Weekend Looks: Darling Girl Cosmetics

Every weekend I have in my mind that I want to do really colorful shadow looks that I wouldn't be able to do at work. And many weekends I end up instead creating a neutral look that is just kicked up a notch. And that's what happened this weekend. I used two Darling Girl Cosmetics shadows that I didn't use during indie month and was surprised how neutral-ish both looks came out. 

Here are the looks I did this weekend.

Look 1: Darling Girl Brocade

Brocade on the lid (over Pixie Epoxy), Lime Crime Venus blended into the crease, and Lime Crime Muse padded onto the outer corner. 

Look 2: Darling Girl Sirena 

Sirena (over Pixie Epoxy) and Viseart Dark Matte 5 and 6 blended into the crease. 

Darling Girl Brocade

Status: Decluttered 

This is a really pretty rose gold shade, but it translated onto the eye completely different than what I expected. I wanted this shade to look on my eye like the color in the pot. Instead, it was a pure rose gold color. Again, I think the color is actually quite pretty, and I really loved it paired with the red tones from the Lime Crime Venus palette, but it wasn't the shadow I wanted it to be. I have plenty of rose gold shadows, including my favorite from Ardency Inn, and I just don't need another. So, that is the only reason why this shadow is being decluttered from my collection. I don't like having a lot of duplicates in my collection, and when it comes to choosing, I will always pick the less high maintenance shadow. Since the Ardency Inn shadow is gorgeous, pressed, and doesn't require Pixie Epoxy, it's the winner for me. But, if you are looking into Darling Girl Cosmetics and are interested in a rose gold shadow, I absolutely recommend this one. 

Darling Girl Sirena 
Status: Love

I love this shadow. On the eye, it looks like cranberry with blue sparkles. Naturally, that doesn't translate well on camera, but it looks on the eye exactly as it does in the pot. And I really appreciate that because it is so pretty in the pot! I paired it with the burgundy shades from Viseart Dark Matte, and I think the entire look is really pretty. I think there definitely is a uniqueness to this look, but it is also very wearable.

Weekend Looks: Fyrinnae, Darling Girl, and Melt Cosmetics

Coming off of such a busy, challenging week at work, I have really tried to relax quite a bit this weekend. What's funny is that relaxing for me has included writing, working on the blog, cleaning/decluttering, and trying to enjoy the sun. 

Here are the looks I did this weekend. 

Look 1: Fyrinnae Wicked Faeries and Saharan Princess

Wicked Faeries on the lid (over Pixie Epoxy), Saharan Princess blended into the crease, and Lime Crime Venus padded onto the outer corner.

Look 2: Darling Girl Cosmetics Princess Consuela Bannahammock and Melt Rust Stack

Princess Consuela Bannahammock on the lid (over Pixie Epoxy), Melt Antique and Rubbish blended into the crease, Melt Rust padded onto the outer corner, and Melt Classic on the brow bone.

Fyrinnae Wicked Faeries

Status: Favorite 

I cannot tell you how much I love this eyeshadow. This is what I have wanted every single shimmy berry shadow to be, including the shadows in the Viseart Bijoux Royale palette. I love, love this shadow. This is one of Fyrinnae's Arcane Magic shadows, which means the color is supposed to change depending on how close or far it is to light. I didn't really notice a change in this one though. The Fyrinnae website says this is supposed to be a blend of purple and copper, but I never felt it looked like copper. I think this is a gorgeous raspberry shade, and I am happy with it as it.   

Fyrinnae Saharan Princess

Status: Really enjoy

I've talked about this shadow before, so I won't speak too much here. This came as a free sample in one of my Fyrinnae orders, and I am thrilled it did. I haven't been as thrilled to look into indie mattes only because I have so many matte shadows that I don't now how additive more would be to my collection. But I don't have anything quite like this shadow, which I think paired perfectly with Wicked Faeries. 

UPDATE: This color is actually a blush, not an eyeshadow, and it is not intended for eye use. My mistake! 

Darling Girl Cosmetics Princess Consuela Bannahammock

Status: Decluttered

This wasn't a totally easy declutter for me, and a few months ago, I probably would have found a reason to keep this shadow because I actually really love how this look turned out. But this was not the easiest shadow to work with. I found that I had to apply several layers, and the shadow applied best when applied with a lot of product that produced quite a bit of fallout. 

This shadow is part of the Friends collection, and the reason I purchased it is because the shadow description is multicolor shimmer over a yellow base. The photos on the website looked stunning, and it was certainly unlike anything I had in my collection. But that's not at all how it translated onto my lid. On me, it looks like a satin yellow. To be completely honest, I think the reason I like this look so much is because of the Melt Rust Stack. But the main reason I am decluttering is because the affect is too similar to Coloured Raine Super Star:

Left: Super Star, right: Princess Consuela Bannahammock

And I prefer Super Star. So while I don't think this is a bad shadow by any stretch, I know I'll reach for Super Star more, and I don't want to have duplicate shades in my collection. 

