Category Archives: Indie

INDIE BRAND SPOTLIGHT: Devinah Cosmetics

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Devinah is one of my favorite indie brands. As a favorite, you can expect their products to be pigmented and beautiful like all the other shadows I love. What helps set them apart is that their price point for duochromes and multichromes are on the less expensive end. Their shadows are also a unique texture, unlike any other brand’s shadows I’ve experienced. Some of the mattes give some resistance when you try to rub your finger in the pan, yet they apply so smoothly to the skin. Some shimmers give resistance too, some are smooth, a few are dry, and some feel like a putty without moving around like a putty. The closest similarity would be to a Colourpop Supershock shadow, but without as much of the dimethicone/silicone feel to them. Devinah’s feel “heavier.” It’s hard for me to explain. The textural element is important to note because when I purchased the XPLODERS Collection, the Everlasting Gobstopper shade shrunk.

As you can see, it was unbroken and still in a perfect circle, just loose and sliding around in the pan. When I contacted them asking how this happened, they explained that the formula enables these shadows to be pressed back into place without breaking. They still offered a replacement or store credit, even though mine technically didn’t break, so their customer service is definitely top-notch!

It took very little effort to be able to press the shadow back together, and it looked like nothing had ever happened to it! I’ve been able to do this with Clionadh shimmers when I accidentally dropped them, and other soft shimmer shadows, but Devinah’s shadow is the only one I’ve been able to press back and have it look brand new using my fingers alone! Again, I think this goes back to the near putty-like texture.

As for Devinah’s multichromes, like the shades in the Butterfly collection, they feel closer to a traditional shimmer eyeshadow (still with some slip) in terms of texture. I apply the inner corner of shimmer shades with a brush, but I use my finger everywhere else on the lid. This is why texture has become an important element for me, since it adds to my enjoyment while using them, and why I felt it was important to delve into this much detail about it.

I use MAC Paint Pot for Matte shadows and Nyx Glitter Glue for the glittery/sparkly shadows. The more satin/metallic shades that shine without use of glitter have enough slip that I don’t think a primer is even necessary, but I still use MAC Paint Pot with them anyway.

SUGAR DROPS COLLECTION

The Sugar Drops are semi-transparent shifting glitter eyeshadows. Devinah recommends using a glitter glue to help the shadows adhere. They make great topper and highlighting shades and are recommended to try over white and black bases.

Cake Bomb – This shade shifts green and blue. On me it looks like seafoam green to powder blue.

Soda Swamp – This looks like a peachy pink to pinky-purple shift, but I mainly just see the peach-pink. I didn’t like the way this looked over white and black bases. Though the black base made the sparkles stand out more, it turned cooler-toned, which isn’t as flattering on me. Over the white base, I couldn’t see the shift anymore.

Puffles -This looks like a pink-blue-green shift. Of the three, this is the one I like most because it makes the biggest impact.

XPLODERS COLLECTION

This is the only Devinah Collection I have in its entirety. I bought them all because I couldn’t decide between the shades! The brand recommends using a glitter glue with this one too. They remind me of the sugar drops but with more of a base color.

Everlasting Gobstopper – I can see purple-pink, a goldish green, and light blue. Blue is the dominating shade though in most types of lighting. I love how easy it is to see the shifts in this, though I wouldn’t wear a shade like this on it’s own.

Nerds – This has a blue-green-gold look, but on my eyelids the greenish gold is all I see. I don’t see blue, even though that’s the main color in the pan.

Swudge – This shade is blue-green with a purple shift, though strangely on my eyes the purple is more prevalent. This one I would feal comfortable wearing alone.

Pixy Stix – This is a pink to gold shift, but there’s no visible pink on my eyelids when glitter glue is used. Over a white base, the pale pink tones show and it looks similar to the shade Gelicide. Over a black base, it turns a darker gold.

Kazookles – This has a pink to purple shift, but on my eyelids it looks like there’s a bit of a gold shift as well.

Marshmallow Pillows – This is a pink to purple to blue shift. The blue and purple pop more on my eyelids, which makes this my favorite of the XPLODERS.

Runts – This shade is a lilac to purple with pink glitter, though the purple is so light that I can barely see it in person (and not in photos).

NEWEST MULTICHROMES

I bought two of the three new eyeshadows as part of the galaxy dust shifters collection. With these shadows, they recommend using glitter glue and trying them out over white or black bases.

Tucana – I would call this a rose gold shade, even though it shifts from golden peach to pink. Or maybe it’s rose gold to pink. I’m really not great at describing shades.

Centaurus – I describe this as a shift from yellow gold to a more orange-gold.

GALAXY DUST SHIFTERS COLLECTION

Whereas the Sugar Drops and XPLODERS are more on the iridescent side, the Galaxy Shifters have a lot more pigment to them. They remind me of Clionadh’s glitter and hybrid multichromes from the Stained Glass collection.

