Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Springtime with Solstice Scents


Oh yeah.
Solstice Scents recently released their Spring Collection and I took the opportunity to give some of their spring stuff a try, pick up a few things that have been recommended to me and finally grab full sizes of a few scents I loved from my last order. Okay, I did jump the gun a bit and may have grabbed a lot of these full sizes un-sniffed. Okay, almost all of my order. I'm not ashamed. I'm owning it. Okay? Okay.

Let's start out with what I picked up from the Spring release! I considered getting a sample of each but thought I'd shop responsibly and just get what sounded most appealing to me. This approach only kind of worked.

Blossom Jam Tea Cakes, Chantilly Cream, Chiffon, Cameo
Blossom Jam Tea Cakes: Southern Tea Cakes, Petit Fours, Floral Infused Jams & Preserves and a Delicate Aroma of Tea.
Ehhh. Ehhhhh. Cold sniff is really strange. I can pick out what I assume is little cakes and something floral but the combination is not terribly pleasant. There's something a bit soapy about it. Applied it's still sweet and floral. As it dries down the tea note peaks out. It reminds me of the tea note in Haus of Gloi's Elevenses but not nearly as overwhelming. Happily, it quickly fades down to a light cake scent. It's so faint however that it hardly seems worth it at that point. This was probably a scent that I did not need in a full size at all but you live and learn. It does layer decently over Chantilly Cream so that's a small redeeming factor.

Chantilly Cream: Whipped Cream, Peach Nectar, Vanilla & Yellow Mandarin EO.
From the bottle I get a lot of cream with a touch of peach. Very soft and fresh yet decadent. The cream smells thick and dare I say creamy. On my skin the peach takes over but doesn't overwhelm the cream. It's a very deliciously sweet scent. It sits very close to the skin and isn't so much peach fruit as it is fuzzy peach skin. After a while it dries down and vanilla takes the lead with a bit of peach lingering in the background. Just a touch powdery but not unpleasant. The only disappointing thing about this perfume is it's lasting power. I'd say it lasted only a handful of hours on me. (I'll learn to keep track from now on.) Unlike Blossom Jam Tea Cakes, I'm very happy with this full size purchase.

Chiffon: Vanilla, White Amber, White Musk & Lemon Myrtle EO.
I've said it before and I'll say it again: I love lemon. I love lemon so much, you guys. Sweet lemon especially. So, of course, Chiffon was stuck immediately into my shopping cart. The cold sniff doesn't start out very lemony. It's very cool which I assume is a combination of the white amber and musk. It's pleasantly sweet and breezy. Once applied the lemon comes out very strongly. As it dries the lemon calms down a bit and what I assume is the white amber starts to come out. Now, I don't really know anything about amber scents so I can only guess. It smells cold and lemony and I dig it. After a while that dies down and it's mostly vanilla left. Sweet with, again, a touch of lemon. It sits very close to the skin and isn't terrible strong but I'd say it's definitely a wrist sniffer. Another happy full size buy! P.S. Chiffon + Chantilly Cream = Fuck yeah.

Cameo: Almond, Rose, Yellow Cake, Tonka Bean, Coconut, Ginger and Green Orange.
So I love lemon. But I hate rose. I cannot stand it. I once bought a drugstore mascara, popped it on my eye curtains and almost died. It had been scented. With rose. Who the hell decides that mascara needs to be rose scented? Anyway, when I saw that rose note listed in Cameo I instantly noped past it. But the almond, cake, and coconut notes pulled me right on back. I decided a small sample wouldn't kill me. Out of the sample vial I get sweet cake and a good bit of rose which put me off. Beneath that I can pick up almond and what I assume is tonka bean. I was really very pleasantly surprised once I applied it. The coconut comes out on top followed by yellow cake. The rose is there but it's very subtle and works surprising well with the other notes. This is also a very sweet scent. Eventually the green orange peeks out followed by the ginger. At this point Cameo takes on a floral but spicy tone but also stays sweet. I really love how complex it is. At times I almost catch something like cinnamon. It's the strangest thing. I'll probably be needing this in a full size and definitely would've preferred it over Blossom Jam Tea Cakes.

Next up I've got a couple general catalog goodies along with my first try at the Foxcroft Collection.

