Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Shiro and the Ever-Accumulating Samples



To break up the monotony of a lot of these collection posts I figured I'd shake things up with some random Shiro samples/minis! These were accumulated over several orders over the past however long and I figured they needed a little attention.


*All swatches are over Too Faced Glitter Glue in indoor, indirect afternoon light.*

Chimera from the Fullmetal Collection
A complex and unique blend - looks coppery in the jar, then applies as tarnished gold and silver shimmer over a blackened background.


Who doesn't love Chimera? I've received this as a sample before and quickly made my way through most of it. (I say 'most' because I seem incapable of finishing anything.) It's fantastically complex which makes for a super easy 'one eyeshadow' sort of look. It reminds me of a warmer version of Femme Fatale's Prismo.



I'll Move That For You from the Randomly Generated Collection
Blackened amethyst with bright purple sparkle.


My collection of eyeshadows that resemble tiny jars of nebulae continues to grow and grow and I don't even feel bad about it. I'll Move That For You has a matte base so using a sticky primer can be a bit tricky but definitely worth all those glitters.



It's Mossy! from the Randomly Generated Collection
Complex green-blue-grey, lightly metallic, over a black base.


It's Mossy! is much brighter applied than it looks in the jar. I'd say it makes a good 'office-safe' green while still packin' a bit of oomph. And, as always when it comes to green with a minty tone, I'll be pairing this with a lot of browns. Because who doesn't want to be an Andes Mint?



Ditto from the Super Effective Collection
Medium soft pink with a satin finish.


A super bright pop of pink! As fun as this is, Ditto isn't a color that I find myself reaching for all that often. The satin finish leans pretty metallic - I probably would have preferred it be a bit more matte.



Kooloo-Limpah! from the Legends Collection
Satiny peach with green and red sparkles.


I love, love, love this one. It's an easy one-and-done type of eyeshadow but the red and green sparkles keep it interesting. I'm sure you can tell that anything that looks amazing while still allowing me to be incredibly lazy is a winner in my book.



Heart Attack from the Notebook Collection
Deep maroon with blue shimmer.


Heart Attack is a lovely burgundy/maroon but those blue sparkles just make it. Hnngg, it's marvelous.


Just somethin' short and sweet to get us through the middle of the week! Also, I will just point out that all of these shades are lip-safe. Digest that for a minute. I'm dying from curiosity at the thought of a sheer Chimera gloss. Or an opaque gloss of Heart Attack~ Excuse me while I cry over my empty wallet and dream.


xxx

Monday, August 18, 2014

Hello Waffle and the Dangers of Flash Sales Part 2: The Musician Collection



Welcome to the next installment of "Hello Waffle and the Dangers of Flash Sales!" Today we're lookin' at the Musician collection based, of course, on various classical musicians! Prior to this collection's release Hello Waffle had been doing the odd pressed pans of other eyeshadows but when I saw a full collection pressed together into a palette I knew it had to be mine. (Palettes are my greatest weakness - my Urban Decay collection is shameful.) Of course, supply was limited so my plan was to grab it fast. I got to work before the flash sale started and realized... I'd left my overly complicated and impossible to remember PayPal password at home. I shot Christine an email asking her to set one aside so I could order it once I got home. Although she didn't think they'd go very fast, she graciously set one aside for me just in case. Once I finally got home I rushed to place my order and thankfully the palette was still up on the site. Christine emailed me right after my order had gone through to let me know I'd managed to grab the second to last one - customer service at it's finest! A mother hawk watching after all her little hawklets.

The palette itself is very nice! A bit smaller than I was expecting but I'm used to pretty bulky packaging when it comes to palettes. The pans sit in there all nice and secure-like but they're not difficult to pop out at all. The pressed formula is definitely new to me when it comes to indies as I've never purchased any nor tried to press my own. (I've thought about it but I'm too chickenshit.) I'm really enjoying it though. Perfect for my lazy days when I don't want to screw around with a bajillion little jars and loose pigment poofin' all over the place. They's got a bit better stick on bare skin than Hello Waffle's regular formulation but I still find myself using my sticky bases to get the most out of them.

Let's take a look at it!

What a beaut~
Mu'fuckin' Stickazzzz.
Hello Waffle recently reopened after a brief hiatus and has a limited number of these puppies stocked here! Now, on to the swatches!



*All swatches are over Too Faced Glitter Glue in indoor, indirect afternoon light.*

Pachelbel
Sparkly white-gold, wedding-like.


Pachelbel is a super pretty, pale, antique-feeling gold and works wonderfully as a highlight. Definitely an important feature when putting together a palette that feels 'complete'.