Celesta – This shade is like a vintage gold to olive. There isn’t a significant difference when used over a white base, as it just makes the shade lighter. Over a black base, it makes the green a little more apparent.

Skyla – This is like a fuchsia to purple with blue reflects.

Asteria – This one is a pretty cranberry to mint.

CANDY CAKES COLLECTION

The Candy Cakes shadows remind me of the Galaxy Dust Shifters, but without a shift. They’re like very pigmented duochromes. If there is a shift, perhaps I can’t see it because the shifting color is too close to the dominant one.

Rainbow Blossom – I really like this shade. It’s a beautiful fern green and gold.

Confetti Kisses – This is not my type of shade, but I was so curious about it that I had to get it. It’s like a bright sky blue with pink and purple shimmer.

Sweetie Sunbeam – I think this shade has a rosy base color but is mainly a coppery gold.

BUTTERFLY KALEIDOSCOPE COLLECTION

The Butterfly Multichromes have the most pigment and strongest shifts. These are the closest shadow comparisons to Clionadh’s Jeweled Multichromes, but without the black base.

Morphinae – The cool purple to blue shift is strong, but on the outer edges you can faintly see warmer purple too. A white base tones down the shade. I expected a huge impact when using a black base, but I didn’t get that. It did turn this shade smokier and intensified it slightly, but still nowhere near Clionadh or Sydney Grace’s multichrome level. That being said, not everyone wants that level of intensity. Some makeup lovers aren’t into deeper smoky colors and will possibly like these better. I love the ones with black bases, but I admittedly don’t always go for that look either.

Parthenos – The more obvious shift goes from a lighter green to a darker green, but the outer edges have a little aqua blue or cyan.

MULTICHROME MADNESS COLLECTION

Nacarat – This shade has a subtle shift from darker to lighter orange. I was surprised to discover this grouped in with the multichromes, since it’s so difficult to see any shift at all. I was also surprised to see both white and black bases dulled the intensity of the orange, though the black base showed the lighter orange shift better in the outer corner. Though it doesn’t show as much on camera, over the white and black bases, I also noticed a slightly pink tinge to the shade as well.

Pavonine – When I think of common duochrome and multichrome shades, this one comes to mind as a dark berry/burgundy with green-blue shimmer. Even though this isn’t a unique shade, I don’t have that many in my collection, so I decided to buy it anyway.

UNBUNDLED MULTICHROMES/DUOCHROMES

Gelicide – This shade was a lot lighter than I expected. It’s like a light baby pink with champagne shimmer. Strangely enough, I like it and think it would make for a great inner corner or inner third lid shade.

Empress – This shade reminds me of Sunbeam Sweetie, which I will compare later in this post. I love this one so much! Most pinks I encounter are cool-toned, which isn’t as flattering on my complexion. However, this one is deeper and warmer, so I love the way it looks.

Charmed – This type of purple duochrome (with the light to medium blue shimmer) is a very popular eyeshadow shade, but it tends to be on the sheerer side. I’m glad I bought this one because it is the most pigmented purple of this kind I own.

Vicious – This eyeshadow is looks purple in the pan, but has a cool blue tone to it on the eyes. When I wore this in a video chat, it looked completely blue on camera. Over a white base, this shade looks relatively similar to what it looks like on a clear base, but the blue is slightly brighter and less silvery. Over a black base, this makes the purple dominate. This is probably my least favorite eyeshadow in my Devinah collection, with the exception of the shade it turns over the black base. That kind of purple is what I was hoping it would be from the beginning.

SOMEWHERE OVER THE RAINBOW SET

This collection was inspired by the Wizard of Oz. I love that so many of Devinah’s shade names are inspired by different things, for example, the types of butterflies in the Butterfly Kaleidoscope collection, the Willy Wonka theme of the XPLODERS, Salvatore from the Vampire Diaries. The owner (DeAndra) mentioned in an instagram post that she likes horror and murder mystery genres. With shade names like Homicide, Criminal, and Devious, it is very apparent. I’ve also seen Egyptian inspirations, the show Sparticus, etc.

Upon first impression, I despised these two shades because of the fallout. These were among my first the few Devinah purchases, when I had gotten accustomed to their regular shimmer and metallic formulas where using an eyeshadow primer wasn’t a necessity. I had used them over bare skin and then MAC paint pot and they looked so dull. Once I used them over a glitter glue, my opinion completely changed. Glitter fallout was no longer an issue and they looked a lot more opaque and impactful. I highly recommend using a glitter glue with the shadows in this Somewhere Over The Rainbow formula.

Are you a good witch – This is a sparkly dark purple with pink glitter.

I’ll be tender, I’ll be gentle – This shade is a deep teal with aqua glitter. It reminds me of the Lapis Lazuli shade I love from Pat Mcgrath.

