Showing posts with label swatches. Show all posts
Showing posts with label swatches. Show all posts

Thursday, December 13, 2012

Sugarpill Heart Breaker Palette

Look what finally arrived! I ordered this when Sugarpill had their Black Friday sale. They shipped it really quickly, but, you know, it takes time when something is sent from the US to Sweden. I purchased the Heart Breaker palette, which I've been wanting since the second it was released. I only had one Sugarpill shadow before - a white one called Tako - and the quality of it is AMAZING! Fingers crossed these will be just as good ;)




The gorgeous shadows... ♥

Acidberry - Described as a "vibrant lime green [...] matte with slightly pearl sheen" 

Velocity - Described as a "vibrant matte royal blue"

2AM - Described as a "matte purple with a slightly pearl sheen"

Mochi - Described as a "matte mint seafoam with a slightly pearl sheen"



They included a sample of one of their loose eyeshadows (Birthday Girl) and a huge sticker!

I also ordered a couple of their loose eyeshadows, but that's a separate order and it hasn't arrived yet. (I need the value of each package I order from outside the EU to stay under a certain limit, otherwise I have to pay loads in customs charges... So, yeah, that's why I chose to place two small orders instead of one big one.) I hope the other things will arrive tomorrow!

I can't wait to play with these shadows! Actually, I think I'm gonna try them right now...

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Lumikki Cosmetics eyeshadow swatches

I got these shadows a long time ago... I can't remember exactly when, but it was when I lived in my old apartment so it's at least 10 months ago. I was buying tons of makeup at the time, and I still haven't tried some of it (yes, I'm embarrased to admit it). Anyway, I happened to see the most amazingly beautiful eyeshadow on Etsy today - and it was by Lumikki Cosmetics. It reminded me of the eyeshadows I'd already bought from them. And, I promised my friends in NTMS to swatch all of them asap ;)

The following eyeshadows are all swatched over Concrete Minerals ElectricEye Primer (which, by the way, I'm not very fond of).

Marshmallow - Canary - Fairy Dust - Petticoat

Fairy Dust - Petticoat - Jersey Shore

Jersey Shore - Turkish Delight - Boojie

Labyrinth - Peter Pan - Green Knight - Freyja

Green Knight - Freyja - Nazareth - Tinwoman - Morticia

Tinwoman - Morticia - Victorian Gold - Irish Gold

In my opinion, the Concrete Minerals primer really didn't do them justice, so I decided to swatch four of my favorites over Fyrinnae's Pixie Epoxy instead. Just to show you how much of a difference a good base can make...

Freyja - Nazareth - Tinwoman - Morticia

And some close-ups:

Freyja and Nazareth

Tinwoman and Morticia

Like most shimmery and glittery eyeshadows, they look so much better over a tacky base.

Out of these, Nazareth really stood out to me in terms of opacity. Even without primer, it goes on perfectly even and opaque (which is pretty rare, especially for really bright and strong colors).

Freyja, Tinwoman and Morticia are even sparklier than they appear in the photos. Morticia will make an awesome liner!

Lumikki Cosmetics are having a 20% off Christmas Sale at the moment (until December 22), so definitely check them out here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/lumikkicosmetics.

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Review: Detrivore Cosmetics May LE Set

I placed my most recent order with Detrivore Cosmetics on the 22nd of May. One month later, on the 22nd of June, I got an email saying that my order had been shipped. Their stated TAT is 1-20 business days, so I can't complain about that. However, once I got the package, I realized that they hadn't been completely honest - the post stamp on the package says JUN 27 2012, and so does the customs declaration form that had been signed by hand. Now, I don't really care whether my package was shipped on the 22nd or the 27th, but it does annoy me that they chose to lie about it, and for that reason I want to mention it in this review. It's a matter of principle more than anything else.

(Click the pictures to see them in full size)

Let's move on to the products. I ordered the May LE set of eyeshadows, three of their permanent eyeshadows and two of their Embalming Tubes (lip balms). I may review the other products another time, but today I'm just gonna focus on the eyeshadows in the May set. 

Swatches

The first three pictures below are of all five eyeshadows swatched dry over the e.l.f. Mineral Eyeshadow Primer. In the last five pictures, the shadows are swatched over Fyrinnae's Pixie Epoxy.

