Glamour Doll Eyes Swatches/Reviews

So Vanessa of Glamour Doll Eyes was kind enough to send me some sample jars of eyeshadow to review, so what follows are swatches and my own opinions of the shadows I received.

Vanessa allowed me to go through the website and pick out the shades I wanted to check out, which was quite difficult as I was lusting after quite a few of them. After much debate I decided on the following shades:

Heedless Heart
Undead
Fiji Mermaid
Veteran
Tattooed
Stellar

Onward with the swatches! They were all swatched over Nyx Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk (please excuse the edges where you can see the base peaking out).

As for quality, they all went on quite nicely, very smooth and are beautifully pigmented. Please note the shades with blue-ish bases do tend to stain (which is very typical).

Description from the website:

Heedless Heart is an almost metallic rose gold.

I saw Heedless Heart on the website and knew I had to have it in my life, I can never have enough rose gold and this one is absolutely gorgeous! Look at how metallic that looks in the photos! It's easily one of my absolute favorites of the bunch. Spoiler alert! I'm actually wearing this one today. Just lovely!

Description from the website:

Undead is a black with red undertones/sheen, however, some have said that it as a maroonish color to it.

This one also went on smoothly, just look how pigment it is! I definitely agree that this color comes off as a very deep maroon and I think this would be absolutely fantastic as a liner.

Description from the website:

Fiji Mermaid - this greenish blue tells the story of a commonly used sideshow act. The Fiji Mermaid is alive and real with with green shimmer undertones, reminiscent of scales. 

This one is such an intense color! I agree with the description, this definitely reminds me of scales. This one is also one of my favorites (I'm a sucker for blue-ish greens and green-ish blues), and I can't wait to actually wear it. 

Description from the website:

Veteran is a shimmery dark navy blue with lots of red sparkle. 

This is a beautiful straight up blue, and I think this one is aptly named. The red sparkles are a very nice touch and of course almost look to lean purple just because they are against the blue. I think the shimmer is done really well with this one, not too heavily done so the blue can really shine. Just beautiful.

Description from the website:

Tattooed is a very unique blend of matte and shimmer. This color includes a bright blue mixed with a gorgeous shimmery purple. 

This one wasn't quite as smoothly applied as the others (as you can see with the slight patchiness), but still a beautiful combination of colors and still very intensely pigmented. Lately I've been on a purple kick, so this definitely helped fill that need.

Description from the website:

Stellar is a very unique blend of matte and shimmer. This color includes a matte black mixed with a shimmery pink and purple.

This is another one that would be a fantastic liner. Intensely pigmented and comes across as a very dark purple with shimmer. When I applied it, I was actually a bit surprised by how dark it ended up being since it looks a bit brighter in the jar (not that this is a con AT ALL). This is a very beautiful shadow.

Final thoughts: I'm very happy with the choices I made on shadows and I will definitely be placing an order with Glamour Doll Eyes in the future. They are absolutely lovely and have such beautiful pigmentation. Like other loose shadows, fallout is present with these. Also, these were done over the Nyx Jumb Eye Pencil in Milk so there would be a sticky base for them to adhere to and to really show off the shimmer. If anybody's interested I could do bare skin swatches as well, just let me know!

Thanks for reading!

Disclaimer: These were free from Glamour Doll Eyes but the opinions are my own and the fact that they were free didn't alter my opinions.

Darling Girl Eyeshadow Leaking Jar Fix

Earlier today in r/indiemakeupandmore it was pointed out the slight leaking issue that the Darling Girl square eyeshadow jars have (reference post). Now, I'd noticed this before, but it wasn't that huge of a deal in my particular case. It might have helped that I left the sifters in the jars as they didn't bother me too much (I know there are some people who hate them, which is a completely valid opinion and personal preference), but nonetheless I had always noticed that when opening the jar there was always a bit of eyeshadow that inevitably ended up around the threads of the jar and falling out causing a bit of a mess and just a waste of product. Decided to see if I could possibly find a solution to this issue and tried putting teflon plumber's tape (which is usually applied to threaded pipes/fittings to seal them better and has also been known to help sealing up perfume sample vials for shipping) on the threading of the jar to see if I could get a tighter seal. I documented the process below in case anybody wanted to see my results.

Teflon tape is VERY cheap (easily less than two bucks) and can be found at any store that has even a minimal DIY section.

Now, I wrapped the tape around about 3 times and it seemed I got a much tighter and more secure feeling seal on the jar. 

