Zoeva Brushes

Lately Noodles has been getting into makeup and watching YouTube beauty vloggers, which is how I came to be sitting watching Tanya Burr, even though I am definitely way outside her demographic. In a tutorial she used and raved about the Zoeva Luxe Face Paint brush, and since I have nothing like that, and was also looking to splurge on something smallish before my massive pay cut kicked in and I became a povo, I decided to buy one and check it out. I'd heard about Zoeva because Siobhan of Letzmakeup uses them all the time and loves them, but I'd never paid much attention because I have more than enough brushes.

The downside is that shipping is kind of high, which was not enough to turn me off buying, but instead made me think I should buy several brushes (any excuse, really) to justify the cost. When the package arrived I realised why the shipping was expensive. To be honest, I think this is a bit of overkill.

The six brushes were packed in this ginormous box, each one in its own little plastic pencil case sleeve, and then surrounded by those plastic floaties things full of air. Although it's nice that they are well protected and arrive without damage, I do think it would be possible to safely ship brushes with a lot less palaver and therefore less cost. However, minor quibble - on to the brushes themselves!

109 Face Paint (12.80 Euro/$18.30AUD)
This is the one that got me to the site in the first place after seeing it on Tanya Burr's video. She used it for highlighter, but I use it mostly for contouring. It's a flat square brush that is sturdy but very soft. One thing I discovered is that it picks up a lot of product - hello brown stripe down the face - so you need a light hand if you're working with highly pigmented products. The price has gone up - I paid 10.50 Euro - but for less than $20 this brush is amazing.

322 Brow Line (6.80 Euro/$9.71AUD)
This one is my favourite - the bristles are very short and quite stiff so you can get really precise and sharp with your brows. It has replaced my previous holy grail brush, the Illamasqua Eye Brow brush, which is good because I have still not forgiven them for their bullshit non-apology over their racism debacle and I hate using the few things left of theirs that I own. The Brow Line brush works beautifully with both cream products and powder.  I LOVES IT.

226 Smudger (7.80 Euro/$11.15AUD)
When I decided to buy more brushes to make the postage sting a little less, I tried to go for the ones I didn't already have a version of. For some reason I did not previously have a smudge brush. I think I had a cheap Coastal Scents one years ago that fell apart, but since then nowt. This is the one I use the least, but that's not because it's not good, more because I just don't smudge a hell of a lot. I rarely use eyeshadow or liner under my eyes but when I do, this one does a lovely job of - well - smudging. It has short, sturdy but very soft bristles.  

318 Soft Paint Liner (6.80 Euro/$9.71AUD)
I've used this brush for a few different things - it works well with gel liner, and it's also good for smudging shadow, softening powder on brows and I've even used it for applying highlighter to my cupid's bow and inner corners of my eyes. The bristles are a little longer than the Brow Line and not quite as stiff.

221 Soft Crease (7.80 Euro/$11.15AUD) and 227 Soft Definer (7.80 Euro/$11.15AUD)
One can always use more blending/crease brushes, right? I couldn't decide which of these I wanted so I just got both. The Soft Crease is more narrow than the Soft Definer, with slightly longer bristles. The bristles are softer on the Soft Crease than the Soft Definer also, so the Soft Crease is better for diffusing colour, while the Soft Definer is good for small area blending.

So. As I said, shipping is a bit high - I paid 15.00 Euro ($21.50AUD), so if you're buying from Zoeva it's worth stocking up on a few things at once rather than just one or two items, because shipping is a flat rate. The site currently lists shipping for Australia as $16US, so you might end up paying a bit less than I did.

The brush quality is fantastic. I have used and washed each of these quite a few times and I've not experienced any shedding at all. They are still soft and pliable, and the handles and ferrules feel firm and sturdy. What I really love is that the handles are also a little shorter than many other brands, so you can get up close to the mirror!

I found the prices really reasonable, especially considering the quality. They are a little cheaper in most cases than Sigma, for example, and they absolutely shit all over them. It's no secret that I am not a fan of Sigma - I've had several of their brushes fall apart on me, and I have several more that I never use because they shed like mofos. The Zoeva brushes are streets ahead of Sigma, in my opinion.

Zoeva is based in Germany but ships worldwide. They have makeup as well as brushes, but I've not tried any of that. There are also some Zoeva products available on the Luxola site (which I've never used so I don't know if it's any good), but they don't have the full range and they seem to be sold out of most of it.

All in all, I give Zoeva two massive thumbs up, and if it were not for the fact that I am now officially povo and also have pretty much every makeup brush I could possibly need, I'd be back buying one of everything.

Madame Scodioli solid perfumes

Scodioli Creative has been on my 'to try' list for a couple of years, but I'm not a massive fan of solid perfumes so I just never got around to it. However, I'm trying to branch out a bit so after waiting around FOREVER for the weather to be safe, I decided to order some samples and see what they were like. (As it happens, the day they turned up was 32 degrees celsius - in the middle of Autumn. Luckily I was home early and they didn't have to sit in a hot metal letterbox all day. But seriously - WTF Adelaide????)

The samples come in a set of 3 for $18US. That might seem expensive for samples, but it makes sense when you see the size of them. Check out one next to a clam shell, which is the usual sample size for a solid perfume, and a full size Darling Clandestine solid perfume:

There is 1/4 oz of perfume in each, and according to some mathematical calculations in my head Google, that translates to 7ml for us down under. 7ml of perfume for $6US = bloody good deal (the full size Darling Clandestine perfumes are almost twice that volume, I think, but their perfumes are way bigger than most and crazy cheap for how much you get ). So basically you're getting what amounts to 3 almost-full size perfumes for $6US each.  Shipping was $10US to Australia, which is pretty average these days (sob).