Blackburn's Parlor, Blueberry Muffin Batter, Vanilla Pipe Tobacco
Blackburn's Parlor: Vanilla Waffle Bowl, Vanilla & Chocolate Ice Creams, Slice Bananas Smothered in Caramel Sauce & Topped With Whipped Cream.
Blackburn's Parlor has been talked up all over the place and it sounded divine so I figured I may as well just full size the sucker. Out of the bottle: Bananas! Like banana Laffy Taffies. It's different but nice. It's quirky. There's also a touch of chocolate but banana's definitely the boss. Applied I get even more bananas! The chocolate's there too with a bit of the vanilla and caramel. Very, very sweet. (There's a theme here, obs.) It does have a cold ice cream quality that I've heard people make mention of. There's something about it that on my skin comes across as a tad artificial but not entirely unenjoyable. Almost like a perfumey vanilla but I think it's just the caramel note playing games with my skin chemistry. Blackburn's Parlor is for sure a fun perfume but I could have lived without it.

Blueberry Muffin Batter: Plump Blueberries, Sweet Brown Sugar Crumb Topping, a Touch of Vanilla Bean, Liquid Cane Sugar & Batter.
This perfume is almost straight blueberries upon cold sniff. There seems to be a touch of brown sugar and it does give off a very muffiny vibe. Applied the blueberries are still very dominant and stay that way for quite a while. It's very sweet! After a while it warms up and the vanilla takes over. It's very simple but in a comforting sort of way. I was compared to a candle however. So there's that.

Vanilla Pipe Tobacco: Vanilla Absolute, Tobacco Absolute, Tonka Bean Absolute & Sweet Clover Absolute.
This one was my free sample and I was super pumped to give it a try. Tobacco without the cancer, amiright? Cold sniff gives me fresh, somewhat sweet tobacco with no smokiness in sight. It's all tobacco on application but very subtle and still a touch sweet. I think I start to pick out the clover after a bit - there's something in there that's a bit floral. It's a nice scent but it fades very quickly. I'll probably get a few uses from the sample vial but I don't think a full size is in order.

And finally:

Lemon Ginger Creams, Snowmint Mallow
I picked up full sizes of Lemon Ginger Creams and Snowmint Mallow which I reviewed here. I love these so much, oh yesyesyes.

Overall, another mostly successful order from Solstice Scents! Even the scents that I didn't particularly like weren't anything that I ended up hating. Also, these being my first full sizes from them I will say I'm loving the bottles. Nice, sturdy and visually appealing. And no leaking! The shipping was super fast and I was even refunded the shipping overcharge which I wasn't expecting so yeah~ Also, check the fancy green drawstring bag my bottles came in. Pure class. Keep on keepin' on, Solstice Scents. You got me in your pocket.


xxx


P.S. I have a huge (Three Part!) post on Femme Fatale coming soon so keep those peepers peeled!

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

The Littlest Shiro Anniversary Haul


Check it.

On April 30th Shiro Cosmetics celebrated their 4th birthday! And what best accompanies a companies birthday? A sale! And what best accompanies a sale? Copious amounts of shopping! I was able to keep it reined in however and kept my order down to a fairly reasonable size. (If for the only reason I had not shown the same restraint while making purchases elsewhere...)

I ordered 2 of the soon to be discontinued Intertubes, 2 custom glosses, the May COTM and was able to grab up the special anniversary color which was available as a freebie the first day of the sale.

Let's not bore ourselves however and get straight to the swatches!


Colorless base with silver sparks. Peppermint.


My first intertube! I'm really diggin' Longcat. No color but the peppermint tingle plus the tiniest amount of silver sparkle makes me feel pretty snazzy while still allowing me to be crazy lazy and not actually try all that hard. I'm glad that I picked this up.



Bright coral. Unflavored.


Everyone absolutely loses their shit over Why Not Zoidberg? so I figured I just had to get it before it disappeared. Shiro's own It's Called Love is supposed to be a dupe and I'd say it's very, very close. Both are coral but now that I can swatch them side to side I'd say I'ts Called Love leans a bit more reddish/orange. Why Not Zoidberg? is a very lovely color but I can feel that "intertube" grittiness that there have been complaints about and the shape of the tube is a bit too awkward for me when it comes to applying color. I'm glad that I gave it a try but I'm perfectly happy with It's Called Love taking it's place.



Plausible Walrus in Opaque - May '14 COTM
Bright poppy-pink with a violet shift.


