Aromaleigh v.2 swatches and review

I caved, I did! I was ordering some samples of the clearance v1 shades, and some v2 samples slipped into my cart as well. I was curious to see if the new shades were as good and had that sparkle factor of the original products.

All have been swatched over Pixie Epoxy.

giacinta

"rich, deep teal frost with green highlight shimmer"
Amazing, amazing teal shade. It has just enough sparkle not to be too satiny, and it's so versatile. If you want it to be more blue, use a patting motion. Want it to be greener? Buff it a little. I used it in a look with the colour sort of curving around the outer corner of my eye - it ended up looking like two different shades because I patted more colour on the upper lid and blended it out on the lower lid. I have ordered a full-size of this because it's exactly the teal I was looking for.

hellebore

"lush cool green frost with pink sparks"
When they said 'cool green' I wasn't expecting something so... faded? Pastel? The pink sparkles are visible and add an interesting dimension to the colour. It's pretty, it's just not something I can see myself reaching for a lot.

fraxinelle

"soft pinked buff with a green iridescence and blue sparks"
I was expecting this to have one of those plush bases with a bit of contrasting shimmer, but the base of this colour is SO blingy, I can only just make out the green/blue sparkles! A seriously shiny neutral. I think this would be great with a dark, equally glittery crease for a night out. Or, y'know, running errands.

elisabetta

"midtone buff with hints of rose and a smokey undertone"
Shimmery, rosy brass colour. Almost has a mauve sheen in some lights. Very steampunk, I like it!

can-can

"coral, in a plush luster fine sheen finish with softly shimmering rose highlight sparkles" 
I have no idea why it's SO orange in my photos. Soft, yet bright pinky coral with mostly golden glitter. Really pretty, really bright shade!

knickers

"pinked champagne luster sheen frost with delicate highlights of golden green" 
I keep giggling when I look at this shade. And I'll probably giggle every day I wear it. YES, I AM TWELVE, OKAY. Because this is over PE the gold/greenish highlights are very prominent. I'm sure it would look more pink over primer or bare skin.

ma cherie 

 
"sheer plush luster in a midtoned cocoa rosy buff, highlighted with fine shimmers of green and blue"
Brown-taupe with green and blue shimmer. Very pretty indeed. Neutral but with a dash of sparkle and colour.

vittoria 

"lush jade green with bright sparks of blue"
I don't know if I'd call this 'jade' green, but it's certainly a lush, rich, velvety colour. Would make a great crease or liner colour.


My final verdict? These are every bit as good as the old Aromaleigh shades, though they are still a long way from having the range v1 had. I would love to see some more brights and unusual shades, like the Rocks! and like some of the amazing Christmas shades with their super contrasting glitter. I can only hope they'll keep building their catalogue with more Moulin Rouge and less Bloom type shades. There are enough soft, neutral mattes on the market in my opinion. I'm so glad the Bete Noire shades are back - though, oddly, the difference in my collection since Aromaleigh v1 closed means the shades I originally wanted (Chantal, Amarante and Darcelle) I have too many similar shades to justify buying, and I now find other shades (Lisette and Bette) appealing.

Have you ordered from Aromaleigh v2 yet?

Shiro swatches!

Intertubes! Eyeshadows! ALL OF THE THINGS.

This is a combination of several orders over the last few months.

Dance of Death is the first (?) colour of the month and by the time you are reading this, it will no longer be available. Sorry about that! If you like Shiro on Facebook you can suggest and vote for colours of the month and then maybe next time you won't miss out.

Beyond the Fence
I'm not a huge Hunger Games fan but I am a fan of green eyeshadow. This was a bit more olive than I was expecting - it's like a non-glittery version of Fyrinnae's Dressed To Kill eyeshadow. Which is one of my favourites, so I am glad I got this.

Majora's Mask
If you're like me and you own a ton of purple eyeshadows, GET THIS ANYWAY. It is loaded with gold sparkle and it's seriously gorgeous.

Enrichment Center
A free sample and it's a Portal colour. How did you know, Caitlin?! Soft, shiny sage green.

Forty Cakes is a creamy hot pink. Kind of barbie-ish. It is probably my version of MAC St Germain, since everyone raves about it, but every time I see it all I can think is "WAAAY too pale for me".

Team Buffy is a deep brown-plum red. I would say the photo is a bit less brown than it appears in person. I like building up the colour opacity a fair bit, but I imagine it can be worn sheer if you want something less vampy. Huuuur. It tends to settle into my lip lines if I'm not careful.

Nyan Cat is hot pink with gold shimmer that makes it almost coral. The shimmer is very present if you apply a good amount - it's borderline frosty, in fact. Here is Nyan Cat swatched next to Forty Cakes if you're worried about having too many pinks in your lip product wardrobe:

Swatches of older intertubes can be seen here.

Don't forget kids, be careful when using Intertubes because THEY STAIN!

NotD: Light as Air Bubbles

Shopped my stash and picked out Light As Air. I love the colour and haven't worn it in ages. Remembered I had bought a wheel of rhinestones from eBay to use for nail art, so I dug those out too.

Yes, that is a giant air bubble under the middle rhinestone. It happened on my right hand as well!

What can I say, I'm just really good at messing up nail polish :P