Sweet Libertine – A Review
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.
I do appreciate your review of our products. The color correctors, though, are made by my own specific formula. Except for the Serecite, there are no other similar ingredients.
And XXX is indeed a straight up color – I was trying to discontinue the straight up micas, but a lot of my customers didn’t want me to. I do need up update the list, though, because we have discontinued some unblended colors and have added about 30-35 more custom blended colors to put on there.
Let me know if you have any other feedback or thoughts – I’d be happy to hear them.
In that first paragraph – what I meant to say that our concealers are NOT repackaged in any way shape or form. I took months to tweak and develop a formula that worked for what I needed it to do.
Also, a lot of the glitters are custom blended, and they aren’t from the source you link to.
Thank you for your reply to this review. I was sort of surprise to see it not five minutes after it was scheduled to post.
As for the glitters, if you read my page on repackaging you’ll see that I often use a company(TKB or The Con) as an example of a straight repackaged product even if it’s not the direct source just to show as a comparison.
I have google alerts, so whenever anyone mentions me on the net, I get an email. It makes it easy to find reviews, etc.
And I do appreciate your review – the only thing I take issue with is the fact that you say we do not formulate any of the shadows ourselves. I have updated the list to show the micas that are repackaged. But every color we have released since this summer has been custom formulated by either me or my fiance, Justin. There are some repackaged glitters on there, but any that has been released from this fall until now have been custom blended.
I don’t think I stated that at all…
That is how I interpreted “They don’t sell a very wide range of colors, which is because they don’t actually formulate them all themselves.”
I counted 62 original colors, 18 repackaged. If I’m completely missing something here, feel free to let me know – it’s been a long day already :-p
It seems to me that she meant it in the sense of, “not all of them are original (ie. only some of them are not original),” rather than “all of them are not original (ie. none of them are original).” ^^ Sorry to poke in, just wanted to give my interpretation.
Thanks for the review. I’d pretty much come to the same conclusion, just looking at the site with some basic knowledge I could tell they repacked. Even though I personally love Amanda, I’ll forgive you
As for claiming you said they don’t make any of their own shades I didn’t read that at all. You did a great job, as usual, of stating they repackaged and the blended colors were bland, which I totally agree with. Some people prefer muted shades, I guess.
I hope this company uses your frank review to improve upon their products, I can see they’re pretty interested to see what people are saying.
Could you let me know which colors you believe to be repackaged? We have 18 (of 80) colors that are repackaged. I would like to know so people can know if they purchase that color it’s an actual, formulated color and not dumped from a bag into a jar.
I had a feeling you’d know who she was. I Googled her the other day while I was writing this and saw what she wore at the Golden Globes.
Thanks for the compliments, as usual writing these sort of reviews are hard!
I was reading about these shadows on Kyle Cassidy’s wife’s LJ (Kyle Cassidy being one of my favorite photographers), and she was so gaga over them that I was tempted. That and I am somewhat of an Amanda Palmer/Dresden Dolls fan… so a few months ago I probably would have been *sold!*
It’s probably a good thing I asked you first though, since I have a little bundle squared away strictly for you-know-who’s launch (need to stop refreshing her page!).
Gah. Lots of people have asked, and I kept meaning to write out the review, but I’m sort of tired of all the ‘didn’t care for them’s.
I also have a stash for this very same launch, and I was up like SIX times last night checking…
I love amanda palmer’s voice! She’s one of my favorite singers!
I did not know this company before…
I guess a lot of people like her. I might have to look her up…
Thanks for posting this! I found Sweet Libertine via Villainess (Villainess -> Possett’s -> Sweet Libertine), so I was sorta put off from the start; I wanted an impartial review. Whether the shadows are repackaged, cake mix, or original, I wasn’t thrilled enough with any of them to invest $5. I guess they’re not bad colorwise for starting a shadow collections… there are some decent -looking basics… but they’re not complex enough for my tastes. For a quarter more, I can get Fyrinnae, and they send me stickers.
Very true. When compared in price to Fyrinnae it’s almost no contest, personally anyway.
Yikes. Nice snotty comments from the business owner.
I gotta say, I love their colours because I like the more muted shades. The rainbow stacker I just got from you is my first foray into super bright shadows. I also haven’t had any problems with streaking/blending. Then again, I don’t put layered works of art on my eyelids like Phyrra or Anastasia. But I also don’t think that just because a colour isn’t complex or ‘exciting’, it is an inferior shadow.
Meh. Can’t please everybody all the time. I’ll keep buying since I like the colours and these press really lovely. Glad to see the review all the same.
I typically use two, maybe three shades on my eyes day to day. Evenings are a little different.
Unfortunately the quality of the three I got were just not what I’m used to, I suppose. Even the more subtle shades from companies like Aromaleigh, Fyrinnae, Morgana, Hi-Fi etc etc adhere better and blend like butter.
As for the colors, they were just too close to each other. Like while they might be blended, they seem almost the same shade, etc etc. There doesn’t look like there is a lot of variety on finishes (matte, plush, satin, shimmer) because it’s all seems to be straight pigment.
As Corvida points out, they make a decent starting place for basics. Just like BFTE or Sassy. Not exactly BRIGHT crazy shades, but well formulated basics
I can’t wait to hear how you like your brights, though!
