Aromaleigh's Feast of Lupercal Swatches

Sent for review

Hi!

Recently Aromaleigh released a new collection called Feast of Lupercal for Valentine's 2015. Here is a tiny snippet of what the collection is based off of (there is more history and an in-depth look within each listing):

" Lupercalia was an ancient Roman festival of fertility and purification which took place in February."

This collection is full of beautiful pinks, reds, browns, greens and purples! I was in love with this collection as soon as I saw sneak peaks being released on Aromaleigh's Facebook page. I'm a fool for pinks and purples, so this collection was right up my alley. This collection is seasonal and will be retired March 15th, so I'd suggest purchasing any you like as soon as possible!

These are swatched over ELF Eyeshadow Primer. I usually swatch over NYX Eyeshadow base, but I didn't like the way they looked over NYX this time (personal preference), so I used ELF. All are swatched under a daylight bulb and the shifts are caught by moving my arm away from the light source. 

Trivia- "A soft black frost base with a strong red/violet interference shimmer and sparkle. Appears more red or more violet depending on your lighting conditions."

Rumina- "a silvered mauve/pink with an aqua iridescence and shimmer."

Caprotina- "a beautiful neutral brown with undertones of smoke and olive, sparkling with borealis shimmer."

Lucina- "a pale yellow with strong gold, red and violet sparkle. This shade is very glittery, and isn’t meant to be worn as a standalone eyeshadow, as it is rather formulated to act as a sheer layer of glimmer"

Faunus- "a soft mossy green with gold tones, and interference shimmers of blue and violet"

Februata - "a lovely cool pink with a strong gold interference shimmer and rose sparks."

This is a hand swatch to capture the green shift a bit more.

Juno- "a deep muted violet frost with a shimmering evergreen metallic overlay, which produces some really unique effects. The duochromatic effect of this color becomes more obvious if applied over a cream primer, or foiled/glue base."

Feronia- "a rich “Marsala” brown frost base with a pink iridescence and sparkles."

Vestales- "a beautiful muted violet with copper/rose shimmering iridescence."

Luperci- "A reddish brown with pewter tones and a shimmering metallic indigo blue overlay with blue sparks. (Will appear more reddish brown if foiled or applied over a glue base)."

I can't pick any favorites out of the bunch because I love them all! They're all so unique! If you'd like to purchase these, you can find them HERE!

~Emily

A Quick Update!

Hi!

I thought I'd just make a quick update. I've spoken about this a few times, but I never did it. Soon I'll be featuring a few mainstream brands on here. I hope that no one hates me for it! I started out trying to blog about bigger brands, but indie slowly took over my life, if you can't tell! In no way do I hate it at all and indie products will still be a huge part of this blog, I just felt like I should include some mainstream brands/products that I enjoy and would like to review. Right now I have a few NYX lipsticks to blog about and the Sugarpill Sweet Heart palette (not sure where they stand; bigger indie or mainstream? I'm not sure). There's probably a few more things but I'm forgetting them.

Also, yes! I will eventually get up the other parts to the Notoriously Morbid swatch posts. I still need to reswatch them. I'm a little bit behind on blogging, sorry about that! I've been somewhat busy in the last few weeks with my personal life (nothing bad) so I'm trying to play catch up!

I'll also be blogging more on my nail blog: ArtisticShadows Nail Blog . I put it off for WAY too long. So just keep an eye out for more posts in the future!

I *think* that's it! I feel like I'm forgetting some stuff lol. Thanks for being a reader/fan! I truly appreciate it! I never thought I'd even have a somewhat successful blog (successful as in more than 5 readers). It's a great feeling and I have you all to thank! So, thanks for being awesome! :)

~Emily

Aromaleigh Asteriai Collection Swatches

Sent for review

Hi!

I have swatches of Aromaleigh's newest collection, Asteriai! 

I had planned on having this post up a few days ago, but I didn't like my first set of swatches (lighting was off in the photos), so I had to re-swatch them and I'm much happier with the results!

This is the first collection by Aromaleigh to offer 4 different sizes: sample baggie, deluxe sample jars, mini jars (although this size will be discontinued once they are sold out) and full size jars. This collection consists of 10 beautiful color traveling shades and they're inspired by the "wintery tones of the starry night skies". Here is a little more information on this collection and the history behind the collection:

"The Asteriai were the star nymphs, most well exemplified by the Daughters of Atlas- the Pleiades and Hyades. This is the third of four seasonal collections featuring different types of Greek nymphs (Summer was Okeanides and Fall was Dryades). Each color of this series has matching inspiration found in a classical painting, often of the Pre-Raphaelite style."

I had no trouble at all with the application of each color. All applied smoothly and blended well. All swatches are done over NYX Eyeshadow Base. Color shifts are captured from turning the swatch away from the daylight lamp.

 Merope- "a satiny frost base of purplish mauve, with a color traveling duochrome that ranges from pink/red to orange/gold as lighting conditions change.

 Eudora- "a maroon base with a strong gold to green duochrome color travel."

Koronis- "one of the sparkly shades in the collection. It’s a soft cream with a strong blue/violet duochrome when foiled or used over dark primer. It has blue and gold sparks."

*This color has a strong pink/peachy color when turned away from certain lights. I tried to capture this in the 2nd picture but it didn't pick up too well.*

Maia- "a satiny deep blue base with a color traveling duochrome that ranges from green to teal to blue."

Kleeia- "a warm cocoa frost base, which is enhanced by duochromatic effects of gold/red and gold/green, depending on lighting conditions. It’s a gorgeously complex neutral."

