A Sneak Peek of Ten Three Lab's Upcoming AHS: Coven Collection

Hey, guys! I am so, so excited to share this with you. I bought a few goodies off Cara's destash, and inside my package she included a small sample of an upcoming perfume. I asked her if I could blog about it, and she sent me info about the entire collection to share with my readers!

The new collection, launching April 1st (no lie), is inspired by the incredible third season of American Horror Story, which centers around a small coven of near-extinct witches. I'm going to keep this post spoiler-free, so if you've yet to watch the Coven season, you're safe to read this! The New Salem Collection will consist of five perfumes, two Saucebox Sheens, and two eyeshadows. The April CotM shadow will also be inspired by Coven.

All photos are taken by Cara from Ten Three Labs. All information was sent to me with permission to post about it publicly.

Palate Cleanser, New Salem, Fell, Resurgence, Mulligetawny Soup

Palate Cleanser- "an assortment of melons, white peach sangria, yuzu, cucumber and lime"

New Salem- (Cara's favorite) "cacao absolute, labdanum absolute, burnt earth, spiced apples"

Fell- "moss, kelp, water lillies and sugar cookies"

Resurgence- "vetiver, Spanish moss, wet dirt, and honeysuckle"

Mulligetawny Soup- (Cara dubbed this her weirdest scent ever, but it works) "black pepper, rice, almond milk, coconut, apple, lemon, curry and cardamom"

I was lucky enough to be sent a sample of Resurgence, a perfume inspired by my boo, Misty Day.

(seriously, look at how gorgeous she is)

In Coven, Misty Day has the power of Resurgence, meaning she can bring back the dead (though magic always comes with a price). Misty's a hippie at heart and possibly the biggest fan of Stevie Nicks ever, and I couldn't think of a better perfume to represent her.

On cold sniff, this perfume smells of wet, overturned earth and a hint of sweet honeysuckle. My fiance took a cold sniff as well, and he said it smells like an "old, forgotten house". I've been wearing the perfume for the past few days, and upon initial application, it smells dominantly like moss and grass. After about half an hour, the moss and grass faded a touch and I started to smell the dirt and honeysuckle. The perfume wasn't very far-throwing, which I was okay with. For more "unique" scents, I try to keep them more to myself. I don't think the majority of people like smelling wet dirt and grass on a person. Resurgence lasted a good five to six hours before I wanted to reapply. I really like this perfume, and I'm pumped up to try the other four!

Wednesday and Sopresa

Cara's Saucebox Sheen gloss formula debuted in her last subscription box, and these will be the first to be available to everyone. Wednesday is a "black with red sheen", and Sopresa is a "plain old red". These look super opaque, and I'm really interested to see lip swatches of Wednesday. Usually darker colored glosses have issues with streakiness, but this picture doesn't show any! The color is definitely not accurate in these photos, and I'll swap out this photo for something that gives the colors more justice if possible.

Last but not least, the two permanent shadows of the collection! There aren't any available pictures yet, but I'll add them if any are posted before the release. Both shadows are matte.

Liiiiiiiiiiiies- "a dirtied beige"

Dog- "a deep brown"

Cara also teased that her April CotM will be connected to the New Salem Collection, but she's keeping it a secret for now! Overall, I'm ecstatic about this collection. I'm a huge fan of Coven, and his collection does it the justice it deserves. Awesome work, Cara!

The New Salem Collection launches on April 1st.

Swatches and Review of Aromaleigh's March Ephemera Box

Disclaimer: I am currently in the process of reswatching duochromes and photographing them differently to give my readers a more accurate depiction of the shifts. Please be patient while I go through the process of updating my past reviews. :)

This is horribly belated, but I love this box so much that I'd rather review late than never! My lovely fiance, Charles, gifted me the Aromaleigh Ephemera Box subscription for Valentine's Day. Nothing says love like a little box of makeup treasures every month! This was the first box I received, and it's inspired by Norse Mythology. Most know their Norse Mythology from watching movies about vikings, or your interest grew when you saw that Chris Hemsworth was set to play Thor. Personally, I know my Norse legends from playing The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim. I have no shame in this, and I will wave my Stormcloak banner high until the day I die. If you side with the Imperials, there's a little red X button at the top right of your screen. Go ahead and click that. I kid (only a little).

