Notoriously Morbid Assorted Swatches

I'm going to preface this post by saying that I absolutely adore Notoriously Morbid. This isn't the first time I've purchased from them and it certainly won't be the last. Will I ever get my other shadow swatches up here? Maybe. Eventually. Whenever I have a full day with great lighting and nothing else to do. Otherwise, this is my newest order from one of my favourite indie companies. I'd been eyeing their matte Slay Me Collection for some time and when a Free Day Friday came up where I could get two free minis I caved. Not only did I get the three mattes I'd been gazing at, but I found a few others I'd missed in previous orders and snatched them up too. Afterwards I noticed my order was mostly of the red/purple and grey/green family but hey, we all have our favourites.

(From L-R) She's Got Gidget Hair, He's Going Through Changes, Sometimes My Arms Bend Back,
Where the Kids and the Vamps Go, Carly

Some I pressed while others I left in jars or depotted in jars. Captivated and Rain On Cold Glass both had Ferric Ferrocyanide (something that never presses well) so I put them in spare pill cases I had. Since Where the Kids and the Vamps Go and Neno were my free minis I kept them in the jars they came in.

(From L-R) Captivated, Rain On Cold Glass, Lizard On a Window Pane, Teacher in Tweed, Neno

This was also the first time I've ever pressed matte loose shadows and I have to admit I was fairly certain I'd mess them up when I first went to test them. A weird film had formed on the top and I could barely get any sort of colour pay off. After silently mourning them for a few minutes my husband suggested scraping off the weird film and sure enough after that they worked beautifully. I use the Pressing Medium from TheBodyNeeds and 70% Isopropyl Alcohol for reference, and other than the strange initial film no other problems have come up.

Now for the swatches! I'll go into the finer details on the close ups, but otherwise enjoy the sparkly, duochrome goodness that always comes with Notoriously Morbid shadows. All swatches were done over Urban Decay Primer Potion.

(From L-R) Carly, Where the Kids and the Vamps Go, Sometimes My Arms Bend Back, He's Going Through Changes, She's Got Gidget Hair, Neno, Teacher in Tweed, Lizard On a Window Pane, Rain On Cold Glass, Captivated

(From Top) Captivated, Rain On Cold Glass, Lizard On a Window Pane, Teacher in Tweed, Neno

• Captivated: NM's website describes it as a olive green with copper sparkles. In certain lights it can definitely appear more brown because of that but otherwise it's a gorgeous, deep green.
• Rain On Cold Glass: A gorgeous shimmery gold with hints of blue. I think because I pressed it some of the blue sparkles were lost, but I think it's beautiful regardless. A lovely neutral.
• Lizard On a Window Pane: In the first picture you can actually catch the green duochrome, though it appears more brown in the above shot. More of a satin finish, which is good news to those that are wary of glitter.
• Teacher in Tweed: Lovely neutral matte brown. Takes a bit of work to get good payoff but that's probably due to the pressing problem I had. Otherwise it's fantastic.
• Neno: Similar to Rain On Cold Glass but with a lot more glitter. Fallout occurred as to be expected with shades this sparkly but it was easily dealt with. Definitely has the 'wow factor' described on the website.

(From Top) She's Got Gidget Hair, He's Going Through Changes, Sometimes My Arms Bend Back,
Where the Kids and the Vamps Go, Carly

• She's Got Gidget Hair: A nice matte nude. It kind of gets lost on my eyelids since it's so close to skin colour but it makes for a nice base for other shadows.
• He's Going Through Changes: I'd call it a more gingery-nude than Gidget Hair, but also makes for a nice matte base. Could be built up a bit more as well than I did on my arm.
• Sometimes My Arms Bend Back: Rose copper was the best description of this beautiful shade. I can't notice the blue shift mentioned in the description but it's fantastic otherwise. Could be considered quite glittery though, so a glitter glue would work nicely.
• Where the Kids and the Vamps Go: Very similar to Sometimes My Arms Bend Back, but more of a berry copper. In certain lights it's obviously more magenta but in others they look almost identical. Also very glittery.
• Carly: I love this colour! It looks more purple in the pressed pan but comes out a nice shimmery burgundy on the skin. The copper sparkles are subtle and not as messy as the previous two. 

So overall another fantastic haul from Notoriously Morbid. I've never been disappointed with her products and this time is no different. I would definitely recommend their eyeshadows for indie newbies and pros a like, that much is for certain.

You can find Notoriously Morbid here!

Haus of Gloi Haul

Another day, another bath and body product haul! This post is actually a combination of two separate orders from Haus of Gloi, but I figured once I got the second one I might as well include them all together in one post. Seeing how I'm rather new to the company I decided to grab some mini jars and some samples and go from there. After all, they do have a bunch of different scents to try and each one sounds more delightful than the next.

Initially I grabbed a mini jar of Elevenses and Twice is Nice in Pumpkin Butter, Peach Mama and Satyr in Body Emulsion, and Mango Sticky Rice in Sugar Exfoliant. The sugar scrub is fantastic, exfoliating without being painful, so I have no complaints there. As for the lotions I grabbed both types just in case I preferred one to the other, and I definitely think pumpkin butters came out on top.

Emulsion on the left, Pumpkin Butter on the right

The body emulsions dried a bit faster than I'd like without leaving much behind, while the pumpkin butters were smooth and moisturizing without being too oily. Both were enjoyable and nicely scented, but I definitely enjoyed the butters just a bit more since they actually seemed to help my skin stay soft.

