1UP Box MINIATURE vs Super Geek Box DESTINY vs Loot Crate QUEST vs Loot Anime MUSIC April 2016 Subscription

Time for monthly subscription boxes!  I received Loot Crate and 1Up Box pretty early on and had to wait for Super Geek Box, like always.  I was pretty happy with the contents of each box and don't see myself giving a lot away this time around :P

1Up Box Miniature

Cute Baby Mario and Minion shirt

Adorable Baby Luigi plush

Kirby stress ball

Notoriously Morbid April 2016 Vanishing Cabinet - Mother to Dragons Swatches and Review

I received Notoriously Morbid's April Vanishing Cabinet awhile back and couldn't be more excited.  It's inspired by Daenerys Targaryen and her dragon children from Game of Thrones/A Song of Ice and Fire.  I watched the first few seasons of the hit show so I get the references at least.  The box included three mini shadows and a mini Mystic Matte lipstick.  I was so hyped up for this box because I knew there would be an exclusive Mystic Matte lipstick and I love NM's lipsticks!  Let me tell you, this box did not disappoint.  I wore all the shadows today and I've worn the lipstick several times since receiving it.

Info card

Pictures taken under LED bulb and swatched over ELF Glitter Primer (top/left half) and ELF Essential Primer (bottom/right half)

Pretentious Namesake

Pretentious Namesake:  white gold with gold sparkles and pink shimmers

Stoic

Stoic:  grass green with red and gold shimmers

Protective Aggressor

Protective Aggressor:  burgundy with red and gold shimmers

Bare lips

Stormborn

Stormborn on face

Stormborn:  dark mauve with faint red, green, and silver shimmers.  This was such a hit for me and I didn't even realize it at first.  I didn't fully appreciate it until I wore it with a neutral eye look and the lips really shone.  I'm also really enjoying the formula.  As with other Mystic Mattes, this was extremely comfortable through many hours of wear.  I'm really hoping it's popular enough to be made permanent because I love this shade!

Pretentious Namesake, Stoic, Protective Aggressor, Stormborn

Pretentious Namesake (inner corner), Stoic (lid), Protective Aggressor (outer corner), and This is...Very Erotic (lower lashline)

Overall, I really like this month's Vanishing Cabinet, both for theme and products.  Although NM has beautiful shadows, their lip products are such a smash hit with me that I get more excited when I know I'll be getting a new color.  Hopefully there are some overstocks that will be made available so you can get your hands on them as well!

- Jolie ♥

Notoriously Morbid April 2016 COTM and CCCOTM Swatches

I have a very short swatch post today of some recent Notoriously Morbid releases.  These include April's Color of the Month, Customer Created Color of the Month, Gift with Purchase, and a free sample.  Their TAT is currently 5 - 10 business days.

Pictures taken under LED bulb and swatched over ELF Glitter Primer (top/left half) and ELF Essential Primer (bottom/right half)

Loveland Frog

Loveland Frog:  gray blue with gold and green shimmers.  This was my free sample included in my order and was also a preview for the newest State of Fear release.

Shallow End

Shallow End:  baby blue with strong green duochrome and gold sheen.  This was the CotM and I'm curious as to how this compares with one of their OG shades, Jupiter Rain.

Stone Cold

Stone Cold:  taupe with pink and blue shimmers.  This was a GWP with he order and I want to pair this up with Shallow End for some reason!

Ricktatorship

Ricktatorship:  red bronze with gold and red sparkles.  This was the CCCOTM created by one of the mavens, Cinthia.  It's a gorgeous shade with lots of depth and a great formula.

Loveland Frog, Shallow End, Stone Cold, Ricktatorship

- Jolie ♥

Innocent + Twisted Alchemy April 2016 Subscription Swatches and Review

It's time for my monthly review of Innocent + Twisted Alchemy's subscription service!  This service is usually $12/month but will be increasing the price to $18/month.  The shop's TAT is currently 14 - 18 business days.  I will still be subscribing even after the price increase because I love I+TA's eyeshadow formula and it's a real joy to receive this subscription.  It feels like a surprise present to myself every month and keeps me on my toes.  

