Black Moon Cosmetics Liquid Lipstick Review #indiefeature

     I'm so excited to finally have my hands on a product from the indie brand, Black Moon Cosmetics. I've been eyeballing their Autumn Trio since its release on September 15, 2017, but I kept putting off the purchase in favor of big name releases. On a side note, I'm going to try and publish more honest reviews on indie companies to help spotlight smaller brands, as I believe supporting smaller brands is key to keeping our markets, diverse and void of monopolies, so keep your eyes peeled for #indiefeature in the title and in the description of my Instagram posts to hear my thoughts on these potentially hidden gems. 

      The Autumn Trio, which is limited edition, originally retailed for $54, but it is currently on sale for $40. The trio contains three of their matte liquid lipsticks, two of which are limited edition: Cider (limited edition) a mustard yellow, Hazel (limited edition) a green with olive undertones, and Harvest, a pinkish red with orange undertones. The two shades, which are limited edition, are currently on sale for $14.40 if you buy them individually, but if you buy liquid lipsticks from their permanent line individually you'll pay $18, their liquid lipsticks contain 0.2 oz / 6 ml of product. Black Moon Cosmetics describe their liquid lipsticks as: creamy, comfortable, dry in 1-3 minutes, long wearing (avoid greasy foods), kiss-proof (not make out proof), very pigmented with a vanilla scent, and they've been formulated to be gluten and parben free. Black Moon Cosmetics is a cruelty free and vegan company.

About the Brand:     

     Black Moon Cosmetics was founded in 2015 by Tina Markary. The brand's mission was to create a line of high quality cosmetics with a dark twist. They are made in the USA in Los Angeles, CA, and they ship out of Burbank, CA. The brand offers a decent shade range of liquid lipsticks from matte and metallic, they also offer multidimensional lip toppers, liquid eyeshadows, eyelashes, a makeup palette, and a crescent moon shaped bag. They offer a 30 day return policy on all items except for items on sale, discounted, and gift/ bundles which are final sale, and they request that customers contact them within 7 days, accompanied by pictures, if your item has arrived damaged. Almost all of their products are limited to 2 per customer, which I'm absolutely floored to see! This will help prevent them from running out of stock too quickly and having customers buy out their inventory to resell their products at higher rates.  To the best of my knowledge Black Moon Cosmetics conducted the reformulation of their liquid lipstick formula in late 2016. While I do not have the original formula to compare to the new one, I wanted to point this out for anyone who may be curious on how the new formula performs. 

Shipping:

     They do offer international shipping with a processing time of 2-6 weeks and a flat rate fee of $15 for purchases over $100. If you live in the US, processing will take 1-5 days and you will receive free expedited shipping on purchases over $100 . For both international and domestic shipping, the price varies depending on location and weight of purchase. Currently they only offer tracking numbers for Canada, some European Countries, and most of Mexico. I was excited to see that they accept payments through Paypal, with all the companies who've had their customers information stolen, I appreciate having a Paypal option when shopping online on behalf of their purchase protection for buyers policy. I placed my order on March 8th and received a shipping notification on March 9th, my order arrived on March 13th.

Description/ First Impressions:

     I'm very thankful that the lipsticks didn't arrive in a box that is larger than the item ordered. There's nothing more annoying than when the box, which is already too big for what's being sent, doesn't fit in my mailbox and I have to go to the front desk of my apartment and ask for my package.
   
The package came in a black box, sealed with a sticker of their logo. When you open it up, it has a hand drawn image of a Gothic castle under a starry night sky. In the middle of this drawing, is their company's name in an old English style font. The package came complete with black tissue paper for protection, a copy of my receipt, a thank you business card, and a small postcard that advertised their website and featured two images of models wearing their products. The Autumn Trio is a bit smaller than I imagined it would be, but it's so eye catching, you could easily put the triangular box on a vanity, it's so pretty. The box has three sides: One side has the names of the lipsticks printed on it, another side says "Hello Autumn", and the front which has the logo for the Autumn Trio and a brief description of the item. On the top of the box, there is the same description on the front, but with the addition of their logo. Down the middle of the box, there is a deep set crease to give the box the appearance of being hand folded. On the bottom, their website name is listed along with the location where they produce their cosmetics, Los Angeles, CA. On the inside, the top flap has the description once more, along with their website name, information on the company and a small message that states that the ingredients are on the bottom of the inside. Honestly, I don't care for the fact that the
ingredients are listed at the bottom on the inside of the box, while you can look up the ingredients on their website, it's difficult to read the ingredients from the box alone. I would have much preferred they put the ingredients on the outside, in place of where the shade names are listed. It may have taken away from the look, but I would have liked to have the immediate reference. The lipsticks are help in place by two triangular holders, I really like that they've included two holders because it provides the lipsticks with extra security. The lipsticks have a beautiful black ombre which fades to nothing, allowing you to see the lipstick color. The caps have their trade marked holographic logo, and the bottom of the tubes have the shade names, location where they're made, and website address. Each lipstick has a creme brulee scent (the smell becomes faint after application) to it and they use a paddle wand which made the application quite difficult for me. I tried my hardest to apply the lipsticks neatly without any liner, that way I could see if paddle design was indeed a hindrance to an application, and they were for me. The paddles are good for distributing the product evenly, but they make creating precise lines quite difficult, furthermore these lipsticks do not layer well and they begin drying pretty fast. After the first coat, all additional layers were thick and crumbled, it made applying the lipstick perfect the first time so much more important.