The packaging is gorgeous. These are very sturdy screw top tins with an old-fashioned banner label stuck around them. I could have one of these floating around the bottom of my handbag of doom and not worry about it leaking everywhere. In fact, that's probably what I will do with them. I am trying to acquire a taste for solid perfumes because they are just so much easier to carry around and reapply than oils are. The 3 I chose were Euphorium, Odeda and Boheme. I don't feel as though I need a full size of any of these as they are well big enough for me, and the full sizes are a massive 30ml. However, I will buy more sample sizes as there are a few others I want to check out too, namely Farewell (lilac and bergamot), Timshel (tobacco and vanilla), and Oracle (exotic fig, spices and musk).

Euphorium - almond, milk and honey.
This opens with a strong hit of almond - a note I often detest, and in the tin it is straight up marzipan, bringing back horrific nightmares of 1970s wedding cakes coated with a sheet of almond icing. However, after a couple of minutes the almond mellows nicely into the background to just add a slight nutty note. The honey isn't really noticeable on me - maybe it's that tiny touch of sweetness, but mostly what I get from this is a warm, milky vanilla-ish scent that is pretty much a dupe of my beloved - and discontinued - Firebird Almond Milk. So if you're a fan of that one and you missed out on stocking up before it disappeared, Euphorium is definitely worth trying out.This one was instant love for me.

Odeda - saffron, musk and honey.
This was the one I was most interested in and sadly, the only one I hated. My favourite Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab perfume is a limited edition called Love's Philosophy, which was released a couple of times for Valentine's Day but to my knowledge hasn't been around for about 6 years. I have two half full bottles that I picked up from forum sales, and am constantly keeping an eye out for more. The notes in it are vanilla, cream and saffron and it's the saffron in it that I adore. It adds a tiny kick of spice to the standard vanilla/cream combo and just makes it amazingly warm and sniffable. So I guess I was hoping that Odeda would be similar, but alas, it was not to be. The saffron is completely overpowering to the point where I could never at any time smell the musk or the honey. It was just a really strong, slightly band-aidy spice smell that gave me a headache and took forever to go away (in my experience solids last a couple of hours if that - this one of course hung in there for a good 8 hours). This is definitely not for me and I won't be going near it again.

Boheme - vanilla oak.
It is what it says it is - a woody unisex fragrance sweetened slightly with vanilla. It's like a really nice smelling furniture polish, and I don't mean that in a bad way; if I had fancy wood furniture (rather than a house full of Ikea) I would totally rub this all over it. Actually, I probably wouldn't because fancy wood furniture is really expensive, but you get what I mean. Like Odeda, this is quite strong, but I find that on my skin with most woody notes. I didn't love this, but I did like it - I'd be more inclined to wear it in cold weather so I think I'll put it away for a month or two and then haul it out mid-winter.

Overall, the blends are quite simple (not a bad thing), and I'm happy enough - Odeda notwithstanding - to try more. Scodioli is a good little shop worth checking out, and they also sell soap and manly beard wotsits for those of you who are into such things.

Genius Storage Idea for Perfume Samples That I Wish Was Mine

Right, so hold on to your hats, perfume buddies. I found this brilliant idea thanks to Lipstick & Libraries, and promptly stole it, and it's freakin' GENIUS.

This is my current storage for samples, and it's not that satisfactory. I have them sorted into companies and stored in little empty cosmetic jars. It's neat enough, I suppose, but still a bit too cluttery for my liking.

But then Lipstick & Libraries wrote a blog post about using bullet boxes as storage, and I headed straight to eBay to investigate. As an Australian, and like most Australians, I have no experience of weaponry or its accroutrements, and I didn't even know there was such a thing as a bullet box (though I guess it makes sense that there is). But seek eBay and ye shall find, so I bought one to check it out and see how it went.

Size matters, apparently. I followed instructions and got the box that holds 38/357 (whatever that means), and it is the perfect size for standard sample vials. It doesn't hold the bigger ones, like Common Brimstone's screw tops or Darling Clandestine's 1.5ml taller ones, but that's okay. As long as the majority of my samples can be tucked away neatly, I'm happy.

If you're one of those people who gets all antsy about rolled labels, this is obviously not going to be for you. However, I don't care about them and I don't sell my samples - I just give them away - so I don't need to keep them all 'collectably pristine'. So these are mostly Possets and Arcana with the labels rolled up to fit neatly.

Ta da! I. LOVE. THIS. It's small - about the size of an iphone - and it's a fantastic way to keep samples both tidy and also upright so they don't leak. Also, considering I'm a touchy feely lefty feminazi who hates guns, I feel like I'm giving a tiny bit of ner ner by using a bullet box to store something lovely and harmless.

Paddlepop Lion, what  do you think?

Haus of Gloi Spring collection 2014.

Haus of Gloi is one of the companies I never really risk full sizes on because it's so hit and miss for me (when I say that I mean hit and miss in my personal liking or not liking; as far as quality and customer service and whatnot, Haus of Gloi is one of the best indie perfume companies out there). This time around I almost decided to just go full size on a couple of these because I didn't know how much longer they would be around and also because they were selling out quickly, but I'm glad I didn't because in the end, none of them really grabbed me.

I bought a sample each of all the Spring fragrances, with the exception of Lassi, because I hate the smell of mango, and Selkie, because I've tried it before and it's okay but it's not really my thing.

Ploughman

Well worn leather, dirt n' dandelions, carrot, a pinch of tobacco and a light sheen of feral skin musk.

In the vial this is earthy with a few weeds. My stepfather is a sheep farmer and this reminded me a lot of the smell of the paddocks - lots of fresh air, dirt, a tang of a vaguely animal smell. Wet on the skin the dirt note is prominent for a good while. I didn't really get any leather or tobacco. The dry down is almost floral, again a sort of 'farm' smell, but more like the flowers and vines that grow wild around the farmhouse. I did quite like it but I wouldn't wear it as a perfume. I think it would make a better home fragrance.

Ruth

Fresh strawberry, green patchouli, rose geranium and crushed violet leaf.

Ack! Ack! Ack! This is such a cloying, sickly sweet perfume it makes my stomach turn. The strawberry smells very fake and the violet mixed with it just makes the most godawful mess. I almost didn't want to try this on because I was so put off by it just in the vial, but I'm nothing if not a trooper. I regretted it almost immediately. It was super strong, super sickly and of course - as always is the case with perfumes I hate - it lasted for-bloody-ever. 

