Indie Makeup Review: Fierce Magenta

I like playing dress-up.  Ever since I was a kid, I always wanted to be a dark fairy princess, scientist, velociraptor.  Now that I'm an adult with a small amount of disposable income, well, I'm not living that dream, but I'm coming darn close to it.  The dark fairy princess thing is hard to maintain, though.  Even harder than the whole velociraptor part.  You need gorgeous, high quality make-up in non-conventional colors.  Good quality makeup in colors like blue and purple are near impossible to find.  While there are way more options these days, it's still hard to locate affordable options. 

Sugarpill and MAC are made of love, but I can't pay that much for one lip gloss or one eyeshadow pot.  I need ALL the weird colors and my budget is pretty static.  So, I opted to look for some Indie options. 

There are benefits to buying Indie makeup products.  Like most small businesses, they are someone's labor of love, their name is directly attached to everything produced, and supporting them means you are directly supporting a community of 1-10 people.  Once you find a good brand, you can get quality colors, unique blends and effects, and often times highly nourishing products that focus on using non-toxic ingredients.  Indie makeups also tend to be made in small batches, are WAY more affordable, and have higher quality because the company is not a huge corporate entity that outsources half their labor to a third world country.  Culpability falls directly on the shoulders of the people who own it.  They take pride in their work.  Well, except for Lime Crime...but that's a story for another day. 

That brings me to the brand I'm reviewing.  I found Fierce Magenta on Etsy while looking for purple lipstick to wear in support of Domestic Violence Prevention Month.  They offer a range or products, including eye shadow, lip glosses, and lip sticks.  They also offer small sizes of each of their products so you can sample them without committing to a huge pot or stick of some color that you end up not appreciating later.  Best of all, their prices range from about $4-$10.

I got 5 mini lip products from Fierce Magenta in the colors, Diamond Cluster, Luna Violet, Copper Fusion, Deep Purple, and Glacia. 

From left to right: Diamond Cluster, Luna Violet, Copper Fusion, Deep Purple, Glacia

Most of the options I picked were lip gloss selections, while Glacia was a lipstick.  Here's a break down of what I discovered whilst trying these on and swatching them. 

1.  Fierce Magenta is NOT kidding when they describe their lip products as being nourishing and hydrating. 

2.  The glosses glided on silky smooth and had really good staying power.  I had to scrub my arm to get them off, so it shouldn't be a problem with long wear times.

3.  The colors were highly concentrated.  The opacity was out of sight.  The swatches you see above were from the tiniest amount I could spread on my arm in one swipe.  The glitter/iridescence wasn't muted.  It looked no different from what I saw in the tubes when I put it on my skin, which makes it a great option for darker skin tones.  Brown folks have issues with lipstick and gloss opacities because most of them are made with the idea that it will be going on a paler lip.  

4.  There was no gritty texture from the glitter. 

5.  Glacia was by far the most difficult to remove.  Even after scrubbing my arm till it reddened, I still had Glacia faintly clinging to me.  

6.  There is SOME separation if you wear it for a long time because of the nourishing butters they make the lipsticks out of.   However, it doesn't smudge much and the color of the glosses and lipstick can be renewed by pressing your lips together a few times.

7.  There isn't a ton of silicone in their products like VS' lip treatments, so it doesn't make my lips peel after I use it.

Give Fierce Magenta a looksy.  I swear it's more than worth it.  Hopefully, I'll be able to show off some makeup looks using these products soon. 

Seoul Search: Memebox scavenger hunt

For Easter, Memebox had a scavenger hunt sort of event.  Sadly, I didn't get to take advantage.  However, shortly after they had another called Seoul Search.  I took part in this one and was careful not to spend too much on mystery products.

By the time I found out about it, they only had a few left.  I got a couple of each.  Iteawon, Cheongdamndong, and Myeongdong. 

Oddly enough in this picture, I recognize about 12 different Korean skin care brands.

These are all places in Seoul, Korea.  The items included in the mystery are items common to those areas, available for about 50-75% of the price they are normally.  Memebox doesn't tell you what item corresponds to what place, but this is what I got.

Now, I have no idea what I'm going to do with this pink blush because it's a little too light for me, but I was thinking of giving the extra set of mystery items I got to anyone who's interested.  Drop me a message on my Snarktopus page on FB if you would like to pick up one of these items.

Missha BB Cream in Honey Beige

As an African American, I have a hard time locating good cosmetics that match my skin tone.  Most cosmetics are too dark, too red, too yellow, or very chalky.  And BB creams?  Forget about it.

Most of the time, they don't come in a shade darker than light tan.  Which, would be fine, if all people came in some shade of bland taupe.  I would greatly appreciate a tinted moisturizer that I can throw on before going out to help protect my skin and conceal some of its imperfections without looking like a bad Walking Dead extra.  Instead, with most BB creams, I have to add more foundation, creams and powders to balance out the colors.  Since receiving a few memeboxes and various products from memebox, I've taken to exploring their selection of K-products.

