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)

January 2012 Julep Maven -- It Girl (Photos)

For the first time in awhile, I actually was able to pick my Julep Maven monthly box. I get the email every month, but I have been forgetting to respond in time. To be honest, I rarely like the polishes I get in my "style" - Classic with a Twist. I just haven't bothered to change it to anything else.

Anyway, the theme this month was neons. Yay! Right up my alley! I chose the "It Girl" style because I didn't really want the product of the month, which was a hand and cuticle stick.

Here's what was in my box:

(color descriptions from Julep.com)

Nikki: electric highlighter neon yellow creme

Nina: electric orangesicle neon creme

Amelia: light champagne frost

Super excited about the neons! I can't wait to wear these this summer!

If you're interested in becoming a Julep Maven, it's only $19.99 per month including free shipping. I know it seems like a lot for just three polishes, but these polishes are really awesome. I think I have about forty of them so far! haha. I love them.

Here is my referral link ---> Become a Maven!

Indie Spotlight: Glamour Doll Eyes (Review + Swatches)

Ever since a Amber over at A Bit Prissy told me about an indie cosmetics company called Glamour Doll Eyes, I decided I must give them a try. It had been so long since I made an indie purchase, so why not go with a bigger name indie company? GDE is owned by a woman named Vanessa Barney and is a "one woman team." I had actually ordered because I saw Amber made a post announcing GDE had their holiday gift deal on sale 50% off. So instead of $24 for four full-size shadows, I paid $12 for four. I also added on a sample size of another shade to my order.

Anyway, here are the goodies.

"Corrode" from the "Pick Your Poison" collection.

Undercover, Love Affair, Tabloid and Cajun.

Corrode: "a deep taupe base with a green duochrome"

Undercover: "a taupish brown"

Love Affair: "a pinkish goldish color"

Tabloid: "a maroon with pink sparkles"

Cajun: "a medium to bright pink with orange and gold sparkle and sheen"

And here are the swatches!

from left, Corrode, Tabloid, Cajun, Love Affair, Undercover; top half of swatches are bare skin and the bottom half is over Fyrinnae's Pixie Epoxy.

I love them all! Love Affair is sheer but a beautiful inner corner color, in my opinion. I only order Cajun for the name (born and raised in Louisiana, baby!). As for Corrode and Undercover...wow. I am really into neutrals right now, so these were right up my alley. I don't have anything like Tabloid, either. Score for unique colors!

What stood out to me the most with this company though was the presentation and professionalism. Every little tidbit really wowed me, especially from an indie cosmetics company point of view. Beautifully, beautifully done.

I did a look using all of the shadows except Undercover. I will admit that I am not too experienced in creating looks and I am no makeup artist, so bear with me. I did have a little fun doing though. I hope to include a look or two with each review, so you can see how the colors actually look on the lid. Excuse the eyebrows, please! :)

Cajun on lid, Tabloid on outer corner, Love Affair in inner corner, and Corrode on bottom lash line. 

I cannot wait to order from Glamour Doll Eyes again!

Sole Society (Review + Photos)

I know this isn't at all makeup-related, but I figured I would follow up on my order and experience with Sole Society. For those of you unfamiliar with Sole Society, this isn't one of those show subscription websites (like Shoe Dazzle or Shoe Mint), but rather a simple online shop for fabulous shoes. What makes Sole Society different from other shoe and accessory websites is their referral program and free shipping. You don't get a referral link, though; you have to actually email your friends to tell them about the program. Kinda sucks, but the shoes are gorgeous nonetheless.

In my holiday Influenster box, I received a $25 off coupon off my first pair of shoes. After much poring over the website, I decided on a beautiful black and silver pair of heels named "Miley." They were regular $49.95, but on sale for $33.47. After my coupon, Miley was $8.47 shipped! Awesome deal, right?

Here is the stock photo of Miley from Sole Society's website:

Here's what I received (delivered via UPS):

I am in love with them! I usually wear a size 8 in shoes, but since I have wide feet and wasn't sure how these would fit, I ordered an 8.5. They are just the tiniest bit snug, but comfortable enough to wear. 

I do have one with Sole Society, though. One is their no returns on sale merchandise items policy. I know I'm not the only person who can fit into one size of one shoe and another size of another. Without the coupon code, I would have paid $33.47. If they didn't fit, I would have been a bit upset after wasting over $30. Even for some full-priced shoes, sales are final. After all, this is an online shoe store. My advice is to read the shoe description carefully to see which shoes you can and can't return or exchange.

All in all, my experience was quite pleasurable. I have another $25 off coupon they sent to my email, so I'll be using that soon.

To save $25 off your first pair of shoes from Sole Society, use code INFLUENSTER25 at checkout! Offer ends 1/31/13.

Have you ever ordered from Sole Society? How was your experience?