Anyway, let's dive into the contents of the March Emphemera Box!

This box included one full-sized blush, three full-sized shadows, two shadow sample baggies (which I poured into jars as usual), and a sample of a Kiss My Sass lip gloss. There were also two Swedish Fish candies, but those were long gone by the time I took pictures. Extras of this box will be made available on Aromaleigh's site in May.

All shadow swatches are taken over, from left to right, bare skin, Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion, and Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy. Blush swatches are applied over bare skin, with a heavy swatch on top and a blended out swatch on the bottom. Lip product swatches are taken over exfoliated and moisturized lips. The skin around my lips is blurred to hide imperfections, but otherwise, no editing is done. Product descriptions are taken directly off the product description sheet found in the March Ephemera Box, off a post on Aromaleigh's blog, the Aromaleigh website itself, and Kiss My Sass's website. If you have any questions as to where I pulled individual descriptions from, please don't hesitate to ask.

L-R, T-B: Valkyrie, Ragnarok, Valhalla, Yggdrasil

Next Month's Hint, Carina, Kiss My Sass Sheer Lip Glaze in Daydreams

Valkyrie: "an easy-wear, soft warm rose shade". Inspired by the choosers of the slain, who hovered over battlefields, decided warrior's fates, and showed the fallen the way to Valhalla or Folkvangr. Don't make a Valkyrie angry, or it's a spear to the leg and a swift trip to Folkvangr for you.

Kristen dubbed this a "Your cheeks but better" shade, and she couldn't be more right. When I blend Valkyrie out, it gives me a delicate rosy flush. This blush is also incredibly pigmented, so this full size might just last me a lifetime. Valkyrie was my first indie blush, and I couldn't have been happier.

Ragnarok: "a deep, reddish brown with gold/green interference shimmer". Inspired by the Norse end of days. A prophecy depicted the falling of the Gods, the destruction of the earth, and the renewal of mankind after a great flood.

I didn't pick up any of the green shimmer. For me, this shadow is a deep, warm brown that almost has a metallic bronze finish over Pixie Epoxy. Over bare skin and primer, this is a flat brown. I can't complain about a brown shadow, though, because the three Norse themed shadows in this collection mesh together so well.

Valhalla: "a soft pale weathered gold with strong blue interference sparkle". Valhalla is the "hall of the slain", a beautiful hall in Asgard, where Odin welcomes his chosen fallen warriors with open arms and a bountiful buffet that never ends. (I'm going to be a little nerdy again. Skyrim's chosen Nords are sent to the Hall of Valor in Sovngarde when they perish, and I always think about how you get to travel there when I use this shadow. All of that food, mmm.)

Kristen's description is spot-on. This isn't a normal gold, or an antique gold. This is a soft pastel, with plenty of sparkle. It's ethereal and more than fit to represent Valhalla.

Yggdrasil: "a midtone heathered green with copper interference shimmer". Yggdrasil is a great yew tree that's central to Norse mythology and considered very holy. Its branches extend into the havens, and its roots extend into distant lands. Within Yggdrasil, majestic creatures dwell, and every day the Gods go to the great tree to assemble.

Before I started this post, I looked up pictures of the European Yew tree, which is the agreed species of tree that Yggdrasil was. This color is perfect. Yews are conifers, and the color of the foilage reminds me of the trees you find on Christmas Tree Farms. That subtely paled forest green is wonderfully replicated here. I did find that Yggdrasil performed the worst over bare skin, as it lost most of its dimension. Still, it's a gorgeous green.

