Scaredy Cat Cosmetics Swatches + Re-Review

My original review can be found here.

I really loved the way these shadows applied when I ordered my first batch, but I wasn't impressed with the colors or the customer service.  So I decided to order another batch of samples in brighter colors and do a follow-up.

The Shop: Scaredy Cat Cosmetics

My Order: Sample vials in Mythic, Caged Canary, Insomnia, Draconia, and Phoenix Tears.

Packaging: My shadows were packaged in a box and arrived quickly, though they were lost for awhile  after I received them and as a result I don't recall the exact ship time.  A copy of my invoice was included, and a baggie held all five vials, individually labeled with ingredients and each inside their own smaller baggie.  Packaging was pretty much identical to the original order, so I won't post a photo this time.

Today's Swatches

Left to right: Mythic, Draconia, Caged Canary, Phoenix Tears, and Insomnia

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Overall: These swatches were applied to bare skin, and skin prepped with Shadow Poxy primer from My Beauty Addiction, with a foiled stripe down the center on the top row.  These colors were much more vibrant than the first ones.  Mythic is a very sparkly violet purple; it looked nice applied to bare skin, but really popped over primer.  Draconia was more green than I thought it would be, but I still really like it.  Caged Canary is an awesome vibrant yellow.  Phoenix Tears is sort of a peachy orange, and while it's sort of lackluster applied dry, it is a lovely shade applied over primer.  Insomnia is a bright, bubblegum pink; it reminds me of when I worked in a lab and had my hair dyed pink, which I loved.  I liked all of these colors significantly more than my first batch, and they all apply smooth and silky like the others did.  Phoenix Tears and Insomnia kind of missed the mark applied dry, but they look absolutely awesome over primer.  The communication was nonexistent once again this time around, but I was much more impressed with the colors.  I can honestly say after seeing some more colors from Scaredy Cat Cosmetics that I would recommend their products.  They have a variety of colors, some bold and some much more subdued, so you can definitely find something for any occasion.  Unless not getting a convo or handwritten note from your seller is a total dealbreaker, it seems like a good shop to order from.  High-quality products, fast shipping, and a broad spectrum of colors to choose from.  Try 'em out!

Get Lathered Review

The Shop: Get Lathered

My Order: I ordered a tube of Cherry Limeade Lip Balm and a bar of Honey Almond Wheat Bran Eye Candy Soap.

Packaging:   My order was shipped in a small box  wrapped in tissue paper with a business card included.  There was a handwritten note on the back of the car from Rhonda, the owner.  I got a little overzealous and unwrapped my soap before taking the picture, but everything looked awesome.  My lip balm and my soap were both shrink-wrapped, and labeled with full lists of ingredients.

Pictures: Cherry Limeade Lip Balm

Overall: The lip balm doesn't really have a flavor, but it smells amazing!  It goes on smooth and luxurious, not at all sticky, and it stays put instead of absorbing right away.  Very moisturizing.  The soap bubbles up nicely and leaves skin soft and rejuvenated.  Shipping was quick, and everything was as-described and packaged well.  I was thoroughly pleased with both of these products, and would definitely recommend them to others.

Random Look!

Okay, so I really wanted to play around with makeup tonight, so I put together this blue and green look with some colors from Marin over at Linnaeus Cosmetics.

I primed my lids with shadow poxy from MBA.  I used Bouffant just in the inner corners and blended out about halfway over my lids.  Under my brows, I used Cavort, bringing it down and blending with the Bouffant on the inner portion of my lids only.  Then, I applied Hold Fast to the crease and blended up into the Cavort under my brow and toward the end of my brow.  I used Brigand foiled on my lower lashline, and used just a touch of it on the center of my lid, blending over into the Bouffant in the inner corner and up into the Hold Fast in the crease.  I finished by using Flutter on the very outer corners and applying mascara.

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Now I Know My ABCs!

Snarky P., thanks for tagging me!  I had fun reading your survey, and now it's my turn.  I thought this was a fun little questionnaire that didn't require *too* much effort or time on my part, so I figured, why not?  Also: I'm thinking about doing a look when I get home tonight.  So you all keep your eyes peeled for that, because I really feel like playing...

A. Age: I will be 24 in juuust over a month.  I still get carded for pretty much everything, though.  Even R -rated movies, like Snarky P.

B. Bed size: Queen, but I could still do a twin if I didn't have to share.  Sometimes I have two grown-ups, and almost-four-year-old, and an old grumpy cat on my bed, so it has to be a decent size.

C. Chore you hate: Putting away laundry.  It just takes so much time that I never want to buckle down and do it...  I definitely had a "floordrobe" when I lived alone.

