Listen here; don't judge me. I know I have a small addiction going on here.

The sad part is - Darling Girl should be coming out with their Halloween 2013 line soon and I super neeeeed them all!!

I've said it once and I'll probably say it again - there's a reason that I keep hauling from DG; The products work, the shades are unique and the customer service is one of the best I've ever experienced.

Now for the main event - the wonderful sparkly goodness!

Some sparkly stickers and the brand's business card. Quick note too; I hoard all the business cards that I receive from indie brands and keep them in my purse, just in case someone compliments me on the shade so I can kind of promote the brand. Its something I just like to do.

The first two shadows are simply called Pretty Mistakes. These are discounted sample size baggies of shadows that were more or less accidents, but were to pretty to throw away. They aren't shades that you're ever going to be able to get again, so try not to fall in love...like I did.

The golden brown on the left is one of the most buttery pigments I've ever had the pleasure to touch. OMG. The pink shadow on the left is also very pretty - it reminds me of a paler version of Nestling.

These shadows are either part of the blogger kit or free samples. 

From left to right, the shades from my blogger kit were Nerpette, Teenage Dream, My Little Pony, Curious Crocus and Scarab. I may be needing all of these in full sizes - they're friggin amazing!

These two shades were free samples and are a sneak peek to the Halloween 2013 collection (Can. Not. Wait!) The shadow on the left is Bad Ash and the Spectral Shift (we all know how much I love Spectral Shifts!) on the right is Razzles! I don't know when the Halloween 2013 collection will be live, but I may be stalking the site until then!

DG recently changed their packaging. The pots now have a square base (think along the lines L'Oreal Infallible's packaging) and a white lid with the logo on top. I feel like these might be easier to store, since they aren't going to be rolling all over the place anymore. The shadow on the far right is a GWP sample, so it looks a little different.

From left to right these are; Miss Kitty Kaboom, Cut Me Deeper and Pumpkin Frappe (which was a GWP and I HAD to have it). I didn't realize when I purchased them that Miss Kitty Kaboom and Cut Me Deeper would work so well with each other. And Pumpkin Frappe? C'mon. Look at it!

I also decided to try some new stuff with this haul. One of the new ranges that I tried was the Diamond Dust. These are similar to the eyeshadows, but have a TON of sparkle.

From left to right these are Hope, Persuasion and Verdant Dream. Hope and Persuasion are definitely "me" colors, and I chose Verdant Dream on a whim, because I don't have much else like it. I can't wait to play with these.

The last new range I tried were the Pixie Sprinkles. These are loose glitters that are unique blends to DG. We all know the whole hoopla about if glitter is cosmetically eye safe (and the brand does have a warning on the sale page for this product). Glitter is a use at your own risk product across the board.

Candy Corn actually looks like candy corn! I love it, and I can't wait to start playing with this - definitely wearing it on Halloween! Its super fine glitter too and seems like its going to be easier to work with than I anticipated.

I'm super duper excited for all of these and I can't wait to start playing with them all. In the meantime - I'm waiting for the Halloween 2013 collection and I'm building up my next wishlist!

The Chequered Lily Apothecary Sample Haul!

I'm literally addicted to independent cosmetics brands. Its official. I've been able to find some of the most unique colors at incredible prices by going the indie route. It started with Darling Girl and now I just can't stop.

I was able to find this shop - The Chequered Lily Apothecary on Etsy - through a blog that I read, Portrait of Mai. She actually has a whole tab dedicated to Indie Cosmetics swatches! Check it out!

I actually had a hard time narrowing down my choices as to what I wanted to order from CLA - there were so many shades I wanted to try! Not to mention, the customer service was PHENOMENAL. Very quick shipping for an indie brand, hand written thank you on my receipt and great communication! I'm telling you - there's a reason that I keep buying indie; I'd much rather spend my hard earned money somewhere where I not only know its appreciated - but I'm shown  that its appreciated!

So for the main event, this is what my little haul consisted of!

There's something quite satisfying about a pile of sample baggies! I chose the blogger kit, which allowed me to choose 7 shades to try out, as well as an extra shade thrown in as a free sample by the seller. I also picked up a trio of shades that benefits victims of domestic violence - and I HAD to be part of that!

These are the 8 samples that I chose! I tend to hoard me some neutrals, but I found that a lot of these more "non neutral" shades were really wearable!

Some preliminary swatches - dry swatches with no base or primer! From left to right, the top row is; Invocation, Snow Glass Apples, A Dustland Fairytale, Stormbreak and Charlotte - and the bottom row is; Captain Jack, Haute Cocoa and The Penny Arcade. Nothing truly neutral and I just can't wait to start playing with them!!

These three shades are part of a set that donates $1 of the very palatable purchase price to victims of domestic violence. I'm not entirely sure what specific charity that it is, but I'll definitely let you all know when the seller's store is back up, as they're on vacation until tentatively the end of September. I'm assuming that it is a charity based out of the shop's hometown of San Diego, CA.

The three shades in this set, from left to right are; Brand New Day, New Beginnings and Moving On. I didn't notice it when I bought it, but these three could totally be used for a full look. Coincidence? Probably not, I'm just probably not all to observant. Again, these had no help or primer in the swatches!

