A Crime to Look this Good?

Wish I could take credit for that title, but I can't; it was actually the title used for an article that covered the controversy surrounding Lime Crime indie cosmetics company. And surprisingly, as I was just browsing about the whole Lime Crime scandal, it, of course, tempted me to go to their site where I, unfortunately, fell in love with two unusual shades: New Yolk City and Chinchilla. I, thereby, stopped reading the interesting articles and other posts and scoured the web for some swatches and also sites that had the cheapest price + delivery to Australia. Now, while I know that I probably shouldn't have bought in and supported their company, the shades were so unique and I've never before owned anything by Lime Crime, so I decided to give them the benefit of the doubt.

God, I love me some cute packaging.

New Yolk City and Chinchilla

I'm not even a big fan of unicorns, but won't this look so cute in my bag?

Oh, hello, you beauties

I'm pretty glad that I chose shades that varied from the usual popular pinks and reds. After making my purchase at Beginning Boutique, I started to read more about Lime Crime to make sure my purchase wasn't too hasty. What I've found is that the colours (in particular, chinchilla) that I chose were probably the better option, as a number of the other lipsticks (in particular Babette) don't actually show true to the lip swatches that are displayed on the Lime Crime website (one of their controversies being that they photoshop their swatches). But if you're going for a nice, say, a blue shade like No she didn't, then it's more likely that you'll end up with what you're expecting. 

left to right, no flash: New Yolk City, Chinchilla

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Sunlight

New Yolk City

A nice, clean, pastel yellow shade. I don't really know what drew me to this colour so much. Perhaps because I've never seen a yellow lipstick before, and I thought the bright, almost pastel-ness, of the shade would look interesting on my slightly tan NC25 skintone. And boy, it looked so clean and bright when I first tried it. You really can't say that these lipsticks are not pigmented or opaque; they are full strength colour for sure. What I will say, though, is that New Yolk City was a bit dry, but I'm chalking that up to the fact that it is a very opaque pastel-like colour. What I'm really hoping to do is to mix this lipstick with a couple others to give them a more yellow undertone and hopefully more wearable.

Chinchilla

I think this one may actually be a limited edition shade, it's not quite lavender, but not too grey either. Definitely an unusual hue, but it really gives you that pretty grungy vibe. This one applies a lot smoother than New Yolk City and makes me feel luxurious and high fashion when I put this baby on. When I was looking up swatches for this lipstick, one of my favourite bloggers, Candice had this same lipstick, and by god what I would do to look like her. So this lipstick was pretty much a no-brainer, besides the fact that I have nothing like this in my collection as well. I think it would look amazing in a duo-lip, kind of like that in the Paranormal collection by Illamasqua. 

This feels like a little rebellious purchase, what with me being such a poor student, and the unusualness of these shades. Thank god for free (express!) shipping and 10% discounts for students at Beginning Boutique, otherwise I probably would have held myself back a bit more. At least with halloween coming up (but not really, just youtubers are damn jumping the gun), I might get a bit more wear out of them. Either way, as my first Lime Crime purchase, it does feel pretty successful. Just make sure to do your research... On what colours you like. 

Femme Fatale Haul

My Femme Fatale haul just arrived yesterday. Yes, I did recently post about a Shiro Cosmetics Haul. Don't judge me... or do, I have the pretty indie cosmetics here. So, just like Shiro, Femme Fatale is another indie cosmetics brand, that sells a lot of pretty pigments, but they're Australian this time 'round. They had closed for a short period to rework their business a bit, and opened up recently this month, so I snagged up some goodies for their reopening sale. 

The invoice with my order inside and free stickers

All neatly together

Nifty and professional

My total order

Two freebie samples attached to the business card

I am quite pleased with the selection that Femme Fatale offers: 99 different eyeshadows, 25 different cheek products, a buttload (to use the latin) of nail polishes both their own and other indie companies AND also free shipping if you're only purchasing samples. And good lord, I do enjoy a nice looking website with an easy to use interface. I picked up 15 shadows (two full collections plus three others), two blushes and I also got two freebie eyeshadow samples!

Handful of Treats Collection

left to right, without flash: the masquerade, pumpkin shrine, naga mask, candied apple, witchberry, spearmint candy, sour suckerpop

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The Masquerade

Described to be in the jar it looks like a soft, silvery grey with very subtle pink shimmer, yet when applied the base comes out more purple/blue and the pink shift is more noticeable; vegan and not lip safe. This shade almost has a pastel feel to it, there is not a whole lot of shimmer, which is nice but the subtle pink shift adds a bit of dimension to it.

Pumpkin Shrine

Described as a bright lime/grassy green with orange duochrome shimmer; vegan and lip safe. I am honestly not sure when I would be able to wear this shadow, but I do like the orange duochrome to make it a bit more wearable for me. Very much a lime-y yellow-toned green.

Naga Mask

Described as a very soft turquoise with teal tones, and a subtle blue shimmer; vegan and lip safe. In the bag, it looks a lot more green but with the teal tones and subtle blue shimmer, it helps it appear more turquoise, good for a little pop of colour along the bottom lash line.

