Innocent + Twisted Alchemy I+T Alchemists Subscription July 2015 Swatches & Review

Purchased by me/Contains affiliate links

I'm beginning to make a dent in these subscriptions now! Today I have the July Innocent + Twisted Alchemy sub to show you. I really like how these subscriptions push me out of my comfort zone and get me experimenting again - my Instagram would be awfully boring if it was an endless stream of bronze-gold eyeshadow looks, much as I love those colours! This theme pushed me to try a dark brown smokey eye and I really loved the results so I'll definitely be doing that again.

I+T Alchemists is a monthly subscription from one of my favourite indie brands, Innocent + Twisted Alchemy. It comes with three (sometimes more) Innocent + Twisted shades which are exclusive to the subscription (although overstock is occasionally sold in the store for anyone who missed out) and a surprise selection of bonuses from guest indie brands. Whether you're a fan of the brand or just want to try out a bunch of indies, it's a really a fun subscription service which delivers great value and I look forward to it each month!

The sample size (which is what I have) is $12USD per month within the US or $16USD internationally and the Innocent + Twisted Alchemy eyeshadows are packed full in 3g jars. There's also a full size version which is $18USD per month in the US or $22USD internationally. All of those prices include shipping, so it's a pretty sweet deal, particularly when the additional samples are often very generous.

July's theme is tea parties and I really liked the blurb in the info sheet for this one so I've included it below:

Welcome to my tea party! Come inside and enjoy the aromatic teas. Pick out your favourite tea cups and tea pots. Throw on a giant floppy hat (Okay, maybe not! BUT YOU COULD!) and enjoy the savory delights and decadent desserts.

I love, love, LOVE the lid art for this theme! It's by Betsy Luntao, you can check out her Deviant Art here.

The Innocent + Twisted formula is one of the best ones around; while some indies apply sheerly alone and really need a sticky base to pop, Innocent + Twisted Alchemy eyeshadows are generally wonderfully pigmented and easy to work with on their own. I do still like to use a sticky base most of the time for maximum sparkle and duochrome action (where applicable), but it's nice to know that they can be hastily swept on the lids as you're running out the door and they're still going to look good.

All eyeshadow swatches in this post are done two ways: applied on bare skin on the left hand side and over Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy, a sticky eyeshadow base which maximises colour intensity and sparkle, on the right. This is so you can see how they perform both ways. I take all of my photos with daylight bulbs for colour accuracy.

Availability: All three Innocent + Twisted Alchemy shades are available on the website, Kae Q are closed indefinitely, the Wonderland Beauty and Kiss My Sass shades are July subscription exclusive shades and no longer available and finally the Chirp Cosmetics eyeshadow is still available in their store.

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Teacups & Scones

Teacups & Scones is described as a 'cool-toned golden beige that has purple shimmers and a slight red sheen'. This shade is such a chameleon, I wore it on the lid in the look below thinking the taupeyness would still go with the warm crease colour and boy was I wrong! It pulls a lot cooler next to a true warm tone. I can see the purple shimmer pulling the colour more taupe on the arm swatch but it didn't really translate on the lid, probably because of the tonal clash. 

Here I've worn Teacups & Scones all over the lid with the LORAC Nude Skinny palette for the crease and lower lashline colours. 

Seeping Petals

Seeping Petals is described as a 'dark bronze with a red sheen'. It's a rich chocolate shimmer with a charcoal base, the red sheen giving it that slightly bronze look. I highly recommend popping this one over a sticky base for the best effect. It's still nicely pigmented alone but you lose some of the intensity. 

Shortcake Fantasy

Shortcake Fantasy is described as a 'pale pink that has a white sheen and red shimmers'. The white sheen comes out more strongly as it is blended out - I've worn it on the inner corner in the look below and you can see how much whiter it looks compared to the swatches (which are patted on, not swept as I would generally apply an inner corner colour). Shortcake Fantasy is incredibly glowy and beautiful - not complex, but great shadows don't always have to be!

I've used Seeping Petals all over the lid and over smudged out black liner on the lower lashline, with Shortcake Fantasy on the inner corner. I also used the LORAC Pro palette for the crease & blending shades and these lashes from Born Pretty Store (use code LR10K31 for 10% off).

Chirp Cosmetics Rainbow Bit

Chirp Cosmetics Rainbow Bit is the first of the guest indies in this box, a super opaque white with rainbow sparkles. This was my first time using Chirp Cosmetics and Rainbow Bit leaves a great first impression - it's very soft and velvety and blends out like a dream.

I've used Innocent + Twisted Alchemy Breaking Down all over the lid here with another Innocent Twisted shade, Drone, on the lower lashline. I also used Chirp Cosmetics Rainbow Bit on the inner corner and the Chi Chi Extravaganza palette for the crease/transition shades. The lashes are from Born Pretty Store.

Wonderland Beauty Cosmetics Sugar Pop

Wonderland Beauty Cosmetics Sugar Pop is a cornflower purple with strong blue sheen and it was created exclusively for the July subscription. I found it really easy to work with, just wish blues suited my skintone! 

For this makeup look I've used Mermaid Tears on the inner half of the lower lashline, Wonderland Beauty Sugar Pop on the inner half of the lid, Notoriously Morbid Sleepy Sands on the outer half of the lid and the LORAC Pro Palette for the rest. The lashes are Ardell Wispies(again!).

Kae Q Beso Balm - Mamey

Kae Q Beso Balm in the shade Mamey was an inclusion I was excited about, but unfortunately fell pretty flat. When I swatched this I was surprised at how different it was from the website swatch, which was a brighter, pinker and much more opaque coral instead of the semi opaque soft orangey-coral I have. When I went to check out their swatches again while writing this review I found that the Kae Q website is closed until further notice. A little Googling directed me to a Reddit thread full of customers recounting their own experiences with Kae Q products that were wildly different to the colours pictured on the site, became unusable after a few months and formed wax blooms. It's disappointing to see such inconsistency from a brand and I hope that Kae Q will make efforts to do thing differently should they return. 

The formula isn't anything to write home about, lasting a mere two hours on my lips during which it was noticeably drying. Great big MEH from me on this one.

Kiss My Sass Circus Treat Lip Tint

You know, I hate to whinge, but I was quite excited about not one but TWO lip products in the July sub - that's my jam! Sadly my Kiss My Sass Lip Tint  in the shade Circus Treat (another exclusive shade for this theme) is almost unusable as it does not wind up from the tube. I contacted Linda from Innocent + Twisted Alchemy about it, who in turn contacted the owner of Kiss My Sass and they came back with a suggestion that it may have been incorrectly filled, meaning the product had not reached the bottom of the tube to fit around the twisting component. It was advised that I try to gently melt the product in a bowl of warm water to encourage it to reach the bottom, but after several efforts without any results I gave up on that and have effectively written this Lip Tint off. I used a lip brush to dig out some product to swatch; as you can see it's a very sheer yellowy nude with mostly even colour pay off. I have a couple of Kiss My Sass powder cosmetics that I really love, but I'm not encouraged to try the lip products now. 

Update 8th February: Elizabeth from Kiss My Sass Cosmetics has reached out to me to let me know that there was a manufacturers error with the tubes used for the lip tints when these were made. It has since been resolved and there should be no further issues.

If you're keen on trying out the I+T Alchemists subscription, you can sign up here, or check the store for one month trial subscriptions. I also recommend joining the Innocent + Twisted Atelier Facebook group for sneak peeks and news.

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Lani

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