Sunday, November 24, 2013

Shiro Cosmetics Haul - Game of Thrones and CoTMs


I have a pretty big haul for you today!  It's another Shiro order again, but this time I had a very good reason!  They came out with their Game of Thrones collection (which I am a fan of), and I also wanted both Colors of the Month.  I had voted for both of them so I was really happy that they sort of tied.  The Game of Thrones collection includes 15 eyeshadows and one lip gloss.  I also ordered 10 eyeshadows and got 2 free samples.  I love it when Caitlin includes the samples that I actually wanted.  It's like she monitors our carts or something :P

Anyway, another awesome thing about Caitlin is that if you request a drawing, she'll do it even if it's extremely weird.

How amazing is this??
I requested a picture of, "Snoopy and Woodstock making a bunch of tiny snowmen and a big snowman next to them.  Also include a struggling stork carrying a gigantic, smiling Totoro in the background."  Needless to say, she delivered.  Sometimes I wish she wouldn't because this makes me want more!


Madison Street Beauty Haul - Review and Swatches


Quite the haul isn't it?  Madison Street Beauty is another indie brand that I've been hearing a lot about and decided to check out their Etsy page.  Turns out they had a Grab Bag which included 25 eyeshadow samples for only $12.50!  I definitely had to get my hands on them since it was such a great deal.

My package shipped extremely quickly and I got it within a week.  I was surprised at how big the jars were compared to other companys'.

Madison Street Beauty compared to Geek Chic Cosmetics
They also came individually shrink wrapped with a sifter sticker to prevent leakage.  Overall, I was pretty happy with the packaging since nothing leaked, but I must admit that it is a bit bulky.

Caution:  Picture heavy post


Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Notoriously Morbid haul - Swatches and Review


My haul from the Halloween sale finally came!  Yes, I ordered the Coffin Set from Notoriously Morbid earlier in October but couldn't resist the sale they had on Halloween.  My order came with an invoice, fancy paper thanking me for my order, and my beautiful shadows came in black tissue paper wrapped with a black ribbon.  The presentation really blew me away, I love it when shop owners pay attention to details and dedicate extra time to small things like this.

I had requested the shop owner, Carrie, to draw me a picture of Doctor Who and Looney Toon's K-9s.  I hadn't been able to get them out of my head when I saw that she named a shade (Kompanion no.9) after that cute character.


This is the sweet note Carrie wrote to me.  I found it so nice that she drew me something even though she hasn't done so in more than 10 years :')  Needless to say, I was really grateful.


What an amazing drawing for someone who hasn't drawn in 10+ years right??  She drew this in pencil, so to preserve it, I put tape all over and put it in a scrapbook :D


My haul - I ordered eight samples and she gave me two samples for free!  The last two shadows in this picture (Spiteful Jas and Andorian) were free samples from my Coffin Set order.  I didn't swatch them on that post so I felt like I should include them here.

Monday, November 18, 2013

Small Shiro Cosmetics Haul ft. Zero and Oogie Boogie


I have a very short review of the beloved Shiro Cosmetics!  It's so short because I wanted to grab the limited Halloween shades 'Zero' and 'Oogie Boogie' before it was gone.  I also ordered the new Game of Thrones collection along with the two Colors of the Month, so I will have a review of that up soon!

I purchased seven shadows (2 Zero, Punch Punch Pork, Alkahestry, Oogie Boogie, Chimera, The Last Homely House) and got a free sample of It's Mossy!  I pressed all of my shadows except for It's Mossy! because I'd actually ordered a sample of that in my next order so I will press them together.  I also asked Caitlin to draw a little somethin' somethin' ;)


How awesome is this??  I asked if she can "draw me a picture of Totoro and Doraemon dancing together.  And if she can somehow incorporate Catbus into it, that would be awesome".  I was not disappointed.  I mean, look at this.

Sunday, November 17, 2013

Wet n Wild MegaLast Lipsticks - Swatches and Review


Today I have a really long post for you!  I gathered all my Wet n Wild MegaLast lipsticks and reviewed each one.  These lipsticks are long-lasting, matte, and go for $2/ea at drugstores.  I currently own 18 of them.  Since they are matte and long-wearing, they can be very drying.  I find that if they have not been warmed up beforehand, or if you don't have lip balm on your lips, they tend to tug during application.  

The packaging in these are not too bad.  It comes in a black plastic case with a clear plastic lid.  The lid clicks shut to lock it in place.  The bad thing about Wet n Wild lipsticks is that the bullets don't twist all the way down, so you have to be extremely careful recapping.

Wet n Wild - Discontinued 6-Pan Palettes and Lip Products


Today I'm review some discontinued Wet n Wild products that I was able to find.  I had heard that their well-loved six-pan palettes were coming back to drugstores for the holidays but I haven't been able to find them.  I found a website that was carrying some discontinued products and was ecstatic to find out that they had all of the palettes plus some Silk Finish Lipsticks.

