Swatch + review: Performance Colors Zombie Bride

So--this blog has been on hiatus for a while for personal stuff + me getting super sick, but I want to leave that behind and continue buying indies, blogging things.

Let's get right to it.

Obligatory note about customer service: The turn-around time at Performance Colors was listed at one to five days when I ordered, and it took one day for my order to ship. So that was awesome. More than two samples were included, which was generous and also awesome. Shipping was pricier than some other shops (I paid about $9.50 CAD).

Bare lips for reference

Zombie Bride

Performance Colors describes Zombie Bride as "blue sheen and high reflection in a violet purple color." It's obviously not the easiest colour to pull off, but there is some warmth to the purple that helps it be at least a little bit forgiving. The blue sheen is strong and cold, though--but it makes this colour really gorgeous and remarkable.

The restorative formula itself feels like a cross between a beeswax balm and creamy lipstick. As I've said before and will again, my lips are a problem case, so this doesn't leave them any better for wear, but it doesn't leave them much worse, either, which is all I ask of lip products that aren't balms. The lipstick is scented with vanilla sweetened with stevia--it smells vaguely like dough for sugar cookies.

Perfomance Colors' lipsticks come in balm tubes, which isn't my favourite thing but is common in indies, since I gather it's more cost-effective. These lipsticks are $6 each or 3 for $12, so the price is certainly nothing to complain about. The tubes are cute and perfectly functional--I'm just the lazy type who likes to apply straight from a tube, which makes traditional lipstick tubes way easier.

I dig Zombie Bride and I'll shop at Performance Colors again--once I find some room in my lipstick drawer.

Swatch Saturday: Álög Cosmetics Nebula

Álög Cosmetics is pretty new to the indie scene, so I'm happy to be sharing about it today. The shop started out with a selection of unique, fun lipstick colours and carries quite a few now, from the traditionally wearable to the...bright metallic teal-blue, haha. Nebula falls somewhere in the middle of that spectrum.

Spoiler alert: I'm so far really loving this lipstick.

Obligatory bit about customer service: I ordered this lipstick on July 30th, it shipped on July 31st, and I received it in the mail August 7th. Bam. That's beyond fast. That's a turn-around time of less than 24 hours and a week to ship--and I live in Canada and Álög is in Iceland. Indie magic. I didn't contact the owner since everything went smoothly.

Packaging: The shipping was extremely cheap--I paid $4.93 CAD--and everything arrived in pristine condition. There's not much packaging here, but I expect it's because you can buy an optional shipping upgrade.

The lipstick and samples were wrapped in some paper towel and came in a large envelope. The lipstick tube feels very solid and the sample pods are made out of thick plastic, so I don't think these items need much packaging to hold up in the mail. This didn't arrive with a receipt/any branding material, though, so that was too bad--I hoard indie business cards.

I received two samples in my order, which I think was quite generous. They'll clearly be good for quite a few uses--but I am still pretty iffy with a lip brush, so I'll have to work on those skills to swatch these for you. Kitten is a pinky-red and Sky at Night is a shimmery black (this excites me).

I had to include a better picture of this lipstick tube (square...package?) because I really like it. It's red, it's shiny, it's solid, it stands out in my drawer. Props. That said, though, I think the labelling/branding could be stronger as Álög moves forward. (And I'm sorry for the old nail polish.)

Swatch time? Swatch time.

In the title description for Nebula, Álög describes this lipstick as "violet lipstick with golden sheen."

Bare lips for reference

Two swipes of Nebula

Yep, violet lipstick with golden sheen. This one's not far off the web swatch though I do think that picture was probably taken in slightly dimmer lighting; I find Nebula is a little warmer, lighter on me but I get a lot of sunshine here.

A blurry, sunlit angle

Forgive the artsy blur, but this might illustrate more clearly how this lipstick lights up like a Christmas tree in direct sun.

Review: Pictures of Nebula don't really do it justice in my opinion, since it really glows in person. But hopefully you can tell why I dig it--it's gorgeous, unique, and oddly wearable for a sparkly purple.

This glides on, but the colour is not full coverage in one swipe. It's not hard to build, though, and this is only two. You may need more product depending on how pigmented your lips are.

It felt moisturizing at first, though my lips were a bit papery after a wear test. My lips are the most dry of all the lips, so this is about as good as it gets for me when it comes to actual lipstick--so for a normal person, this is probably a non-drying or even moisturizing option. I find this fades off fairly evenly without leaving strange rings or flaky lips and it doesn't move around.

Longevity of wear isn't normally one of my considerations because putting lipstick on makes me thirsty or something, but this doesn't totally come off on my straws and looks okay after fried chicken so it's aces in my book.

I would definitely purchase from Álög Cosmetics again based on this experience. Phoenix is next on my list.

Swatch Saturday: Alchimia Apothecary Maquillage à Lèvres Lipstick in Dahlia

Just a quick swatch/mini-review today. Alchimia Apothecary will be discontinuing their cosmetics after this summer. However, when I was grabbing my first indie scent, I snagged this lipstick and I suspect I'll be glad I did.

Dahlia in the tube.

In case you don't have your magnifying glasses on, the first ingredient listed there is cocoa butter. This lipstick smells like chocolate and it feels nice on the lips. The tube is a balm tube, sadly, so application is tricky.

Alchimia's description of this colour:
A bright shade with an electric presence.

Bare lips for reference.

Dahlia (moderately applied)

I would describe Dahlia as a medium purple-pink shade. A cooler magenta, if you're fancy. It is definitely bright, though not neon-bright. It comes off a bit darker in indoor light, but when I built it up it stayed about this shade. I couldn't achieve the darker colour in the site swatch, but then it probably would look darker on my arm than my face.

The product was a bit hard in the tube initially, but went on better once it had warmed. I imagine it'd be better to use a lip brush with this, anyway. It certainly feels nice on--not as moisturizing as their cocoa lip balm, but definitely non-drying (almost anything is drying on me, so that's a success) and the scent fades if you dislike chocolate for some reason.

Dahlia is currently available at Alchimia Apothecary for $7.95 USD.

Thanks for reading!