Monday, August 13, 2012

The Chequered Lily Apothecary: Review + Swatches

I recently placed a small order with The Chequered Lily Apothecary. I heard about the company through Sirvinya and was interested in some of their colors. I decided to order two blogger sample packs and was pleasantly surprised when Kimberly, the owner, immediately messaged me and thanked me for my order. She also asked if I wanted any colors in particular and said she would ship out my items the following day. I really appreciated her customer service on this -- she was so friendly! I ended up just letting her pick the colors.

The shop is through Etsy, and you can reach it here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/TheChequeredLily
Kimberly only does eye products right now, including some glitter blends. You can get a set of 7 samples for $4.00, or a full size for $6.50. My "Youtuber/Blogger" sample pack was $3.00 and Kimberly included some additional samples, so I ended up with 19 samples total.

All of the colors were interesting and had different textures and formulas. Sometimes with indie companies, you find that each shadow is the same base with a different color glitter over the top -- not so with Chequered Lily. Some were more metallic, some were glittery, and I even had a matte finish in my sample pack. The colors were pigmented and smooth over Darling Girl's Glitter Glue. I did find that on the colors with an intense glitter overlay, it took two layers to achieve full opacity. Think of it like a glitter nail polish that needs that second coat to get the 'wow' factor. Overall, I am loving what she sent me and I cannot wait to use them in some looks!




Left to right: Jack Frost, Bayou and Dorothy

Jack Frost is a medium grey-toned blue with baby blue and silver sparkle. This was slightly sheer but was easily buildable.

Bayou is a brilliant sparkling teal. It only has a faint hint of green and there is noticeable gold sparkle.

Dorothy is a matte sky blue. Definitely a unique color from an indie company. It was also very smooth with little to no patchiness in application.




Left to right: Stranger Tides, Oxalis and Mr. Wednesday

Stranger Tides is a blackened teal with strong teal shift. At one angle, it just looked nearly black, but once the light hit it, the teal lit up. Gorgeous.

Oxalis is my favorite of what I was sent, and it is a medium grass green with loads of darker green and gold sparkle. This was incredibly pigmented and smooth.

Mr. Wednesday is a buttery champagne with lots of sparkle. There were some minor coverage issues with this but I think as a wash of color on the lids, it would be very pretty.




Left to right: Delicate, Snow, Glass and Apples, and A Dustland Fairytale

Delicate is a soft 'snow' white with soft shimmer. Would make a great tear duct highlight.

Snow, Glass and Apples is a sheer pale gold with reddish pink shift. Really unique!

A Dustland Fairytale is a soft mauve that borders on cranberry.




Left to right: The 13th, November and Haute Cocoa

The 13th is a shimmering metallic red with pink shimmer.

November is a really interesting medium brown with a slight 'burnt' quality. It looked like a dark orange in the baggie, but instead it's the color of dead leaves. It may sound unappealing, but it's actually a really pretty color and reminds me of November as the name suggests!

Haute Cocoa (cute name!) is a richer chocolate brown. Love this one.



Left to right: The Labyrinth and Stormbreak

The Labyrinth is a really tough color to describe. It's got a deep brown base but a plummy-brown-blue overlay. It's like Mac Club with less red tones, and more purple. This was a real stunner.

Stormbreak is a taupey deep violet. Is that possible? Yes, yes it is. I squee'd out loud when I saw this. It's SUPER shimmery as well with large silver and purple sparkle.




Left to right: Divine, Princess Aurora and Crackberry

Divine is a bubblegum pink without being overly obnoxious. It has a softness about it that is really unique for a pink of this tone; there's also a strong shimmer overlay.

Princess Aurora is a magenta pink with a purple-blue shift. This has SUCH a perfect name.

Crackberry is a deep plum with a teal shift. Another unique shade.




Left to right: Snow Angel and Stormbringer

Snow Angel is an intense shimmery white -- this is like snow glittering in the sun. Seriously beautiful.

Stormbringer is a deep blue-grey with a pretty metallic finish.

I think my favorites are Stormbreak and Oxalis, though it's tough to decide. What about you? See anything you like?

9 comments:

  1. I like Crackberry and The Labyrinth, awesome names too haha!

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  2. Crackberry? Lol. I love A Dustland Fairytale and Apples Glass whatever it is. I like the pinks, too. These look great, and awesome CS as well.

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  3. Shit son. Blogger review packs?! Crackberry is awesome, and I actually really like the look of Dustland Fairytale.

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  4. wow, gorgeous & unique colours!! I love The Labyrinth, even though I don't own club it looks like a dupe haha.

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  5. omg, how gorgeous are these swatches, wow!!
    liloo/@tsunimee xx

    p.s
    hey sweet, do you mind removing the 'captcha/word verification' setting? Since Blogger's recent changes, they also upgraded the strenght and difficulty of the captcha making it even harder to decipher. If you are concerned by spamming, you can still choose to set your comments on 'approval only' maybe? I hope this doesn't sound too cheeky for a request. It would make commenting a whole lot easier :) xx

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  6. I'm in love with Jack Frost and The Labyrinth! Awesome swatches!
    Phlox

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  7. Great swatches, this company is new to me! I like Stranger Tides, Bayou, Princess Aurora, and Crackberry.

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    ReplyDelete