Random Product Review! Meow Cosmetics' Flamingo Blush

Purchased

flamingo PINK Inc blush swatched heavily on the left and blended out on the right. Jar and middle swatches shot under a lamp, bottom swatches photographed in direct sunlight.

I hope all of our American readers had a nice Thanksgiving, I'm incredibly jealous of all the wonderful food you must have had! Remember to keep your eyes peeled for Black Friday/Cyber Monday deals over at /r/indiemakeupandmore and on many of the indie brands' Facebook pages. Today I'd like to show you Meow Cosmetics' flamingo blush, from their PINK Inc. blush collection. Meow Cosmetics is best known for their massive foundation shade range, but I think there are some hidden gems in the rest of the catalogue, like their blushes. The description from the Meow website for flamingo is - "ok. think lawn ornament. No really, this is THE summer go-to blush. PINK and bright, warm and sheer." Summer is just around the corner for my fellow southern hemisphere residents, and I think this is a great blush for summer. I picked up a 10 gram jar (2g net weight) without trying a sample first, because who doesn't love flamingos? (and flamingo lawn ornaments!) I like that it is a warm pink, and that the shimmer is noticeable but wearable and not overpowering. The texture is soft and easy to blend. A sample baggie is $1, 10g sifter jar is $9.25, and 20g sifter jar (4g net weight) is $16.25. As expected, Meow has a sale going on - 20% off orders over $25 using the code CatsLuvTurkey, or 20% off + Free World Shipping on orders over $40 with the code StuffedKitty.

What are your favourite Meow Cosmetics' blushes?

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Company Overview: Paintbox Soapworks Revisited!

Nothing to Disclose

Hey everyone! About a year ago I wrote a Company Overview about Etsy-based bath and body shop Paintbox Soapworks run by Hayley out of Pennsylvania, USA. I've placed several more orders since then, and my awesome co-bloggers Kristin and Jessye Bubbles have ordered as well, so we figured it was time to revisit the brand. Let's take a look!

Paintbox Soapworks sample size Sorbetto in Whiskers

Packaging: The packaging on Paintbox's products is great. It's simple but professional, and the labels stand up well to wear and water. Most products come in sample sizes so you can try a variety of scents and products without breaking the bank. All the soaps come neatly wrapped in clear plastic with beautiful label stickers sealing them closed. Lotions come in pop top bottles. Solid scent balms come in screw top round tins. Bath Streusels, the Bookkeeper's Butter, and all the scrubs come in screw top jars. Soy wax melts come in clamshell packaging. I've been toting around the lotions and solid scent balms in my purse for months now and have had absolutely no problems, so I'm really happy with the packaging.

Solid scent balm in Libby & Lavender

Selection: Paintbox has a great selection of both permanent and seasonal scents and products. Lotions, body scrubs (known as Sorbettos), glycerin soaps, hot process soaps, shaving soaps, solid scent balms, and soy wax melts (at minimum) all seem to be available in at least a few general catalog scents year-round. Seasonal collections bring Bath Streusels and sea salt bars along with the permanent products in seasonal scents.

Samples: Like I mentioned above, samples are available for a lot of the products and almost all of the scents. I've seen samples of the glycerin soaps, the lotions, and the Sorbetto scrubs. All three are absolutely big enough to get a good sense of the product and scent - I never feel short-changed. I highly recommend a 4-pack of mini lotions or a 5-pack of mini glycerin soaps if you're new to the shop. Even my smallest orders have come with a free mini soap or Sorbetto to try, and some of my larger orders have come with two or more free minis to try out. 

5-pack of sample sized glycerin soaps

Quality: In a word, excellent. I'll describe how happy I am with most of the product formulas below, but it's also worth mentioning how beautiful they are. Each scent has a different color, which explains the rainbow of soap-shaped squares running across the Paintbox logo. A lot of the soaps have a layer of very fine shimmer running across the top which makes for a beautiful finished look. In the same way that beautifully plated food whets your appetite, Paintbox's products make me feel pampered from the moment I break into the packaging. They're lovely enough (not to mention so consistently excellent) that I've given them as gifts on multiple occasions.

I've tried a lot of soaps in the year or so since my last writeup on Paintbox, and the glycerin soaps are still my favorite bar soap formula, period. They don't dry out my already dry skin, they don't leave a residue, they clean nicely, and they leave my skin very softly scented. I could not possibly ask for anything more in a soap. 

The Sorbettos are very slightly drying on my skin so they don't beat out my favorite Emulsifying Scrub from Haus of Gloi, but given how dry my skin is, they should perform nicely for most people.

Sample size Sorbetto (same size as the first photo in the post) in Beet It

The lotions are moderately moisturizing and absorb almost instantly - I can get back to typing about 30 seconds after application with no fear of greasing up my keyboard. They leave a moderate scent that lingers through at least one or two hand washes, so if you normally wear a separate perfume, I recommend sticking to the unscented lotion.

