Ever wonder which mineral makeup company to try next? How about a chance to try half a dozen at once? Next week five lucky readers will win a Rainbow of Samples featuring mineral shadows samples from Aromaleigh, Meow Cosmetics, Beauty from the Earth, Morgana Minerals, G2, and Hi-Fi Cosmetics!
Ordering
The She Space, or About Face Cosmetics website is really very basic. The menu runs down the left hand side bar and you navigate from there.
When ordering shadows you find the color you want, searching down one long scrolling page and then type your color into a box. When you hit enter it opens a second page, keeping your order in a Paypal based checkout. I’ve mentioned before I’m not really a huge fan of the non-integrated checkout system. I found myself clicking back and forth between pages as I tried to figure out what shades would be in my final order, I usually add a little bit of everything I’m interested in, and then sit and look over then again, picking the most unique shades or the ones I am drawn to the most.
They sell a large selection of colors, some assorted finishing powders and blushes, as well as a line of Astrology based shadows. The prices seem fair, each shadow is 4.50$ for a 3gram jar.
I ordered:
Lives for Drama
Oh You Jealous Girl – from the Taurus line
Take the Cake
School Girl
Toast the Traitor
Root of Evil
Slightly Insane
Shipping
I ordered on November 15th. I checked around the site and saw a notice on the Customer Service page that orders take about 10 business days to ship, and once they do I will receive a shipping notice and a tracking number.
I emailed a couple of days after placing the order asking about ingredients and wondering if I’d be getting an invoice. I never received an reply. I emailed a total of four more times, each time asking about the company, shipping times, would I get an invoice, etc etc. I never received a reply.
My order arrived on December 03, I never received a shipping notice or a tracking number.
Packaging
My shadows arrived in a bubble mailer, they were enclosed inside a plastic bag inside with one of the pink shadows leaking, the lid wasn’t on tight. There was a small handwritten thank you note, but no invoice (which I had emailed about) and no samples.
Colors / Formula
The shadows come in small 3gram jars (5 gram jars with false domed bottoms). They did not have sifters. Some were packed full that when I opened the top they puffed all over and some were not as full.
OH YOU JEALOUS GIRL: Rich blue based pink-berry shimmer with just a hint of iridescent voilet twinkle.
This color is a very muted fuchsia with almost no discernible iridescent at all. It’s very close to a few other mica’s I already have.
TAKE THE CAKE: Vivid pink with a hint of magenta.
This is a soft cotton candy pink with a little iridescent to it.
SCHOOL GIRL: Bubble gum pink with a shimmering layer of copper and violet.
This actually looks like a slightly subdued version of Take the Cake.
LIVES FOR DRAMA: Soft melon berry
This is a really pale pinky melon shade that almost seems like baby powder in the jar, it’s really fine and almost matte.
ROOT OF EVIL: Blackened Purple with a twinkling layer of baby blue, lilac and hot pink.
Thist seems more like a dark grey then a purple, and it’s not very opaque. The twinkles are very subtle and you have to catch it just right in the light to see all three different sparkle colors.
TOAST THE TRAITOR: sky blue with a kiss of teal.
I see almost no teal in this, it’s more of a very light baby blue.
SLIGHLY INSANE: True lime green.
This is a very pale almost baby mint color, not a lime green at all.
All in all I am really disappointed in the colors. Looking at the site I compared to the descriptions I was just assuming they were slightly washed out photos (you can see some of them seem almost out of focus). But when I received the shadows I realized they were just really bad descriptions. They are almost nothing like I expected, the three pinks, Lives for Drama, School Girl, and Take the Cake are all so similar they look the same in low light.
From top to bottom, left to right : Oh You Jealous Girl, Take the Cake, School Girl, Lives for Drama, Root of Evil, Toast the Traitor, Slighly Insane
They don’t seem very pigmented at all, I’m assuming it’s because there is more base then raw mica in their formula. I tried to apply them wet to see if there was a difference. Foiled they are still very soft and muted colors and they seem to dry a little dusty.
Conclusion
Would I purchase from The She Space / About Face Cosmetics again? No.
- The colors are really washed out and not true to the website at all.
- No one replied to my multiple emails, there was no customer service.
- I’m not crazy about the shipping time, which was longer then expected.
Just before Thanksgiving I was suprised to receive an email from one of the partners at Fyrinnae.
He was very apologetic regarding my experience with the Lip Lusters and Eye Inks. He’d suggested perhaps that color’s batch had been overcooked, which lead to the runny grainy texture of it.
He offered to replace my items right away.
I can’t think of customer service any better then approaching an unhappy customer and offering to correct the problem unasked. So many companies would rather ignore the complaints. Fyrinnae scores major points in my book.
True to his word, I received a replacement package Monday, wrapped very carefully with two extra goodies as way of apology.
As well as replacing my Lustre and my Ink, I also received a second mini size Lustre in Acidic Cherry and a small sample jar of Prince of Darkness eye shadow. Both reds match each other brilliantly and shows someone really put thought into the extras, something that is above and beyond.
