Let's Check Out Some Hello Waffle Faves!

Hey, everyone! My Hello Waffle collection is fairly large, and I've been wanting to start swatching them all for you. So, for today, I'm going to swatch and review some shades I know a lot of people love. Next I'll tackle a good chunk of the discontinued Kitty Kingdom collection!

All products have been purchased in full and all opinions are my own. Facial product swatches are swatched heavily on the top row and blended out on the bottom. Eyeshadow swatches are taken over bare skin and Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion on the top row, and Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy on the bottom. All quoted descriptions are taken directly from Hello Waffle, and their site can be found here.

Lavender Cream (highlighter): "Creamy white with lavender sheen"

It was so frustratingly impossible to capture the lavender shift of this highlighter. It's ethereal, and honestly, I feel like a beautiful fairy princess when I use Lavender Cream. The powder is very silky and blends down with ease. It has a lot of sparkle, but surprisingly little fallout.

Animate Chess-piece: "Pale dusty pink sheen with a touch of violet"

This is a dusty mauve with a pink sheen and subtle violet sparkle. I love how vibrant the shift is. Animate Chess-piece works best over a glitter adhesive, but doesn't look too shabby over a primer, either!

Purr-ride and Purr-rejudice: "Lady-like blush pink"

Not gonna lie, I bought this one for the label art. Who can resist a kitty in a sweet, pink dress? I hope to someday look as cute as that cat. Label art love aside, this is a beautiful blushy pink. It's very sheer over bare skin, and it's not much better over primer. This is one of those shadows where a glitter adhesive is the only real way to fly.

Ethereal Voice: "Warm purple with noticeable golden shimmer"

I think Ethereal Voice was a lot of people's first love with Hello Waffle. I really want to love it, but it's oh so patchy over bare skin and primer, and it took a lot of work to apply it evenly over Pixie Epoxy. Luckily, the Persinette Collection is being re-released on June 21st (MY BIRTHDAY), and it'll be completely reformulated. For reference, the new Greek Gods and Goddesses Collection from Hello Waffle sports the new formula, and it looks creamy and pigmented over bare skin. So, the new Persinette Collection is a princess worth waiting for.

You better believe I snuck a Tangled quote in here.

That wraps up my post about my most popular Hello Waffle products. I'm excited to swatch more of my Hello Waffle collection. I've been neglecting them lately, and they need some love. The woes of having too many eyeshadows! :P Stay tuned!

Checking Out Aromaleigh's April 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. :)

Hey, guys! Today I'm going to show you guys what the lovely Kristen included in her April Ephemera Box. The March box was fabulous and inspired by Norse mythology, and I loved this box even more. The inspiration was Floralia, an Ancient Roman holiday that celebrated Flora, the Goddess of Spring, flowers, and youthful pleasures. This was such a great choice for a Spring box. I've only been really into makeup since Autumn of last year, so my collection is all deep oranges, dark purples, browns, and nudes. I'm excited to bring some peaches, greens, and other pastels into the mix for Spring!

As per usual, blush and highlighter swatches are done under bare skin and buffed out slightly. Shadow swatches are done over, from left to right, bare skin, Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion, and Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy (this excludes the cream shadow I reviewed, which is over bare skin only). All quoted descriptions are taken off the little informative paper included in the Ephemera Box.

L-R, T-B: Vernal Roses, Realm of Flora, Locus of Desire, Metamorphose
La Plus Heureuse, Minthe, GDE Floralia

This box included a blush, a multipurpose highlighter, four powder shadows, and a cream shadow from the indie guest, Glamour Doll Eyes. As I said earlier in my post, this box was inspired by Floralia, and here's what Kristen wrote about the festival:

"The Queen of Spring was a beautiful and serene Goddess. She was married to Zephyrus, the west wind. Flora is the twin sister to Faunus, the god of wild creatures. She was originally called Sabine, and was known as Chloris to the Greeks. Offerings of milk and honey were made on this day and the surrounding five days, which comprised the Florifertum and Ludi Florales. The city would have been decorated in flowers, and the people would wear floral wreaths or flowers in their hair. Day and night there were games, pantomimes, and theatre with people of all classes in their brightest clothes. The color names are inspirations from reading Ovid's 'Fasti', a long-form poem with described the origin of many Roman festivals. Numerous painting, such as Tiepolo's Triumph of Flora and Poussin's Realm of Flora, are inspired by Ovid's work."

