylon-12, Manganese Violet (CI 77742), Ultramarines (CI 77007, ), Hydrated Chromium Oxide (CI 77289), Chromium Oxide (CI 77288), Ferric Ferrocyanide (CI 77510), Nephrite Powder, Tin Oxide (CI 77861), (Silica (+) Bronze/Copper/Aluminum Powder), Tin Dioxide (CI 778161), Red #40, Calcium Aluminum Borosilicate

VEGAN

Personal Comments: A darkened gold shade with a brighter golden highlight to give it that satin finish and more depth. Applied over Urban Decay Primer Potion and Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy. This picture was taken outside in natural light.

Purchase Link

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Stay tuned for part 3!



Perfume Review: Possets Shah Jahan & Mumtaz Mahal

Press Sample

After our Company Overview post about Possets, the owner got in touch with us and kindly offered to send some free samples of her favorites our way. This is the first of the samples I've tried: Shah Jahan & Mumtaz Mahal, of Taj Mahal fame.

Price: $12.50 for a 5 mL amber glass bottle of perfume oil with polyseal cap.
Samples: Available as part of a 6-pack for $12.50.
(More details about price and shipping can be found in our Company Overview post about Possets.)
Description from the website: "As close to divinity and you can get, as close to perfect mortal love as possible. Rare Bulgarian Zdravetz combined with ylang ylang and a smoothing of rare and perfect red musk. A strong suggestion of patchouli of the finest aged variety, finished off with a kiss of oude infused lips, and a dollop of real Tahitian vanilla bean aged infusion and I can think of no other perfume which so closely resembles that love of loves which Shah Jahan held for his beloved Mumtaz. Today you can see the rendering of a devotion in marble as the Taj Mahal, in life they loved so passionately that she died giving birth to their 16th child. A strong and sexual blend, oriental in the most classic sense."

My thoughts:
The first thing that popped out at me when I started testing this was the scent of lychee. Immediately--the moment I opened the vial, I thought, "what is that familiar smell?" It was the smell of opening a can of lychees or longans, a sweet, floral-perfumey but distinctly fruity aroma. Strange. It was the olfactory equivalent of "out of the corner of my eye"; when I smell it directly it smells of a somewhat cottony vanilla musk to me. I suppose the lychee note might be the ylang ylang plus the red musk (which usually does have a fruity undertone) playing tricks on me.

The lychee impression continues from a distance, blending with the slightly powdery-floral vanilla base to make this scent feel less like a rich, sultry oriental to me and more like a tropical drink. I feel very much disoriented and puzzled by comparing this impression to the listed notes, but honestly, the closest analogue I can think of is BPAL's discontinued Tiki-themed scent Opuhi, "ginger blossom and vanilla orchid"--a similar powdery vanilla orchid base mixed with slightly fruity notes and white florals.

Something toasty in the scent reminds me of caramel or possibly cinnamon buns as it dries down. It's not cinnamon, though! Maybe vanilla and some barely detectable patchouli?

It's pleasant and enjoyable, but much cleaner and softer than you might expect from reading the description. I wouldn't go into it expecting a dark, feral Oriental! While lightly musky, this perfume smells clean and light to me on the whole.

Note: this scent is vegan.

Collection Spotlight! Brilliant Deductions by Aromaleigh Mineral Cosmetics!

Purchased

Brilliant Deductions is Aromaleigh Mineral Cosmetics' take on the BBC's hit show Sherlock featuring the ridiculously sexy Benedict Cumberbatch as Consulting Detective Sherlock Holmes and Martin Freeman as his sidekick, Dr. John Watson.

Sherlock is my favorite TV show as of late and the BBC has done an amazing job with it. For those who haven't heard of it, Sherlock is a modern day telling of the Sherlock Holmes stories. Complete with modern technology and social media. In fact, John Watson (aka the show writers) keeps an active blog of their mystery solving endeavors. It really is a fantastic show but it's sadly only three seasons currently (with a promised 4th and 5th) and each season is only three episodes, though each episode is an hour long (kind of like a mini movie almost).

Anyway, you're not here because you want to hear my gushing about Sherlock, either the show or the actor playing the character, so let's talk about these eyeshadows!

In typical Aromaleigh fashion, this is a large collection of 21 eyeshadows. I haven't watched the show as many times as others have so a few of the references are lost on me but the products are absolutely gorgeous.

