Notoriously Morbid 'Save Me' Collection - Swatches and Review

Happy Holidays everyone! I've just gotten back from a short holiday and am finally getting a chance to post some swatches - I've been missing my blog! I've got a lot to catch up on - I've had the following collection for a while and am loving it. It is based on the Adult Fiction book, Save Me. I bought the book from Amazon and it was a great read! I recommend giving it a try if you have some free time this holidays :)

  

One November: "A dark brown with green, orange, and gold sparkles."

Captivated: "A metallic olive green with copper sparkles"

Jack: "A chocolate metallic bronze"

Carly: "A light burgundy/pomegranate with copper sparkles"

These are all shown over pixie epoxy, but as usual with Notoriously Morbid shadows they still have a great level of pigmentation even without primer. I always love swatching this brand because application is just so effortless - whatever Carrie is doing I hope she keeps it up, I love the fact that I can just order everything and have complete confidence that I will love each and every one! I've already used these a lot, I especially love Captivated and One November. 

This collection is permanent and is available in sample size ($1.25), mini jar ($2.75), full size ($5.50) and in a set of all four full size jars ($15.00).

In other news, I also just received the entire Notoriously Morbid Christmas Collection (thanks to an amazing Black Friday sale) and I am just in love. As soon as I spot some sun I'll have some beautifully colored stripes on my arm ready to be photographed! Its my favourite full collection of any indie brand yet, and I've tried a lot!

Thanks for viewing my post, hope you enjoy your holidays xx

White Rabbit Cosmetics - Swatches & Review

Hi guys! I know its been AGES since my last post - this time of the year is a bit crazy for me with the end of school / preschool etc (for us in NZ Christmas is our summer vacation), not to mention getting sick for nearly a week in the middle of it all! While I was sick though, I received a surprise package in the mail from the lovely Brooke of White Rabbit Cosmetics! It made my day so much better and I can't thank her enough - it was a complete surprise and super generous!

White Rabbit is a relatively new indie company that runs out of Glasgow, Scotland.  I've been eyeing up her Doctor Who gift set for a while so this was a great chance to try her makeup :) She sent me 4 full size eyeshadows which arrived sealed with a shrink band, as well as sifter seals. I love the labels, they're gorgeous!

All swatches are shown over pixie epoxy, and in natural light.

So Long (thanks for all the fish): 'a beautiful sea green with a shimmer!'

This is my fave of the bunch - its just such a pretty shade of green. This one is vegan too!

Earl Grey: Earl Grey is a deep brown with a rich glow and glitter highlights!

I like this one a lot more than I thought I would at first glance, brown isn't normally my thing but I'm really enjoying the sparkles here, it adds a lot of depth to the shade.

Exacitically: 'a cornflower color loaded with glitter!'
You can't see it in this pic as much as I would like but this is definitely loaded with glitter! Cute little tiny rainbow glitters! I recommend a sticky base for this one due to all the sparkles. Not vegan.

Love Potion: a creamy neutral absolutely loaded with gold glitter!
This looks a little more gold here than it is in person - this is my second fave of the bunch! And its vegan too!

I'm glad I'm finally getting a chance to share these with you because I'm really happy with them. If Brooke is making shadows like this already I'm going to be interested to watch what she produces in the future. I adore that green - its found its way onto my eyelids a few times in the last week :)

White Rabbit Cosmetics are available on Etsy, and are offered seperately or in various gift set options. The Alice in Wonderland themed boxes are super cute. I didn't order these so can't comment on customer service, but the fact that she sent these over as a surprise and expecting nothing in return says a lot! I definitely won't hesitate to order in the future, I've got my eye on some other shades already.

You can also follow White Rabbit Cosmetics on Facebook.

Thanks for reading my post, I have a lot to catch up on so I'll try and get a few more out in the next couple of days :) xx

Fyrinnae 'Winter 2013' - Swatches!

Woohoo! New Fyrinnae shades! I'm sure you all know who Fyrinnae is and what they do and the massive amount of respect all of us indie fans have for them so I won't hold you up with text :P Check out the swatches! (All applied over Pixie Epoxy).

Peppermint Vodka:

Lush, rich, shimmering burgundy enhanced with copper sparkle.

Because Cats:

A wine-grape violet layered on a dark base, sprinkled with a rainbow of sparkle.

Boot Season:

Multi-faceted green, somewhere between sage and pine on a soft dark base, and graced with hues of brown and rust.

Snowboarding:

Vibrant purple which sometimes appears cool with a blue hue, sometimes it's more warm. Other times it just sits in the middle, undecided. No sparkle, but a fine shimmer finish.

Sled Puppies:

Gleaming, shimmery transparent white gold graced with a touch of light blue sparkle.