Vernal Roses (blush): "a muted, mostly matte mauved rose with delicate copper shimmer"

This.. was incredibly sheer. I put up the white flag and took this picture after five heavy applications. If you're looking for an indie blush that isn't intimidating with its pigmentation, this is for you, and it'll be available on Aromaleigh's site in two months with the other extras from this box. However, this was really disappointing to me. The blush from the March box was beautifully pigmented, so this was a bit of an unpleasant surprise.

Realm of Flora (multipurpose highlighter): "a pale creamy peach with a violet highlight"

This was also very, very sheer. It also didn't help that it just about matched my skintone perfectly. It did have a good amount of sparkle to it though, so I'll use this for subtle highlights on my cheeks and on the inner corner of my eyes.

Locus of Desire: "a soft coral peach frost with golden shimmer"

Okay, now we're getting somewhere! Spring has inspired me to dive into the world of peach shadows, and I love Locus of Desire. It's very delicate over bare skin and primer, and really amps up over Pixie Epoxy. I'll combine this with pinks and golds for simple eye looks.

Metamorphose: "a midtone mauve with buff tones, and green/chartreuse interference highlights"

This was included in last month's box as a hint, and I'm so happy to have a full size of it. It's pretty consistently pigmented over bare skin, primer, and glitter glue, so I know I'll get a lot of use out of it. It'll pair beautifully with Locus of Desire.

La Plus Heureuse: official description unavailable; I would call it a dusty grey-purple with subtle silver sparks.

This is the hint for next month's box, and my guess is that it will be inspired by Anne Boleyn! I think this was an interesting shadow to include in this box, considering how similar it is to Metamorphose.

Minthe: official description unavailable; I would call it a muted semi-matte mint/sea foam green.

This shadow is such a beautiful color in the jar, but it applies very sheer, even over Pixie Epoxy. This picture was taken after three heavy applications.

Floralia (cream shadow): official description unavailable. I would call it an orange-toned pink with baby blue shimmer.

The paper included with the Ephemera box says this shadow is available for purchase in full-size on the Glamour Doll Eyes site, but I'm not able to find it. This is my first experience with a cream shadow, so I don't have much insight as to whether or not this is a "good" cream product. I do know the color is vibrant and the shift is beautiful. I'll have to teach myself how to apply this properly. This is also my first product from GDE, and now I'm having to restrain myself from placing an order! Low-buys are hard!

Well, that wraps up my review of this month's box! Overall, it was alright. I really liked 3/7 of the products, but the others have problems with sheerness/are too similar to another product in the box. I was really excited for this box, and I felt it had a lot of potential. I'm still subscribed to the Ephemeras, and I'm hoping May's box is more consistent in terms of product quality.

Solstice Scents: A Review of my Ever-Growing Collection

Alright, here's my first go at a scent review! Today I'm going to focus on Solstice Scents, a company that quickly won me over with its unique and high-quality products. Who doesn't want to smell like a hayride, or a dusty attic? Solstice Scents produces scents that, to me, feel nostalgic whether or not the smell is necessarily familiar. I think it's just because the scents smell so incredibly true to life.

All reviews are based on my first impression, smelling straight from the containers. In general, Solstice Scent perfumes can fill a room, but aren't overbearing. I like their gourmands, and frequently I have people around me asking what the smell in the room is coming from. No one ever believes it's my perfume! I have to reapply once or twice a day when I'm out and about if I want to keep the delicious-smell-trail behind me going. Otherwise, the smell stays close to the skin but still smells nice. I just like watching heads turn when I walk by, what can I say?

All quoted scent descriptions are taken directly off the Solstice Scent website. You can check out their lovely site here.

From left to right, up to down: Sugarvale, Blueberry Muffin Batter, Lemon Ginger Creams, Cafe Mallowmel, Library, Cocoa Mallow, Blackburn's Parlor, Sycamore Sugarworks

Sugarvale: "candied pecans, butterscotch, buttered rum, brown sugar, maple syrup, hot pralines, and milk chocolate cocoa"

This perfume smells like straight-up Waffle Crisp cereal. If you haven't tried Waffle Crisp, it's essential to your well being. Go buy a box, enjoy a bowl, then come back and read the rest of this post. Okay, I need to get back on track.. First sniff, it's a mouthwatering gooey mix of candied nuts, butterscotch, and a hint of chocolate to round it out. It somehow smells.. fresh, like the pecans and butterscotch are straight from the oven, and you're enjoying a sip of cocoa as you wait for your desserts to cool. It's a very comforting scent.