Milkmaid

Flushed, but demure. Fresh milk, clean linens, pale musk and pink sweet pea blossom.

Milkmaid smells like almond in the vial - that very sharp note that is redolent of marzipan. Once applied to the skin that note fades after a few minutes, and leaves behind a milder version, an milky, creamy almond with a bit of a floral tinge to it. Unfortunately, the milk note is kind of... well... bordering on baby sick. It's not quite a scrubber, but it's not great.

Tonic 4

Yuzu, basil, cilantro, lemongrass and raw sugar cane accord.

Oddly enough, this was the one I was the least interested in but turned out to be the one I liked best, though as with Ploughman, I would prefer it as a home fragrance than a perfume. In the vial it's strongly citrus, and that remains right through to the drydown, but on skin the herbs come out, and it's a lovely fresh, zingy green kitchen smell. I love the smells of basil and coriander, and I imagine in an oil burner this would make your kitchen smell awesome. (Can you use perfume oils in a burner? I have no idea. I feel an experiment coming up.)

Honeybelle

A blooming orange orchard, orange blossom honey, soft white tea and creamy white amber.

The tea note is the most prominent in this perfume - both in the vial and on the skin. It's a sweet, honey-tinged tea. Unfortunately as soon as it started to dry down it went dusty on me, and pretty much stayed that way. I'm not super jazzed with the smell of tea anyway so I wasn't too bothered. Not my thing at all.

Splendiferous

White cake, lemon zest glaze and sugared violets.

The cake is a lie. This is straight up violets and so cloying. I'm sure I've mentioned before this horrible, horrible woman I used to work with many years ago who seemed to bathe in some hideous old lady perfume, and this is exactly what it smelled like. And like Ruth, it lasted for ages - 10 hours later I could still smell it on myself. 

So, not much luck with the Spring seasonals for me, I'm afraid. However, others seemed to fare better. You can check out more favourable reviews by:

• Liber Vix
• Lipstick and Libraries
• Meowlephant
• A Lion In The Corn
• Swimming Monkey

 

Common Brimstone Perfumes

Grab a cup of tea, kidlets - this is going to take a while.

Way back last year I read about Common Brimstone on Reddit, and since I'm always up for a new perfume company to try out, I pretty much immediately placed an order. When they arrived (one full bottle and 10 samples), I found that a lot of them had leaked, and the sample vials were those horrible milk bottle shaped ones with the flexible wands that you get thumb blisters trying to remove.

The sample vials were so annoying that after testing a few I gave up and put them aside. What was even more annoying was that of the perfumes I tried, I really, really liked them. Rei, the full bottle I took a risk on, was a gorgeous gentle floral with notes of cherry blossom, white musk, magnolia and gardenia. Honey Badger (not pictured because I think it's in my bag somewhere) is amazing - a not-too-sweet honeycomb and beeswax blend deepened with musk and chocolate. Most of the scents I chose and tried out were quite feminine and either distinctly foodie or floral, both of which are right up my alley. These perfumes were totally my jam, but the packaging put me off so much that I wasn't sure I could go back again.

Then someone on Reddit mentioned that the sample vials had been changed to tiny roll on ones. So I decided to do another order around Christmas, picking out two full bottles from the Christmas releases - Chalet Girl and Special Snowflake. I also ordered a set of 5 samples. Again, I was really happy with the risk I took on the full bottles, as I loved both scents, and again, the samples smelled amazing.

The problem was that yet again, the samples leaked - to the point where I couldn't really read half the labels - and worse than that (and really weird considering the leakage), I couldn't actually get any of the product out! I would roll the ball over my wrist and it would leave a lingering scent - as these are fairly potent - but no actual oil came out, so the smell was gone in 10 minutes. I was desperate to slather myself in the caramel and spices of Caramel Chai, so tempting in the vial, but it was just not to be. Nothing wanted to come out. Again, I gave up and put the sample aside, intending to get around to decanting them once I could figure out how to remove the really tiny roller ball. I decided that was enough Common Brimstone for me - as gorgeous as the scents were I just couldn't deal with the packaging.

Cue a couple of months later and someone on Reddit asked about indie perfumers in the UK, and someone else mentioned Common Brimstone. I said that although I loved the perfumes, the packaging was a pain in the arse, and the person who'd recommended them said that the owner Naomi had announced on Facebook she was changing to little screw top sample bottles. Cautiously, like a starving dog who's already been kicked twice, I ventured over to Facebook and sure enough there it was. Okay, I thought - one more chance. I love the perfumes, I like the owner, I really want this to happen. So I took a deep breath and did a third order, which just arrived today. And you know what? JACKPOT.

No leaks, easy to open - these little screw tops are the perfect sample bottle (for me, at least). I could easily get into it all and am currently covered in a messy smoosh of smells after dabbing them here and there all over myself. It's funny how I rarely take a chance with full bottles unless I'm pretty confident I know the perfume company well enough (I'll do it for Possets limited editions, for example, but not for Haus of Gloi, which I find really hit and miss on me), but every time I've risked a full bottle with Common Brimstone I've chosen really well because I love it. In fact, I have not yet hit a CB scent that I outright don't like. Some I'm just kind of meh about - "Yeah, it's okay but it's not really me", but most of the ones I've tried are now on my full bottle wishlist.

My full bottle with this order is Starlight, a natural blend of white amber, jasmine, tuberose, lemon bergamot and sweet orange. I was tossing up about this one because lemon so often goes straight to floor cleaner on me, but in for a penny and all that. The orange is the most prominent note on first application and it's really bright and sunny. Regular readers know how much I hate fruit scents, and I'm not super keen on citrus, but this one is just so cheery I can't help but love it. The drydown is more floral, but the citrus sticks around and the amber gives it a lovely warmth in the dry down that is not at all as overpowering as amber can often be on me. This is a perfume I'd probably wear a lot in the spring and summer, and it's just lovely. Being a completely natural perfume it doesn't have a long lasting time, but I don't really care about that - I'm happy to re-slather regularly.

