Random Product Review: Rituel de Fille Ash and Ember Eye Soot!

Purchased

I talked briefly about Rituel de Fille's Ash & Ember Eye Soot in my Company Overview post back in February, but I thought I'd give a few more thoughts about the product since Rituel de Fille just started offering samples!

Side note: I've seen a bit of complaining online about the size and cost of the samples ($15 plus shipping for 5 samples good for 1-2 uses each, but with a $10 coupon included with them), but I don't really have a problem with this, personally. The samples are in line with the general pricing for the line. (Which is pricey, but let's be real, more than anything, price buys the feeling of luxury and not necessarily quality. Generally nobody knows what you have on your face once it's on there.) And I don't quite see why anyone would buy a full size if the sample is enormous and never runs out.

The Ash and Ember Eye Soot ($27 for 0.2 oz/5.75 g) is a cream eyeshadow that comes in a beautiful but tiny hexagonal glass jar with a black top. This color is called Golden Age, and here are pictures of the jar with a penny and some other common cream eyeshadows for size comparison (a Maybelline Color Tattoo and a MAC Paint Pot):

With a penny for size comparison

Top to bottom: Maybelline Color Tattoo, Rituel de Fille Eye Soot, MAC Paint Pot

It's hard to get at the shadow with your fingers, if that's your thing (I always apply cream eyeshadows with my fingers, personally). I can only get at the product with my pinky. The texture is rather dry and crumbly-feeling, without the creamy, unctuous feeling of most other cream shadows I've tried.

I think it's beautiful, though--a medium cool golden-toned brown that looks like bronzey antique gold in the light, smoky cool taupe brown in shadow, and applies with a glowy satin finish. It looked great just applied to the mobile lid and smoked out at the edges, with some black liner. I did get some creasing with this shade by about 4 hours into wear, but it stayed better over primer. Here are some photos of it on my eyes, no primer--looks a bit warmer on my eyes than I remembered:

I love the packaging and the product, but I have mixed feelings about whether it's worth $27, given the tiny size of the jar and the non-bulletproof wear time. At that price point, for a cream shadow, I'd rather have a Laura Mercier Caviar Stick or a couple of Kiko eyeshadow sticks. Still, if you want to treat yourself to a beautiful and special little product, and this appeals to you, I'd say go for it! I think it's a quality product and a lovely color.

Swatched without primer, natural light

Jessye Gets Bubbly! Future Primitive Yule 2015!

Purchased

Future Primitive 
Yule 2015 Collection

It’s Winter! It’s Winter! Rejoice for it’s Winter! This shouldn’t be too long of a post because my butt is going to go hang out in front of Muppets Christmas Carol with a big old mug of hot chocolate. I’m sure Kristin will turn me into a liar once she adds her massive haul to my 2 little bars soaps and bath powder. My samples went to AG. So, let’s go examine the awesomeness that is Future Prim’s Yule Collection!

Ebenezer Bar Soap

Ebenezer

A miserly cold winter breath moans down a chimney breast and into a dark, grey-washed room. The scent of frosted pine needles & eucalyptus leaves encased in ice make way for a hopeful splash of clean lemongrass & fresh lime. 100% Essential oil blend.  

I got this as bar soap. Dry, it has a very strong lemongrass smell, so I’m saving it for my post Christmas blues when I’m going to need a pick-me-up. Citrus always does the trick for me. I cut off a super thin slice to wash my hands with though so I could give you some idea of what I thought. All soaped up on my hands, it smells like lemongrass with a miserly iciness. I’m not sure if it’s the eucalyptus or pine, but I love the idea of citrus and winter, and this really does that. (And OH MY GOD I LOVE THOSE GLITTERY STARS!)

Kristin adds: A bubbling sugar buff for me. I agree with Jessye here. In scrub form, the lemongrass is probably the strongest note that I get but it's balanced out by the minty eucalyptus. In the shower it softens a bit so you're not immediately smacked in the face by lemongrass but it's definitely a scent that evokes the image of COLD.

Glacial

Glacial

A crisp, cool invigorating winters day. Mild menthol air, pine sap, black spruce wood chips & eucalyptus leaf laid down on a bed of dreamy lavender & cedarwood. Fragrance blend.

This was my other bar of soap. I think I did it a disservice by buying it as a bar soap. It’s really softly scented, smelling lightly of creamy mint. Mr. J says it smells like those mint chocolate chips with the nonpareil on the bottom. I’m really looking forward to Kristin’s notes on this, because I feel like I lost a lot of this scent as bar soap.

Kristin adds: Another bubbling sugar buff for me. Oddly though, for me, the mint is barely detectable in this form. I get more of an herbal but woodsy scent that's almost incense-esque. It's a crisp, cool scent that's perfectly in-season for winter.

Inglenook 

White winter birch bark, crackling forest fires in the north woods, a flagon of whiskey, a waft of rich men's cologne and a bowl of softly smouldering frankincense and myrrh resins. Fragrance and essential oil blend.