Mostly muted colors with a satin finish, Brilliant Deductions has a wide assortment of neutrals and a smattering of the brighter bolder shades that seem surprising at first but they fit in pretty well since Aromaleigh has also put in several shade depths of each color (Password Protected, Brainy is the New Sexy, and Experimental Drug making up one such progression).

The eyeshadows are well pigmented and blend smoothly together.

Purchase Link

Since this collection is so large, it will be broken up in to three separate posts. The first set is after the jump!

5 Yellows to Yearn for

Purchased

This week we're showcasing our favorite indie yellows, the next shade in our Colors of the Rainbow series.

AG's pick - Shiro's Remake

Since I don't seem to have any yellow indie products whatsoever, this stunning gold from Shiro Cosmetics will have to stand in! Remake, from the Tributes collection, is easily one of my favorite eyeshadow shades. I'm partial to shades with sparkles in contrasting colors to the base shade, so Caitlin won my heart when she mixed purple sparks into a gorgeous gold. Add on the fact that Shiro does metallics beautifully and we have ourselves a winner!

Lisa's pick - Haus of Gloi's Honeysuckle Lemon Curd

There's something appealing about the scent of a fresh-cut lemon. There's even a study that claims lemon scents can subconsciously encourage people to be more charitable! But at the same time you don't want to smell like furniture polish or cleaning products! Haus of Gloi's Honeysuckle Lemon Curd perfume is described as, "Rich lemon curd with a touch of fresh honeysuckle." I've made lemon curd plenty of times, but to me this is a dead-ringer for a classic lemon lollipop! It starts off strongly hard-candy-lemon sweet, then halfway through the day it mellows out into something that seems a bit more of an herbal-ish floral (I suspect this is the honeysuckle). Oddly enough, after about 5-6 hours of wear the lemon's sweetness trickles back in for a hushed encore performance. This is a best-selling scent in Haus of Gloi's catalog, so if you haven't tried it yet you're missing out!

3 coats alone

Jeannie's pick - Happy Hands' Banana Stand 

I jumped on the "Arrested Development" band wagon after it was taken off the air and put on Netflix (oh how I miss Netflix now that I live in Australia!). When I saw that Happy Hands had created the "I've Made a Huge Mistake!" collection, I had to indulge in Banana Stand. I've been obsessed with bright yellow nail polishes ever since Chanel released Mimosa a few summers ago. Happy Hands is described as "a yummy yellow jelly creme with chocolate-brown glitter and of course, there's always green glitter in Banana Stand!" Unfortunately Happy Hands is closing :( but you can still find some Happy Hands polishes at Harlow & Co (Canada), Femme Fatale (Australia; where I purchased Banana Stand), Edgy Polish (Sweden), Dazzled (Hong Kong), and Mei Mei's Signatures (Singapore; they still carry Banana Stand).  

Kristin's pick - Shiro's Thunderbolt

It's hard to find a truly yellow eyeshadow; there are so many that come close but lean closer to being a gold than anything else. Shiro's Thunderbolt hits that perfect sweet spot. It's a bright and bold yellow but becomes slightly more muted with the addition of the red/brown shimmer. Not only does this give it a great portrayal of its name but it makes it much more wearable since it looks a little less scary than a straight yellow. I have an extra soft spot for this shadow. Pikachu was always my favorite sassy Pokemon (from the show) and my first Game Boy game ever was Pokemon Yellow. I can't help but reminisce a little every time I see this shadow. :)

Valentine's pick - Haunt's Lust lip balm in Honey

Disclosure: gift (from a friend)

My pick is Haunt's Lust lip balm in Honey. It's not yellow in color--it's clear--but the scent is described as "sweet amber honey." This balm has a melting, emollient texture with a slight initial grittiness reminiscent of cult classic Nuxe Rêve de Miel--the grittiness melts away so that it feels like an oil on the lips. It is lightly sweet, quite glossy, and smells of beeswax-heavy honey, with the scent quickly becoming unnoticeable but the moisturizing qualities of the balm lingering on. This is my go-to lip balm for my purse--I like the slimline tube and it's an excellent, moisturizing, long-lasting balm. Unfortunately, Haunt is now only open a few times a year, so it may be hard to get your hands on their products; happily, they're open as of now, with some lip balms still in stock.

Make sure to like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, and/or follow us on BlogLovin to get all of our updates!

Swatch Post! Star Crushed Minerals : Black Emerald, Black Hills Gold, Black Sapphire, and Blue Gold!

Purchased

From the website: Semi opaque color with green and black undertones. Green shimmer.

