.. left to enter my Just Say Yes! Valentines Day giveaway!!
Melissa from Morgana Minerals has come out with an amazing new collection of vegan lipsticks. I emailed her, practically begging for a few samples to try and she graciously sent me a few to preview.
As always, I’m completely impressed. She tells me she changed the formula a little, and I have to admit, I do think these are a little better quality then the already amazing shades from her I already have!
I wore the blue one out the other night and someone asked me if it was *really* that cold in the venue. I wrote down the website for her on the back of a napkin, so I hope she checked them out. The sample sizes are generous and have quite a few applications in them, a great way to test them out, just in case you’re not sure the color is for you.
The formula is so nicely pigmented, coverage is easily achieved with one swipe of a lip brush. I find them really nicely moisturizing and they don’t stain my lips when I take them off.
Subzero
Silverwitch
Gunmetal Blue
Blood
Lillian
I’m going to distract you a little while I take the morning off. I ended up with a total of 22 ‘anonymous’ comments yesterday, from about 8 different IP’s. I hate having to go through all that, but I was deleting the comments and blocking the IPs most of the night. There were quite a few spam comments left on previous posts (with open comments) that I have to go through and clean up this morning.
So anyway… look at the sweet aquatic mammals!
Use the code ‘hello15′ for 15% off your order between now and Valentine’s Day!!
ETA
I feel like it’s Christmas, she has a VEGAN RED!!
This is one of the most requested reviews I had. I’ve been putting it off and putting it off, but here it is. Finally.
Ordering
The Sweet Libertine site is easy to navigate and pretty cleanly designed. Navigation runs down the right hand side and they have an integrated cart which keeps track of your order on the top of the page.
They sell eye shadows, some in special collections, as well as correctors, the usual loose glitters, and a few pressed palettes. They also have a category for supplies, which I find odd since they don’t sell anything you’d need extra jars or scoops for.
The company has an infatuation with Amanda Palmer, who I freely admit to not caring enough about to really know who she is. Formerly of the Dresden Dolls, all I know about her is she’s engaged to Neil Gaiman, who will one day come to his senses and marry me. There are several shadows and collections dedicated or inspired by her.
They also sell perfume oil and shadow sets, which had me mildly interested. The shadows are only 5$ which is fairly competitive.
I ordered :
First Sleep Perfume and Eye Shadow Set
Shipping
The website states that shipping is 2$ for First Class, but I was charged more then that. The price seemed reasonable, however be prepared to wait on your order due to USPS mailing times on First Class mail varying.
I placed my order on December 18th, and it shipped on the 22nd. It arrived on December 24th.
Packaging
My order was packed in a plain bubble mailer. The set was wrapped in a small organza bag, the rest of the items in a plastic bag. Included were a few business card and my invoice with a small thank you written on it.
Product
The shadows come in 5 gram jars with sifters, labeled with the company name and color. There are no ingredients or weight listed.
The perfume from the set is described as:
The fragrance is exceptional, as should be paired with an exceptional shadow, crystal white musk and the softest rose are put together with mint as a first whiff of calmness. Hypnotically beautiful and perfectly paired with the shadow.
I can smell the rose in the bottle, which is why I ordered this particular scent. On it’s very sweet and strong, though. It’s almost overpowering to me, which is why I probably shouldn’t review perfume. I never like any of it. It actually smells like strong soap to me. The one reprieve is that this perfume isn’t actually made by Sweet Libertine.
The colors were nothing special. In fact the one named XXX is pretty unfortunately named after it’s TKB match, XXX.
Aviator and First Sleep are rather uncomplex, almost bland blues. They compliment each other nicely and look good worn together.
Checking out the other products on the sight I see a few things I recognize directly from wholesalers, such as the glitters and the correctors. I can also guess what a few of their colors are match wise to the wholesalers site. They don’t sell a very wide range of colors, which is because they don’t actually formulate them all themselves. They do, in fact, address the fact that about half of their shadows are straight repackaged here. [ETA: Moments after this review was posted the information on this page changed. And was then changed again. Also please note, Sweet Libertine is NOT on the list of companies Phyrra recommends.]
From left to right : First Sleep, XXX, and Aviator
The shades don’t seem to have any base, they were streaky and don’t blend well. First Sleep wore off before noon, even with my usual UDPP base. You can see in the swatch picture they have the characteristics of straight mica, the shine and transparency.
Conclusion
Would I purchase from Sweet Libertine again? No.
- Their ‘custom’ colors were not very interesting or complex.
- Over half of the shadows and the rest of the other items they sell are repackaged.
- They are not of very good quality.
Overall: 
/5
Find Them Online
ETA
Wow, the annyomous comments I’m getting from this review are crazy. I am always amazed at the sort of things people have the nerve to post when their names are not attached to it. Apparently I should know that :
…everyone at SL thinks your (sic) retarded. They spent 20 hours making color. I follow them on Twitter and they’re laughing at you.
I did indeed go check and in fact there were some not so professional comments made. It’s my opinion that I don’t want to buy repackaged product and this particular company sells it, the owner herself states that, it’s not false information. No where at ALL did I say they didn’t blend any of their colors. The list on the blog at the time I was writing this review was about 50/50 blended/repackaged. I got that information FROM the company itself. I have noted in my review that the page has since been updated.
I suggested that I didn’t care for their formula, it doesn’t work for me.
It sounds almost as if the company condones such comments, which seems to go against what I hear from a lot of people regarding how ’sweet’ the owner is.
I’d considered closing the comments and editing a few of the ones posted (as some readers expressed concern about how it makes the poster look), but I think in the end things will speak for themselves.
Not everyone will like your product 100% of the time.