Melt Rust Stack

Status: Favorite 

I have really grown to love this set of shadows. I think this one is much better than the Love Sick Stack in terms of quality and performance, and I enjoy Love Stick. I honestly think this stack could eventually replace the Kat Von D Shade and Light Eye palette in my collection, and that is really saying something because I love that palette. I've been reaching for this stack a lot because of my indie project this month, but I also just haven't wanted to grab for anything else. This stack carries a hefty price tag when compared with other palettes, but for me, it is worth it. I really love warm brown and peach shades, so this is practically a perfectly curated companion palette of sorts for me. And I much prefer spending money and getting exactly what I want instead of paying less or paying the same for more shadows that I just will not use. 

This Week's Looks: Milani, Fyrinnae, MAC, and Darling Girl Cosmetics

Today is April 1, and I have decided that I want to have an indie-focused month of April in terms of eyeshadow. If you been reading my blog lately, you'll see that I have been trying more indie makeup, and the reason for that is I think indie shadows are more unique, I am really interested in the idea of a strong singles collection rather than a palette collection, and I would like to recommend a cheaper shadow (when possible) over an expensive and overhyped shadow/palette.

With that said, this past week was a mix of palettes and singles as well as indie and not. And this was also an interesting week in terms of looks that I really enjoyed and looks that I absolutely hated.

Here are five looks from last week.

Look 1: Milani Bare Necessities

3 on the first half of lid, 4 on the second half of lid, and 2 blended into the crease. 

Look 2: Fyrinnae It Beautifies!

It Beautifies! on the lid (over Pixie Epoxy) and Melt Unseen blended into the crease. 

Look 3: Milani Plum Basics

5 on the lid, 2 blended into the crease, 4 padded onto the outer corner, and 1 on the brow bone.

Look 4: Darling Girl Cosmetics Tempestuous and MAC C'est Chic

Tempestuous on the lid (over Pixie Epoxy), MAC Demitasse and All's Rosy blended into the crease.

Look 5: MAC Amber Lights and Melt Rust Stack

Amber Lights on the lid, Melt Antique and Rubbish blended into the crease, Rust padded onto the outer corner, and Classic on the brow bone. 

Milani Bare Necessities

Status: Decluttered

I was so floored by the Milani Earthly Elements palette that I decided to use two other Milani palettes this week that I hadn't worn before. Bare Necessities was fine, but it wasn't as gorgeous as Earthly Elements or as impressive as the other shadows in my collection that look just like the colors in this one. I think the look came out pretty, and I would recommend this to anyone looking for a palette like this, but it didn't wow me by any means. 

Fyrinnae It Beautifies!

Status: Favorite 

I had heard a lot about this shadow and really did not understand the fuss. The brand's description made this shadow sound really boring to me, and I thought it was going to be a basic wash of color that brightened the eyes. All the swatches I found for it looked pretty dull as well, but I wanted to try it because it was on everyone's "recommend" list. Well, holy cow, I get it. This shadow is so incredibly beautiful without being over the top as well. I couldn't get over how shiny it was! And even when I was looking through photos today, I kept looking at the pictures of this shadow. My one criticism, however, is that it is not a terribly unique color. The shine and payoff is unique, I think, but not the color. And that's actually why I wore MAC's Amber Lights later in the week, because I wanted to see how similar the two colors looked. I do think they look very similar, but I prefer It Beautifies! However, if you have Amber Lights or any other quality gold shade, I don't think you're missing out. 

Milani Plum Basics
Status: Decluttered

I absolutely hated everything about this eye look. The main shadow I used (5) was a glittery, terrible mess. Shadow 3 looks like a soft pink color in the pan, but on me, it comes off as pure white, so I went with 5 because that color has more of a pink payoff. But, man, the shadow was awful. The purple shimmer shadow (4) had the potential of being a good shadow, and 2 was also not very good. I enjoyed 1, the matte cream color, and wished that shadow was in Earthly Elements instead of that crappy glitter shade. Even though the purple shimmer seems like a good shadow, I know I will never reach for this palette again. I had glitter down my face all day and actually found of it had transferred onto other people I hugged. My plan is to try and depot the cream shade and put it in Earthly Elements in place of the glitter shadow. If I can't replace the pans easily, then I will crush the shadow and repress.

Darling Girl Cosmetics Tempestuous 
Status: Really enjoy

This shadow came as a free sample when I received my Darling Girl Cosmetics order. I didn't know what to make of it, but I really, really like it a lot. I paired it with peach and rose shades from the MAC palette, and I love how the look turned out. It reminds me of a tropical beach sunset. I actually had a really bad day the day I wore this look, and I cried quite a bit. I was really surprised to find later that the eyeshadow still looked pretty good, all things considered. (The reason I cried, by the way, is because I wasn't able to get an MRI I've been trying to get for a while and I was just frustrated.)