Prior to putting the teflon tape on, closing and opening the jar always felt a bit... gritty/rough, like it wasn't seated quite right. Afterwards, the lid seemed to close much more easily it was no longer rough feeling at all. And it also seemed like it could take another layer or so of teflon without ending up with too much.

Now I know it's not the best looking or the most ideal way to handle the situation, and I obviously haven't done thorough testing, but it preliminary results are quite promising and maybe this would help out anybody whose been having similar issues who doesn't want to move the product into different jars. It didn't take very long and it didn't cost much, so I'd recommend at least trying it. Let me know if you do and how it worked out for you or if you find a better solution!

Thanks for reading!

Patience is Not My Forte

So I've been quiet on the blogging front for a bit, I was on vacation all of last week and got back this past Sunday and my much awaited Victorian Disco Cosmetics order was not in my mailbox.

Now admittedly my tie fighter argyle socks were waiting for me (http://ianleino.com/shop/argyle-fighters-socks), but that wasn't my long awaited largest purchase of indie eyeshadows yet. So Monday I contacted Ashley again (now that she has also returned from vacation) and let her know my order still hadn't arrived and the tracking still showed USPS had only received the notification for shipping. She quickly let me know she had contacted USPS last week about it and had gotten absolutely no response from them and reassured me she would be contacting them again, but in the meantime would repackage my order and get it out the following day (now yesterday). I hate being in the situation where she did ship the order, but USPS has just lost it, and now she'll be out another order because of them. It really stinks for all parties involved. This order in particular was placed on May 9th, I got my shipping notification on May 28th and obviously still haven't received it.

Well, to console myself, I placed my large order of Shiro products. I scoured the website and just ordered every single eyeshadow that I wanted. I also picked up the color of the months that I wanted and obviously missed out on when they first came out since I've only been aware of the indie cosmetic scene since April.

The shadows I grabbed are:

Full sizes:
Butts (COTM)
Doge (COTM)
Still No Oscar for Leo DiCaprio (COTM)
What Does the Fox Say? (COTM)
You Snow Nothing (COTM)
Jareth's Tight Pants (COTM)
Yzma's Essence of Llama (COTM)

Samples:
The Complete Seven Kingdoms Collection
When the Thrush Knocks
War of Five Armies
King Under the Mountain
Lingered in Twilight
Farewell, Wherever You Fare
Attercop, Attercop
An Unexpected Party
A Regular Bears' Meeting
A Push in the Right Direction
Burdened with Glorious Purpose
Genius Billionaire Playboy Philanthropist
Enormous Green Rage Monster
Glowstick of Destiny
He Loves His Hammer
I Understood That Reference
That Man is Playing Galaga
Kraken
You Dropped Your Rod
I'll Move That For You
A Terrible Fate
Epona
Ganondorf
Kokiri Emerald
Hero of Ages
Zora Sapphire
Triforce
Ditto
Flamethrower
Baker's Boy
Star-Crossed

So yeah, that was a pretty big/pricey order. I'll also need to pick up some more empty jars before all of it arrives (luckily Michaels has a big sale going on this weekend, 40% off your entire purchase on Sunday from 4 pm to 7 pm).

I also purchased samples from a fellow reddit user that was a mish mash of eyeshadow samples that I haven't swatched properly yet that I need to post (hopefully this weekend I'll be able to catch up).

I'll probably continue to be a bit silent on the swatching front for the rest of the week as I'm working on a painting for my father-in-law's birthday which is approaching a bit fast, so I need to get it in the mail to him soon. I'm also going try and post a couple of my paintings on here soon for CC. I'm a relatively new painter, used to draw all the time from elementary school through high school, then just fell out of it and never had really painted much. So I'm still learning and figuring out techniques and whatnot, but critiques are definitely welcome. I'm also thinking of moving from acrylics to oils (dat blending), but have been spending all my spare money on cosmetics... so yeah.

Let me know what you think of the eyeshadows I've ordered from Shiro, if you happen to have some of them, feel free to share swatches! Thanks for reading this wordy post!

I'll end this post with one of my earlier paintings:

Small Shiro Haul/Swatches!

Sorry for the blogging break, the husband and I are trying to wrap everything up at home with our various projects and whatnot before we head to Indiana for a week to visit family for a much needed vacation (yay!).