Eye Shadow Ingredients: titanium dioxide, magnesium stearate, serecite mica, mica, oxides

Personal Comments: An almost matte, almost black base with green shimmer added. Applied over Urban Decay Primer Potion and Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy. This picture was taken outside in natural light.

Purchase Link

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From the website: Shimmery caramel brown with pink and gold undertones

Eye Shadow Ingredients: titanium dioxide, magnesium stearate, serecite mica, mica, tin oxide, oxides, ultramarines

Personal Comments: I didn't see any of the "caramel brown" in this shade but I may have gotten a slightly unblended batch. As you can see from the swatch, some of the shadow looks a little streaky and darker in some areas. The golden shimmer overlay is pretty clear though. Applied over Urban Decay Primer Potion and Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy. This picture was taken outside in natural light.

Purchase Link

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From the website: Semi opaque shimmery blue black.

Eye Shadow Ingredients: titanium dioxide, magnesium stearate, serecite mica, mica, oxides

Personal Comments: An almost matte, almost black base with blue/green shimmer added. Similar to Black Emerald but with a hint of the blue. Applied over Urban Decay Primer Potion and Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy. This picture was taken outside in natural light.

Purchase Link

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From the website: Aqua blue with gold undertones. Semi sheer. Shimmer.

Eye Shadow Ingredients: titanium dioxide, zinc oxide, mica, ultramarines 

Personal Comments: A shimmery blue with a satin finish. I see a pink and gold shimmer overlay. Applied over Urban Decay Primer Potion and Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy. This picture was taken outside in natural light.

Purchase Link



Indie Eyebrow Powders

Purchased

Eyebrow powder is an essential part of my daily makeup routine. So far, I've tried brow powders from Chinovi Cosmetics and Meow Cosmetics, and I've got some swatches and photos to show you today.

L-R: Chinovi Brows in Dirty Blonde, Chinovi Brows in Medium Brown, Meow Brow Beaters in Soft Brown

Full-sized brow powders from both Chinovi Cosmetics and Meow Cosmetics come in 5g jars with a sifter. Chinovi's Brow Powders cost $5, while Meow Cosmetics' Brow Beaters cost $8. Chinovi offers $1 sample bags and $2 sample jars, and Meow offers $1 sample bags.

Swatches in direct sunlight. L-R: Chinovi Brows in Dirty Blonde, Chinovi Brows in Medium Brown, Meow Brow Beaters in Soft Brown

As you will see in the photos to follow, my eyebrows are naturally sparse towards the ends. Because of this, I try to keep them in a fuller shape (which also helps me look younger!) so I usually choose brow products which are lighter than my natural hair colour. Apologies for the derpy eyes, I was facing the sun directly! 

To apply brow powder, I use a stiff angled brush and a spoolie to blend and soften them. I pick up a little bit of powder on the angled end, press the bristles into the lid, and tap off excess to avoid fallout while applying.

Chinovi Cosmetics' Dirty Blonde is a warm, yellow-y brown. I find it's a bit too yellow compared to my natural hair colour (medium-dark brown), but this would probably suit darker blondes very well.

Chinovi Cosmetics' Medium Brown is a neutral-leaning-warm medium brown. I think this is a better match for my complexion, but I wish it was a tiny bit cooler (I find cool/grey-leaning brow colours to be the most flattering on me).

Meow Cosmetics' Soft Brown is probably the best match for my complexion, it's a medium brown which leans a bit cool. Out of all three brow products mentioned, Soft Brown is my favourite.


Have you tried any indie eyebrow powders? Let me know in the comments!

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Company Overview: Portland Black Lipstick Company!

Purchased, Free Samples

Hi everyone! If you've ever gone hunting for a lipstick in an unusual shade, chances are you've been pointed toward Portland Black Lipstick Company. As their name suggests, they boast a gorgeous, opaque black lipstick, but they also sell a large variety of other lip colors and a small selection of other products. I recently made my first purchase from this company, and I'd love to tell you how it went!

Packaging: I only ordered lipstick samples this time around, but they arrived in the same small resealable bags most indies use for eyeshadow samples. I'm delighted with this storage method; the bags have enough space for a large and informative label, the clear bag allows me to see the color inside, and I can keep my samples completely airtight so they last until the damn sun gets back to Seattle for proper swatches.

I also received a free sample of Glitz, which is the brand's glitter, in the same kind of bag. It was stapled to a pretty fabulous business card:

Full sized lipsticks come in twist-up lip balm tubes. I haven't purchased a full sized PBLC lipstick yet, but in my experience, packaging like this makes it easy to apply straight from the tube but tough to get a clean border around your lips. If I had these in tubes, I would likely apply the more sheer colors straight from the tube, but would probably use a lip brush for the more opaque colors. Fortunately, the tube gives me the option to choose between those two options, so I think it's a great packaging strategy!