This is an absolutely glorious gloss. It's the perfect "pop of pink" type of lip color and that violet shift - mmm mmm mmmff. It does require a bit of building up to get to this level of opacity but it wears well sheered out also. I'm only sad the tube didn't come with the sticker of Jaime Hyneman's face. Would've been chic as fuck.



Slave 23 in Moderate - from the Fullmetal Collection
A sheer wash of gold loaded with golden and silver sparkle.

Worn sheer.
Built up.
Over MAC Riri Woo (Retro Matte).
Although this gloss is Moderate I'd still say it's fairly sheer. But it is everything a girl could dream of in a gold glitter gloss~ These photos do it no justice. It looks stunning worn over a red lip. Buh. I'm definitely going to go on a Shiro Glitter Gloss binge one of these days.




Plausible Walrus - May '14 COTM
Bright poppy-pink with a violet shift.

Cutie Patootie.
Over Too Faced Glitter Glue.
Over Too Faced Glitter Glue.

May's COTM was released a day early on April 30th to keep everything nice and tidy. It plays on Shiro's absolutely hilarious April Fool's joke and if you missed it I feel for you. Walruses. Everywhere. The color itself is really pretty but I feel it makes a nicer gloss. Not an everyday shadow but perfect for a pop of color now and again. The violet shift is more apparent in person - I can't photograph shifts for shit.



The Fourth Be With You - Fourth Anniversary Color
Vivid, strangely metallic limey lightsaber green.

Over Too Faced Glitter Glue.

A stunningly bright green! It's less neon than I captured. The right half of the swatch is the most true to life. I like it but it's not really my type of color. I'll definitely do some playing with it but it's more of a "crazy makeup day" than an everyday. It does have a lovely metallic sheen though. And that sticker is just stupid adorable.



Gizmo (Detrivore)
Shimmery orange-copper.

Over Too Faced Glitter Glue

I'm so sorry - I'm not a photographer! But this is one of the most beautiful copper shades I've ever had the pleasure of swatching. It's just molten metallic loveliness! The sample will last me a while but I will for sure be needing this in a full size at some point!


I'm happy with my modest little haul! I'd say I for sure favored the lip products over the shadows this time around. My order's actually been sitting around my room for a while and I was able to catch the last bit of sun today and at least get this haul out of the way. Coming up I've got some Darling Girl and Femme Fatale along with some others so hopefully I'll be able to get some time/good lighting to finally come my way! (I've got some daylight bulbs to play with if worse comes to worst!)


xxx

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Hello Waffle's Ouroboros Collection


Last month Hello Waffle released their Ouroboros collection and held a sale ripe with delicious codes as celebration. Now, I'm a sucker for sales and a sucker for various fandoms including Fullmetal Alchemist. But most of all I'm a sucker for cute stickers. That's right, I said it. I may be shallow but that's just the way it is. So obviously I had to pick up the entire collection - full sized for them sweet sweet labels. I've never tried anything from Hello Waffle so I was basically diving in head first with this order. Only having heard good things however, I wasn't too worried.

I placed my order on April 19th when the turn around time was about 3-4ish business days. My shipment notice hit my email April 24th - within the stated TAT so all good there. Now, my package was coming all the way to my humble Iowan abode from the magical land of Canada so I knew it'd take a while. It finally showed up on May 5th after what I assume was a waltz through Narnia. But let me tell you: It was worth the wait.

Based of the homunculi from the best anime ever. :D

The gang's all here!

Look at that. That shit is magical. Honestly it's been too long since I watched Fullmetal Alchemist and this has sparked a need in me, fellas. I only watched the first incarnation so I've got my eyes set on Brotherhood. But this isn't a post about anime! It's a post about beautiful eyeshadows!

Medium forest green with multicolored sparks.

Envy over Bare Skin, Too Faced Shadow Insurance, Too Faced Glitter Glue

Envy surprised me - it looks so much bluer in the jar. Once swatched it matches up with the official description and all that lovely green comes out. Dem multicolored sparkles man, dem sparkles. I didn't have much success with it over bare skin though. I'd say glitter glue is your best bet if you want to bring out it's full complexity. And that's kind of the theme with all the shadows I received from Hello Waffle so I wont touch on bases much from here on. (No points against Hello Waffle! I find it's very very rare to find a loose shadow that has any sort of decent payout without a good base.) Anyway, I'm still thinking about how I'd like to wear Envy. I'm thinking it'll be stunning as thick winged liner. Oh yes.