Elektra- "a smooth golden khaki frost with brilliant blue and gold sparks."

Sterope- "an aubergine to russet base with a beautiful violet/blue/teal iridescence."

Taygete- "a warm grey base, with a strong color traveling duochrome from pink/red to gold/copper- this makes it a great complex neutral."

Alkyone- "is what I would describe as a blue on blue duochrome, which ranges in color travel from blue/violet to blue/teal. The base is a rich navy blue frost."

Kelaino- "a rich chestnut frost with russet tones, and a strong blue to violet duochrome."

I had a little bit of trouble trying to pick up on some of the shifts. They're definitely there in person, my camera just didn't want to cooperate with me. I think my favorites out of the bunch are Koronis, Maia, Elektra and Alkyone. Alkyone just glows that gorgeous blue tone that I love!

You can read more and purchase these amazing colors HERE!

~Emily

a satiny frost base of purplish mauve, with a color traveling duochrome that ranges from pink/red to orange/gold as lighting conditions change. - See more at: http://www.aromaleighcosmetics.com/product/merope/#sthash.N9tn0mFk.dpuf

Aromaleigh Ephemera Sub Box- January 2015

Sent for review

PHOTO HEAVY

Hi Everyone!

Aromaleigh is the newest company to offer a subscription box among other indies. When Kristen announced this, I was over the moon excited! I love everything I've purchased/been sent from Aromaleigh, so I knew the Ephemera box would NOT disappoint and I was right! 

My box was sent on Friday Jan. 2nd and I received it the following Monday. I live in the next state, so shipping is pretty fast from Aromaleigh to me. I saw lots of other people who received their box already as well! 

The box included loads of goodies! I was honestly blown away by this first Ephemera box. There was so many pretty and glittery things! Everything was packed well and beautifully. No spills or leaks what-so-ever.

This month's box was based on C.S. Lewis's "The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe". I haven't seen the newer movie, but I did read the books in elementary school and watched the older movie. I was in love with the books when I was younger, so I was happy to see a theme I was familiar with! Within the box were 2 mini eyeshadows, a rouge (blush), a sample rouge from an upcoming release to the Ignis Antiquita Rouge Collection and a sculpting glisten from Aromaleigh. There were also two other indies included: a lip sample from Dreamworld Hermetica and a fragrance sample from Ten Three Labs!

How everything looked when opened.

This gives all the information about the box from the inspiration to the product descriptions.

I had no issues with the application of any of the products. Eyeshadows are swatched over NYX Eyeshadow Base, blushes and sculpting glisten are swatched over bare skin. Left swatch is built up while the right swatch is blended.

The White Witch (eyeshadow)- "A pale aqua shimmer with gold duochrome. Inspired by Jadis's crystal-encrusted dresses, snowy surroundings and formerly golden skin. Not lip safe."

100 Years of Winter (eyeshadow)- "A smooth greened brown with white snowflake sparkles. Inspired by the snowy Narnia forests. Not lip safe."

Enchanted Turkish Delight (rouge)- "A wearable winter berry with a teal glow. Inspired by rose color of the Turkish delight candies. Lip safe."

Pale As Icing Sugar (sculpting glisten)- "A neutral toned, soft metallic glow with a multitude of uses. Inspired by the otherworldly, sculpted metallic glow the White Witch possesses in the recent film version, as portrayed by a strikingly pale Tilda Swinton. A unique cheek or brow highlighter, and a beautiful all-over eyeshadow shade. Not lip safe."

Locusta (rouge)- A "wearable coral blush".

Ten Three Labs- Superstition's Willing Victim- "Bay rum, peppermint, tea, lime, coconut, and sugar cane."

Without Flash

With flash

 Dreamworld Hermetica- Ectoplasmic Lips- Wytch's Heart- A redish brown with a frosty sheen and multicolored sparkles in certain light.

Also...

Delicious candy!

Okay, I know my lip swatches aren't the greatest, but I'm working on them! Hopefully they don't scare anyone away. Wytch's Heart was a beautiful color, but it didn't fit me well. I'm not sure if I'll wear this again or not, but we'll see! Also, the formula never dried on my lips so it kept a slightly tacky feeling and smeared a somewhat easily. Maybe it was just me since I did put it on a little thick. I'm going to try it again and see how it goes with a thinner coat. I'm assuming this is a product that's currently in the works since I don't see it listed on the website.

Ten Three Labs- Superstition's Willing Victim was an okay scent at first. Not something I'd probably buy on my own, but it's growing on me. I actually have it on right now and I'm really liking it! The first scents you pick up are Bay rum and lime. It mellows out a little bit to bring out the tea and a hint of peppermint. I've been wearing it about an hour now and I can pick up on the coconut and definitely the sugar cane.

All of Aromaleigh's products were easy to apply and blended well! I love everything within the box! The eyeshadows are beautiful, the blushes are great and I love the sculpting glisten. I'm not a huge blush wearing person, but Enchanted Turkish Delight is lip safe and I can't wait to see how this looks as a gloss! I'm going to try Pale As Icing Sugar as an eyeshadow and brow highlighter. Also, Locusta is probably the only blush I could ever pull off! It's just a hint of color. Just enough to notice and I love that about it!

Right now, Ephemera subscriptions are closed but there will be 25 (maybe a few more?) opening up on January 15th. Boxes are $15.00 plus the cost of shipping. If you'd like to read more about the subscription boxes, you can HERE.

Dreamworld Hermetica is currently closed, but you can see products HERE.

You can purchase perfume oils, eyeshadows and more at Ten Three Labs.

~Emily