I got this as a vanishing bath powder. In the bag, it’s this great masculine scent, woody and heady, but not overpowering. I put a bag in the bath and inhaled deeply…and then I inhaled again…and then I put a second bag in the bath. With the second bag, it lightly scented the water for me to a soft masculine blend, nothing really sticking out. I’m also really interesting in seeing how this scent plays out in a different product.

Kristin adds: Another bubbling sugar buff (my last one from this batch). I'm very conflicted about this one. The smokiness is strong from the beginning but I'm finding it hard breaking it down to what kind of smoky it is. It's not a cooking smoke or a tobacco scent but it's almost sweet. I do get some of that resin behind it. I can't decide if I actually like this one or not but it's certainly interesting.



Kristin adds: Ah here we go - finally onto my whipped soaps. So the first thing of note was that of my four whipped soaps, half of them were in different size jars than the others. I assume it's just a packaging difference but it was a little odd - especially since the labels are all the same size and say the same amounts. The taller jars do look a little less packed full than the shorter jars so I'm assuming they have about the same amount of product - though I honestly have no idea. Not a concern for me but thought I'd mention it for the curious.

Marshmallow Eggnog

Creamy eggnog blended with vanilla buttercream, cinnamon and nutmeg and decorated with little bouncy Marshmallows. Fragrance blend.

Kristin adds: To me, in whipped soap form, the vanilla and sugar are the strongest scents. The sweetness smells reminiscent of Sylph from the general catalog - I think if you like Sylph, this might be a good choice for you. I can't detect any added spice in this form but it's definitely a scent for gourmand lovers. The vanilla is creamy in a warmed milk kind of way. But for me, this doesn't really smell like the eggnog that I'm used to.

Kristin: I did, however, shove it at my friend Greg who says that it smells exactly like eggnog to him. So, your mileage may vary depending on your eggnog experiences.

Edit: Okay so I tried Marshmallow Eggnog a few more times and when applied directly (not with a loofa), the vanilla fades back and the spices come to the front. No clue why I missed that the first few times. Derp.

Different jars

Peppermint Hot Cocoa

Rich and delicious hot cocoa infused with a combination of indian peppermint, madagascan vanilla oil and decadent cocoa absolute. Fragrance and essential oil blend.

 Kristin: This has been a pretty entertaining Yule season for me since my Haus of Gloi Yule Reverie package came in around the same time as the Future Prim. They coincidentally have a lot of scents that one would assume might be similar. I'll probably do a more complete compare and contrast post in the near future but just as an FYI to anyone who might have sniffed it, Future Prim's Peppermint Hot Cocoa is pretty different from the Haus of Gloi Peppermint Cocoa.

Kristin: Peppermint Hot Cocoa is basically a York Peppermint Pattie in scent form. The peppermint is soft in a creamy way and balances well with the darker chocolate scent. Listed above is the description from the website but my label actually reads "& extra chunks of dark chocolate" at the end which I think is a much better descriptor. The chocolate note is definitely a more solid and dark bar instead of the creamy milk chocolate one thinks of with hot cocoa.

Marshmallow Eggnog on the left and Smoked Mexican Chocolate on the right

Smoked Mexican Chocolate

Slabs of darkest chocolate infused with vanilla bean pods, rum ripened raisins, cinnamon and nutmeg dust, finished with the faintest hint of hearth smoke. Fragrance blend.

Kristin: Definitely a dark chocolate scent. I didn't think that I'd like the smoky note but it works really well with the depth of the chocolate here. Unlike Marshmallow Eggnog, Smoked Mexican Chocolate is all spice from the beginning. It's the kind of Mexican Hot Chocolate that might be just a little too well spiced for my taste-buds but in soap form, it's excellently complex.

Snowdrift

A warming blend of hot milk, honey & oatmeal with a sugary lick of pure white marzipan. Like a cuddle from Grandma with an additional 'there there'. Fragrance blend.

Kristin: The marzipan is actually the dominant scent for me in this whipped soap. It's a soft but sweet vanilla in almost a smooth frosting way. There's not much else I can say about this one. It's a pretty simple one and I like it.

Included business card

Final Thoughts

As always, Future Prim made a great collection with a little something in there for probably everyone. I missed out on Yule Part 2, so you’ll have to tell me all about it! I can’t wait to see their Valentine’s collection!

Kristin adds: Er..well, I bought stuff from Yule Part 2. >.>

Company Overview! Sugar and Spite Bathery and Nonsense Emporium

Nothing to Disclose

Hello! I hope you're all enjoying your December so far. Today I'm going to talk about a company I ordered from almost a year ago and completely forgot to write up--Sugar and Spite Bathery and Nonsense Emporium, a bath, body, and perfume indie with a Victorian ghost story vibe, based in central California.

Packaging: 

The packaging is what drew me to order from Sugar and Spite in the first place--I needed some new soap and saw this glowing review showing the most beautifully wrapped package that swayed me into ordering. My package wasn't quite as gorgeous--you can see it in the photo at the top of this post, everything was nicely wrapped and designed with a bit of Gothic flair, but without quite as much of the "ooh!" factor. The soap I ordered came shrinkwrapped, with ingredients clearly labeled on the back, and the perfume samples came in squat little amber glass screwtop vials. It looks like they no longer sell perfume samples individually in tiny bottles like this.

