My Beauty Addiction Swatches + Review

The Shop: My Beauty Addiction

What I Ordered: A Starburst Collection Color Stack in Summer Fun

Packaging: My order arrived in a bubble mailer just four days after I made my purchase, so shipping was super-fast.  My full-size colors came in cute stacking jars that were wrapped in additional bubble wrap, and I got a sample of Crushed Diamonds in a separate baggie.  My package also included a printed invoice with a handwritten note from Sherrie, the owner.  The stacker has a sticker on the top, and and each individual color has a sticker on the bottom with the color name, ingredients, company name, and address.

My Pretty Zombie Swatches + Review

The Shop: My Pretty Zombie

My Order: An OMG You Pick 5 Sampler pack including Henrywinkle, Unicorn Pee, Vanity, Hangover, and Bettie

Packaging: I actually had intended to make a post about MPZ awhile ago, but my shadow jars disappeared after I set the open box on the bathroom counter.  I waited awhile to see if they would resurface somewhere, but they never turned back up so I re-ordered.  Both orders were sent quickly in a small box.  Inside the box was an invoice, a fake finger, and another box filled with goodies.  Pink plastic grass was inside of both of my boxes, with shrink-wrapped jars inside and three sample baggies that coordinated with one of the colors I chose.  The samples were labeled with color names and the website; the full-size jars were labeled with color names, ingredients, company name and address, and net weight.  From what I understand, this is the proper FDA labeling procedure and not a lot of smaller businesses include everything (no address, no net weight, etc.,) so it's awesome to see an indie business playing by the rules.  I placed this order Monday, it was marked shipped on Thursday, and it arrived Saturday.

Today's Swatches:

 Indoor lighting

HD fluorescent

 Indoor lighting

HD fluorescent

 Indoor lighting

HD fluorescent

Swatches applied to bare skin (top) and skin prepped with MBA Shadow Poxy (bottom.)

Overall: Most of the shadows all have a smooth application and good color, and could stand to be used by themselves for more subtle looks.  Unicorn Pee is quite a glitterbomb; I couldn't seem to get it to stay at all on bare skin, and there was still a bit of fallout with the primer, but I think it would be great as a liner, or to pat over a bold shadow with Pixie Epoxy.  Hangover is a terrific matte hot pink.  Amacyst has a TON of glitter with pretty minimal fallout and a very rich purple base.  I definitely want to get a full size of it.  Gorgeous!  Quinsy, Disquiet, Gangrenous, and Anthrax all have an iridescent effect that's very pretty.  Vanity, Henrywinkle, Bettie, and 996 all have a nice shimmer without glitter.  I'm really exited about these colors and I definitely intend to order more when I get a chance.  If you haven't checked out MPZ yet, I recommend you do so!

Random Look!

This design features some new colors I have received this week, which I will be swatching and reviewing in the weeks to come.  So here it is!

I used Temple of Time from Shiro Cometics as a highlighter in the corners of my eyes and under my brows.  I then applied Lanky from Linnaeus Cosmetics on the inner half of my eyelids, and Kink from Rock A Betty Beauty on the outer half, overlapping the colors and blending at the center.  Next, I used Cavort from Linnaeus Cosmetics on the outer portion of my crease, and Mondo From Linnaeus Cosmetics on the inner portion, blending the shades together just outside the center.  I then foiled black pressed liner and applied mascara to my upper and lower lashes (I usually skip the lowers, but I showed them some love tonight.)  When I finished this, it reminded me of a less intricate version of Snarky P.'s nearly-neon eyes, but the color scheme was sheer coincidence.  Kink was the color that really got me excited about doing a look tonight (it reminds me of a nail polish I had in junior high called "Barney",) and I wanted it to be bright and fun, so this is what I came up with...

Double Look Day!

