Sampling Saturday: Intro to Gloom Naturals

I know this post comes late in the day but I CANNOT have you wait another week to meet this new brand! Gloom Naturals offered to send me some samples to review and naturally I agreed–but wait until you see what she sent. My little package was way beyond what I expected.

Also, if you are reading this lovely, I do owe all an apology for the quality of my pictures, here and lately. My camera is dying and my lighting is going downhill. I ordered a lightbox and am looking at cameras but I MAY need to use my phone for a bit because I took sooooo many more pictures I couldnt use!

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Everything came packaged in a bubble mailer. Then there was this note inside letting me know which shades she was sending me, as well as links to the Facebook page and Etsy store. 

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First surprise: Eyeliner! I was expecting 3 lipstick samples and the first thing I pull out is this giant tub of black cream eyeliner!

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This is it open, for size. There is also an ingredient list on the back. From the shop listing: ingredients: local beeswax, castor oil, jojoba oil, black oxide, kaolin clay.  I was definitely impressed, but more on that later. DSCN7796 

I attempted to do some arm swatches but it looks much better on my eyes. DSCN7799

Second Surprise: 3 FULL lipsticks! L-R Olde English 800, Faster Pussycat, and Nice Girls Dont Wear Cha Cha Heels. DSCN7800 

These ar the colors, same order, cranked all the way up. Comparable to any store bought lipstick! They are molded well and the packaging is very professional. 

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Closeup of the extended tubes. 

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Arm swatches of the lipsticks.

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Eye swatch of the liner, applied with a Starlooks angled liner brush. It glides very smoothly–i had to work the brush a little bit to pick up product the first time i used it; however this has not been a problem at all since this first time and I’ve been using the liner for about a week now. 

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Olde English 800. I was actually concerned how a gold lipstick was going to work but it starts on the sheer side and you build it up as you want.

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Faster Pussycat.The listing describes it as matte coral but its more orange-red to me, or at least on my skintone. 

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Nice Girls Don’t Wear Cha Cha Heels! There isnt a listing up in the shop currently for this color. Its a bright pink that leans ever-so-slightly purple. I feel like my spirit animal, Nicki Minaj. 

 

Day Trials! This week I used the eyeliner every day and used different lipsticks to test against eating, drinking, daily work grind wear, etc. 

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Day 1 Products used. 

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Day 1 Eye. The eyeliner is actually pretty buildable as well. It applies with a medium coverage but if you go over it again its super black. love it!

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The whole look. The lips today were Faster, Pussycat. Here is also a prime example of stupid camera syndrome. DSCN7822

 This is my face after a full day of work–approximately 10 hours after application with no touch ups. You can tell my lips hae work but unless you are quite close up and examining it just looks like a lip stain or more sheer coverage.  DSCN7836

Day 2! Today was Nice Girls. Again, I use the eyeliner and had a little fun with my electric palette. DSCN7840

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Again I really don’t know whats going on with the camera. It’s on its last legs.    

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Day 3 Products. It was Olde English 800 day so I used less products since I felt the lipstick would be bold.DSCN7858

 

 

So there you have it! Sorry the look pics are so terrible–I go to work before the sun rises and my camera no longer plays nicely with the bathroom lighting. My overall impression of the products is very positive! The eyeliner especially may be my new favorite liner and the jar appears to hold quite a lot of product, which is 1/2 an oz per the shop listing. Faster Pussycat definitely was the longest lasting shade, Olde English 800 the most buildable, and Nice Girls the creamiest with the fullest coverage. The packaging is very professional, right down to the labels.

If you are interested in trying any of the products out, the coupon code GLOOMANDDOOM is good for 20% off until Sept.1st in the Etsy shop! I’m looking forward to more great things from Gloom!

Friday Free For All: AFK Cosmetics’ Attack On Titan Collection!

My younger brother recently introduced me to the anime/manga Attack on Titan (Shingeki no Kyojin, for those in the know), and its brilliant. The characters are deep and challenging and the plot keeps you guessing. So when a fellow redditor Dena announced that her shop, AFK Cosmetics, would be releasing a loose eyeshadow collection base upon the series, I opened my wallet immediately! Dena has previously released a series based on the popular video game League of Legends–and those are beautiful too!

 

I should channel River Song here and mention….SPOILERS! (if you havent seen the anime or watched the manga)

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The lids all have super cute images that correspond with the color names/inspirations, and Dena sent a really nice note too!

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The underside displaying all the names. 

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And free samples! Because I ordered the whole AoT set, she included 2 sample baggies and a fullsized from the LoL set!

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Name Labels of the freebies 🙂

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The name list from the order sheet. I kept the following swatches in the same order so I could remember, and for you too! They will be , Top to Bottom: Clean Freak, Female Titan, Potato Girl, 3D Maneuver Gear, 104th Trainees Squad, Armored Titan, Suicidal Bastard, A Goddess?!, Survey Corps, & Mikasa. 

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Here they all are in a row! They are swatched over Laura Mercier eyeshadow base in Clean Linen. As you can see they are pretty pigmented without it! I applied with an elf crease brush, using a tiny amount of powder-It goes a long way!

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Clean Freak, Female Titan, Potato Girl, 3D Maneuver Gear,

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 104th Trainees Squad, Armored Titan, Suicidal Bastard, A Goddess?!, . 

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A Goddess?!, Survey Corps, & Mikasa. 

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These are my freebies — Surprise Party, Crystal Arrow, and Bronze V. 

 

All this week I used my AFK to create some functional looks. I do experiment a lot and wear some wild combinations to work, but I do find them to be pretty versatile, and easy to blend to boot!

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Day 1 Products used.

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Created using Clean Freak, Female Titan, Suicidal Bastard, & Mikasa. 

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Excuse my tired face. And camera lines! Seriously something is wrong with it right now. 

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It looks like I put it below my eyes, but I didnt! It isnt fallout either…its shadow and redness from rubbing the sleep away. 

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I feel like this eye was dark and brooding…much like the characters can be prone to do. I would be too if I was afraid of being eaten every day!

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See the blend? I love hardly being able to tell where one color stops and another starts. 

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Day 2 Products.

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Using  Potato Girl, 3D Maneuver Gear, Survey Corp.

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Green shadows seem to bring out the red and gold in my own. 

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I figured out that 3DMG, if applied really lightly, just adds a touch of sheer shimmer, so I patted it all over the whole thing!

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Day 3 Products.

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 104th Trainees Squad, Armored Titan, A Goddess?!.

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I swear I’m not drunk. This is my Thursday morning face. 

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These are a little bit too yellowy for my current semi-tan state but will work better for me at the end of the summer. 

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Sidebar: This lippy is new and its wonderful! They are pencils by Loreal. 

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Day 3 Products. 

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I used my new LoL colors–Crystal Arrow, Bronze V, and Surprise Party. 

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And there you have it! You should also totally follow them on Facebook for more pictures, updates, and news from Dena! 

 

In other news, posting might be even slimmer next week as I will be ON VACATION!!!! CHINCOTEAGUE!!!