The only products I find a little disappointing are the solid scent balms, but in Paintbox's defense, that's only because I was hoping they would be stand-ins for solid perfumes. The formula reminds me of the texture of candle wax and is much better suited to cuticles, elbows, or other dry spots than rubbing on pulse points. They're somewhat lighter on scent than the other products I've tried. If you're looking for a scented cuticle balm this is a good option (and reasonably non-greasy to boot) but if you're looking for a portable leave-on scent product, I recommend sticking with the lotions.

The quality of the scents is also fantastic. They're generally composed of three or four notes, which makes them vastly more interesting than stock fragrances but also not so complex as to be unapproachable. I find the notes are beautifully melded as well, so it's tough to pick out individual components. I'll talk more about my favorites in the Personal Thoughts section below.

Stay tuned for reviews of the hot process soaps and the Bath Streusels!

Full size Bath Streusel in Punkie Night

Cost: I think these products are priced right in line with comparable indie brands, if not a bit cheaper in some cases. For example, Haus of Gloi's handmade soaps are $5 for a 3.7 to 4 oz bar of soap, whereas Paintbox's glycerin soaps will cost you a dollar more for a 6 oz bar. Similarly, other Paintbox offerings cost approximately the same amount as similar Haus of Gloi offerings but contain more product. The 5-pack mini soap sampler in particular is a screaming deal.

I will say the shipping cost on the larger products like the full size Sorbettos and Bath Streusels is a little intimidating, so I generally don't pick them up unless I'm doing a big group order with friends (more products = bigger flat-rate box = lower shipping cost per product). Suffice it to say I'm jealous of anyone who can pick up products in person from the Paintbox stand at Hayley's local market!

Customer Service: Nothing to complain about here. I've written to Hayley with questions on a number of occasions, and I've almost always received a really quick and helpful response. On one occasion I didn't receive a response; to be fair, I completely butchered the name of the product I was referencing so it's possible she thought the message was intended for a different shop.

TAT: Generally pretty quick. I usually get a shipping notification within a few days of my order, even after big seasonal releases.

Shipping: Aside from the heavier full size products mentioned above, shipping is generally right around what I expect for indie bath goods. Hayley will also refund the difference in shipping costs if it cost her less to ship than what you were charge, which is a huge point in favor of a brand's integrity as far as I'm concerned.

Sample size glycerin soap in Hearthside and full size hot process soap in Guy Fawkes

Personal Thoughts: After a year of purchasing from Paintbox Soapworks, it's easily one of my favorite brands! Almost all of the product formulas are hits for me. Hayley's scents have a shockingly high success rate for me. Aside from Darling Clandestine (which I raved about here), Paintbox is the only shop from which I'll regularly purchase full sizes unsniffed. I'm rarely disappointed. Here are a few of my favorite scents:

Whiskers - a general catalog scent with listed notes of "dry sandalwood, vanilla, and fresh air." I mostly get a creamy sandalwood with just a touch of vanilla here. It's somehow warm, rich, and fresh all at the same time. I keep a bottle of Whiskers lotion in my purse and smile every time I put it on.

The Englishman - a general catalog scent with listed notes of "glossy black leather, Earl Grey tea & peaty tobacco." I was never really interested in leather notes until I tried this intensely masculine scent. The leather is by far the most prominent, rounded out slightly by the tea (which is neither bergamot-y nor astringent). It is not at all sweet. I was so entranced by this fragrance on first try, I compared it to the bewitching Goblin King Jareth in our recent installment of The Edit.

Sample size glycerin soap in The Englishman

Beet It - I picked up a sample Sorbetto in this scent on a recent order because, a perfume based on beets? Sign me up. Here's how Hayley describes the scent: "A nod to that most maligned of roots, the Noble Beet. Dark leafy patchouli drags my Fresh Zucchini Flower scent into the dirt for a scent that is earthy, bitter-sweet & surprisingly naughty." Don't let the patchouli scare you off - it's quite tame and well tempered by a gentle dirt note and something else vegetal and slightly sweet. I can't keep my nose out of the jar. I believe this is a fall seasonal scent.

Gingermilk - a general catalog scent with listed notes of "warm, sweet milk & soothing, sparkling ginger." For once in its overzealous life, ginger plays a supporting role here. This scent smells primarily of sweet cream, with just a touch of non-spicy, non-dominating ginger to make it a little more interesting. It's a very soothing scent, and I'll likely pick it up in Bath Streusel form during my next group order.

Finally, I want to mention that something very cool showed up in our last order - a glycerin soap sample with a prototype scent! The name, handwritten on the label, is Three Continents Watson. It smells of light musk, sweet tobacco, and a hint of mint. It gets two thumbs up from me and I hope it makes its way into the Paintbox catalog!