PRESSED SHIMMERS

I don’t have much to say about the shadows in this formula, beyond what I mentioned in the introductory paragraphs. They perform well, have longevity, can work without a primer but I like them with my MAC Paint Pot (not as much with glitter glue though). Some of these are shimmers but some have more of a metallic feel with some slip. It’s as though each shade has its own tweaked formula to maximize its effectiveness and beauty.

Sphinx – I like this very pretty bright yellow shade.

Nefertiti – I don’t have any shade in my collection quite like this one It’s very metallic and the shadow even feels wet. I would describe the color as a yellow-orange brass.

Cleopatra – I think of tangerines when I see this color.

Ambrosia – I honestly bought this shade purely because of the name. I have this weird infatuation with the term. I think because I love mythology (Greek especially) and ambrosia was the food of the gods. I’m happy I actually like the way this caramel-bronzy shade looks on my eyes.

Paramour – This is another one of my favorite Devinah eyeshadows. I would describe it as a festive crimson shade that can be built up to look a little deeper.

Salvatore – This looks to be a true red shimmer.

Starlet – This shade is a dark slightly red toned purple, like a wine color.

Purple Kush – This shade is a dark blue toned purple.

Avalon – Is this blue? Is this purple? Another blurple?

Lurican – Purples are my favorite eyeshadow color and greens are my second favorite. I really like this green shade with gold shimmer. It’s similar to Rainbow Blossom without the intense glittery sparkles.

Ferly – This shade is the reason I didn’t buy Clionadh’s Lineage multichrome, as it reminds me so much of it based on swatches. It’s a very pretty almost minty green with gold shimmer. This is another favorite of mine.

Chimerical – I’d describe this as a mossy green with brighter green shimmer.

Alew – This is a blue-ish green shade with gold (and maybe even a little silver) shimmer. It reminds me of a slightly more green version of Hydra from Sydney Grace.

Odium – This color reminds me of Coloured Raine’s Forbidden shade (my favorite eyeshadow of all time). Coloured Raine’s single shadows are being discontinued, so I’m glad I have this as a close replacement.

Briseis – Talk about bright! This shade is so vibrantly ocean blue! Or Turquoise? I don’t know but this blows Coloured Raine’s Malibu shade out of the water!

Midnight – In pictures this looks mostly black with a slight greenish blue tinge. In person, the blue (or deep/darkened teal) is easier to see.

Hydra – Again with the insane vibrancy! I don’t have anything close to this shade in my collection. I would call this an Egyptian Blue shade.

PRESSED MATTES

Toska – I like this shade of yellow but it takes a lot of building up to look opaque on the lid.

Passion – I love this rusty orange. It was one of the first shades I bought from Devinah.

Runa – This is a more pigmented terracotta version of Passion.

Kaia – This is more of a pastel purple that isn’t the worst I’ve tried, but I don’t like this one as much. It might work better over a white base, but I haven’t tried that yet. And at least I can get it to look opaque.

Courtney – This is a very popular shade among Devinah customers. I can see how this type of grungy yellow-green would be liked on others, but it’s just okay for me.

Desma – This rich reddish brown is so nice! It’s rare that I wear just mattes on my eyes or even one-and-done eyeshadow looks, but I would feel comfortable wearing this on its own. It’s my favorite of the mattes I have.

Here is a gallery of some comparison swatches to each other from Devinah and examples of other eye looks.

I would normally post more complicated eyeshadow examples, but Devinah’s shades are so unique and special on their own that in my everyday routine I just put a neutral shade in the crease, add a darker eyeshadow in the outer corner for smokiness, and let each shade shine on the lid on alone. This is why I decided to do the 50+ eye swatches rather than posting just hand swatches. Each eye swatch is already a look I would do.

Additional Information

As I mentioned earlier, Devinah’s prices are quite reasonable for what you’re getting. This is also the case when coupled with promo codes. When you initially sign up for their emails, you’ll get a code for 25% off. There are also influencer codes that can be found in different Youtubers’ video descriptions for 20% off. Also, after every purchase, I usually get an email with a coupon offering 25-30% off if I place another order within 7 days. The codes should work on everything except the Butterfly Multichrome shadows.

I’ve only been a customer with Devinah since they relocated/reopened in Oregon, so I’m not certain if they have regular sales throughout the year. I haven’t witnessed one yet, but the promo codes are a great deal as is. Shipping isn’t free and they recommend purchasing the $3.80 insurance as a USPS order upgrade to protect against loss, theft, or damage.

One of the other things I like about Devinah is that they’re interactive on Instagram and supportive of other indie brands, even liking posts that don’t have their own products in them. They recognize there’s room for everyone in the beauty industry. When you have a good product, it speaks for itself and people will notice.

Overall, I really like Devinah’s shadows and recommend them to anyone who has been thinking of trying out this brand. The glittery eyeshadows are a little more difficult to work with than Clionadh’s formula when dealing with fallout. The Xploders and Sugar Drops are particularly messy. I think this is because they are a little less emollient. However, this is the tradeoff because the shadows don’t settle into the lines of my eyelids as much as Clionadh’s can. Speaking of which, I still have a Clionadh Cosmetics post in the works. I just keep debating with myself whether to post it soon or just wait until I have everything I ordered (which would take a few more months).