I purchased all six palettes (Vanity, Greed, Lust, Pride) along with two lipsticks (Tokyo-A-Pink-Pink and Shang Hi Plum), and a Wild Shine Lip Lacquer in Lustful.

The six pan palettes had rave reviews a few years ago when they first came out and put Wet n Wild back on the map.  They include three matte shades and three shimmery shades; their matte formula was phenomenal and everyone was sad to see it go.

 All pictures were taken in daylight with no primer and can be enlarged by clicking:

Greed
Greed swatches
Greed:  matte cream, glittery light gray-silver, matte salmon, glittery light warm pink with gold sheen, matte black, glittery charcoal.  Every shade here was good except for one - the light gray silver was very hard to pick up and sheer upon application.


Sunday, November 10, 2013

Geek Chic Cosmetics - The Reckoning (Review and Swatches)


So I couldn't help myself and purchased from Geek Chic Cosmetics yet again.  I had a very good reason this time!  Instead of having their monthly set sales, they decided to have a Reckoning.  It was a collection of all the products that were being discontinued and were being sold at a discounted price.  When I checked the site after hearing about it, a ton of products were already claimed by the Reckoning.  

There were a ton of series they were discontinuing including Babylon 5 and Rocky Horror Picture Show.  The color I really, REALLY wanted from the Reckoning was the rose-gold color called "Rose Tint My World".  I had been looking for the perfect rose-gold eyeshadow for the longest time and the swatch picture looked really great.  Turns out that beautiful color was already claimed and was not updated yet :(

I ended up getting two colors from the Reckoning and four sample sizes from their permanent line.  I also asked them to draw me a picture of Totoro and Doraemon :)  I'm definitely saving it haha.

Anywho, here are all the babies I received.  All taken under daylight bulb with ELF's Essential Primer:

We Are One
We Are One
We Are One swatch

We Are One:  light olive with gold shimmer.


Wet n Wild ColorIcon Trios - Review and Swatches



Here's the mother lode of Wet n Wild trio posts!  I have here all of the ColorIcon Trios in the permanent line.  These retail for $3/ea at drugstores such as Walgreens, Duane Reade, and Rite Aid.  These trios are hailed across the board as some of the best eyeshadows in the drugstore.

Saturday, November 9, 2013

Wet n Wild Limited Edition Dream Weavers Trios - Swatches and Reviews


Today I'll be reviewing Wet n Wild's older limited edition collection trios called Dream Weavers.  I believe this was released back in 2011.  I hadn't discovered the greatness of WnW yet so I missed out.  After looking at various blogs I realized that I really needed two of the trios so I found a seller on Amazon that still had these :)

Everything is taken under daylight with no primer:


Earth Looks Small From Down Here
Earth Looks Small From Down Here swatch
Earth Looks Small From Down Here:  metallic olive gold, shimmery navy, grass green with a gold sheen.  This was the trio that first attracted me to this series; I thought it was absolutely stunning and very well named.  All of the shades were soft and pigmented.


Wet n Wild Holiday 2013 In The Spotlight Palettes - Review and Swatches


Wet n Wild has released another limited edition collection this year.  This time they gave us three 8-pan palettes instead of trios.  These 8-pan palettes do not look like their traditional ones, instead having 3 shades on top, 3 shades in the middle, and 2 shades on the bottom.  In the spirit of the holidays, these palettes give three different textures: glitter, satin, and matte.

The top row consists of three glittery shades, middle has three satin shades, and bottom has two matte shades that can also be used as liners.


Wet n Wild Fall 2013 Runway Beauty Trios


Yay to more trios from Wet n Wild!  Wet n Wild is my favorite drugstore makeup company because they have the best eyeshadows and the best prices!  Everyone always said how WnW needed to make more eyeshadows; let me just say, they definitely listened.  From the top of my head, they have released at least FIVE limited collection palettes this year alone.  

I was really excited when I heard this collection, Runway Beauty, was coming out because the colors are right up my alley.  They feature vintage inspired shades that come in satin and matte textures which everyone has been asking for.

Without further ado, here are pictures of the individual trios taken in daylight with no primer:

Silent Era Film
Silent Era Film swatch
Silent Era Film:  satin taupe pink, matte burnt pink, satin gunmetal gray.  The browbone color was very sheer and took a lot of layer, but the other two were amazingly pigmented and soft.  The matte pink was the standout shade in this palette in terms of color and application.


Shiro Cosmetics Haul - Swatches (including LE Halloween Shade)


It's time for another Shiro Cosmetics haul!  I needed to make another order because I wanted the limited edition Halloween 2013 shade.  Shiro comes out with a Halloween collection every year based on the Nightmare Before Christmas.  The sample I got was 'Two Faced'; I also needed more samples of Lingered in Twilight and Evolve to press since I messed up the other ones :(



Here's what came with my order; candy corn in the spirit of Halloween!  I also asked her to send me some stickers since she has the best labels.  She sent me some cool ones including Captain Malcom Reynolds and Nic Cage Raking Leaves on a Brisk October Afternoon.  I'm fairly certain that's why I haven't been able to sleep at night...

