Ok, let’s get this puppy rolling! (I guess that should be hedgehog, or armadillo, or something?)

I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t wait in my big fluffy armchair by Bird TV (my windows by my bird feeders) most of the afternoon to make sure I was lurking RIGHT THERE like a psycho when the mailman arrived. It helps me to imagine that I was being productive checking some work e-mails and doing some photo editing in the meantime, but let’s be honest. I was really just waiting for the mailman, and waiting because I knew he had my Fyrinnae order!

My collection of large company cosmetics is pretty well developed (too large, in some ways… don’t worry, I’ll share all together too much about it), but I am only just dipping my toes into indie makeup companies. I have in the past ordered some Portland Black Lipstick Company lipsticks, I love Sugarpill eyeshadows, and I have some Hello Waffle Cosmetics lip balms, but that is largely the extent of my experience. Loose shadows have terrified me for as long as I have known about them, and loose blushes were even worse.

BUT NO LONGER.

Behold, my first Fyrinnae haul. You’re looking at Pixie Epoxy, pressed Mephisto shadow, a mini Pygmy Hippo lip lustre (the cutest mini tube I’ve ever seen, I think), and mini jars of Rapunzel Had Extensions, Serendipity, Work Safe Blue, and Bawdy Librarian (which was a free sample).

A side note about the free sample– as mentioned this is really my first serious foray into indies, but I think providing a mini jar as a free sample is INCREDIBLY generous. I only purchased mini jars anyway, so it felt like my order was so enhanced by this. I know free samples are old hat to indie veterans, but as a newbie, I feel so tickled. Such a far cry from foil packets of face creams you’ll never use! Suck it, Sephora!

Let’s look at swatches!

SWATCHES

As one can see, I ordered some of the most popular Fyrinnae shadows for my first go of the company. I didn’t know exactly what to expect from their formulas, so I stuck mostly with the shadows that everybody agrees are favorites (going sort of out of the way for the pressed Mephisto despite there not being much of an internet opinion on it, because the loose shadow never seems to be in stock and I really wanted a Mephisto of some description).

First impression: These shadows are witchcraft.

Second/More realistic first impression: These shadows perform amazingly over the Pixie Epoxy (excepting Mephisto which I later learned really isn’t made to be applied over Pixie Epoxy). I’m not sure how else I would apply them over bare skin, but I found that it largely just did not work. I’m going to guess it’s mostly oxide bases that we’re seeing adhering to the bare skin– the brilliance of the duochromes and micas don’t really seem to stick when applied to the skin with a brush (even patted). This is exactly what I expected from everything I’ve read though, so no disappointment there. That’s why I got the Pixie Epoxy! If you’re a noob to this like I am, this may be something you should anticipate ahead of time. Primers are your friends (and a post edit: I have found that these do still apply much better with a regular primer like my NARS smudgeproof primer than just to bare skin), and Pixie Epoxy is not a primer but is your BEST friend for really bringing out the life in these shadows.

I personally found that Mephisto wasn’t quite as fool-proof as the others in application, but have to own up that I did apply it over the PE. You can see there is that blue patch in the middle that didn’t quite seem to adhere the same way as the other shadows. Lesson learned, no Pixie Epoxy for this little beauty:

They are so dynamic! This photo is just a clearer shot of Work Safe Blue specifically, which I am amazed with.

Below you can see what it looks like in the jar, vs what it looks like on the arm:

In the jar it looks like a sort of taupe-y gray, but when applied it shifts from a grey-ish blue to this pale silvery blue color with sort of lavender shift (as you see above). I love blue eyeshadows but very rarely wear them in comparison to my neutrals, so I think this shadow might be the perfect in-between point that I will get a decent amount of use from.

You can see the much more grey-toned side to the shadow in the swatch below:

Here is Mephisto in its pressed form:

I’ve seen people wondering if anything is lost in the pressing of Mephisto vs. the loose shadow. I’m not yet sure, just because I haven’t tried the loose one yet, but I did try swatching it over a few different things:

As we can see, Mephisto actually appears to behave on Pixie Epoxy here, but on my first application above it really was a bit challenging. I think I may have applied the shadow while the PE was still a bit wet the first time… ahhh, who knows D: Between the three, I think I like the NARS Smudgeproof primer as base for Mephisto, personally.