Thank you for reading!

– Lili ❤

Nomad Cosmetics Tokyo Harajuku Palette Review

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I’m starting this post with a description of the palette to set the tone of what I was expecting: “Nomad x Tokyo Harajuku Intense Eyeshadow Palette. This poppy pastel palette of fun combines 10 high-pigmented eyeshadows and 5 unique multi-chrome toppers for a sheer prismatic color effect. 15 kawaii shades inspired by the wild creativity of the trendy Tokyo youth. Infused with Camellia Japonica Oil to make skin soft and silky smooth. Cruelty-free & vegan.”

Nomad’s website features Instagram looks from people who have used the palette. Someone please teach me this sorcery of how you get that purple and that blue on the eye compared to the swatches that Nomad themselves posted. Below are my own swatches which I don’t think are that far off from Nomad’s. So, the color intensity from my palette matches up to what I was supposed to get. Yet the site description and photos give the impression that the palette is much more vibrant than it really is.

Perhaps this is considered “intense” because it’s not a neutral color story. Maybe it’s “highly pigmented” for an eyeshadow palette as opposed to the color payoff it should have if it was a pigment palette. There are many times I’ve seen a photo on Instagram with a list of multiple branded eyeshadows used in a single look, yet one brand will repost the photo and make it seem like the whole thing was created using just their eyeshadows. So, it’s possible this person used more than the Harajuku palette on the eyes and that would explain the color differences. Or they used highly pigmented bases/paints underneath. It’s also possible someone used editing tools to turn up the color saturation and tweak the brightness, intensity, etc. I’m not saying it’s impossible to be talented enough to produce that kind of look from this palette. I just have no idea how to naturally do that regardless of what base I used. I tried seven different ones, which I will discuss further into this post.

This was the outcome of my first use of this palette, which I quickly realized has a learning curve.

These eyeshadows swatch beautifully! They feel smooth and glide across the skin nice and evenly. I swatched them on my MAC Paint Pot in Groundwork, yet when I used the same base on my eyes, they wouldn’t stick and kept dusting away. The reason I was able to pack three different colors on top of each other on my lid was because the previous two blew away and just left me with white powder on the lids. Patting motions produce decent results with some of these eyeshadows, but I have been unable to actually blend any shade besides that dark grey called Visual Kei.

Pastel shades can be quite tricky to use, particularly on darker skintones. While it’s true that I tend to avoid pastels because they’re time consuming to use if the formula isn’t suited for me, the pastels from Lethal Cosmetics and Makeup Geek show that they can be made to work for everyone.

What I learned from my failed attempts is that it’s not enough to just have a creamy base (MAC paint pot) or a white base that is dry (Anastasia Beverly Hills eyeshadow primer), so I switched to the Nars Smudgeproof Eyeshadow base which is whitish-clear and emollient. Making this switch provided better results.

I still wasn’t satisfied though, so I continued to test things until I came to the realization that the Nyx Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk is the best base that I have. I was able to get every shadow to perform decently from the top two rows of the palette, excluding the two shades which I couldn’t get to work with any base: Hanami and Kuroi Niji. And the satin finish in Now is Forever is what helps me distinguish between that shade and Kakigori, even though they look different in the pan.

These are the results of my testing, which I hope better explains what I was trying to say. The difference between the lilac line and blue hearts is that some of the bases had the color show up but the shadows faded quickly. And even though the Nyx Jumbo Eye Pencil worked the best of all, there’s still a learning curve to using this too.

Shadows do crease on me, but if I use too much of the Nyx pencil on my eyes the creasing becomes deeper and more noticeable. Using too much also prevents it from drying down, but too little and the shadows won’t stick. A few hours after I did that eyeshadow look, which had a little too much of the Nyx pencil, I accidentally rubbed my eye and a thick patch of eyeshadow left a streak across my hand. I’ve had shadows come off a little but not to this degree. So, it’s important to find the right balance.

As for the “multi-chromes,” the five sparkly shades on the bottom row have multi-colored shimmery specks but when I think of a multi-chrome, I expect a color shift. Perhaps it just doesn’t show as well on my skintone, but to my own eyes these are duochromes at most. That doesn’t take away from the fact that these really are beautiful and are the stars of this palette. They stick fairly well on their own, but Nyx Glitter Glue ensures that there’s minimal glitter fallout. They definitely stay in place, even when rubbed.