At my own first impression, these seem like they're going to be pretty great to work with - they don't need to seem to need a lot of help to get color payoff, which is sometimes difficult to do with loose pigments. The colors are great and the customer service rocked - so I cannot wait to start testing and reviewing these!

More Darling Girl Goodies!

I received my long awaited Darling Girl Cosmetics haul yesterday, after my lovely post office miss-sent it! Boo! Don't you people know that such a small, unassuming package is filled to the brim with sparkly and duochrome-y goodness??!?

Lets not waste a second more, take a look at what I picked up!

I hauled six products in total - three shadows and three blushes/spectral shifts. The remainder are samples and a GWP!

Now for a closer look at each one and some swatches!

Blue Flame Eyeshadow

Muddy Waters Eyeshadow

Brocade Eyeshadow

Star Child Eyeshadow - GWP

Forget Me Nots Spectral Shift

April Showers Spectral Shift

Living Dead Gurl DuoChrome Blush

Raucous Eyeshadow - Sample

Equinox Eyeshadow - Sample

From left to right these are; 

- Blue Flame

- Muddy Waters

- Bracade

- Star Child

- Equinox

- Raucous (across the bottom)

As well as;

Forget Me Nots

Living Dead Gurl

April Showers

I'm super excited to start playing with these - I've actually already taken all swatch photos for individual reviews (both alone and with a mixing medium) so I'm ready to jump in at wear test them. The Duo-Chromes are definitely speaking to me, especially Blue Flame and both of the Spectral Shifts - but one of the samples is calling my name as well, because we all know that Darling Girl can execute a great metallic, and Equinox already swatches like a dream. 

Stay tuned, as I still have a bunch of reviews to bust out this week!

Review - Darling Girl Eyeshadow in Ladyhawke

Note - This product was sent to me as a sample for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions are my own. If you have any questions regarding me reviewing press samples, please see my disclosure statement.

This shade was an extra that was sent to me with my first Darling Girl order, and it could quite possibly be one of my favorites from the brand. This is the kind of shade that makes me, someone who is super crappy at working with loose pigment eyeshadows, feel the need to put them into my daily rotation. That is saying something!!

Ladyhawke is applied dry on the left and wet on the right. Darling Girl Cosmetics describes the shade as a "light grayed brown with shifts from golden green to blue to violet shifts." The description is actually pretty spot on as the shade has a taupey gray base with incredibly strong duochrome shifts. I wore this over a brown, super smoky base and this shade looked incredible! While the shift is quite apparent when applied on it's own, it really sings over a darker base. It was incredibly multidimensional. It isn't one of those shades that needs to be foiled to show the duochrome finish, and though as you can see above that applying it wet does bring out the sheen a touch more, it doesn't 100% need it.

Application of this shade was a breeze. I literally just took one of my Urban Decay Good Karma shadow brush, picked up a bit of product and pat in on the lid. Bing, bang, boom. Done. Super easy and it looked like I spent a whole lot of time on it. 

Overall:

Pros:

- Easy application.

- Unique shade.

- Strong duochrome.

- Very little fallout.

Cons:

- I have none!

Ladyhawke was not a shade that I was searching for to add to my stash, but just like I did with Darling Girl's Yes, Virginia blush, I will be stocking up on this shade - and hopefully before I fly through the sample I have of it!

10/10 - I highly recommend this shade!

Another Darling Girl Cosmetics Haul!

Between the fact that I NEEDED a full sized version of the Yes, Virginia Soft Focus Blush (check out my review here), the huge shade range the brand has and the incredible customer service, I hauled some more from the brand!

I purchased two items along with the review kit, so I have tons of samples, the products I purchased and a GWP to play with. Sweet!

As per usual, the products are sent in pure cuteness!

From left to right, there are two samples included with my purchase; Belle Eyeshadow and Mercurial Eyeshadow, as well as the GWP for spending at least $10 before shipping, which was a petit size of South Of Heaven. Also included are a couple business cards and a Darling Girl logo sticker, which is too cute!

These products are part of the press sample kit that I took part in. The top two shades are; Faux Pas Eyeshadow and Angel Face Shimmer Blush and the bottom two are; Sassy Sakura DuoChrome Blush and Viva La Revolution Eyeshadow. Off to the right is the Kiss You Off: Color Rich Lip Balm in Honey Love.

Finally the core of my actual purchase. On the left, which you can probably guess, is a full size of the Yes, Virginia Soft Focus blush which is literally at holy grail status for me. I just ADORE it! To the right is the Glitter Glue which is a mixing medium that I needed something fierce! 

It bears mentioning that this order was sent out like lightning compared to the expected turn around time! For indie brands, its important to remember that these people are running a small business and working their tails off! I was expecting, as per what the site had noted, up to 16 days of waiting. Turns out, I only had to wait a tiny bit over half of that. Once it was shipped out it only took 2 days to get to my house! I'm impressed! I had the same experience last time, so it definitely shows how consistent the brand is!

I'm super excited to start playing with these, as Darling Girl has quickly become one of my favorite brands; indie or not! I've got a lot of testing and reviewing on my plate as of late, so I'll get some reviews posted for you guys ASAP! (And I still have some to review from my last haul!)