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!)



I received the following:

Morgana's Fate: A shimmery silver purple
Siren's Blood: A bold, wine red with ethereal blue sparkle
Leviathan: A sparkly green on a blackened base

Mermaid Life Glitz: blue, purple, pink, and green sparkles 





Swatches! (All of my swatches are over Fyrinnae Cosmetics "Pixie Epoxy".


Natural Light


That glitter tho!


Blurred to show sparkles and dimension


Again, blurred to show the sparkles!


My thoughts!

Considering that I was a huge fan of Veronica's last company, I can say that these eyeshadow are on par, if not better than her last creations. I was a little nervous when I first received the products because the jars looked like standard private labeled eyeshadow. It wasn't until I opened and swatched them that I realized (immediately) that yes, Veronica hand blended all of the shades. There is so much sparkle, shimmer, pigment, dimension and personality in each one. You can tell she's put a lot of thought into these new eyeshadow and her new company. The three shades I received (plus the glitter) and gorgeous! I absolutely LOVE "Siren's Blood". Like, I love it with a fiery passion. The blue sparkle throughout is just amazing. "Mermaid's Life" is also such a stunning glitter and perfect for your inner mermaid! I can't wait to try it out. I'm so pleased with the new products and excited to see Veronica thriving again and making a come back. 

Each eyeshadow and GLITZ is $10.00. She only offers full sized products at this point but you get a lot of product and wonderful quality! I feel like it's a great deal if you find something you really love from the shop. She also offers a lot of Limited Edition items that once they sell may be gone forever, so if you see something you adore, you should probably pounce on it!

Go check out Carpe Noctem and tell her MakeupZombie sent ya!  

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

Etsy Spotlight: Sugar Skull Minerals

*knock knock knock*

Is anyone home? I am so sorry that I've neglected the blog for so long. I've had so much going on in my personal life, that blogging seems to have faded to black. Now that things have calmed down quite a bit, I *hope* to get into the groove of things again. Who knows though...life gets in the way sometimes. ;)

So in the meantime, I DO have an awesome post for you today. I received a few samples from Sugar Skull Minerals to play with and review for you, so let's begin shall we?

First up, Victoria from Sugar Skull Minerals, sent me a couple samples from the core SSM line!

*as always, click images for maximum awesome! 


(descriptions from Etsy shop)

Karma: Golden yellow highlight with chartreuse reflects
Conundrum: Chocolate brown with a shimmering green shift.
Mars: Ruby red with purple reflects.
Classy: Darker mauve tone, glitter free.
Bedroom Eyes: Pink based lilac with gold reflects.

Je t'aime blush: Muted mauve with red base and a golden highlight.

Everything is swatched over a sticky base except the blush.




I LOVE Bedroom Eyes and Mars; they are my favorite shades from this group. They are both buttery and blend exceptionally well. Karma makes an amazing highlight color. Classy has no shimmer or glitter, so it's on the matte side, but still very easy to blend and apply. Conundrum is an interesting color. In the baggie, I did not see the green shift, but once applied it's very pronounced. Je t'aime is a GORGEOUS blush!

Next up is the "Pool Party" Collection from SSM. This collection is a limited edition collection and will be available for purchase on July 4th. If you pre-order this collection or shades from the collection, you will receive 30% off your order; as long as you place to order by June 23rd. The pre-order discount is currently on the Etsy Shop.


Cannon Ball: A bright, electrifying blue with blue glitter.
Pina Colada: A golden white with copper reflects.
Beach Ball: Darkened lemon yellow with golden glitter.
Margarita: Bright light green with indigo reflects and green glitter.
Deep End: Teal with tons of gold reflects
Marco Polo: Deep lavender with blue and purple reflects as well as gold and chartreuse glitter.
Bikini: Bold pink with a minuscule coral tone and red reflects as well as red glitter.

Sunkissed blush: Shimmery peach.
Sunburnt blush: Mauve/lilac hybrid that blends out to an almost matte magenta.