Fireside Interlude:

Molten bright copper? Metallic gold on red? You decide. It is a firey, warm blend of hues with a metallic finish, and will appear differently depending on how it's applied, much like Mephisto.

(Left to Right: Peppermint Vodka, Because Cats, Boot Season, Snowboarding, Sled Puppies)

I just received these today (3 days to get from US to NZ!) and I am so excited to have a proper play with them. I've been eagerly awaiting this collection and I ordered it without even thinking about it. I had to leave 'Frostbytes' and 'Fireside Interflude' behind to keep shipping costs down, but I was fortunate enough to receive Fireside Interlude as a freebie anyway :) There is also a new blush and lip lustre which are on the list for next time! Also worth noting, I ordered mini jars and they were nearly full - it seemed like I received even more than I'm used to from Fyrinnae.

Fyrinnae Cosmetics can be ordered through their website, and you can follow them on Twitter.

Thanks for reading my post, have a great day xx

Dreamworld Hermetica - Swatches & Review

I ordered from the lovely Ellie at Dreamworld Hermetica recently (after becoming addicted to her foundation) and included in my parcel were 4 new eyeshadows to try. She told me that they were a new formula that she was testing. Needless to say I was thrilled at the chance to give them a go :)

I love the way the jars were labelled, the ingredients are clearly listed.

The difference with these shadows from the regular ones is that they contain oil in the base, which gives the pebble-like or clumpy look to the shadow in the jar. Oslo Cosmetics is another company that uses a base like this. I decided I wanted to see how these would go without primer so these are all swatched over bare skin.

 

I. love. these. They performed incredibly without any kind of primer, and the shades are beautiful. The sheen in 'Mistletoe' is particularly striking - too much for my camera! I do love her usual formula also but these are something a bit different, which I enjoy. I found that they were easy to apply smoothly and evenly, and had no difficulty getting product onto my brush. If Dreamworld continue to release eyeshadows with this formula I'll definitely be picking a few up!  These shades are from an upcoming collection.

Follow Dreamworld on Facebook or check out her website here :) The customer service is fantastic, Ellie seems committed to providing a high quality product and has always happy to help with any questions I've had. I'm currently trying out her lip twists also so hopefully will get a review up soon - I'm loving the vibrancy!

Thanks for viewing my post xx

Notoriously Morbid - 'Sealed Judgement' Black Friday Collection - Swatches & Review

I was lucky enough to get a sneak preview in my recent parcel of the 'Sealed Judgement' Black Friday collection from Notoriously Morbid - and I am so excited to share them with you. I had high hopes for these, as the last matte set from Notoriously Morbid (the Lady Lovely Locks Collection) has become one of my favorite sets. 

From the Notoriously Morbid site:

"Black Friday Exclusive Set: A completely matte set with (4) 5g Jars and one sealed letter. Each letter represents one of the horses of the apocalypse and inside has a unique code that gives you a year long discount with unlimited uses until Black Friday 2014. This discount will range from 25% to 40% depending on which "horse" you receive. The higher percentage codes will be unique and can not be shared."

Sooo.. want some swatches? :) These are all shown over UDPP and photographed in natural light.

Conquest: 'An ivory matte'

I was excited to see that this was ivory rather than white, because I don't own another matte shade like this one, and I can think of lots of ways to use it :)

Pale Rider: 'a gray violet matte'

If you read my blog often, you know I love my purples, and this is no exception - I love the dusty look to it, makes it nice and versatile.

War: 'a brick red matte'

In my opinion, the star of the collection. I definitely don't own another matte in anything similar to this, and its gorgeous. Look how pigmented it is!!!

Famine: 'A deep black matte'

Ahh a nice solid, non-chalky black. Always handy to have one of these in the collection! This is a lot smoother than the previous matte black I was using, so I'll be switching :)

This set did not disappoint! I love it just as much as the Lady Lovely Locks set and I know I'm going to get a lot of use out of them. The formula is perfect, they are the smoothest mattes I've tried and blend amazingly well. The pigmentation is fantastic. As usual Notoriously Morbid has exceeded my expectations, I can never praise this company enough. Its obvious a lot of time was spent perfecting this formula, its beautiful.

'Sealed Judgement' is only available until the end of Monday (December 2nd), so if you like these head on over to the storenvy or etsy now and snap them up! You can follow Notoriously Morbid on Facebook to keep up to date with the flash sales running over this weekend (with discounts up to 60%!). This set is excluded from the discount, but there is a magical new christmas collection (A Dark Christmas Dream) to check out, and it is eligible for discount. And yup, its actually magical - check out the color changing shades!!!

Use coupon code BLKF40 for 40% off your order until December 3rd @ 12am.