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That's all the news that's fit to print about one of my very favorite shops! Have you tried anything from Paintbox Soapworks? 

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!

Happy Thanksgiving to our American Readers!

We hope the weather is great where you are and that you get some time to relax!

Thank you so much for your support over the last year. Indie Know has grown enormously since last Thanksgiving and we're surprised and honored to have your readership.

Much love,
the Indie Know team

Swatch Post! Dawn Eyes Cosmetics: Beauty Blossoms, Creep, Softly Pink, and Wonder!

Purchased

From the website: Deep magenta red base loaded with color-changing glitters from aqua/blue to pink/green! 

Eye Shadow Ingredients: Mica, Manganese Violet, Iron Oxide, Boron Nitride, Magnesium Myristrate, Magnesium Stearate, Dimethicone 350, Dimethicone 100, Cyclopentasiloxane, Synthetic Fluorophylogopite, Silica, Carmine, Synthetic Wax 

NOT VEGAN! SAFE FOR EYES, LIPS, FACE, NAILS!*

Personal Comments: From the Lip-Sync for Your Life Collection. This is a bright red with a purple undertone and lots of 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: Bright yellow/green with a shift in one direction to a nearly neon green and in the other to a coral, scattered with golden and blue sparks.

Eye Shadow Ingredients: Mica, Titanium Dioxide, Silica, Tin Oxide, Chromium Oxide Green, Iron Oxide, Polymethylhydrogen Siloxane, Lauroyl Lysine, Myristic Acid, Magnesium Hydroxide, Calcium Sodium Borosilicate, Ferric Ferrocyanide 

VEGAN! SAFE FOR EYES, FACE, NAILS, NOT LIPS!

Personal Comments: From the Lip-Sync for Your Life Collection. A sheer yellow-green shade with 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:  Just what it sounds like, a true pale pink with a delicate soft shimmer; very pearly and ultra-girly! 

Eye Shadow Ingredients: Mica, Titanium Dioxide, Carmine, Boron Nitride, Zinc Oxide, Triethoxycaprylylsilane 

NOT VEGAN! SAFE FOR EYES, LIPS, FACE, NAILS!

Personal Comments: From the discontinued Softly Collection. This shade is on clearance. It's a light pink with a frosty 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: Bright white with an aqua overtone and a pink shift, sparkling with pink and aqua glimmers. 

Eye Shadow Ingredients: Mica, Silica, Titanium Dioxide, Tin Oxide, Calcium Aluminum Borosilicate, Calcium Sodium Borosilicate, Polymethylhydrogen Siloxane, Lauroyl Lysine, Myristic Acid, Magnesium Hydroxide 

VEGAN! SAFE FOR EYES, LIPS, FACE, NAILS!*

Personal Comments: A cream-colored shadow with a frosty blue highlight. Applied over Urban Decay Primer Potion and Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy. This picture was taken outside in natural light.

Purchase Link



Perfume Review: Solstice Scents's Witch's Cottage

Purchased

Forget eye of newt, this witch is cooking something way better!

If you live in North America, you're probably gearing up for Thanksgiving in the next day or two. Whether you're hosting, cooking, or just vacating as much room in your stomach as possible for maximum feasting, I think many Americans have happy memories of a warm home swirling with yummy scents this time of year. And while there's no indie perfume (to my knowledge) that smells like turkey, Witch's Cottage from Solstice Scents does a pretty close job capturing that special sort of tasty coziness that comes with good food, loving company, and a warm home.

Swatch Post! Notoriously Morbid : 13 Black Rainbows, Cry Innocent, No More a Witch, and Welcome to Vinnland!

Purchased

From the website:  A black matte with a crap load of rainbow glitter. 

Eye Shadow Ingredients: Magnesium myristrate, mica, carnauba wax, iron oxide, titanium dioxide, ferric ammonium ferrocyanide, (glycidoxphenal) propane/bisaminomethylnorbaornane copolymer, ultramarines, iron oxide, calcium aluminum borosilicate, silica, tin oxide

**VEGAN** 

**NOT LIP SAFE**

Personal Comments: Definitely full of glitter. It's actually hard to see that the base is a matte black since the glitter gives it a strong blue sheen. 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 deceptive purple that flashes blue.

Eye Shadow Ingredients: magnesium myristrate, mica, carnauba wax, iron oxide, titanium dioxide, ferric ferrocyanide, tin oxide.

*VEGAN* 

**NOT LIP SAFE** 

Personal Comments: In direct light, this eyeshadow pulls the red out of the purple. You can still see the blue sheen even in this light. 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 very dark brown based metallic green.

Eye Shadow Ingredients: magnesium myristrate, iron oxide, mica, titanium dioxide, chromium oxide green.

*VEGAN* 

**NOT LIP SAFE** 

Personal Comments: A dark brown with a green shimmery 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 semi matte dark green that borders on going black. Still packed with light green sparkles. 