*Cannon Ball




My favorites from this group are Marco Polo, Bikini, and Pina Colada. Marco Polo has a ton of lovely sparkle throughout the lavender base. Bikini is a lovely hot pink with a ton of red sparkles within. Such a fun color! Pina Colada is another wonderful shimmery highlight color!
I really like Sunkissed blush. It's pigmented and blends down very well. It's also buildable depending on how much coverage you'd like. Sunburnt was a little harder to work with. It seems to be a bit on the matte side with less shimmer, so it didn't want to blend as well as it's counterpart. It's still a nice color.

All of the shades were soft and pigmented and easy to apply and blend. Everything is hand blended and most of the shades at Sugar Skull Minerals are Vegan unless noted otherwise on the shop. There is definitely something for everyone! 

Pigments and blushers from Sugar Skull Minerals sell for:

**3 Color Stacker, w/sifters: (1 1/2 tsp total) ~~$15
Large Jar, no sifter: (1 1/2 tsp) ~~ $14
Small Jar, w/sifter: (1/2 tsp) ~~ $6
Large Sample Baggie: (1/4 tsp) ~~ $2.25
Small Sample Baggie: (1/8 tsp) ~~ $1.25

Here I am wearing Cannonball (main), Mars (above crease and lower lash line), Marco Polo (in crease and inner corner), and Karma (highlight):



I also did a short Q&A with Vicky! Check it out!

Victoria, tell us a little about Sugar Skull Minerals and how it came about. 

Well, I have always been extremely intrigued with makeup. I loved getting into my Mom's as a kid!!! When I moved into my own place, I didn't have the "extra money" I was used to spending on my growing passion which was a problem!! I began looking into ways to save some money. I started solely buying drugstore brands (which I LOVE), but the colors available weren't as bold as I preferred! I was watching YouTube tutorials and saw a review on Glamour Doll Eyes and fell on love! I was always intrigued with mineral makeup, but felt the shadows sold at Sephora and Ulta were "boring".... Then, when I discovered I had the ability to blend my very own mineral shadows and blushes using micas and glitters--I was BESIDE myself!! I love Urban Decay and MAC as much as the next girl, but this was so exciting! 

So, I used money I had gotten for my birthday and purchased all kinds of goodies! As I began wearing my creations to work (I was a waitress), I would get tons of compliments and inquiries on what eyeshadow brand I was using.... And then the company just simply began. At first, I would just bring little baggies of new colors to work, and the girls would buy them. Then I started getting repeat customers requesting items.. I did that for a few years and then was asked to get my shadows online, and so I did!! I have well over 200 recipes, all custom blended with love!

What is your main objective with SSM; considering all the different indie companies on the market?

Honestly, as cliche as it may sound, I just want to share my creations with people! That, and I want girls to be unafraid of what is in the cosmetics they use ingredient wise. It's not so much about profit. I love evoking excitement in people and seeing what kinds of looks people create with my products - Especially when they step outside of their boundaries!! 

What is the turnaround time after placing an order? What's your shipping policy?

On my site I have the listed turnaround time as 1-2 weeks. I have never actually taken that long to ship anything - I just want people to be prepared to wait JUST IN CASE I get backed up or need to reorder supplies. Besides, it's always nice to get shipment confirmation a few days after ordering when you're expecting I wait a couple of weeks! Everything is shipped in bubble mailers (USPS). I want everyone to be completely happy with their orders. My goal is perfect feedback, and I will do whatever I have to in order to get that! 

Do you have a favorite SSM product? What is it and why?

I would have to say Granny Smith eyeshadow is one of my all time favorites. That eyeshadow is great for just a sheer wash of color, but can also be built up. I love the way it shifts from green to light brown to pink! 

What does Victoria do in her spare time?

During the week I am a stay at home Mommy and love spending time with my 10 month old baby girl. Of course I am always thinking of ideas as far as Sugar Skull Minerals is concerned and love creating new colors! I am also a fan of cooking, collecting vinyls and anything crafty! The weekends are spend with my husband and daughter, we are always visiting zoos, the aquarium and other fun places!!

Is there anything else you'd like to add?

I am just so happy that people enjoy what I make, and are taking the time to share my company with others!! I hope that SSM will grow so I can dabble into glosses and other fun things!! If anyone ever has a question, suggestion or wants to see an eyeshadow look using certain colors -- I am here :)

I hope you all partake in a few shades from the Pool Party collection! They are so bright and summery that I doubt you'd be able to live without at least one of the colors! ;) 

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

BeautyBar Baby Review and SWATCHES!