The top lid of the duochrome stacker popped off and made a big shimmery purple dust cloud on me when I tore the envelope, lol. Luckily I saved quite a bit of the spilled dust, but got it alllll over my hands and forearms and the first words out of my friend’s mouth when she saw me covered in the stuff were “Have you been doing inappropriate things to Edward Cullen?” I was the butt of that joke all afternoon. THANK YOU, GREY.
OMG I am so sorry, but that is pretty darn funny.
I noticed that the jars from that company in general seemed cheaper to me, so I should have known to tape them
Ah, it’s fine. The post office is none too gentle with packages that are small enough to cram into my mailbox, so I’m not too bothered if things show up bent or something.
Twilight jokes at my expense, though, cannot be overlooked.
Thanks for posting your review! I’ve been looking forward to reading it, even though I knew (from a comment you made a couple weeks ago) that it wasn’t going to agree with my thoughts.
If I might offer an opposing viewpoint, however, on my particular eyelids I don’t seem to have trouble blending them, and they tend to go on more pigmented than sheer on me. I use a different primer than you do (usually MAC Paintpot, with the occasional foray into TFSI), so that may or may not make a difference. I haven’t noticed them fading by the end of the day either. (Even Aromaleigh tends to fade on me. I need to try them with different primers to see if I can minimize that.)
Yes, the colors are fairly basic, and I’d love to see some different finishes (Sarah has told me that she’s planning to bring out some matte colors in the near future) and samples for sale, but they got me into this crazy world of mineral makeup.
In general straight mica (which experience wants me to say this is) makes a good product. I should probably clarify and say ‘compared to’.
These shadows did not blend well compared to shadows that I know are formulated from scratch. Mica blends together with itself just fine enough, it just doesn’t blend OUT as well as I’d like, that is, to fade the edges where the shadow stops, etc etc.
As far as a base goes, I find that with mica a primer works a bit better then a paint pot for ‘working’ with the shadow, blending, etc etc. A paint pot is like glue, the shadows will go on and stay on, yes, they will be a bit more intense color wise. It also depends on how you apply them, etc etc. There are so many factors with primers and all that. It’s hard to say what will work best.
I’ll send you these three since I know you like the company
Oh, thanks!
Everyone’s eyelids are different anyway–otherwise the same thing would work for everyone on the planet!
I admit it’s a little harder to blend the shadows out on PP (all shadows, not just SL), but I just have to spend a little more time at it. I actually did my favorite blue look with SL.
Somehow, I’m not surprised. I saw someone use their products awhile ago– someone who is usually pretty great at doing makeup– and I was disappointed with how crap they looked on her lids, even with her skills. I liked that XXX color, though, and I’m glad to see that it’s a repackaged one (which is hilarious that I missed, considering the name) so I can get it with my next TKB order.
As always, Grey, thanks for posting these reviews. Like all of your readers, I appreciate your honest, un-biased opinions; I shamelessly use your reviews to guide my newbie self through the indie makeup industry, and so far, you’ve never misguided me.
Wow, that first sentence sounds so bitchy.
I didn’t mean it to sound that awful, eek!
Nononono, not at all. I caught your meaning.
Thanks for the compliments. I always say writing a review about products I wasn’t crazy for are harder then the ones I loved. You’d think it would be easier to rave. I always try to remember there is a person behind the product and then try to stay as honest as possible. I’m glad I’ve been helping, though
I think the way a company reacts to a bad review says more then the review itself. I’ll add this to the list of placed I’ll now avoid. I dont’care if some of their colors are great or they love Amanda with the undying passion I do, I caught the Twitter bit and was a little ashamed I’d supported them in the past.
Wow, and here I just thought that the products weren’t what I expected out of eye shadow. Seeing the comments on Twitter just now really makes me ill. Definitely not a company I will recommend. I know from past conversations with the Sweet Libertine company owner that she compared herself to Beauty from the Earth, with some colors being straight from TKB, and others being custom blended. Though she also said she spent some time formulating additives that would help with adhesion and slip.
I do have to say I was put off by what was posted on their twitter. I understand being hurt on a personal level by a bad review but business is business and not everyone will think positively of you. Thanks for another great review =D
On an unrelated note, I’m loving the shadow you sent me forever ago! Sing the Sorrow =) It’s gorgeous.
Your review didn’t really come off as impartial. It came off as elitist.
I find the SL product to be awesome. A friend of mine sent me some and it works well for me.
And as far as your comments regarding Amanda Palmer…it’s sort of childish to comment on how you don’t care enough to know who she is, but you name dropped her in your review.
And I don’t believe it’s wrong for someone to make snarky comments about a review that was written about them, just as you have the choice to write snarky reviews.
I think the humor of the Amanda comment was completely missed by quite a few people. I had no idea who she was until I followed Neil on Twitter, and it was sort of a joke about how all I know her as is his fiance. I don’t see how it’s name dropping…
And I didn’t write a review about a person, I wrote it about a product. There is a HUGE difference.
Wow, I’m surprised a company would want to be associated with nasty ‘fans’ like this. Some products don’t work for some people. If you read this blog at ALL you’d see the writer is vastly experienced and educated in MM, so yeah, she knows what she’s talking about. She’s seen better product. It’s not WRONG, you can still like the basics. She (and a lot of us, actually) prefer other stuff.
Eh, even without the repackaging thing they don’t look like anything amazing.
Thank you for the great review.