Blueberry Muffin Batter, (discontinued): "blueberry, brown sugar, vanilla, cane sugar, batter"

When I was a kid, when Jiffy Blueberry Muffin Mix went on sale, my mom would snag a couple boxes and spend a whole morning making multiple batches. This is exactly what Blueberry Muffin Batter smells like. This is a Jiffy Blueberry Muffin tucked into my lunchbox as a child. Fresh blueberries, crumbly muffin, and a sprinkling of brown sugar. The kind of muffin that kinda melts on your tongue. Sadly, Blueberry Muffin Batter was discontinued a few weeks back. I made sure to snag a backup bottle. When it runs out, I'll probably beg Solstice to make me another. On my knees, with lots of money to give. A girl can dream.

Lemon Ginger Creams: "gingersnap sandwich cookies filled with vanilla-lemon cream"

This perfume smells like a freshly opened bag of gingersnap delights. A tart, zingy lemon whip followed by a pungent ginger. There's a slight vanilla wispiness tangled in the ginger crust of the cookies. This perfume contains real ginger essential oil, and has a very uplifting smell. I put this perfume on in mornings when I can use a pick-me-up.

Cafe Mallowmel: "rich coffee flavored with decadent caramel and sweet marshmallow cream"

Fan of how Starbucks smells in the morning, before the big rush arrives? You will love this perfume. Personally, I'm not a coffee person, but this scent gives me a caffeine boost just by smelling it. Bitter coffee balanced out with a fluffy topping of marshmallow cream and a heavy drizzle of caramel syrup. However, this perfume is the first (and hopefully only) from Solstice Scents that disappoints me in wear time. It smells wonderful upon initial application, but within two minutes the scent disappears on my skin. Even smelling from the vial, I had to reinsert the applicator in the vial and pull it back out again in order to get a good sense of the perfume. It almost makes me wonder if I received a vial from a bad batch.

Library: "leather bound books, a carved rosewood mantle, dying fireplace embers, wood wainscoting, cedar shelving and aged paper"

This perfume is essential for any book lover. Library consists of twenty oils, including sandalwood, agarwood, Virginia cedarwood, rosewood and more to create a perfume that envelops you in what can only be described as a luxurious library fit for a princess. Think the castle library from Beauty and the Beast. Imagine Belle slowly pouring over a pile of fantasy novels while her prince stokes a fire. THAT'S Library. Strong woods, leather book covers, glowing embers, and aging parchment make up this perfume that I recommend to everyone and anyone.

Cocoa Mallow: "devilish dark chocolate and fluffy sweet marshmallows"

This scent is so simplistic, yet oh so mouthwatering. Unlike Cafe Mallowmel, this is a hot cocoa scent that smells homemade. Rich, melted dark chocolate transformed into a piping hot cup of cocoa, topped with fresh marshmallows straight from the bag. This was my must-wear scent for Christmas.

Blackburn's Parlor: "vanilla waffle bowl, vanilla and chocolate ice creams, sliced bananas smothered in caramel sauce and topped with whipped cream"

This is such a staple product from Solstice Scents. Though many people compare this perfume to a freshly-made banana split, I've never been able to detect the banana in this scent. Gooey caramel sauce and cooled vanilla waffle bowls are the notes that jump out at me. This ice cream parlor is no Rite-Aid ice cream station, this is the real deal. Everything is made from scratch, and with fresh local ingredients. Somehow Solstice Scents is able to convey that in a perfume.

Sycamore Sugarworks: "caramelized pear tarts, banana apple muffins, spice cakes with rum glaze, cream puffs and maple walnut pastries"

Another must-have from Solstice Scents. Cinnamon, freshly chopped juicy pears, and warm banana apple muffins are the initial notes when smelling straight from the vial. It slowly melts into a mix of maple syrup, brown sugar and pecan, with a hint of flaky pastry. Overall, Sycamore Sugarworks is a gentle, slow stroll amongst glass displays of fresh, warm desserts. You can't just pick one!

With true-to-life scents, gorgeous packaging, and delicately handwritten labels, Solstice Scents is a 10/10 for me. For those wanting to give this brand a try, I'd recommend their 5-pack of samples. It's priced at $12, and all purchases come with an additional complimentary sample. If you make an account on the Solstice Scents site, you get ANOTHER free sample. That's 7 samples for $12, and if that doesn't sound like a too-good-to-be-true infomercial, I don't know what does.

That wraps up my first indie perfume review post! Let me know what you guys think!