So Shiro was the very first indie order I purchased because I had read so many rave reviews. I've already got a much larger order planned out to place before the end of this month (grabbing some COTM's and most likely the Seven Kingdoms and Hobbit Collection) but wanted to start with a smaller order for my first so I placed an order on May 5th for full sizes of Legendary, Missingno, The Fourth Be With You and Plausible Walrus. The order was placed right after the anniversary sale, so the TAT was quite long due to the huge amount of orders placed then. The order shipped May 30th and I received it on June 3rd.

The package came with candy and two free samples (Steve and Snake). I was very excited to receive Steve because that one happened to be on my wishlist already.

Onwards with the swatches!

Here's all of them together, they were swatched over NYX Milk and bare skin.

Steve is such a gorgeous blue, fantastic pigmentation, lovely application.

I'm not too sure how much I will end of using this one actually, but it has some great pigmentation, and applied very smoothly, definitely not an everyday color.

I'm sure most people already own this shade as it was the freebie gift for most anniversary sale orders, but I swatched it anyway. Gorgeous green, just as pigmented as the other shadows and the label is just fantastic! This is another one that wouldn't be an everyday type shadow, but still lovely.

This is a gorgeous bright pink/coral-ish color. I can see why so many people are getting the custom lip gloss from Shiro in this shade. Lovely shimmer to it, beautifully pigmented and goes on like a dream. I might have to jump on the lip gloss bandwagon with this one.

Missingno and Legendary were both being discontinued so I had to pick them up. This is a fantastic black eyeshadow with awesome sparkles throughout it. Goes on smoothly and I'll probably get a lot of use out of this one.

As mentioned before, this one has been discontinued so I had to buy it and am so glad I did. Look at that swatch, it's gorgeous, even over bare skin. Love this one, wearing it today and it just looks lovely.

That's the end of my Shiro swatches. I still need to post about my larger Notoriously Morbid order, and I also have a Victorian Disco order I'm anxiously waiting on. Ended up messaging back and forth with the owner about the status of my order as it still hasn't arrived and it shipped before all of my other orders. I know she had issues with tracking numbers for a few orders, so I contacted her wondering if mine was one of the ones messed up. Looks like it hasn't been and either it's still accidentally sitting around her shop or USPS is just dropping the ball (which I think is way more likely). She has assured me she's looking into it and is being very helpful about the whole situation. It was my largest order ever placed though, hence me being so excited to get it. Plus, I was really hoping to get it before leaving for Indiana this Saturday.

I guess we'll just see how that goes.

Thanks for reading!

*Disclaimer: These products were purchased by me and these opinions are solely my own.

Darling Clandestine Haul/First Impressions!

So my Darling Clandestine (https://www.etsy.com/shop/darlingclandestine) order was one of the five packages that arrived yesterday and I did the usual first impressions/review thing where I get the husband to participate and let me know what he smells.

Now, when I was working on placing my order, I wasn't sure what all scents I would like and I was curious if she offered samples, so I messaged her on Etsy and got a very quick response from her. She created a reserved listing of 3 samples for me and helped me pick out scent choices for those and the 3 pack of bitsies I ordered. Evonne was absolutely fantastic on helping me out and I highly recommend buying from her if you haven't yet.

I placed the order on May 14th, and she doesn't send shipping notifications, but I checked my Etsy order details page pretty much everyday to see if it had shipped. It shipped on May 27th (within her TAT) and I received it June 2nd. The envelope it was shipped in had a little shark stamped on it (AWESOME) and the vials were wrapped in paper and the bitsies were in one bag and the samples in the another. Also, there was candy (squeeee)! The samples had little tickets on them for labels (adooorable), but I realize the problem with them when I took the below photo:

I had taken the labels off so I could get photos of them easily... and then I went to grab up the samples... and what did I do!? That's right, this girl right here, *points thumbs at self,* proceeded to pick up the samples without putting the tags on and put them in one of the little baggies... So yeah, that happened. I tried to get them out of the bag in the order I put them in and put the tags on them, but I'm pretty sure I did it wrong :/ so I tried to figure out when smelling them which was which (spoiler alert: not sure if I matched them up with the right labels, uuuugh).

So onwards to the first impression/cold sniffs!

First up, the samples! I ordered samples in Inked, Morderteile Kelah and Small Saga.

Inked: A sting of sea salt and leather, splashes of communion wine, the essence of raw skin. Inked is one of my favorite little sex machines. Unisex---smells amazing on gents and bold ladies.

My First Impression: Sharp, outside? Can't put my finger on it.

His First Impression: Good soap, maybe leather?

Other Notes: I don't hate this one, it's a beautifully complex scent (honestly all of these are) and it's lovely. It's very interesting. Will hopefully have more of an opinion after a test wear.

