Post Delay (Again! [I'm Sorry!])

I am currently working on a few orders, one of which was finished but has since mysteriously vanished.  So by "working on," I mean "searching frantically for."  And my customer service is very important to me, so I hope you understand, dear readers.  I will have something up for you tonight.

Don't Forget!

I'd like to remind everybody that I do have a giveaway coming up!  I've already gotten some of the prizes in the mail (wallets from Tinymeat and Bouffant shadows from Linnaeus Cosmetics) with more to come!  I still haven't figured out when exactly I'll be holding this giveaway, but there will be three winners and the prize packs are going to be awesome!  Tell your friends and "like" The Urban Critique on Facebook to keep up-to-date!

Andi Danie Designs Review

Bear with me, guys, because I tried using my new phone for the photos this week.  The colors and focus leave something to be desired, so I'll be switching back to my regular camera next week.

The Shop: Andi Danie Designs

My Order: A pair of orange resin bobby pins

Packaging: My order arrived in a bubble mailer within a few days of my purchase, but I neglected to take pictures right away so I don't remember if it came with an invoice (and I'm not sure whether the tissue paper belongs to this order or not...)

Pictures:

 

Overall: The pins were as-described (super-cute) and arrived quickly.  There are, as pictured, a couple of sharp edges on the back of the decorative round pieces.  I definitely would file down the edges before giving them to a younger girl, but that's a really easy fix.  They appear pretty solid and well-made otherwise; the round bits aren't just hot glued onto the pins and they don't feel at all loose or wiggly.  I paid $3.00 for the bobby pins and $2.00 for shipping, and I feel that this purchase was worth that.  There are some more pins I saw in her shop that I think are amazing and I'll probably stop back for more in the future.

Bonus Post: Random Look

This look is easy-peasy.  I started with UD Primer Potion as a foundation, and used a small amount of Bouffant from LC on the inner corners of my eyes and under my brows as a highlighter.  I applied Bare from TSC on my lids, and used LC's Sprightly to cut the crease.  I lined with Buried Alive glitter blend from RABB.  It was a little hasty, so don't mind the lack of blending; I'll fix it up and post more pictures shortly.

Fyrinnae Swatches + Review

The Shop: Fyrinnae
My Order: A tube of pixie epoxy and mini jars of the following: Herbivore, 1.22 Gigawatts, Dragon's Wing, Bifrost, Electro-Koi, and Kamikaze
Packaging: Everything arrived in a bubble mailer, with the shadows wrapped inside of some tissue paper, individually labeled.  I also received a printed copy of my invoice and a free sample of Nevermore.

Today's Swatches:

 Left to Right: Nevermore, Herbivore, and 1.22 Gigawatts

Without flash

 With flash

Left to right: Dragon's Wing, Bifrost, Electro-Koi, and Kamikaze

Without flash

With Flash

As usual, swatches were applied to bare skin on the top row, and skin prepped with Shadow Poxy from My Beauty Addiction on the bottom row.  Feel free to click any image for a closer look!  The Pixie Epoxy swatches below were done on skin prepped with only Urban Decay Primer Potion in Eden on the bottom row, and Primer Potion with an overcoat of Pixie Epoxy on the top row.

Pixie Epoxy - Left to right: Caged Canary (Scaredy Cat Cosmetics,) Lucky Star (The Starshine Company,) and Bifrost

Overall: As many of you know, Fyrinnae is widely loved in the beauty blogger community.  I was lucky enough to get a few things ordered but it is my understanding that they are only open sporadically.  The reason being that when they are open, they get flooded with orders and have to take a break to get everything sent out.  And while I think it is super-noble of them to insure they don't get overloaded with orders they can't fulfill, I can also see how it could be very frustrating for fans.  Now I may take a lot of flack for not giving them a shiny gold star, but the colors kind of let me down.  They recommend that you pat the shadows on, which I did, but the application was patchy unless I really layered it up.  I think that comes through in the swatch photos.  Even over primer I really had to apply and apply and apply to get a nice, even color.  I was really happy with the Pixie Epoxy, though.  It gives the colors a more intense, foiled look,which is exactly what it's supposed to do.  So I have mixed feelings about this experience.  The shadows are really nice when built up over a primer, but they are inconsistent in light coats. The Pixie Epoxy lived up to the hype, and the package was in my mailbox in significantly less than their slated TAT, so I guess I just don't know what to think.  I appreciate the quick turnaround, the thoughtful packaging, the handwritten thank you on my invoice, and the free sample, but the Pixie Epoxy was to only thing that really struck me as extraordinary.