As for the scents, I was a bit mixed. Elevenses and Peach Mama were in my first order, and due to me not liking them as much as I thought I would I purchased Satyr and Twice is Nice to replace them. My more detailed thoughts on each scent are as follows:

• Elevenses: The description mentions orange cakes, almond and black tea but I can only seem to get the tea smell. It overwhelms me and having the lotion on my hands for too long gives me a headache. Perhaps if I was more of a fan of black tea I'd enjoy it more, but for now I'll pass.
• Peach Mama: I can maybe detect a bit of the peach nectar mention in the description, but otherwise I seem to get mostly patchouli and the frankincense. Not bad, but not really my preferred scent when it comes to body products.
• Mango Sticky Rice: Delicious! I catch the mango and rice notes perfectly, with just a touch of sesame. It smells so good I could almost eat it. I'd definitely buy this one again, especially as a lotion.
• Satyr: I saw someone else describe this as 'sexy creamsicle' and they weren't wrong. The blood orange and blackened vanilla mix well together for a sweet yet sensual experience. Another win for me.
• Twice is Nice: It was out of stock for a long time and I can see why. Buttery and sugary this is a perfect combination of sweet and salty. My husband mentioned it almost smells like kettle corn and I can see where he might get that. Definitely a winner and a return buy, as long as it doesn't keep selling out.

What order from Haus of Gloi wouldn't be complete with perfume oils? I purchased Depravity, Moon Dog and Absinthe samples initially and then went back and bought a full sized Depravity because it was just perfect. Honeybelle and Milkmaid were both free samples with my two orders.

• Moon Dog: Coconut, vanilla, sandalwood, nutmeg and clove. All of my favourite things! It's sweet and flirty with a touch of warmth. The coconut and vanilla blend well together and the sandalwood seems to ground everything.
• Depravity: Having bought a sample of this in my first order I had to buy a full sized. Very similar to Moon Dog it contains all the same notes plus amber and wine. I think it was the amber/wine combination that won me over since it seems a bit more musky and more to my liking.
• Absinthe: I found this scent overwhelming, so much so I can't really pick the notes out. It's probably the wormwood and anise that bother my nose but I can't be sure. Definitely not a winner for me.
• Honeybelle: Though the description sounded like something I'd like I again felt like the scents overwhelmed me. The citrus notes are almost too much and mixed with the amber I find it all a bit too strong. I'm glad this was a free sample since I definitely won't be wearing it.
• Milkmaid: Curdled milk, perfume and baby powder, that's all I smell. Not my style at all and instead reminded me of something my grandmother would wear. I almost bought this in a pumpkin butter without smelling it first but I'm glad I changed my mind.

I definitely lean more towards vanilla-based scents so both Depravity and Moon Dog were winners for me. I'm glad I was able to find at least a few things I liked though, and I can always come up with an excuse to order more samples.

Over all Haus of Gloi impressed me. Though some of their scents may not be my style there's plenty that are and I may just need to read over their descriptions a bit better before purchasing. Their product quality is excellent though, so I'd definitely recommend them to anyone that's curious. Plus, you can't say no to cute little sample vials. It's pretty much impossible.

You can find Haus of Gloi here!

Fortune Cookie Soap Mini Haul

Someone posted a link to a sale that Fortune Cookie Soap was having, and of course as soon as I took a look at their products I knew I had to have something. I'm usually pretty picky when it comes to bath and body products, but seeing that they had a sample pack of their Whipped Creams I had to try them. After sifting through their vast amount of scents I picked four, ordered, and about a week later received them on my doorstep.

I also received a free sample of their bath bombs in Trendsetter, which I haven't had the pleasure of trying yet but will hopefully put to good use soon enough.

Each container is 1 ounce, one-fifth the full size 5 ounce jars, but more than enough to get a good feel for the product as well as the scent. The four scents I chose were (from top left): A Nod to the Hippies, Native Nectar, In the Loop, and Capitol Diamond. (Yes I've clearly already tried Native Nectar and Capitol Diamond before the picture was taken, I couldn't resist!)

The consistency was creamy and luscious, but absorbed nicely into the skin without too much greasiness or stickiness. I also noticed the scent lingered far longer than regular body butters and I caught myself continuing to smell it a good couple hours after application.

As for the scents I have to say I enjoyed every one of my choices. They were a lot sweeter smelling than I've come to expect from commercially made body butters, but were so delicious I can't complain. Here are my individual thoughts on all the scents I purchased.

• A Nod to the Hippies: The description on the website mentions patchouli, amber and vanilla and I think I can catch a bit of everything. The patchouli, something I'm usually apprehensive about, is subdued by the amber and vanilla making for a nice, light scent. Some companies I've purchased before are a little heavy-handed with the patchouli but Fortune Cookie Soaps seem to have the right balance. 
• Native Nectar: Freshly cracked coconut is the perfect description of this. It reminds me more of soft coconut milk than the typical coconut suntan lotion smell. It's also quite light and not overpowering, and I can see it becoming a summer favourite.
• In the Loop: Honestly I wasn't sure what to expect with this one, but it definitely delivered. It smells exactly like a freshly opened box of Froot Loops and I find I continue to go back and smell it just to confirm. It's slightly dusty and salty but still light and fruity, and I swear there's a hint of cardboard box in there. I don't know how they did it, but they definitely did.
• Capitol Diamond: The site says it's a blend of crisp vanilla, citrus, coconut, cloves and some strawberry notes but I definitely seem to get a strong strawberry vibe. I think it reminds me of those strawberry marshmallow candies, so it's another delicious smelling one. Like all the others though it's still nice and light, and though I catch whiffs of it as the day goes on it's definitely pleasant. Another hit for sure.

All in all I'm impressed so far with Fortune Cookie Soaps. I'm not a huge bar soap person but their range of products intrigues me and I can't wait to try some different things.

You can find Fortune Cookie Soap here!