Candied Apple

Described as a pale redwood pink with a green duochrome, and blends out to have an almost brown undertone to it; non vegan and lip safe. Woah, I am digging this baby. "Candied Apple" is a really good name for it, because that's what I thought of when I swatched this shade. It's quite a bit duller in the baggie, but the green duochrome just makes it. 

Witchberry (Illuminator)

Described as a delicate vanilla-golden illuminator with a very subtle violet duochrome, and is a cross between Golden Lotus (illuminator) and Archangel (eye shadow); vegan and eye/lip safe. Pretty. Very pretty illuminator, it is quite pale though as it seems to have a vanilla base to it, so will have to test this out to see if it's ashy on the skin.

Spearmint Candy

Described as a very pale lavender with a frosty silver/green/blue colour-shifting finish; non vegan and not lip safe. A little bit of everything in this one, it's very pretty and pale, a little transparent too. Would work well to give you a little ethereal feel to your look.

Sour Suckerpop

Described as a very pale lemon shade with a frosty blue duochrome finish; vegan and lip safe. Very similar to Spearmint Candy, but it is a touch more yellow, more pigmented and the duochrome is very apparent in this shadow. 

The Queen of Life Collection

left to right, without flash: ruby wings, amber eyes, lady of the red, flowers from flames, crimson fury

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Ruby Wings

Described as a soft ruby pink with a smooth pink finish; non vegan and lip safe. In the little baggie, it looks pretty much like a warm red, but as you can see in the swatches above, it does apply as a deep pink colour, almost a satin finish.

Amber Eyes

Described as a very pale coral peach with pink tones, and a subtle green finish; vegan and lip safe. I like this. I very much like this, the description is pretty much spot on.

Lady of the Red

Described as a black based shade filled with red shimmers and sparks; vegan and lip safe. I would love to apply this baby on my lips. In the baggie, it looks almost black but the red gives it depth. Very good shade for a dark look. 

Flowers from Flames

Described as a mid-tone tangerine orange with soft-rust undertones, and has a bright green shimmer with soft aqua sparks; non-vegan and lip safe. Digging the name of this shadow, it looks exactly like the sparks you get from the top of a bonfire and surprisingly, the green shimmer goes very well with the orange.

Crimson Fury

Described as a deep red-violet base with purple tones and blue duochrome shine; non vegan and lip safe. Love the blue duochrome, this shade reminds me a bit of stars n rockets by MAC but with more pf a red tinge to it.

left to right, without flash: wildvine, sunfire, astral recall, heaven peach (applied dry), duskwing (applied dry)

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Wildvine

Described as a mid tone mauve/taupe with strong dusk pink tones and green shimmer; vegan and lip safe. This is quite light and shimmery, I don't know if I would described as "mid tone", but it's very shimmery; the dusk pink stands out more than the green. 

Sunfire

Described as a sweet peachy pink with coral tones and striking copper gold shine; non vegan and lip safe. I'm pretty glad I got this shade. It looks like a super mid tone pink, but the copper shine in it is just wonderful and feels very... fire-y.

Astral Recall

Described as a soft puce pink (pale pink with somewhat grey undertones), and has a complimentary scattering of pink and blue sparks; non vegan and not lip safe. This is actually quite a lavender colour (especially in the bag), but the grey tones don't show up as much when you do swatch it and it turns out to be a shimmery blue-toned purple colour.

Heaven Peach (Blush)

Described as a mostly-matte blush with a delicate blend of peach and apricot tones; vegan and eye/lip safe. Very reminiscent of Coppertone by MAC (which I hauled in this post) but a touch more coral. I don't know if this will be too orange or too light on my NC25-30 skin, but I love the matte finish to it. 

Duskwing (Blush)

Described as a soft apricot peach with coral tones and a scattering of golden shimmer; non vegan and eye/lip safe. A nice sheer, shimmery, light apricot blush. This is very wearable for most skin tones, it has a hint of pink in it too. Note, that it looks a lot more lighter in the swatch, but that was also quite heavily swatched. A light dusting on the cheekbones would bring life to any face.

Freebies

left to right, without flash: polymorph, faerie fire

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Polymorph

Described as a blue-grey based eye shadow and has a prominent colour shifting shimmer, alternating between aqua and a soft green; vegan and apply on eyes only. This one does not have a lot of shimmer and is almost a very solid blue grey, it would be very nice for smokey looks as the colour point, with just enough blue shimmer.

Faerie Fire

Described as a soft lavender pink with cool undertones, highlighted by an electric lime gold sparkles; vegan and not lip safe. I can't get over how pretty this is, pale lavender AND a green duochrome. I feel like a faerie.

