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Innocent + Twisted Alchemy's subscription boxes are sadly on their way out with the final box being the December one this year. I subscribed for a bit over a year and a half and unfortunately, as you can tell from the date on this particular box, never got around to showing the sub the love it deserves on the blog! I+T A will still hopefully be sticking around, though, so although these colours are no longer available I hope that showing them to you will introduce you to a brand that's really worth trying.
While it was available, the subscription service included three to four Innocent + Twisted Alchemy products and a few samples from other indie brands, occasionally with a full-size sample from another brand. It was very reasonably priced (in my opinion) at $17USD including international shipping monthly for a large duration of the subscription and increased to $20USD a bit later on.
Formula overview:
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.Swatch notes:
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: Innocent + Twisted Alchemy shades are available on their website (though these shades are no longer around), Howl Cosmetics have closed down permanently, Glamour Doll Eyes are available on their website, Scaredy Cat Cosmetics are on Etsy, as are Eccentric Cosmetics and Dusk Cosmetics.
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Lani
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Moon Dreams
Moon Dreams is an icy lavender with a pretty sheen. The pigmentation and texture are great and the sheen comes out more strongly as you pat it on. A lovely eyeshadow for purple lovers!
Dark Moon Rising
Dark Moon Rising is a medium violet-purple with lots of sparkles and red sheen. This one definitely benefited from a sticky base although I used it without one on my lower lashline in the makeup look further down and the colour payoff was still decent.
Midnight Kiss
Midnight Kiss is a pressure-sensitive deep burgundy matte which changes to an indigo-blue as you blend it out. I'm not mad on pressure-sensitive shadows and I had some trouble blending this along the crease so I wasn't thrilled with this one.
I used Midnight Kiss on the crease/outer V, Dark Moon Rising on the outer two thirds of the lid and lower lashline, Moon Dreams on the inner third of the lid/lower lashline and Moon Castles (from the Release the Clow collection) on the inner corner. I also used the LORAC Pro palette for additional blending and the false lashes are from a Born Pretty Store set.
Glamour Doll Eyes Desert Man's Bluff
Desert Man's Bluff is a warm peach with purple sparkles, created exclusively for this subscription. I LOVE this colour and it was actually my favourite thing in the August '15 box! I used to buy Glamour Doll Eyes way back when I first started trying indies and I really must try more from them soon because the formula on Desert Man's Bluff was pretty darn awesome.
For this look I used Desert Man's Bluff on the inner third of my lid/lower lashline, Innocent + Twisted Alchemy Marked by the Kill on the lid (from the September 2015 sub), Femme Fatale Peaches For Me on the inner corner, the LORAC Pro palette and Ardell Accent 315 lashes.
Scaredy Cat Cosmetics Dee's Nuts
Dee's Nuts is described by Scaredy Cat Cosmetics as a 'rich earthy brown with gold shimmer' and I think they've hit the nail on the head there. The gold shimmer brings an antiqued look to the eyeshadow when applied over a sticky base and I really like it. It was easy to work with, too. I'm not at all keen on the packaging of the trial vials as you can't get a brush in there and pouring a little out would create unnecessary mess, so I wound up decanting mine into a screwtop jar. I'd consider trying more from Scaredy Cat Cosmetics though as their full size products do come in jars.
Here I've used Scaredy Cat Cosmetics Dee's Nuts on the outer half of the lid, Baroque Cosmetics Dark Chocolate Truffle on the inner half of the lid, Abyssal Realm Uneeda Medical on the outer half of the lower lashline, Esoteric Aesthetic Maiden on the inner half of the lower lashline, ColourPop I Heart This on the inner corner and the LORAC Nude Skinny palette for additional blending. The lashes are these ones from Born Pretty Store.
Eccentric Cosmetics Future Is A Choice
Future is a Choice is a navy blue with rainbow sparkles and a good amount of sheen. As you can see from the swatches, this is an eyeshadow that absolutely needs a sticky base to work well as it was sheer and patchy without one. Looking at how gorgeous it is over the sticky base though, you may consider it worth the effort! This eyeshadow was created exclusively for the August '15 sub.
Dusk Cosmetics Drake Scale
Drake Scales is a gunmetal grey with lots of sparkle and blue sheen. I don't gravitate towards greys often, particularly blue-greys, but I liked this one! It applied well and has certainly piqued my interest about trying more from Dusk Cosmetics. This colour was created exclusively for the August '15 sub.
I used Eccentric Cosmetics Future is a Choice on the middle of the lid and on the inner half of the lower lashline, Dusk Cosmetics Drake Scales on the outer third of the lid and outer half of the lower lashline, Sugarpill Lumi on the inner third of the lid and inner corner and My Beauty Addiction Smog on the crease. I also used the LORAC Pro palette for additional blending and Ardell 120 lashes.
Howl Cosmetics Five-Headed Dragon
Five-Headed Dragon is a beautiful berry shade with mostly opaque colour payoff. While I love the colour, the formula left me unimpressed as it took a fair bit of building up (to be fair, that is somewhat expected when working with a semi-opaque formula and a lip brush) and was gritty - you can see specks of what I assume is unmixed pigment in the swatch, that's not from my lips!
Lani
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