Zombies!

Let's not even talk about how long it's been since I've made an actual blog post! I've been pretty active on Instagam and Facebook, but it's been too long since I updated this good old blog. So to dust off the cobwebs, here's a review.

I was recently contacted by Nicole from Beauty Bar Baby and asked to do a review on her products. Beauty Bar is a new up and coming indie cosmetics line based on Etsy.


BeautyBar's about section:

I'm a true makeup junkie & have tried almost every brand of cosmetics from the cheap drug store kind to the expensive designer brands & I LOVE mineral makeup the best because of how natural & good for your skin is actually is. I've struggled with adult acne & oily skin for years & since I started using mineral makeup my complexion has improved & I don't worry about breakouts anymore from my makeup!

So I figured why not create my own line of 100% All Natural mineral makeup & lip balms & share my creations with you! Every cosmetic listed in my shop is blended by hand in small batches by me. I create all the colors by myself, I design & print all the labeling that go on the containers & package everything myself! I'm a true 1 person operation & I LOVE my job! My products are the Best Quality & I keep all the rubbish out, AKA: No Parabens, Sulfates, Petrochemicals, Talc, Bismuth Oxychloride, Fragrance or any Harsh Chemicals and Always Preservative Free!

I take pride in the products I present to you & I wouldn't sell it if I wouldn't use my myself. I'm always around to answer any questions you might have & I hope you love my products as much as I do! Thanks for stopping by & have a blessed day!

****Follow my shop on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram to get the scoop on new colors, sales, events, makeup tips & more:
https://www.facebook.com/beautybarbaby
https://twitter.com/BeautyBarBaby
instagram.com/BeautyBarBaby

Nicole sent me 4 eyeshadow with a sifter and sifter sticker, a gel liner and lip potion samples to try out.

Eyeshadow: (descriptions per Etsy store)
Twisted Purple:  (duochrome) A bright & vivid shimmery purple with color shifting undertones that flip from turquoise to blue to violet
Seductress: Matte Black base color (looks purple in jar) loaded with purple sparkle glitter & purple interference glowing undertones...this 1 looks black with purple hues when applied wet!
Bronzed Babe: Medium shade of pure bronze!
Evidence: A semi shimmery medium vivid robin blue shade with silver sparkle glitter through out.

Lip Potion:
Hell Bent: A bright & vivid shimmery fuschia pink shade

Black gel liner



Top L to R: Twisted Purple, Evidence, Black liner, Seductress, Bronzed Babe and Hell Bent in the middle


Swatches!




Hell Bent on the lips


My thoughts:

I really love Twisted Purple and Bronzed Gold. I really am a sucker for purple shades with a strong blue shift nd I'm really enjoying gold these days as well. Twisted Purple is perfectly blended and not at all splotchy like some duochromes I've run across in the past few years. Bronzed Babe is just the perfect bronze/gold and is pretty pigmented in one swipe. Evidence and Seductress both have fine sparkles throughout their bases which apply smooth and evenly. Seductress is a little tricky in that it will blend down to the black base if you over blend it or don't pat it on the eyelid. I was able to keep it sparkly by swatching over a glitter glue. These shades are really quite blendable and pigmented. For $3.00 you can get a "generous 0.5g of product in a 5 gram sifter top jar that comes inner sealed for your protection. All my minerals are sold by weight not volume."

The gel liner is pretty amazing. It stayed firmly in place on my hand after the swatch for a good few hours until I washed it off. Even then, it didn't want to budge. Hence it being "water proof". I was pretty impressed in the fact that it didn't take more than two coats to make it opaque.  Full sized liners ( 5grams) are $4.00 and come in 7 different colors.

Now on to my least favorite product the Lip Potion. The color is stunning, there is no doubt about it, but the consistency was a little thicker and stickier than I like. It also kind of "exploded" out of the container it was in- which is why I don't have a picture of it with an open lid because it wanted to attack everything it touched! What I received was just a clam shell sample, the full sized 10grams of product come in a sealed jar, which look a lot less threatening. ;) Hell Bent didn't have a scent or taste, which I think is what threw me off along with the consistency. I'm pretty picky about my lip products though. Full size (10grams) is $5.50.