Eye Shadow Ingredients: Chromium Oxide Green, Mica, Titanium Dioxide, Iron Oxide, Calcium Sodium Borosilicate.

*NOT LIP SAFE* 

**VEGAN**

Personal Comments: This eyeshadow applies like a matte with an added green shimmer. Applied over Urban Decay Primer Potion and Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy. This picture was taken outside in natural light.

Purchase Link

Jessye Gets Bubbly! Taking a look at Haus of Gloi's Yule 2014!

Purchased

Haus of Gloi's Yule 2014 Release

Phaedra

When I began to write this review, I thought about the fact that Haus of Gloi is a well-established company, much loved by the Indie Know team. I searched our archives to see if a comprehensive review of their products had already been done, and here is a fantastic Company Overview by the ever lovely Lisa.

Because of this wonderful preview, we are going to review the holiday products, but discuss the scent's conveyance through the products they usually have on hand.

But first, I’d like to introduce you to Haus of Gloi's possibly biggest fan. This is Phaedra (Her name means bright, shining joy!). She is a bath and body product lover. She has been known to attempt to pin us down in an effort to clean off whatever moisturizer we just put on. She has never been more excited about the smells emitting from a package as she was about this one and insisted on smelling every single one of them and posing with them once out of the package. Twice I let her smell the pumpkin butter I bought, and twice she stuck her tongue in it to get a good taste. Kristin felt it was just too cute to leave out.

Kristin adds: We hauled pretty hard during the first Haus of Gloi Yule release (back on November 2nd) and tons of things sold out within the first few hours. Luckily, they did a large restock last Thursday (the 20th) so if you're interested in purchasing (or re-purchasing), there looks to be plenty to go around!


So – onto the products –

Perfume Oils

Kristin adds: Perfume oils are one of the first things that come to mind when Haus of Gloi is mentioned. We looped in co-blogger AG for her nose!

Rosy Cheeked 

Pink grapefruit, fir needles, juniper berries, rosemary, a sprig of parsley and bright winter lilies.

AG: This is a peppy citrus scent which foils nicely against the traditionally heavy, woodsy scents of winter. The notes list grapefruit, but to my nose the oil opens with the scent of lemon zest, complete with a bit of bitter pith. It's very bright at first, but within a few minutes it settles down and I can start smelling the fir needles, along with a sweet floral note which is presumably the lilies. The bright citrus and lightly floral note hiding in the background remind me an awful lot of Haus of Gloi's general catalog scent Honeysuckle Lemon Curd, so that might help tide you over if you missed out on the seasonal Rosy Cheeked.

Purchase Link

Sweet Potato Treat 

For me, this is the epitome of holiday comfort food: Sweet potatoes with mild spices, butter and brown sugar baked off with marshmallows.

AG: This scent opens with a battle cry of BUTTER! It's quickly joined by a big spoonful of brown sugar, making this an incredibly sweet (but not syrupy) scent. Within a minute, classic pumpkin pie spices emerge. Since my skin tends to amp cinnamon, this turns into a loud cinnamon scent backed by a bit of sweet, buttery pie crust. After this roller coaster of a trip, the scent fades pretty noticeably just a few minutes post application. I can't personally recommend it, but I suspect that's mostly due to my wacky skin chemistry.

Purchase Link

Eggnoggin

The Haus 'nog! Cream, sugar and a shot of dark rum topped with fresh grated nutmeg.

AG: A lot of Haus of Gloi's scents smell a little odd on my skin, so I was surprised to put this on and find it smells exactly like eggnog! It's creamy, sweet, and rich with a big hit of nutmeg. The first few minutes, I love it. Unfortunately, our love was not meant to last - as it dries down it takes on a slightly bitter and rubbery undertone which is somewhat less appetizing. As with Sweet Potato Treat I suspect this is due to an incompatibility between my skin and many of Haus of Gloi's scents, so do pick up a sample if smelling like the classic winter dessert in a glass sounds appealing.

Purchase Link

Pumpkin Butter

Three Treasures

Sacred gifts of frankincense, myrrh and gold. Smoldering with warmth and brightened with a touch of mandarin rind.

This is a really lovely smell. The mandarin rind really brought out that metallic tang idea of the gold. The best comparison I can give you on the whole is the idea of un-burnt incense. I originally thought this would get ridiculously heady and overbearing, but it mellows nicely.

Purchase Link

Bubbling Scrub

Wintervale 

Snow covered blue spruce boughs, frozen woods, crystalline sugared violets and sharp winter-y air, all wrapped around a minty mug of hot cocoa.

I bought this for The Roommate. It has a very pleasant, rounded mint scent.

Kristin adds: I was hoping that this would have more of the hot cocoa in it but I didn't catch a chocolate note at all. This may change while using it though.