Selection: 

Sugar and Spite sells a variety of bath and body products--hot process soaps, perfume oils, lotions, bath truffles, and sugar scrubs. Their scent listing is a trim 26 scents, plus a few more under the Gods and Monsters perfume section of their website, and, as of this writing, limited edition Yule scents such as their "Another Horrible Sweater" bath truffle.

Samples: 

Perfume samples are available in a pack of 5 for $12.50, in larger vials than the ones shown in my photos above. I ordered a bar of soap and one perfume sample, and received a second perfume sample for free with my order.

Quality: 

To be honest, I was a little disappointed with the quality of the products I got from Sugar and Spite. The soap did the job, and there wasn't anything wrong with it, but I just didn't particularly enjoy its scent and was quite happy when I finally ran out of it. I found the perfumes unexciting, but might yet review them... however, part of why it took me nearly a year to post my Company Overview about them was that I just couldn't get excited about the products, so the order quickly sank to to the back of my mind, until I found myself running out of new companies to review for this feature and remembered I hadn't talked about Sugar and Spite yet. These are my own preferences, and scent is intensely personal, so of course someone else might love these scents!

Cost:

I think Sugar and Spite is very affordable!

Perfume samples are $12.50 for 5 large vials, and it's only $11 for a full-sized 8 mL bottle of perfume oil.

Sugar scrubs are $11.50 for 8 oz., soap is $6 per 5.5 ounce slice, lotions are $12 for 8 oz.

Customer Service: 

I haven't had to contact Sugar and Spite, and nothing went wrong with my order, but I would be remiss if I didn't mention that the owner of this company has actually had a history of unreliability; her former venture, The Morbid the Merrier, imploded at some point, which you can see by browsing the posts on that blog, and so she started a new business as a kind of pyramid scheme to try and get cash to pay back the other people she owed due to their missing orders--according to her:

So here's what happened – when I closed, I was overwhelmed with so many orders, it pushed my TAT to 2 weeks – then 4 weeks – then 6 weeks. Although I tried to be straight with people and let them know about the delay, people panicked and filed claims with paypal, essentially cleaning out my bank account to the point I didn't even have money for supplies to fill the orders, or even postage to send them off. Word spread, and more people panicked. Soon there were a million claims, no money in my paypal, and I was locked out of paypal, giving me no access to any of the madness going on. I also lost access to my shopping cart because I didn't have the money to pay the bill. Everyone deserted me. People were being hateful, spreading rumors, calling me a thief, threatening me. I didn't know what to do and no one was listening to me so I panicked. I freaked. I had what I'm pretty sure was a nervous breakdown. Finally I pulled myself together and decided to start Lucybelle to try and earn some money to pay everyone back – all the while working a job at a sandwich shop. I didn't say it was me – not out of sneakiness but because I didn't want to complete insanity. I wanted to work my little job, earn a bit of money for supplies, and start to pay people back. But then the rumor mill started. Lucybelle was ruined. The threats started again. The name calling, the accusations. Again I was unable to make money to begin making things right. And curiously, MANY of the people saying these things HAD BEEN PAID BACK when they filed their claim with paypal and were saying they hadn't been.

Working with Monolids has more details about this posted as well in her review.

I didn't have any problems when I ordered back in February, but at that point she was running an Etsy shop, and I ordered through Etsy/Paypal for the consumer protection factor. The Etsy shop has been shut down, so now you can only order through her main storefront. The Facebook page does list a good average response time (typically replies within an hour). I feel comfortable ordering from them, based on my experience, but would only recommend doing so via Paypal in case there's a similar meltdown with this company.

TAT: 

The turnaround time on my order was reasonable, if not exceptional--I ordered on February 1, and received my order February 10.

Shipping: 

Shipping seems to start from $2.50 First Class domestic for a pack of perfume samples, and goes on up from there. International shipping is selectable (with a huge list of countries listed on the dropdown, with international shipping starting from $10). Domestic customers can upgrade to a flat rate medium Priority Mail box by adding a separate item to their cart and then using a coupon code to erase the existing shipping charge, a system that seems clunky and error-prone.

Personal Thoughts:

Since I didn't really care much for the products I ordered from Sugar and Spite the first time, and the packaging didn't really wow me, I haven't ordered anything else, but many of their scent combinations look just wonderful and often tempt me into wanting to try them again, particularly because their site is well designed and looks very appealing. For instance:

• Barnum, "Curiously sweet and dark. Tobacco leaf, a trio of rich musks, new mown hay, and a drizzle of creamy vanilla bourbon"
• Sister Witch, "a steamy cup of earl grey tea, wee lavender buds, and sweet milk"
• or the limited edition Paranormal Nativity, which is so resinous, it isn't even my type of scent, but it sounds rich and dark and fabulous: "Smoky oud, amber, benzoin resin, black patchouli, coconut, sandalwood, clove, copal"

Have you tried Sugar and Spite? What are your thoughts? Do you have any scent recommendations? Should I give them another shot?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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!

Random Product Review! Shiro CotM for November 2015!