There are lots of products to offer at BeautyBar Baby and it looks like there is a little something for everyone. Check it out, especially since the products are affordable, handmade, and good quality.

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

Star Crushed Minerals Review and SWATCHES!

Happy Saturday Zombies!

Halloween is getting closer! I can feel it in the air. This is my most favorite time of year, as you probably already know. I watched a hot air balloon fly over my house this morning, that sealed the deal for me. Fall is here!

Randomness aside, I'd like to introduce you all to Star Crushed Minerals- an Etsy based indie cosmetic company. I placed a small order a few weeks back during a Grand Opening sale, and the owner graciously added a few extras for me to try out.

Per Etsy store:

"I am a one-woman shop and appreciate your patience, support and understanding. xoxo
If you have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to ask.
100% natural, handmade mineral cosmetics.
Nothing you see is re-packaged. All of the colors you see are a unique combination made out of a conscious effort to bring you vibrant, long lasting colors!
Welcome to Star Crushed Cosmetics!
Cruelty free (the only animal I test it on is my husband! LoL!) I joke! That was his idea! ;-)
Paraben, Sulfates, Petrochemicals, Talc, Cornstarch, Bismuth Oxychloride, Fragrance, Chemical and Preservative free. (Preservative free means they will not go bad!) "

*as always, please click images for maximum awesome!

The super cute packaging!




I ordered samples of (descriptions from the Etsy store):

Purple Tulip: Duo-chrome. Soft violet with orange/gold undertones.
Olive Pink: Semi opaque shimmery golden olive with soft pink shimmer / undertone.
Neptune Star: Green-Blue shimmer color.
Royal Blue: Semi opaque deep blue color with a metallic blue shimmer..
Teal: Teal blue with gold undertones. Soft shimmer.
Skinny Dipping: Sheer nude color with an iridescent shimmer.
Orchid Shimmer: This is matte purple color with pink undertones. Semi opaque.

I was also sent:

Star Crushed eyeshadow primer: This emollient rich eye shadow primer is designed to not only prep your eyes for eye shadow application but to moisturize as it does so. Neutralizes eyelid color.
Milky Way: Almost black deepest purple with gold shimmer throughout.
Red Blackberry: Shimmery Rich Purple with red, gold & violet undertones. Opaque.
Black Amethyst: A deep purple color with black undertones. Deep violet shimmer with violet sparkles throughout. Semi opaque.
Teal Blue: Opaque almost black base with several shades of teal blue shimmer and sparkle.
Black Garnet: Semi opaque color with red and black undertones. Red shimmer.
Black Emerald: Semi opaque color with green and black undertones. Green shimmer.
Mini Pomegranate nail polish: Bright red polish with multi-colored micro shimmer.

All the goodies! I love the jar lids!






Pretty pretty eyeshadow!








Eyeshadow primer. This is what I used as the base to swatch all of the colors.



Mini nail polish. I think this was just a fun extra.


All eyeshadow watched over Star Crushed eyeshadow primer.







Outside- direct sunlight


My thoughts!

I loved the cute packaging that everything came in!  Incorporating stars was a cute touch, so before I even opened the box, I was already slightly giddy. I'm a sucker for packaging which looks like great care was taken in it. Once I opened the box, my jaw dropped. I was expecting sample baggies and was pleasantly surprised to see all the jars nestled within the box. Each lid had the logo of the company on it, and there were sifter stickers on each jar.

Once I swatched the colors, I was pretty much hooked. I used the Star Crushed eyeshadow primer for the swatches and was pretty amazed at how pigmented each color came out on my skin over the primer. It also allowed for the sparkles to shine through in those eyeshadow that have sparkles.

I'm quite impressed with the eyeshadow that have a black base from Star Crushed. When you blend out the eyeshadow, the color shift is still strong and does not blend down to just black. I espeically love Black Garnet and Black Emerald because of this.

My favorites of this lot are:
Royal Blue. I mean just look at the shimmery blue!
Purple Tulip. I just love the gorgeous flash and shimmer in this eyeshadow.
Black Garnet. The PERFECT vampy, fall color. Freaking love!
Neptune Star. This eyeshadow is so pigmented and blend-able and the color is so very lovely. 
Black Emerald and Black Amethyst. I love the flash of purple and teal on these black based eyeshadow. Gorgeous!