Morderteile Kelah: A magnificent perfume inspired by a magnificent lady with magnificent knockers. Notes of amber, hyacinth, milk and strawberry jam. Spicy and sweet.

My First Impression: Sharp, green? Fresh, salt?

His First Impression: Potpourri, hint of sandalwood? flowers?

Other Notes: I'm really pissed that I mixed up the labels, I mean come on, how was I silly enough to do that?! This one is nice, I tried this one on one arm last night and Small Saga on the other, and really enjoyed them both. They both have similar spiciness to them and surprisingly I really do like them both. Now if I only knew which was actually which.

Small Saga: With notes of green figs and tea and cream and apricot wine, this scent opens deceptively sweet and creamy but then unfolds its complex layers and settles in a mellow, woody finish.

My First Impression: Delicious and spicy, kind of creamy?

His First Impression: Cream/Orange?

Other Notes: This one I think edges out "Morderteile Kelah" as it has more sweetness to it. It's absolutely lovely, the spice and the sweetness mixes so nicely.

On to the bitsies!






I got bitsies in Carny Wedding, Circassian and Falchion. Luckily these aren't mixed up so no worries on that front! (sidenote, I love the little stamped labels).

Carny Wedding: Opens with butter and sugar, unfolds to a tangy, charred wood resin, ends in a puff of sweet smoke.

My First Impression: Caramel, smoke and butter

His First Impression: Manly, wood smoke and leather

Other Notes: This one is lovely, the smoke doesn't seem too overpowering on first sniff, the butter and sweetness is at the forefront. I like this one a lot and can't wait to see how it does on a drydown.

Circassian: Bitter black coffee, spiced chocolate, ceremonial resins, with an intriguing floral note.

My First Impression: Coffee, spice and chocolate

His First Impression: Chocolate syrup

Other Notes: This is another great scent. The coffee and chocolate are very strong and at the forefront.

Falchion: Described as “sex in a bottle,” and often. Unisex---smells amazing on gents and bold ladies. Dark, earthy, sultry, musky, with a bit of chocolate. Best loved in the fall, when there’s that electric charge in the air and you want to run off and do exciting things with exciting ghouls. Contains cinnamon leaf, and does open with a cinnamony kick.

My First Impression: Manly, dark, chocolate?

His First Impression: Caramel and chocolate syrup

Other Notes: This one is really really nice. It does just smell dark and sultry. The description for this one is just spot on.

Final Comments: Overall, very very satisfied with this purchase! I didn't hate any of the scents! And actually on the edge of loving them all, but won't know for sure until I wear them. It was a fantastic ordering experience and can't wait to wear them all and see about placing another order!

*Disclaimer: I bought these products with my own money and the above opinions are mine.*

Geekton Abbey Haul/Swatches!

Getting home from work yesterday and finding 5 little packages shoved into my little mailbox was awesome! Only had tracking on three of those items and only two of those said they were out for delivery that day. All of my major indie eyeshadow and perfume purchases have now shown up (except for my largest order, Victorian Disco Cosmetics, which should be showing up any day now). I received orders from Geekton Abbey (a very new store on Etsy by a fellow redditor), Darling Clandestine, Shiro, Notoriously Morbid and a purchase of a perfume from a redditor looking to destash. I was so excited I started opening them right away and took basic product photos of all I received and will be (hopefully) splitting up my swatches/reviews of them over the next few days.

This particular post is focused on a brand new entry into the indie cosmetics scene by redditor GeektonAbbey. She posted on r/indiemakeupandmore about her new Etsy shop (https://www.etsy.com/shop/GeektonAbbey) which featured a collection inspired by MST3K, which of course I purchased samples of right away and received two free samples for her latest yet unreleased Breaking Bad collection. I placed the order on May 28th, got a response from her thanking me for the order and letting me know she would be in touch through every step of the ordering process (which was very awesome of her to do). The order shipped on May 30th (awesome 2 day TAT) and I received it yesterday, June 2nd. 

The samples were nicely wrapped in this tissue paper and included a lovely handwritten note thanking me for my purchase and explaining the free samples.

Her samples are stated as being 1/2 tsp and as you can see, these baggies are very full, and now typing this out, I should take a photo of the jars I decanted them into to compare them to my Shiro and Notoriously Morbid samples. I may tack that onto this post later.

Onward to the swatches! The top of each swatch is over Darling Girl Primped and Primed Eye Primer.

