I've somewhat developed an addiction to indie cosmetic brands in the past year. I've found that if I'm looking for something unique and different for a good value, I'll find it by going the indie route. Fyrinnae is no stranger to that.

I just received my haul today - which surprised me. Most indie brands have a bit of a longer turn around time on their orders - which is listed on the brand's website - but my Fyrinnae order definitely did not take as long as anticipated! I was quite pleasantly surprised.

The thing about Fyrinnae is the consistency of the website - I did run into a couple problems in ordering. Once my order didn't go through and another time nothing would stay in my cart. I was, however, able to get in touch with the brand and they got back to me incredibly quickly and kindly, which made me willing to deal with the technical difficulties. I'm glad I did, in all honesty.

Fyrinnae does have a pretty large shade range; they just have a whole lot to offer. For sake of funds, I narrowed it down to 4 shadows and a Pixie Epoxy (which I've been wanting to try for the longest time!).

Everything was housed in a little green bag with the company's logo printed on it.

I'm a sucker for handwritten thank yous. One of the reasons I love brands like Fyrinnae and Darling Girl so much.

Everything was condensed in iridescent cellophane - the Pixie Epoxy also had foam around it to protect it as it was in a glass tube.

From left to right (and please disregard my weird looking wrist - I was wearing a studded bracelet all day!) these are Steampunk, Purgatory, Agenda, Wizards' Wedding Cake and Fire Opal (which was a gift with purchase). All of these were swatched dry with absolutely no base - which is pretty darn impressive if you ask me.

I also purchased some Pixie Epoxy to see what all the hype was - and well, you can see the above swatch...This is Wizards' Wedding Cake both dry (left) and over Pixie Epoxy (right). WOW...It also has a different texture from all of my other mixing mediums - a little bit thicker and stickier. I'm wondering how this stuff would fare with straight up cosmetic grade glitter. Long story short, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship. 

I can't wait to start playing with these! I'll update with individual reviews and maybe even a comparison of my collection of mixing mediums!

Have a great weekend, everyone!

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!)

Review - MAC Paint Pot in Painterly.

There are always those staple products that everyone should have in their kit. Painterly is one of them. I can't believe it took me this long to purchase it!

MAC Paint Pots are housed in a small circular container with a screw on cap. Each contains 5 grams of product and retails for $18.50.

On MAC's website, Painterly is described as a "nude beige" and has a creme finish. It is a medium toned nude and dries down completely matte. (I am a NW 15 for reference, and Painterly is a nude that is a few shades darker than my natural skin tone)

Within the last two weeks of having this in my possession, I've literally used it almost every day. This photograph was taken today, so it is easy to see that I've hardly even broken the surface. I use this with over UDPP, but as a base for other shadows and I feel that it has both improved the wear time of most of my shadows across the board as well as increased the color payoff of some of my lighter neutral shades. I have oily lids, and I feel like the consistency is incredible for this problem. Painterly is creamy enough to apply and blend, but dries to almost a powder like finish and stays put. It doesn't get greasy or oily and sets quickly. 

Overall:

Pros:

- Longwearing

- Responds well to my oily lids

- Dries down quickly, but is easy to apply and blend.

- Neutral option that can be used with limitless looks.

- Extends the wear of my shadows and increases their vibrance.

Cons:

- No complaints here!

I ADORE this product, and I'm very excited about how much use I'm getting out of it. I've I'm paying almost $19 for an eyeshadow base, it better be flawless; Painterly is just that, flawless. Because of this shade, I will most definitely check out other finishes in the range.

10/10 - Highly recommended!