Carpe Noctem Minerals!

Good evening zombies!

I'm coming at you tonight with a new indie makeup company new on the scene called Carpe Noctem Minerals which can be found on Etsy. Carpe Noctem is run by Veronica who use to own a popular indie brand a few years back. She's returned with a new company and a new vibe.

Carpe Noctem means "Seize the Night" and this is the new mission statement for Carpe Noctem:

"We specialize in the glamorous and the daring! Our products are specifically designed with the nightlife in mind!! Here you will find versatile, bold color and sparkle galore! We have what you need for your inner diva to shine bright like a diamond and slay, slay, slayyy!!

We are currently adding inventory, so keep checking back! Our stock includes many Limited Edition items that will never be seen again, so if you find something you like, jump on it!! Because once it's gone, it could be gone forever.

But never fear... We also have many core items and shades that will be available at all times! :)

Feel free to message us with any questions!

We love and appreciate all of our customers so much! We hope you all continue to slay the day and SEIZE THE NIGHT!!!"

Veronica was sweet enough to reach out to me and ask if I'd try out her new products. She sent me 3 full sized eyeshadow (10 gram sifter jars with 1.5 tsp of product) and a "GLITZ", which is CNM's name for cosmetic grade glitter (15 gram shaker jar). (That's a TON of glitter!)

(Click images for maximum AWESOME!)

Notoriously Morbid Haul!

Good evening zombies!

It's been quite a while since I purchased indie cosmetics, so I decided to show you all what I recently picked up from Notoriously Morbid. This post is full of awesome sauce, so check it out!

*As always, be sure to click images for maximum awesome!

I purchased the following: (descriptions are from the NM website, unless noted otherwise)

Lord of the Unseen (mini): deep blue purple with brilliant pink and copper sheen 
Demeter's Despair (mini): rose brown with bright green, pink, copper and gold sparkles 
Tainted Love (full sized color of the month): muted plum base with an antique taupe shimmer

*Tainted Love is also part of the new "super semi loose shadow pigment" formula which were formulated to give you an extremely creamy pigmented shadow with staying power! Arriving in a semi loose state, the shadow can be applied with your finger or a flat shader brush in a patting motion. The creaminess of the shadow assists with easy blending and is formulated to look spectacular over primer or over a sticky base.

Scottland the Brave (mini): metallic juniper green with color shifting sparkles that change from blue to violet depending on angle and lighting  
Albatwitch (mini): deep peachy tan with a pink sheen and aqua and blue sparkles 
Lizard Man (mini): brown base with a traveling shift of orange, pink, and golden green  
Ozark Howler (sample): warm bronze brown with copper, pink, and purple sparkles 
The Devil's Lake Monster (sample): deep warm red brown with pink, blue, and green sparkles

3 sample sized Mystic Matte lipstick in:

EL: A warm coral pink base with a blue shift
Sorceress: warm red with blue-purple shimmer
Bloody Kisses: blackened berry red

*Carrie was kind enough to send me the Slipknot Tribute Trio to try out! They are no longer on the website, so I'm going to describe them in my own words.
  
disasterpiece (full sized): blackened silver with multidimensional sparkles and green undertone
Snuff (full sized): blackened, metallic red with gold reflects
sic (full sized): blackened plum/ leaning burgundy with sparkles
*This trio seems to have the new formula as well. 

Jars of awesome!

Matte Attack lipstick and other badassery from BeautyBarBaby!

*products in this post were purchased by me and sent for consideration purposes. All opinions are my own and 100% honest.

Good evening Zombies!

Tonight I'd like to take another look at a company I reviewed a few years ago called BeautyBarBaby, which is an Etsy based indie cosmetic company.

BeautyBarBaby just recently came out with brand spankin' new new lipsticks called "Matte Attack" liquid lipstick. The owner was offering them on a presale basis in her Facebook group, so I grabbed two: "Girl Crush" and "Poison Apple". I also picked up "Naked Dolly" pressed highlighter and "Champagne Cocktail" cosmetic glitter. Nicole was kind enough to add two more glitters and her "Bling Bling!" glitter/eyeliner sealer to my order.



Take a closer look at the products! All descriptions are from the BBB Etsy store.