Next Month's Hint (name not yet revealed): "a beautiful mauve shade with green/chartreuse interference shimmer"

Sneaky, sneaky Kristen, making us all guess the theme of the April Ephemera box! I didn't even attempt to. Later on, Kristen revealed the next box is inspired by the Ancient Roman festival of Floralia, a celebration of Flora, the goddess of flowers, vegetation and fertility. Floralia was a real party, complete with nude dancing prostitutes, the release of fertile hares and goats, and pelting each other with legumes. (I especially like the legume part.) Anyway, this is a muted, dusty mauve with green and yellow sparks. It applies beautifully over bare skin, primer, and adhesive. I have a feeling I'm going to love April's Ephemera Box.

Carina: "a rich violet with a strong teal duochrome shift"

This was originally a sneak peek of Aromaleigh's newest collection when the boxes were sent out. The Galactic Collection, Mission One has now been released, and Mission Two is set to blast off (hehe) in May. Carina is a major standout in Mission One with a strong duochrome that, of course, my camera just couldn't capture well. The teal shift is bright and has that glowing-from-within effect. If you can only snag one shadow from the Galactic Collection, grab Carina. The rest of Mission One is gorgeous, and the label art is amazing. Each shadow is inspired by NASA's beautiful pictures of places far away from our little planet Earth. Here's a look at the label art for Mission One:

(Carina is top center.)

Kiss My Sass Sheer Lip Glaze in Daydreams: "a sheer pale pink glow"

This has a faint pink shift in the package, but my lips unfortunately are that exact shade of pink. For me, personally, this may as well be a clear gloss. The minty smell is strong and the tingling sensation from the peppermint oil lasts a long time, so if you're not a fan of either of those things, steer clear of this gloss. Despite all that, I loved the consistency and texture of Daydreams. It's light and moisturizing. Not sticky at all. I'm definitely going to try out some of their more pigmented glosses in the future. The formula is great; this color in particular just didn't work well for my lips.

Well, this wraps up my crazy late post about Aromaleigh's March Ephemera Box! My next steps for Bellibone Beauty are to give the site a little makeover, as well as work on incorporating looks and videos into my reviews. I made a quick test video of my swatches tonight, so let me know what you like or don't like. Feedback is going to be critical for me while I try to get my blog at full potential. Thanks, everyone!

The Great Battle of Shadow Over Primer!

I saw a lot of discussion today on IMAM about how shadows should perform decently on bare skin and over regular primer, but some don't. I thought it'd be interesting to see how the brands I own fare over bare skin, UDPP, and Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy, and how much I'm paying for each shadow. Five hours and six episodes of Neon Genesis Evangelion later, I present to you: The Great Battle of Shadow Over Primer! Don't critique the name, man. It's four in the morning and I'm a little loopy from being tired. Just roll with it.

Swatches are taken, from left to right, over bare skin, Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion, and Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy. Dollar amounts are in USD, and by teaspoon unless the brand measures product by gram. There won't be much commentary in this post, because the pictures pretty much say it all.

So the cheapest shadow by tsp is Brija Cosmetics, and the most expensive by tsp is Daily Lovelies. I thought that was interesting because I prefer Brija over Daily Lovelies any day. A lot of these shadows were pretty sheer over bare skin, regardless of price. Corvus shadows totally dominated over bare skin. Noel's always been pretty proud of the way her shadows look over bare skin, and she has every right to be. It's also interesting to note that her shadows are one of the cheapest of the bunch.

Well, I hope this was informative for you guys! I definitely got a kick out of swatching all these, and it'll lead to smarter purchases in the future. My next post will either be a tutorial on how to use Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy or how to apply pigmented blushes.. or maybe I'll combine both into one post! Stay tuned!

Drooling a Bit Over Fyrinnae's Shadows and Blushes

Disclaimer: I am currently in the process of reswatching duochromes and photographing them differently to give my readers a more accurate depiction of the shifts. Please be patient while I go through the process of updating my past reviews. :)

Part two of many from my /r/CatsandCosmetics exchange extravaganza, this post centers around Fyrinnae. I received four shadows and three blushes, and I'm excited to share my thoughts with you guys! My camera was not having it with jar photos today, so some look better than others. I know my swatches are far more important, and those turned out fine. so I gave my camera a scolding and pressed on.