For my first look, I primed my lids with Shadow Poxy from My Beauty Addiction, then did a rainbow consisting of Show Off, Bombastico, Flutter, Hold Fast, Mondo, Matriarch, and Kitsch from Linnaeus Cosmetics.  I did thick black liner to add drama and finished with mascara.  This look was somewhat time-consuming based on the number of colors used, but I didn't spend too much time evening things out and making them look super-smooth because it was just kind of a fun look that I did for fun and not to wear anywhere (but it WAS inspired by the fact that pride was this weekend in my town.)  It would have taken a really long time if I had taken the time to make everything really perfect and awesome, but I was really just playing around with the colors.

 

My next look, also primed with Shadow Poxy, uses Bouffant from Linnaeus Cosmetics as a highlight on the inner corners and under the brows.  I used a little bit of Mondo (also from LC) on my lashline, blended upward into Caged Canary from Scaredy Cat Cosmetics (I'll edit the link later, but for now the link will go to her Etsy profile because her shop is in vacation mode.)  I applied Chartreuse from The Starshine Company in the crease, blending thoroughly.  Lastly, I lined with a thin stripe of black, and finished with mascara.

 

 

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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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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Linnaeus Cosmetics Swatches + Review

Sorry for the delay; here it is!

The Shop: Linnaeus Cosmetics
My Order: Samples of Kitsch, Matriarch, Mondo, Hold Fast, Flutter, and Show Off
Customer service: The samples in this shop normally only include five colors, so I sent a convo to Marin asking about a custom order.  Less than six hours later, she had created a custom listing for me and sent me a link.  After I made my purchase, she sent me a convo letting me know my order as packaged and shipping the next day.

Packaging: My shadows came in a standard mailer with a copy of my invoice and a handwritten note.  The sample baggies were large, each was labeled with the color name and ingredients, and they contained generous portions of powder.  I received each color I requested, plus an extra sample of Kalahari for any trouble that the larger bags may cause in application.  Also included was a smaller piece of paper with mineral makeup tips & tricks.

Today's Swatches:

Left to right: Show Off, Flutter, Hold Fast, Mondo, Matriarch, and Kitsch

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 With Flash

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.  They are all fairly saturated even on bare skin, but they look amazing over primer.  Show Off has a little bit of a reddish glitter (which I loved) that doesn't really show in the pictures, but the rest of them have a pearly shimmer; no glitter, nothing in-your-face sparkly.  Show Off, Hold Fast, and Flutter are eye safe but not lip safe, indicated on the ingredient labels.

Get The Look:

I primed my eyes with Shadow Poxy first.  Then I applied a cream-colored highlighter to the inner corner of my eyes, and a lght brown shadow under my brows, both from the same Savvy palette.  Next, I applied a sweep of Mondo to the crease, and extended it toward the outside of my brow.  I applied Matriarch to the remainder of my lid, lined using Kitsch, and applied black mascara.

Overall:  Ordering from Linnaeus Cosmetics was quick and painless, my shadows arrived quickly, and they look awesome.  They go on smoothly, have a nice shimmer, and look lovely.  I have nothing but good to say, and I'll go ahead and say that if you've been considering purchasing from Marin, it's good stuff.

So Appealing Swatches

Shadows from So Appealing applied to skin prepped with shadow poxy from My Beauty Addiction.  Foiled stripes in the center.

Top row, left to right: Soft Brown, Knockout Neutral, Brilliantly Beige, Bruised, Enchanted Forest, and Rum Raisin
Bottom row, left to right: Steely Gray, Foggy Swamp, Fools Gold, Flirtatious

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At this point I'm thinking my sample for Bruised was way off somehow.  I do love the color I got, but it is nowhere near as bright as the swatches I have seen in the shop listings or on other blogs, which I thought would be remedied when applied with a primer.  Everything else applied pretty vividly and true to the listings.  They apply smoothly, and some of them have a nice sheen to them without being in-your-face sparkly.  When applied over the primer, none of them bled when I ran water over them.  I had to use soap to get them off completely.  If you're considering a purchase from this shop, but unsure of which color(s) to get, I hope this helps you out!