Purchased

Hey everyone! I've got November's Color of the Month from Shiro Cosmetics for you today! I was pleased to see another face product won out this time. The shade is called Senpai Noticed Me. For background on the name you can check out the corresponding Know Your Meme page, or just assume it's the shade Japanese schoolsharks turn when they're embarrassed. Let's take a look:

From the website: B-but it’s not like I wanted him to notice! (´w｀*)

Soft mid-toned dewy pink blush with a hint of lavender shift! Full size only, comes in a 20-gram jar with sifter. Color suggestion by Lydia S.

Ingredients: mica, magnesium myristrate, titanium dioxide, iron oxide, tin oxide, red #40, red #33. Lip safe, not eye safe!

Personal Comments: This blush is downright adorable, and I'm not just talking about the incredibly silly label. I usually stay far away from baby pink... anything, really, but this blush is actually quite flattering on my ~NC15 skin tone. It's brightening and feminine without being doll-like, and it makes me look a bit like I just came in out of the cold. I will say I haven't noticed a lavender shift. I haven't properly wear-tested this until it faded, but I have worn this several times and didn't have any issues with it lasting through the day on my dry skin type.

Blush was swatched heavily (bottom) and blended out (top) over bare skin and photographed in daylight.

(Note: I'll update this post with a proper swatch collage as soon as I can!)

Purchase Link


Happy Friday everyone!

(Update: Thanks so much to my ridiculously talented Senpai co-blogger Valentine for pointing out I'd failed to reference the product name anywhere in the post!)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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! Shiro Marauders, Mugwumps, and Muggles Eyeshadows! (4 of 4)

Purchased

From the website: Despite her Muggle birth and upbringing, she’s the cleverest witch who ever was. Amazing, brilliant, and scary. When in doubt, go to the library!

A very plush, luxurious take on Gryffindor red, like the expensive burgundy leather chairs in an exceptionally fine reading nook. Lip-safe!

Ingredients: mica, carnauba wax, titanium dioxide, iron oxide, tin oxide.

Personal Comments: On my eyes, this reads as a beautiful warm chocolate brown with a soft sheen to it. The edges blended out really well while maintaining pigmentation and the fallout was pretty minimal.

Purchase Link
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From the website: “What matters is the part we choose to act on. That’s who we really are.”

Warm deep wine-purple base with a golden-bronzey-brown shift. Bears a bit of a family resemblance to Bellatrix but is altogether less cold. Not lip-safe.

Ingredients: mica, titanium dioxide, iron oxide, tin oxide, magnesium myristrate, ultramarines.

Personal Comments: To my eyes, this looks like a deep, slightly purple-toned brown with copper and light green shimmers. The shimmers disappeared when I blended it, so it functions like a satin finish. It dropped a bunch of fallout, both base color and shimmer, so make sure to do your eyes before your base when using this!

Purchase Link
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From the website: Anything is possible – and if you try to tell her otherwise, you’re liable to get hit with a nice bat bogey hex.

Intense, smoldering metallic copper-orange with slightly brighter coppery glitter. Lip-safe!

Ingredients: mica, titanium dioxide, iron oxide, tin oxide, magnesium myristrate, copper powder, silicion dioxide.

Personal Comments: What a beautiful color! Over primer, this appears as a burnt red shade with a moderate red-copper shift. Fallout was fairly low. It took a bit of extra work to blend this one out, but nothing dealbreaking. I really like this shade!

Purchase Link
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From the website: Brave, loyal, and ever self-sacrificing – even if he does have the emotional depth of a teaspoon. That’s our Won-Won!

Lightly metallic golden tan overlaid on a deep base of Gryffindor crimson. Lip-safe!

Ingredients: mica, carnauba wax, titanium dioxide, iron oxide, tin oxide.

Personal Comments: In the sample bag this appears to be a deep brown-leaning red, but once I put it on my eyes over primer it looks like a lightly metallic bronze! It catches the light nicely, especially considering how deep the color is. No issues with this shade, it performed and blended well.

Purchase Link
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From the website: Pure of heart, guarded by love, master of Death, way too overpowered at Quidditch tho seriously that’s gotta stop

Pure smooth charcoal with Gryffindor-worthy sheen: a heart of warm red and bright flecks of gold. Lip-safe!

Ingredients: mica, carnauba wax, titanium dioxide, iron oxide, tin oxide, copper powder, calcium aluminum borosilicate, magnesium myristrate, silicon dioxide.

Personal Comments: Kristin's beautiful swatches make this look pretty opaque but when I was testing this out on my eyes, I found it to be only moderately pigmented, but buildable. The base color reads as charcoal to me and it's got a very subtle but lovely red sheen to it, though the sheen is tough to spot on my eye, especially after blending. The shadow is a little flighty while blending in general, and it took me a couple rounds of applying and blending out to get some depth to my outer v.

Purchase Link

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I did an eye look with the five shades:

To create this look, I started with Urban Decay Primer Potion and a base shadow in my skin tone.I used A Bit of Light Reading on the lid, That's Chess in the inner corner, If You've Got Enough Nerve on the lower lashline, and Dark and Light Inside Us plus The Boy Who Lived to deepen the outer v and outer lower lashline. Mascara, tightline, brow pencil, and a nude liner in my waterline to finish.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
That's the last of the eyeshadows in this collection! Stay tuned for a final post showing the lip and face products.

