The Chequered Lily Apothecary - Swatches & Review

The Chequered Lily Apothecary is an indie makeup company on Etsy, run by the lovely Kimberly. I purchased a review pack a couple of months ago to try out some of the shades. I've been wanting to post them for a while, but the shop has been on holiday so I thought I would wait - I hate it when I see something on a blog that I *need* right away, and then find it is unavailable at that time! :)

I received 8 baggie samples - Hearts in Ice managed to leak a bit (somehow! I couldn't figure out quite how it escaped :P). All of the bags were labelled with the shade name, the ingredients and whether they are lip/eye safe/vegan.

Hearts in Ice: 'Royal blue with subtle violet undertone and intense red iridescence.'
This shade is seriously pigmented and the red sheen is a great contrast with the base. One of my faves from this bunch!

Grimoire: 'Smoky Plum with Pink Undertone and Copper Shimmer'
Very aptly named in my opinion - the color really makes me think of the covers of old books and massive amounts of sparkles make it feel magical :D

Fireflies: 'Inky Purple/Gold Duochrome with Green/Gold Color-shift.'
Definitely my fave of the bunch, the purple/green combo always gets me! This one, and most of the other shades in the bunch are SUPER sparkly, I definitely recommend the use of a sticky base, such as Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy or Darling Girl Glitter Glue with these to keep those sparkles in place (unless you're going for the whole Twilight vampire in the sun look :D). The green against the dark purple base here is striking.

Labyrinth: 'Muddy Deep Violet-Brown with Blue and Aqua Sparkle.'
I can't resist a shade named after my favourite childhood movie! There is a shade names Jareth too for those David Bowie fans. Another intensley sparkly shade.

(Left to Right: Hearts in Ice, Grimoire, Fireflies, Labyrinth)

Stranger Tides: (not currently listed so I couldn't borrow the description)

A gorgeous emerald green with a dark grey base, I can imagine this shade being very popular.

Under the Stars: 'Soft & Sheer Dirty Denim-Blue with Strong Gold Shimmer.'

Such a pretty shade of blue and I love how the gold in here twinkles away like little stars!

Princess Aurora: 'a metallic medium violet-pink with turquoise sparkles.'

A very pretty blue-toned pink with subtle turquoise sparkles - easy application on this one.

Moonless Night: 'Deep Inky Blue-Black with Orange Glitter'

I have to confess, I couldn't see the orange glitter in here at all - but I actually like it better that way than if it did have visible orange. Its very night-sky-esque and mysterious!

(Left to Right: Stranger Tides, Under the Stars, Princess Aurora, Moonless Night)

I can happily recommend The Chequered Lily Apothecary especially if you like your eyeshadows sparkly (just don't forget that sticky base)! Shipping was fast, the owner is lovely and all of the shades are fantastic, with Fireflies being the standout for me. I also particularly like Moonless Night and Hearts in Ice. Samples are reasonably priced at $4.00 for 7 or $5.50 for 10 (USD), and shipping is available worldwide. (International ladies: shipping costs are particularly inexpensive on the 7 pack!). I estimate the samples to be about 1/6 teaspoon each, so a good amount for the price. 

Check out Chequered Lily Apothecary's shop here, and follow them on Facebook here.

Thanks for viewing my post :) xx

Virus Insanity - Swatches & Review

Today I'm reviewing another indie company - Virus Insanity. They were running a special a while ago on Facebook in which 3 customers got a free gift valued at $10 so I ordered two full-size eyeshadows - one duochrome and one of the regular line.

Virus Insanity Eyeshadows in (clockwise from top) Black Cat,
Outrageous Orange, Ferris Wheel, Obscene, Witchy.

The two I chose were Witchy and Ferris Wheel, and I received Obscene, Outrageous Orange and Black Cat for free. Ignore the damaged label on Obscene - my 1 year old attacked it! :P

I ordered on July 27th, I didn't receive any order confirmation or contact, so I emailed the owner on August 10th. I received an email back on August 14th apologising for the delay and informing me she would send the order out immediately and include some extra freebies. I received my package about a week and a half later, so it took about a month from when I ordered to receive my parcel. The stated turn-around time is 3-10 days - I don't mind waiting longer if I'm informed of the delay and know whats happening but I hadn't received any contact whatsoever until I chased them up. 

Anyway, the swatches! (Descriptions taken from Virus Insanity's website)

Black Cat: "a black toned blue with iridescence that shifts from red to copper to gold."

Outrageous Orange: "a bright orange with iridescence that shifts from lilac to red to silver to a greenish blue."

Ferris Wheel: "a warm strawberry pink with green iridescence and lime glitter."

Witchy: "a grayish purple with duochrome iridescence. The iridescence shifts from a light golden green to a medium green to a rose color."

I didn't swatch Obscene, as its a standard matte black - slightly chalky in texture but seems to apply well.

I really love the shades I purchased, Ferris Wheel is amazing and the color shift in Witchy is stunning. The quality seems good.

