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!

Darling Girl Cosmetics "Queens of Horror" collection!

*some products in this post were a giveaway prize and gift from owner of DGC. All opinions are my own and 100% honest.

Happy Hump Day, Zombies!

I'm back with a new and exciting review from Darling Girl Cosmetics! This time it's the "Queens of Horror" collection, which I won from their Facebook giveaway (a full sample set). Susan, the owner, was nice enough to send me the lip products that go along with the collection.

Queens of Horror: This years Halloween collection is an homage to the baddest chicks in horror! 

*This collection will be available on 09/12/2015. 

There are 12 new eyeshadow shades and 2 lip products (one pucker paint and one Balm Gloss)

 New eyeshadow names and descriptions:

Eyes:
Do You Like Scary Movies? - Deep indigo base with green/pink iridescence.
Got Face? – Metallic pewter loaded with shifting pink to orange holo-sparkle. 
Hello, Clarice - Dusty blue/grey base with indigo purple sheen and violet sparkle. 
Hotel Hell - Dusty lavender/taupe base with violet iridescence, satin matte finish. 
Married to the Macabre – Charcoal brown base with strong green sheen and a shift to a bronzey gold in certain lighting. 
Onryo (Vengeful Spirit) – Shell pink with copper shimmer and green iridescence. 
Possessed Princess – Chartreuse with gold sheen, purple shimmer and shifting blue to purple holo-sparkle. 
Prom Queen – Reddish brown with golden bronzes iridescence and violet sparkles. 
Queen of Scream – Peachy copper loaded with pink and gold sparkle. 
Shower Scream – Teal blue with pink sheen and pink and blue sparkle. 
The Bride – Blackened pine green base with green shimmer and silver iridescence. 
You B*tch – Grey/green base with emerald green sheen and shifting blue to purple holo-sparkle.

Lips:
I’m Into Survival Balm Gloss 3D – Bubblegum pink with shifting blue to purple holo-sparkle
Mistress of Darkness Pucker Paint – Ruby red base loaded with violet pearl giving it a purple hue. The metallic Pucker Paints will look best if you lightly rub your fingertip or q-tip over your lips after the product has dried completely; this will bring the beautiful finish out and keep it from looking as though the color has settled into lip lines. 



SWATCHES!




I took several photos so that you can all see just how AMAZING "Married to the Macabre" is. O.O



Lip swatches!




Obviously, "Married to the Macabre" steals the show with this collection. It's an amazing, in your face lime green on a dark base that changes colors depending on the light and angle. It's flipping gorgeous! Each color is unique and sparkly and I love the names. On par with DGC, the shadows are all very pigmented and easy to blend. "Shower Scream" and "Hotel Hell", along with "Married to the

"Mistress of Darkness" is also beyond gorgeous. It has a matte finish to it and it's an insanely pretty blue based purple. It wears well on the lips and isn't drying like some matte lippies tend to be. I also love the blue sparks in "I'm Into Survival." Because it's a balm, it's very smooth and creamy on the lips.

Overall, this is a fun collection with an awesome theme and great names! Be sure to grab some of these babies on the 12th!

If you'd like to see more of my "looks" and random weirdness, I'm mostly active on Instagram @makeupzombie and tend to do a lot of swatches there. Check it out!

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?

Espionage Cosmetics Review and SWATCHES!

Good evening Zombies and Happy Hump Day!

Over the Memorial Day weekend, I traveled to Denver, CO to the Denver ComicCon with my husband and our friend. I was also able to meet up with my best makeup buddy Sam from Kiss My Sparkle.

As we were perusing the aisles and looking at all things geeky, Sam and I happened upon the booth of Espionage Cosmetics (which Sam had heard good things about) and were instantly time warped into a land of geeky makeup, nail wraps and sparkles. All other *things* faded away. I was surprised that I'd never heard of this company before, especially with the uniquely themed eyeshadow collections they have, such as The Gamer Girl and Eye-Spy. Sam and I had a lovely (and in depth) conversation with Jaimie the owner of Espionage and purchased some goodies to take home and play with, which I've decided to swatch for you!

I purchased 4 eyeshadows as a bundle for $25.00 + 1 (Epic- from the Gamer Girl collection) for $7.50. Because World of Warcraft, duh.

(Be sure to click images for maximum awesome!)



(descriptions from the Espionage website- which I freaking LOVE)

Mata Hari: What's more controversial than a turn of the century exotic dancer executed for allegedly being a spy? We're not sure but we tip our hats to Mata Hari with this explosively sparkletagious shade of gold. Any espionage girl knows the value of gold and this mineral color is one you just can't live without.
Josephine Baker: How do you fit a bad ass story of rags to riches to espionage to fighting Nazis and racism into a single color of awesomeness? We're still working on it. In the meantime, this shimmering color does its best to live up to the super spy's "Black Pearl" nickname. The dark shades of cocoa swirl with iridescent green for a deadly color you don't want to mess with.
E.V.P: Can you feel the presence of something awesome? This chilling black with pumpkin, gold, highlights is sure to speak to others of how awesome you are. Obviously.
Clairvoyant: Commune with your inner vixen with this hot pink shade from a whole new realm! Clairvoyant is a sure fire way to get in touch with your inner hotness.
Epic: Seriously, the name says it all. This highly pigmented purple rocks your face off with a punch of color and a splash of golden shimmer!

 


SWATCHES! I used Pixie Epoxy from Fyrinnae as my base.



Sunshine swatches of sparkle and magic!


Josephine Baker is by far my favorite from the eyeshadow I purchased. I adore the green/teal flash within it's dark base. It's got a strong duo-chrome which I love. Mata-Hari is a lovely olive toned gold with lots of sparkle. It's beautiful in the sunlight! Clairvoyant is a super hot pink with pink sparks throughout. I'm freaking in love with this shade and want to use it all the days. Epic is fun too as it has loads of green sparkles throughout the purple base, also making it slightly duo-chrome. And E.V.P is an AWESOME shimmer, rich dark shade. In the sunlight it bursts with sparkle.

I wasn't sure how unique these shades would be upon first swatching them on my hand but once I swatched them properly and with a base, the colors and sparkles POPPED! And each shade is super blend-able and pigmented. I adore the names of the eyeshadow from Espionage as well as the themed collections. Each eyeshadow is $7.50 (USD) or your can purchase a bundle/collection for $28.00. Espionage not only sells pigment eyeshadow but they also carry Lip Serums and Nail Wraps (there is a Dr. Who themed set which I saw in person in Denver that is AMAZING!)

I'm so happy to have stumbled upon Espionage Cosmetics, especially at a large event like Denver ComicCon. It made my whole weekend to not only see my best friend and meet one of my favorite artists Megan Lara, but to also leave Denver with some gorgeous sparkles. Run (don't walk) to the Espionage Cosmetics website and grab yourself some!

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.