Despite my initial disappointment with the famous indie company Fyrinnae, I made a second purchase because they were finally restocking the Mephisto eyeshadow. I'd been wanting this shade for a really long time after looking at dozens of swatches. Let me start off by saying there's nothing wrong with their products, it's just so hyped up that I expected a lot more when I ordered. They weren't having a Black Friday or Cyber Monday sale but I picked up a few other shades anyway.
Pictures taken under daylight bulb and swatches done over ELF Essential Primer (click to enlarge)
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| Mephisto |
Mephisto: dark purple with blue and red tint. I've been waiting so long for this shade and it did not disappoint. It can look like three different color at once - the site description states that there's copper in it too, I think. I also wanted this color because I'm a fan of Goethe's
Faust so I had to have a shade called Mephisto.
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| Ravishing Red Wolf |
Ravishing Red Wolf: satin blackberry
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| Bonfire Spirits |
Bonfire Spirits: shimmery burgundy with multicolored sparkles
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| Tapir |
Tapir: satin plum
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| Peppermint Vodka |
Peppermint Vodka: coppery red with orange sparkles
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| Daylight: Mephisto, Ravishing Red Wolf, Bonfire Spirits, Tapir, Peppermint Vodka |
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| Flash: Mephisto, Ravishing Red Wolf, Bonfire Spirits, Tapir, Peppermint Vodka |
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| Sultry Samhain |
Sultry Samhain: berry red with tons of red sparkles. The texture to this is similar to Oslo Cosmetics shadows in which they seem creamy instead of a loose powder. However, this was a really gritty shade due to the red sparkles and made it hard to pick up with a brush. I would probably have to use this as a glitter on top of other eyeshadows instead of by itself.
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| Sorceress |
Sorceress: blackened base with blue shimmers. I believe this was an Arcane Magic eyeshadow which change colors due to the light. I'm not sure what color this is supposed to change to since it just looks like a flat shade to me.
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| Enchanting Otters |
Enchanting Otters: glittery seafoam green. The texture to this is similar to Sultry Samhain's; it's hard to pick up with a brush. I got this mainly because of the name, but it's difficult to use so I'll have to play with it more. UPDATE - I used it in an eye look over glitter adhesive and it was actually very beautiful and extremely long-lasting! Unfortunately, right after I re-swatched this, the whole jar slipped out of my hand and tumbled onto my floor. I ended up losing the whole jar. It's a nice color, but I don't think I'd use it enough to warrant a repurchase. I'm still very sad about it though.
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| Frostbytes |
Frostbytes: metallic silver. This was included as a free sample. I had to layer this a little bit for full opacity. I have a lot of silvers so I might give this to someone.
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| Daylight: Sultry Samhain, Sorceress, Enchanting Otters, Frostbytes |
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| Flash: Sultry Samhain, Sorceress, Enchanting Otters, Frostbytes |
Once again I'm disappointed with my Fyrinnae order; this will probably be the last time I order from them unless I run out of Mephisto. I keep expecting to be wowed but it always falls short. It's my fault for having such high expectations of this company though. I can't really recommend this to people because the sample sizes are also more expensive at $2.25 a jar for 1/3 tsp. I'm glad I finally got Mephisto but that's about it.
UPDATE
After re-swatching all of these shadows over regular primer (non-adhesive), I found that they perform way better. I normally use eyeshadows over primer on my eyes, but I used to swatch them over bare skin as a control and to see how it performed on its own. I have had eyeshadows perform extremely well over bare skin(i.e. very pigmented, little fallout, etc), so that was an indication of how well they would perform with primer. Fyrinnae shadows do not perform well on bare skin at all. However, they're like whole different shadows over primer and I'm sure it's an even bigger change over glitter adhesive. They still didn't wow me over primer, but I will say that they are definitely beautiful and I don't regret my purchase.
- Jolie ♥
Have you ever used the Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy with your colors from them? It really makes the difference and I noticed all your swatches were just no primer. You might find you like all the colors more!
ReplyDeleteI actually do have a sample size of Pixie Epoxy! I know shadows make a world of difference over it but I just find it disappointing that they'd only look good with help, you know? The reason why I swatch with no primer is because I want to show how shadows work without any help at all. I definitely understand if it were super glittery shades that would pop over a tacky base, but most of the colors I got weren't too glittery so I expected them to perform well on their own :/
DeleteThank you for your input though and happy holidays!
The pigmentation on some of the super shimmery ones looks like it is not great. I'm honestly not that impressed by your pictures either. I'm glad I read this review since I have been trying to decide whether or not to make an order with them. I think I am going to go with a purchase from oslo cosmetics instead. Every swatch I see of their shades looks insanely good!
ReplyDeletehttp://mattekat.blogspot.ca/
I've been informed that they don't look that great because I've been using them wrong. Apparently they're supposed to be used over Pixie Epoxy to look their best. Honestly, I'm not too fond of products that don't work well by themselves and almost require help of an additional product. I wish I'd known that earlier before making two purchases haha - I'm just way too lazy to devote more time into this than my normal makeup routine.
DeleteI don't really want to sway you from purchasing from them, especially if you use a glitter glue/sticky base regularly. I've been told that the eyeshadows really pop over them. But if you prefer lower maintenance eyeshadows like I do, then yeah I definitely recommend Oslo or Dreamworlds. They have a similar formula and I find that it's more "what you see is what you get" with those companies instead of "what you see is what you get (only if you use it with PE)."
Thank you for stopping by though and I'm glad this review helped you. This is a super unpopular opinion since everyone loves Fyrinnae's eyeshadows. Let me know how you like them if you ever decide to give them a try!
I'm actually with you, I think shadows should perform well on their own. I use a sticky base often when I am doing big dramatic looks, but I like my shadows to also work when I'm rushed and don't have time for more than a quick swipe of colour. I will definitely try Oslo instead.
DeleteIf you actually do order from Oslo and do a review, send me a link please! I would love to see your swatches and/or looks you come up with :) Thank you for your support!
DeleteI've been using fyrrinae for years, more than I can count, actually. Probably right after they opened. Fyrrinae is meant to be used over pixie epoxy. I haven't looked at the rest of your blog, but the majority of loose, pigmented eyeshadows, require a primer as a base for full effect. I originally used fyrrinae with Monistat as a primer with quite similar results. Honestly, I don't think I have ever used an eyeshadow without a primer.
ReplyDeleteWhen I apply makeup, I always use a primer first. The reason I don't use primer in my swatches is because many people use different kinds of primers, so swatching over bare skin serves as the best control. I swatch all my eyeshadows over bare skin and Fyrinnae is the only indie company I've tried that didn't swatch too great (again, over bare skin).
DeleteThanks for an honest review. I hate ppl who fall into hype outof loyalty.
ReplyDeleteI agree; Fyrinnae really has some die-hard fans out there. I don't think their products are bad; I just expected much better from all the raves out there. I used all of these colors over primer in eye looks and it does help a little bit (but not much more for me to change my opinion).
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