Review: Morgana Minerals (picspam!)

If you don't know about Morgana Minerals, I have two things to say to you:
1) Where have you BEEN?
2) You are missing out.

I first heard about Morgana due to their fantastic vegan lipsticks. Mostly out-there shades, with a few more conservative ones mixed in, the formula does NOT disappoint. I first purchased the lippes when the samples were available, and because they were cheap and I was excited, I got 15 samples. They are ridiculously opaque, creamy and wear quite well. I have swatched every single one of my samples for you. Yep, all 15! Colour descriptions are mine, not Morgana's, same goes for the scent descriptions.

Serenity (neon blue. No scent.)

Cinnamon Stick (molten bronze. Faint cinnamon scent.)

Pumpkin Eater (rich, metallic sienna. No scent.)

Coffin (creamy, dark chocolate. Faint sweetish scent.)

Silverwitch (antiqued silver)

Grape (deep vampy purple. Faint grape scent.)

Watermelon (bright candy pink with silvery-green shimmer. Faint watermelon scent.)

Shrieking Violet (the colour of a ripe plum's skin)

Sugar Plum Rum (shimmery, blackened purple. Faint sweetish scent.)

Slime (metallic lime green)

Coraline's Kiss (neon, slightly metallic coral)

Sub Zero (Superman's tights. No, seriously, metallic mid-tone blue, JUST LIKE Superman's blue spandex.)

Lillian (silvery-lilac. This colour HATES me, it would not sit properly on my lips).

Blueberry (my fave. Literally the colour of blueberries - dark, but still vibrantly blue. I had barely enough left to swatch! Faint blueberry scent.)

Rustic (chocolate brown with subtle green shimmer).

These swatches are a testament to the moisturising properties of Morgana's formula: I did all these swatches in one sitting, and afterwards my lips were not sore, chapped or dehydrated. I think I had trouble with the metallics because they were a bit cold and hard, and I was using a rather crappy lip brush. Anyway, the lipsticks come in hand-poured tubes going for $10, or lipstick pots going for $5. The pots allow you to mix formulas, or add balm if you're after something a bit more sheer. All of these except Rustic are from the now-distontinued lipstick samples. I have plans to buy a heap more lip pots. I want Blueberry, and I want to try Licorice, the black shade.

What I haven't heard raved about much - and I don't know why - are the brushes in the shop. I have the dual-ended mini brush and it is fantastic. Seriously, the bristles are softer than soft, the ferrule is sturdy, the brush is long enough to handle easily and short enough to tuck into your cosmetic pouch for touch-ups on the go, of either lid colour or liner. I ordered the mini brush with a pile of lip and eye samples, paid shipping, and was promptly contacted by Melissa offering me a refund for shipping. She said she was happy to ship the order - internationally - for free since the brush was small. My most recent order, she refunded some shipping as well. Now THAT's customer service. Since my first order, Melissa has had to up sample shipping to $1. This was purely for security purposes, since some samples orders were getting lost in the mail. Compared to some other companies, who charge regular order prices for shipping - a huge amount for international sales - I am totally fine with that!

People have been raving about the Medieval collection for a while, so I won't go into detail about it. Suffice to say, anything you've read has not been an exaggeration. Here are my swatches to add to the swathe. Joan de Arc, Beowulf, Gauntlet, Concubine, Chivalry, Winifred:

Obligatory OMGDUOCHROME shots of Chivalry and Winifred:

My non-Medieval collection swatches, Twinkling Cherraine (searing red with silver sparkles), Sinister (amazingly gorgeous teal shimmer on a black base), and Cat's Eye (shimmery yellow-green):

The samples are about the standard size for $1 mineral baggies - enough to try several times to make up your mind. Full-sizes are quite generous and sturdy. Morgana is actually the first company I bought full-sizes from without trying the sample sizes first - for Joan d'Arc and Gauntlet. I do not regret it in the slightest!

Melissa has lots of exciting new things planned for Morgana Minerals, including lip glosses (which I'm sure will be amazing!),  new lipstick colours (nudes and neutrals on the way, yay!) new eyeshadow collections (including a rumoured pastels collection, and a confirmed matte collection) and a new website.  A complaint I have read - and made myself - often is that the website is a little clunky and slow. Melissa has listened to her customers and is in the process of re-designing the website to make it more customer-friendly. 

I'm eager to get more brushes from her, as well as some full-sizes of the sample shadows, and lipsticks. There is a $20 minimum for ordering, but her shipping is so reasonable and she is always quick to refund the difference. Morgana Minerals is closed in the wake of a huge customer appreciation sale, it re-opens on the first of August, and then the exciting new things start rolling out.


Hope you enjoyed the review!
Jade.