Pretty Good Sparkling Berry Soap Review!

Hey everyone, I actually have something non cosmetics to review today!  Recently, I was contacted by indie bath and body company, Pretty Good, asking if I wanted to review their product.  Now I'm not too into bath and body since I don't have a bathtub, plus I basically stock up on drugstore soaps and lotions.  However, I've heard of Pretty Good around the internet and knew of their monthly subscription soap boxes.  I actually really like bar soap as opposed to body wash as I feel they lather better.

My package arrived pretty quickly after I agreed to trying their product and it contained a full sized bar of soap!  It's their Sparkling Berry Soap and the ingredients are listed in the picture label below:

Even before using the soap, the smell was delightful!  It has a delicious berry candy scent.  The soap has a hot pink translucent bottom and milky pink top with blue sparkles.  After using it for a few weeks, I find that it lathers easily, blue sparkles rub off onto the skin but wash off while rinsing, and my skin retained a slight berry scent after the shower.  

The soap currently retails for $5 on the site here.  The scent is so delicious and amazing that I can see myself purchasing this and perhaps trying out the other soaps from the shop.  I wish they made a corresponding lotion because I would buy that as well.  Now I have several other bar soaps I have to go through first, but Pretty Good is on my to-buy list once those are finished!

I also wanted to give a huge thanks to the Pretty Good team again for sending me this soap to try out.  I look forward to seeing new releases!

- Jolie ♥

Innocent + Twisted Alchemy August 2015 Subscription Swatches

I know this is a bit late, but here's Innocent + Twisted Alchemy's August subscription box!  I was particularly happy for this one because of the theme.  It was originally inspired after my favorite podcast, Welcome to Night Vale, which I listen to before bed because Cecil's voice is soothing and I pre ordered the book as well (I also saw the cast at a live reading!).  However, due to the creators of the show asking people not to sell fan made products, I+T's owner, Linda, changed the names.  Several guest indies who created products exclusively for that box didn't get to change their names in time so it's still Night Vale themed.  I asked Linda what the original names were, mainly because I love WtNV and will be putting them next to the new names.

Most of the colors are also purple themed, as that is WtNV's color palette.  I don't usually care for purples, but I'm such a sucker for packaging and themes that I absolutely love this box ♥

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

Moon Dreams

Moon Dreams/A Color for You:  pigmented silvery lavender

Dark Moon Rising

Dark Moon Rising/Eternal:  beautiful royal purple with blue sparkles and red shimmers, perfect Night Vale color

Aromaleigh More Human than Human Collection and Ishtar Blush Swatches

Woop woop, I have a TON of blog catching up to do!  A big-ish order I made from Aromaleigh awhile back is first up on the list :D  They came out with a Bladerunner inspired collection recently and it was on sale so I picked those colors up.  I never watched the movie, but I'm a big fan of sci fi so it's definitely on my to-watch list.  Around that time, the new Goddess Blush Ishtar also came out and Aromaleigh released a GWP as well.  This will be pretty picture heavy so I'll get on with swatches!

Pictures taken under daylight bulb and swatched over Notoriously Morbid Eureka! eye base

Pleasure Model

Pleasure Model:  pink with pink shimmers

Origami Unicorn

Origami Unicorn:  silver with rainbow shimmers

Prodigal Son

Prodigal Son:  gold with gold sparkles

Maple Holistics Shampoo and Conditioner Review

Welcome back, everyone!  I have something new to review today - some shampoo and conditioner from Maple Holistics.  They reached out to me awhile back (I've been a VERY bad blogger) and asked if I was interested in reviewing some products.  While I'm not well versed in bath and body products, I still do the bare minimum of showering and washing my hair so I said yes :P  Their blogger connection is sponsored by edumuch.com and there's also a chance for everyone else to score some free products here.  I responded with some info about my hair type (thin/flat and dandruff prone) and they sent me free full sized Sage Shampoo that is anti-dandruff and a Silk 18 conditioner. 

 You can see the packaging they use for their shampoo and conditioner bottles in the picture above.  Those bottles are big enough to last me a year and then some, especially since I alternate shampoos a lot.  What I really appreciate about the packaging is the waterproof labels.  That's definitely important since you'll be storing them in your shower/bath and you don't want it getting damaged.