Thanks for viewing my post, enjoy your weekend of shopping! xx

Innocent + Twisted Alchemy - Subscription November '13

Hey guys! Today I have my first subscription parcel from Innocent + Twisted Alchemy to share with you. I was so excited when Linda launched her subscription service, I've known it was coming for a while and I'm so happy its finally here :) The subscription is available in two options:

Samples: 

- 3 deluxe sized samples that are exclusive ONLY to the subscriptions.
- 20% off coupon code
- BONUS! Surprise items

Full Sizes:

- 3 full sized products that are exclusive ONLY to the subscriptions. 

- 25% off coupon code

- BONUS! Surprise items

I've gone with the sample option for now, but I'm hoping to upgrade to the full size after Christmas :) Here is what I received in the first package:

Look at her gorgeous drawings!! That is amazing presentation. She has included a sheet that lists all the ingredients of the shadows, a note about this months box, and websites for all of the other companies she has provided samples of. Those clamshells... so cute... look at the little faces... *dies*

The Innocent + Twisted Alchemy Shades:

Chastity Hymn: "a warm taupe that has green and gold shimmer and blue sparkles"

Broken Silence: "Smoky Purple that has a golden sheen and purple and green sparkles"

Purity Harvest: "Neutral orange that has a golden sheen and green and blue shimmers"

Look at them! I don't even think I can pick a fave! I do have a soft spot for Purity Harvest though, I wore it today and its so pretttty - I love getting surprise shades, because I get things I wouldn't normally pick for myself and they end up as favorites :) Linda has stated that she made a bit extra of these three shades, and will be releasing the remainder to her shop, so if you get in quickly you might be able to snap some up! I almost feel sad that they're not permanent shades... but I do feel special to have them so I'll get over it :P

The Bonus:

The bonus items I received were sanple bags from 5 other indie makeup companies. I just want to say... I think its so awesome in so many ways that Linda did this for us. First of all, the fact that she is using her own subscription service to promote other indie companies just shows how much she cares about the indie community in general. Also, I'm loving the chance to try a bunch of different companies in surprise shades! This must have a lot of time to organise, and I really appreciate it. 

My Pretty Zombie:
My Pretty Zombie is already one of my fave indie brands, my top shade of course being Violet Bites which was named after my daughter (read the story here). I received a sample of blush in the shade 'MDMA' - I hear about this blush all the time, its got a bit of a following in the indie world :)
MDMA: "rosy pink with a gold afterglow"

Notoriously Morbid:
Ok, if you read my blog regularly then you know I'm already a huge fan of this company. Again, I have had a sample of this shade before and swatched it already so I'm going to re-use that swatch here. Notoriously Morbid is a fantastic company with a superb formula, great color range, fast TAT, and all around excellent customer service. I am just about at the point of owning every color they produce, I love them that much.
Belle's Bounty: "A dark metallic gold with gold sparkles."

Kiss My Sass:

Another brand I really like - Linda has good taste! I also currently subscribe to Kiss My Sass's monthly subscription also, and I find that her products to be consistently of a high quality and she comes up with some gorgeous shades!

Aurora: " lilac with an intense turquoise shimmer that shifts to blue & violet in different lighting"

Oslo Cosmetics:
I was excited when I saw this - it is a brand I've been wanting to try for a while, and since I haven't reviewed them before I took a few extra pics.
Orphicus: "Dark, shimmery deep forest green."

The description is spot on and the color is rich and pigmented. The only issue I had is with application. Oslo shadows are semi-loose - their base contains oil, which is why they have a different kind of texture and tend to clump into little balls or flakes. I found that I really had to press my brush into the flakes to pick up product, and then kind of squish them onto my skin to break them up and apply them evenly. The only other semi loose shadows I have are Fyrinnae, which I find are slightly softer and easier to pick up and distribute on the skin. However, this review is only based on this shade - I haven't tried any others so this is just my initial impressions. I'm still interested in giving a few more a go, especially given the end result.

Black Rose Minerals:
My previous two posts were on this company so you've probably figured out I'm quite a fan, I love the formula and they have an enormous range of colors. I was excited to see this particular shade, as its been on my wishlist for a while!
Fearless: " rich lavender that shimmers away with aqua sparkles"

Phew! If you've made it this far, here is your reward: Linda has told me that she'll be running a Tragic Tuesday sale this year (she doesn't do Black Friday sales because she works a lot over that weekend). The sale will be 40% off for one day beginning Dec 3rd @ 1am and ending Dec 4th @ 1am PST. I have begun compiling my list... lol, I'm grateful for a bit of notice so I can save!

I am so excited about this subscription! I can't wait to see what next month brings :) If you would like to subscribe, click here. Innocent + Twisted Alchemy store can be found here, and you can follow on Facebook for news and specials here.

Thanks for reading! :) xx