I do have one complaint though. The full size eyeshadows are advertised as being 2.5 grams. I don't have a digital scale, but I do have an extensive collection of eyeshadows to compare sizes with, and comparing this to other brands I estimate that this jar contains approx 1 gram (approx the same amount as a Geek Chic shadow). 

I was a bit disappointed by this because like I said, I love the shadows and can see myself using this up pretty quickly. The shadow in the pic cost $6.50 - I would have hoped for more product (especially since I thought I was getting 2.5g). I wrote to Jennifer (the owner) about this and received a response pretty quickly saying "the sizes are clearly stated on our website ... The jars we sell our eyeshadows in are 5 gram jars so 2.5 grams would be approximately half full." First of all I feel like this is a really unreliable way to measure product, and secondly - the jars are full about halfway to the sifter, not halfway to the top of the jar. Yes the website does clearly say 2.5g, and if I had received 2.5g I would be happy! But I'll leave you to make up your own mind, I just wanted to present my honest review.

Overall I'm left with very mixed feelings about this company. I don't think I would order again because I'm not very happy with the customer service, and also the amount of product for the price is very low. I was quite impressed with the shadows themselves, but I don't feel I can justify spending that much on them when I can go to somewhere like Shiro and spend less to get double the product. Also having to hassle the owner to get my order sent in the first place is definitely quite off-putting. I hate writing negative things about any company but I feel like customers deserve to know what they're getting before they spend their hard-earned $!

Virus Insanity products can be purchased through their website.

Thanks for viewing my post :)xx

Takko Lacquer 'Kiss the Sky' - Swatches & Review

This polish has been a long-time lemming for me - I nearly bought it when I first saw it on Mei Mei's Signatures a while ago, but by the time I talked myself into spending the money it was sold out! So of course, as soon as that happened I became obsessed with it and stalked Mei Mei's until it came back in stock. It took a while because the creator of Takko Lacquer took a little break. And now its MINE! *evil laughter*

Kiss the Sky is described as 'A deep blu-rple (hybrid purple-blue) jelly lacquer with orange and green duo chrome shimmer'. These pics show 3 coats plus one layer of topcoat.

Application was fantastic, this polish is pigmented and smooth. It was definitely worth the wait! The only thing I did notice is that the green duochrome is really hard to spot (unless your holding your hand at an odd and pretty unnatural angle lol). This wasn't really a big issue for me, the orange shimmer is extremely visible - just something to be aware of.

Takko Lacquer is available from Mei Mei's Signatures and Llarowe internationally and Takko's website (US shipping only).

Thanks for reading my post - hope you're having a wonderful day!!! xx

Makeup Monstrosity Link Love

Estelle swatched the Just Another Day from innocent+twisted alchemy for us! Go see what she thinks! 

Go read Eleni's post about Lou Lous Soaps Scrubs and Scents! You can never have too much yummy bath stuff! 

Indie Know reviews a new company; Blackstreets Makeup Co. What do they think? 

Luna shares some Persephone Minerals swatches! A new collection is coming up! 

This link love is brought to you by the facebook group Makeup Monstrosity! Come check us out. <3

Madd Style Cosmetics - Subscription Box (August '13)

Recently Mo from Madd Style Cosmetics announced that she would be releasing a monthly subscription service. I've loved all the Madd Style Cosmetics products I've received so I thought I'd join in on the fun! This is my parcel for August:

Love the confetti!!! I received two full size eyeshadows in 'Bluegrass' and 'Smoke Bomb', two deluxe samples in 'Cruisin' for a Bruisin' and 'Ever After' and a small perfume oil 'Blue Lagoon'. Also included was a coupon for $5 off my next order, which I plan on using for the Pumpkin King Grab Bag!

Bluegrass: This is a grassy green and has a slight blue sheen - really hard to photograph!

Smoke Bomb: a semi-sheer cream color from the 'Apocalypse Survival Kit'

Ever After: 'a light purple color with satin finish'

Cruisin' for a Bruisin': 'a pressure-sensitive brown with a shifting purple duo-chrome'

I'm really happy with the bag, as you can see the deluxe samples are very generous - I tipped them into jars for ease of use and I estimate they're at least 1/4 teaspoon. 

My faves from the bag were actually the two samples. Ever After is a delicate and pretty purple, and Cruisin' for a Bruisin' really surprised me - I was quite 'meh' about it in the bag, but as soon as I started swatching I was blown away by those purple/blue sparkles and the dimension they added to the shadow.

Bluegrass is definitely an interesting green, I'm generally a fan of anything with a contrasting sheen so I can see myself getting some use out of this one. Smoke Bomb will make a great highlight shade, and its fun getting something thats no longer available.

The perfume oil did leak a little, but not too badly. To be honest its not really my kind of smell, but thats just my taste - my husband loved it! I don't think it will be hard to find it a new home :)

I think the subscription is a great chance to get colors you wouldn't normally pick for yourself, as well as something thats exclusive. Who doesn't love a surprise?? I'm looking forward to seeing what is in next months box!