Overall, I am quite impressed... Very impressed. Very pleased, in fact, I actually regret not buying more. It was especially a nice bonus that Femme Fatale is Australian, not only was my order was processed pretty quickly, it arrived in a timely manner too (yay for local). Besides all that, the samples are just gorgeous; I'm such a sucker for duochrome. It's quite a step away from my usual fairly neutral looks, but hopefully these bad boys will take me away from the shadows (ha). The pigmentation is great too, as well as the staying power (swatches are still staying on my arm). And all of it just feels so luxurious at such amazing prices. I just can't seem to rave enough about this company, will definitely be placing another order with them in the future. 

Shiro Cosmetics Haul

Why, internet forums. Why would you introduce me to the world of indie makeup. Although, at the same time I'm pretty chuffed that indie make up exists. Usually in the form of loose powders, indie makeup is damn affordable and so much variety, a lot of unique colours including shimmery eyeshadows and duochromes. After not very much deliberation, I decided to dip my toe in the pool starting off in the Shiro Cosmetics end. 

Shiro Cosmetics is an indie makeup company started by a girl named Caitlin who, from what I've heard, is absolutely lovely and so nice. All of their products are handmade, vegan and cruelty-free; the cool thing about Shiro and what helped me to hit checkout is that their collections are all geeky and mostly named after internet memes. How could I not purchase Master Ball or Nyan Cat what with them being such beautiful shades and cutely named? Overall, I ended up getting nine loose pigments, one setting powder and two lip products, or as Shiro calls them Intertubes. I was also lucky enough to get two more sample size products in baggies and two pieces of candy!

left to right: smashing, nyan cat

Intertube in Smashing

Described as a pinky-purpley-smashingness, fit for mermaids and dugongs. I could not agree more. It's a slight mauve colour that is moderately opaque and with a slight nice sheen.

Intertube in Nyan Cat

Described as a pink rose with gold shimmer. I don't really see the shimmer much in this, and have worn this one on my lips too and have not noticed it, but it's a nice bright but natural colour, with the same nice sheen as Smashing. Maybe a little sheen-ier.

Finishing Powder in Fatality

Pure white, transparent when applied. I didn't swatch this one (sorry) as I figured transparent, but for the record, it smells very nice. A faint smell, but I nice smell I wouldn't mind having on my face.

left to right, with flash: I like shorts, baker's boy, the wandering wizard, epona, everything is bears, when the thrush knocks. All applied with a wet eyeshadow brush.

Without Flash

I Like Shorts (Super Effective Collection)
Described as a soft velvety brown base with strong gold shimmer; lip safe. A little bit more velvety than a chocolate brown, this doesn't have too much shimmer, but it's obvious enough to perk up your eyes and blends in very well with the brown base.

Baker's Boy (Tributes Collection)
Described as a shimmery light golden brown with blue sparks; lip safe. This is a bit more pink than I expected, almost like a champagne colour.

The Wandering Wizard (There and Back Again: A Hobbit Collection)
Described as a pale matte blue-toned grey; not lip safe. Not quite as matte as I was expected and a lot more blue. This is more a grey-toned blue rather than the other way around and has a bit of lustre to it too.

Epona (Legends Collection)
Described as a soft velvety brown with a misty cream overlay; lip safe. Gorgeous cool toned brown colour and very much a velvet shade in terms of texture.

Everything is Bears 
I can't seem to find the page I added this from, but I remember that this eyeshadow was not in a collection. It has a tad bit more red than I expected but it's not too rusty. Has quite a lot of shimmer too.

When the Thrush Knocks (There and Back Again: A Hobbit Collection)
Described as late afternoon sunlight: soft coppery yellow-gold with light shimmer; lip safe. Soo gold, almost a shimmery ochre colour and is darker in shade than I was expecting.

left to right, with flash: master ball, farewell wherever you fare, huntress. All applied with a wet eyeshadow brush.

Without Flash

Master Ball (Super Effective Collection)
Described as shimmery red-toned purple; lip safe. I got this one in a baggie cause I wasn't sure I was going to use non-neutral pigments; this is bit more purple than I was expecting, but still such a pretty colour. I might tone it down a bit with a matte black shadow when applying.

Farewell Wherever You Fare (There and Back Again: A Hobbit Collection)
Described as cold, stoney greyed brown with light shimmer; lip safe. One of the free samples that I received, smooth metallic bronze. I'm quite glad I got this shade, it has quite a bit of shimmer, but I guess that depends on application.

Huntress (Tributes Collection)
Described as shimmering silver with a slight greenish cast and bright silver sparks; not lip safe. The other free sample; holy moley this is a pure silver colour. I don't see much of the greenish cast described, but maybe in different lighting. A shame this isn't lip safe cause it would look so nice as a foil.

And that's it! That's all I got! ... For now. Can't wait to use these pigments, probably more for going out cause they seem a bit more adventurous than what I wear for everyday; not usually one to dip into anything too reflective other than the occasional lustre, but I've started adding a bit more "light" into my routine. You can see that I'm even branching more out into pigments, considering my apprehension when I got my first pigment from an Illamasqua haul. There will definitely be more to come from these indie makeup posts (I'm currently waiting on another order from a different site, ooh, cheeky).