 From left - right: Baleen, Cetacea, Lividity, Mollusk & Incatiation








Official color descriptions ~ My own color descriptions

"Baleen is a LE emerald green shimmey eyeshadow." ~ A medium green with silver shimmer. Really pretty, but not very unique.

"Cetacea is a dense puplish blue satin eyeshadow. It has blue, purple, red, and pink shimmer." ~ A shimmery blue with a very strong purple shift. This is a very interesting color in my opinion, more so in real life than in photos (the purple shift was difficult to capture). Absolutely beautiful!

"Lividity is a dark pink shimmery eye shadow on a black base. It's very similar in concept to Livor Mortis, but is much more glittery." ~ A very sparkly dark purple. This looks like jewels in the jar and applied over a tacky base. Gorgeous!

"Mollusk is a bright coral  pink satin eye shadow loaded with shimmer." ~ A medium peachy pink with shimmer. Again, really pretty, but not very unique.

"Incantation is a bright gold LE eye shadow with copper, pink, and gold shimmer." ~ I definitely wouldn't call this a bright gold... I'd say it's a camel color full of pink shimmer. This is, whithout a doubt, my favorite eyeshadow of the bunch. I've never seen anything like it before, it's amazing!

My thoughts

I think all these eyeshadows are beautiful - especially Cetacea, Lividity and Incantation. Unfortunately, I had a reaction to Cetacea, so I don't think I'll be able to wear it. I tried it once and got this red, itchy rash exactly where I put it. I've never had a problem with any other Detrivore shadows though, I'm probably just oversensitive to something in this one (the ultramarine, perhaps?). These shadows definitely need a tacky base to reach their full potential; I wasn't too impressed with them ober the e.l.f. primer alone, but over the Pixie Epoxy - WOW!

Would I repurchase this set?

I would definitely repurchase Lividity and Incantation, and I would repurchase Cetacea if I wasn't oversensitive to it. I'd probably not repurchase Baleen and Mollusk, simply because I own a lot of shadows that are quite similar to them. But if you don't have any similar eyeshadows, I think they're a good buy.

Where to buy

You can purchase this set at detrivorecosmetics.net, more specifically here. The price is $17.

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

H&M Vivid Eyeshadows

I went to H&M last week, and they had quite a few things on sale. So I picked up this 4-in-1 eyeshadow called Vivid Eyeshadows for 20SEK, which is pretty damn cheap! It's quite big (the packaging is the same as their standard blush packaging), so I thought if the quality is nice, it's really good value for money.

I usually don't buy makeup at H&M. Last time I did I was quite disappointed, but that was in the early 2000s so things could have changed since. 

Now, you guys probably know that I'm not the biggest fan of blue eyeshadow, but I quite like this one. I think it'll be pretty as a pop of color in an otherwise neutral look. I haven't tried that yet, but I have worn the shadows. I wore them over my Urban Decay Primer Potion, as usual, and the staying power was pretty impressive. I usually don't have a problem with creasing, but I kind of expected some creasing with these considering that I was so disappointed with the last H&M eyeshadows I tried. I'm glad these proved me wrong :)

The pigmentation of these shadows is okay. It's definitely not great, but considering how cheap they were, I can't really complain. As with all eyeshadows, the color payoff is a lot better over a white base. You will need a white base if you want these colors to pop.

These eyeshadows are definitely better than the other ones I've tried by H&M, so there has been some improvement over the past 10 years, but I still wouldn't recommend these shadows (unless you're on a budget and really can't spend more money on makeup). You can get samples of similar colors from many indie companies, for example BFTE, that will have a lot better color payoff and still be pretty cheap. That's my recommendation ;)

H&M Vivid Eyeshadows



Monday, May 21, 2012

30 of my Tick:Tock shadows swatched!

Tick:Tock Cosmetics is one of my absolute favorite indie companies. Some of you may know that I am one of their models, and for those of you who didn't know - now you do ;) 

So, I thought I'd post some post some swatches of the lovely Tick:Tock shadows I own. These are the majority of them; I do have some other ones as well, but they were part of a limited edition collection and are no longer available. Let me know if you'd like to see swatches of the rest anyway. Edit: I just found out that Hugs & Kisses and Love Bug are also unavailable.

I tried to swatch similar colors next to each other because I find it easier to see the difference between them then, but other than that they're in no particular order. 