Selection: It's clear the brand has a specialty! PBLC's star product is their lipstick, which comes in 21 shades from standard to completely unnatural, plus a "moisturizing lipstick" which appears to be their clear lipstick base. As you saw above, they also offer eight shades of glitter. According to the brand, this is not your standard cornea-scratching cosmetic glitter:

"Our natural glitter, or ‘Glitz,’ is made from a form of calcium— not polymers or aluminum foil  like standard commercial glitters.  Colored with mineral makeup pigments, glitz is FDA approved for use on the eyes, lips and body. Available in 5 gram volume sifter containers."

Finally, PBLC offers three different face products: a heavy moisturizer called Night Cream, a vegan white pancake base called Corpse Paint, and a talc-free translucent powder called Phantom Powder which the brand hints may work on a variety of skin tones.

At the risk of undermining my upcoming review on the lipsticks, I think the best way to get a sense of the brand's range of colors is to point you to Robyn's amazing, comprehensive review and swatch post of all 21 lipsticks. I will provide my own swatches when, as I mentioned before, we get a break from the persistent clouds.

Just-for-fun swatches of PBLC Black (left) and Chlorosis (right) until the sun comes back!

Samples: As far as I can tell, samples are available for every single product the company offers. You can select them on this page, which you can find on the Products drop-down list.

Quality: There's a reason these products have gained so much notoriety - they're wonderful! The lipsticks apply smoothly, build up beautifully, and last nicely. I will happily continue to recommend them.

Cost: Samples are $2 for a little slice or scoop of product. Full sized lipsticks are $12 for 0.15oz of product. A full sized Glitz will run you $8 for an unspecified amount of product in a 5 gram sifter jar. Corpse Paint costs $15 for 0.15oz of product, the same volume and packaging as the lipsticks. Night Cream is $15 for 1oz. Phantom Complexion Powder is $18 for an unknown amount of product in a 20 gram jar.

Customer Service: Customer service is stellar! I wrote in a couple of times over the course of my selecting and ordering and got quick, extremely friendly, helpful responses. I have a couple of hesitations about the brand (more on that in a moment), but I feel the fabulous customer service tips the scales enough to keep me feeling comfortable purchasing from PBLC.

Just-for-fun swatches of PBLC Gilded Lily (left) and Bug's Blood (right) until the sun comes back!

TAT: This was one of the hesitations I mentioned above. I haven't found any place where PBLC lists their current TAT, and since this was my first order, I don't know what the standard experience is. I placed my order on January 12. Soon after, I started hearing word in forums that people's orders were taking a while due to backups from a surge in holiday orders. Almost exactly a month after placing my order, I emailed Kim a friendly inquiry just to check up. Kim was extremely friendly and apologetic, and let me know my order was scheduled to ship out a couple of days later. It shipped shortly thereafter.

Like I said, since this was my only order, I don't know if this is standard for the company or was a fluke due to holiday orders. I am content with a long turnaround time when the owner is as quick and responsive as Kim, though it might be a bigger issue for others. I will happily purchase again from this company, and I will go in expecting to keep track of my order and email Kim if the TAT starts running long.

Shipping: My samples arrived loose in a bubble mailer, which is perfectly fine by me. All the little discs of lipstick were perfect and unsquished; what more can I ask? Lovers of frilly packaging and cute extras might be a little let down, but I'm happy with simple packaging so long as it's functional.

Personal Thoughts: In case it wasn't already clear, I'm really happy with this company and will likely be back for full sizes of my favorite lipstick shades. However, I did want to point out my second hesitation with the brand: there are no ingredients lists available anywhere on the site. This is problematic for people with allergies or other ingredient restrictions, such as people who shop for vegan products. I'm in the former group, so I emailed Kim before placing my order to confirm the lipsticks were safe for me to use. Since Kim had a quick and extremely helpful response, I went ahead with the order, but generally I prefer to support brands that follow FDA rules for ingredient lists so everyone can have safer and happier shopping experience. Overall, though, I think PBLC is a very fun brand, and they're usually my first recommendation for anyone looking to wear unusual colors on their face.

Have you purchased anything from Portland Black Lipstick Company? What are your favorite shades? Does the absence of ingredients listings affect your purchasing decisions?


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