Purchase Link

Kristin's Whipped Soap Haul

Whipped Soap

Their whipped soaps are about exactly between Purple Cat Creatives and Solstice Scents in density. It is slightly dense but still really lovely to use.

Kristin adds: Whipped soaps are not part of HoG's standard product offerings and they only come out during their seasonal releases (and often sell out quickly). The soaps lather up well in a loofa and I love how the scents "spread out" a bit more when applied in this form. I haven't found that the smells stick to me at all after showering though using a loofa means that it's wax on, wax off and doesn't really have time to stay. If you want a more lingering smell, I suggest applying with more of a hands-on method!

Snow Wolf 

Bristling and prowling, lonesome and haunting. Three howling firs, whitened frankincense, vanilla bean husk, tainted by droplets of blood cedar. 

To me, this has that New Car smell. The Husband, who picked this out, has a Four-Stage Explanation, which is as follows:
1. This is a really great earthy scent.
2. Ooh! The vanilla rounds this earthy scent out really well.
3. That’s a lot of vanilla.
4. This does not hang around. (Insert a sad face because he’s starting to like smelling pretty.)

Purchase Link

Kristin adds: As you can probably tell from the whipped soap pile above, I really like things that smell like food. I also really like Haus of Gloi's whipped soap formula. This release was win-win for me!

Eggnoggin

The Haus 'nog! Cream, sugar and a shot of dark rum topped with fresh grated nutmeg.

Kristin: Mmmmm this smells like my favorite kind of eggnog to drink. It smells sweet and there's a hint of liquor somewhere buried in but it's covered nicely by a milky goodness.

Purchase Link

Fancy Bread

Ripe banana, roasted nuts and brown sugar folded into a delicious quick bread.

Kristin: Here's my first world problem with food smelling soaps; they inspire food cravings. This is the worst of the batch. I have such strong cravings for banana bread after using Fancy Bread. The banana and nuts (walnuts?) are both very strong in this soap.

Purchase Link

Hearth

The warm glowing center of home. Autumns last apple pickings, warm bread, orange rind, various fire roasted nuts, cracked black pepper all nailed down by an oozing sticky benzoin.

Kristin: This is my favorite of the batch (but don't tell the others). It's not quite a winter smell to me but it smells like a transition from fall to winter. The apple come out on top first but in the shower, I get a lot more of a toned down citrus.

Purchase Link

Plotter's Breakfast

Oatey porridge, stove smoke, kindling wood, a hint of gunpowder and pinch of sweet pipe tobacco.

Kristin: I was hoping for something more oatey (note the food thing again) but this just smelled like smoke to me out of the jar and in the shower, I didn't smell any of the porridge that I was looking for. I sadly passed this one onto friendly co-blogger AG in hopes that it would find a better home.

AG adds: The first note I smell is a moderately strong smoke note. It's really realistic, and smells like it's coming from a wood fire. Underneath it smells like lightly sweetened oatmeal, and I get the barest hint of something fruity (likely the tobacco). When I wash with this whipped soap, the slightly sweet smoke note lingers faintly on my skin. I really like it!

Kristin continues: Success!

Purchase Link

Rosy Cheeked 

Pink grapefruit, fir needles, juniper berries, rosemary, a sprig of parsley and bright winter lilies.

Kristin: I wasn't expecting this one to be food-related, honest! Someone on the Indie Makeup and More subreddit convinced me that I needed to add this one to my quickly growing purchase list and it's fantastic. The grapefruit is not quite as strong here as it is in the Emulsifying Scrub (below) but it's great for waking up in the morning. The herbal notes for me were more subtle but there's definitely a notion of walking through some sort of pine-y area.

Purchase Link

Emulsifying Scrub

Rosy Cheeked 

Pink grapefruit, fir needles, juniper berries, rosemary, a sprig of parsley and bright winter lilies.

I loved the swirl of colors in this! It smells mostly like grapefruit, but I love the clean, citrus-y scent.

Kristin adds: I loved the way that this scent comes out in scrub form. The grapefruit is stronger here than in the whipped soap and it lingers!

Purchase Link

Note: These are two different bath bombs

Butterbomb

Though only 1-ounce, these things pack a punch for their size. They’re not as loud as their larger counterparts from other companies, but most of them have a lovely, subtle scent. When one throws this in the tub while it is filling up, it will leave a thin layer of opaque bubbles, which quickly dissipate but are quite pretty while they are there.

Kristin adds: Like the whipped soaps, butterbombs are also not part of HoG's standard product lineup and only come out during seasonal releases. They may seem a little pricey at $2.50 a piece but in terms of smell and amount of oil, they're well worth it compared to the more expensive bath bombs where you find yourself using an entire $6 ball for the same amount of scent as these $2.50 dollops.

Gingerbread 

This has the spicy scent of savory gingerbread, as opposed to the sweeter gingerbread cookie.