Rich dark chocolate brown with copper/red sparks.

Gluttony over Bare Skin, Too Faced Shadow Insurance, Too Faced Glitter Glue
Unfocused Sparkle Porn

Oh gluttony, you fat fuck. Chocolate is such a fitting choice. Plus those red sparks, umph. That's good stuff. There seems to be some gold in it as well and it swatches a bit warmer than I was expecting. This'll make a nice crease/outer corner color. Or all over the lids and blended out around the edges.

Golden pastel yellow with gold shimmer and blue sparkle.

Greed over Bare Skin, Too Faced Shadow Insurance, Too Faced Glitter Glue

Oh lawd, I barely remember Greed from the anime. Now you know it's been too long. Either way, this eyeshadow, man. This is just gorgeous. That golden metallic sheen, those baby blue sparkles~ It's just dreamy. I'll probably end up pairing this with sooo many purples.

Dark berry with purple and blue shifts.

Lust over Bare Skin, Too Faced Shadow Insurance, Too Faced Glitter Glue

The perfect color for Lust - a rich, sexy burgundy. The blue shift is subtle but shows in real life better than I was able to capture here. There's not too much to say about it - just use those beautiful eyeballs!

Warm dark lilac with light purple sparks.

Pride over Bare Skin, Too Faced Shadow Insurance, Too Faced Glitter Glue

The only Pride I'm aware of is Fuhrer Bradley so I have no idea who this little pooter is supposed to be. Don't tell! I like surprises. Whoever this new Pride is, he sure does inspire a freakin' beautiful eyeshadow. You take a purple eyeshadow and throw some gold of any kind into it and you've got a winner in my book. A+ 4eva.

Light olive brown with green sparks.

Sloth over Bare Skin, Too Faced Shadow Insurance, Too Faced Glitter Glue

This shadow has the most amazing green shift. I can't even. Sloth is definitely one of my favorites from this collection. In the jar you can't really be sure what to expect but once you swatch it you're wowed. Gooood show.

Muted dark gray-green with silver sparks.

Wrath over Bare Skin, Too Faced Shadow Insurance, Too Faced Glitter Glue

If denim jeans were an eyeshadow they would be Wrath. It's a really marvelous muted blue color that I think will be a lot easier for people to pull off than a straight blue. There's not much sparkle to it but it has a lovely shimmer/sheen. I keep trying to think of how I'd like to wear this but all I can think of doing is pairing it with a full denim outfit.


But that's not all I got - oh no no. During Hello Waffle's sale there were a couple GWP shadows available for orders over certain amounts. I think I chose wisely-

Hot Cross Bunnies
Sparkly pale lilac.

Hot Cross Bunnies over Bare Skin, Too Faced Shadow Insurance, Too Faced Glitter Glue

THAT PURPLE AND GOLD. I'm so happy I went with Hot Cross Bunnies. This is just shimmery, glittery perfection. Although it was introduced as a limited item it appears that it's found a permanent home in Hello Waffle's store! (Insert tears of joy. T^T)

And last but not anywhere close to least! Free samples! I received Silk and Fey. Both from the Persinette Collection.

Free samples? More like free SURPRISES!

Silk (Formerly Maximus)
Sparkly metallic purple.

Silk over Bare Skin, Too Faced Shadow Insurance, Too Faced Glitter Glue

More purple and gold! How does she do it!? This shadow is just gorgeous. And the sample size is so generous! I'll definitely get good use out of this one!

Fey (Formerly Magic Hair)
Shimmering golden apricot with rosy undertones.

Okay.
Wait.
WAT.
UHHNFF.
HHNNGGG.

This color. All over my face. And body. Forever. And. Ever. This is literally one of the most amazing shadows I've ever seen. I've heard it touted about as a good dupe for Fyrinnae's Rapunzel Had Extensions but Rapunzel Had Extensions isn't sitting here in front of me and I've fallen in love and it's too late. Sorry RHE. I will definitely be getting Fey in a full size. Screw it - considering Silk was also super lovely I'll probably pick up the whole damn collection. But Mollie, you're supposed to start being more  financially responsible. Yeah, well, people change and there's nothing that can be done about it.

To summarize: Good job, Hello Waffle! You've got a newfound convert!


xxx