The base in Decora is the most pigmented, and therefore is the darkest one, especially with its darker purple glitter. That’s why I often pair it with Takenoko-zoku over Lolita or Gyaru when one of those two are on the other half of my eyes. Takeshita-dori looks darker in the pan, but the light purple glitter makes it appear lighter than Decora. The vibrant yellow in Zaku Zaku doesn’t translate to the eye and appears more of a peachy pink, which is why I pair it most often with Kawaii. Moshi Moshi looks mostly green with blue glitter. Otaku looks pink in the pan, but it just looks blue on me.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Now that I know the trick to making this palette work for me, I can foresee myself continuing to use it. Liking 9 out of 15 shades is a decent ratio for a premade palette. However, I can’t recommend this despite loving the packaging, the concept, the texture of the shadows, and the results with specific shades. The formula is too finicky. And although it didn’t work as well for me, I thought it was still worthwhile to post about for anyone wanting to see this on a dark skintone. If you have a lighter complexion or a more advanced skillset than I do, you may enjoy this palette more than I did.  

Thank you for reading!

-Lili ❤

INDIE BRAND SPOTLIGHT: Coloured Raine Review

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My first Coloured Raine purchase was in November 2017. For two years, their eyeshadow formula was in a league of its own at the top. I even preferred it over my expensive Viseart, Natasha Denona, and Pat Mcgrath shadows! This year, I took a deeper dive into other indie brands’ makeup. Although I no longer know which brand can claim the #1 spot in my collection, Coloured Raine is still tied at the top. Their gorgeous forest green shade, Forbidden, is my all-time favorite eyeshadow (not counting duochromes or multichromes). I purchased nearly all their eyeshadows, and I even have a few duplicates, because I love them so much! However, rather than trying to complete my collection, this post motivated me to pull a Marie Kondo on all my single/depotted shadows and just keep the ones I love.

Because the quality of Coloured Raine shadows are so consistent across the board, there isn’t much to say about them except that they’re highly pigmented and blendable with the smoothest creamy texture. This is the case among all types: mattes, shimmers, metallics, etc.

I will make note of any shades that stand out for negative or especially positive reasons. I will also be discussing more than just eyeshadows. This review will include comments on a few blush/highlighter duos, sponges, and empty magnetic palettes.

THE EYESHADOWS

There was a time when I purchased Coloured Raine shadows to make quads as Christmas gifts. Your Majesty (which I somehow had three backups in my collection) and Malibu from this set of swatches were among them. I should note that I did take Super Star out of my collection since it was so similar to Rosé. I parted with Nightingale as it is too common of a color. Paradise Isle looks like a more sparkly version of Unexpected, yet I couldn’t part with either shade. I was also surprised to discover the Blue Magic shade I’ve purchased for others, I didn’t have in my own collection. I kept seeing Opulence and assumed it was Blue Magic. In the pan, Opulence has a purple tinge that doesn’t translate to the eye, as the purple disappears once it’s rubbed onto the skin. Since I’m just left with bright blue on my skin, I wonder if I’m still missing out by not having the Blue Magic shade. It looks like it might just be a darker version. If I get it in the future, I will update this post as usual.
I also have to comment that Legacy is such a cool shade! It’s whitish-pink in the pan but pinkish purple on the eye, making it a nice topper shade. As with other iridescent shades, I wouldn’t use this on its own, except for the inner corner or as an interesting brow highlight.  

I have enough dark greens, so I removed Grandeur from my collection. Noblewoman won over Passion. And even though Smoke Screen was the only black shade with gold shimmer in my collection, I rarely use any form of black other than matte, so I took that out as well. I would like to reiterate that this had nothing to do with an issue of the formula. I was so tempted to keep them all, but I needed room to add Safari Raine and the upcoming Juicy Boost collection. I could have used another empty magnetic palette (I have so many) but I don’t think I need over 100 eyeshadows from any single brand.

I got rid of all the white shades in this set. I’ve never had use for a white eyeshadow, and I prefer using highlighters to highlight under the brow or to use a cream shade to blend out shadows. Choosing between the dark brown shades was surprisingly difficult, so I only removed Chocolate since it looks like the kind of brown I have the most repeated in my collection.

I got rid of Snitch and Torch for the same reason as Chocolate in the previous round of swatches. I noticed that the palette with the most shades I decided not to keep was from Smoke Show. Prior to getting the Safari Raine palette during the last restock, Smoke Show was the last palette I added to my collection as it had the least appealing color story for me. The shade I wanted most, Showtime, I didn’t keep either as it couldn’t compete with those stunning Vivid green pigments.

Side Note: I’ve always wondered if Coloured Raine is the reason Colourpop had to discontinue selling their Smoke Show palette and rename it Blowing Smoke. Coloured Raine’s palette came first and the name is trademarked. Even though the color story between the palettes is different, I believe one of the stipulations of a trademark breech is if it would cause confusion. Since they both have ‘Colour’ in their names, to have the same palette name on top of that seems like sufficient grounds to me! 

