AFK Cosmetics Inconceivable! Collection Swatches

I have swatches of AFK Cosmetic's Inconceivable! collection for you today!  What better time than now, since Dena just put up the final restocks up.  The collection is inspired by The Princess Bride and Dena did the label art herself using tea bags!  It consists of seven eyeshadows, one facial highlighter, and two tinted lip balms.  I bought the entire collection in sample sizes along with the Color of the Month for February.

Funny thing about my order, I actually received two packages from AFK that day.  Turns out they had mistakenly sent me another person's order.  I messaged Dena right away letting her know whose order I received so she could contact that person and asked if she wanted me to just send it out to her.  Dena graciously said I could keep her order and was sending out a replacement to the other person, yay!  Wonderful thing was, that person ordered two full sized jars from Inconceivable! and they were two colors I would've gotten full sizes of too :)  I'm glad her and I share the same tastes.  Anyway, onto swatches!

Pictures taken in daylight and swatched over Notoriously Morbid's Shadow Bind (top half) and ELF Essential Primer (bottom half)

Be My Player 2

Be My Player 2:  strawberry with strong blue duochrome.  This was the CotM for February and appropriately named.  I don't normally go for colors like these, but I just had to because the name was too cute and the color description seemed a complete opposite to January's CotM Alpha and Omega.  I had begged Dena to do a sister shade because I absolutely love Pokemon ORAS and she said she actually considered it for this month but the label art had been made.  It's the thought that counts!  (I also forgot to mention Dena drew me a cute snowman on my invoice.  I'm forever known as the snowman lady now hahaha!)

Notoriously Morbid February 2015 Vanishing Cabinet - All the Men I Can't Have: British Edition Swatches

Good morning, everyone!  I hope you're all sitting somewhere warm while reading this review I have of Notoriously Morbid's February Vanishing Cabinet.  In the spirit of Valentine's or Single's Awareness Day, they bring us 'All the Men I Can't Have: British Edition'.  This collection is inspired by all the sexy UK men that we've all come to love and swoon over.  

Lover's Sigh

Lover's Sigh:  purple with violet sheen, needs sticky base.  This is a sneak peek to next month's VC which has been accurately guessed as Game of Thrones themed.

Ipsy February 2015 - #IpsyLove

Welcome back everyone, I have a review of Ipsy's February bag for you today!  I was considering cancelling my Ipsy subscription for awhile because I've been pretty disappointed and underwhelmed these past months.  The only reason I kept at it was because of the cute bags they give you.  However, this month was great!  I didn't get a chance to try everything yet, but the things I did try I liked.

Cute bag!

Dark Matter Makeup Zodiac Collection Swatches

Welcome back, everyone!  I have more swatches of new indie company Dark Matter Makeup for you today :)  I had initially swatched their entire catalog here and the lovely owner Dom asked if she could use my swatches for her site.  Obviously I said yes (what a huge honor!) and to thank me for it, she sent me samples of her recently released Zodiac collection for free!  Now she ships things super quickly but the weather has been terrible in the US and mail was getting delayed here and there.  Also, I've noticed that the route USPS decides to take from her state to mine is really long.  None of this is Dom's fault, since she tends to drop off packages the day of purchase, but from there on USPS decides to go on a joyride before arriving at NYC.

I'd be seeing a good amount of Zodiac swatches popping up on /r/IMAM, so I was getting really excited!  As soon as my package showed up, I wanted to do swatches immediately while I still had some daylight.  Included with my package was a sweet thank you card :')

Since her samples come in little centrifuge vials, it's a bit tricky to get product onto your brush.  I've seen some people suggest getting some product onto the cap and dipping your brush there; unfortunately, that wasn't an option for me because the brush I use is quite wide.  I did the previous swatches by covering the opening with my finger, shaking the vial several times to get some product, and swatching with whatever was on my finger.  I wasn't getting much product that way and it was really hindering my swatching so I started pouring product onto my palm and using it from here.  I'd get more product out that way and yielded more even swatches this time around, so I may redo the Cluster 1 & Cluster 2 later on.

Pictures taken in daylight and swatched over Notoriously Morbid Shadow Bind (top half) and ELF Essential Primer (bottom half)

Capricorn

Capricorn:  orchid with pink and gold shimmers

Aromaleigh Cosmetics Feast of Lupercal Swatches

Today I have swatches over another one of Aromaleigh's limited edition collections - Feast of Lupercal!  This collection is available until March 15 and is inspired by the Roman festival Lupercalia".  The colors in this collection can also serve as Valentine colors (even though it's long passed, sorry guys!).  I received four free samples as well, three of which will be swatched at the end of this post because I'd swatched another one in a previous post.  I was quite pleased with the pigmentation and texture for most of the collection except one which I will get to later.

Pictures taken in daylight and swatched over Notoriously Morbid's Shadow Bind (top half) and ELF Essential Primer (bottom half)

Lucina

Lucina:  sheer ivory base with gold glitter and pink shimmers.  I believe this is to be used as an 'overshadow', meaning you layer it over other shadows to make them more glittery.  It was slightly patchy over a sticky base, so it's good that you're supposed to just layer it over something else.