Giveaway!

Spread the word!  I'm going to be doing my very-first-ever giveaway soon.  I am having so much fun with this blog, and I've reached 25 followers way faster than I thought I would!  So to say thank you to my awesome readers, I will be hosting an awesome giveaway of amazingness.  I haven't fully decided when I will have it or what is going to be in the prizes, but I do know that there will be THREE winners!  I also know that there will be card cases from Tinymeat in two of the prize packs.  I have carried both full-size wallets and card cases from Tinymeat for years, and I cannot say enough nice things about them!  For those of you unaware, The Urban Critique does have a fanpage on Facebook, so please head over there and "like" the page to stay up-to-date on everything.  I do post random looks whenever I feel like it, and you are totally missing them if you only drop by on Mondays.  Today's review will probably go up in a few hours, and it's for the much-lauded Fyrinnae!  I might just have a look in there, too, because I love you.  So be sure to spread the word about my giveaway and tell all of your friends to follow for my regular posts AND a chance to win one of my three awesome prizes!

Bonus Post: Random Look

Here's another look for you, my lovely readers!  Today's look is sort of a peacock color scheme featuring three colors from The Starshine Company.  Very bright and bold...  Enjoy!

The look is fairly similar to Monday's.  I started with a layer of Urban Decay Primer Potion, and highlighted my inner corners and brows with Bouffant from Linnaeus Cosmetics.  I started by patting Golden Green onto my eyelids with a large detailer brush.  Next, I switched to my small detailer brush and started a cut crease using Mint Candy out about halfway over my eyelid.  I continued with my small detailer and completed the cut crease with Sea Foam, blending the two colors together where they met in the center.  I created an arc shape and rounded the outer edges of the cut crease.  My lower lashes are lined with Golden Green on the inner half, and Sea Foam on the outer half.  I finished the look by curling my top lashes and applying mascara (I left my lower lashes bare.)

 

Random Look!

But first, my trip to Ulta!  Ulta is the closest beauty store to me with the best variety of products.  Most of the other stores near me are dreadfully small, do not carry what I was looking for today, or both.  I ended up getting the Japonesque touch-up tube (five basic brushes for $20) and a tube of Urban Decay Primer Potion in Eden ($18).  I looked around for a bit, but I thought the primer potion was enough of an impulse buy for the night and checked out.

The brushes are really soft.  I would have liked the assortment better if it had included an angled liner brush instead of a lip brush, but it wasn't a dealbreaker.  They ended up being $4 a pop, and they are definitely much softer than the $6 or $7 double-sided liner/shadow brush I had before.  I think I'll really enjoy using them.

This look was created entirely with shadows from The Starshine Company (which you should definitely check out if you haven't already!) over Urban Decay Primer Potion.  A little bit of the UD primer goes a looong way, and it's WAY less forgiving than MBA's Shadow Poxy; it dries completely to a matte nude finish and anything you apply gets sucked right in.  There is NO room for error, which I learned the hard way with this look.  Sorry about the unevenness!  I started the look with Cheek to Cheek on my lids, applied using the large eye detailer.  Then I did a cut crease with Wine using the small eye detailer, which I rounded out at the outer corners of my eyes.  I went back to my large eye detailer and applied Petal lightly as a highlighter at the inner corners and heavily under my brows.  I lined my upper and lower lash lines with Purple Rain using the lip brush.  I finished by applying mascara to my upper and lower lashes.

Closed Eyes - With Flash

This eye kind of sucked; feel free to ignore it...

 Left side, eyes closed - Without flash

Left side, eyes slightly open - Without flash

Oh, and the color in the photos does NO justice to these shadows.  Cheek to Cheek is this incredible hot pink.  Think awesome 80's neon pink (but eye-safe!)  And petal is lighter, and slightly more coral, but definitely similar enough to compliment really well.  Wine is NOT a straight-up purple like Purple Rain, it's more of a deep fuchsia, not quite pink OR purple.  The color is definitely more accurate without the flash, but you really have to see the colors for yourself; they are gorgeous.

Today's Post Delayed!

I woke up this morning and the makeup I had intended to review today was mysteriously missing!  AND my favorite (read: only) brush had fallen down by the toilet!  Anyway, I had some trouble deciding whether I wanted to review the makeup I had intended for next week or post a new look, got side-tracked, took a nap, got side-tracked again, you know the drill...  Stupid internet.  I've ultimately decided to do a look today, but I need to go pick up a brush or three first...  So sit tight and I'll have a real post up later.