So all that was a roundabout way of saying now that Naomi has worked out the kinks of her sample packaging, anyone who likes indie perfumes needs to go and check out this store. There's a ton of stuff to choose from, including a handful of solid scents if that's your bag (I haven't tried those yet but I will when our weather finally cools down properly). Shipping is worldwide and very reasonable - my shipping cost for this most recent order was about $8.50AUD. And the perfumes are really beautiful.

The SA List: Sweet Anthem Perfumes Seasonal Sampler

A few weeks back I read a blog post by Liber Vix about Sweet Anthem Perfumes' new sampler box, and of course I was all over it immediately like a cheap suit. I love that a perfume company has thought to get in on this sort of thing - finally a subscription box with things I'm actually interested in, instead of - well - useless crap.

My first box came in the mail a couple of weeks ago and I've finally gotten around to testing out the perfumes (I hate to say it, but I've been kind of perfumed out lately, going back over and over again to the same couple of scents rather than testing out the newer samples I have EVERYWHERE). But first up, can we just take a moment to admire the gorgeous packaging?

I don't know a whole lot about Sweet Anthem, but they seem to have a smallish range - many of which are seasonal, and they are available as perfume oils, solids, and eau de parfum. The samples in this box are EDPs. Their website is beautiful but can be a little frustrating because they seem to have all their perfumes listed all the time, even though some of them are only apparently available at certain times of the year.

I have only tried one or two Sweet Anthem scents in the past, and I only have one at the moment called Anastasia that I think was sent to me by Su, from memory. It's not currently available, which is a pity because I'd definitely be up for a full bottle of that one. I did a review of it here.

The idea of The SA List is that you get to try two seasonal releases before they are available, which gives you loads of time to test them out and decide if you want full sizes when they are released officially. The sampler is sent four times a year and you can subscribe for two, three or four seasons. Postage is paid once and covers however many others you ordered (and is very reasonable - I paid $9US postage). You also receive a $10 voucher and at least one extra sample of a past release.

The two Spring samples are Poppy and Lolita. I also received a sample of Marianne, and a full solid scent of Miho. Pretty good deal for $7US!

Poppy

The caliginous haze of resurrection. Spicy clove dripping with cocoa, smoky opium and Turkish musk with a motley crew of red flowers - a saffron-stained carnation among them. 

In the vial this smells like dark, bitter chocolate but not sweet - more like a really expensive cocoa powder than a chocolate bar. I had such high hopes for this - I love everything in it, especially the carnation and saffron. Sadly, what I got on the skin was clove, clove, clove. It was like when that kid came late to class in the 1980s because he'd been to the dentist. After a while the clove did tone down a little but it still dominated all the other notes, and I'm slightly heartbroken because everything else in this blend is everything I love. If I'm flush one day I might get a custom perfume made with everything but the clove.

Lolita

Honey-limbed, sparkling river nymph. Resinous tonka bean, sweet cherry blossom, a bushel of aldehydes, musky sea spray.

Perfumes called Lolita are usually some sickly sweet concoction of candy and bubblegum, so I was pleasantly surprised by this one to start with. It's sweet but not candy-like, and certainly not childish. In the vial I get cherry blossom (which I love) and an aquatic note, which I don't normally care much for but works well here. On the skin the honey gives a lush sweetness while it's wet, and in the dry down there's a note of something that almost smells citrus to me, but I don't know what it is. This is a really interesting, complex blend and sort of reminds me of a lot of Darling Clandestine scents in that I can never figure out entirely whether I like them or not, though I keep using them and sniffing them constantly. I need to test this one out a few more times to make up my mind about it.

Marianne

Romantic spices, sugared peony blossoms, and tuberose flowers from a lover; they read together in whispers from a dust-laden tome of Shakespearean sonnets.

This was the extra EDP sample. In the vial and when first applied to my wrist the pepper is prominent, but the floral takes the edge off it. It's spicy without making me screw my nose up. It dries down to a feminine floral with the leather and mahogany not really noticable to me as notes, but adding a warmth to it that stops it from being super girly. It's quite light and fresh, I would probably wear this in summer.

Miho

Is this a mirage? Just a tiny drop will cure any summertime visions with this sweet and fruity floral perfume.

Miho is not currently listed on the website so I'm not sure if it's a seasonal or a discontinued scent. This was another freebie - a full size solid scent. The notes are sweet orange, lotus, violet, coconut, musk, sea moss. I could definitely smell the coconut, which gave it a tropical feel. Interestingly I usually hate tropical scents because there is something in a lot of them that just smells really fake. However, I'm really enjoying Miho. Again I think I'd probably wear it a lot more in hot weather than cold (and I've been wearing it a  bit lately since it's still pretty hot here even though it's technically Autumn). It's not an especially unique or complex scent to my nose - just a really pretty, wearable tropical floral. 

Even though I'm not sure I'd get any of these in full sizes, I'm still happy enough with them to use up the generous samples (though I may pass on Poppy - it just does not like me), and I absolutely love the idea of a perfume company doing a sampler box. I get that it might not be practical for those who have larger catalogues or don't do seasonal releases, but I really hope more out there get on the bandwagon.

Arcana Valentines 2014

A couple of weeks ago, Julia from Arcana Soaps made a short-term offer on Twitter for her followers - pay for shipping and she would send some samples from the new Valentine's Day collection The Beast. Since Arcana doesn't do retail samples for limited edition collections (that I know of) and I am too lazy to bother with decants, I jumped at the chance to try some. I expected maybe two, which I would have been jazzed with, but instead I received five, plus one from the regular catalogue. All for $6US postage. SCORE.

All of these have medium to highish sillage and they last for hours and hours. I could still smell them the following morning on my wrist before I'd had a shower. 

