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.