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!

Perfume Review: Solstice Scents Snowshoe Pass!

Purchased

The snow is drifting down outside my window and my thoughts are quickly turning from fall to winter perfumes. There's a lot of overlap in the cozy warm spices category, but I think of minty vanilla scents as solidly in the "winter" category, so I thought I'd review one of my old winter perfume favorites, Solstice Scents Snowshoe Pass. Kristin talked about the soap form of this scent last year, but I thought I'd revisit it since it should be coming into the Solstice Scents seasonal rotation soon!

Price: It's not up yet, but based on other seasonal scent prices, I assume it will be $15 for a 10 mL blue glass rollerball of perfume oil.
Samples: Should be available as part of a sample pack soon; prices generally work out to $2.80 a sample.
(More details about price and shipping can be found in our Company Overview post about Solstice Scents.)
Description from the website: "White Amber, White Musk, Vanilla Accord, Peppermint Cream, Cold Winds. A Best Seller! (Perfume, Ganache, Whipped Soap, Burnishing Glace, Sugared Amber Whipped Cleansing Scrub)."

Snowshoe Pass is a soft vanilla mint scent with a distinct, comforting muskiness. It smells very sweet and rounded to me, and I really like the fact that it doesn't smell sharp or biting, which mint scents and white musk scents can both have a tendency to do. It also doesn't come across as cloying to me, despite its sweetness; the creamy vanilla notes are tempered by a sort of pine woodsy, faintly animalic whiff that keeps it from smelling fully edible. The mint isn't too strong--it adds just a touch of freshness without being too overt.

It smells pillowy and sweet and comforting, like untoasted marshmallows, or if you were somehow able to subtract the cacao from a cup of mint hot chocolate--not the dark, rich, thick gourmet kind, but the powdered artificial stuff that gets a pale froth on top when you add hot milk, and yet is supremely comforting in the same lowbrow way as Kraft Mac and Cheese or a PB&J on white bread.

I only own a few full-sized perfumes from Solstice Scents, and this was one of them that I went after a full size of the moment I smelled the sample. (The others being Manor and Cenobite, RIP!) If you enjoy vanilla musk scents, I would personally recommend doing the same once it becomes available on the Solstice Scents site. This scent makes me want to curl up under a blanket with a cup of tea and watch the snow accumulate outside my window.

For other opinions, check out the Solstice Scents forums, Eye Heart It, Evolution of a Foodie, or Brightest Star of All.

Note: this scent is vegan.

Swatch Post! Shiro Marauders, Mugwumps, and Muggles Eyeshadows! (3 of 4)

Purchased

Hey everyone! We're back with part 3 of the eyeshadows from Shiro's Marauders, Mugwumps, and Muggles collection inspired by Harry Potter! You can find part 1 here and part 2 here. Thanks again to Kristin for taking these beautiful swatch photos!

As a quick note, I've been testing all these shades prior to reading their official descriptions. It's a trick I picked up from the amazing indie perfume bloggers I follow, and it eliminates the confirmation bias you can get from seeing what you expect to see. Let me know if it adds to or detracts from your experience reading this review! With that out of the way, let's check out the colors...

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From the website: A most devoted servant of the Dark Lord, who delights in giving pain. I promised I wouldn’t say “she’s up to her old Bella tricks” in this description but I lied.

Ultra dark blue-purple base (not blackened, however), with a wicked strong green shift and the barest hint of ashy overlay. Not lip-safe.

Ingredients: mica, titanium dioxide, iron oxide, tin oxide, ultramarines, ferric ferrocyanide, methicone.

Personal Comments: Mad As Her Master is a really good performer. It blends out beautifully without traveling halfway across my face (impressive for such a dark shade!) and plays well with adjacent colors. I will say I didn't see the green shift when I applied this to my outer corner over primer, but it did show up when I did a test swatch over primer on my hand. You'll probably have best luck making the green shift show up if you pack it over a larger surface area or use a sticky base.

Purchase Link

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From the website: Raised in malice and superiority, coerced through threats and violence, but not after all beyond saving. That doesn’t mean he isn’t still a git, naturally.

Soft creamy cornsilk with a smooth satin finish. A fittingly posh color for those folks who choose the right sort of friends, Potter. Lip-safe!

Ingredients: mica, carnauba wax, titanium dioxide, iron oxide, tin oxide, bronze powder, silicon dioxide.

Personal Comments: Wow, this one is gorgeous. It's really glowy over just silicone primer. I think this is going to be a popular option for anyone looking for a brightening lid shade. It definitely reads as a very pastel yellow, not quite white, on my lids. The edges seem to blend out well. This could also double as a beautiful, intense highlighter for the rest of the face. I did experience some minor fallout when using this.

Purchase Link

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From the website: The greatest wizard who ever lived, and the only one you-know-who ever feared. Currently off seeking the next great adventure.

A tricky mix of blue and gold that generally appears as a bright cool silver, unless looked at too closely. Has a bright satiny sheen like fine robes: subtle, stately, but not *too* serious. Lip-safe!