Sage Shampoo

Sage Shampoo:  I've been using this shampoo on and off for the last few weeks and it has definitely kept my hair clean.  I've used it in conjunction with the conditioner and have gotten good results.  I think it works just as well as my volumizing Pantene shampoo and Head and Shoulder shampoo.  I haven't noticed any adverse effects on my hair and scalp at all, but then again, I'm not particularly sensitive anyway.

Silk 18 Conditioner

Silk 18 Conditioner:  I've been using this alongside the Sage Shampoo and it's worked well in conditioning my hair and keeping it shiny.  I don't usually use conditioner because they usually weigh down my hair and make it oily quicker.  I've tried the reverse shampoo/conditioning method where you condition your hair first then shampoo after and I've noticed my hair getting shinier when it dries.  I prefer that method because I feel my hair isn't really weighed down by the conditioner afterward.

Overall, my experiences with Maple Holistics' hair products were good.  Again, I'm not a hair or skincare aficionado (I mainly focus on indie cosmetics) so take my opinions with a grain of salt.  Maple Holistics also carries a wide range of products on their website and I recommend taking a look.  I'd like to thank Maple Holistics again for generously sending me these products and letting me try them out!

- Jolie ♥

Notoriously Morbid June 2015 Vanishing Cabinet - Beyond the Goblin City Swatches

Today I have swatches of Notoriously Morbid's Labyrinth inspired Vanishing Cabinet.  It comes with four shadows, a solid perfume sample, and a shadow by guest indie, Corvus Cosmetics.  I love both NM and Corvus, so I was very excited for this box.  I have to admit that I've never watched Labyrinth before, but hearing people rave about it made me download and start.  I'm only halfway through and it's a bit hard for me to finish, but I'm getting there.  The movie's a tiny bit awkward for me and I think I would have enjoyed it more if I were younger.  

Happy birthday VC!

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

You Have No Power

You Have No Power:  pale pink with silver shimmers

Shiro Cosmetics Swatches and Review featuring The Blood of My Enemies Gloss

Welcome back, everyone!  I have swatches and reviews of a tiny haul I received from Shiro awhile ago.  When they released their Battle of the Boy Bands collections, I was a bit excited because the winning band would get a victory color and I was rooting for Backstreet Boys.  However, NSYNC won instead and they got an eyeshadow called "Crazy For You".  It was limited edition, so I quickly made an order including some glosses and blushes from that collection.  My order shipped fairly quickly and I played with the glosses as soon as I received them.

Return of the Totoro!  I asked Caitlin to draw me Totoro bouncing around a field of flowers.  I think she nailed it :P

Pictures taken in daylight, swatches done over Notoriously Morbid Shadow Bind (top/left half) and ELF Essential Primer (bottom/right half)

Crazy For You

Crazy For You:  shimmery pink-toned copper, almost like a dark rose gold.

Glamour Doll Eyes Eyeshadows - Swatches and Review

I'm still trying to catch up with the plethora of reviews I have lined up.  Today I have six shadows from Glamour Doll Eyes.  Their owner, Vee, called out to bloggers asking if we were interested in reviewing their shadows.  I was definitely interested, but I had reviewed their shadows before and asked if it was okay to do another.  Vee responded and said it was fine, so we sent a few emails back and forth with my color choices.  GDE has a lot of color choices and it's a bit overwhelming to pick just six, luckily Vee sent me a link to the Bestsellers section and that was very helpful.  I chose six out of the Bestsellers and she had it packed and ready to go soon after.

I have a good amount of GDE shadows from past purchases, press samples, and samples from subscription boxes so I was aware of how nice the shadows were.  I also like the fact that they each come individually shrink wrapped to prevent leakage.  They also have no sifters and I find that it's much easier to work without since I find that product tends to collect at the rims and spill out.  Anywho, onto the swatches!

Pictures taken under daylight bulb and swatched over ELF Essential Primer (click to enlarge)

Flawless

Flawless:  shimmery light peachy pink

Shiro Cosmetics No Oscar for Leo DiCaprio, Lavender Town, and Nightfury - Swatches and Review

I have a small Shiro review for you guys today!  Awhile ago, someone from Shiro's team "accidentally" blended a batch of old CotM "No Oscar for Leo DiCaprio".  Now I'm not sure how accidents like that happen, but I'm super happy about it.  No Oscar was actually released and discontinued before I discovered indies, so I didn't have a chance to get it then.  Several of the Super Effective shadows also got discontinued and the leftovers were blended together to create the lovely "Lavender Town".  I used this chance to pick both of those up as well as the current CotM "Nightfury", a Minecraft sample that I'd been looking at for awhile, and a sample of her famous Finishing Powder.