The shadows are gorgeous, very pigmented and go on like a dream! I got a little over excited about swatching Yeah Science so I fumbled the brush a bit and ended up with some fallout landing in various spots in the other swatches, ooops.

Individual photos:

The Breaking Bad reference is spot on for this one, absolutely perfect. This one was the least pigmented of the set, it took several swipes to get it this way, but it's still lovely.

I've got a soft spot for blues, so this is easily tied for my favorite. I'm wearing this one today alongside Crow (which is next) and it is just so vibrant. 

I love me some coppery/gold eyeshadow and this one is so vibrant and went on like a dream! Even over the bareskin is was so pigmented. Absolutely love this one.

I'm not the biggest fan of purples, but I'm slowly realizing they growing on me, and I will end up ordering more purples in my future orders. This one is such a lovely purple-pink and just like the others, had a very smooth application.

This one is gorgeous! Very fiery and looks like it performs best over primer. This one took only one swipe to look like his.

I was expecting a bit more green from this one because of how it appeared in the baggie, despite knowing it's silver from the description on the Etsy page. This one took 2 swipes and really shines over the primer the most, but is still a great silvery shade. This one will get a lot of use from me.

So that was the last of the swatches from that order. I will be adding this Etsy store to my watch list to keep an eye on for new shadows. It was a pleasure to purchase from her and I am beyond satisfied with the beautiful shadows.

*Disclaimer: These were bought with my own money and these opinions are mine.*

Darling Girl Haul/Swatches

I received my Darling Girl order yesterday! I placed the order on May 15th and it shipped on May 23rd and I received it on the 27th. This is my first time doing swatches so please forgive the not so perfect swatches.

My order consisted of the following:

Primped and Primed Eyelid Primer

Bronze Dawn

Frankenstein

London Calling

GWP: Hail Hydra

Free sample: Forbidden Flame

*I forgot to include the photo of the order itself (packaging, etc) but I'll add it to this post when I get a chance to this evening.*

The swatches below were done with the upper half of the swatches done over the Primped and Primed Primer (which went on very nicely) and the bottom half is just bare skin.

Now for more photos and comments on each shadow.

I wasn't super excited about this color when I read about it being the GWP, but I gotta say, this is just lovely. It went on very smoothly, and the duochrome just looks gorgeous. Seems very similar to Bronze Dawn (the red base in Bronze Dawn seems more prominent).

This is yet another lovely shade, it's just gorgeous, and went on like a dream. Very well pigmented and I just love the gold/orange shimmer/glitter.

Frankenstein also went on very smoothly, this is an interesting one, it doesn't stand out as much as the others, but it's lovely all the same. Gorgeous gold shimmer! I feel like this is one I'll end up using quite a bit.

London Calling is supposed to be similar to Fyrinnae's Mephisto. Unfortunately I don't have Mephisto in order to compare, but this is just beautiful! Look at that coppery duochrome. I'm not sure how practical it is for an everyday look, but I do absolutely love this one. Also, the blue base on this one stained just a tiny bit, but nothing too terrible.

Forbidden Flame:

No photo of the container for this one as it was a sample, but this is a very lovely matte shade. It's extremely pigmented, buttery and I think this would actually work well with or without a primer.

Final notes: Fantastic products! I'm actually using the Primped and Primed Primer today and will report back on how well it wore/lasted compared to my usual Urban Decay Primer. All of these eyeshadows (minus Forbidden Flame) seem to work best over a primer (which I definitely expected). I was very satisfied with the amounts I received in the jars and with the amount in the sample bag (enough for SEVERAL uses considering the pigmentation). I'm so glad my first foray into indie eyeshadows went this well! I will be ordering from Darling Girl again!

If anybody has suggestions on other products I need to have, please feel free to let me know!

Thanks!

*Disclaimer: I purchased these products myself and these opinions are my own*

Solstice Scents Haul/Review

So I got my order from Solstice Scents. When I placed the order, the scents sounded right up my alley, so I was waiting quite impatiently for them to arrive, even with the very quick TAT and shipping time.

I placed the order on May 20th, it shipped on the 21st and it arrived on the 24th. I did the same thing for this order as I did for the Haus of Gloi order, my husband and I both smelled them without having read the descriptions, and we tried to figure out what it is we were smelling. I've included the description for the perfumes as well as our first impressions and other general comments about each.