Silver Fir 

While astringent like Pine Sol, think Pine Tree in winter instead of cleaning product. Heavy in pine with notes of earth to quell it just a little.

Holy Incense

This smells almost identical to Three Treasures.

Sugar Plum

This was the miss for me. I just couldn't smell it in the bath, just something vaguely sweet with a hint of plum.

Purchase Link

Lip Balms

Kristin adds:  Haus of Gloi lip balms are favorites of many in the indie world and co-bloggers Lisa and Valentine have already done a great job in covering the formula so I won't bore you with more details.

Vanilla Chai 

Spicy chai and sweet vanilla cream. 

Kristin: This one smells more like a sweet chai to me, with just a hint of cinnamon.

Peppermint Sugar Cookie 

Sugar cookies spiked with fresh mint.

Kristin: It sounds like a weird combination but it really works here. The sugar smell is nicely balanced by the mint.

Purchase Link

Rosy Lipped Lip Tint

Pink grapefruit and fir needle essential oil.

 Kristin adds: This is a rare release for HoG. I haven't heard of the brand releasing one prior so I was interested to try this one out. It smells a bit like Rosy Cheeked (mentioned above) which makes sense since they're both strong in grapefruit notes.

Kristin: At first, I was pretty "meh" about this lip tint. It applies very sheerly (because it's a tint) but I've found myself reaching for this one regularly overly the past few weeks. The winter air has been making my lips drier and when I'm in a hurry and don't want to wait for a lip balm to settle so I can apply some color, this tint has been my go-to. It gives me a subtle my-lips-but-better shine and evens out my liptone. I'm also finding that I might be a little addicted to the grapefruit scent....I entirely blame this HoG release for that one.

Purchase Link

Their current Turnaround Time is 13-15 days, so if you are looking at Holiday purchases, plan accordingly!

What are your favorite Haus of Gloi Yule scents?

Random Product Review: Pumpkin and Poppy Aphrodite Inner Glow Powder!

Purchased

Pumpkin and Poppy Aphrodite Inner Glow powder

I've been hearing a lot of great things about Pumpkin and Poppy's Aphrodite Inner Glow powder ($11 for a 20 g jar), said to be a dupe for Hourglass Diffused Light Ambient Lighting Powder. Everyone wants some kind of magical fairy dust to sweep over their face and give them the glowing, soft-focus look of an elf princess, right? I certainly do, and so I bought a jar of this during a recent sale. 

Here's some background about my obsession with glowy finishing powders. I went through a brief and powerful obsession with the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powders because I loved the idea of them, but I ended up returning the Dim Light powder I purchased because it made me look orange and zealously bronzed when applied with too heavy a hand, and I feel like a $50 powder should be effortless and foolproof to use.

I do own Ethereal Light (a white powder meant to produce a moonlit glow), but it can look a bit stark when my skin is more tan, and is the most matte of the Ambient Lighting Powders, so it doesn't "glow" quite as much as I'd like. Diffused Light (a pale yellow powder with tiny sparkles) always looked too sparkly to me when I swatched it in-store.

I also own Guerlain Meteorites, but I don't think they produce the airbrushed, candlelit glow promised by their marketing, either. Too sparkly, not glowy enough.

But Pumpkin and Poppy's Aphrodite Inner Glow powder produces exactly the lit-from-within effect I was hoping for with those powders, at a fraction of the price. It's a bit early for me to say this confidently, but it may be the holy grail finishing powder I've been looking for. It's subtle, finely milled, it doesn't have visible sparkle, and the color isn't so different from my skin tone that it stands out as too golden or too frosty. A light dusting makes my skin tone look more even and adds a subtle luminosity without looking outright shiny.

Top: light swatch applied with brush, bottom: heavy swatch applied with fingers

Here it is, swatched very heavily at the bottom of the photo, swatched more lightly at the top of the photo, towards the wrist. It's sort of an eggshell/champagne color, less yellow than Diffused Light looks to me. I know the light swatch (dusted on with a blush brush, the way I would apply it to my face) is somewhat hard to see, so I used tape to produce clean lines on my arm and angled it to catch the light--hopefully you get an idea of the slight, creamy glow it produces. For reference, my arm is roughly NC30.

I've been wearing Aphrodite every day for the last week or so since I got it, and I just love it. Now, I will say that it isn't entirely foolproof for me. I noticed that if I apply it too heavily on an unprimed face, it can cake up in my pores a bit and make them more visible, highlighting any textural unevenness. It works better if I apply a translucent setting powder first to smooth the surface of my skin, and then dust the Inner Glow powder over it (I use a blush brush from a Sonia Kashuk set I got from Target). My skin's been very dry and dull since the weather got cold, so I feel like this powder does a great job adding in the missing radiance.

