In the Pursuit of Fabulous: Review of Notoriously Morbid

Hello lovelies!
   After a bout of invading in laws and strep throat which refused to go away, I am back and this time I am reviewing an indie company called Notoriously Morbid. Notoriously Morbid is one of those rare gems in the indie world that not only has amazing products but also an amazing turn around time. They pride themselves of making wonderful shades with a darker twist which sets my little goth heart aflame.  I am not sure how I discovered them but I am so happy that I did. On their facebook page they state that, "Notoriously Morbid offers a line of indie eye-shadows and other cosmetics that cater to those morbid at heart." So how could I not check them out? They no only appeal to my gothic love with their series Lost in the Lodge based off one of my favorite tv shows off all time, Twin Peaks and an entire line of blushes called Ripper's Rouge, which appeals to my obsession with Jack the Ripper. But they also appeal to my gothy geek side with their brand new Slay Me collection (Wave 1 and 2 are out now and must be mine..but I digress) based of Whedon's Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  So when I noticed that Carrie offered a blogger package I jumped at the opportunity to try out a variety of colors and she even offers what she calls Free Friday (where she offers something free after a certain dollar amount is spend...sometimes it is free shipping, other times it is a lip balm, or a shadow--it varies Friday to Friday) and I got a free Coffin Kisser with my purchase.

The coffin kisser is missing due to being abducted by Mr Dreadful. 

For my first order I picked up the beauty blogger package which includes one full size product (my full size was Snow Queen Returns) and five sample baggies (I chose a rainbow of colors) as well as full size products to appeal to my gothy geek from The Doctor Collection ( The Doctor's Wife, Crimson Horror, Silence and Vashta Nerada).  There were even two samples one was even from an unreleased collection (Crack in the Pavement) which isn't set to release until June. Just take a look at these swatches...

All swatches were done over NYX Jumbo pencil in Milk


Tempest, from the Show a Little Burlesque Collection, is a soft metallic peach color. 

Velvet Hammer, also from the Show a Little Burlesque Collection, is a stunning metallic purple with red and blue sparkles.

Cin's Sins, from the Scary Tales Collection, is gorgeous bright blue with hint of silver sparkle and a slight violet shift.

More Weight, from the Gallow's Hill Collection,  is a lovely medium metallic brown with a hint of silver.

The Doctor's Wife, from The Doctor Collection, is my other favorite from the collection of colors I received. It is brilliant semi matte dark blue with a hint of sparkle. It just makes me think of the Tardis every time I look at it.

All swatches were done over NYX Jumbo Pencil in Milk

Stake of Holly, from A Dark Christmas Dream Collection,  and is a  light green with blue sparkles. 

Kompanion No. 9, from the Doctor Collection, is a light grey with a slight pink/red sheen when applied.

Silence, also from the Doctor Collection (can you tell that I am a Doctor Who fan?), is a dark green with a slight hint of metallic shimmer. 

Vashta Nerada ,from the Doctor Collection (and one of my favorite episodes), is a softer black with a hint of red sparkles that show up when applied. 

Crimson Horror, from The Doctor Collection is possibly my favorite of the lot since it is such a beautiful dark metallic red. (I am such a sucker for reds)

I have also swatched the other colors in a  previous post which can be found here. In order to prevent this being the longest blog review ever I will allow you to go back and take a look at them there. So one with my final thoughts and ratings..

Color/Pigmentation 9.8 out 10 bats

  As you can tell from the swatches that the color pay off from theses shadows in simply intense. All of my swatches are done over Nyx Jumbo Pencil in Milk (since that is what I always wear when I do my eyes)  and the intensity is just amplified! Some of the colors are deceiving in their containers all you have to do is simply apply them and you will see their brilliance. 

Price 9.8 out of 10 bats

  I love a bargain. Period. I am on a tight budget 99% of the year so I am always looking for the best bargain for my little buck.Notoriously Morbid not only offers different sizes the shadows (ranging from baggie, to mini to full size) all at a decent price. And on top of all of that she offers her Free Friday special, and honestly who doesn't love free because even if it is free shipping you can add another shadow on to your order so how awesome is that?