"Naked Dolly" highlighter:  A pale champagne colored powder with pinkish gold reflecting highlights.


Ohhh, sparkles!


Dreadfully Divine: a custom blend of opaque black & transparent multidimensional purples (named for one of my favorite ladies on the beauty block!)
Champagne Cocktail: a super sparkly neutral champagne holographic glitter
Kirsten: a multidimensional medium purple glitter

"Our Glitters are top quality microfine/ultrafine cosmetic grade glitters & are perfect for face, body & nail art & are custom blended in house to insure uniqueness. .004/.008 particle size"

*The tubes rolled just as I was taking the picture and I got a little bit of "Poison Apple" on it's tube. #FAIL

Girl Crush: Semi Metallic vivid purple with pink shimmers
Poison Apple: Semi Metallic blackened red
Bling Bling! glitter sealer: Our Glitter/Eyeliner Sealer can be used to adhere your loose glitters to your face & body & also doubles as a eyeliner/wet liner sealer! Just mix a few drops with your loose mineral eye colors to make a liquid eyeliner

The lipstick come in a cylinder tube with a doe foot applicator, which is my favorite. 


Swatches! (I used Bling Bling! under the swatches of glitter.)




Top photos in each set are with flash.






I can't even begin to explain to you the love I feel toward "Poison Apple". When I first saw it in the tube, I thought it might just have a little too much of a brown undertone for my liking. Once I applied it to my lips, I was blown away at just how amazingly gorgeous it really is. Nicole blew this one out of the park. I have a very extensive lipstick collection and I do not own a color even similar to this one. Not only is it pigmented, it lasts a really long time on the lips. The only note worth mentioning is that you will need to apply lip balm prior to putting this on your lips as it's just a touch on the dry side. Other than that, I'm amazed.

"Girl Crush" is also super beautiful. It's one of those lipsticks that needs to be built up on the lips and once 2 or 3 coats are applied, it becomes such a gorgeous shade of purple with a pink undertone. It's unique and bold and the perfect purple for me.

I also want to touch on the highlighter. I've been looking for a nice rose gold highlighter that won't break the bank but that still has pigmentation and staying power to it. I've tried several different brands and although "Naked Dolly" isn't the rose gold I was hoping for, it's flipping GORGEOUS! It leans a lot more white gold and champagne to me, but it stays on my skin and it shows up without looking like I'm glowing. I will 100% be purchasing a few more of the highlighters from BBB. I'm super impressed. Nicole let me know that "Ballerina" is the rose gold highlighter in the shop. I'll be ordering as soon as I can.

I also purchased"Champagne Cocktail" glitter to go with my champagne highlighter and "Poison Apple" because I'm a freak. I have a feeling the 3 of those products will work great together to create and awesome sparkly look. (Hopefully I'll actually have time soon to do that and show you all!) As far as cosmetic glitter go, I like the size of BBB's. Some cosmetic glitter these days are super sketchy and I'd put them no where near my eye, but I'm comfortable with the size and the consistency of Nicole's glitters. Plus, sparkle! I have not played around much yet with the Bling Bling! glitter adhesive, but I intend to in the upcoming weeks and post some looks on my Instagram: @makeupzombie.

Overall, I am so happy with my order. "Poison Apple" and "Naked Dolly" will be getting a lot of use this Fall!

Product pricing:
"Matte Attack" liquid lipstick are $13.95 each for a 4.5 ml tube.
Pressed highlighters are $10.99 for  or you can get them in loose pigment form (3 grams in a 20 gram sifter top jar) for $10.00.
Glitters are $7.00 for 4 grams of glitter (that's a lot of sparkle!)
Bling Bling! is $4.50 for a 5ml squeeze bottle 

Do you own any products from BeautyBarBaby? What are your favorites?

Impulse Cosmetics Duo-Chrome lip gloss swatches!

*products in this post were sent to me for consideration and review purposes. All opinions are my own and 100% honest

Good evening Zombies! I hope you're all having a fantastic week.

Tonight, I'm going to show you three new duo-chrome lip glosses from Impulse Cosmetics! Their website sure has grown since the last time I took a look at it. They seem to have a lot more products to offer up!

 


I received three clam shells with product. The gloss is pretty thick, and stuck to the top of the lids.

