Swatch Saturday: Mephisto dupe comparison

Hello everyone!

Long story short: Fyrinnae's Mephisto is one of the most raved-about products in the indie world--and thus, a lot of similar shadows get compared to it. Here are three I've seen mentioned as possible dupes (Darling Girl's Blue Flame, Notoriously Morbid's Grand Empress, and Shiro's I Understood that Reference) and how they compare on my arm.

A pre-emptive apology: this was actually my first time using a glitter adhesive (yeah, I know, I'm still pretty much a makeup newbie) and my second time swatching, so there's a bit of patchiness in some of those swatches and that's user error, not the products. 

Left side over Darling Girl Glitter Glue, right side over NYX Milk.

Sunlight is the easiest way to get some sheen on camera--sorry for the yellow-y light.

(Unfortunately I don't own Darling Girl's London Calling, which is probably a much closer dupe than Blue Flame, now that I've seen all of these things in real life.)

I Understood that Reference doesn't come off at its best in these photos, but it's the closest dupe, though there are differences. IUtR's blue base is more of a Captain America blue, while Mephisto's is darker, inkier. IUtR has a redder sheer that comes off subtler, while Mephisto's is brighter by virtue of its copper leanings. IUtR also has silvery-white sparkles, which are hard to capture on camera but an obvious difference in real life.

Over Glitter Glue (sorry)

Over NYX Milk

Here's a closer look at IUtR (left sides) next to Mephisto (right sides)  to illustrate what I mean--they're very similar but the differences I've noted are there. 

It's probably pointless for me to own both of these, but I love Captain America, so oh well!

The other dupes are...not so close.

Our friendly neighbourhood arm, titled to show some sheen.

I expected The Grand Empress to be very similar to Mephisto--the website swatch definitely is--but nope.

As is evident, Notoriously Morbid's The Grand Empress (second from top) is much darker than Mephisto. Mephisto's blue base is spilled BIC pen ink-blue, while Empress' base is more of an inky blue-black. Mephisto's sheen is coppery-red, while Empress' sheen leans browner, sort of a coppery-bronze. The Grand Empress is gorgeous, probably boss for a smoky eye look (especially for brown eyes, I think) but not as Mephisto-y as the website swatch led me to believe.

A note on The Grand Empress: much as I found with NM's Boca del Infierno, this shadow is super pigmented. It came out this way in one patting-on. You are winning me over quickly, NM.

One of these things is not like the other.

Last but not least--Blue Flame isn't anywhere near close to a dupe. It is, however, jaw-droppingly beautiful. Buy it anyway. Here it is next to The Grand Empress--though they are both definitely Not Mephisto, their duochromes are beautiful.

Empress left, Blue Flame right. Not dupes, but I LOVE THEM FOR WHO THEY ARE.

The one other thing I'll say about Blue Flame: while most of these come off almost as well over NYX Milk as over Glitter Glue, Blue Flame is 100% prettier over GG, so if you're going to purchase from Darling Girl and pick this up anyway, grab Glitter Glue. I definitely made a mess of it in my first couple of patchy swatches, but as you can see from these two, I learned quickly!

Some good news: none of these eyeshadows are limited edition and none of them cost more than $6.25 for a full size. I would recommend them all--but um, Blue Flame especially because damn.

Swatch: Fyrinnae Pygmy Hippo lip lustre

Today's offering: a swatch of Fyrinnae's Pygmy Hippo lip lustre.

Fyrinnae's description:
Matte medium rosey plum shade, not quite mauve. Neutral-warm.

Bare-ish lips (blotted down Vaseline lip therapy)

Pygmy Hippo

Though the section for Fyrinnae's lip lustres lacks swatches, the colour descriptions are quite accurate so far in my experience. Pygmy Hippo isn't as natural-seeming as Ocelot on my face because of its somewhat plummy tint, but it's definitely wearable and probably works for a broader range of complexions. The slight shine Pygmy Hippo has in my swatch photo is mostly due to the whiteness of the overcast sunlight today and I suspect the bit of Vaseline delaying its dry down; it sets to a matte finish, as you can see in Ocelot below.

Comparison to yesterday's Ocelot:

Ocelot

Pygmy Hippo

I'm wearing a moisturizing product under my lip lustre today to see if I can mitigate the slightly drying effect I had yesterday, but I suspect all that I've done is made the product take a little longer to set, since it feels pretty much the same. Ah well!

This lip lustre is available at Fyrinnae's website for $7.00 USD ($2.00 for a trial size).

Haul: Fyrinnae + Ocelot lip lustre swatch and review

Hey everyone!

Today I received my first package from Fyrinnae Cosmetics!

The pretty foil came with the packaging.

I purchased full-sized lip lustres in Ocelot and Pygmy Hippo as well as minis of Romantique and Sexy Nerd. I also purchased mini eyeshadows in Jade Ghost, Crimson Ghost, Vicious Garden Gnome, Mephisto, Meerkat, Debonair, Red Panda, Work Safe Blue, and an Arcane Magic shadow in Cabaret Noir. I also bought a sample of their powder bronzer in matte light. No free samples were included with the order, which was a little odd since I think they usually do send out samples, but I'm not one to bemoan a lack of free stuff and I imagine they were busy, as they'd just released a set of new semi-matte shadows.

I’m excited to try and to review each of these new products! For now, here’s a swatch + a few thoughts on the lip lustre in Ocelot ($7 USD for an 8ml tube; trial sizes are available for $2 USD).

Fyrinnae's description of Ocelot: Matte warm dusty-rose pink, very close to the soft pink of an Ocelot kitten's paw pads and nose.

Bare lips (sorry, they were in a blurry mood)

Lip lustre in Ocelot

The lip lustre in Ocelot is a my-lips-but-pinker colour on me, which I like a lot. I don't think it leans too warm on my lips, but it still does remind me of an ocelot kitten's paws. (I don't want to thieve any images, but you definitely have to Google that. It is very cute.) In any case, it's definitely something I could wear in any situation. I have a pale, neutralish complexion, for the record.

Ocelot's formula reminds me of the NYX Soft Matte Lip Creams: it has that sweet vanilla scent and the same dry-liquid look and feel upon application. It doesn't dry down as quickly or completely as the lip creams do on me; the NYX products are dry and matte almost immediately after application and they're drying on my lips, often flaky later in their wear, and I have to not rub my lips together or I'll make a mess of them. The Ocelot lip lustre seemed to dry down more over time, but didn't feel as drying (though not moisturizing, either) and it didn't budge upon lip smacks or flake at any point. The finish was similarly matte for me, though!

I'm usually bad at wear tests (I tend to lick and chew my lips and drink many beverages clumsily), but because this lip lustre reminded me of the lip creams, I decided to give it a go. It lasted a few hours and through popcorn as if it were just applied, so that was pretty awesome for me--my eating tends to destroy lipstick. It faded some through a can of soda--but it didn't flake or turn into an awful lip ring, which is what often happens to me with long-lasting lip products, so I was really happy with this!

It did leave my lips moderately dry afterwards, but I have naturally very chapped, dry lips, so that's nothing new--happens after most lip products that aren't balm or gloss. (Or just after a while without something moisturizing.) Next time I may try using a good balm blotted down just before this product to see if it mitigates that, but it doesn't seem too bad. I imagine people without chapping issues might not have this problem at all.

I'm so pumped to try my other lip lustres to see if they wear similarly--not the matte aspect, of course, since only a few of the lustres are marked as matte, but the long-wearing and relatively non-drying aspect was awesome, plus this was easy to apply with the doefoot wand.

Thanks for reading!