Enter Missha's BB cream.  I'm totally hooked on Korean cosmetics and skincare.  I gave everyone baskets of products for Christmas.  All should know the joy of K-beauty.

Korean powders and tinted primers have worked well for me so far, so, I thought that since there was a sale and I had extra scratch from working doubles, I would splurge on a $15 face cream from Missha.  Yes.  Splurge.  I'm one of those people who feels like buying makeup is frivolous....except nail polish.  I love nail polish.

I picked honey beige because for most brands, I fall into the honey category.

Initial Impression:
The product comes in a tube with a dark golden flexible plastic and silvery lettering.  It reminds me of the packaging of Fashion Fair makeups.  It dispenses via a pump action push top.  The product is creamy and thick...and it smells.  Not bad, just really perfumey.  My boyfriend thought I was trying out a new fragrance. 

Results:
I only used the product a few times so far.  I found that it works well as a tinted moisturizer for me, but it adds a subtle, pink undertone to my skin.  It is also difficult to spread evenly, and absolute HELL to wash off your hands and face later.  I didn't have any skin reactions to it, though. 

Recommendations: I'd be reluctant to recommend this product to everyone who's anyone.  It gets the job done, for sure, but there are a couple major turn offs for me.

1.  The smell.  It shouldn't have such a strong smell.  It's like perfume ALL OVER YOUR FACE.  To other people you just smell like you've got a really nice perfume on, but unfortunately for me, it's like I rammed perfumed tissues up my nose.  It would be different if Missha offered whatever fragrance they used as an actual perfume that you mist on your body... but no.  It's in the makeup.

2.  The texture and difficulties associated with removing it.  I used two makeup wipes and washed my face twice and I was still getting brown stuff off my face the next morning.  The only thing that takes it completely off is BABY OIL.  Slathering an acne prone face with mineral oil is a great way to induce a collage of zits.  I did like that the BB cream had staying power, but my face didn't appreciate being manhandled afterwards.

Overall: This product was a good color match for my face and works well with and without my regular make up.  I'm going to keep experimenting with it until I find a way to keep it from gluing itself to my face.

Note: Since using the BB cream a few more times, I've found that layering a moisturizer underneath it helps keep it from adhering as strongly to your skin- but...that was the point of having the BB cream.  It's supposed to replace moisturizers.

Try K- Beauty Sweepstakes

Are you guys excited!?  The Try K Beauty Sweepstakes starts today, February First! For the full details, visit this post!  Like my Facebook page and subscribe!  You could win a random assortment including, but not limited to the following!

Those are moisturizing toners, lip tints, lipsticks, brow pencils, eye shadows, pore clearing strips and washes, under eye concealers and some blushes.  Oooh lala.  There's more, but I'm not taking photos of everything!

Secret Key: Sweet Glam Tint Glow

This beauty arrived in the memebox K-style box.  I need a new lipstick ike I need a bullet in my head, but the description on the obligatory box insert peaked my curiosity.  I popped open the cute, white and pink box to see what color Puscia or Purple+Fuscia was. 

Initial Impression:

I nicked this image from Google

I didn't expect to see such a high 80's fashion looking lipstick tube.  The outer packaging was simple and sweet, but the tube itself looks like a runway prop.  A slick chrome nub marks the base of the lipstick itself while a semi-opaque bubble gum pink squarish tube forms the top.  I like it. 

The lipstick is described as being a purple fuscia.  To be honest, it looks too purple for me or anyone to wear.  I was scared to put it on.  I already have fat lips.  The last thing I need is to color them purple and start looking like a muppet.

Results: 
This lipstick looked like a giant wand of purple that would instantly turn me into a big-haired, neon-lipped 80's vixen.  It fooled me.  The lipstick is just as semi-sheer as the tube!  One swipe gives your lips a healthy burst of soft mauve pink with purple undertones.  The color is buildable.  It's a semi-glossy too, with a soft, shimmery matte look.  It's not very creamy, but has a smooth glide and leaves your lips feeling hydrated. 

Right to Left: 1 Swipe, 2 Swipes, 4 Swipes

My record with this lipstick is a good 5 hours before needing to touch up.  A bonus with this lipstick is that it leaves a subtle tint to your lips, so unlike normal lipsticks, your touch up doesn't look streaky or like you scraped a half melted crayon over your face.

Recommendations:
I would recommend this shade to folks with a cool color palette- like mine.  It will bring out the warmth of your skin.  However, I would caution against building the color to its fullest.  After about 4 swipes, it starts looking a bit chalky and a little too close to Nicki Minaj's lipcolor choices.  Using it as a tinted lip balm or with a dab of gloss to amp up the shine works best.  If you're interested in it, you can find it on eBay pretty easily.  Memebox seems to have run out.

Unrelated:
I should start tagging these posts with the words "African American" because lots of Chocolate Children like K-beauty, but there isn't an abundance of reviews for our skin colors...