Ingredients: mica, carnauba wax, titanium dioxide, iron oxide, tin oxide.

Personal Comments: This is a beautiful shade, and definitely one for metallic lovers because a couple layers of this over primer builds up to a beautiful reflective finish. It is softer and slightly warmer than the almost icy You're Just As Sane As I Am, with a metallic rather than sparkly finish, at least over primer. It did seem to drop some tiny gold sparks as I applied it.

Purchase Link

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From the website: Hagrid’s perfect life: A roaring fire, friendly visitors, a kind word from the Headmaster, and as many dangerous magical creatures as possible to dote upon. Do you ever imagine Hagrid hanging out with Alphonse Elric? Now you do.

A rich earthy brown fit for a half-giant, loaded with the pink sparkles of an illicit umbrella. Lip-safe!

Ingredients: mica, carnauba wax, titanium dioxide, iron oxide, tin oxide, calcium aluminum borosilicate, magnesium myristrate, silicon dioxide.

Personal Comments: This is a chocolate brown with really adorable pink sparkles. It seems to behave and blend well, though as with pretty much any sparkly eyeshadow, some of the sparkles found their way onto my cheeks during application and blending.

Purchase Link

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From the website: Distinctly dotty, with her head in the clouds, a natural flair for accessorizing, and the ability to see thestrals all too early.

The palest of pale golds, with a dreamy blue Ravenclaw shift and periwinkle sparkles. Just the thing to wear while hunting for a crumple-horned snorkack! Not lip safe.

Ingredients: mica, carnauba wax, titanium dioxide, iron oxide, tin oxide, bronze powder, calcium aluminum borosilicate, aluminum powder, silicon dioxide.

Personal Comments: This one looks almost taupe in the bag but applies as a light silver on my eyes. It's one of those super light powders that tends to throw sparkles a little past the point where I've applied it, so you may have a bit of cleanup to do when using it. I compared this with The Well Organized Mind because they seem pretty close, but it's definitely cooler and has an almost lavender cast to it. It's also more sparkly than TWOM.

Purchase Link
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I did an eye look while testing these shadows:

I started with Urban Decay Primer Potion and a base shadow in my skin tone (the latter only from crease to browbone). I patted Not Yet So Damaged across the lid, added You're Just As Sane As I Am to the inner corner, and added The Well Organized Mind along most of my lower lashline. I deepened the outer v and outer lower lashline with Mad As Her Master followed by a little of Too Big To Be Allowed. I finished the look with brow pencil, mascara, and a nude liner in my waterline.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We'll be back with one more post to round out the eyeshadows, and a final post to cover the lip and face products! Have a great week everyone!

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! Shiro Marauders, Mugwumps, and Muggles Eyeshadows! (2 of 4)

Purchased

Hey everyone! We're back for part 2 of the eyeshadows from Shiro's fabulous new Marauders, Mugwumps, and Muggles collection inspired by Harry Potter! We took a look at part 1 here, and you can find part 3 here (I'll link the rest when they're up). Thanks so much to Kristin for doing these beautiful swatches!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From the website: Paranoid, gruff, a bit rough around the edges, and frequently not quite himself, but weirdly charming despite it all. Don’t put your wand in your back pocket, you’ll lose a buttock!

Saturated metallic bronze, intense depth without a black base. Lip-safe!

Ingredients: mica, titanium dioxide, iron oxide, tin oxide, bronze powder, silicon dioxide.

Personal Comments: This shade is glorious molten metal, probably best described as halfway between gold and bronze in color. I cannot believe how incredible this color looks over just silicone primer. The performance is spot on too - it blends really well without losing pigmentation, has no fallout unless you start giddily piling it on your face (ask me how I know this), and blends well with other colors. I did a halo eye (shown below) with this and Have a Biscuit, Potter, and was really surprised at just how easy it was to blend the two completely different colors together. If you love metal shades, if you have eyes of pretty much any color, or if you can only afford one shadow, this color should definitely be on your short list of contenders.

Purchase Link
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From the website: Stern but fair, with lips perpetually pressed in a thin line and the queenly bearing of a too-still tabby cat. Minerva is not here to play games – unless it’s Quidditch, in which case she’s totally here to watch her team kick your buns.

Pure metallic emerald, gives an intense depth of color without being too dark in the base. Not lip-safe.

Ingredients: mica, titanium dioxide, iron oxide, ferric ferrocyanide.

Personal Comments: This shadow is nearly as impressive as Constant Vigilance; its only drawbacks are a touch more fallout and a touch more difficulty blending. It's a gorgeously vivid jewel toned green with a metallic finish. When I swatch this on my arm I can see a ton of lighter green sparkles, but on the eye over primer those serve to add dimension and a metallic finish rather than looking like actual individual green sparkles.

The closest shade I could think of to this in my collection is Carmen from DreamWorld's semi-loose line, though Carmen's green sheen is lighter in color and Constant Vigilance has a more blackened base. I think the next closest thing I have in my collection (in terms of deep, rich greens) is My Pretty Zombie Static, but that's still a couple shades lighter with less blue and more gold. Shiro Burdened With Glorious Purpose is of a similar depth to Have a Biscuit, Potter, but has much less green to it.