D. Day: Um, my favorite day of the week?  Probably Saturday, I guess.  I'm a sheep like that. 

E. Essential start to your day: Catching up on webcomics during the week, and Postsecret on Sundays.

F. Favorite color: Teal

G. Gold or Silver: I prefer silver, but I don't dislike gold.

H. Height: 5'4”-ish. Depends on the time of day and what type of footwear I have on.

I. Instruments: My favorite is probably the trumpet; I love pretty much any band with a regular brass section.  People can do amazing work with a piano, though...  Billy Joel is my all-time favorite musician.

J. Job title: I run a small business making jewelry, and I work part-time retail.

K. Kids: I do have a stepson, but none of my own yet.  I'd love to have one of each.

L. Live: Iowa.

M. Mum’s name: Elaine.

N. Nicknames: Urby, Jess, Jessie.  Urby is a high school nickname that came from my last name, and that's what most of my friends and my stepson call me.

O. Overnight hospital stays: I'm not sure that I've ever had one, aside from waiting to go home with my parents after I was born.

P. Pet peeve: There are lots.  Driving without your lights on at sunset, driving without your lights/windshield wipers on when it's raining, when my nails are not uniform in length, redundancy ("continue on" gets me every time,) etc., etc...

Q. Quote from a movie: "Funny enough, I was just talking to my friend about that. Our speedometer has melted and as a result it's very hard to see with any degree of accuracy exactly how fast we were going."John Candy, in Planes, Trains, and Automoblies

R. Right or left handed: Righty.

S. Siblings:  I have an older sister.

T. Time you wake up: Begrudgingly at 8:00 during the work week, which at our house is Tuesday through Saturday.  I try to sleep in a little bit after the alarm goes off, but it never really works.

U. Underwear: Um, yes?  I like fun prints in soft fabrics.  Modal is amazing.

V. Vegetables you dislike: Peppers, Mushrooms, Onions.  It's not a flavor thing, it's the texture.

W. What makes you run late: If I sleep through an alarm or it fails to sound for some reason.  Looking for my keys.

X. X-Rays you’ve had: A bunch on my teeth, several on my arm when I broke it at age five, and I *think* one each of my foot, ankle, and knee for injuries that were very painful but turned out to be less serious.

Y. Yummy food you make: I make some killer fried rice with eggs and chicken, but it takes a looong time to make because for it to be *really* delicious you have to cook everything separately in soy sauce, and then mix it all up in a big pot with your cooked rice.

Z. Zoo: I love trips to the zoo; I wish I went more often.  The last time I went was with my stepson, but it was close to the end of the day so we didn't have much time to roam around aimlessly like I would have liked.

I tagged Marin of Linnaeus Cosmetics, and Ashley of It's a Mommy's World and I hope they have not yet been tagged and choose to participate. :)

Coming Soon!

I just placed orders with Get Lathered (which means I will be doing a bath & beauty review instead of makeup!  Crazy!) and The StarShine Company.  Hopefully, those orders will arrive before the end of the week.  If not, I did order five more sample vials from Scaredy Cat Cosmetics in brighter colors for a followup, but I think my boyfriend's son has absconded with them (he'll be four next month, and he loves hoarding) and I will need to track them down to do swatches.  I will figure something out, don't you fret!

Linnaeues Cosmetics Swatches

Sorry for the late post, guys!  I didn't get around to posting before I went to work this evening, and by the time I wound down a bit it wasn't Monday anymore...  So today I'll do the rest of my Linnaeus Cosmetics swatches and a look for you!

Swatches are applied in two rows.  The top row shows shadows applied to bare skin, with a foiled stripe down the center.  The bottom row shows shadows applied over primer.

Left to right: Brigand, Pollywog, Cavort, and Kalahari

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Left to Right: Lanky, Balancing Act, and Bombastico

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Now the look!  All of these colors can be found at the Linnaeus Etsy shop for your convenience.  I primed my eyes with Shadow Poxy from MBA.  I then used Bouffant as a highlighter directly under the brow and in the corner, blended out over about a third of my lid.  Next, I blended Kalahari onto my browbones, filling down to the crease.  I used Pollywog on my lid, blending into the Bouffant at the corner but not up into the crease.  I used Cavort dry on the crease, blending down into the Pollywog on the lid and up into the Kalahari, and foiled it on my lower lashline.  I used Brigand foiled as a liner.  I finished the look by applying Cover Girl Lash Blast Volume mascara.

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Linnaeues Cosmetics Swatches

Today, I'm showing swatches of five fabulous colors from Linnaeus Cosmetics.  I ordered the brush-tailed wallaby collection, and received Bouffant and the green mantella collection as freebies for featuring the company on my blog.  I ordered full sizes of Kitsch, Matriarch, Mondo, Hold Fast, Flutter and Show Off (I've swatched these colors in my original review for Linnaeus) four days later for my sister's birthday and got a free sample of Those Gams! because of a special Marin was running in her shop.  Marin offered to combine my orders, which I appreciate, and offered three more free samples to offset the additional shipping costs.  I chose Lanky, Balancing Act, and Bombastico.  Marin has such wonderful communication; I cannot even tell you how awesome it is!  And in addition to being vegan, her colors are gorgeous!  I'll swatch the rest of my colors next week...