What I received:

The Foxcroft Collection (Sample size) which includes:
     Minister
     Sycamore Sugarworks
     Covered Bridge
     Blackburn's Parlor
     Maplewood Inn
     Maine Moon

And samples in the following:
     Snowmint Mallow (free)
     Sugarvale
     Dark Ginger Spicecake (free)

Minister: Sandalwood, Amber, Cassia, Elemi, Sweet Smoke & Somalian Frankincense

My First Impression: Spicy? Possibly sandalwood?

His First Impression: Musky/Creamy undertone w/ smoother floral finish

Other Comments: This one is a fairly masculine scent, it's not too bad. Very spicy smelling, very intriguing smell. I'll give it a test wear, but it does seem masculine so I'll seen how that goes.

Sycamore Sugarworks: Caramelized Pear Tarts, Banana Apple Muffins, Spice Cakes With Rum Glaze, Cream Puffs & Maple Walnut PastriesMy First Impression: Vanilla cake, sugar, hint of spice

His First Impression: Sugary Cake

Other Comments: This smells delicious, I haven't worn it yet, but I already love it. Can't wait to see how it wears. Very rich, very gourmand. Absolutely lovely and will probably end up buying full size if it wears well.

Covered Bridge: Woods, Moss, Leaves, Wood Smoke, Dirt, Ozone, Fir AbsoluteMy First Impression: Woody, Green? Sharp.

His First Impression: Minty/Grass

Other Comments: This is definitely what outside smells like, I don't really dig that type of smell, as I lean more towards the creamier/foodie smells. This is nice and a very accurate description. I will definitely give it a test wear.

Blackburn's Parlor: Vanilla Waffle Bowl, Vanilla & Chocolate Ice Creams, Sliced Bananas Smothered In Caramel Sauce & Topped With Whipped CreamMy First Impression: Waffle cone, caramel

His First Impression: Fruit, cherry vanilla

Other Comments: This is lovely as well, the banana definitely comes out but blends very nicely with all the vanilla, and the hint of caramel comes out nicely as well. Already did a test wear of this and it doesn't seem to last a huge amount of time (got several hours out of it) but it smells so good, I'm not even bothered by that. Will probably buy a full size of this.

Maplewood Inn: Maple, Woods, Amber, Benzoin, A Roaring Fire & A Hot Cup of Frothy Vanilla ChaiMy First Impression: Maple and wood smoke

His First Impression: Leaves, fir and musk

Other Comments: I can definitely smell the smoke the most. It's very heavy, so beware if you aren't fond of smoke. I test wore this, and it really seems to amp up the smokiness. The hint of maple definitely falls by the wayside a bit more than I wish it would. Wanted this one to be my favorite but alas, I think this is just an occasional scent.

Main Moon: Crisp Fall Air, Wood Smoke, Leather Seats & Concessions of Root Beer, Popcorn & Chocolate Covered CaramelsMy First Impression: Earthy, root beer?

His First Impression: Pecans, vanilla cookie, chocolate?

Other Comments: Hmmmm, not sure I much care for this. I could see it turning into something much nicer with wear (which I haven't done yet), but I could also see absolutely hating this one.

Snowmint Mallow: Peppermint, Vanilla Cake, Flaked Coconut, Sugar Cookies & Marshmallow Creme

My First Impression: Creamy peppermint, after dinner mints

His First Impression: Mint, syrup on something, savory, cookie/chocolate, mint chocolate chip

Other Comments: This one is fantastic. So far it's my favorite, I will be placing an order for this one in full size. It smells very similar to those awesome butter cream after dinner mints that just melt in your mouth. This one doesn't seem to last more than a few hours, but it smells so heavenly, so eh.

Sugarvale: Candied Pecans, Butterscotch, Buttered Rum, Brown Sugar, Maple Syrup, Hot Pralines & Milk Chocolate Cocoa

My First Impression: vanilla, maple, very sweet

His First Impression: Candied something, cake or caramel, saltiness?

Other Comments: This one is absolutely delicious. I haven't worn it yet, but I know I'm going to love it. It's very very rich smelling and just plain mmmmmmm. Will be ordering full size.

Dark Ginger Spicecake: Gingerbread, Woodsy Musk, Patchouli EO and Vetiver EO
My First Impression: Gingerbread, mmmmm 

His First Impression: Leaves? Very sharp.

Other Comments: This one is a very sharp smell. Will be an interesting test wear. Not completely decided yet, but hoping the gingerbread comes out a bit more.

Final thoughts: I really enjoyed most of the scents from this order. Several I will be placing an order for full sizes, the ordering experience was fantastic as well as the TAT. The package came very nicely wrapped, the samples were in little baggies in case of spillage, the themed cards that came with it were very nicely done, and overall I'm very impressed.

