fyrinnae shadows and finishing powder- review and swatches.

My last post focused on the Lip Lustres by Fyrinnae and gave an overview of the brand (if you missed it, check it out here), but today, I want to turn my attention to some of their other products. Originally, I first checked the site to perve on the Lip Lustres, but their pretty array of shadows snagged at my sparkle loving heart too. So I stuck mini versions of Sugar Skulls and Rapunzel Had Extensions in my basket and, when my order arrived, found a free sample of Nepenthe too. And I couldn't be happier with them.

It was quite hard to capture their colours and the sparkle levels on camera, so here they are under different angles.

Aren't they just beautiful? Rapunzel had extensions is described as 'pale pink with a stunning brilliant light gold highlight- one of our all time best selling shades'. I can definitely see why it's so popular! Apart from the funky name, it's also super versatile as either a highlight shade or all over lid shade for a polished and luminous look. To my eye, it's definitely more of  a peachy pink, and the gold tones are very noticeable, especially in the light. Sugar skulls is described as a 'vibrant deep warm pink, with a glimmering copper-orange (not gold) highlight and sparkle'. Mhhm. It's a gorgeously unique coral pink which is a simply stunning colour for summer. I've never seen a shadow similar to it. Nepenthe is described as 'vivid, metallic Byzantium purple, unlike any of our existing shades. It's a warm bright purple, but still works on neutral or cool skin tones. Not lip safe'. Well who doesn't love a pop of purple? I have a tonne in my collection and this is by far my favourite. It definitely is 'bright' and makes a sweet change to the cool toned purple shadows out there. Anyway, swatches!  

 The following swatches are applied over bare skin just to show how they look alone, but foiled with a wet brush or over a primer they seriously POP.





fyrinnae eyeshadow- Rapunzel had extentions

Fyrinnae eyeshadow- sugar skulls

fyrinnae eyeshadow- nepenthe

Hopefully you get some idea of the prettiness from those swatches, but seriously, the quality is up there too. They're a kind of 'semi-loose' shadow, in the sense that they aren't totally powdery and do 'stick' a little, and that means they last longer than the average loose shadow and there isn't so much fallout during application (though there will be some unless you use a base). They're also super blendable and not chalky or gritty at all. And as another bonus, most of them are lip safe! Basically, unless stated otherwise in the description- as with Nepenthe above- they're A-Okay for lip use. Obviously I'm chuffed at this. There are loads of ways you can wear them on your pout. Fyrinnae's Pixie Epoxy (sticky shadow base) is lip safe, so you could use that and just pat the shadows on. You could mix with gloss. Dab it over lipstick as a highlight. Anything, really. Below, I just patted it over lip balm and it stuck right on and STAYED on with no transfer or fading until I wiped it off myself. I used Sugar Skulls all over and Rapunzel had extensions as a cupid's bow highlight. What fun! You can get really creative with all sorts of colours and blends and techniques.



The other product I wanted to share was their finishing powder. Initially, I received a small free sample of it. I loved it so much that I went back to buy the full size. Mine is in the shade Hollywood Sorcery.

You can't really see the delicate shimmer in it from the pictures (in fact it's pretty hard to see in person unless you angle it to the light), but it's there. It's not glitter, it's not sparkle. Just a subtle luminous sheen. This is different to a highlighter (Fyrinnae do those too) in that it's meant to be brushed all over the face just to add radiance and soft glow, pulling the complexion together. It sets makeup well and gives a soft focus effect that looks really natural. It's also really sheer, so don't worry about the colour not suiting you. This one will work for a wide range of tones, though there is a darker one too, called 'Bollywood sorcery'. Overall, I recommend!

Can you tell I love this brand? Ugh. Watch this space, because you can bet I'll be hauling some more. The shadows are priced at $6.75 full size and $2.75 for the mini samples, and the finishing powder costs $7 dollars at full price and $1.50 in sample size. STEALS.

xx

fyrinnae lip lustres- review and swatches.

I've had my Fyrinnae lip lustres for quite a while now and have really loved them. I always intended to review them, but I just never got round to it. So what finally pushed me? Well, rumour has it, they're going to be discontinued and replaced with liquid to matte and traditional lipsticks. NOOOOO. I really hope it is just a rumour, because these lip lustres are among the most unique lip products I own (though obviously I'm looking forward to the brand's newer releases too). But if it is true, I don't have long to convince you guys that they're awesome and you need them in your life before they're gone forever. Right. Here goes.

   Fyrinnae is an indie brand that sells gorgeous makeup in a rainbow of colours and is refreshingly inclusive, appealing to all genders, races and sexualities. It's really great to see their swatches against dark skin or beards. So far, they've been mostly known for their eye shadows and lip lustres and the cult status shimmer shadow fixer, Pixie Epoxy. However, they now also sell blushers (most are lip safe), matte and shimmer bronzes, illuminating finishing powders, highlighters, primers, and liquid to matte lipsticks, with regular lipsticks soon to make their debut. All products are vegan, the brand is honest and ethical, and the products are of a high quality. But off everything I've tried so far, the lip lustres have to be my favourite.