Purchase Link

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



From the website: Always.


Oily black, with a fine green sheen: for a Potions master and a Slytherin, and for Lily’s eyes. Lip-safe!

Ingredients: mica, titanium dioxide, iron oxide, tin oxide, magnesium myristrate, silicon dioxide.


Personal Comments: This is a beautiful, well-behaved black shadow with green sparkles. I picked up a tiny bit on my brush and found it to be quite pigmented. It blended out easily and pretty substantially, so this makes a really nice option for slowly deepening the outer corner but may not be the best pick for someone who wants intense black in one go. The sparkles didn't seem to stick around after I blended out the shadow, so glitter glue will probably be best if you want to feature them. You can find a number of deep charcoal or black shades with glitter in them on the Shiro website (such as Gift of Mercy or Detrivore's Namira) and you can find a deep shade with green sparkles (Here I Stand) but I can't think of any shadows I own which are black with green sparkles.

Purchase Link

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From the website: We’re not stupid! We know we’re called Gred and Forge. 😀

A riotous mess of purple and green sparkles sitting pretty in a shiny blood orange base. This is a glitterbomb and should be worn over sticky primer. Lip-safe!

Ingredients: mica, carnauba wax, titanium dioxide, iron oxide, tin oxide, calcium aluminum borosilicate, silicon dioxide.

Personal Comments: This is an incredibly fun and playful color! The base color is pretty close to Shiro's I Tried shadow (the latter is a touch more orange, I believe). In person these fabulous green sparkles come out and work really well with the base color. As I mentioned above I've been testing these shadows without reading site descriptions first, so I tried this over just primer and didn't have any issues with it aside from a bit of fallout. Over primer it's got a gorgeous soft shine to it. The green sparkles stick around to a degree but would likely be much more apparent over a sticky base. I didn't spot any purple sparkles when I was testing it out. No complaints about blending!

Purchase Link
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From the website: Despite any general shabbiness or moon related quirks/issues, the finest Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher for which one could hope! Not too poor to have chocolate to share. <3

A very moon-y color, with a medium grey-taupe base overlaid by a lighter creamy sheen. Not too shabby after all. Lip-safe!

Ingredients: mica, titanium dioxide, iron oxide, tin oxide, magnesium myristrate, methicone.

Personal Comments: This color looks so unassuming in the sample bag but it really took me by surprise. I've started testing these shadows without reading the site descriptions, so imagine my delight when what looked like a matte gray turned out to be a satin finish with a beautiful burnished taupey-gold sheen to it! The sheen came out moderately strong over just silicone primer - no sticky base needed. I give it high marks for blending: it softened nicely but stayed put, and the sheen stuck around. I didn't expect much from this one but now that I've tested it out I'm really excited to play around with it more. My only complaint about this color is it looked like it dropped a bunch of fallout, so make sure to do your eyes first when using it.

Purchase Link
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here's an eye look featuring the two stars of the show:

I started with UDPP and a base shadow in my skin tone. I laid down a foundation of A Free Elf and He Who Must Not Be Named in my crease, then did a halo eye with Have A Biscuit, Potter and Constant Vigilance! I also put NYX Milk on my waterline and patted the green and gold shadows on top of it in the same halo pattern. You guys, this is just over silicone primer. I am not amazing at eyeshadow and yet by some miracle the look turned out like this. I barely had to do anything to blend the green and gold together. I put in the tiniest bit of effort to blend the edges around my eye. These two shadows are magical.

And here's a much tamer look, if an intense metallic halo isn't your thing!

I started with UDPP and a base shadow in my skin tone, then patted Wizard Wheezes all over the lid and lower lashline. I deepened the crease and outer lower lashline with Too Old, Too Poor, Too Dangerous then again with After All This Time. I added You're Just As Sane As I Am to the inner corner (I'll review this one in an upcoming post!). I finished with tightline, mascara, brow pencil, and a nude pencil in my waterline.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ok, we're halfway done with the eyeshadows! Stay tuned for two more eyeshadow posts and a post on the face and lip products from this collection.

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!

Perfume Review! (Every Day is) Halloween from Sixteen92

Purchased

Is it still appropriate to wear long after Halloween?

Halloween has come and gone, but some people don’t like to let go. For the record, I don’t fall in that category – once Halloween is over I just want to rush past through the next six months and get back to spring and summer! But that doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate Sixteen92’s perfume (Every Dayis) Halloween from this year’s fall collection. So is it still appropriate after Halloween has passed?

Collection Spotlight! Shiro Marauders, Mugwumps, and Muggles Eyeshadows! (1 of 4)

Purchased

Hey everyone! The highly anticipated Marauders, Mugwumps, and Muggles collection from Shiro Cosmetics is here! Shiro has been teasing a collection based on the Harry Potter series for at least a year, and now we have 20 eyeshadows, 5 glosses, and 2 face products to bury our faces in. For my own sanity we're dividing the reviews into multiple posts, but if you're dying for more, I always post eye looks to my Instagram page as I'm testing through the products.

Thanks so much to Kristin for doing the swatches! She went above and beyond to get them done, taking them with her on vacation to California just to get some damn sun (I'm shaking my fist at the Seattle sky as I type).