The colors are: (descriptions per website)
Venture: Venture is a magenta purple shade with a blue duochrome effect.
Crusade: Crusade is a blue shade with a green duochrome effect.
Endeavor: Endeavor is a rosey pink shade with a gold duochrome effect.





Look at that amazing shift of blue in "Venture". I can't get over just how pretty it is. "Crusade" is a gorgeous blue/green, which swatched really green on my skin but photographed really blue. I had to take a few pictures of the gloss on my lips, to show the true color. "Endeavor" is a really lovely rose gold in my swatches, but once on my lips, it was very sheer. I decided to try these glosses over a darker base color, so I swatched them each over MACS "Cyber" lipstick.

"Cyber" swatches are heart shaped.


The gold in "Endeavor" really shines through on a darker base and "Venture" pops with blue and purple. "Crusade" becomes a richer green with gold peeking through.


Lips swatches. I swatched in both natural light and used the flash. I used a lip brush to apply the gloss.

Flash



Flash



Flash



I received my lip gloss in clam shells, so I believe that would be a "sample" size, which is $2.50 on the website. (Samples come in hinged-lid, "clam shell" jars & contain approx. 1/4tsp of product.) Full sized glosses are $7.50 and come in a 10ml tube with a doe-foot applicator. The was no scent or taste to these glosses and they were a little thicker than I prefer, so, a little of these go a long way. They are gorgeous colors however, especially "Venture". I love how the blue sheen transferred to my lips and showed up in the photos. The gold sparkles in "Endeavor" get a little lost once applied to the lips, but over a darker base color they will pop! "Crusade" is such a unique color in that it really does change color depending on the lighting and I love the gold sparks throughout.

Overall, these lip glosses are fun and unique, like most of the IC products!

What is/are your favorite product(s) from Impulse Cosmetics?

Notoriously Morbid Cosmetics REVISITED!

*products in this post were purchased by me. All opinions are my own and 100% honest. 

Good evening zombies!

I hope you are all well. School starts soon for my littles and I'm excited for both them and for me! ;)

A few years ago, I did a review on an up and coming indie cosmetic company Notoriously Morbid Cosmetics. Their business has grown exponentially since then, and I decided I'd like to order a few goodies to see how things are going with them these days.



The goods!


(descriptions from the NM website)

I ordered mini sized eyeshadows in:
 **The jars came sealed but had no sifters.

Philosophoscope: A plum toned burgundy with intense red/gold shift.
Chaos Reigns:An eggplant purple with INSANE gold and green sparkle atop a slight red sheen.
Love Reigns: A salmon pink with cool blue sheen.
Pure Passion: A ruddy brown with gold, blue and green shimmer.
Speak to the Devil: A brown based golden olive with a green highlight.

Samples in:
Grindhouse: not listed on website (to my eye it's a dark peach color with tons of sparkle and gold flash)
Reali-Key: not listed on website (to my eye, it's a light sea foam green with a gold sheen)
The Grand Empress: More than just a purple, The Grand Empress is a dark blue with a mad dash of red on top. Making it a velvety purple to deep red duo-chrome.
I received a sample in She's Full of Secrets: A sweet classic pink, but not for long. The cool blue shift overpowers the pink the more you build.



SUCH SPARKLE! MUCH WOW!



Swatches! I used Tick:Tock Cosmetics "Milky Way" base under my swatches.

"Chaos Reigns" is HANDS DOWN 110% my favorite from this lot! It's a deep purple with a gold sheen and tons of sparkles. The sparkle also transfers from jar to swatch, which I love. It's a gorgeous color. My second favorite is "Speak to the Devil". In the jar it's nowhere near as unique looking as it is once swatched. It takes on a far more olive color on the skin, and is again, FULL of gorgeous sparks. "Love Reigns" has an amazing green flash to it, which sets it apart from the others in terms of being unique, as does "She's Full of Secrets". I'm a sucker for a good duo-chrome. The most pigmented from this lot (and they are all pretty rich and buttery) is "The Grand Empress". It's like, 6 colors in one. It's got red, and some blue, some purple, and some gold in it (if you looked I'm sure you'd see a few more colors in there). It's SUPER pigmented and lovely. A little of this shade goes a long way. Overall, I'm really happy with the quality and the shades from my order. Everything is pretty spot on to their descriptions from the websites and the colors are insanely beautiful.