MAC Amber Lights
Status: Favorite

Amber Lights has been a longtime favorite for me. It is one of three MAC singles still in my collection (the C'est Chic palette is premade and many of the shades are not in MAC's permanent line). And I still love this shadow. I wish that all MAC shadows (and really all MAC products) were as good as this shadow is. As I mentioned above, I did enjoy It Beautifies! just a little more, but I'll continue to love this shadow.

Melt Rust Stack

I haven't been using the Rust Stack for too long, so I don't want to give thoughts just yet. It will get a lot of use during my April indie project.

Weekend Looks: Fyrinnae and Darling Girl Cosmetics

Intentionally, this was an indie-focused weekend. Unintentionally, it was a greenish weekend as well. Also unintentionally, I did one warm-toned look and one cool-toned look. And I really love how both turned out!

Here are my weekend looks. 

Look 1: Fyrinnae Aztec Gold, Bobbi Brown Camel, and Anastasia Beverly Hills Fudge 

Aztec Gold on the lid, Camel blended into the crease, and Fudge padded onto the outer corner. 

Look 2: Darling Girl Cosmetics Ladyhawke and Ugly Naked Guy

Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy as a base, Ladyhawke on the lid, and Ugly Naked Guy blended in the crease. 

Fyrinnae Aztec Gold

Status: Favorite 

Holy cow, folks. This is one beautiful eyeshadow. Weeks ago, when I placed my first Fyrinnae order, I really wanted to buy this shadow, which is one of the few that is only offered in a pressed form. Temptalia had raved about this shadow, and it looked different from anything else I had seen. Unfortunately, it was sold out, and it continued to be sold out for weeks after. I finally saw it was available, and I snatched it, especially since I have been having such a love affair with Fyrinnae shadows. I was surprised to find that it just came as a pan of eyeshadow and didn't have a case, but this wasn't a big deal as I just popped the pan into my custom palette (the pan is magnetized).

This is without doubt one of the most unique colors in my collection. With that I'll say that I can see how many skin tones might not find this color flattering. In the pictures it looks very olive, but in person, it's hard to tell if it leans more olive or gold. I think it is absolutely stunning and I could not be happier with it. I paired it with Bobbi Brown Camel (a shadow I've mentioned has become a fast favorite) as well as ABH Fudge, which I think gave the look some subtle depth. I really loved this look!

Darling Girl Cosmetics Ladyhawke

Status: Love

I've decided to start a project for April that revolves around indie shadows. My experiences with indie shadows so far (Fyrinnae) has been so overwhelmingly positive that I wanted to branch out to other indie brands and see what else is out there. I have a strong suspicion that my indie shadows might replace a lot of my mainstream palettes. And that would be fine with me! 

Darling Girl Cosmetics was another indie brand I heard a lot about, so I decided to sample some of their products. For the exception of Ladyhawke, I bought all mini or sample sizes since I didn't want to spend much money and didn't want to have a ton of product, especially if I didn't like the shadows. I have no idea why I bought a full-size of Ladyhawke. For the life of me, I cannot remember. And while I think I would have been happy with a mini size of this shadow, I really love it! I don't have anything like it and have a hard time even describing the color. It's a blueish green, but also silver maybe? It's surprisingly wearable and comes off quite natural on my slightly olive skin. I paired it with Fyrinnae's Pixie Epoxy, and I'm starting to think now that most loose pigments that are shimmery might require or at least strongly benefit from this kind of a base. 

Darling Gil Cosmetics Ugly Naked Guy

Status: Love

The name of this shadow will bring back nostalgic memories for people my age and older. This is part of the brand's Friends collection, and I had to laugh when I saw the name. I've always thought Friends was a part of "my generation," but I saw recently that the show premiered in 1994, and I was certainly way too young to be watching this show. I was old enough to catch the last couple seasons, which is why I guess I feel part of the show's history, but really, I wasn't. Nonetheless, I did not buy this mini shadow because of nostalgia; I bought it because it was a matte (and I haven't tried many indie mattes) that looked like a color I would enjoy. 

I actually thought this was going to be a warm peach color, and it looks a lot warmer (to me, at least) in the jar than it does when applied onto my skin. But this color actually leans like a cool almost grayish brown on me. When I first swatched it onto my hand, I was really disappointed in the color because I thought it was going to be warmer, but when I paired it with Ladyhawke, I thought it made a gorgeous and perfect pairing. This is actually quite a cool-toned look on me, so I paired it with Bite Beaty Thistle lipstick. In an effort to not make my face look totally dead, I also wore a peach blush (crazy, I know), and I actually love how this all turned out! 

Both looks I did this weekend remind me of how fun makeup can be in terms of trying new colors and finding flattering looks that you might not have thought to create.