I should be receiving an small order from Darling Girl tomorrow, so look for my next post to include swatches/reviews of that haul which should include the Primped and Primed Eye Lid Primer & Eyeshadows in Frankenstein, Bronze Dawn and London Calling.

Thanks for reading!

Haus of Gloi Perfume Haul/First Impressions

I already posted this to one of my favorite subreddits, r/indiemakeupandmore, but I figured it would be appropriate here as well.

This was my first ever perfume purchase, so please excuse the inability to pick out the specific notes in each one.

As far as buying from Haus of Gloi, it was a fantastic experience, placed the order on May 6th, it shipped out on May 7th, received it on May 13th (originally it was supposed to be delivered on May 10th, but USPS was being wishy washy which is typical for them in my experience).

For the first impressions, I had my husband smell them (as did I) and give me his opinion on what it smelled like and I have noted them below alongside comments about each of the oils. Also, for the first impressions, we didn't read what it was actually supposed to smell like beforehand (except of course what I had read when I ordered it) so it was a blind test. As this was actually written before I had worn any other than Splendiferious and Cozy Sweater, I've included an updated opinion on each of them since I've now had a chance to wear them.

Depravity: A bewitching blend of clove, nutmeg and coconut, on a bed of rich golden amber, sandalwood and spilled wine.

My first impression: Spicy Winter/Autumn, not really sure

His first impression: Sandalwood

Other comments: This one is interesting, very spicy smell, definitely reminded me of cooler weather, I couldn't pick out the individual notes at all, (was very impressed with my husband as he immediately said "sandalwood!") it's not one of my favorites (also not one of my least), but I'll be interested in seeing how it wears.

Updated opinion: I don't like it. Not even a little bit. The spices verge on giving me a headache and overall remind me of an old lady and/or wet leaves. Will be gifting this to someone else or trying to trade it with someone. Feel free to contact me if interested.

Splendiferous: White cake, lemon zest glaze and sugared violets.

My first impression: Some sort of candy, reminiscent of gum drops? and baby powder

His first impression: Fruity baby powder

Other comments: I very strongly got baby powder in the beginning, and after reading the description, could pick out the cake more and the hint of lemon, it still smells very powdery. This was one of the scents I found more favorable, I'm actually wearing it today and the baby powder smell is still there but is mellowing nicely to a creamier cake smell. I'm still on the fence, I'm not a huge fan of smelling like baby powder, but it's growing on me.

Updated opinion: I just don't like it. It gave me a headache. Will trade away.

Twice is Nice: Buttery sugar cookie, with shavings of creamy coconut and topped with toasted almond slivers.

My first impression: Crisper sugar cookie

His first impression: Vanilla Cake

Other comments: This is one I found intriguing, I think it's the toasted almond mixed with the coconut that smelled sharper than I expected this one to. I want to wear this and see if morphs to a stronger sugar cookie smell.

Updated opinion: LOVE THIS. The sharpness that bothered me from a cold sniff goes away almost immediately when I put it on and it's just a fantastic smell. This will probably end up being a full size purchase.

Elvenses: Fluffy little orange cakes, sugar coated toasty almonds and a wee steaming cup of black tea.

My first impression: grassy/earthy, maybe some tea?

His first impression: smoky earthy moss/grass

At first, I definitely got the grassy smell, after reading the description and re-smelling, I could pick out the orange and the toasted almonds moreso, I think the mix of those gave me the impression of the sharper smell of grass/earth. Interesting mix, not one of my favorites so far, but I am curious to see how it wears.

Updated opinion: I hated this when I first put it on (it gave me a MASSIVE headache), but after wearing it, it mellowed out and became more pleasant and the headache went away, then came back stronger than ever a bit later... Will probably trade away.

Vice: Steam billows rolling off a vessel of fresh made Turkish coffee, marshmallow goo tainted by graham cracker crumbs, toasted hazelnuts and blanketed in black chocolate.

My first impression: chocolate and coffee

His first impression: coffee, caramel and smoke

Other comments: I love this one. It's a very rich and dark smell, definitely smell the coffee and the dark chocolate very strongly, couldn't really pick out the marshmallow and graham cracker, but that might be something that comes out more with wear. It's just so rich and luxurious it's almost a bit intimidating, but I think I shall end up wearing this one one day this week and this might end up as a full size purchase.