Left to right: Zippy, Cliff Line, Sprightly, Those Gams!, and Bouffant

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Another Bokeh Face Giveaway!

Amanda over at Toxid Lotus is giving away five of the gorgeous shadows available from Bokeh Face Cosmetics!  All you have to do is hop on over and leave a comment telling her what your favorite Bokeh Face product is, or what you're most excited to try.  There are lots of ways to get extra entries, too, so check it out!

http://moourl.com/BokehFace

Bonus Post: Bokeh Face Swatch-apalooza, Part 2!

I'm so sorry I didn't post this when I said I would!  I run a business and work a PT job, so sometimes things can get a little overwhelming.  But here it is, without further ado, Pat Two of the Bokeh Face Cosmetics Swatch-apalooza!

Todays's swatches are done in two rows.  The top is bare skin with a foiled stripe in the center (with the exception of Hurricane, whose stripe is way off) and the bottom is primed with Shadow Poxy from My Beauty Addiction.  I think this will be my standard swatching method moving forward, because I like the way it shows the contrast between primed and unprimed.  For fun and to make up for not posting this when I should have, I did two pictures of each set without flash at different angles, one with flash, and one showing the shadows after running them under water.

Left to right: 201 Prince, 202 Sand Castle, 203 Bird King, 204 Indigo, and 205 Grenade

Left to right: 301 Flippie Floppies, 302 Seaweed, 303 Octopus, and 309 Hurricane

 

Left to Right: 501 Emo Kid, 502 Portland, and 504 Ginger

Mixology Makeup Swatches + Review

The Shop: Mixology Makeup

My Order: Three Japan Disaster Relief Samples, and a Pick 5 sampler.  I did not ask for specific colors, and instead sent along a description about my skin tone, eye and hair color.

Packaging: My samples arrived in a standard envelope, individually packaged in small plastic baggies with the names of the colors, and where to use them, written on them in permanent marker.  I received Jet powder eyeliner, Ingenue blush, Just Peachy blush, Natural Girl foundation, White Girl foundation, Get Veiled setting powder, and three eyeshadows: Dune, Chai, and Parlay.  Also included was a business card and a nice handwritten note.  They were ordered on 3/20, and marked shipped on 3/21.  On 4/4, I still had not received my products so I sent Rae a convo on Etsy.  She responded quickly telling me sometimes Japan deliveries take longer (which I didn't understand at the time, as I thought she was referring to my disaster relief samples).  On 4/11, I posted on the Facebook page, asking what made the Japan Disaster Relief samples take longer, and she responded on Etsy saying that she had thought when we talked before that my order was shipping overseas and she thought it must have gotten lost in the mail, and would re-ship as soon as possible.  I received them just a few days later.

Today's Look:

Instead of doing swatches with these samples, I did a whole look.  I used White Girl foundation, Just Peachy Blush, Jet liner, and a simple combination of all three shadows.  I did not use a primer beforehand, and I did not use the mineral veil in this look.

Before

After

Eyes

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Note: these pictures made me acutely aware of my current growback issues, which I intend to fix after posting, and for that I apologize...  ANYWAY... The powders seemed... I don't know... chunky?  I poured the foundation and blush out onto paper for ease of application, and while I didn't know what to think about it initially, they did break down with a few taps of my brush.  The foundation has impressive coverage for a mineral powder, and while I don't feel that White Girl was the perfect shade for me, it was a good place to start.  It covered my freckles well (I personally love freckles, but if you want to cover yours you might give this a shot!) and evened out my complexion.  The blush has a bit of shimmer, and while I thought it wasn't quite right for me personally (I felt it was a bit too pink to look natural,) I did think it was pretty.  The shadows were pretty and subtle, which I like for an everyday look.  I used Dune in the corner and the browbone, Chai in the crease, and Parlay on the lid.  Very simple, very quick.

Overall:  I don't fault Rae for my original package getting lost in the mail; these things happen from time to time.  I'm not sure where the misunderstanding about my location came from, but it didn't pose any huge problems.  I have read lots of other blogs where a delay in shipping resulted in a seller sending extras as an apology, but I definitely don't mind that Rae didn't; I got what I ordered and that was fine.  I was impressed with the application of the products, even though I'm not sure the ones I used were quite right for me.  I'll have to do another look with the other foundation and blush and see if I like them better.  I'd order from Mixology again if something caught my eye.