And what's even cooler about Notoriously Morbid, is that the eyeshadow are all very reasonable priced. Here is a break down of cost and quantity:

Sample size-approx. 1/4 tsp of product in baggie- $1.25
Mini-size-approx. 1/3 tsp of product in a 3g jar- $2.75
Full size-approx. 1/2 to 3/4 tsp of product in a 5g jar- $5.50
Deluxe size-approx. 1 to 1 1/4 tsp of product in a 10g jar- $7.50

In my opinion, the sample sizes are pretty generous and you can easily get quite a few looks from them. I'll probably never go through ALL of my mini sized jars that I ordered from them, as they are also nicely filled with product.

NMC doesn't just have eyeshadow. They also carry a wide variety of face products such as bronzers, blush and highlighters and lip products such as top coats, lip gloss, lipstick, and matte liquid lipstick. My next order will consist of lip products as I've heard wonderful things about them. AND, their products are all themed, so it's fun to look through the names and find things that are familiar to you and your geeky/gothy/girly side. There is something for everyone!

Have you tried Notoriously Morbid Cosmetics? What are some of your favorite products from them?

Tick:Tock Cosmetics "Infinity Eyeshadow Base"!

*products in this post were purchased by me. All opinions are my own and 100% honest. 

Hello gorgeous zombies!

I hope you're all having a great week. I've had a very busy, and eventful week, and I'm glad school is starting soon for my littles. :)

Recently, once of my favorite indie companies, Tick:Tock Cosmetics reopened their doors after a brief hiatus! I was bummed when they closed because they have the *best* eyeshadow bases, in my opinion, out there! When I heard they reopened, I hauled ass to the website and purchased the full sized jars of black ("Black Hole") and white ("Milky Way") bases. (They also have a brown base called "Super Nova". At the time I placed my order, they were offering a full sized random eyeshadow for every $10.00 order placed, so I also received "Tick, Tick, Tick, Boom" which surprisingly I don't already own! Check out their Facebook group HERE to hear about special deals and new products.

(As always, please click images for maximum awesome!)



A quick note about these bases, is that unlike a few other creamy, white or black bases that you put under your eyeshadow, these do not (at least not on me) crease! 

INGREDIENTS: Castor Oil, Titanium Dioxide, Carnauba Wax, Dimethicone, Microcrystalline wax, Jojoba Oil, Vitamin E

Check out the sparkle in "Tick, Tick, Tick Boom"! WOW!



I'm not sure if the formula has changed with "Black Hole", but this time around, it wasn't AS creamy and pigmented as the last time I purchased these. It took a while to build up to the swatch you see above, but it did dry really fast and stayed put! 

I decided to do a little test for you all using a sparkly light lavender eyeshadow on each base to show you how they can make a difference in your eyeshadow colors and also how they can make colors POP! I used Espionage Cosmetics "Epic" eyeshadow.



Do you see that gold sparkle? DO YOU! Look how the two bases change the way the sparkle comes through. On "Milky Way" you can see much more of the gold flash within the eyeshadow and on "Black Hole", a lot more of the blue base in the eyeshadow comes out. These are just a few of the reasons I always wear an eyeshadow base under my eyeshadow.



I'm still drooling looking at this picture! Now, I need to actually DO this on my eyes!

"Black Hole" and "Milky Way" are $6.00 each for a 5 gram jar packed full of product. It looks as if T:TC will soon be offering mini sizes of the bases as well. Full sized eyeshadow from T:TC are $5.50, which also come in 5 gram jars with sifters and stickers. T:TC is currently offering up a $12.00 grab bag that contains 3 random full sized eyeshadow. What better way to try them out if you haven't already. :)

I can't wait to play with my eyeshadow again, now that I have my reliable, trusty bases again!

Have you tried Tick:Tock Cosmetics? What are your favorite products from their store?

New Fyrinnae Swatches!

Happy Tuesday zombies!