You can find part 2 here and part 3 here; I'll link the rest when they're up.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From the website: This color is perfectly normal. There isn’t the least bit extraordinary or unusual about it. What are you looking at? Go away, there’s no post on Sunday.

A pleasant ballet pink dampened down with a very Dursleyish greige. Matte, of course, and proud of it. Lip-safe!

Ingredients: mica, carnauba wax, titanium dioxide, iron oxide, tin oxide, zinc oxide, magnesium myristrate, red #40.

Personal Comments: In the bag this appears to be a matte light dusty rose, a shade or so darker than but otherwise very close to Figment from Blackbird Cosmetics. On my eye it actually looks warmer than it does in the bag, as though a bit of red has been added. No issues with application or blending - this is a lovely, smooth matte.

Purchase Link
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From the website: Wotcher! Never, ever call her Nymphadora or she may make noses at you.

Inspired by some of the various shades of Tonks’ hair! Medium, slightly desaturated blurple base with shifting shades of bubblegum pink, blue, and violet. Not lip-safe.

Ingredients: mica, titanium dioxide, iron oxide, tin oxide, ultramarines, methicone.

Personal Comments: This shadow is a lightly purpled gray, and until I read the site description, I honestly thought it was a matte... so either I need a new silicone primer (a distinct possibility) or a sticky base will be best for bringing out the shifts! It's a little darker and a little more purple than Fiction from Blackbird Cosmetics. This one needed a little extra work to blend out - I applied it with a very tapered blending brush and could still see the line where I'd originally applied it after some blending with a fluffier brush. My suggestion would be to apply this one in lighter layers and blend as you go.

Purchase Link
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From the website: “There is no good and evil, there is only power… and those too weak to seek it.”

A yellow-tinged greenish greyish befittingly creepy-snakey color, with malevolent red shift. Lip-safe!

Ingredients: mica, titanium dioxide, iron oxide, tin oxide, magnesium myristrate, copper powder, silicon dioxide, methicone.

Personal Comments: This shade looks like a dirty gray in the bag but takes on more brown tones once it's on the eye. I tested this (over primer) before reading the site description, and I'm happy to say I definitely noticed a subtle sheen on the center of my eye, but it looked more gold than red until I got up close to the mirror. Close to my mirror under bright lights, it looks like a red-tinged copper sheen to my eye. It's subtle, but adds dimension and a really neat effect to the otherwise matte color. The base color seems fairly close to Blackbird Cosmetics Smudge. This color needed just a bit of extra work to blend out, but nothing too problematic.

Purchase Link
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From the website: “Such a beautiful place it is, to be with friends.”

The olive-toned mustard yellow of a nice pair of socks! Smooth opaque matte finish. Lip-safe!

Ingredients: mica, carnauba wax, iron oxide, magnesium myristrate.

Personal Comments: This is a matte orange-leaning mustard color, if that makes any sense. It's got really good pigmentation and doesn't lose too much when blending out. It looks a little softer on my eye than I expected from looking at the bag. I applied it over He Who Must Not Be Named and could still see a little of the latter's sheen through it after blending, so it's not 100% opaque but pretty close. No complaints about this one!

Purchase Link
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From the website: Maybe he isn’t the best at potions or spells or fighting, but his quiet unwavering courage was worthy of the Sword of Gryffindor all the same. And he grew up really well too, that Neville Pertbottom. 😀

Deep royal navy with a glimmering green shift (okay, it was inspired by Neville’s pajamas in the first movie…) Not lip safe.

Ingredients: mica, carnauba wax, titanium dioxide, tin oxide, ferric ferrocyanide, ultramarines, magnesium myristrate.

Personal Comments: This is a gorgeous deep blue. The base color is very similar to Detrivore Benthos, but a little more cool-toned. The site description mentions a green shift and I definitely spotted green sparkles in the sample bag, but I'm not seeing them translate to the eye over just silicone primer. I swatched it over a sticky base and the green sparkles are much more prominent that way! It behaves pretty well given how dark it is - blending isn't too hard and it doesn't spread to the far reaches of my face when I so much as think about blending it out.

Purchase Link
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I did a few eye looks with these shades while testing them out. For both looks I started with UDPP and a base shadow in my skin tone, and wrapped up with tightline and mascara.

For this look, I used There's No Such Thing As Magic across the lid and The Well-Organized Mind in the inner corner. I built up the outer v with Metamorphmagus, Mad As Her Master, and finally All Kinds of Courage. I mirrored all the shadows on my lower lashline. 

Since I blended a lot of the shades together in the previous look, I did another eye look using most of the same shadows in order to show them better:

I used He Who Must Not Be Named across my lid (you can see it immediately left of the dark blue in my inner corner), There's No Such Thing As Magic and Metamorphmagus through the crease, A Free Elf in the outer v, and All Kinds of Courage on the inner (packed on) and outer (blended out) corners.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ok, there's part one of our multi-post review and swatchfest for the Shiro Harry Potter shades! Stay tuned for the rest of the eyeshadows plus the face products and lip glosses in upcoming posts.

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!