ETA, one more time…
I’m closing the comments on this review. I admit, I get a lot of opposing opinions on some of my reviews, but this is ridiculous. I would like to strongly apologize to Sarah (whom I believe is the owner) if I at all hurt her feelings personally with this review, as it’s not my intention at all. I’m reviewing the product I purchased and the company I purchased it from.
It’s obvious Sweet Libertine has some STRONG supporters, and that’s wonderful. I just cannot add my name to them.
What’s coming up?
A review of Morgana’s new vegan lipstick colors.
The conclusion of my Valentine’s Giveaway.
A Valentine’s inspired look that I’m totally in love with.
A new Etsy shop review.
An OOC Lip Tar review.
Sea World pictures.
So as you can probably tell from that last one, I’m taking the weekend off. I’ll be around Twitter, but I don’t have anything scheduled to post until Sunday’s Window Shopping. Tonight (Friday) I have this industry thing I have to show my face at, and I figured while I was at it, I’d make a weekend out of it. I’m staying at a spa resort (yes, it’s like ten minutes from my house, don’t judge). I’ll do the party thing, wake up and walk to SeaWorld for the afternoon tomorrow.
Speaking of Twitter, I’m holding a contest there! My 200th follower will receive a 50$ gift certificate to one of my favorite places to shop! Anyone who retweets the contest will be entered into a random drawing for a 25$ gift certificate.
How can you NOT love this polish, just the bottle makes it adorable. It’s a little Victorian type corset dress with a bustle in the back. And yes, the top totally has boobs.
These two colors are 63, a pink holo, and 65, a baby blue holo. The picture doesn’t show the amazing rainbow effect that hits them in just the right light, and I’ve spent way too many hours trying to capture it. You can see some examples here and here.
*Before people ask about the ring, it’s P Nut .
1 – Sakura Bracelet
This unique flower bracelet, handcrafted out of chain and sheet metal, was my inspiration for this look. It’s an amazing contrast of the soft and feminine and the hard and gritty.
I was at first thinking that the traditional hair fork would be perfect for this look. However, the over all feeling was moving towards edgy, rather then traditional, so I picked these simple barrettes. There are several ways to wear them, but I’d use them as ornaments in a finished updo, rather then as actual barrettes holding anything in place. For example, place them on each side (2 and 10) of a loosely woven bun, so just the flower is poking out.
3 – The Obi
In place of the usual, and expected, obi I found this menswear inspired belt. The bow is meant to be worn in the front, however, turned around (the bow in back) it makes a stunning replacement for an obi.
4 – The Face
Using all Aromaleigh products you can easily replicate a modern and more industrialized version of the Geisha’s traditional makeup.
For the face I recommend Glissade in Ghost, which is a true white. Dust it lightly over your foundation to add an obvious wash of innocent pallor over your face. Be careful and bring it down your neck as well, blending it carefully into whatever neckline you’re wearing.
After applying primer and a soft matte white shadow all over your eye, lid to brow, line your eye carefully in deep black, wining the end into a soft cat eye.
Using Helter Skelter Rocks! Sonic Eye Shadow and a liner medium, carefully draw a second line over the black in this glimmery red.
Follow up with the eye using Fire Woman Rocks! Sonic Rouge lightly in the crease and in the inner eye. The blush is a sheer red, perfect for a soft accent. Finish the eye with dramatic mascara and lashes.
Use the same blush to add a small circle of blush next to the eye, high on the cheek.
For your lips, use a wash of bright red lip color, such as Rocks! Sonic Lip Tint in She’s a Knock Out.
Someone asked me if I would write a little about the vegan products I recommend, but I thought as a precursor to that I should talk a little bit about the things I avoid.
First there are the obvious cosmetic related things I’ve mentioned before :
Then there are some not so obvious stuff that comes up in health and beauty aids.
Glycerin -
It’s not just a song by Bush. Glycerin is liquid most often used (in simplest terms) for it’s viscosity, it’s slicker then water, and as a humectent, it’s wetter then water. However, there are several types of glycerin. Vegetable based, which is most often derived from refining plant based cooking oils. Synthetic, which is man made. But there is also the third animal based version which also comes from animal tallow when refining it to make soap. Unless something specifically says it’s plant based, there isn’t really a way to look at them and tell them apart. However, the use of animal based glycerin is fading out, however some high end soaps still use it (ie Fight Club)
You know, Jell-O, Jelly, the stuff you make jams out of? It’s made from collagen inside animals’ skin and bones. So when you send a horse to the glue factory, they, you know, use all of him, including those bones. Although hooves aren’t actually used in gelatin.
Ok, so you say you can avoid gelatin by avoiding Jell-o and eating jams and jellies made from fruit based pectin. Well, you also have to be mindful of over the counter gellcaps, marshmallows, yogurts, and certain cheeses (but if you’re being vegan, you’re avoiding those already, right?!)
Some gelatin derived from fish is still used to distill beers and wines and clarifying juices. You can also find it coating paper, snuck into cosmetics as hydrolyzed collagen, and in a lot of hair gels.
Yes, it’s still in a lot of glues, too, but not in most common household products anymore.
Ok, put down the donuts with sprinkles. You know what those sprinkles are made of? Bugs. Lots of food glazes (such as the shells on Skittles) are made from shellac which is a bug resin like secretion that’s processed into either food based or household based uses. The ‘major’ vegan donuts company in LA was recently closed down when it was discovered they were using shellac based jimmies on their products.
The bugs are basically in the same family as the cochineal, which is the carmine bug.
It’s used in a lot of other things as well, such as waxes, antique records had a high concentration of shellac, plastics, and binders in a lot of inks.
This is something a lot of vegan even miss. Bone char is used to process and refine sugar and sometimes water. It’s easy to avoid bone bleached sugar by checking the bag or checking this nifty list. Bet you didn’t realize you were getting a little dose of ground up bone in your morning Starbucks.
