Robyn Valentine: November 2017

A.P.D.G. Pigment Review

I'm really excited to be writing this review of the Alquemie Product Developement Group (A.P.D.G.) pigments. Before Fenty Beauty made a splash in the beauty community with their diverse shade range this cruelty free vegan indie company gained notoriety for their pigments which boast 39 different shades ranging from the palest shades to deepest. Generally pigments are designed with the function of being mixed in with other products such as moisturizers and foundations to add coverage or priming effects to name a few of their uses, you can wear them as a foundation or concealer if you please. I've tried these pigments as both a foundation and pigment additive to other foundations.What I appreciate about this company is the different sizes of pigments they offer: 0.33 fl oz. ($18), 0.44 fl oz (sample pack) $10, 1 fl oz ($24), and 2 fl oz ($34). The different sizes allow you buy small quantities if your looking to try their pigments, you're unsure if you'll like their product, or uncertain of your shade match and if you do enjoy the product you can buy the 2 fl oz bottle so it'll last you longer. Unfortunately the company does not list a color description for their shades or provide swatches (they do have some swatches available via Instagram (2nd image) and Facebook, but they're not labeled) which makes finding your perfect shade a bit of a gamble as you have to color match to the picture of the bottle online and their sample packs seem to be missing 3 shades from the rest of the line. For this reason I would recommend buying a sample pack. Their sample packs contain 0.44 fl oz and a mixture of 8 different colors with the exception of their extra light sample pack which contains 7 shades. I had wanted to try these pigments for some time after I saw their diverse shade range, but being an indie company who became viral in a short amount of time they tend to sell out of their sample packs fast. I was lucky enough to get my hands on 3 sample packs (light, medium dark, and dark) after someone cancelled their order. I am thankful to A.P.D.G. for alerting me of their products availability upon my inquiry via Instagram or I might have missed out again.

Description

The company describes the pigments as a long wearing buildable medium coverage product with color correcting and priming capabilities. The product will leave the skin with a silky soft focus matte finish that's water, sweat, transfer, and sebum resistant. The company is cruelty free and vegan and the pigments are oil, paraben, and fragrance free. They recommend using a damp sponge and applying to clean dry skin. In order to build even layers allow the pigment to dry before reapplying. The pigments can also be worn as lipstick, it's recommended you moisturize before hand. Please note that the colors might darken slightly after they've dried.

Shipping

The shipping on all products is $8 (domestic) and $13.50 for international orders. I only planned on only buying one sample pack, but seeing as how the shipping almost cost the equivalent of another sample pack, I figured I might as well buy three sample packs to qualify for free shipping that way I would pay $30 for 3 sample packs instead of $18 for one. I should mention that most companies I come across usually charge around $6 for their shipping, I tend to opt for buying more to get free shipping rather than paying the equivalent of another item. I placed my order on Sep. 27th and received a shipping notification later that day, from my tracking notifications it appears the products were handed over to USPS October 6th and my product arrived on October 10th.

Review

Opening up my package, one of the first things I noticed about the sample packs was that there was not only discoloration in each of the tubes, but the colors appeared lighter in person than they did online. The company hasn't made the recommendation of shaking the pigments prior to application, but I came to the conclusion that the ingredients have a tendency to separate when they've been sitting which causes the colors to become discolored/ lightened, however this could have been an issue with my order. The pigments are a thin, watery consistency and swatching the the first pigment near my wrist I noticed the product feather on the creases, but once they dried this was no longer a problem, they stayed very much in place. The company claims that their pigments are sweatproof and waterproof so I ran my arm under running water to see if the waterproof claim was true and I can happily say these pigments did not budge! Even though the skin around my eyes tends to be a dry area, I'm not used to product clinging to the dry skin the way this pigment did, it emphasized my dryness quite a bit. Considering that these pigments were designed to dry down I can't say I was too surprised to see them cling to dry skin. After I moisturized with my Pacifica Probiotic Water Rehab Cream and my Alaffia Coconut Eye Cream I no longer have this problem, I would also recommend for people with dry skin that you exfoliate (if necessary) and apply moisturizer. Under my eye I do have some deep set creases that cause most products to crease, but I'm pleased to say I didn't get any creasing under my eyes nor did I really crease in my fine lines. Even though the company doesn't claim that these pigments are crease proof it's been my experience that once they dry down they really don't move and they do quite a good job of controlling oil. Overall I'm really pleased with the pigments, however if I didn't moisturize regularly before applying makeup, my opinion would be less favorable, but like I said the skin around my eyes is dry on me and the pigment was designed to dry down so it comes as no surprise the pigment clung to the dry skin. If you don't have dry skin you shouldn't run into this problem and this pigment might suit you well. All in all I found that the claims A.P.D.G. made regarding their pigments are ultimately true and I would very much recommend this product; after it dries down it won't budge, it leaves the skin looking matte with a soft glow, and it 's comfortable to wear.
Thank you to my friend Tracia for lending me her arm to do swatches on deeper skin, you can find her on Instagram and Youtube.

Sample packs left to right (light, medium dark, dark)

If you've made it this far, I would just like to say thank you for reading my article! Your feedback matters a great deal to me, please feel free to message me through my email therobynvalentine@gmail.com regarding any feedback or questions you may have. Also while your here, I would greatly appreciate it, if you consider contributing to my website by making a donation to my Paypal using the email provided. Thank you again for all your continued support, it truly means the world to me.

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