I never see any love for Catherine's indie company, Mad Lab Cosmetics, so I thought I'd place an order myself and share my haul with you! I talked to Catherine a bit through Etsy, and she's super sweet. I purchased a full size Blogger Pack, and poured my sample baggies into my handy 3 gram jars.
My initial review was one of disappointment, and after posting this review, a lot of lovely ladies on IMAM told me there were better ways for me to apply my duochromes for swatches. So I did some fancy reswatches, and my opinion of this company has done a 180. These are really great shadows, and I'm so sorry that my poor application led to a misleading review. For those who want to know the magic ways of applying duochromes: Use a flat, dense-bristled brush, and pat the shadows on. If you're going to take pictures, take them from an angle!
Such a gorgeous shift! A semi-matte dusty rose base with a subtle blue/purple highlight.
My initial review was one of disappointment, and after posting this review, a lot of lovely ladies on IMAM told me there were better ways for me to apply my duochromes for swatches. So I did some fancy reswatches, and my opinion of this company has done a 180. These are really great shadows, and I'm so sorry that my poor application led to a misleading review. For those who want to know the magic ways of applying duochromes: Use a flat, dense-bristled brush, and pat the shadows on. If you're going to take pictures, take them from an angle!
L-R, T-B: Astral Radiance, Random Acts of Makeup, Blush Gold, Pink Opal
Labradorite, Sea Witch, Rhodium
All swatches are taken over, from left to right, bare skin, Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion, and Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy. All quoted descriptions are taken directly off the Mad Lab shop page on Etsy, which can be found here!
Astral Radiance: "a light dusty rose with a matte finish and an overlay of purple and blue iridescence"
Such a gorgeous shift! A semi-matte dusty rose base with a subtle blue/purple highlight.
Random Acts of Makeup: "an ultra-rich rosy-bronze taupe that shifts purple under certain lights, all topped with a shimmery finish"
I love this color. An opaque rosy taupe with a little bit of bronze and a little bit of purple. Depends on the lighting. A shimmery finish.
Blush Gold: "a delicate peach with a gold shift"
A soft, feminine peach that shifts into a bold, metallic gold.
Pink Opal: "a translucent whisper pinky-cream that transforms into a bright purple fire with green sparkle"
A pink-toned cream color with silver sparks. Not picking up the purple or green, myself.
Labradorite: "an ethereal shot of teal iridescence over a pitch black base; matte with shimmer over bare skin, blossoms into shimmering duochrome over a sticky base or when applied wet"
Holy glowing duochrome, Batman! Bright turquoise over a pure black, and a beautiful glowing effect over Pixie Epoxy.
Sea Witch: "a pitch-black with a haunting purple glow"
Over bare skin and primer, the black base is very much there. However, over Pixie Epoxy, the whole shadow turns purple. Very much worthy of the Sea Witch herself!
Rhodium: "a blindingly pure white, with a shimmering metallic finish"
The shadow has a chalky consistency, and Catherine informed me it's because this shadow has a matte base. Even so, the other matte-based shadows I swatched didn't have this issue. This is a super pigmented and bright white, and the metallic finish is very subtle.
Welp, that wraps up my review of Mad Lab! I feel so embarrassed about my initial review, which really put Mad Lab in a bad light in terms of product quality. After trying a new application technique, I'm very impressed with these shadows. It's crazy what a different brush can do!
My next review will tackle ColourPop's notorious lip products. Stay tuned!
My next review will tackle ColourPop's notorious lip products. Stay tuned!