Review:

     As I'm sure you all have gathered from my first impressions, applying more than one layer didn't work well for me with any of these three shades. The shade Hazel didn't want to work with me at all. No matter how many times I tried, I couldn't apply this shade evenly, it came off patchy, and there were visible streaks from the applicator. When I tried wearing this shade throughout the day, it gradually became patchier. I don't have much of a chin, which can lead to my bottom lip and chin touching. When I tried wearing this shade, even with one thin layer, I could see crumbled up pieces of the lipstick transfer onto my chin. It's a nice color, but it just doesn't perform well. Luckily, it was the shade Cider that sold me on buying this trio, and that shade worked heavenly.
    Wearing Cider, within the first hour I had to lick my lips a couple times, but considering the fact I had applied all the shades the same day and started my applications over a few times trying to get used to the paddle applicator, my lips were already a bit raw beginning the wear test. If I rubbed my lips together, the lipsticks felt a tad bit on the chalky side and would begin to peel ever so slightly. Not that I do this throughout the day, but it's a good indicator to me of how the lipstick will perform. A lipstick too rich in moisture will still feel tacky or wet rubbing my lips together and a lipstick on the drier side usually won't peel when I rub my lips. The lipstick did disappear from the inside of my mouth and form a ring, but all lipsticks tend to do that to me. When colors don't match your natural lip color, it can be quite obvious if the shade is patchy. This is especially problematic with colorful lipstick, which made me very grateful that this shade applied fully opaque in the first coat. My lips didn't feel tight from the lipstick which was a great sign and this stayed the case throughout the day. My lips are quite wrinkly, which makes it makes difficult for me to say if this formula emphasized any additional texture.
     The last shade harvest, was probably the best of the bunch in terms of wear. It's not my most favorite shade as I tend to lean towards the more bizarre colors, but I'm sure others will enjoy this one. Being a pinkish shade, it's hard to tell if this applied evenly on my lips as any discoloration would have blended in with my natural lip color and likewise, any patches from the lipstick would have also been difficult to notice. Wear I could notice wear was in the corners of my mouth. I did have water the day I conducted this wear test, but I drank it through a straw, which shouldn't have caused discoloration to the corners of my mouth. If you do touch up this lipstick, do it sparingly, as I mentioned before, multiple layers don't fair well.

Final Thoughts:

     I believe that there's a lot of potential for Black Moon Cosmetics to become a large name in the beauty industry.  Even though I didn't get in touch with their customer service department, I'm quite impressed with their shipping time. While only having tried three variations of one product they offer, I can comfortably say that with the exception of one lipstick, their company is offering top notch products that are unique in a market over saturated in conformity. By offering unique colors, they've found the key to standing out among other companies and judging by the design of the company, there's a clear vision of what the company aspires to be. It's obvious that the team has put a lot of love, care, and thought behind each of the products they've released.  If they play their cards right, I could see this company landing in our local Sephora or Ulta in the near future.

Kat Von D X Divine Collection Review

     I think many people can relate to me when I say that Sephora is a TRAP! I went to my local Sephora in the hopes that I could pick up the new Cover FX Power Play Foundation, but I ended up leaving with the Cover FX Total Cover Cream Foundation in the shade N40 because they didn't have the Power Play Foundation. In retrospect, I should have called ahead to see if they received the Power Play Foundation shipment so I wouldn't have felt the need to compensate the way I did. I have tried the Total Cover Cream Foundation before in small sample pots from Sephora, but I haven't tried wearing the foundation for long term use. The foundation comes in 40 shades with pink, neutral, golden, and olive undertones, costs $42, and contains 10g/ 0.35oz of product. According to their website, the foundation is formulated without parabens, fragrance, gluten, mineral oil, and talc, it can be used as a concealer, contains 32% pigment, ultra-blendable, provides a full coverage, luminous, second-skin finish, contains emollients, and anti-oxidants such as Vitamin E & C. Another claim, which is listed on the packaging, but not online, is that the foundation will revitalize the appearance of skin while also providing protection with age defying benefits. Cover FX is a cruelty free and vegan company.