Simbi d'l'Eau

A Loa with the unpredictability and immense power of the oceans, he is pleased by offerings of water and green ribbons. A fresh, aquatic mix of tart raspberry, rainwater, green musk, clematis, osmanthus, tiare blossoms, and ambergris. Part of the New Orleans Trio, from the February 2014 Collection. 

In the vial this smells like a green aquatic - not my cup of tea but I'm always happy to try new things. Unfortunately it turned to soap on my skin immediately. Not unpleasant, but just... well, soap. I'll be passing this one on to someone else to have crack at. 

Nymphomania

Lusty Victorian ladies who foolishly admitted to liking sex wound up with this diagnosis. Eating too much chocolate, reading too many books, and wearing enticing perfumes were all among the causative factors. (Which explains a lot, no?) An indulgent blend of smoked frankincense, golden amber, warmly spiced vodka, thick myrrh, ruby guava, black tea, tobacco leaf, and pink pepper.

This is a deep, smokey, slightly feminine scent but definitely leans unisex. It's quite potent, and there is a spiciness to it that is most likely the pepper. The smell of tea is prominent in the vial but I didn't pick it up on my skin - it was all frankincense and amber and that smokey tobacco on me. I liked it a lot but I don't think I'd get a full bottle as it's not one I'd wear all that often.  

Little Man In The Boat

Serving no procreative purpose, the clitoris exists only for pleasure. Definitive proof that we were designed for bliss? Of course! Peach nectar and delicate musk dripping with Tupelo honey, Clover honey, and one dainty tuberose petal.

All I can say is that this does definitely conjure up the aroma of... well... It is what it says it is. It's a musky peach scent with a slight sweetness from the honey. Not my thing because I really don't much like peach, but I imagine loads of people would love this one.   

Maman Brigitte

The bawdy, fun-loving queen of death, Maman Brigitte guards the cemetery, protects prostitutes, gets down on the dance floor, and curses like a Somali sailor. Black amber, cherry-infused red musk, animalic musk, cocoa absolute, white amber, clove bud, tobacco, and the smallest sprig of graveyard mint. Part of the New Orleans Trio, from the February 2014 Collection. 

One of my favourites, and definitely a full bottle purchase. In the vial it smells like bitter chocolate and tobacco, but it mellows on the skin to a deep smokey, musky amber. It's not for the faint-hearted, but it's bloody gorgeous. Every now and then I think I can catch that mint, but it's so fleeting I don't know if I've just convinced myself it's there. LOVE. 

Afterglow

It exists between ecstasy and quietude. The soft euphoria of white amber, vanilla bean, vanilla milk, Malbec grapes, Arcana's own Lust blend, cognac absolute, and a drop of cool peppermint.

Another on the full bottle list for me. A warm, milky vanilla (not that sickly milk, though it does teeter a bit when first applied), the grapes and the cognac are more prominent in the vial than on the skin for me. I do wish they came out a bit more because I love the notes in the vial. The peppermint is there but it's not 'minty' as such. It adds a sort of snowy note, just to keep it from being a full on warm vanilla. Gorgeous. 

The Darling Buds

The fresh essence of the darling buds of May. Baby cucumber, strawberry, petitgrain, grapefruit, pomegranate, basil and a splash of pink rosewater.

This is a strong fruity, slightly spicy scent that I can appreciate aesthetically as a blend, but that doesn't do a lot for me on a personal level. I'm just not a fan of fruit. The basil really amped on me a lot - I guess that was the spicy element. I do love the smell of basil, but more so in the kitchen than on my wrist. It's fun, but not me. 

Arcana limited editions stay around for ages, and you can easily find decant circles for them on indie perfume forums. They don't have an online store, but sell through other etailers such as The Rhinestone Housewife and The Soap Box Co, both of whom ship internationally and have excellent customer service (beware Rhinestone Housewife's shipping though - it's the $25 flat pack kind for international, which is bearable if you're buying a lot but not worth it if you just want a bottle or two). 

Overall, I love Arcana perfumes - they are fantastic quality and last for ages. And Julia is a gem. 

Alchimia Apothecary

I heard about Alchimia Apothecary months ago on Reddit, and I hadn't intended to bother with it because I'm trying to NOT discover new perfumes and just enjoy the huge amount I already have. However, the company owner Erin also frequents that particular subreddit, and her helpful, considered responses to people's questions about perfumes generally made me think, 'Well, this chick knows what she's talking about.' So I thought I'd just try out a few because I can pretty much justify any purchase to myself. I ordered a set of 5 samples and a set of 3 samples - a total of 8 (yay, I can do maths!).

I ordered on 22 November, and they were shipped 27 November. They took forever to get to me - I think I finally received them on New Year's Eve. I put this down to a combination of the time of the year, a backlog in customs and our generally rubbish postal service, because they were definitely shipped within a reasonable amount of time. Erin actually contacted me about a week before Christmas to ask if I'd received it as she'd sent out a bunch at the same time and the only other one that hadn't arrived yet was another Australian customer. I wasn't worried - I know the drill, I knew they'd show up eventually. And they did!

When it arrived, my order was wrapped in cute orange bubble wrap with a sticker but I didn't think to take any pictures of the wrapping. The vials are brown, and I don't think I've ever seen that before. I thought that was pretty cool - darker storage is always better for perfume oils. There was an extra free sample of one of the Yule perfumes, and a special surprise that I'm saving until last.
 
Druid Fluid is a bright, fresh floral with a zingy green note. It's very much in what I refer to as the 'old lady garden' category. I liked it a lot, and I'll probably pick up a full size at some point. This kind of perfume is definitely my jam.

In Ovation is something I have never come across before - a summery vanilla. I can't really describe what it is about it that's summery, but it definitely is. Noodles says it smells a bit like lime, but I don't really get that myself.

Magma is sweet and fruity and a little bit fizzy. It's a very young perfume to me, kind of lollyish and doesn't change much. I like it, but I'm way too old for it.