 

Yellows and greens:

Top row: Happy Hour, Sundial & The One That Got Away
Bottom row: Awkward moment, Spring Forward & Oh-Nine-Hundred

Top row: Happy Hour, Sundial & The One That Got Away
Bottom row: Awkward moment, Spring Forward & Oh-Nine-Hundred

 
Can you see the blue shimmer in Happy Hour (left)?
And the red shift in The One That Got Away (right)?

You can really see the gold undertones in Awkward Moment here (left).

 

Orange, pinks and reds:

Top row: Hourglass, Alarm Clock & Happily Ever After
Bottom row: Love Bug, Two-Timing & Killing Time

Top row: Hourglass, Alarm Clock & Happily Ever After
Bottom row: Love Bug, Two-Timing & Killing Time

 

Purples and reds:

Top row: Salvador Dali, Midnight Magic & Hugs and Kisses
Bottom row: Midsummer Night, Tick Tick Tick BOOM! & Half-Past Crazy

Top row: Salvador Dali, Midnight Magic & Hugs and Kisses
Bottom row: Midsummer Night, Tick Tick Tick BOOM! & Half-Past Crazy

 

White, blues and purples:

Top row: Honeymoon, Fronzen in Time & Tempus Fugit
Bottom row: Once Upon A Time, Eleventh Hour & I ♥ U 4EVA


 

Neutrals, blue and gray:

High Noon, Brits First Time & Grandfather Clock

Late Night Burger Gnomes, Clepsydra & Time Square




Disclaimer: Tick:Tock is not paying me to be their model, or to say positive things about them - I applied to be one of their models, and I do it because I genuinely love their makeup and want to help them promote their lovely little company ♥

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Dawn Eyes Cosmetics' Christmas Collection 2011

I bought samples of these shadows during Dawn Eyes Cosmetics' Black Friday sale, so I've had them for a while, but they kinda got lost among all my other samples and I forgot about swatching them. Last night I found them again, when I was reorganizing my makeup, and I thought I'd better swatch them while the collection is still available. It might be a Christmas collection, but I'd wear these shadows all year round, so I  definitely don't think it's too late to get them ;) 

I have a ton of eye shadows by Dawn Eyes Cosmetics. In my opinion, DEC is one of those companies that  really deserve more attention than they get. Their eye shadows are gorgeous, and they have so many colors to choose from (seriously, it's almost impossible to choose which ones to get when you're placing an order). I will post an in-depth review of the company another time, but for now I'm just gonna show you some swatches. 

From left - right: Candy Cane, Kissable, Sugarplum Dreams & Perfect Gift

Candy Cane, Kissable, Sugarplum Dreams & Perfect Gift in different lighting

From left - right: Spiced Cider, Rum Eggnog, Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire & Sleigh Ride

Spiced Cider, Rum Eggnog, Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire & Sleigh Ride in different lighting

There are 16 eye shadows in this collection and as you can see, I have 8 of them. As usual, I've swatched the shadows over e.l.f's Mineral Eyeshadow Primer. I just wanna point out that I don't think that's an amazing primer; I actually think it's pretty mediocre, but I consider that a good thing when it comes to comparing different eye shadows. The way I see it, the best eye shadows will look amazing even over a mediocre primer. So, if anyone was wondering why I always use that e.l.f. primer, that's the reason. Most of the eye shadows I swatch would look a lot better over, say, Fyrinnae's Pixie Epoxy, just so you know.

Out of these eight shadows, there's only one that I'm a little disappointed with and that's Candy Cane. It definitely went on more sheer than I expected it to, especially considering that it's heavily swatched. I did my best to pack it on and make it look opaque, but it just wouldn't stick to the skin. That one will definitely need a tacky primer or base. Sugarplum Dreams went on a little bit sheer as well, but the color is really beautiful!

Kissable, Spiced Cider, Rum Eggnog, Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire and Sleigh Ride are all gorgeous, and they're very easy to work with as well. They went on even and opaque straight away. I really like the texture of them.

Perfect Gift is without a doubt my favorite - it's just so intense! Even over that e.l.f. primer... it's simply amazing ♥

The Christmas Collection 2011 will be retired 01/04/12, so if you're interested in any of these shadows, you can still get them at their website, www.dawneyescosmetics.com. The full size set is marked down 30%, so you can get them cheap as well hehe ;)