I purchased the shade Chameleon with my Safari Raine order, so I’m including it here as well. It’s a purple iridescent shade that I don’t think looks that nice on its own. When used as just an inner corner highlight, it had an interesting darker purple glow, but it’s not the texture or pigmentation that I’m looking for. The swatches for this shade I intentionally built up to see what’s the maximum pigmentation I could get when certain spots refused to deposit color, and I was still not happy with the results. I would rather reach for an iridescent from other brands over this one. It’s one of the few shades in their entire collection that I wouldn’t recommend. The one application I’ve found to be somewhat useful for this is adding a lighter pearly finish when topped on other shades. I recommend just skipping this one.

The Celebration palette had the second most eyeshadows I decided not to keep, having decluttered 5 out of 13, which is still a decent amount to have kept. Raise a Glass, Flammable, and Misty Nights were removed. As a purple eyeshadow lover, I would love having a lot more purple shimmers from Coloured Raine. The Power palette definitely satisfied some of my purple eyeshadow needs, but I will always want more, even though I have plenty of purples from other brands. Here is a comparison of CR’s Power Palette to CP’s As You Like It palette.

And here are some eyeshadow looks!

SAFARI RAINE

CR had one final restock of this palette, so I have it in my collection now! They’re also selling the shades individually, which is appealing since I planned to depot the shadows anyway. However, at $6.99 each, that would cost $62.91 to get them all when the palette is just $29. I have no issues with Coloured Raine charging them at their standard eyeshadow price. I just made the most cost-effective decision and I’m glad they kept the original Palette price instead of raising it due to the hype that Jackie Aina played a part in restarting.

Although I’ve only had time to use this twice, I would say that the quality is on par with the other shadows. The only shade I had a little trouble getting to show on my skin was Congo Basin (even after trying with the ABH primer which I use to make shadows really stand out). Even to the touch, it felt a little grittier than the others. It reminded me of the texture of the Snitch from the Power palette that I didn’t like. Purples of that shade do tend to have that texture, but I’ve never had a green eyeshadow feel like this. Regardless, I did manage to get it to show a little.

Because the palettes were so sought after, I felt bad about completely getting rid of mine after depotting it. So, I turned it into a magnetic palette. I removed the shadows from the palette, colored the wells with black marker (I didn’t want to wait for black paint to dry) just to make it look more aesthetically pleasing. You can cut around the magnet to fit the size of the wells (keeping the sticker on the back) and place the pan inside to make sure the magnet isn’t too thick. Although I had thinner magnets and magnetic sheets, I wanted to use up my thicker ones, so I used them anyway. It made the pans stick out from the top a little, but the lid still closes, which is most important. I stuck all the magnets in the wells and that’s it! When depotting, I always clean off the glue (this time using Parian spirits) and place a sticker label on the bottom so I can remember the shade name and palette it came from.

The Blush/Highlighter Duos

I have 2 out of the 4 Blush and Highlight Duos from the Power Collection. I didn’t buy the one called Prove My Loyalty because it has an icy white highlighter best suited for pale-light skin tones and a dark red matte best suited for dark-deep skintones. Anyone can wear any makeup they want, but the pairing of those two was…an interesting choice in my opinion. I’m not sure how many people can find use for both of those together. I also didn’t purchase My Day One because both the highlighter and blush looked like they might be too dark for me.

I purchased Damage Control first. Here are some old photos with it.

I like the blush portion. It’s very pigmented, so it requires a light hand or very fluffy brush with it. The highlight shade is beautiful, but too glittery for my taste. I prefer finer shimmer particles in my highlighters.  

The other duo I purchased is named Call The Shots. The blush has a little more warmth to it, which suits me a bit better, although the color difference between this blush and the previous one isn’t that obvious when I use a sheer application. This highlighter has more of that shimmer finish I prefer, but I typically don’t reach for this shade. I love golds. Lately, I have been more interested in blush toppers, which this color is great for, meaning it won’t go to waste. I just know I won’t use it as often as I should.

These duos are fine, but don’t really ‘wow’ me. Although I don’t think $25 is too much considering what you’re getting, if you can snag them for 50% off (as they’ve been on sale multiple times) then I’d be more likely to say they’re worth checking out at that discounted price. 

THE SPONGES

I don’t know why I keep buying sponges when I’m 90% more likely to use a brush to apply my foundation and concealer. If I don’t use a brush, I use the Blendiful from Tati Beauty because I can get my products on and blended in half the time.

In any case, the only traditional beauty sponges I have used so far are from Beautyblender, Real Techniques, and Coloured Raine. The Real Techniques sponge is nice, but the one from Coloured Raine easily surpasses it. I cannot decide which I like more, though, between BB and CR because they both are better at different things.

Softest: When it comes to the softest sponge, Beautyblender wins. The Coloured Raine sponge feels a bit dense when dry but softens up after it is damp. It swells to the largest size among the three sponges. The Real Techniques sponge is a lot harder and remains a bit hard even after being wet.  