A la Gory has a massive hit of cherry in the vial and wet on the skin - that was all I could smell at first. However, the cherry note faded quickly, and then I was left with a sweet, kind of soapy floral smell for a while, not really foody. Half an hour or so later the dry down is sweet vanilla biscuit. I liked the dry down but it's quite similar to a few other cake/pastry perfumes I already have.

SeaCret is an ozone perfume with a slight musk note in the dry down. Ozones are not my cup of tea at all but I think people who like them would really enjoy this version.

Caramel Knowledge had what I thought was another strong hit of cherry, but then realised it was almonds. I don't know why but I always confuse those two notes. Thankfully (because I hate almond), it goes away within a minute or two and then I'm left with a kind of sweet and soapy, clean smell - creamy luxury soap. Oddly I didn't get any kind of foodiness from this one at all after the almond, and I expected it to be the most overtly gourmand.  It's nice enough, but on me it just smells like a really expensive soap.

Hue Bris smells like old school fruit sticks - you know the green and orange ones? It's a bit sweet and fizzy and a tiny bit floral. Several hours later it smelled like a musky rose. I liked that element quite a lot, but the initial lolly notes didn't really grab me - again, I'm too old for that.

Sinning Saints is my Yule freebie, a spicy peppery rose. The rose amped like crazy on me with this one and it was all I could smell for about 12 hours. It was nice, but a bit much on a hot day.

If you're as good as me at maths you will notice that's actually 8 samples, not 9. I also have Hook but I've lost it somewhere in the house. It will turn up eventually.

Now, a few weeks before I ordered, there was a discussion on Reddit about what kind of themes people would like to see in indie makeup and/or perfume, and I mentioned a conversation that Noodles and I had once had about how there should be a collection of Freaks and Geeks perfumes. We spent ages thinking about possible note combinations like diesel oil and cannabis for Daniel and so on. I don’t remember them all now and I really wish I’d written them down at the time. Anyway, one of the ones I did remember and mentioned in the Reddit discussion was bubblegum and tobacco for Kim Kelly. Erin and I had a brief little chat about how awesome Freaks and Geeks is, and I’d mentioned something like chocolate milk and peanut butter for Bill (thinking of the scene where he eats a sandwich while laughing at the television) and Erin reminded me that Bill was deathly allergic to peanuts. And that was about it. But then my order turns up with a bottle of a perfume called… KIM KELLY. I was thrilled that Erin was thoughtful enough to not only remember having that specific conversation with me, but that she then went and specially made me a perfume from it. And it’s really good – the bubblegum and tobacco are the opening notes, and it smells exactly like someone smoking and chewing Hubba Bubba. The other notes are violet, black agar, benzoin resin, ambergris, and spice. The dry down is still ever so slightly sweet from the bubblegum, but that's in the background while the benzoin and violet create a lovely floral woody note. I love this perfume - it's what I have always wanted every other bubblegum perfume to be, rather than the sickly sweet Lolitaesque concoctions they usually are. And it is just how I imagine Kim Kelly would have smelled. I hope Erin does do a whole Freaks and Geeks collection one day, because I would be first in line to buy them. 

As well as her listings, Erin also makes custom perfumes and I’ve seen many a happy customer rave about their own personal scent on Reddit. She also sells solid perfumes and some face care products, but I have not tried any of those as yet. In conclusion, Alchimia Apothecary is a shop well worth checking out if you’re into perfume oils.

Sugar and Spite Bathery Soy Wax Tarts

I mentioned a while back that Lysa from The Morbid The Merrier was back with a new(ish) shop called Sugar and Spite Bathery, and because I'm a huge fan of her scents I immediately snapped up a couple of her wax tarts when she announced on Facebook that she had started making candles and melts. Total spur of the moment purchase, but sometimes those are the best kind, and these are no exception.

A Strange Day - Honey, salted caramel, orange blossom and sandalwood.
Lawwwwd, this is awesome. It's a rich, creamy gourmand with neither the honey or the caramel dominating, but blending together to just make this delicious 'something is cooking that smells amazing' aroma. I want to devour some kind of pastry made with these flavours. RIGHT NOW.

Innocent When You Dream - A sultry, gorgeous base of amber, tonka and bourbon vanilla, brightened a wee bit by moonflower and mandarin. 
I am burning this one right now and I just love it. I don't really get the base notes unless I get right up close to it, mostly what I can smell throughout my kitchen - and even from here in the next room where I am sitting - is an icy floral note. It's quite unusual - sort of minty, but not really. Sort of wintergreen, but not really. I don't know what a moonflower smells like so I don't know if that's what it is, but it's lovely. I hope Lysa makes perfumes out of these blends some day because I would be all over both, but especially this one.

For international shipping, just send an Etsy convo telling Lysa what you're after and she'll give you a quote. If you decide to go ahead she will create a custom listing for you. I have found the shipping very reasonable - the cost of shipping for this order was about $9AU, and I just ordered 3 bottles of perfume last night (not breaking my December no buy, they're Noodles' Christmas present to me) with shipping quoted at $10USD. By the way, I ordered these on November 28 and got them on December 5 - one week later! That's really, really unusual for shipping from the US, in fact I'm not sure I've ever had that happen before. My last order from Sugar and Spite took about 2.5 weeks, which is still pretty good for international.

Just after I ordered these, Lysa said on Facebook she was going to double the scent, as she liked subtle scents in candles for her own use, but lots of people like theirs really strong. I was worried these wouldn't have much throw, but they're fine in my small house. As I said, I'm sitting in the room next to the burner at the moment and I can smell it easily. So I assume doubled scent will really give you some bang for your buck. I'm going to buy some more in the new year so I'll see how they are when they're stronger and report back.

In conclusion, these are amazing and well worth coughing up for if you like wax tarts and candles. Treat yo'self! 

Random eBay Brush vs Everyday Minerals

While I was trawling eBay for cheap crap a while ago and happened across the Real Techniques dupe brush, I also found a flat top kabuki brush that looked a hell of a lot like an Everyday Minerals brush. Once again, these are available from a bunch of different sellers, and I chose this one for no particular reason. The cost was $2.59AU with free postage - well under my $5 'nothing to lose' budget.