Today I have some new and 'new to me' Fyrinnae swatches! As most of you know, Fyirnnae is one of my favorite "handmade eyeshadow" companies. They've long been my favorite and still to this day amaze me with the new shades they create. I decided to pick up some of the colors I don't already own and some that are new for the Summer 2015 season.

*Be sure to click images for maximum awesome!


I ordered mini sizes of the following:

Nepenthe
Capybara (new June 2015)
Conjured Tempest (new Feb. 2015)
Peppermint Vodka
Midnight Dreary
Serene Highness (new Feb. 2015)
Zanzibar (new May 2015)
Bawdy Librarian
Wizard's Wedding Cake (arcane magic)
Debonair
Ailurophile (new Feb. 2015)
Birb of Paradise (new June 2015)
Celestial Beauty was my free sample (new June 2015)

I love Fyrinnae's new business cards!



Descriptions per Fyrinnae website:

Celestial Beauty: A rich blend of shimmering violet and blue is enhanced with a touch of bronze sparkle.
Nepenthe: Vivid, metallic Byzantium purple, unlike any of our existing shades.
Conjured Tempest: Deep murky green with a vibrant pink-purple highlight.
Peppermint Vodka: Lush, rich, shimmering burgundy enhanced with copper sparkle.
Midnight Dreary: Velvety, vibrant, shimmering blue is enhanced with gold sparkle.
Capybara: Designed somewhat like our Serendipity to give a complex everyday look with one shade, this shadow is a muted blend of pink and red hues over a transparent base (which may appear dark gray depending on application).
Zanzibar: Vibrant deep turquoise topped with a greenish gold highlight and an overall metallic finish.
Bawdy Librarian: This is no basic brown! This, my good guys and dolls, is a lush, shimmery, golden brown rich with gold sparkle. Cameras cannot capture its true beauty; you must get to know the shade in person. Warm-toned, but would work well on many skintones.
Wizard's Wedding Cake: Bold icy blue shimmer, which changes to pink closer to light or at an angle, is set on a deep chocolate brown base.
Serene Highness: Medium cool violet topped with a vibrant highlight of varying green hues (shimmer, not sparkle).
Debonair: Warm, shimmery lilac graced with a glowing coppery highlight.
Ailurophile: An elegant blend of soft purple and gold in various tones. Slightly metallic finish with a touch of small-particle sparkle.
Birb of Paradise: Glowing royal blue tops a velvety deep brown base hue. Shown swatched over regular primer, but over a sticky base the blue will be more prominent and metallic. makes a great liner.


Indoor SWATCHES!

I used Pixie Epoxy as a base (also from Fyrinnae.)


Outdoor


My absolute favorite from this lot is 'Serene Highness'. I'm a sucker for purple/blue duochrome eyeshadow it's followed closely by 'Conjured Tempest.' This shade looks inconspicuous in the jar, but once swatched, it takes on a whole life of it's own. It's a light taupe with a lovely purple sheen. I'm also very excited about 'Birb of Paradise' seeing as how I don't have a color at all like it in my collection. It's a rich navy blue that is smooth and lovely. 'Nepenthe', 'Zanzibar' and 'Bawdy Librarian' also pack a punch and make me happy! I must say that it is a must to use a base with Fyrinnae's pigments. Also, make sure you pat them on your lids as opposed to brushing them on. The color and glitter payoff is much greater that way.

With this purchase, I now own 111 Fyrinnae eyeshadow shades. I'm not at all ashamed of this!

Do you see something in this bunch that you adore? Full sized Fyrinnae eyeshadows are $6.75 each and mini sizes (1/3 of a tsp) are $2.75. The mini sizes are full of product and in all the years I've been blogging, I don't think I've gone through an entire mini sized jar. A little bit of Fyrinnae goes a LONG way. ;)

*products in this post were purchased by me. All opinions are my own and 100% honest.

The Chequered Lily "Vampiric Vignettes" Collection!

