Indie Spotlight: Dawn Eyes Cosmetics (Swatches)

I think I've had these pigments for over six months now and I never really got the chance to play with them until now. One night, the girls in the indie makeup group I am in decided to make orders with Dawn Eyes Cosmetics after seeing a blog post of swatches on one of the members Emily's blog. I'd heard of Dawn Eyes before, but I never bought from her simply because of the website. It's a little difficult to navigate, but the shadows are worth it!

All swatches are over Pixie Epoxy. I usually provide links to the colors, but the site doesn't have separate pages for them.

Copper Fog: "Why a copper in the purples? Well, it's really a purple, kind of…It has a strong coppery pinkish undertone and a smoky heart, it looks orange in the jar and is strongly sprinkled with blue sparks." (Clearance)

Fantasy Flowers: "A bright medium purple with a blue undertone over primer and drenched in pink, teal, and silver glitter." (Clearance)

Caramel Truffle: "A deep chocolate/golden brown, satiny and loaded with golden sparkle and the occasional flash of a pink gleam! It looks good enough to eat!" (The Sweets Collection)

Plum Pudding: "Rich brown base with a delicate burgundy satin overlay, naturally shimmery but no sparkle."

(The Autumn Tease Collection)

Paleflower: "A lovely tea rose with a shift to a golden coral, decorated with color shifting glitter that runs pink to gold and sprinkled with silver stars!" (The Sunrise Valley Collection)

Nearly Neutral: "Lovely pink/beige loaded with golden glitter." (Office Hours Collection)

Fleeting Flame: "Metallic pink copper with a shift to a rich golden copper, glitters with pink, gold, and copper sparkle in addition to a pink to gold color-shifting glitter! Dancing like a romantic fire on a chilly night!"

I loved all of these and I love Dawn Eyes! My favorites were Copper Fog, Plum Pudding, and Nearly Neutral. 

More swatches to come!

Indie Spotlight: Innocent + Twisted Alchemy (Swatches)

Awhile back, maybe at the end of last year or beginning of this year, I made a purchase from an indie brand called Innocent + Twisted Alchemy I had really never heard of until I joined an indie-loving makeup group on Facebook. The owner, Linda, is in the group and she is super sweet and super awesome! Anyway, I made my purchase awhile back when I was ordering a ton of eyeshadows and fell way behind on my swatching. I really loved her shadows, so I decided to make another purchase with her.

 I will be swatching the shades I got before eventually, but for now here's what I purchased. All swatches are over Fyrinnae's Pixie Epoxy.

Contaminated Wastelands (LE): "silvery-brown with a slight green sheen and shimmers" - from the

Draugr (LE): "dirty white with a dirty green undertone" 

Caviar & Foie Gras: "silver-y brown with blue sparkles" 

Little Crush (not listed on site)

with flash:

Lost in Dispair: "cool toned brown with red and turquoise sparkles"

Fragile Dream: "purple with a turquoise duochrome and light blue sparkles"

Acqua Mirror (not listed on site)

No Fairytale (not listed on site)

Aren't they beautiful?! I can't even pick a favorite! I am on a neutrals kick right now, but wow, I love Acqua Mirror! I don't own anything like this and I can't wait to figure out how to wear this and still have my makeup be work-safe. :)

 When I first ordered from i+ta, I only ordered samples. I was so impressed that this time I decided to order some full sizes (which I rarely do for any company) and I was definitely not disappointed! I can't wait to make another purchase with her! <3

What do you think? Have you tried i+ta? 

Indie Spotlight: Chequered Lily Apothecary (Swatches)

I came to work today and my boss says, "Oh yeah, you got mail yesterday." Yesterday. Awesome. When I saw the lime green envelope, I knew it had to be Chequered Lily Apothecary, a Canadian-based company with whom I've had the pleasure to buy from earlier this year. I'm still unbelievably behind on swatches, so I'll go ahead and swatch what I got today and work my way back.