This month's theme is inspired by various chocolates.  The label art is adorable and shows a cute girl enjoying chocolates.  I received four mini eyeshadows, one full sized shadow from a guest indie, and a sample eyeshadow from another guest indie.  It was primarily brown themed (obviously) but I still really enjoyed it and loved using the shades together.

Pictures taken under LED bulb and swatched over ELF Glitter Primer (top/left half) and ELF Essential Primer (bottom/right half)

Surfin

Surfin:  corn yellow with green shimmers

Porcelana

Porcelana:  light bronze with green and red shimmers

Palet D'Or

Palet D'Or:  medium brown with gold and red shimmers

Couverture

Couverture:  dark brown with silver sparkles and green and red shimmers

Dark Chocolate Turtle

Dark Chocolate Turtle:  antique gold with gold sparkles and copper shimmers.  This was the full size exclusive shadow Baroque Cosmetics made for this sub.  I wasn't expecting much performance wise because of my previous experience with Baroque shadows.  However, I used this shadow on a lazy, sticky-base-less day and it performed wonderfully on my lids!  It was very smooth, pigmented, and long lasting.

Hidebehind

Hidebehind:  blue silver with green sparkles and red shimmers.  This was an eyeshadow sample from Meow Cosmetics.  The formula is nice and the color is pretty, however, Meow's website isn't great and their selection is pretty overwhelming.  I have such a large collection now that I just stick to purchasing from brands I already know and love.

Surfin, Porcelana, Palet D'Or, Couverture, Dark Chocolate Turtle, Hidebehind

Overall, I really liked this month's box.  I know it looks a bit monochromatic and I usually don't like that, but for some reason I love this one.  Maybe it's because I+TA's formula is smooth, buttery, and pigmented or that they put a unique twist on neutral shades.  I just feel extremely excited about these colors and I think it may have something to do with the chocolate theme ;)

- Jolie ♥

Hello Waffle Cosmetics April 2016 Visage - The Little Prince Swatches

Hello Waffle's April Visage box was inspired by The Little Prince.  I know some friends who read it in high school and I didn't get the chance to.  This month included three full sized eyeshadows, one slimline lipstick, and one full sized blush from Mad Lab Cosmetics.  The overstocks are currently available for purchase on Hello Waffle's site here and the TAT is currently 10 - 15 business days.

Beautiful art print

Back of art print

Visage info

The Little Prince summary

Pictures taken under LED bulb and swatched ELF Glitter Primer (top/left half) and ELF Essential Primer (bottom/right half)

Les Baobabs

Les Baobabs:  mint with gold and copper shimmers

Ta Rose

Ta Rose:  pink with gold shimmers

Les Etoiles

Les Etoiles:  lavender with gold sparkles and red shimmers

Her Fragrance and Radiance

Her Fragrance and Radiance:  warm pink blush with gold sparkles; applied heavily over bare skin.  This was a full size blush from guest indie, Mad Lab Cosmetics.  It's a gorgeous and wearable blush.

Bare lips

On Ne Voit Bien Av'avec le Coeur

On Ne Voit Bien Av'avec le Coeur on face

On Ne Voit Bien Av'avec la Coeur:  pigmented hot pink lipstick

Les Baobabs, Ta Rose, Les Etoiles, Her Fragrance and Radiance, On Ne Voit Bien Av'avec le Coeur

I have mixed feelings about this month's box.  The eyeshadow and lipstick formulas were consistent with Hello Waffle's usual great formula.  However, the colors were a bit bright for my liking; it's purely personal.  I didn't feel comfortable going wearing only those shades out and had to add in some darker shades from my collection to feel more complete.  I really love Ta Rose though and find it absolutely gorgeous.  The lipstick was also a brighter color than I normally wear.  I was happy to step out of my comfort zone for that and found myself enjoying it the more I wore it.  As mentioned before, Visage extras are available for purchase now.  Fair warning though, they sell out extremely quickly!

- Jolie ♥