Venomous Cosmetics review pt. 2

I already talked about the awesome pressed shadows Venomous Cosmetics has to offer, and now I'd like to cover their loose shadows! Samples are $1 and full sizes are $6.50, pretty standard. They adhere very well using a primer, which of course is a necessity with all loose shadows. The colors are all very pretty, some more complex than others. Something I don't like about the full size jars is that the ingredients list is on the inside of the lid. I was sent these a few weeks ago, so that could have changed by now, I'll make an edit if I learn that's the case. Personally, since I don't have allergy concerns or anything, it doesn't matter to me, but I'm sure it could to some people. Here's a sample baggie:

Swatch time! First up is the Well-Traveled collection. Top row: Beaches in Maui, Secrets of Cairo, Irish Countryside Middle row: Vegas Casino Bottom Row: L.A. Smog, Surfing the Gold Coast, NYC Nightlife Surfing the Gold Coast has really pretty yellow sparkle in it, and NYC Nightlife has all this amazing rainbow sparkle to it! They're both really unique colors, and my favorites of the loose shadows. The next 3 are Monster Under Your Bed, Indian Violet, and Falling Star (from the new All-Stars collection). The purple looks patchy, but since I started doing q-tip swatches, all purples I've done have turned out that way, so I'm blaming it on the q-tips. Lip Poisons are the glosses offered by Venomous. They're $3.50 for a purse size (3.7 ml) and $5 for a full size (5.9 ml). The texture is difficult for me to describe... it's thicker than a regular lip gloss, and it's somewhat sticky. When I applied I felt like it kept getting a bit patchy, but after a few minutes everything seemed to kind of settle down to an even coat. I'm really not good with anything lasting a long time, since I constantly snack/apply lip balm/ lick my lips, but it stayed on pretty well through me eating ice cream (albeit carefully), and 3 hours later it was still pretty vibrant. On the left is Genie, on the right is Trouble. I was BLOWN AWAY by these colors! I barely looked at them when I had browsed the Venomous site, but honestly these are my favorite product of what I was sent. I love the shadows, but right now I'm really into lippies, and these colors are just stunning. I did some awesomely awful lip swatches for you guys! Here's Genie: And Trouble: The flash makes Trouble look more flattering on my bare lips than it actually is, the blue in it gives me that 'Zombie Chic' look. It just doesn't work with my skintone by itself, so I've been wearing it layered over other colors. Here's a look I did with L.A. Smog & Surfing the Gold Coast loose shadows, and I'm wearing the Trouble Lip Poison over Clinique Chubby Balm in Super Strawberry. Honestly, my only complaint here is that some of the website photos for the shadows seem inaccurate. The Lip Poison photos seem right on, but some of the shadow photos are too overexposed or something, while some seem too washed out. I know it's difficult to get super accurate photos, but I feel like the current ones could be improved. Overall, I enjoyed everything I tried from Venomous, and I would certainly recommend them, especially if you're going through a pressed shadow phase as a lot of people seem to be. Don't skip over the Lip Poisons as they're the company's hidden gem, IMO! And it looks like there's going to be lip and eyeliners coming soon, which is neat. Disclaimer: I got everything mentioned in this review for free. This did not change my review, it's all my honest opinion.

Venomous Cosmetics review pt. 1

Venomous Cosmetics is pretty new to the indie scene. With so many new indie companies popping up left and right, you have to have something special. Venomous offers not only loose shadow, but also pressed shadows! They also have glosses called Lip Poisons. I was interested in trying this company out, so it was really exciting for me when Tracy, the owner, asked if I was interested in trying out some products (free of charge, this is my disclaimer, blah blah). As always, my review won't be affected by this. First up is the pressed shadows. A full size is $6.50, which I find reasonable. I think the price reflects the time it probably takes to do the pressing. They have SAMPLE pressed shadows, which is really cool! Those are $2. Here's what the sizes look like (next to a full-sized loose shadow for comparison): The pressed samples are so tiny! I had to run my shadow brush over the sample size a few times to get the brush covered, since they're so small, but that's not really an issue. The pressed samples are too small to have the name written on the back, so here's what Tracy does: Is it the most convenient thing in the world? No, but it works. I really can't think of a better way to do it, the text would be too small to read if you put the whole name on there. Here are my swatches of the pressed shadows: Top 4: Yellowjacket, Amazon Rainforest Expedition, Mermaid, Gaboon Viper Bottom 4: The Last Unicorn, Tazelwurm, Can't Give You Paris, Phoenix You guys, these are gorgeous. I didn't take them in direct sunlight so they look a little flatter than they actually are. I could not believe how especially pigmented Gaboon Viper and Phoenix were, they apply like a dream. I love using The Last Unicorn as a highlighter. Tazelwurm is probably my favorite, it has a gorgeous blue shift to it. Here's a quick look I did with Tazelwurm, Can't Give You Paris, and The Last Unicorn. On my lips is VC's "Genie" Lip Poison (formerly called "Cupid's Arrow"). As far as packaging, Tracy sealed everything very well, and as you can see, none of them broke. She put them in little baggies and bubble-wrapped the hell out of everything (pink bubble-wrap)! You definitely don't have to worry about any of them arriving broken or crushed. My final verdict: I love these. There are so many absolutely gorgeous colors to choose from, and I think it's great that you can get samples. Now I need to make my own palette to keep them in... In the next part of the review I'll talk about the loose shadows and lip poisons! I'll try to get it posted by tomorrow or the next day.