Shipping/Turn Around Time 10 out of 10 bats

  If you have read my blog before, you know that I am a hard ass when it comes to giving 10 out of 10 ratings. I think that it diminishes the incredible nature of getting a perfect score so I rarely give it. I won't lie, a lot of indie companies really bomb that this particular department. You know it and I know it. But when I see turn around times (TATS) of over three weeks and I can get something mailed to me internationally quicker I will take my money and my business somewhere else. I understand that a lot of them are one person shows with other jobs so it is easy for them to put their indie company on the last for their priorities. This however is NOT the case with Notoriously Morbid. Every time I have ordered from Carrie she has shipped my products out in a week to two weeks. It usually only takes a week however it did take two weeks when she was waiting on an item she had run out of. She immediately emailed me and gave me an update. She didn't leave me wondering where my package was or if my mailman was looking fabulous in drag with my new package of goodies. So color me impressed. 

Customer Service 10 out of 10 bats

  Getting two 10 out of 10 bats is a first for my blog so that should tell you how truly kick ass Carrie's customer service is. As I mentioned before she didn't hesitate with emailing me to let me know that there was a delay in my order due to her waiting on a product and she immediately sent it out once the order came in. However recently there was an issue with a shadow she created that wasn't true to the old formula (something with a new grinder or such) and she immediately made a statement on her webpage for people to contact her that had ordered the shadow from a specific time period and she would replace it with no questions asked. That ladies and gents is kick ass customer service. There was an issue, she owned up to it, made an announcement and took care of her customers with offering to replace the product with no cost to them. There was no debate, she didn't try to hide it or run from the problem. She handled it and took care of her customer exactly how she would want to be treated. This is excellent customer service, period. 

Overall 9.9 out of 10 bats

  My final impression for Notoriously Morbid that this is the real deal. This company continues to produce amazing products for great prices and offers superior customer service and turn around time which makes for a winning combination. I am thrilled with the products I have received and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them to anyone. If you are looking for the next big indie company that is going to knock your socks off Notoriously Morbid is it. You couldn't ask for a better combination of creativity, awesome products and professionalism.

In the Pursuit of Fabulous..Review of Zoeva Eye Definition Brush Set

Hello lovelies!
   It is all ready June and Summer hasn't been to kind to me this first week. We took our little Dreadfuls to the beach this weekend and even under the umbrella slathered in SPF 50 I managed to get horrible blotchy burns on my legs, thighs and even a strange T shape burn on my forehead. Apparently the spray sunblock isn't my friend and the sun had fun frying me to crisp. And to top it all off I managed to eat something that caused the sides of my tongue to swell. So I am sure that I sound funny. =/  But the good thing is that I managed to do this review before all of this happened even though you only see my hands which were one of the few things that didn't get a strange burn pattern on them. But I have another "talking review" to edit on a pair of lenses so hopefully my allergic reaction will be gone and my sunburned face will be almost normal.
But here is my first talking product review and I wanted to do it on a set of new brushes, the Eye Definition Set from Zoeva. I used them for a little over a month in order to get a good feel for the brushes. So here is my first YouTube review!

Here is the break down of the ratings just in case you missed out on Youtube

Quality- 9.5 out of 10 bats
  These brushes are soft yet firm enough to do an excellent job of applying and blending makeup and there is NO shedding.

Price-9.5 out of 10 bats
  While the price has gone up since I filmed the review to 20 Euros instead of 16. I still think that these brushes are worth the money. As of right now the set is 26.13 USD but that is always subject to change with the changing market. From when I filmed the review the basically the price went up a dollar a brush. So the brushes are $4.35 a piece which is still a steal.

Shipping-9 out of 10 bats
  In all fairness this is coming from Europe so I think that the time and price are really accurate. You are going to have to wait to get these brushes. They have to go through customs and come from another part of the world so you really can't complain if it takes around 2-3 to get to you. And as I mentioned in the video, shipping a package anywhere outside of the US is super expensive so I am sure that it is just as expensive to have a package shipped here from Europe.

Performance-9.8 out of 10 bats
  These brushes do what they are meant to do. They apply pigments and pressed shadows beautifully.Often with too hard or too soft brushes you can't get enough or get too much pigment/shadow on the brush. These are just right.

Overall- 9.5 out of 10 bats
  Zoeva has designed an amazing product with this brush set. The brushes are excellent. The price and performance of theses brushes are fantastic. Finally the shipping is reasonable. I really am pleased with these brushes and I can't wait to get my next set from them.