When I received it, I was surprised to see that it actually is an Everyday Minerals brush - right down to the stamp. I have a fair few EDM brushes, and I've talked before about how much I like them, especially the face brushes. I don't know whether it's overstock or maybe a second, but it's definitely an EDM brush.

I can't do an exact comparison because my original EDM flat top died a year ago, and I never bothered replacing it (until now!) because I had a Crown brush that was pretty much the same thing.

Everyday Minerals round top kabuki, eBay flat top kabuki

eBay flat top kabuki, Crown flat top kabuki

I decided to compare in action with the Crown brush, as I would be using these two for the same thing.

Differences: 

• The eBay brush is soft, but not quite as soft as the Crown brush. 

Washing: 

• I have had the Crown brush for at least a couple of years and washed it many times with never any shedding. 
• I washed the eBay brush before and after using. There was no shedding, though there were one or two unevenly sized hairs that came loose when I tugged at them. 
• Both brushes cleaned more easily when used with powder than when used with foundation - the foundation gets down into the bristles and you need an oil-based cleanser of some type to get it out. 

Application: 

• The eBay brush was slightly stiffer than the Crown brush, which I felt made for easier application of both foundation and powder. 

Conclusion: 

• This is litereally an Everyday Minerals brush - there doesn't seem to have been any attempt to fake it, as there was no mention of EDM in the description, and they are not really a brand that would attract fakes. I guess as I said above it's either overstock or a second, though there wasn't anything wrong with it, and it felt and looked like every other EDM brush I have. 
• As for whether I would recommend it, if you're looking for a flat top brush and you're willing to risk a couple of dollars on something that might be a second and therefore inconsistent in quality, then yes - I would absolutely recommend it.

Random eBay Brush vs Real Techniques

The other day I was trawling around eBay, as I am wont to do, and I happened across some makeup brushes that looked very familiar. I was interested to see if they were much different, so I bought one. It was $3.18AU with free postage and I got mine from this seller, but there are multiple sellers who have them.

None of the brushes I could find on eBay were exactly the same as any of the Real Techniques ones, but I wanted to do a reasonable comparison so I got one that was as close as possible to one of the RT ones I already had. In this case, the comparison is with the Real Techniques Buffing Brush.

Differences:

• The eBay brush is slightly lighter, it feels cheaper. 
• The eBay brush looks slightly less dense than the Real Techniques one (note: may not actually be). 
• They both have the flat bottom so the brush can stand upright, the eBay one is slightly wider at the bottom. 

Washing: 

• I washed both a couple of days ago before testing them. I washed them both again after testing them with liquid foundation. There was no shedding with either of them and they took about the same amount of time to dry. 

Application: 

• I applied a liquid foundation (Rimmel Wake Me Up), using the eBay brush on one half of my face and the Real Techniques brush on the other. 
• I found the eBay brush actually applied the product more quickly, more smoothly, and felt more dense with less floppiness than the Real Techniques brush. 
• The Real Techniques brush applied the product well also, but seemed to have more 'give' and less density. 

Conclusion: 

• Although the eBay brush looks and feels slightly flimsier than the Real Techniques brush (though not a great deal), I found it performed slightly better. 
• Am I recommending you rush out and buy up all the brushes on eBay? No. But I do recommend that if you're a fan of the Real Technique brushes and you're not fussed about throwing a couple of dollars at something you may or may not like, buy one and see for yourself. 
• I'm not giving a cast iron recommendation of the brush itself - it performed well for me, but for all I know it might fall apart in a month. 
• Speaking for myself, though I'm not in the market for more face brushes right now - and I couldn't find any dupes of the RT eye brushes on eBay - if I were I'd look there first. For a small price I got a brush that I personally find comparable to - if not better than - a similar Real Techniques brush.

Testing some goodies from @CandidaVirgo

A while back Candi started experimenting with creating scented products, and asked me to test a couple of perfumes for her. Never one to pass up an opportunity for new smells, I agreed eagerly. A day or so later, I received Chocolate Macaron and Cinnamon Donuts perfume oils. I've reviewed Chocolate Macaron on my perfume blog and also talked briefly about Cinnamon Donuts, so I won't say too much about them here except that I am still madly in love with Chocolate Macaron. It is such a rich, foodie chocolate scent - not too sweet, and lasts for a good few hours.

A few weeks later I got some more stuff from Candi - two more perfumes, a scrub and a massage mud. I've been testing those out a bit since.

Banana Rama perfume oil
There are two things I absolutely detest the smell of more than anything else - and I'm talking about normal, every day, allegedly inoffensive things rather than things that everyone agrees is gross like poop and garbage. Those things are tomato sauce and bananas. So I was kind of nervous even sniffing this one. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that I quite liked Banana Rama. It's more lolly banana than actual banana, thankfully - but it's not even just that. It's sweet, but not sugary, and there's an element of sherbet as well - this could just as easily have been called Wizz Fizz. There is something slightly deeper that keeps it from being a complete lolly scent. I cannot put my finger on what it is. I could ask Candi, I guess, but that takes the fun away. As it dries down there is ever so slight a whiff of something lemony that comes and goes, and it's not exactly lemon in its pure form, more like a lemony plant, such as lemon myrtle. It's the vibe of lemon. I found this to be a surprisingly interesting scent, and I ended up really liking it after initially assuming I'd have a cursory test and then pass it on to Noodles.

Hot Apple Pie perfume oil
This doesn't smell so much like a genuine apple pie, rather what you think apple pies smell like (real food is always disappointingly less aromatic than you think it will be these days). It's warm and buttery and there's a top note of cinnamon that is quite strong at first but softens after a while. For years and years my mother had stewed apple and bran for breakfast so that smell of apples cooking was embedded into my childhood memories. In this perfume I can smell pastry, cooking apples, kitchen spices, and general wintery warmth. This is a great cold weather casual scent.