Precision: The pointy tip of the CR sponge fits perfectly in the crevices around my eyes when applying concealer. It easily wins, followed by the RT flat edge and finally the BB which has no flat edge and the tip is still a bit rounded, which impacts the precision. That being said, I don’t often use a sponge with my concealer, as I want the most coverage under my eyes and a sponge does sheer things a bit. So, this benefit isn’t the most useful in my everyday life. However, when I was on vacation last year and wanted to bring minimal brushes and wanted a backup sponge, I took the CR sponge instead of a BB.

Smoothest Foundation Application: A nice blended look can be achieved with all the sponges, but the BB does it the fastest, followed by the CR one.

Easiest to Clean: The BB and RT sponges take about the same time. They work well with the Beautyblender solid soap. The CR sponge is the hardest to clean and doesn’t work as well with the BB Solid. I have better results when I use my regular makeup removing face wash on it. It’s possible that I perceive it as being more difficult to clean because I’m using the yellow one, which is probably easier to see stains. I won’t know until I start using my orange (or green if I can find that one) CR sponge in the future.

Most Durable: The CR sponge definitely lasts the longest and hasn’t torn on me yet. My RT sponges start to get tears in them after the first 3-5 uses thanks to my long nails when I’m washing them. My BB sponges tear on me between 1-3 uses. I don’t know if there has been any changes to the beautyblender because the first two I ever had years ago had to be thrown out before it ever tore. But now my beautyblenders don’t last as long.

Prices: RT = $5-$6. CR = $6. BB = $20.

Side note: BB sells silicone (or silicone-like) cases to put sponges in to let dry and keep away from dust and other particles. You can find adorable dupes for 50-75% cheaper on sites like Amazon and Ebay. I have the official one along with the dupes and although the official one is thicker/sturdier with more breathable holes, there isn’t that much of a difference. My kitty ones get the job done and they even have ridges on the bottom that lets them stand upright, unlike the official one.

EMPTY MAGNETIC PALETTES

I have the Book of Shades (which holds 72 standard size eyeshadows), four of the 96 pan Power palettes, and one purple 96 pan palette. The collector in me still wants the pink one I don’t have.

On my previous trip, I made use of one large z-palette, but I missed having an even wider variety. That’s why I bought the Book of Shades. I wanted it for times I plan to travel for longer than a week.

The Book of Shades fits comfortably at the bottom of my makeup train case and is a safer way to house my shadows than carrying multiple palettes separately. It’s heavy but that’s the tradeoff for being so sturdy and keeping the eyeshadows secure.

There are 3 pages (each page holding 25 pans) and each page has removable plastic sheets that you can write the shade names on with a dry erase/washable marker. Or perhaps in permanent marker if you don’t intend to swap them out. I’m not sure. I don’t have a need for the sheets since my shadows are all labeled on the bottoms of the pans, but it’s a nice addition. There’s also a mirror on the other side of the cover.

I’ve talked about the 96 pan palettes multiple times on my blog. I can’t take it traveling, but I prefer having these over the book of shades because of the freedom of being able to place any sized eyeshadow pan I want in them, it holds more shadows, and I can see everything at once. It’s harder for me to figure out what shades I want to use when I have to flip back and forth between pages. That’s why I also prefer this over the smaller sized flat empty magnetic palettes. The last photo is what my palette looks like now.

That’s all I have for today’s post! I tried to keep it short after my massive Japanese brush review. Although I enjoy making large comprehensive posts (for ease of keeping everything in one place), it means they end up being incredibly long. That’s why I decided to wait until I could at least include Safari Raine in the review, though not long enough to wait for the Juicy Boost collection. At the time that I’m writing this, we haven’t seen anything yet besides the outer packaging.

Thank you for reading!

– Lili ❤

INDIE BRAND SPOTLIGHT: Lethal Cosmetics

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JULY 19th, 2020 UPDATE: Towards the end of the post I have an update section with 24 additional eyeshadows, some of which have come from the new After Dark collection.

Note: I can’t post a review at this time without first mentioning that I hope everyone reading this is and remains safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. This year has been especially difficult with what is going on throughout the globe, in addition to having yet another surgery. The beauty world has been a comforting distraction for me these past few months and I hope that my blog posts are also a welcome distraction. Now, onto the review!

These are the shades I currently possess. There are twelve more eyeshadows I intend to purchase, after international shipping prices return to normal, which I believe would fully round out my collection.

Lethal’s website has a fun palette designing tool that helps to put a color story together. There were so many shades I wanted that didn’t go together, so I wish we weren’t limited to 12 spaces maximum (as my intention was always to put them in a larger magnetic palette), but it’s still helpful when getting started. Plus, the palette builder allows you to put the 12 shadows in a bundle to be discounted. You can see tons of combinations others have made following the #lethalbyop on Instagram. I found their examples to be quite inspiring. Here are some of my own.