   But what exactly are they? Well, as I said, they're real unique. They're sort of a semi solid light weight lip colour in tube packaging. There are all sorts of funky colours with funky names, and they can be bought in trial sizes so you can test the ccolours. Some are more sheer, some more opaque. Some have shimmer, some are shimmer free. Here, have a look at mine.



Fyrinnae lip lustres- burrowing owl (sample size), ghostly voice, ghost's kiss, dragon's blood

and in reverse order: dragon's blood, ghost's kiss, ghostly voice, burrowing owl

       The formula on these is as fabulous as it is unique. Very. It glides onto your lips like a thin layer of silk and doesn't settle into lines or bleed, and feels comfortable and lightly hydrating through wear. And it's somehow so lightweight. It doesn't even feel like you have anything on your lips. For those of you who hate heavy, tacky or thick lip products- these will change your life. So onto the colours.

 

Burrowing Owl- described on the site as 'cool violet with a grey-mauve hue. May appear somewhat more purple depending on the natural lip colour, and not as cool. Sheer, slightly metallic finish, but no sparkle'. On me, it looks very violet-grey-mauve applied sheer, but built up with a few more coats, it looks almost navy with a smidgen of purple. This is such a unique shade and I wish I'd bought a full size. You can definitely pull on the tones you want by pairing with a lipliner. I like to wear it full on navy-ish at home, but being a whimp, if I'm going out,  I tend to bring out the purple tones with a smidge of pink liner rubbed in to make it more wearable.

 

Ghostly Voice- described on the site as 'silvery with a greenish cast, this semi sheer Lustre changes to a rose-pink hue as it gets close to light. In low light, or over dark lipstick, the effect tends to show up even more'. How cool! This one makes me feel like a space mermaid creature thing. As suggested, it is great for experimentation and layering with other lipsticks. I do think that it would be more accurate to describe it as 'duochrome' rather than 'colour changing' though, because you won't see any kind of magical metamorphosis. What you will get, though, is a dynamic colour with shifting tones as it catches the light.

 

Ghost's Kiss-  I actually can't find the description of this one on the sight- probably it's out of stock- so I'll tell you what it looks like to me. It's a medium pigmented nude peach with gold and pink shimmer (not glitter). It is absolutely bloody gorgeous, and it simply GLOWS. I think it's probably the most wearable of the shades I own, and is a great luminous and dynamic alternative to the boring standards nudes out there.

 

Dragon's Blood- described on the site as a 'deep, rich, maroon red'. Rich is the word. This shade is fully opaque and is absolutely stunning. No shimmer, just beautiful blood red. I love this one as a winter shade- it's got an almost jewel like quality to it. Unfortunately, I couldn't quite capture the depth or the darkness of it on my shitty camera as it bleached out the colour, so you're just gonna have to trust me on this one.

 

SWATCHES!

fyrinnae lip lustres- ghost's kiss, burrowing owl, ghostly voice, dargon's blood

   Oh, one final note. As mentioned, these are a semi solid product and are prone to stiffening a little in the tube. If you find you're struggling to get much colour out, try warming the tube a little. It'll do wonders. The lip lustres are available from fyrinnae.com and are priced at a BARGAINOUS $7, so hurry up and snag them in case they become extinct forever.

xx

MUA Power Pout Acrylic lip colour: review and swatches

 Well. It's been a long time since I've blogged. Sorry about that. It was exam season at uni, see, and that's a good excuse. But fear not, for I have (obviously) managed to accumulate a shit tonne of lip products in that time.

Today's spotlight is on budget brand MUA's new Power Pout Acrylic lip colour, in the shade 'unwrapped'. This comes in six shades as part of the new summer collection, priced at £3.50. There are also six shades of a Power Pout 'glaze' product, which is basically a gloss, but these 'acrylic' shades are meant to be pigmentation central.

And they are. 

One dip of the doefoot gave me full, opaque coverage on both lips, and the applicator was firm enough to define the edges of the lip without the need for a lip brush. Seriously. The colour you see on the tube is the colour you'll get on your pout. I used a minimal amount of product for my swatch below so it set to a satin-cream finish, but you can definitely build it to a more glossy effect. 

'Unwrapped' is a pale, somewhat milky peachy pink nude shade. I like the shade but I think I'd use a lipliner to maker work better against by skin tone. As for the formula, personally, I'd categorise it as a liquid lipstick because it's so much more pigmented than a gloss and lasts a long time too. Thankfully, it didn't dry my lips out, have an odd smell, or have any stickiness to it at all. 

mua power pout acrylic- unwrapped

mua power pout acrylic- unwrapped

It's a big yes from me. Will you be trying out a shade or two?  x