Have I changed my mind on the Lustres?
Yes, very much so. These tubes seem to have a MUCH nicer consistency. The red one is amazing, I’m so pleased they thought to include that for me. I wore it last night when Krys and I went out, and it looks so amazing and wore very well. Side by side there is a difference between the old purple and the new, so I can say with confidence it was a simple and easily corrected mistake and I will probably purchase some more of the mini tubes of Lustre.
ETA:
After emailing a little bit I discovered that the faces behind Fyrinnae are men, so forgive me while I quickly edit the pronouns here 
Also, he tells me :
We’re kind of odd about the free samples, and always try to make them at least coordinate with a customer’s purchase so someone buying all taupes won’t get a lime green sparkle shade in there.
I don’t find that odd at all!! Well done!!
After reading Ana’s review on Sassy, actually in the MIDDLE of reading her review, I started looking through the Sassy site and ended up placing a quick order. Just to satisfy my curiosity.
Ordering
Sassy’s site is easy to navigate. It seems a little ’stock’ to me, as if it’s all from a template, the images seem too too. I realize that makes it professional, but it also seems a little cold somehow. It’s somehow caught between feeling like a big companies website and a small businesses’.
They sell a variety of products, face powders, blushes, shadows, and soon they’ll be adding lip glosses and the like. Each category has several finishes like Shimmery or Silk Luster, which is more of a muted almost matte finish.
Each color is photographed in a jar, no swatches, so it’s sometimes hard to get a good idea of how the light might hit it, or how opaque it actually is, etc etc.
Your basket stays in the left sidebar, keeping a running tally and a list of items you’ve looked at trails down the right side. Their prices seem really competitive, shadows are 4.25$ and samples are .75$ and come in a little sealed jar.
I ordered:
Gasoline Rainbow (Sample Size)
Heartache (Sample Size)
Refresh (Sample Size)
Vendetta (Sample Size)
Atomic (Sample Size)
Break The Silence (Sample Size)
Cocktail Party (Sample Size)
Jolt (Sample Size)
No Rules (Sample Size)
Pop Star Meltdown (Sample Size)
Rebellious (Sample Size)
Ruby Slippers (Sample Size)
Trust Me (Sample Size)
Exile (Sample Size)
Sorceress (Sample Size)
With shipping my order was under 15$.
Shipping
I ordered on November 24th and my order arrived on November 28th. Shipping is really quick, so that’s definitely a plus.
What struck me as odd was the shipping notice I received from them, it read, in part :
Ooh, girl! The goods are on their way!
Order #xxx has been shipped. You can check out the details below.
Let us know how you LOVE expressing your Sassy side!
Your Biggest Fans,
Team Sassy
It was just not really what I expected. Ohh girl?! As I mentioned the site seemed really cold, almost without personality and the email communications from them are just so, what is the word? Familiar? I didn’t exactly expect that, so maybe it’s just me?
Packaging
My order arrived in a bubble mailer. Inside the little jars where all in a little produce type net tied with a ribbon. Included was my invoice with a written thank you and two extra sample jars.
Formula / Colors
The samples came in little 3gram jars with the little domed false bottoms. They were each sealed with a little plastic wrap and each has a sticker on the top with the color name and what it is, being it Liner, Shimmer, or Silk Luster.
Not all the jars have the same amount, so I’m not sure if they are sold by weight or just by eyeballing it. There is a size chart (Ana had to point it out to me) on each of the products ordering page that shows a little image of the size of the sample. Some seemed to have about a gram of product, some had less.
The colors are all very beautiful, each seems to have quite a bit of depth. The shimmery ones will go all over the place, so I really recommend a sticky base, such as a paint pot or even some of Fyrinnae’s Pixie Epoxy.
The Silk Luster’s have a really unique finish. They are like a silky matte without the almost flat looking finish a lot of MM mattes have. While it’s not shiny or shimmery, they are soft and opaque.
From top to bottom, left to right : Jolt, Ruby Slippers, Cocktail Party, Heartache, Break the Silence, Sorceress, No Rules, Vendetta, Pop Star Breakdown, Refresh, Spin the Bottle, Exile, Tempted, Atomic, Trust Me, Gasoline Rainbow, Rebellious.
Somehow I managed to do it again. No Rules is a match for GDE Dirty Jeans, HN Hush a Bye, and BFTE Ocean Mist.
From left to right : No Rules, Ocean Mist, Dirty Jeans, and Hush a Bye
Conclusion
Would I purchase from Sassy Mineral’s again? Yes. I already have.
- The price for the size is just beyond compare, even if some shades I got were similar to ones I already owned.
- The Silk Lusters, while not really all that bright, have a wonderful finish I’m sure a lot of people will like.
- The shipping is amazingly quick.