Poppy Scrub
Poppy seeds make a great exfoliant - who'd have thought it? This had a similar chocolatey scent to the chocolate macaron perfume, though sweeter and lighter. After about a month it started to go funky, so it might either need more preservative or be one to use in small batches and fairly quickly (like some Lush products). I used this a couple of times a week and really enjoyed it. I'm not one for harsh exfoliators - I generally only use AHA-types or occasionally the Clarisonic. However, the poppy seeds gave a decent exfoliation without feeling hard or scratchy. The product itself was rich, thick and creamy. It lathered slightly, but not a lot, and left my skin feeling really soft after, with no tightness. If Candi ever gets around to selling this stuff, I would definitely buy it.

Massage Mud
I hate massages, to the point where I am almost phobic about them - they make me feel nauseated. A couple of years ago when I had to go to the physio regularly for my wonky shoulder/arm/hips she would massage the muscles and it was the grossest, most invasive feeling I've had. And it's not that she wasn't good or wasn't doing it properly - she was. I just really, really hate massages. So I didn't get a whole lot of use out of this product other than to play around with it. I tried rubbing it all over my legs a couple of times before showering, just to see what it felt like and what it did. The base seems to be coconut oil (smells like it, anyway). It's solid but it melts immediately to an oil on contact with skin. It feels like, well, an oil - it's silky and not at all sticky. If you're a fan of massages, this would be a lovely - albeit messy - product to use. I found it washed off easily in the shower after, and left my skin feeling soft and moisturised after. There was also a faint after scent of something vaguely floral, which is interesting because I don't smell anything floral in the container. I think this would actually make a great pre-shower moisturiser. You know how a while ago I went off on one about that terrible Nivea in-shower moisturiser? Well, if it had been something like this I might have actually liked it.

Fyrinnae Haul - Swatches and Review

For years I've been hearing about the miracle of Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy, but every time I thought to go to their site and buy some it was closed. They are closed A LOT. To an annoying degree, actually. I mean, I get that in a small operation it's better to close down and catch up than to get overwhelmed with orders and then do the infamous indie meltdown, but when it seems like you're closed more often than you're open, maybe you need to hire some staff or something.

Anyway, because of that I gave up on them in a huff. Screw you, Fyrinnae - if you don't want my money I'm sure I can find something else to do with it! The only thing that sent me back there was seeing a post on Reddit where someone had tested out how Pixie Epoxy performed with pressed shadows (she used Wet'n'Wild palettes) and the results were pretty impressive. And amazingly, they were open! In hindsight I wish I'd snatched up several bottles of Pixie Epoxy, but I hear it lasts a long time so it's probably not a big deal.

They also have pressed shadows now so I thought I'd try one of those out. The range wasn't great - they were sold out of most of the ones I'd have been interested in, but I thought Serendipity looked like my speed.

Clockwise from left: Pressed Eyeshadow in Serendipity, loose shadows in Monster Movie, Agenda, Tyr, and Winter, Again (free sample)

So the first thing I noticed is that they are a bit lumpy. They break up when I press down on them but still, not a good look when you have a reputation as sacred as Fyrinnae in the indie world. I bought some Fyrinnae shadows a few years ago and don't remember this happening, so it might have been an anomoly from change of climate or something. I don't know.

Monster Movie: Soft, nearly matte light sage green with a subtle touch of copper shimmer. 
Agenda: Multi-facted neutral deep grey with a fine highlight of pink throughout. Not quite taupe, and low enough shimmer that it verges on a satin finish.
Tyr: Difficult to describe, this is a muted chartreuse-on-black. It has a distinct opaque black base, especially when applied wet, with a highlight of yellow green.
Winter, Again: Semi-sheer white with soft blue and turquoise shimmer.

Edit: Apparently the lumpy appearance is due to a reformulation and there is a note about it on their site. 

*** In January 2013, Fyrinnae's loose eye shadows were reformulated (orders shipped in the last eight days of January onward will have the new version). This will not affect color or decrease opacity, but will most likely reduce fallout (during application and wearing) and may increase wear time. Product will appear clumpy in the jar. 

From left: Tyr, Agenda, Monster Movie, Winter, Again. Taken in natural (overcast) daylight. Top row on bare skin, bottom row swatched over Pixie Epoxy. 

As you can see, the Pixie Epoxy doesn't have much of an effect on Monster Movie or Agenda - both fairly low shimmer. It isn't meant for matte/near matte eyeshadows though. It does do a pretty good job bringing out more colour in Tyr and Winter, Again. It also made them all last much longer, the bare skin swatches on my arm wore off pretty quickly, but the Pixie Epoxy ones are still there even after typing and whatnot.

 

Serendipity Pressed Eyeshadow: left swatched on bare skin, right swatched on Pixie Epoxy. Taken in natural (overcast) daylight. Bottom picture is taken in sunlight.

The important stuff:

• Fyrinnae doesn't sell samples, but they do sell minis. Minis are 1/3 of a teaspoon for $2.25US, and for me that's more than enough. Full sizes are $6.25US.
• The pressed shadow was $9US, which I think is a bit pricy for an indie shadow, especially given that Makeup Geek's eyeshadows are cheaper than that and supposedly comparable to MAC. Having said that, it's a lovely eyeshadow and really good quality. (I've bought pressed mineral shadows from a shop on Etsy in the past and that was a bit of a disaster.) Annoyingly, they don't seem to have any pressed shadows listed on their site at the moment.
• Pixie Epoxy is $7US for a full size, and you can also get a trial size for $2US. Pretty good value for money. 
• Shipping was $7.50US to Australia, very cheap considering what international shipping is usually now. They are taking a hit there. It was also fairly fast - they have caveats on their site all the time warning about high TAT, but I ordered mine on September 10 and it was shipped on September 15. I received it mid- last week but I don't remember exactly what day.

Overall, I'm happy with what I got. I'm not a devotee of the cult of Fyrinnae but I get why some people are.

P.S. If you're interested, you can see swatches of my older Fyrinnae shadows here and here.