PRICES, SHIPPING, AND CUSTOMER SERVICE

The eyeshadows are $6 each, which is great considering the normal cost of single shadows, but I do recommend using the palette designer to bundle for the best prices.


It usually comes out to be $58-$59 if you include one of their magnetic palettes, though you can bundle without one as seen in the screenshot above. The smaller Orbital palette holds 9 shadows and also gives a discounted price after putting it together.

Lethal Cosmetics is based in Germany, but shipping under normal circumstances takes about a week. Standard shipping used to be $7 or free on orders of $80 and up. Currently, due to the pandemic, it is $24 or free with orders at or above $150.

I love getting a good discount, so I spent hours looking for promo/affiliate/influencer codes, but I have been unsuccessful. By signing up for emails, you can get notified about sales (and the occasional code). I was able to find Jolina10 from Jolina Mennen who collaborated with Lethal Cosmetics to create their first (non-customizable) eyeshadow palette. However, the code does not work on everything, like Jolina’s own palette. Also, when the palette was first released, I heard that the Pieper Perfumery had 30% off, but even with Chrome’s help translating their site to English, it was hard to navigate.

My Duolingo lessons didn’t prepare me enough to understand the site either.  

I have interacted with Lethal Cosmetics’ customer service a few times and the representatives I’ve spoken with have been so polite and friendly. They also have a great social media presence with the way they interact with customers regardless of their follow-count. This is not always the case, even regarding Indie brands, so I felt it was important to note and applaud good customer service whenever I come across it.

SWATCHES

I normally use eyeshadow primer when taking pictures for this blog, but I did not for any of these arm or eye swatches. However, for my different eyeshadow look examples, I used a MAC Paint Pot in Groundwork, ABH eyeshadow primer for the pastel look specifically, and Nyx Glitter Primer in any area requiring the metallic/shimmer eyeshadows.

For the mostpart, the color you expect from the website is what you get. However, I had quite a few surprises

The orange shades look vastly different in the pan than what appears online, but when actually used on the eye, they do reflect the color presented on the website. Backdraft is way darker in person than on the website. It’s not the light peachy-pink I was expecting, though it is described as being “fiery.” Also, it says fuchsia in the description of Enigma on the website, but it looked so blue from the glitter shift that I was expecting a cooler blue-purple shade. Several more of the shades were slightly different than I expected, so I would recommend paying close attention to the descriptions on the site. Some, but not all, of the photos from the website include swatches. I wish they had light, medium, and dark arm swatches for all of them. Overall though, when you compare the shadows in my first picture with flash on, it shows more accurately what they look like in person (excluding enigma which looks more accurate with flash off in this case). The flash off side looks closer to what is on the website (again excluding Enigma which is the reverse).

Another thing I noticed was how similar some of the shades look on my skintone. So, I put them together to have an easier time seeing the similarities and differences.

The similarities are less apparent once they’ve been built-up, such as Relapse and Habitat. Habitat builds up to a medium green. Crossroads and Release look alike because of the shared purple tone, with Crossroads being a cool pinkish purple compared to Release’s lavender shade.

PERFORMANCE

The darker and red-based mattes look opaque on my lids with minimal effort. The lighter and pastel shades take more time to build up, but they do build beautifully, especially when I use a light base such as the ABH primer underneath. The mattes blend so well, and though some take extra time, the unique shades make it worth the effort. I tried comparing them to other eyeshadows in my collection and could only find a few that were similar.

As for the metallic/shimmers, some shades worked well regardless of the tool used, but for the most part, I’ve been unable to get the maximum color payoff using just a brush. So, my favorite application method is to lay the color on first with the brush and then apply another layer with my finger. They all apply so smoothly and pigmented to my eye when using my finger that I don’t feel the need to wet my brush when I use them.

 Here are some of the looks I’ve done:

I also got the last two look ideas from Instagram:

There isn’t much more to say about these eyeshadows except that I enjoy the formula. I have some shadows, like Natasha Denona, where I can mix two shades on top of each other to create a new shade. I haven’t found that to really be the case for the Lethal Cosmetics shadows (or at least not easily), which is useful when I want to do a more complicated look involving more than four shades and want them to stay true to color. You definitely don’t have to worry about these shadows looking muddy on the eyes. The fact that they are different from the other shades in my collection and unique enough to inspire me makes these eyeshadows worth it to me. And as I mentioned earlier, I intend to get a few more!

JULY 19th, 2020 UPDATE

This is what my collection currently looks like with the new additions. The names with * in front of them in the swatch photos are brand new shades from the After Dark Collection.

Thank you for reading my first in an ongoing Indie spotlight series! I’m not sure when the next one will be since it takes me so much time to test them out. The new brands I’ve tried this year are Sydney Grace, Devinah Cosmetics, Clionadh Cosmetics, Give me Glow, Makeup Geek, Menagerie Cosmetics, etc. I’ve been posting a lot of eyeshadows lately so I might do a different topic for my next post.

-Lili ❤