I’m pretty sure they are still working on their ‘image’ since the email’s were just so out of sync with how the site feels. Hopefully they .75$ samples stick around, you can get quite a few new shades to try out for under 15$.
I’m hoping to be able to swatch some of the colors a little clearer later this week after my second order comes, just to be able to give you all a better idea of the amazing range of shades they have available.
ETA:
I just got the shipping notice on my second order and they’ve already changed the wording
Great news! The goods are on their way!
So many companies out there sell samples (and a good portion don’t) that it’s often confusing as to how much product you get and what each costs.
This list will get stickied to my sidebar —> and updated as often as I get new information. I hope it helps!!
- Price : 1$
- Container : small labeled baggie
- Product Amount : typically just under 1 gram of product
- Price : 1$
- Container : small labeled baggies
- Product Amount : 1/8th a teaspoon, which is less then .5 gram of product
- Price : $1.75
- Container : small jar
- Product Amount : 1/4th of a teaspoon, just about .5 gram of product
- Price : 1$
- Container : small labeled baggie
- Product Amount : about 1/8 teaspoon which is less then .5 gram of product
- Price : .75$
- Container : small jar
- Product Amount : most are over 1 gram of product
- Price : 2$
- Container : small jar
- Product Amount : about 1 gram of product
- Price : 3.50$ for a jar, 2.00$ for a baggie
- Container : jars or baggies
- Product Amount : over 1 gram of product in the jar, a little less then 1 gram in the baggies
- Price : 1.75$
- Container : small jar
- Product Amount : 1/4 teaspoon which is about .5 gram of product
- Price : Around 1$ each
- Container : large labeled baggie
- Product Amount : almost one full gram
Comparing BFTE’s 2$ sample size to Sassy’s .75$ sample size:
From left to right : BFTE, Sassy
December is almost upon us, and while I know I’m going to be crazy busy, I also have a lot planned to post about.
The first two weeks of the month my best friend int he whole wide world will be visiting for two weeks. We’re planning trips to Disney, to see AFI, the Zoo, Medusa, an IWNBTS show or two and lots of shopping.
In between all that I have planned :
- A Sassy Mineral’s review.
- A sample comparison post.
- A Hi-Fi Cosmetics review. (She’s having a sale, go hit that before it’s too late.)
- A few misc Etsy reviews.
- A nice long ranty post about Archetype.
- A Morgana haul post.
- A super amazing new contest and giveaway.
- Maybe a SheSpace review, if they ever answer my emails.
- A Stardust review.
- A Sobe haul post.
- A super surprise review.
So I promise I won’t disappear altogether!
Thursday I sat down with a dozen loose mica’s and some pressing medium and tried my hand at pressing some shadows. I actually prefer loose minerals, but a friend of mine has never used them but loved the colors. So for her Christmas present I wanted to make her a little pressed palette.
- Using an old cupcake tin, I sterilized it with alcohol in order to mix a separate color in each of the cups.
- I added some mica and some base, mixed it up and then added the pressing medium.
- I blended them all really well and then put them into the little tins.
- After the tins sat overnight I pressed them with a quarter and a paper towel.
- I let them sit overnight again.
This morning I took a look at them. While it’s not the most professional looking thing ever, I think they came out nicely!!
While talking back and forth with Amy, from Shrinkle, about the much anticipated Sugar Pill launch she offered to send me the pressed shadows from Medusa that she’d gotten last year.
I accepted thankfully and they arrived today!!
Packaging
They are similar to MAC, in little black containers with the flip top lid. The containers are a little bigger, though, the actual pan inside seems the same size.
The bottom is labeled with the color and ingredients.
Formula / Colors
Amy had mentioned she never used them because she thought they had an odd texture. When I sat down to swatch them I immediately noticed the same thing. They are hard. There really isn’t any other way to describe it. It’s almost impossible to get any color to pick up on a brush and it took quite a bit of rubbing with my index finger to get enough color to swatch on the back of my hand.
The first time, I tried it bare on my hand and the colors barely stuck, they were very light. I reswatched using UDPP as a primer and got enough color to stick to take some swatch examples.
From left to right : Electro Red, Electric Indigo, Electric, Purple, Electric Kiwi
Even with a primer and depositing as much color as I could, the colors are not as vibrant as they appear in the pots. The red in the pot is an amazing bright shade, but the swatch is very tomato. The blue is deep and rich, but on my hand it’s very pale. The purple is a nice red-violet shade and on my hand it barely shows up at all. The kiwi looks like an amazing and bright lime shade. Sadly, it’s as a washed out yellow when swatched.
Conclusion
Would I purchase these again? No, although they were given to me as a gift to review.
- I’m not sure I could wear them if I tried, they are so hard.
- The color payoff for the amount you have to pack on isn’t worth it.
- The cost, at 9.00$ is a little steep for a product that has almost no payoff.
I realize that loose shadows are not for everyone, and lots of people are looking for something pressed with amazing bright pay off. I’m sorry to say I don’t think Medusa’s pressed shades are worth it.