PR SAMPLE

Good morning zombies!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! I had the pleasure of reviewing The Chequered Lily's new "Vampiric Vignettes" Halloween 2014 collection for you! I'm positive there is something in this collection that you'll HAVE to have. Trust me. ;) 

This collection contains:

Eye Shadow #162 Silent As The Snow: Icy metallic pearl white with silver sparkle.
Eye Shadow #163 Form Of Mist: Warm semi-sheer metallic pewter with lavender undertone.
Eye Shadow #164 Bloodflower: Rich metallic burgundy-red with red shimmer.
Eye Shadow #165 Memento Mori: Metallic charcoal grey with dark maroon undertone.
Blushing Powder #B07 The Sinking Night: Cool lavender-tinted matte medium grey.
Glitter Blend #G12 Nightchilde: Ruby & crimson glitters blended with black and silver.
Nail Polish #NP03 Teeny Tiny Bat: Clear polish base with shredded black glitter, grey and pearl white hex glitters, and iridescent blue glitter.
Nail Polish #NP04 Empress Of Shadows: Sheer black polish base with large red metallic dots, smaller transparent red glitter dots, black hex glitter, and small ruby hexes.

I received samples sizes of all but the nail polish, as well as a few more the glitter blends to try out. Kim also sent along a mini custom blended nail polish.

The extra glitter blends I received are:

Wicked Jack: Burnt orange and copper with gold, pink-violet iridescence.
Ozymandias: Sheer Gold & Bronze Glitter with Gold Iridescence
Silver Bullet: Bright Silver w/Blue and Blue Iridescence

The packaging is adorable.


All the goodies!


SPARKLE!


*Be sure to click images for maximum awesome!

 


Altogether now!



"Sinking Night" blush would be perfect for an "undead/zombie" look. It's also very build-able or you can tone it down for just a hint of the lavendar.


A custom blended nail polish. This has a red base with different sized glitter pieces. I swatched it over a black nail polish. Sadly, the larger glitter bits stuck to the sides of the bottle so I was unable to get them onto my nail with the brush. Next time, I'll use a toothpick to get some out. ;)


So glowly!


This Halloween collection is gorgeous! "Momento Mori" was the wildcard in the lot in my opinion, In the baggie it looked almost like a burnt/brick red, but once swatched, it took on a life of its own! I also really love "Silent as the Snow!" It's such a pigmented silver and will be awesome for a super wintery makeup look. As always, the eyeshadow from ACL are pigmented, smooth and so easy to blend.

My favorite products from this lot however are the glitter blends! The glitter is so fine and do not have a gritty texture to them at all. I am so stoked to get these on my balls! "Wicked Jack" and "Nightchilde" are both just flipping awesome! I feel like I need every single glitter blend from The Chequered Lily!

A quick note on the glitter blends that I found one of the listings (for those who are curious):

Please note: At this time, the FDA has not approved any glitter product as a color additive for any cosmetic formulation. You can find more information here: http://www.fda.gov/ForIndustry/ColorAdditives/ColorAdditivesinSpecificProducts/InCosmetics/ucm110032.htm near the bottom of the page. Glitters have a very long history of safety when used properly in cosmetics formulations. I only use the finest sizes of glitter for these blends, all of which are .004” or smaller. That said, by purchasing this product, you agree that you understand the FDA's stance on cosmetic glitter and will use this product at your own risk. Please discontinue use if irritation develops. If you'd like to help indie formulators like me get glitter formally approved for cosmetics, you can sign this petition: https://www.change.org/petitions/the-united-states-food-drug-administration-accept-cosmetic-grade-glitter-as-a-color-additive-and-set-usage-standards?utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=url_share&utm_campaign=url_share_after_sign 

Eyeshadow: "Mini" size container consists of a short 3 gram jar with black lid and sifter, packed with .50g of loose powder eye shadow. The “Full Size” option is a 3gram tall profile jar with sifter, packed with 1.50g of loose powder eye shadow (3x the product of the mini size). Sifters will come sealed, simply peel off the sticker before use. Mini sizes are $5.25 and Full Sizes are $11.00.

Glitter: “Mini” size container consists of a short 3 gram jar with black lid and sifter, packed with .50g of loose glitter. The “Full Size” option is a 3gram tall profile jar with sifter, packed with 1.50g of loose glitter (3x the product of the mini size). Sifters will come sealed, simply peel off the sticker before use. Mini sizes are $5.75 and Full Sizes are $12.25. 

Have you tried any of the products from the new "Vampiric Vignettes" collection?

*products in this post were sent for review and consideration purposes only. All opinions are my own and 100% honest.