Hello lovelies!
I am back again, after a recent bout of bronchitis which decided to share itself with the WHOLE Dreadful household (all FIVE of us came down with it--yay -_-), with a review of
Innocent+Twisted Alchemy. Innocent + Twisted is a name that I kept running across in the We <3 Indie Cosmetics room and her monthly subscriptions struck my interest. The I+T subscription is extremely similar to other makeup subscriptions that you have heard of but instead of the big box subscriptions, you get mainly her products with samples from other indie companies. Since I love supporting indie and I had heard such good things I decided to check it out.
Essentially you have basically a couple of choices when choosing a subscription from Innocent +Twisted Alchemy. First off you will need to decide if you would like to get the samples verses the full size. When people first think of samples I know a lot of you think of baggies but her "deluxe samples" come in clam shells that are literally filled to the brim bursting with shadows or full size shadows which are also filled to the top without sifters.Just take a look at them and how filled they are!
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| Amaranthine is full sized while Haunted Heart is a "deluxe sample" sized! They are both filled the the brim! |
Then you have three choices on how you want to receive them. You can choose to have a one month trial trail subscription (ranging from $9.50-$15 plus your shipping cost) , a recurring deluxe subscription which is billed at the same time each month (ranging from $12-16 whether you are US or international) or the recurring full sized monthly subscription which is also billed at the same time each month (ranging from $18-22). Now some of you may notice the difference in price from the trail subscription (1 month) and the recurring subscription which continuously bills the same time each month. The difference is that you are paying for shipping with the trail subscription verses with the automatic subscription the shipping is all ready figured in.
But now on to the actual subscription, I was a little worried about receiving three surprise shadows since I was worried that I would like them or use them so I decided to pick up the April deluxe trail subscription just to be safe. It came with three gorgeous colors : Saccharine Nectar, Empyrean and Fathomless Chasm .
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| Look at the gorgeous packaging! Linda actually does the drawings! O.O |
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| Packaging of the April 2014 subscription. Look at the adorable top labels! |
The purple paper included with your subscription details the colors and their listed ingredients as well as the featured samples that are included with your monthly subscription and their websites. Finally LAST but not least there is a COUPON code (yes, you read that correctly and you KNOW how much I love getting makeup at a bargain) off your next order!
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| April 2014 Deluxe Sample |
The first color, Saccharine Nectar, is a soft shimmery light orange with subtle hints of gold. While a lot of people may shy away from anything orange related this colors is simply beautiful and perfect for neutral looks. The second color , Empyrean, which is delicate and shimmery blue with hints of silver sparkle. Last but not least is Fathomless Chasm which is simply are gorgeous almost metallic steel blue gray and of course turned out to be my favorite of the three. Now a lot of people with the April subscription received a badly blended batch of Fathomless Chasm due to a bad blender which she has thrown away and purchased a new one. The owner Linda, has apologized for this issue and issued refunds to those that received a bad batch. I was one of the lucky ones and I managed to receive a Fathomless Chasm that doesn't have issues.
I also picked up another color Amaranthine , which is a simply stunning dark violet red duochrome (as you know I have such a weakness for duochromes). I+T also added another jam packed sample of Haunted Heart that is a lovely mid tone blue with hints of purple and multicolored shimmer. (**See the full size verses size photos for those two colors**) But enough of the chatter and on to the actual swatches!
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| Swatched over Milk and taken WITH a flash |
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| Swatched over Milk in IN DIRECT sunlight |
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| Here is an eye look done with all of the colors I received from Innocent + Twisted Alchemy to show you how lovely these colors work together |
As I mentioned earlier, not only did you receive a coupon code off your next order from I+T there were also a bunch of lovely samples from other indie companies to try which is an added bonus since I love trying things before buying. Now on to pictures of the lovely samples that I received in this month's subscription..
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| Tangerine Dream from Candii Blossom Cosmetics |
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| The Beast You Made from Antimony Blue |
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| Celtic Sunset from DreamWorld Hermetica |
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| Ossuary from Detrivore Cosmetics which is now distributed by Shiro |
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| Raspberry Tart from Little Sparrow Cosmetics |
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| Sample Swatches L-R : Detrivore Cosmetics (from Shiro), Candii Blossom Cosmetics, Dream World and Little Sparrow. |
The samples were a wonderful addition to the subscription. Ossuary by
Detrivore was a gorgeous neutral matte light tan color. It had to be taken with a flash since it was so close to my complexion. Tangerine Dream from
Candii Blossom Cosmetics was a light shimmery tangerine color with lots of sparkle. Celtic Sunset from
Dream World is a rich deep brown with lots of sparkles and a slight greenish tint. Raspberry Tart from
Little Sparrow Cosmetics is a bright raspberry red tinted balm just perfect when you want just a hint of color on your lips. which fits it perfectly. Finally last but not least was the amazing scent of The Beast You Made from
Antimony Blue, it is was described on the site as,
"Forests of birch trees and evergreens, carpeted with thick green mosses and hung with the misty, electric haze of a summer thunder storm. Tart red fruits and sweet yellow berries cut the fog like lightning, melting against something alive and warm. This blend contains rainbow moonstone to strengthen out ties to the natural world, awaken long-forgotten intuitions, and soothe the wild beast within," which fits it perfectly. It is a combination of a fruity, earthy smell with a hint of musk which isn't too overpowering and the full size bottles contain chips of gemstones which is fantastic!
Now
finally on to the ratings for I+T...
Color/Pigmentation 9 out of 10 bats
Like I mentioned before, I managed to luck out and receive a good batch of Fathomless Chasm and I haven't had any issues with the color using it, swatching it and blending it out. I did a series of tests after the first reviews came out about the issue with the color. All of the colors I received were simply gorgeous, applied well and blended easily.
Affordability 9.5 out of 10 bats
Innocent+Twisted Alchemy's prices is simply a seal for the amount of product you receive in the jars and clam shells. (I highly recommend placing the clam shells on a white sheet of paper and tapping the top to keep all of the gorgeous goodness inside but if there is spillage you can put the spillage back in your clam shell with the paper ^_~) With full size jars priced at $6.00 and deluxe samples filled to the brim for $3.00 this price honestly can't be beat.
Shipping/ Turn Around Time 9.5 out of 10 bats
I was super pleased with the shipping and turn around time. I placed my order on the 26th of March and knew that it wasn't going to be shipped out until either the 31st of March and I received it in my hot little hands on April 2nd. I could be more pleased. Everything was packaged nice and securely with to problems.
Customer Service 10 out 10 bats
While I super hesitant on giving 10 out of 10 bats for anything since I don't care for constant perfect scores in anything (*see my reason why in my other reviews) I believe that Linda of I+T really deserves this. She has shown extreme professionalism with is issue that arose with some batches of Fathomless Chasm. She not only has posted the negative reviews on her Facebook page for her customers (new, old and potential) she also offered a public apology and even offered refunds. That shows me what kind of company this is, one that is dedicated to creating the best product that she can and acknowledging any mistakes and learning from them. So Linda of I+T deserves a perfect rating on customer service because
THAT is what customer service and professionalism is.
Overall 9.5 out of 10 bats
As I mentioned earlier in this SUPER long review, I was initially worried about picking up a monthly subscription since I was concerned with not liking the colors chosen or being able to use them. I was completely surprised and this was an excellent experience with a monthly subscription as well as with the other two products I received from her. Everything was simply fantastic from the color and pigmentation, the amount of product for the price, super fast shipping /turn around time and the excellent customer service. I would not hesitate to recommend
Innocent + Twisted Alchemy to anyone and I am all ready planning my sights on my next order.
Until next time lovelies!