I purchased the 7-sample pack for $4 plus $1 shipping. Pretty awesome! I love a deal! Kimberly, the owner, included a free sample of Invocation so really I got 8 samples for $5. Not bad at all. :)

Anyway, here's what I received. All shadows are over Pixie Epoxy:

Seafoam: "Soft Cool Sea-Green with Pale Golden Shimmer"

A Dustland Fairytale: "Pale Dusty Rose with Gold and Copper Highlights"

Invocation: "Creamy Ivory with Copper Shimmer and Purple Reflect"

Vanilla Lace: "Creamy Shimmering Ivory with bronze glitter"

Swatches with flash

Fireflies: "Inky Purple/Gold Duochrome with Green/Gold Color-shift"

Hearts in Ice: "Royal blue with subtle violet undertone and intense red iridescence"

Grimoire: "Smoky Plum with Pink Undertone and Copper Shimmer"

Stormbreak: "dark grey with red and pink highlights and silver reflect"

Swatches with flash

I love them all! I am kind of collecting samples right now so I know which ones I want to get full sizes of. My favorites of this bunch are Seafoam, Invocation, Hearts in Ice *dies*, and Stormbreak. I have no other color like Hearts in Ice, and I think it's really beautiful. The red shimmer in it is much more visible in person than my camera wanted to pick up.

Have you ordered from CLA? Thoughts?

Indie Spotlight: Femme Fatale Cosmetics - Part 1 (Swatches)

Sometime last February I placed an order with Femme Fatale Cosmetics, a company with shadows I had been lusting over for quite some time. Femme Fatale is an Australian-based mineral eyeshadow company that also sells face powders and some of the most beautiful handmade nail polish I've ever seen. Unfortunately, the polish isn't able to be shipped to the US since it is a flammable substance that cannot be shipped via aircraft (even within the US). No worries, I still got me some pretty awesome shadows.

Since international shipping is rather steep these days, Femme Fatale offers a deal for their international customers: sample baggies for $1.10 each and free shipping on those baggies! Pretty sweet. I actually snagged these babies during their Easter sale (goes to show you how much of a procrastinator I am, yes?). I ordered 23 samples and only paid $21.31! Yes!

Anyway, here are a few of the shadows I received. All are swatched over Fyrinnae's Pixie Epoxy:

Candied Apple: "pale redwood pink with a green duochrome, and blends out to have an almost brown undertone to it"

Jinx: "pigmented mid purple with blue undertones and a warm tone (copper/red) duochrome finish"

Nightlash: "rich mid-range purple with cool undertones and brassy copper shimmer"

Swamplord: "rich mossy green with strong yellow tones and bold yellow/green shimmer"

Swatches with flash:

Archangel: " translucent yellow-toned ivory complimented by a soft violet duochrome shine. Archangel is very versatile and is great applied alone on the lid, as a highlight or over a dark base to make the violet shine pop!"

Genesis: "soft sea foam turquoise with light golden shimmer. Genesis is a great soft shade with just that little extra kick from the duochrome shimmer, and makes an amazing pastel-looking liner when foiled."

Crystalline Scale: "delicate pale thistle purple with pink tones and a soft blue duochrome finish, suitable for every-day wear or highlighting."

Azuremist [discontinued]: "pale light blue with very subtle pink shimmer"

Swatches with flash:

Oh my goodness, aren't these gorgeous?! I honestly could not pick a favorite out of all of these. They apply like a dream and are so pigmented. My camera wasn't able to pick up the duochrome in some of the pictures (like in Archangel), but it's there! I recommend Femme Fatale 100%. I can't wait until I get paid so I can make a big order of some full-sizes! :)

Have you tried Femme Fatale's eyeshadows? How did you like them?

Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics (OCC) Lip Tar: January Rising (swatches + photos)

A few months ago, I saw a post on Facebook about a fundraiser that is still going on to benefit January Hunt for her gender reassignment surgery. One of the perks for donating $25 was an exclusive OCC Lip Tar, called January Rising. I'd never tried the Lip Tars before but heard much praise about them, and this was for what I believed was a good cause, so I decided to make a donation.

Here's what I got:

And here's what it looks like on my lips in natural light. I used only ONE small drop to get it this opaque.

I love this color and I love this product! I am so glad I made this purchase! Once I move, I will definitely be purchasing more OCC Lip Tars (any suggestions?? lol).