L-R, T-B: Rapunzel Had Extensions, Envy Me, Feisty Fennec Fox, Mephisto

Enchant, Greek Goddess, Charm

As usual, shadow swatches are taken over bare skin on the left and Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy on the right. Blush swatches are blended out over bare skin. All quoted product descriptions are taken directly from Fyrinnae's website, which can be found here.

Rapunzel Had Extensions: "pale pink with a stunning brilliant light gold highlight"

Fyrinnae's all-time top selling shade, and for a reason. A pink-orange in the jar, this shadow applies a light gold over bare skin and Pixie Epoxy. The semi-loose formula of their shadow works so beautifully with their Pixie Epoxy; they really are a match made in heaven. This is just such a light and gorgeous shadow. I understand the hype now, and I'm kicking myself for not already having this shadow in my collection.

Envy Me: "soft tan-taupe with a green highlight"

I can absolutely vouch for the formula of this shadow, and the shadow description is spot on, but I'm not finding myself too in love with this color. I feel the green and taupe don't go well together, and it resulted in a shadow that looks a little muddy to me. If you like the color, absolutely snatch it up when you can.

Feisty Fennec Fox: "cool gray-taupe finished with a pale gold satiny highlight"

I've been on the prowl for a grey shadow that doesn't turn into a metallic silver over a primer, because I feel a lot of them do that. This is the shadow I've been looking for! The gold highlight was oh so subtle, and just enough to keep the shadow looking interesting. Without that highlight, this shadow probably would've fallen flat for me. Also, for some reason I found the way it looked in-jar absolutely adorable. Like little, cute makeup pebbles. Does anyone else think it's cute somehow? Am I crazy?

Mephisto: "a dark royal blue with a vibrant metallic red sheen"

This shadow is.. interesting. It applied very patchy, and I had to use quite a bit of product to fill in the spaces that looked sparse. I wasn't getting the right color out of it, and when I checked Fyrinnae's page, it suggested to add even more shadow to get that proper red sheen rather than the copper I was getting. That seemed a little high maintenance. By the time I went to add even more shadow, my Epoxy was dry and I decided to leave it be. Unless you're fine with packing on a lot of shadow (and possibly using two layers of primer) to get the color you see on Fyrinnae's page, this is what you get. I'll post a swatch of it after adding multiple layers if anyone's interested, but I felt it was important to show what one layer of the shadow looked like. It's a pretty shadow, but it's too high maintenance for me. This is my first time feeling frustrated with a shadow.

Enchant: "vibrant peach with a very slight touch of pink shimmer"

Fyrinnae's most popular blush since 2006, and I have to say, I'm surprised. This is a fabulous bright peach, but you would think their most popular blush would be a tad more wearable. With Enchant, and all the Fyrinnae blushes I'll be reviewing, I have to stress that these will look best on darker skin, unless you're a bit of a daredevil like me and are willing to brave the outside world with bright-ass cheeks. If you're wanting your cheeks to look less pigmented than my swatches, you need to start out with the teensiest amount imaginable. Use a stipple brush, or any brush with stiffer bristles, and pat the product on your cheeks with a light hand. Don't do anything except pat with that brush, and don't worry if it looks patchy or silly. Then take a blush brush and blend it like crazy. If it still looks a bit patchy, or if you'd like more pigmentation, repeat those steps over again. Also, for the love of Pete, do NOT dip your brush directly into the jar. That will result in pumpkin cheeks and perhaps an overturned piece of furniture. Tap some blush onto a flat surface, like the bottom of the lid, before you do anything. Don't expect to be an expert at applying these right off the bat, because you won't be. There's a learning curve for sure, but indie blushes are amazing and the struggle is worth it. #blushstruggles

Greek Goddess: "vibrant pink with a very slight pink shimmer"

Out of these three blushes, I would say this one is the tamest of them all. It still takes a light hand to apply, but it blends out to be a very pretty rosy pink rather than the pinkish coral you see in the jar. Fyrinnae states that it doesn't contain titanium dioxide or whiteners, so it's ideal for blending on darker skin. Really, I think this blush would look fabulous on a variety of skin tones.