My skin leans dry, even more so with the winter weather, so unfortunately, I can't comment on its oil control properties or how well it functions as a pure setting powder. I think it is subtle enough that it could be applied all over the face as a setting powder, though--it's much more subtle than a classic highlighter or luminizer.

Although I'm not usually a fan of loose powder products, much preferring pressed pans, the Inner Glow powder is easy to use because it came packaged in a large sifter jar with a rotating sifter. It has a simple, beautifully designed, professional-looking label. (The label is a bit off-center but I'm not sure if that is an intentional design element. Just to quibble, I noticed that the top label is identical for their contour powder, so if you have multiple products from Pumpkin and Poppy, you'll need to turn them upside down to see which is which.) I didn't have issues with the powder being overpacked, which sometimes causes me problems when trying to dispense powder from a sifter.

With hand, for scale.

I did have some issues figuring out the rotating sifter mechanism, as it took some effort to open and I thought it was going to snap! I finally managed to open it all the way, but be forewarned that you have to apply quite a lot of pressure to rotate the sifter, and there's a worrisome "click" when it goes between closed, half-open, and fully open.

Sifter jar fully open, and some powder shaken out in the lid.

In case you're interested but worried that this color is wrong for your skin tone, there are two other colors of Inner Glow powder available as well: Isis, a dupe for Radiant Light, and Celestial, a dupe for Dim Light. They both look more shimmery than Aphrodite from the comparison swatches provided by Pumpkin and Poppy.

Bottom line: I highly recommend this product. It deserves all the hype it's gotten. So far, I like it better than the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder, at a quarter of the price! Full disclosure, though: nobody has actually commented on my skin since I've been wearing this powder, and I think its subtle effect may be one of those things that only I would notice, but wearing it makes me feel great, and that's the most important thing, isn't it?

Swatch Post! Sol Invictus by Aromaleigh Mineral Cosmetics! Part 2 of 2!

Press Samples

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

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From the website: A delicate opalescent pink with bountiful pink to blue color shift.

Eye Shadow Ingredients: Mica, Titanium Dioxide, Ferric Oxide, Synthetic Fluorophylogopite, Carnauba Wax, Silica, Copper/Bronze Powder, Calcium Borosilicate, Tin Oxide, Blue #1 Al Lake, Yellow #5 Al Lake, Red #40 Al Lake, Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Palmitic Acid 

This color is Vegan and Lip Safe! You can use this shade on your eyes, cheeks or lips.

Personal Comments: Ah the troublemaker of the collection. As you can see, it's a little patchy. I didn't see as much of this without a sticky base but in that case, it still seems like more shimmer than eyeshadow base. This shade may be better when layered over something else or as an inner corner highlight. It's a salmon-y pink with plenty of shimmer. It looks more red in different light. 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: An exquisite shimmering peach with oodles of icy blue, pink, copper and gold color traveling sparkles.

Eye Shadow Ingredients: Mica, Titanium Dioxide, Ferric Oxide, Synthetic Fluorophylogopite, Carnauba Wax, Silica, Copper/Bronze Powder, Calcium Borosilicate, Tin Oxide, Blue #1 Al Lake, Yellow #5 Al Lake, Red #40 Al Lake, Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Palmitic Acid 

This color is Vegan and Lip Safe! You can use this shade on your eyes, cheeks or lips.

Personal Comments: Another gold for the set though less orange than the others. Oscilla is shimmery 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 gorgeously rich amber which is slightly metallic and having a spectacular amount of strong aqua and fuchsia sparklies.

Eye Shadow Ingredients: Mica, Titanium Dioxide, Ferric Oxide, Synthetic Fluorophylogopite, Carnauba Wax, Silica, Copper/Bronze Powder, Calcium Borosilicate, Tin Oxide, Blue #1 Al Lake, Yellow #5 Al Lake, Red #40 Al Lake, Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Palmitic Acid

This color is Vegan and Lip Safe! You can use this shade on your eyes, cheeks or lips.

Personal Comments: A metallic gold with added shimmer that adds an interesting dimension. 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 beautiful coral/orange shade with a slight golden undertone in certain lighting, bedazzled by color traveling orange-violet-fuchsia shimmer and bright green sparks.

Eye Shadow Ingredients: Mica, Titanium Dioxide, Ferric Oxide, Synthetic Fluorophylogopite, Carnauba Wax, Silica, Copper/Bronze Powder, Calcium Borosilicate, Tin Oxide, Blue #1 Al Lake, Yellow #5 Al Lake, Red #40 Al Lake, Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Palmitic Acid

This color is Vegan and Lip Safe! You can use this shade on your eyes, cheeks or lips.

Personal Comments: One of my favorites of the collection. This is a coral/salmon shade with stronger pink notes than orange. It has a soft golden shimmer and looks like a good blush contender. 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:  An exquisite shimmering peach with oodles of icy blue, pink, copper and gold color traveling sparkles.

