All posts filed under: Reviews

Sample Stash Sunday: Darling Girl Cosmetics

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I don’t know what happened, but I went sampler-crazy in January. There were a lot more brands I wanted to try but didn’t get to (i.e. Fyrinnae, Black Rose Minerals, Aromaleigh, etc) because they don’t ship to the Philippines. However, I have had my fill of indies for now, I think. (I’m still expecting parcels from Victorian Disco, Notoriously Morbid and Hello Waffle… So yes. I have a problem.) Aside from all of that, though, I picked up a 10-sampler pack from Darling Girl Cosmetics. It’s one of the indie brands that I hear frequently, so I thought it might be a safe place to start. They have quite an extensive collection of collections (lol), including an all-matte one called MILF or Matte I’d Like to Find. I love their musically-named ones, too. Here’s what I ended up getting: And somehow, I ended up receiving one more sample baggie and this GWP: Swatched, L-R: Vicar in a Tutu, Saddle Up, Heaving Bosom, Between the Sheets, Naughty Bits, Bodice Ripper, Tainted Love, Miss Argentina, Pirate’s Booty, …

Random Bits from Oslo Cosmetics: Eye Bond Primer Wand and Lip Slick

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I usually ease myself into indie brands by getting their powder products. I feel like it’s kind of hard to mess up loose eyeshadows or blushes. After a spectacular experience with Oslo’s blushes and eyeshadows, I thought it would be fun to venture into their other offerings, so I got a Lip Slick and their eye primer. I got the Lip Slick mini in Hibiscus. It’s a pretty peachy pink that I felt looked a lot like MAC’s Betty Bright. It’s a bit pinker than Betty Bright, but it’s still a rather pretty color, IMO.

Barry M Nail Paint in Countess and Blood Orange

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I got these awesome Barry M nail paints from my swap with Laala! I had never tried them out before, but I always see them in blogs, since I follow quite a few UK-based ones and everyone seems to love these. Laala says that these are probably her favorite nail polish formulas, after Chanel, and that sounds pretty freaking awesome to me. She got me a red shade (Blood Orange) from their Gelly line and a super freaking pretty glitter/textured shade (Countess) from a limited edition collection called Royal Glitter. Anyway, it is beautiful. It looks brown in the bottle, but on the nails it is a magic color. … Apologies for this pitiful picture, lol. The brushes on these splay out a little, which is a bit hard because my nails are exceptionally small. However, they are perfectly fine brushes. I wore both so I can test them equally, and over a base coat, this formula lasted pretty long. Only my right index finger showed any signs of wear as I was vigorously scrubbing …

& Other Stories loot and reviews from my swap with Laala

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My body is all a-tingle! Several months ago, I stumbled upon a new brand under H&M called & Other Stories, which had its own cosmetics line. That was so well-designed that I MUST HAVE THEM. Sadly, they are not available in the US, which is a country from which I can order from pretty easily, so I shoved all most of my desire for it deep down my throat and looked at the other pretties. I posted about a swap with Laala, and this is actually where it all began. In her letter, she mentioned that a lot of stuff was gone by the time she got to the counters (since it was the holiday season), but I think she got me a bunch of great stuff, actually, all of which I will attempt to give a fair review in a single post. For reasons.

Psst, Your Hoarder is Showing: Stuff I Got from Geek Chic Cosmetics

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Oops. Someone went a little overboard. I bought a total of 28 eyeshadows from Geek Chic Cosmetics. They’re an indie company that appeals to the geek in me. Much like Shiro Cosmetics (which I love, as you already know), Geek Chic makes collections based on geekery like Harry Potter and Doctor Who. A number of indies actually base their collections of of movies and shows, but Geek Chic’s selection is pretty extensive. So this is what happened, heh. I ordered 27 samples, and they came in clamshells like this. A lot of people hate this packaging and I can see why. It’s tricky to open (I just do it carefully, securing the ‘base’ half firmly on the table and opening the top half carefully) and also tricky to use since the lid tends to close on itself. When you close, you leave behind a puff of product. It’s alright, though. I can live with it. For swatches, I’ve divided everything by collection and in parts. I hope this makes things easier to find on the …

Trying on Illamasqua Pure Pigments

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I grabbed two shades of the Illamasqua Pure Pigment from the aforementioned holiday sale. Pigments are definitely not high up on my list of “things to try,” but these popped up on my radar when Bea of The Dalaga Project made a beautiful look with the shade Incite and unknowingly proceeded tempt meh with other looks using the popular Ore. I don’t think the two other shades were included in the sale, and I resolved to only buy things that were which explains the lack of lipsticks and palettes, so I ended up with Furore and Static. These were priced £7.50 each, down from £16.50. I am in love with the packaging. It has a sort of pinched square shape that Illamasqua is known for. The lid kind of just fits on the container, and the product is dispensed via a small hole in the center. The lid has a small “stopper” on the inside that’s meant to prevent the pigment from flying out and about but customers have complained about it. I don’t really …

Illamasqua Cream Blushers

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I picked up a few things from the Illamasqua super sale during the holidays and have been taking them out on a road test for the past month or so. These cream blushers went from £18 to £7.50 each, so I got three. Obviously… I have Promise, Rude, and Dixie, and they are all permanent shades.