Charm: "vibrant cool pink with the slightest touch of shimmer"

I'm not going to lie, this blush intimidated the crap out of me when I opened the jar. This is Barbie pink, and I never thought it could work. But Fyrinnae continues to surprise and impress, because this blends out to be a wearable cool pink. Honestly, I didn't think any of these three blushes could ever look okay on me. I'm excited to incorporate all three into my everyday looks!

That wraps up my post for today! I'm thinking about perhaps doing a tutorial for my next post. Some of the discussion today on IMAM has made me want to branch out and do more than just swatches and reviews, as helpful as they can be. If you have any ideas for future posts here, please let me know in the comments!

Swatches and Reviews of my First Femme Fatale Products

Aaaah, I could hear the angels singing. A light shone down from Heaven above, and down descended my little bag of Femme Fatale goodies. I recently participated in a Galentine's Day Exchange on /r/CatsandCosmetics, and along with oodles of other indies, I received these items from Femme Fatale. I was ecstatic! This review consists of three shadows and two blushes, and I'm so excited to show them off. Femme Fatale's mini jars have been restocked, so if for some crazy reason you haven't yet delved into the goodness that is Femme Fatale, do yourself a favor and place an order.

As per usual, swatches of shadows are over bare skin on the left and Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy on the right. Blush swatches are over bare skin. All quoted product descriptions are taken directly from Femme Fatale's recently revamped site, which can be found here.

Fierce (recently renamed Rosewine, blush): "a deep maroon-tinted duochrome blush, with subtle plum undertones"

This blush is a gorgeous, pigmented reddish plum, but I have to personally build up the color otherwise it looks a little bruise-y on my skin. I know dead chic is in, but I don't think beat-up chic is in.. yet. Fierce/Rosewine is luckily, very easily to build up. The texture of the powder is very soft and easy to work with. It plays well with my brushes.

The Nightmare: "an eggplant purple base with intense golden green glimmers and sparkles"

The site photos for Femme Fatale's duochromes always look so dramatic and too good to be true. The Nightmare REALLY impressed. I tried my best to show the shift between the deep purple base and bright green shift, but I really don't think I could do it much justice. When the light hit this shadow, it transformed into a glowing green. This might be the first indie product to make me gasp a little. The Nightmare is pure sorcery.

Fire Bloom (blush): "a mid tone rose pink blush with coral undertones and a flattering copper gold shimmer"

The copper gold shimmer is really apparent in the jar, but once you blend your blush, it disappears. That's my only complaint about this one. The color is a touch more sheer than Fierce/Rosewine, so it took more product to get the pigmentation of the swatch you see here. I don't really think that's a bad thing, though; this blush can be used for a beautifully subtle rosy glow.

Darkmist: "a deep toned brown base with intense violet blue shimmer and teal sparkles"

Though this shadow doesn't have any shift to it, it glows in a similar way to The Nightmare. I think it's the contrast between the bright teal sparkles and dark base that make it appear to shine the way it does. All science aside, it's pretty magical. The deep brown base only showed when I swatched over bare skin. Out of all the products from Femme Fatale I received, this shadow needed a sticky base the most, and even then I could see little sparkles escaping when I swatched over the Pixie Epoxy.

Dispersion: "a deep mulberry with a bold teal blue shimmer"

The description is dead on. The deep mulberry base lights up with bright teal and blue when the light hits it. If you're pining for a shadow like this, I'd give Aromaleigh's Lucky Cat Emporium a try.

Well, that wraps up my post for today! As I said at the start of my post, I received oodles of indie goodies through the exchange, so I have a LOT more to share with you guys. My next post will be centered around Fyrinnae. I'm so excited to write about their plush shadows and neon blushes. Stay tuned!