I'm used to waiting weeks upon weeks for Shiro to ship my order, however, this time they shipped it lightning fast.  I believe I waited about two business days before I got my shipping notice!  In my order, I had asked for Detrivore samples and a picture of Doraemon sitting on TARDIS.  As usual, Caitlin did not disappoint:

Pictures taken under daylight bulb and swatched over ELF Essential Primer (click to enlarge)

No Oscar for Leo DiCaprio

No Oscar for Leo DiCaprio:  shimmery bronze with red sparkles.  I find this hilarious as it's a running joke how Leo really deserves an Oscar yet it always escapes him.  I really can't wait to pair this up with Still No Oscar for Leo DiCaprio.

Life's Entropy Blogger Pack - Swatches and Review

First off, I must apologize for my long absence, I've had this set for a few weeks already and should have reviewed it earlier.  I've been extremely busy/tired with work and I also caught a cold.  I'm still super backed up with my reviews, but I'm getting around to them slowly!

Today I have a much anticipated review from the new indie company Life's Entropy.  It was started by Jane, a user who frequents /r/IMAM and had a blog that everyone loved.  Her line boasts not only eye products, but also face and lips as well.  I'm very impressed with the shop's website, as it is clean and easy to navigate.  Most of her products are science themed and that's a first for me; she has two collections of eyeshadows so far - inspired by DoTA and Animal Crossing.  What really caught my eye were the cute holographic stickers on full-sized eyeshadow jars!  Another thing everyone was excited about were her Lip Theories, which were dupes of OCC Lip Tars.  I haven't tried Lip Tars yet, but I hear a lot of raves about the pigmentation and lasting power.

I decided to purchase a blogger pack ($25) which includes: 1 full size eyeshadow, 1 full size Lip Theory, 1 full size Particle Contour Stick, and 10 lip, face, or eye samples.

LE's packaging has been raved about all over the subreddit and it definitely impressed me too.  Check out the pictures:

Look at that cute little flower!

Innocent + Twisted Alchemy August 2014 Subscription - Swatches and Review

Hi everyone, today I'm reviewing my August subscription package from Innocent + Twisted Alchemy!  Let me tell you, Linda has been shipping these out so early; it's really amazing.  I received my shipping notice on August 4th and received it two days later!  This month is also quite special because it's another themed package.  If you couldn't tell from the envelope already, the theme of August is Nana.  It's a manga that's quite popular; sadly, I couldn't get into it.  I've actually read the other work from the same author called Paradise Kiss.  Either way, I'm sure the colors of this month will call out to fans of Nana!

Also, look how cute the packaging is!  I absolutely swooned over the pretty decorations and swooned more when it actually opened up to be a mini paper bag; ughhh.  Anyway..onto the swatches (before I swoon more).

Pictures taken under daylight bulb and swatches done over ELF Essential Primer (click to enlarge)  

7 & 8

7 & 8:  shimmery pale pink with silver sheen

Dawn Eyes Cosmetics Eyeshadows - Swatches and Review

Welcome back, everyone!  Since I was so impressed with the texture of Dawn Eyes Cosmetic's eyeshadows, I decided to make another small order.  I've been intrigued by Gold Gilded Blue for such a long time, it's one of the shadows that first put them on the radar.  However, it had been discontinued for awhile before I discovered DEC.  Luckily for me, Dawn actually does remake discontinued shadows, and only charges $1 extra for it.  I ended up emailing her for an invoice of my choices and she shipped it out on the same day I paid!

I received these about 2-3 days after shipping and noticed that Gold Gilded Blue had leaked a bit.  Her full sized jars come with a sifter sticker and is also shrink wrapped.  Somehow, the shadow ended up leaking from the sifter rim so it was a bit messy to clean up.  I carefully took out the sifter to avoid further problems.

Enough talk; onto the swatches!

Swatches done over ELF Essential Primer (click to enlarge)

Gold Gilded Blue

Gold Gilded Blue:  shimmery blue-tinted gold.  Now I normally don't wear this kind of color, but there was just so much hype surrounding its beauty.  I don't regret this purchase one bit.  It has an extremely buttery texture and is very pigmented.  I can't wait to start playing around with this!

