Dark Matter Makeup Women of Science and Gravity Primer Swatches

Ohhhhh boy, is this review late.  Dark Matter Makeup released their version of the sticky base and primer combo awhile back and it's taken me this long to post because I did want to test it before reviewing.  Along with the primer release, their collection inspired by women of science also debuted, so I picked that up.  As usual, shipping was very quick after ordering so I received my package in less than a week.  

I also have to mention the inclusion of several sponge tip applicators with my order!  I was pretty impressed with that because it's been hard for me to get my brushes in the cute centrifuge vials and have expressed that several times, despite really liking the shadows.  I used the sponge tip applicators in my swatches and found them very useful, even though I used to always hate getting those in my drugstore palettes.  

Proof that Dom reads reviews!  USPS has been notorious for taking a long route to NYC, but they got to me quickly this time.  (Psst Dom, maybe they heard you ;) )

Pictures taken in daylight and swatched over Dark Matter Gravity (top/left half) and ELF Essential Primer (bottom/right half)

Gravity primer

Gravity:  white toned, slightly tacky primer.  I've used this several times and had varying results.  If you put a light layer on, glitters don't adhere too well, so it's almost no different from using a regular primer.  However, if you put on a thicker layer, it tends to crease if you don't wait for it to set.  I made the mistake of putting a semi-thick layer on my lids, applying shadow almost immediately, and seeing creases within an hour.  I suggest waiting at least 15 seconds for this primer to set before applying eyeshadow so it can dry down a bit.

Emmy

Emmy:  shimmery rose gold

Dark Matter Makeup - First Impressions and Swatches

I know it seems like I'm trying to rush these posts out, but I swear I'm not!  I just can't wait any longer to share swatches of a company I recently discovered.  This company is called Dark Matter Makeup, and for now, their only storefront is Etsy.  They introduced themselves in another indie makeup subreddit I frequent called /r/IndieIslandofMisfits.  They only sell eyeshadow right now, but everything is astronomy themed which I absolutely love.  There are no swatches of the products yet, so I bought the whole catalog to swatch for you guys!

Initially, there were two separate listings for every product, which made it extremely confusing for me to see how many individual eyeshadows they had.  I messaged the owner, Dom, and asked how many eyeshadows there were and how much it would be to buy one of each sample.  She responded very quickly and said there were 18 so far, and she can put up a special listing just for me.  The price she gave was $17 for 18 eyeshadow samples and $2 for shipping.  After I paid, she gave it to the mailman that afternoon and it was on the way over!  For some reason, shipping took awhile, I'm not sure if it was some odd route they take or if it was because of Blizzard Juno, but it took a lot longer to get to me.  Tracking was stalled for a few days, so I was left waiting in anticipation.

I finally received it a couple of days ago and got to swatching.  The eyeshadow samples come in cute little test tubes that are about half the length of my pointer finger.  The cap is extremely secure and there's no risk of making a mess because it's half full.  Dom had listed the shadows in grams, and when converted to teaspoons, she said it should be 1/2 tsp.  However, other reviewers compared it with Shiro's samples which are 1/8 tsp (albeit super generous), and said Dark Matter's samples had less.  

Anyway, my samples came in a cute moon and stars bag that's fitting with the shop's theme.  Dom included a business card and thank you card in a small wax envelope.  There's an ingredient listing on the back of the business card as well.  

I've bored you guys enough with my ramblings.  Onto the swatches!  Just a fair warning though - I did buy the whole catalog, so this post is very picture heavy!  You have been warned.

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

TMTYL

TMTYL:  satin chartreuse.  This shade is a bit sheer and took a bit of layering to reach full opacity.