Updated opinion: This one wore very well, but it didn't seem to last as long as others I've tried... Will definitely wear it again, it's very lovely and dark smelling. Not sure if it's a full size purchase or not... I'll have to try it again.

Satyr: Italian blood orange drizzled with a blackened vanilla.

My first impression: citrus with hint of mint?

His first impression: citrus-y mint

Other comments: After reading the description, I could better pick out the vanilla, I will definitely be giving this one a wear although I'm not usually a fan of citrus.

Updated opinion: This one mellowed out pretty nice and the vanilla came out more. I enjoyed it, will wear again, but I don't think it merits a full size purchase.

Honeysuckle Lemon Curd: Rich lemon curd with a touch of fresh honeysuckle.

My first impression: Definitely strong lemon, hint of sweet

His first impression: lemon

Other comments: Very strong lemon smell, with a hint of sweetness. Not much more to say about it, not one of my favorites, but not a least favorite either, will be interested to see if the honeysuckle comes out more with wear.

Updated opinion: The strong lemon mellowed out very nicely after about an hour of wear and the honeysuckle came out a lot more. I really like it and will consider full size.

Troika: A trinity of soft milks, almond, oat and coconut, lashed with sweet agave nectar and the ethereal scent of clean white.

My first impression: toasted almonds?

His first impression: Licorice with hint of cherry

Other comments: This one is interesting... I think the clean white smell contributes a... well, not quite soap smell, but a unnatural almost hotel type smell? I can't really put my finger on it, but whatever it is brings down an otherwise beautiful scent.

Updated opinion: The clean white note goes away pretty nicely shortly after putting it on. I like this one, it's pleasant, just not in love with it.

Litchi Milk Tea: Tart lychee fruit and black tea met with a splash of coconut milk.

My first impression: spicy/sharp, not sure

His first impression: warm and soap

Other comments: I think I just don't know what lychee fruit smells like so I couldn't really put my finger on it during the first impression smell. Not an unpleasant smell, will be curious if the sharpness tones done throughout the day.

Updated opinion: This one is just alright. Won't be purchasing full size. Might try to layer it with other scents.

Apothecary: Lemongrass, rosemary, blood cedar, sweet basil, lavender and the tiniest drop of vetiver.

My first impression: almost like pinesol... lemony?

His first impression: peppermint

Other comments: Was really hoping this one would blow me away, but during the first smell, I really did get a distinct pine-sol smell. Will definitely be giving it a test wear, but not sure how fond I am. Don't hate it, just on the fence I think.

Updated opinion: This one isn't terrible, I still don't like how it smells on first smell, but it morphs into something much nicer with wear. I will wear it again, but not a full size purchase.

Cozy Sweater: Pale skin musk, faded perfume, Egyptian amber, softly burning nag champa incense and a fine aged vanilla.

My first impression: a headshop/incense

His first impression: incense

Other comments: Ok, I freaking love this one. I had heard a lot about this here and on other blogs/websites and had heard it was being added to the general inventory after so many people liked it. So when I opened up my package and saw that was my free sample, I was ecstatic! First impression, definitely a headshop/incense, when opening the little vial I accidentally got some on my finger and couldn't stop smelling my hand afterwards. I ended up wearing it yesterday evening and loved it, it mellowed down from the straight up incense smell to something more subtle, the vanilla definitely came to the surface more as well as the amber (I think). I could still smell it when I woke up and even a bit after I had taken my morning shower. I'm not too sure how appropriate it would be for work, but I think I'm in love with it, will probably be buying a full size bottle when it's available.

Updated opinion: I actually think I like this one layered better. I can't remember which one I accidentally layered it over, but I think it was either Twice is Nice, Troika or Satyr, but it was just an amazing combination. More experimentation is necessary.

Final statements: Overall, very happy with my first foray into the world of perfume and very satisfied with the TAT of Haus of Gloi and will be picking up some full size bottles after finishing with my test wears.

I'm excited to try other scents. I've got two orders place (one of which is supposed to be arriving today, squeeeeee).

The one arriving today should be from Solstice Scents (placed order on May 20th and it shipped on the 21st [dat TAT] and should include samples of the following:

Snowmint Mallow

Sugarvale

The Foxcroft Collection

I placed an order with Darling Clandestine on May 14th and it hasn't shipped yet, but she's within her TAT for a few more days, so that one should be shipping soon. I should be receiving the following from her:

Bitsies of Falchion, Carny Wedding and Circassian

Samples of Small Saga, Inked, Morderteile Kelah

I can't wait to get them and try them out!

If you made it down this far, thanks for reading!