You can visit Madd Style Cosmetics on Facebook here, buy awesome products here, and subscribe to her monthly boxes here. The cost is $12 if you're within the United States, or $16 internationally. I live in New Zealand and transit time was only about 1.5 weeks.

Thanks for viewing my post! :) xx

Femme Fatale Nail Lacquer - Swatches & Review!

Hi Guys! I was lucky enough to receive a polish press pack from Femme Fatale Cosmetics, so I have some swatches to share with you . I received Noble Garden, The Other Side of the World, Spindleweb and Fatal Attraction, and I already had swatches of Abracadaver so I've included those too.

All swatches are shown at 3 coats with no undies, 1 coat of glitter food, and 1 coat of Jordana quick shine topcoat. I borrowed the descriptions from the Femme Fatale site - they describe them better than I could!

Abracadaver

'a dusty purple crelly with a scattering of pinks, reds and black'

Sophie from Femme Fatale comes up with the best names for her products! I really like the way this one looks, but it did take some work to get there, the glitter is very dense so it can be a bit diffucult to get the base color even and the glitter positioned properly. Definitely worth it though! Femme Fatale suggests layering this one over a base of a similar color and I think that would work really well.

Noble Garden

'A dense blend of greens in complimentary finishes and sizes; speckled with orange, teal and pink.'

I couldn't find a suitable polish to wear this over when I went to try it so I just decided to see how it would go on its own. It built to opacity in 3 coats and I love how it looks. This shade was originally part of the Easter Trio it was designed to resemble brightly colored eggs hiding among the greenery. That is definitely what it makes me think of! I admire the way Sophie can take an idea like that and turn it into polish form. If you love green you need this one.

The Other Side of the World

'A sheer purple base with red tones and shimmers, highlighted by various orange, iridescent, purple and pink glitters'

This one built up to opacity easily in 3 coats. The polish is slightly thick due to the sheer amount of glitter packed into it, but I'd much prefer that than having to fish for glitter! It took a bit of patience to apply evenly but I'm happy with the results. I really like the orange glitters in this one - they make it really unique.

Spindleweb

'A sheer deep jewel toned blue with strong green shimmers, suitable for layering over other shades rather than wearing alone, and filled with scatterings of blue, green and iridescence in various sizes'.

I actually really liked the look of this one alone - it had great depth, but I can see it being just as pretty layered over another shade. This one is a favourite of mine and again Sophie took her inspiration and turned it into polish form. HOW DOES SHE DO THIS SO WELL? :P Having experienced trying to make nail polish myself, I can tell you that this is a talent!

Fatal Attraction

'a deep magenta polish with scattered holographic particles in a rich burgundy'

Oooooo.... prettttty... I love everything about this polish, it was easy to apply, a gorgeous color and the holographic sparkle looks amazing. This was part of the Valentines trio. 

I've also previously reviewed Nightsong Grotto and Aqueous.

I'm excited about all the Femme Fatale polishes I've received. They do take some patience to apply if you want them to look their best, but I find thats the norm for any indie glitter polishes, and as I said its worth it for the glitter payoff that you get. I'm so impressed by Sophie's creativity - she is consistently bringing out gorgeous polishes and has now just released her first holos as well as 12 new glitters!

If you're a regular reader of my blog you will know that I'm also a fan of Femme Fatale's fabulous powder cosmetics - she shows the same amount of creativity in these, particularly the duochromes she produces. All Femme Fatale products can be ordered on her site (now shipping internationally!) or at the following retailers worldwide:

Ninja Polish (coming soon)

Harlow & Co.

Color 4 Nails

Beauty So Fly

Norway Nails

Thanks for reading my post! I hope its been helpful :) I take no responsibility for any lemmings created :x

All polishes in this review (besides Abracadaver) were provided for my honest review.

Arcane Lacquer 'Funhouse' - Swatches & Review

I am so excited to show you guys these swatches - they combine two of my recent purchases, both of which I'm exceptionally happy about!
As soon as the Femme Fatale website introduced international shipping I snapped up some Arcane Lacquers I'd been eyeing up. The shipping didn't come cheap, but I definitely feel it was worth it - Sophie was really helpful and the package came lightning fast. 
The first polish I tried was Funhouse - a magenta base filled with a mix of magenta and blue glitter.

These swatches show three coats of Funhouse with one layer of Glitter Food and one layer of Jordana Quick Shine topcoat. Formula was perfect so application was nice and easy.

I stamped my accent nail with China Glaze 'Millennium' using Vivid Lacquer nail plate 'VL001' (my other recent purchase). I'm really happy with how it turned out - the plate was fantastic and the image came out nice and crisp. The design is super cute too :P

I adored this mani and I'm looking forward to trying the other Arcane Lacquers I purchased, as well as the other stamping designs. Arcane Lacquer is available within Australia at Arcane's etsy shop, or internationally at Femme Fatale or Llarowe. Vivid Lacquer plates and polishes can be found at her etsy shop, and she ships worldwide.

Thanks for viewing my post :) xx