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Recently, I've been enjoying sifting through my untried indie eyeshadows and creating eye looks that are a bit different to my tried and true. I've had a lot of fun doing it and more to the point, I'm not drowning in untrieds anymore! A lot of my untrieds come from indie makeup subscriptions, like the now defunct I+T Alchemists. While it was available, this 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 one of the additional brands. It was very reasonably priced (in my opinion) at $17USD monthly (including international shipping) for a large duration of the subscription and increased to $20USD a bit later on. I subscribed for a bit over a year and a half and really enjoyed the mixture of products and colours.
These particular eyeshadows may no longer be available, but Linda, the creator of I+T Alchemy, is releasing new things soon, so I wanted to show my existing collection some love. The theme of the September 2015 box was Predator, as you may have gathered from the labels. I'm a total wuss and have only seen glimpses of Predator 2 through my fingers while hubby watched it once, and I saw the Alien Vs Predator movie many years ago, so I'm not too familiar with the franchise. That doesn't stop me from appreciating the colours, though!
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) and the featured guest brands, Spectrum Cosmetics, The Chequered Lily and Abyssal Realm are all available on Etsy. Dark Matter Makeup is currently on hiatus.
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Marked By The Kill
Marked By The Kill is a rusty orange with gold shimmer. The formula is superb; no base is necessary for it to perform well, though the base colour deepens a little over a sticky base. I'm very glad to have this in my collection.
Cold & Dirty
Cold & Dirty is a dark warm brown with strong green shimmer. It's like a darker version of MAC Green Brown pigment and predictably, I LOVE IT. Warm brown and green shimmer all in one - could this be any more up my alley?! It performs well alone or over a base but the green shimmer is stronger with one.
I used Cold & Dirty on the outer half of the lid and lower lashline, TheBalm Mischievous Marissa on the inner half of the lid, TheBalm Luscious Lani on the inner corner and the Lorac PRO Palette for the rest. The lashes are Ardell Wispies.
Trophies of Man
Trophies of Man is a medium metallic green with cool leanings. The shimmer becomes more silvery over a sticky base, pulling it from forest to sage green - I can't decide which I like more! Excellent formula here too.
Unblooded Hunt
Unblooded Hunt is a slate blue with turquoise sheen. The colour transformation over the base here is pretty amazing! This one wasn't my favourite, purely out of personal taste, but the formula held up to I+T Alchemy's standard.
Abyssal Realm Uneeda Medical
Uneeda Medical is a medium fuchsia with silver sparkles. I found it a little sheer when applied alone in the arm swatch, but it built up more readily when I used it on the lower lashline in the look below.
The Chequered Lily Under the Stars
Under the Stars is a medium blue with rainbow shimmer and larger golden sparkles. A base is definitely necessary to reach Under the Stars' full potential, it applies evenly without one but lacks dimension and opacity. I do really like the complexity it has over the base, though. The Chequered Lily isn't a brand I'd heard of prior to receiving this sample so I'm very keen to check out more of their offerings now.
Under the Stars is on the centre of the lid in this look, with Innocent + Twisted Alchemy Enamoured By Morning Light on the inner third, Feats of Fashion on the outer third, Porcelana on the lower lashline and Moon Castles on the inner corner. The lashes are these ones from Born Pretty Store.
Dark Matter Makeup Xenomorph
Xenomorph is a smokey plum in a black base with purple shimmer and golden sparkles. Like Under the Stars, it really needs a sticky base and looks lacklustre without one. That purple shimmer, though... 😍 Dark Matter Makeup has been on hiatus for over a year now and I do hope they come back, though preferably with a more practical sample option than the plastic vial this came in. It's cute and all, but you can't fit a brush in it and I'm not prepared to tip some out everytime I want to use it, so I decanted mine into a plastic baggie. Say what you will about baggies, they're still easier to use than this sort of thing!
I used Xenomorph all over the lid here, with ColourPop Seeker on the outer V and lower lashline and the W7 The Nudes palette for the rest. The lashes are Ardell 117s.
Spectrum Cosmetics Voodoo
Voodoo is a lipgloss with a blackened indigo base colour and lots of purple sheen and shimmer. It's a striking colour but the formula left a lot to be desired in terms of application. The texture is very thick and seemed to pull at itself, leaving the streaks that you can see in my swatch and it was sheer and uneven in general, contributing to the difficulty I had in evening it out. Voodoo lasted four hours on me, which I didn't think was too shabby at all for a lipgloss, and faded evenly to a faint black stain. There were no issues with feathering or migration and it was hydrating. I'd consider trying other shades from Spectrum Cosmetics but probably not anything vampy - they're just too much work!
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Lani
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