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Halloween 2013 Fantasy Makers Glitter Palettes


Here comes my last belated Halloween makeup post!  This is another set by Fantasy Makers by Wet n Wild.  It's their glitter palettes that retail for $6/each and also comes with a black mini Color Icon pencil and body stencils.  I honestly just bought these for the stencils to decorate my palettes with later on.  I had heard horrible reviews of the glitter palettes from previous years.

The glitter palettes are actually just cream eyeshadows with glitter sprayed on the top.  The glitter is not deposited throughout the shadow so it wipes off easily.  However, if you happen to get glitter mixed with your cream shadows, they clump up horribly as you will see in swatches.  

All photos are taken in daylight and swatches are done with no primer:


Pixie Princess
Pixie Princess swatch
Pixie Princess:  yellow glitter over gold cream, light green glitter over lime green cream, pink glitter over light pink cream, blue glitter over purple cream, teal glitter over light blue cream, and metallic copper cream.  The only good one out of the bunch was the metallic copper cream because the glitters were not obnoxiously chunky.  The metallic copper cream had fine microglitters on the top that did not interfere with the cream when swatching.

Femme Fatale
Femme Fatale swatch
Femme Fatale:  rainbow glitter over black cream, iridescent glitter over white cream, silver glitter over silver cream, metallic red cream, metallic burnt orange cream, and metallic lavender cream.  The good ones in this set were the black cream, red cream, and orange cream.  The white was the worst as the glitters made it horribly chunky and gritty.


Halloween 2013 Fantasy Makers Eyeshadow Duos



Here I come with another late post!  These are the Halloween makeup sets from Fantasy Makers who are also made by Wet n Wild.  I know it's way past Halloween but I was so caught up with work so I'm churning them all out now!

I was excited to get my hands on these because I love the quality of Wet n Wild eyeshadows and these are by the same company.  There are four makeup kits from this collection.  They include an eyeshadow duo, a set of false eyelashes, a mini nail polish, and a sample-sized Megalast lipstick.


Wet n Wild Pop Art Craze Trios - Review and Swatches


I'm so late in posting all of my Wet n Wild reviews!  This is the Pop Art Craze collection that came out during the summer and can still be found in some select drugstores.  It includes six trios in white packaging instead of the traditional black.  They are extremely colorful and based off of Andy Warhol's works.  People have been asking Wet n Wild to do more matte shadows and they listened!  These are almost all matte shades with the exception of a few satins and one shimmery shade thrown in.


Saturday, November 2, 2013

Another Oslo Haul! New Game of Thrones Eyeshadows


I know, I know; I have a serious Oslo obsession.  But guys, she just released a new Game of Thrones collection!  You know I had to get one it.  Plus, I needed to snag a few more samples of Ara and Lyra to press fully into pans.  I also needed to try her blushes after seeing some more reviews haha.

I ended up buying two Blogger Packs (4 full-sized shadows) and one Sample pack (5 samples).  I had actually made two separate orders but since it hadn't shipped yet, she combined them into one package for me :D  

The colors I got were:  Doradus, Asterism, Tremor, A Song of Ice and Fire, Essos, Winter is Coming, Pegasus, and Milky Way. 

Daylight - Top Row:  Doradus, Asterism, Tremor, A Song of Ice and Fire
Bottom Row:  Essos, Winter is Coming, Pegasus, Milky Way 
Flash - Top Row:  Doradus, Asterism, Tremor, A Song of Ice and Fire
Bottom Row:  Essos, Winter is Coming, Pegasus, Milky Way

Notoriously Morbid Halloween '13 Coffin Set


Hi everyone!  I know I'm posting this a bit late since Halloween is over, sorry!  Notoriously Morbid is another indie company that I had yet to try out.  I had seen a lot of good reviews on them from various bloggers and redditors.  You can visit their store here.

I was reluctant to purchase from them at first because I'd been buying so much indie makeup recently and put myself on a no-buy.  After seeing a lot of reviews from the lovely Estelle, she gave me the push I needed to order from NM.

I would have waited a little longer, but NM came out with a new set for Halloween and they came in adorable little coffins (while supplies lasted).  The set comes with five full sized eyeshadow samples and one Coffin Kisser (lip balm) for $20.


The order came with a beautiful, fancy paper as a thank-you note as well as an invoice underneath.  In the special notes, I had asked her to send me her best-selling jewel-toned shadows as samples since I didn't know what to specifically ask for.  She wrote me a note above apologizing for not being able to send me blush samples.  It amuses me because I didn't actually ask for it but I had mentioned in comments to Estelle that I thought her blushes were beautiful :)  I don't know if it's a coincidence, but it seems like the owner reads reviews and comments and I find it awesome that she remembered me!

Free samples and Halloween goodies :D