I'm really impressed with everything I received from Star Crushed. The eyeshadow are buttery and pigmented and really easy to blend. Hand blended to perfection!  I was very very happy with the eyeshadow primer as well. It made the colors hold true to how they looked in the jar and allowed the sparks and shimmer to shine! The eyeshadow also lasted a long time once applied over the primer. Primer ingredients: Ingredients: Olive Oil, Carnauba Wax, Organic Coconut Oil, Shea Butter, Grapeseed Oil, Micas.

Right now, Star Crushed is having a 50% off sale. I encourage you all to go grab a little something. Samples do come in jars, which I personally love. ;)  They also offer nail polish, blush, and foundation. Follow them on Facebook HERE as well!

Do you see something you that catches your interest?

*some products in this post were purchased by me and some sent to MZ for review purposes only. All opinions are 100% my own and honest. 

 

Impulse Cosmetics Review and SWATCHES!

Happy ass Saturday Zombies!

Today, I have a review for on Impulse Cosmetics, an up and coming indie cosmetics company that is  Etsy based. A few weeks ago, someone posted a picture of Narcissa eyeshadow from this company in my makeup group and I snatched it up immediately! 

My package arrived in just a few short days from ordering- and even contained a few extra samples to try out. Everything was bubble wrapped and the full sized jar was shrink wrapped and had a sifter label.



I received samples of:

Mumble, Sovereign, Davy Jones, Alchemy, Penny Serenade, Valkyrie, Flicker, The Fritz, Hemoglobin, Bellatrix, and Crush in addition to my full sized Narcissa.

All the samples in a row!


Full sized Narcissa!




Lovely, lovely swatches!

Descriptions per website:
  
Narcissa is a silky, matte violet/purple with a pink undertone that flashes into lime/teal green with green and teal shimmer.
Hemoglobin is a bright red eyeshadow with a metallic finish and gold shimmer.
Flicker is a midtoned gold, loaded with gold and silver shimmer
Mumble is a mid-toned violet with a frosty blue color shift.
Crush is a duochrome pink that flashes into aqua/teal with teal sparkles.Alchemy is a duochrome teal with a dark base and gold, silver, and blue shimmers.
The Fritz: did not locate on the site
Davy Jones: did not locate on the site
Valkyrie has a black base that transforms into a cross between lime and emerald green.
Penny Serenade is a dark, grapey purple with a sapphire blue color shift.
Bellatrix is a silky, dark magenta pink that flashes into lime/teal green with green and teal shimmer.
Sovereign is a silky, matte purple loaded with gold shimmer.





Ok, so how ridiculously AMAZING is Bellatrix? In the baggie it looked pretty enough, but once I swatched it, my jaw dropped. I'm honestly not sure I own a color like this, and that's hard to come by. It's hands down my favorite of this lot.  Penny Serenade is an amazing grape purple with a blue sheen- it's the perfect Blurple color. I also adore the vampy and intense sheen/feel of Alchemy, the light lavender and blue feel of Mumble, and the intense gold sparkle in Sovereign. Flicker is a gorgeous light gold with tons of sheen. I just can't get over the intensity of these shades. They are bright, pigmented, smooth to apply, creamy, and so blend-able.

Full sized shades from Impulse Cosmetics are $3.99 for a 5 gram jar, containing roughly 1/2 tsp of product or you can choose 5 samples for $4.50. Samples contain 1/8 tsp of product in each baggie. The owner of Impulse does not normally put the glittery lids on all the full sized eyeshadow (it's exclusively for the Glam Glue primer base) but she figured I might like the glittery touch. Of course, I did. ;)

All of the products at Impulse Cosmetics are handmade and hand-blended. The Cosmetic Glitter is eye safe, unless noted otherwise on the listings on their site. I can tell great care was taken in creating the shades I received. I can not WAIT to do looks with these bad boys. You can also stay informed of new and exciting events on the Impulse Cosmetics Facebook page HERE.

Do you see any colors you can't wait to get your hands on?

*products in this review were purchased with my own money and sent to me for review purposes only. All opinions are my own and 100% honest.