Etsy Spotlight: Smash Cosmetics Eyeshadows Part Two (Swatches + Photos)

I didn't think I was going to be able to get this post together by tonight, as I've been working like a mad person all day, I am finally done so I bring to you the second installment of my Smash Cosmetics review and swatches.

Here are the goodies:

And here are the swatches:

Strange, Cyprus, Storm, Savannah, Mint

Again, I didn't apply any primer before I applied these and they still went on like a dream. "Strange" is a unique color--it is a deep burnt orange and it has lots of blue sparkle to it. My camera didn't capture the sparkle very well, but you can see it a little bit. I had been looking for a matte mint green shadow, so I was very happy to get "Mint," although I think it may be a little too pale for me.

I loved these shadows! The owner is currently on vacation, but I can't wait to order again once the shop is back up!

Follow Smash on Facebook.

Etsy Spotlight: Smash Cosmetics eyeshadows Part One (Photos + Swatches)

I know I haven't been as productive with this blog as I would like to be, but my goal is to get the rest of the reviews out of the orders I made a few weeks ago in the following week. *crosses fingers*

So, tonight I bring you a relatively new indie company called Smash Cosmetics on Etsy. Ashleigh, the owner has one of the biggest selections of loose eyeshadows that I had ever seen. I knew I had to order! I purchased a blogger review pack, which was on sale at the time for 25% off. For 10 samples in clamshells, I paid $3.75 + $2.00 shipping. Best deal ever!

Anyway, I am going to split this review up into two parts, so here are the first five shadows:

And now the swatches!

Death Star, Asteria, Hurricane, Espresso, xxx

I really liked these colors. They are very pigmented! These swatches were over bare skin! I do wish the label on Asteria wasn't hand-written, but we are all human and I know she is a relatively new company. Also, I didn't understand the name for the shade "Espresso," since it's gold and not brown. Maybe I'm missing something? I am satisfied nonetheless. :)

 When I bought these shadows awhile back, she had all shadows and maybe six lip glosses. Now she has a whole array of shadows, lip glosses, primers, etc. It will be fun watching this company evolve.

Etsy Spotlight: The Chequered Lily Apothecary (Photos + Swatches)

So I went a little crazy on Etsy a few nights ago. I made a total of four orders in one night--something I've never done before. Things had been a little on the down side when it came to finances, but now that things are finally rounding out, I can get back to doing what I love most--shopping for new indie makeup brands!

As with the last company I checked out, Glamour Doll Eyes, this company came after I saw a raving blog post awhile back from A Bit Prissy. I also belong to a indie makeup group on Facebook, and saw a few positive reviews on there. So here I was, ordering samples from a brand I'd never heard of before, The Chequered Lily.

I bought a listing for 7 samples of shadows plus one of the owner's choosing. Here's what I received:

Lime green envelope! <3

I LOVE the personalized note. Extra points when companies do this!

For storage purposes, I much prefer my shadows to be kept in jars rather than baggies. Since I have a ton of jars from having my business, I just put these in them. 

Oxalis

And here are the swatches:

Oakmoss, Oxalis, Haute Cocoa, The Penny Arcade

December, Czarina, Bayou, The Labyrinth

First off, let me say that I absolutely love this company! I purchased these four days ago on the 7th of January and they arrived today. Awesome, that's what it is. This was the second to last order I made and it came the first. Go figure. On her Etsy page, Kimberly (the owner) states that TAT is 5-7 business days. How's that for arriving at my doorstep in four days? :)

I love the presentation of these too. The labels are clear and concise, letting me know what's in each shadow. They state which are and aren't lip safe and whether or not the shade may stain. I have such a hard time choosing my favorites with this lot. 

Best of all (and most importantly) is the shadows. Absolutely stunning. When I received these and upon peeking into the bags, I thought I would be disappointed with The Penny Arcade, but boy was I wrong! The black is so pigmented and there is just enough copper sparkle...Beautiful. I love them all, but I would have to say that Oakmoss, December and The Labyrinth are my favorites. I will most likely buy full sizes of each of these.

I can't wait to purchase from this company again. When I do, I'll also purchase some more samples because I am really dying to see what other beautiful colors they have to offer.

I leave you with a simple look I did with a few of these shadows.

Bayou (on lid), The Labryinth (in crease), The Penny Arcade (outer V) and Czarina (lower lash line)