Mendelssohn
Light pink with a golden sheen.


Absolutely gorgeous golden rosey shade. I'm in love with it, you're in love with it, everyone's in love with it. It's just a fact of life.



Debussy
Soft pastel green with subtle golden highlights.


Pastel yet acidic green that absolutely glows. I don't know how Christine does it but this collection has something of a 'lit from within' quality to it that makes everything just lovely as hell.



Tchaikovsky
Vibrant gold with red, silver and blue sparks.


A lovely, bold gold! I can see a few of the red sparkles but the blue's lost on me completely.



Vivaldi
Copper red with silver sparkles.


There's a hint of copper tones around the edges of my swatch but Vivaldi is definitely more of a pink-toned red. In fact, it reminds me a lot of Shiro's Unforgettable but with silver sparkles instead of gold. It's gorgeously smooth and will be perfect for deepening up any pink looks.



Bartok
Copper with bronze, gold and red sparkle.


Bartok is a warm copper bordering on some sort of delicious caramel shade. I think that this'll look amazing with Hello Waffle's Wastelands.



Bach
Neutral brown with copper sheen.


My absolute favorite shade from this collection and perhaps from Hello Waffle's entire catalog! My swatch does it no justice - it is perfection. My favorite way to wear Bach is all over the lid and smoked out around the edges with Mendelssohn with a touch of Pachelbel on the brow bone and inner corner and Rachmaninoff smudged/blended out around my lash line. I don't like to repeat looks too often but this is one I'd do everyday and not even feel bad about it.



Schubert
Muted blue-gray. Leans almost brown.


Ah, so complex! I definitely get a lot of brown from Schubert. It reminds me a bit of Femme Fatale's Tiny Manticore.



Chopin
Romantic soft gray blurple duochrome.


MORE GLOWING. Chopin is magic. The base is a lovely eggplant color topped off with a bright periwinkle shift. I like to use this as a pop of color in the crease with darker, smoky looks.



Mozart
Light silver-brown.


Another lovely neutral! Silver-brown is a perfect description. This'll do well for lazy days popped over something like Maybelline's Color Tattoo in Bad to the Bronze as a base.



Rachmaninoff
Matte espresso bean brown.


A lovely deep, chocolaty brown. It's described as a matte but I'd say it leans more towards a satin finish. I'll often use this as a soft, barely there eye liner.



Einauldi
Sheer black with silver sparkles.


Einaudi would definitely be more sheer without a sticky base. This may make a good liner but I've always been at a loss when it comes to using sheer black shades. I'll have to play around with this one and try to figure out the best way (for me) to use it.



All together, the Musician collection has a really good mix of brights, neutrals and darker shades. Along with Pachelbel as a highlight the collection translates well into a complete palette. I don't travel but if I did this would probably be one of the makeup items I'd take along with me. There's a wide variety of looks I could create with out my makeup bag becoming too bulky. Pressed or loose, the shadows themselves are glowing and gorgeous. Seriously, Christine's gotta be using some sort of magical stardust when she puts these things together. Top picks are Bach (obviously), Mendelssohn aaannnddd probably either Rachmaninoff or Pachelbel. Mozart and Shubert are definite runners up.

Next up on the Hello Waffle docket is the Snedronningen collection! Hopefully I'll get that post out quicker than these last couple!


xxx


Some side notes! I completely missed Sunday Funday yesterday. (After only doing it the one time. For shame.) It was a bit of a stressful weekend as I attended orientation at my local community college. It was mostly okay other then the fact that I was surrounded by rude children and had an unpleasant run-in with an advisor who became a touch nasty when she couldn't answer one of my questions. But besides that I'm all registered for my first class since high school and start on Thursday! Woo hoo, adult education! I then spent the whole weekend attempting to de-stress by reading the entirety of CLAMP's Tsubasa. Y'know, having already finished xxxHolic earlier in the week. From that I'm sure to can glean the fact that I've gotten almost nothing else accomplished.

I'm currently waiting on a small Blooddrop order to ship which I'm super excited for! Sadly, I don't pay enough attention to anything and didn't realize the shop owner was on vacation starting the day I placed my order. Lesson learned. I'm also getting pumped up for Haus of Gloi's fall release which just so happens to fall on my boyfriends birthday (if I'm remembering the date correctly) so that'll be quite a full day for me. Part of my gift to him will be smelling delicious. Even if he hates it.

Also, a quick apology for the state of my nails in this post! I was attempting to square them out which was a horrible mistake. I'm now rockin' some brand new baby stilettos and they're super rad. I may even break into the indie nail polish scene~ Though I'm sure it's a dangerous road to tread!