Aromaleigh Sol Invictus Swatches : Part 1

Hello dear friends! It's been a really long time since I've posted, but it's been the really busy season at work (I'm a product photographer, so we're getting ready for Christmas!) and I'm just exhausted when I get home. However, I need to get this post up since the ladies at Aromaleigh have been so kind as to provide me with samples of their newest collection; Sol Invictus. Rather than provide you with swatches of all twelve shadows at once, I'm going to break this up into two separate posts. Today, you will get 6 sets of swatches and tomorrow, you will get 6 more. Sound good? Fantastic.

If you remember (or if you just scroll back a bit), I also received samples of the Diavoli collection from Aromaleigh, so I have experience with their shadows. Those of you who are familiar with the indie cosmetics scene, I'm sure, have heard of Aromaleigh. Those of you who are not familiar with the indie cosmetics scene, well, for starters you need to jump on in but also, you need some Aromaleigh shadows. The entire indie world is full of amazing colors and textures, but Aromaleigh really does make incredibly unique and amazing shadows. Every time that I play with their shadows, I'm reminded that the products that they create are just out of this world. The funny thing about it though, is that no matter how beautiful the photos are, they are not even a tenth of how beautiful these shadows are in real life.

Just for a quick overview of all of the shadows; I'm blown away, just like I was with the last collection that I received. The shades are all insanely buttery, especially for shadows that are loaded with glitter! They apply like a dream and with a sticky base (this part is essential for all loose shadows, indie or not), they become this otherworldly entity. Pardon my language, but so fucking gorgeous. I thought that I really liked the Diavoli collection, but whatever my feelings were for that, just multiply it by about twenty and that's how I feel about the Sol Invictus collection. It's amazing.

Ok, onto some photos.

Io, Saturnalia! in the bag. LOOK AT IT.

Just a heads up, these swatch files are fairly large because I want you to be able to look at them in all their glory. If they're taking a while to load, just give them a minute... they're kinda huge.

All swatches done over Fryinnae Pixie Epoxy and shot under daylight bulbs.

Io, Saturnalia: "A smooth rich teal blue with prominent gold/copper/red color traveling sparkles. " 

Lord of Misrule: "A gorgeous taupe base with really strong orange-red-violet color traveling iridescence. It’s a neutral with an amazing, shimmery twist!" (I definitely want to get a full size of this. LOOK AT IT)

Lua Saturni: "A heathered deep indigo/violet (will change from more blue to more violet depending on your viewing conditions) with dominant blue to teal sparkles that color shift to fuchsia/red."

Oscilla: "An exquisite shimmering peach with oodles of icy blue, pink, copper and gold color traveling sparkles." (editor's note: UNGHHHHH.)

Sol Invictus: "A beautiful coral/orange shade with a slight golden undertone in certain lighting, bedazzled by color traveling orange-violet-fuchsia shimmer and bright green sparks."

Topsy Turvy: "A gorgeous multi-dimensional festive green with amber metallic lowlights and color-shifting highlight sparkles that keep this color ever-changing."

Quick eye look using Sol Invictus and Oscilla

And that's it for today! Stay tuned tomorrow for the remaining shades.

Questions? Comments? Let me know down below!

(these samples were provided to me by Aromaleigh, but this fact has, in no way, altered my thoughts. all opinions are my own and no compensation has been provided)

Glamour Doll Eyes : Swatches & Review

Back on track and ready for more indies! This week I'm going to be talking about Glamour Doll Eyes, who I've actually had experience with in the past. Many moons ago, I used to be subscribed to their OTM service, where they would send you an exclusive color each month for a set price. I didn't know much about indies back then and I definitely didn't know how to apply them, so I got those few months of colors and had no idea what to do with them. So, when I saw on Reddit that the owner, Vee, was offering shadows for review, I snapped up the opportunity. After a few emails back and forth (and a few days), I got a little bubble mailer filled with my eye shadow choices. As always, this review is my honest opinion and I received no compensation for my opinions on these shadows!

The shadows I chose were Vulnerable, Bittersweet, Oddity, Mushroom, Just Bitten, and Brown Eyed Girl. Glamour Doll Eyes sells unblended eye shadows, which means that they aren't unique to GDE, but I chose six shadows that are unique to GDE. I swatched all of these shadows of NYX Milk Jumbo Eye Pencil (just to switch things up) and they all stuck to it very well.

All of the shades were accurate to what I saw in the pot and the only color that wasn't at full opacity immediately was Vulnerable, but it was still fairly opaque. Applying the colors to swatch was a breeze, but they are also really easy to apply to the eye. Perhaps I was just more careful this time, but I didn't feel like there was a massive amount of fall out with these shadows while applying, but there was definitely some (just like with most loose shadow). Having worn these shadows for the past few days, I can say that they do last all day with a primer underneath and can last through an entire soccer game. The only negative thing that I have to say about them, and it's hardly a negative, is that you must absolutely use a sticky base for these to adhere to. Like I said, that's hardly a negative, especially with loose shadow, but it is necessary with these to get decent pigmentation.

Vulnerable is a warm, peachy champagne shade that works really well as a brow and inner corner highlight. If you also wanted a very neutral, subtle eyeshadow, you could just sweep this over the lid.

Bittersweet is a warm toned taupe that would work well as an all over lid color.

Oddity is a bright acid green with loads of golden sparkle.

Mushroom is a cooler toned, grayish taupe shade.

Brown Eyed Girl is a really complex, wonderful shades that bounces between a slightly reddish purple to an almost brown shade. This shade makes me think of my best friend who happens to have brown eyes.