Eye Shadow Ingredients: Mica, Titanium Dioxide, Ferric Oxide, Synthetic Fluorophylogopite, Carnauba Wax, Silica, Copper/Bronze Powder, Calcium Borosilicate, Tin Oxide, Blue #1 Al Lake, Yellow #5 Al Lake, Red #40 Al Lake, Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Palmitic Acid

This color is Vegan and Lip Safe! You can use this shade on your eyes, cheeks or lips.

Personal Comments: Green! The description forgot to mention the green! This is a not-quite-bright green shade with a 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 gorgeous berry shade that shifts to a softly metallic copper, with brilliant iridescent fuchsia and blue sparkles and copper iridescence.

Eye Shadow Ingredients: Mica, Titanium Dioxide, Ferric Oxide, Synthetic Fluorophylogopite, Carnauba Wax, Silica, Copper/Bronze Powder, Calcium Borosilicate, Tin Oxide, Blue #1 Al Lake, Yellow #5 Al Lake, Red #40 Al Lake, Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Palmitic Acid

This color is Vegan and Lip Safe! You can use this shade on your eyes, cheeks or lips.

Personal Comments: A bright and bold red with plenty of added shimmer. Applied over Urban Decay Primer Potion and Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy. This picture was taken outside in natural light.

Purchase Link

Perfume Review: Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab Pumpkin III (2014)

Purchased

It's gotten cold really quickly this year in the Midwest--it's not even Thanksgiving and the remnants of our poor old jack o' lanterns are frozen solid on the porch in piles of snow. So I almost feel like I should be long past reviewing pumpkin scents already, and thinking of snowy perfumes instead... but I have a full set of this year's Pumpkin Patch series from Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab, and wanted to review Pumpkin III (2014) this week.

I believe BPAL releases a Pumpkin Patch series every year at Halloween--last year it was a set of their bestsellers with a pumpkin note added, like Alice in the Pumpkin Patch, Snake Oil in the Pumpkin Patch, Dorian in the Pumpkin Patch, etc. This year doesn't seem to have a particular theme to the scents, but the label art all features the winners of last year's pumpkin carving contest (my favorite label is Pumpkin IV).

Price: $23 for a 5 mL amber glass bottle of perfume oil with polyseal cap.
Samples: Not available for this scent.
(More details about price and shipping can be found in our Company Overview post about Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab.)
Description from the website: "Pumpkin with Atlas cedar, black fig, Laotian benzoin, bourbon vanilla, and copal."

I met a friend at a bar the other night. I gave him a hug, and he said, "Have you been baking?"

I said "no," and he continued, "You smell like you've been baking. Something smells really good." It was, of course, Pumpkin III that I was wearing, and since it was warm in the bar, I was standing in my own personal fog of intense pumpkin spice sillage. Thank God he didn't say "Something really reeks"...

Somehow I expected this to be more of a sophisticated, incensey scent because of the Atlas cedar and copal, but it's quite gourmand. The sweetness of the fig and pumpkin definitely take the forefront, making the perfume smell a bit like Fig Newtons, or some sticky date-based confection.

Pumpkin is actually a pretty problematic note for me in perfumes. I got excited about pumpkin scents the first year I got into perfumes, but quickly learned that they generally weren't for me--I got tempted into ordering decants of the Pumpkin Patch this year, though, because they just sounded so good. All the supporting notes in every perfume sounded amazing to me this year, so I figured I'd give pumpkin perfumes a second chance, even though BPAL's general catalog scent Jack made me feel like puking last time I smelled it.

I actually like the pumpkin note in this perfume--it smells a bit green to me, like the scent of fresh, raw pumpkin when you're carving jack o' lanterns. But the fig makes it really sweet, and despite the warm, round basenotes of copal, vanilla, and benzoin, and the dry Atlas cedar, something in the perfume gives it a cinnamon-allspice pumpkin spice vibe, making it definitely pull to the sweet and spicy side of things. The longer it wears on my skin, the less sweet and more spicy it seems to get.

I'm on the fence about this scent, although I do always love getting compliments on my perfumes, so my friend's positive reaction is swaying me towards liking it more. (As an aside, apparently pumpkin and lavender have been scientifically proven to be the sexiest scent combo for men? I don't think I have any pumpkin-lavender perfumes, but it sounds kind of gross. Lisa says it's a good combo, though, and I trust her opinion...)

It's kind of too sweet for me, particularly right after application, when it's at its Fig Newton-iest and almost reminds me of the smell of raisins, and I'm not sure I like the idea of smelling like holiday potpourri from the pumpkin and spice combination. However, the more it dries down, the more I like the sweet-spicy scent on my skin. I think it will be one of those perfumes I save for certain moods and certain seasons. (Or for meeting up with certain friends?)

For other reviews of Pumpkin III and other scents in the 2014 Pumpkin Patch collection, you can also check out the BPAL forums.

Note: this scent is vegan.