     From now on when I test new foundations, I've decided that my wear test procedure will be composed of: wearing the foundation on it's own (if possible), with setting powder, primer, setting spray, and lastly a combo of all three items. To begin my first wear test with my new concrete testing procedure, it only seemed appropriate to pick a product that I can't wear on it's own. I swear it was not intentional, I would've liked to have worn this foundation on its own, but I've never known a cream foundation that won't crease on me without powder.
     On day 1 I wore the foundation using only my Cover FX Perfect Setting Powder in Light to set it. Upon initial application, the foundation holds up to the claim that it is full coverage and blendable. Luckily if you use a light hand you can get a lighter coverage, making this product quite versatile. For reference I have combo to oily skin. Within the first hour my nose became oily and a couple hours later my whole face was oily. The product creasing is minimal, but the foundation does settle in my fine lines. The foundation did leave me quite oily, but for a luminous foundation, I couldn't have expected anything less. The nice thing about this foundation is that the product continues to warm up throughout the day making the product really sink into the skin and this helps it look more natural.
     Cover FX does make the recommendation that you should wear this foundation with a primer, the only problem is that they don't elaborate on what kind. I decided my best chances of making the foundation last would be using their own Mattifying Primer, as often times, makeup companies will formulate their products to work specifically with one another so they can sell the products as package deals and considering my biggest critique from day 1 was the foundation becoming oily, it seemed reasonable to use a mattifying primer. I massaged the primer into my skin and made sure to take off any excess by going over my face with a beauty blender. The foundation did look slightly heavier than day 1 upon initial application, but for the most part it still had the same finish and all. The primer I'd say bought me another hour of wear, but once again my face got quite oily and creased/ settled in my smile lines. I should mention that when I did go to blot my face, the foundation did transfer onto the tissues on all days I was testing the foundation.
     Day 3 had to be the most disappointing, as it showed so much potential early on. Exchanging the mattifying primer out with my Kat Von D Lock-It Setting Mist bought me three hours of wear with very little oil. I thought that perhaps my favorite setting spray could rescue another foundation like it has in the past, but I was dead wrong. At the five hour mark, I had a friend look at my face and they politely pointed out that the foundation appeared to be pealing on my cheeks. The first chance I got to look into a mirror I was sadly met with a cakey face and creasing in my smile lines. Aside from a check after three hours had passed, I had not looked at my face again and chances are the foundation may have caked up sooner than five hours.
     Day 4 the last day when I try all previous products in tangum, I can't say much on. Unfortunately, while my face looked slightly better than day 3, it produced relatively the same results; heavy foundation that didn't stay matte beyond a couple hours.

Final Thoughts:

     Perhaps this foundation would've worked better with a different primer or setting spray, but this was just my experience. The foundation wasn't too cakey until I used my Kat Von D Lock-It Setting Mist so I'll definitely try a different setting spray in the future to see if it produces different results. I honestly liked this foundation upon initial application and want it to work, do be mindful that there is flashback if you wear this foundation unset. I would recommend that Cover FX clarifies what kind of primer should be used with this foundation. Without that clarification, how am I supposed to know what to use to get the best results?

     As a Green Day fan who subsequently loves Kat Von D and supports only cruelty free, vegan beauty, this collaboration couldn't have been more up my alley. Needless to say I have quite a few thoughts on this product. 

     The new Kat Von D "Basket Case" Anti-Precision Eyeliner in the shade Insomniac Black was made in collaboration with Kat's long time friend Billie Joe Armstrong, who is the lead singer of punk rock band Green Day. The eyeliner which was named after one of Green Day's most popular songs "Basket Case" is actually the second collaboration the duo have put together. In August 2016 Kat Von D released a limited edition shade of her Everlasting Liquid Lipstick called "Project Chimps." For each liquid lipstick sold, 20% of the retail value was donated to the chimpanzee sanctuary Project Chimps, who's dedicated toward rescuing and rehabilitating chimps saved from biomedical research, which Billie's wife had originally invited Kat to get involved with. This new collaboration will also benefit a charity; Billie will be donating his profits to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) who defends and preserves individual rights and liberties in a court of law. The anti-precision liner was designed with Billie Armstrong's iconic smudged eyeliner and 90's rockers in mind. 
     The eyeliner is a retractable pencil complete with a sharpener located at the bottom, it has an ultra-blendable formula in a rich black shade named "Insomniac Black," which dries down for budge proof wear. It contains 1.4 g/ 0.049 oz of product, costs $19, is vegan, and Kat Von D is cruelty free brand though their parent's parent company Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy (LVMH) is not. The eyeliner was released on Jan. 5th on Kat's website and in Sephora stores and their website.