Just Bitten is a purple tinged burgundy shade.

And a few looks...

Oddity all over the lid with Vulnerable in the inner corner and on the brow bone (Illamasqua Heroine in the crease).

Brown Eyed girl on the lid with Just Bitten in the outer corner and brought through the crease.

Also! Sorry about the insane brows; I'm growing them out until the end of August and then getting them shaped. Only 22 more days of this nonsense...

And I'll send you off with a gif of the shadows! Let me know if you have any questions of comments!

xx, 

BisousDarling

Limnit Lipsticks : Swatches & Mini Review

A quick break from eye shadows and blushes to bring you an indie lipstick company; Limnit Lipsticks. I found out about Limnit a few months ago when I was on an intense search for a gray lipstick and could only find one that I liked on the entire world of the internet. Somehow, I stumbled upon Trina's (the owner of Limnit) shop on Etsy and discovered a whole new world of colors. I ended up waiting to place an order and then Trina closed up shop for a bit, but when she reopened near the end of June, I immediately placed an order. I kid you not, I sat on Facebook waiting for her to make the announcement that the store was open again and then poured over the new colors that she had created and carefully thought out what I wanted. 

I ended up buying three small pots of color, but you can also get full sized tubes if that's what you prefer. I actually prefer applying lipstick with a brush, so the pots of color are great for me. Unfortunately, Trina does not have the full sized tubes in her shop right now (they'll be returning, don't worry), but she does have pots of all of the colors available for $4.60/each.

The info card that comes with your order + a small note :)

Trina includes a small postcard in the order that explains how to get the best results from your Limnit lipsticks and also includes information on how to mattify the shades, how to remove them, and also how to store them. I think that this little information card is a fantastic idea since some products really do require a bit more attention and it's better to know all of that upfront.

The three shades that I bought were League of my Own, Abracadabra, and Goodness Graycious.

I also received a free sample of Olly Olly Oxen Free in this little plastic baggie. Don't be mistaken, there is a massive amount of product in that baggie and it will last me a long, long time.

Indoor Bathroom Lighting

Indoor Bathroom Lighting

Outdoor, Natural Lighting

Abracadabra is a warm toned mid range purple. I have included both indoor lighting and outdoor lighting so that you can see how these lipsticks look under different lighting circumstances. The outdoor lighting is the most accurate for the shades, but I thought I would include both just so that you can see the difference that lighting makes.

The lipstick applied smoothly with my lip brush, but took a tiny bit of work to make sure that it wasn't patchy. In the realm of all lipsticks of the world, this was very easy to apply but in the realm of the lipsticks that I received from Limnit, this was the most difficult of the four. Once I got it on my lips and how I wanted, it was very pretty and I like the color quite a bit. I think it might be fun to pick up Bewitching Hour and mix these two shades together to create an awesome blue-violet!

Indoor Bathroom Lighting

Indoor Bathroom Lighting

Outdoor, Natural Lighting

Outdoor Natural Lighting

Goodness Graycious is a warm toned, darker gray color. This is what originally led me to Limnit, gray lipstick! Although this isn't the actual shade of gray that was looking for, when I saw this color, I knew that I needed to have it. There's something almost kind of taupe colored about this lipstick, but not so taupe that it ends up looking like something out of 90s George Michael music video. 

The application of Goodness Graycious was amazing. It is so pigmented and so smooth that it just glided on like a dream. Sometimes, incredibly smooth lipsticks can get streaky and weird, but not this one; just absolutely wonderful to put on.

Indoor Bathroom Lighting

Indoor Bathroom Lighting

Outdoor, Natural Lighting

Outdoor, Natural Lighting

League of my Own is a cool toned aqua green shade. So, I have a bit of a mild obsession with "odd" lip colors, so I pretty much had to purchase this shade. I try to steer away from light colored options of fun lipsticks, but since this one is so deep, I went with it. Ignore that patch near the center of my mouth, that was bad application on my part!

League of my Own is just like Goodness Graycious in that it applies wonderfully. However, if possible, I think that League of my Own is even more pigmented than Goodness Graycious. I had to put almost no effort into getting the rich opacity that is seen in the above pictures; totally awesome.

Indoor Bathroom Lighting

Indoor Bathroom Lighting

Outdoor, Natural Lighting

Outdoor, Natural Lighting

Olly Olly Oxen Free is a rich, deep berry toned burgundy shade (how do you like all of the adjectives?). Pardon my language, but holy fuck, this shade is incredibly and I can see myself wearing it a ton in the fall and winter. The shade is something that most companies often attempt, but fail at making. If I could marry a shade of lipstick, this would be it. It's amazing; insanely pigmented and just glides onto the lips with zero patchiness or streakiness.

Only one word of warning with Olly Olly Oxen Free; this will stain your lips like whoa. I only had this shade on for about an hour and it left a stain on my lips for the entire next day. I'm sure if I had scrubbed and worked at it a bit, I could have gotten the stain off, but the color that it stained my lips was so pretty that I just put lip balm over the top and called it a day.

So... did I convince you to buy some lipstick? Honestly, diving into the world of indie cosmetics has been a bit overwhelming because it was something that I knew very little about, but it has been beyond rewarding. I have not had a single bad experience (yet? knock on wood?) and all of the owners of these companies have been amazingly kind and awesome. Trina at Limnit makes some of the most amazingly pigmented and smooth lipsticks that I've ever worn on my mouth and she carries "normal" colors as well as some more off the wall shades. I highly recommend that you pick them up!