Spearmint Peppermint

Spearmint Peppermint:  super pale pink with light green sparkles

Victorian Disco Cosmetics Mini Haul - Swatches and Review

I have a small Victorian Disco haul to share with you today!  I made a pretty huge haul from them awhile ago, so I haven't felt the need to order anything new.  They were having a really good sale since they were moving to Florida and had to get rid of old labels.  I decided to pick up some sample jars of colors I really liked/wanted to try and sample baggies of their Clow Blushes.  Since this is a short swatch post, I'll get right on it!

Pictures taken under daylight bulb and swatches done over ELF Essential Primer (click to enlarge)

PS I Enjoy Acid Pops

PS I Enjoy Acid Pops:  shimmery mint green

Patronuses, Patronuses Everywhere

Patronuses, Patronuses Everywhere:  shimmery dark silver

Innocent + Twisted Alchemy Haunting Refrain Collection - Swatches and Review

Hello everyone, I'd like to introduce Innocent + Twisted Alchemy's newest collection - Haunting Refrain!  This whole collection came about when Linda was trying to make a dupe for Laura Mercier's famous African Violet eyeshadow.  Now I've never seen this shadow in person, but a lot of people love it and it's described as a violet with gold duochrome and gold sparkles, very pretty sounding indeed.  Linda posted a couple of swatches of her progress on I+T's Facebook page and was met with a lot of good feedback so she decided to make it into a collection.  I was one of those people who really loved the colors she created so I bought the whole collection.

There are 7 shades in Haunting Refrain and Linda kindly included one free sample for me.

Pictures are taken under daylight bulb and swatches done over ELF Essential Primer (click to enlarge)

Velvet Crooner

Velvet Crooner:  light pink lavender with golden sheen

Dreamworld Hermetica Haul - Swatches and Review

Today I have a review on an indie company called Dreamworld Hermetica.  This review is a little special because it'll also be appearing on Toxid Lotus' blog on 7/31/14.  Luna is an awesome indie blogger (one of the first blogs I read which got me into indies) and she's starting to do Thursday Guest Posts to showcase other indie blogs!  I think it's so amazing that she's featuring other blogs and getting them out there.  She takes amazing pictures and does very in depth reviews.  Please check her out!

Anyway, this isn't my first time trying Dreamworld's shadows, I actually have an older first impressions review I did when the owner, Ellie, sent some samples of her new formula to me to test out here.  I enjoyed their semi-loose eyeshadow formula immensely because they're pigmented and long lasting.  Dreamworlds was having a pretty big sale so I decided to finally use that opportunity to pick up a shade that I had been eyeing for awhile (Black Flamed Candle).  Mini-jars normally sell for $2.75 for 1/4 tsp, and full-size jars range from $6 to $8 depending on the collection and formula.  I was also interested in one of their CotMs (Color of the Months) called Plummy Penny.  However, I completely forgot it when I was making my order because it wasn't in the "Eyes" section of the website.  I only found out afterwards on the indie subreddit and was pretty disappointed that I missed it.

My order came in pretty quickly, I forget the exact time because I've decided to stop obsessively checking tracking information (which used to stress me out a lot).  When I opened my package, I noticed this Thank You post-it from Ellie.  I was wondering what surprise she meant...

It turns out this sweet woman saw my post on the sub and decided to throw in a full-sized Plummy Penny in for free!  I was blown away and really shocked that she actually connected my Reddit account to my order.  This was amazing and I'm extremely grateful.  It really is a beautiful color (thank you /u/daisyismydog / Rebecca for suggesting it!) and you'll see how pretty it is in the swatch below.

Jars are all individually shrink wrapped

Shiro Cosmetics CotMs and Avengers Haul - Swatches and Review

I'm review another Shiro haul today; I know it seems like I just made one recently...and I did.  I made an order during their 4th anniversary sale without realizing they would put up their CotMs up for Spring cleaning.  This time, I ordered the remaining CotMs I didn't have yet and two more Intertubes (which were being discontinued).  Shiro also released the Avengers collection, so I picked up several samples of those as well.

This time, I asked for a drawing of Totoro and a chincilla together because 'chincilla' was the Chinese phrase for Totoro.

Pictures taken under daylight bulb and swatches are over ELF's Essential Primer (click to enlarge)

CotMs

Dammit Moon Moon

Dammit Moon Moon:  lavender with rainbow sparkles.  This CotM had actually been discontinued awhile ago, but due to the overwhelming popularity of it, Caitlin decided to bring it back for this sale.  I'm so glad I got a chance to pick this up since I'd missed the last one.