Review

     As far as the claim that the product is creamy goes, swatching the eyeliner on my hand it felt creamier than any other eyeliner I've personally used. I have to say they really nailed the consistency! Blendability on the other hand, I'm at odds on whether or not this product blends the way it's supposed to. The eyeliner was intended to create a grungy smokey eye to rival Billie Armstrong's signature look from the 90's so perhaps it's supposed to be a bit on the messier side of blending, but I can't say for sure. My problem with the eyeliner is that not only does it dry too fast, you can't really blend with a brush, especially not a fluffy one, and if there's any bit of eyeshadow on your brush the eyeliner immediately sets when the two make contact rendering it unblendable. I conducted a timed blendability test with the fan off to get an idea of how long the eyeliner takes to set and I found that within 30 seconds the eyeliner was half dried, but still blendable with my finger, however after one minute, the eyeliner was completely dried. Even though fingers are the ideal method for blending this product, I would not recommend continuously using your fingers to blend around your eyes as the tugging motion from your fingers will encourage wrinkles and loose skin.
      The design of this product is quite similar to the Lock-It Color Correcting Eyeshadow Primer in size, shape, and functionality. I'm personally used to using thin eyeliner pencils to add color onto my waterline, which made the application a bit awkward for me, but if your someone who's used to using jumbo pencils, this product will be nothing out of the ordinary for you. Looking at the product on my waterline the shade absolutely popped! This product is truly a rich black color and makes for a perfect base on your eyelid, however another problem I ran into with this eyeliner is that it stayed tacky on my waterline. If I blinked to hard I could feel my eyes wanting to stick together and the eyeliner would become patchy, transferring to my upper lash line.
     By complete accident I got makeup remover in my eye and ended up conducting an impromptu water resistance test of the eyeliner. For the most part the product stayed in placed and didn't fade which is saying something considering how badly my eyes were watering. I do feel as though there were still chunks of eyeliner left in my eye after I removed it. I believe these pieces were created when I blinked to hard and the thicker parts of the liner were pulled from the waterline.
     Overall I'm quite disappointed with this product, I just ran into to many problems using the eyeliner. I'll keep messing with it to see if maybe there's just a learning curve I haven't mastered yet, but the only reason I'm trying to make this work is because a lot of people seem to love this liner. I've asked about four girls from Sephora how the eyeliner has worked for them and they also swear this liner is amazing, comparing the quality to the Marc Jacobs Highliner Gel Eye Crayon. Who knows, maybe this eyeliner just doesn't work on me, I'll see if it works better on my clients, but for the most part I'm honestly only going to keep this product for the novelty of this extra-limited eyeliner. Maybe in time my opinion will change, but while it pains me to say this, the eyeliner is a pass.

     Just when my bank account was starting to recover from buying the Metal Crush Extreme Highlighter Palette, Kat Von D is dropping on us another palette. The new Metal Matte Mini Eyeshadow Palette which will go on sale on Dec. 12th is the travel size version of last year's holiday release, the Metal Matte Palette. This eyeshadow palette features 7 shades from the original Metal Matte Palette; 5 mattes (Bone, Feather, Suede, Oak, and Velvet) and 2 metalics (Flash and Synergy). The three remaining shades come from Kat's Metal Crush Eyeshadow line, however 'Raw Power" in this palette is vegan where as 'Raw Power' from the Metal Crush Eyeshadow line is not. You are getting 5 matte eyeshadows and 5 metalics eyeshadows, the palette costs $39, each eyeshadow weighs 1.7 g/ 0.06 oz for a cost of $3.90 per eyeshadow, the palette will be available at Sephora online and in store, and Kat's website. Kat Von D Beauty is a cruelty free brand, and the palette is vegan.

(The eyeshadows on top were swatched using the 'Shade' side of the EcoTools Enhancing Eye Set, the finger swatches were done right below. I used the Heritage Store's Rose Water and Glycerin spray as a base)



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