Rapunzel Had Extensions has all the tones of summer trapped in a jar:

To me it looks a lot more orange in its container, but applies peachy and melon-y, which I love, with rosy tones that come out as you move. This color really exceeded my expectations and I can’t want to smear it all over my eyes.

Serendipity was another one that surprised me in its transformation from jar to application. In the jar it looks like a warm taupe color, but applied the shadow really comes to life. The pink-y shift is really, really pretty and I could easily see this become a daily shadow for me.

Seeing Bawdy Librarian in the jar, I knew exactly what it would look like on the arm. It’s a yellow-leaning coppery brown with tones of gold in it as well, and I think will make my blue eyes absolutely pop.

Last but not least, here is that incredible Pygmy Hippo swatch we saw on my arm now on my lips… oh gawd is that the most GORGEOUS color or what?! Furthermore, it’s totally the color of a baby pygmy hippo’s mouth/neck:

I’ll admit I threw it into my cart last minute because I saw someone online mention it was a pretty color, not even really paying much attention to swatches online. As a girl who owns a LOT of pink and rose lipsticks, I don’t actually have one that is quite this tone. I really like how it leans a bit plum, and think it’s super duper flattering. It makes me want to go find a baby pygmy hippo and give it a bath.

Day After Edit: On a more practical note, I wore the lip lustre for a good chunk of today (it was my magic lip for a job interview I had today… fingers crossed!) and found that it lasted about 3-4 hours, and did seem to leave a little bit of stain on my lips. It is true that these are not glosses, but more of a silky cream pigment that applies smoothly and feels very light weight on the lips. I did notice that I didn’t have a lot of transfer from the lip lustre onto my drinking glasses– although it didn’t necessarily last all day, I didn’t suffer smearing it all over my coffee mug and water bottle and what have you. I know that’s not actually possible because the lip color went somewhere, but although the lustre was very pigmented and applied with a pleasing amount of opacity, I didn’t feel like I was smudging it everywhere I put my lips like many other lip products. I don’t feel like the mini is going to last me very long, because I had to re-apply about three times today… but I will certainly be buying a full size, because it is really charming and I think a stunning color.

Turn Around Time

Fyrinnae has a scary-ass turn around time of 30-40 days posted on their webpage. They also have a notice that states that it never actually takes this long, but that people seem to like receiving their packages in less time than it COULD take, and it gives them leeway for unforeseen delays.

In actuality, I personally submitted my order on May 5th, my order shipped May 10th, and I received it May 12th (thank my lucky stars that they are only a couple states away, it only took two days for my package to get here!). Seven days from ordering to being in my hot little hands is a good deal with indies, I think, since many companies seem to take a couple of weeks to get their product out.

Final Thoughts

I am so impressed by products I ordered! I suspect that the pressed Mephisto might not apply the exact same way as the loose shadow, but I have no regrets picking up the pressed one, because it is still stunning.

I won’t actually know that first hand until my second order of Fyrinnae shadows comes in… clearly I have a problem, because the loose Mephisto shadow became available today, so the first thing I did was rush over to get one, and then spent most of the afternoon attempting to pay for the order because their payment system was down (which sucks, but when it was back up they e-mailed me to let me know, which was lovely). Fyrinnae is rather renowned for its website issues, but I understand now why people put up with the struggles, because the colors of their product were really unique and I’m excited to integrate the shadows into looks this next week.

Until next time…

Things I am Looking Forward To:

• My next Fyrrinae order (loose Mephisto shadow, Snow Leopard, Jade Ghost, and Meerkat)
• My Shiro anniversary sale order (I have to be honest with myself and acknowledge I likely won’t get it until June)
• Giving my Sugarpill Cold Chemistry palette a good work out sometime this week

Your Turn!

Do any of these shadows particularly float your boat? What is your list of Fyrinnae faves?

It should be noted that I purchased these products completely on my own and am reviewing them independently, without affiliation to anything or anyone other than my mild (ahem) addiction to makeup.