What's Packed In My Travel Bag?

I was out of town for a few days recently and packed some indies for the road. I thought you guys might want to see my favorite products for easy, everyday looks. I'm in the process of replacing my mainstream company blushes/bronzers/whathaveyou with indies, so for now my travel bag indies consist of seven shadows and a highlighter!

As usual, all pictures are taken by me. Swatches are done over bare skin on the left and Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy on the right. All quoted product descriptions are taken directly off the brands' site.

Hello Waffle "Double Trouble"- "soft apricot with pink and white sparkles"

A gorgeous My Lids But Better shadow from Hello Waffles' Kitty Kingdom Collection. (There are still quite a few shades available, so snap them up along with Double Trouble before they're gone forever!) This is a sheer apricot with lots of sparkles.

Hello Waffle "Mendelssohn"- "light pink with golden sheen"

Does this look almost identical to Double Trouble to you? It almost is, and I didn't notice until I swatched them side by side. Mendelssohn is Double Troubles' warmer cousin.

Hello Waffle "Purr-ride and Purr-rejudice"- "lady-like blush pink"

This shadow looks bubblegum pink in the jar, which would leave you to believe this wouldn't be a shade I'd use all the time. However, it blends down to a sweet pink that compliments the neutrals and golds I packed oh-so well.

Femme Fatale "Royal Tarts"- "a washed out mauve-rose base which can lean grey, and orange shimmer"

Femme Fatale is famous for shades that can look so bland in the jar, but transform when thrown over a primer. Royal Tarts is no exception, and the lack of good sun today prevented me from giving it the showcasing it deserves. This shadow shifts from a dusty mauve to a pinkish-orange, which makes it a gorgeous neutral with a little bit of pop.

Tilt/Shift "Moon"- "a deep golden taupey-brown with slight/pink purple shift and gold sparks"

I've never been able to pick up the shift in Moon, and I'd love for it to show. Maaaybe in a certain light it can lean slightly plum, but that's the best I can get out of it. The sparkle in Moon is gorgeous, but it disappears quickly and you're left with a matte brown base. It works well as a neutral, but I wish it could be as fabulous as the site description made it sound.

Aromaleigh "Marguerite"- "a rosy buff pearl frost with sparks of gold"

I don't have much to add to the site description other than it's gorgeous. This pairs so well with my golds and soft browns. It has a strong sheen and a lot of sparkle, so a sticky primer like Pixie Exopy goes a long way with Marguerite.

Shiro "Finkelstein"- "pale, ghostly yellow-green highlight"

This is such a funky highlight. Its shift ranges from yellow to green, but it also has a spattering of blue sparks. Alone, this highlight is complex and ethereal. Over a darker base it leans very green. This highlight hails from the discontinued Nightmare Before Christmas collection, but I see it pop up every once in a while in destash posts, so keep your eyes peeled! This is a must have, and I use it sparingly so I don't run out any time soon.

AFK "Mawwage"- "a shimmery pink based cream face highlighter"

And wuv, twuuu wuuv.. will fowwow you.. fowevah.. *ahem* This was my first facial powder purchase from an indie company, and for me, it's not super impressive. It's very sheer, and hard to build up. Though there's no sparkle in Mawwage, it definitely has a sheen. The sheerness plus the sheen just make me look a bit sweaty. Perhaps I still have more learning to do with application. I'll keep trying to make it work, for sure! This is one of my purchases made purely for the product name, and I'm kicking myself a bit for it. If anyone has tips for applying highlighters, please share your wisdom!

Alright, that wraps up my post for the day! I'm not sure how informative it was in the end, but it was fun to share some of my favorite neutrals and remind myself of what makes them so great. Maybe for my next post, I'll choose my favorite shadows that aren't so neutral. Let me know what posts you'd like to see in the comments section! You're all what makes writing a blog so much fun. 'til next time!