Notoriously Morbid 'A Dark Christmas Dream' Swatches!

Ok! So I win the worst blogger of 2014 award so far! :P I completely underestimated how busy these 3 kids were going to keep me. Last year my 1 year old slept most of the time, my 3 year old didn't talk (constantly!) and my 5 year old .. well he's about the same, although he does fight with that 3 year old a bit more! But enough excuses :P

I promised I was going to show you swatches of the Notoriously Morbid Christmas collection 'A Dark Christmas Dream' and they've just been sitting here waiting. Fortunately Carrie has told me that she is going to be making the collection permanent so you can still grab these (and you will want to!). I purchased a full size set during the Black Friday sale.

The following swatches are over Pixie Epoxy and the descriptions are borrowed from Notoriously Morbid's website.

Ebenezer, I Release You: 'Perfect victorian pink shade with a violet duochrome.'

No Warmth Could Warm: 'Ice cold blue with a slight violet shift.'

Look Upon Me: 'Appears like a dusty mauve in the jar, this color, when applied or blended,changes to a metallic purple with a blue duochrome.'

Shadow of Things: 'Appears as a charcoal gray with aqua green sparkles in jar and on bare skin, this color, when applied over primer changes to a dark metallic teal green.'

(Left to Right: Ebenezer, I Releaes You, No Warmth Could Warm, Look Upon Me, Shadow of Things)

Melancholy One: 'Appears like a soft golden beige in the jar, this color, when applied or blended,changes to a light blue with an orange duochrome.'

Stake of Holly: 'A holly green with aqua sparkles.'

Spirit of All Three: 'Gold with green and red sparkles (the green is more prominent).'

Frozen Whisper: This beautiful shade was only available as a GWP during the Black Friday sale - so glad I snagged it!

(Left to Right: Melancholy One, Stake of Holly, Spirit of All Three, Frozen Whisper)

I mentioned in a previous post that this is not only my fave Notoriously Morbid collection so far, its my favorite of any eyeshadow collection I have seen. Its perfection - the shadows are perfectly creamy and pigmented and the duochromes are beautiful. There is a great range of shades here also.

Carrie has just launched her own website which looks great, plus for the next week you can get an extra 25% off with code NEWNM25 - this code expires 12AM EST on Jan 31st 2014.

Thanks for viewing my review - the madness at my home will end soon when the kids return to school and I should be able to get back to regular posting :) xx

Serenity's Top Indie Brand of 2013!

Hi guys! Happy New Year! I thought to celebrate the end of 2013 I would pick my top indie brand of the year. I started the blog this year to share my love for everything indie - it seemed a shame to have all these sparkles and not share them! I've tried a lot of brands this year, most of which I've reviewed at least once. I have however overlooked a few that I've had some fantastic hauls from (including Shiro Cosmetics - how have I not had a Shiro post yet?!).  I do, however have a clear favourite for the year! While many brands have impressed me, none have blown me away quite like this one in particular. I'm sure its not going to come as a surprise to anybody who frequents this blog, my brand of the year is:

Notoriously Morbid came out of nowhere with a perfect formula from the beginning. I was quickly drawn in by the awesome branding and great choice of shades, and became addicted from my first order. Throughout the year Carrie has released collection after collection of amazing shades, as well as running some spectacular promos and discounts.
I have not been disappointed in anything I've received and was super impressed with her mattes, because they seem to be something that a lot of companies struggle to get right, but as I posted about here, NM's mattes are smooth, creamy and blendable. I've also become quite a fan of her lip balms (Coffin Kissers) - Vanilla Veil, which is vanilla and honey flavor is my favourite.

My first Notoriously Morbid order! (The Bloggers pack)

Coffin Kissers

Of course we can't forget the wonderful blushes! I use mine on a daily basis :) 

The Gallows Hill collection held the spot for my favorite collection since it came out, but its just been knocked off its perch by the masterpiece of a Christmas collection NM released - 'A Dark Christmas Dream'. I'll be posting individual swatches of those tomorrow, but heres a sneak peek:

I just want to congratulate Carrie on doing such a great job, she is obviously doing something she loves - its easy to see that a lot of time and effort is put into getting things just right, and her presentation is stunning too! Remember the Coffin set from Halloween??

Halloween '13 'Bitten' Coffin Set

Thanks Notoriously Morbid for all of the beautiful additions to my makeup collection this year, I can't wait to see what is coming in 2014! Do I hear whispers of a new product...? Oh and also, confession time - this is my Notoriously Morbid collection currently: 

This is minus a few coffin kissers - they're spread throughout bags and cars :P

*cackles*

aaaand some of my fave shades:

If you made it this far, then good work!!! Notoriously Morbid's facebook page, and storenvy.

Thanks so much for reading and following in 2013, best wishes for the New Year! I already have some hauls on the way so I'm starting 2014 right! :P xx

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