Corvus Cosmetics Mouseia Collection - Swatches and Review

Super new indie cosmetics company Corvus Cosmetics has done it again!  After the success of their debut collection, The Year 3000 (which will be incorporated into future collections due to copyright issues), Corvus released a nine eyeshadow collection based on the Muses of Greek mythology.  Each eyeshadow comes with a beautiful label art which you are also able to buy in mirror form.  Now I don't have a huge need for any more mirrors, but I had to have them because they were so beautiful!  I purchased the whole collection in sample sizes and went to buy three mirrors; two out of three were sold out which I had lamented over in the notes section.

Within half an hour, the owner Noel messaged me and said she can hold my order until she restocks the mirrors.  I love how attentive she was and her customer service in general is amazing.  I decided to hold the order and she messaged me as soon as the mirrors were restocked.  I completed my order and it was shipped a few days later.

Mirrors were packaged in individual black velvet bags!

Pictures taken in daylight and swatched with Notoriously Morbid Shadow Bind (top half) and ELF Essential Primer (bottom half)

Euterpe

Euterpe:  satin ivory

Hello Waffle 1st Anniversary Haul - Swatches and Review

I have a very small haul/swatchpost for you guys today :)  Hello Waffle Cosmetics recently released a full matte collection inspired by hilarious adult cartoon Archer.  Since HW was having an anniversary sale, I decided to pick up a few colors including some lip glosses which I hadn't tried from them yet.

They actually released a gloss inspired by the Pantone color of the year - Marsala, and that sold out SO quickly and I was super bummed.  Christine generously included one in my order because she's amazing and upgraded my Hisster Prynne mini to a full sized jar!  

Pictures taken in daylight and swatched over ELF Glitter Primer (top half) and ELF Essential Primer (bottom half)

Mother

Mother:  matte blue gray.  I got this to use as a blending shade for my smoky eyes.

Aromaleigh February 2015 Ephemera Box - Swatches and Review

Happy Valentine's Day again!  As I've said in my previous post, I'm spending V-Day alone, so I might as well catch up on February subscription boxes.  I have a brand new box for you guys this time!  Aromaleigh Cosmetics recently came out with their very own sub box called "Ephemera" and it launched last month, which I sadly missed.  New subscribers are now picked using a raffle system and I was lucky enough to get in :)  I had no idea what the theme was for this month, but I like Aromaleigh's shadow formula so I knew I wouldn't be disappointed.  They have a very quick TAT and are extremely punctual, so I received this awhile ago.  Look how pretty the packaging is!

Unboxing!

Innocent + Twisted Alchemy February 2015 - Swatches and Review

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!  I hope you're having fun whether you're spending time with your partner, friends, or family :)  I'm home alone so I figured I might as well get my February subscription reviews out.  I have Innocent+Twisted Alchemy's Feb box for you guys and I actually really liked it!  It came in an adorable heart envelope with some lipstick tape.  For this month, we had three beautiful eyeshadows from I+T and several other indie samples.

Pictures taken in daylight and swatched over Notoriously Morbid Shadow Bind (top half) and ELF Essential Primer (bottom half)

Pearls Before Wine

Pearls Before Wine:  ballet slipper pink with gold shimmers.  This is a very pretty and very feminine color.  I didn't expect to like it because I don't usually go for pinks, but this changed my mind.  It's very subtle and glowy.

Aromaleigh Cosmetics Asteriai Collection Swatches

Welcome back, everyone!  Today I have a swatch post of Aromaleigh's Asteriai collection.  This is based off of star nymphs in Greek mythology and is a permanent collection.  It showcases lots of blue and purple shadows to correspond with stars and the night sky.  I bought a sample set, but they now come in samples, deluxe samples, mini jars, and full sized jars.

Pictures taken in daylight and swatched over ELF Glitter Primer (top half) and ELF Essential Primer (bottom half)

Koronis

Koronis:  sheer white with multicolored sparkles.  This took a bit of work to build up, so it'd be good as an inner corner highlight.

Notoriously Morbid Shadow Bind - Review and Comparisons

I have some exciting news, everyone!  Notoriously Morbid released their version of a glitter adhesive this morning.  It's called "Shadow Bind" and is supposed to make glittery/sparkly eyeshadows adhere to your lids better, instead of having a bunch of fallout on your face.  Shadow Bind is not a primer, so you will need to prime your lids with regular primer beforehand.  I was sent a tester sample a few months ago and I have been using it this whole time.  The site advises you to primer your lids, apply a bit of Shadow Bind to your lids and wait 15-20 seconds to dry.  However, I find that I don't really have to wait that long, I end up dabbing it on my lids, smoothing it over and then applying my shadows immediately.  It also has a watery texture, as opposed to fan favorite's Pixie Epoxy by Fyrinnae.  Pixie Epoxy (PE) is said to have a very steep learning curve as you have to wait for the appropriate amount of time to try and it tends to be hard to blend afterward.  

As soon as I received this product, I got straight to work with tests and comparisons.  I've put it through several different tests, so there will be a lot of pictures!  For all the swatches I'll be showing, I applied a layer of ELF Essential Primer (non-sticky) and then applied NM's Shadow Bind on the top half - everything is shot under a daylight bulb.