Let’s be honest, there are a lot of indie products out there in the ether to choose from. So far, I have loved every company I have tried. Maybe I am easy to please? I prefer to believe that the love and care a passionate person put into their indie lip balm or shadow adds a little somethin’ somethin’ to their products, though, and that I have been the recipient of some great suggestions to try. I’m already a strong proponent of slow food, urban homesteading, DIY gifts, so I suppose it was only a matter of time before I jumped onto the indie cosmetic bandwagon… but what happens when the aesthetic of my little (well loved but poorly cared for) garden out back meets this new love of indie makeup?

You get Daisy Bird Cosmetics! I have to be up front, I LOVE its aesthetic. Not only because I like birds and it has the word ‘bird’ in its title, but the color schemes of the shadows that Alice, the owner, has created are right freaking up my alley. Natural. A bit whimsical. A very organic approach to the design of her labels and the themes of her shadows. Alice is also quite nice, and I have really enjoyed my first purchase from her store.

Let’s take a closer look!

My package arrived with a neatly folded tissue paper pocket of my items, as well as a couple of cute little candies (curse you, keto!!), and a very sweet note from Alice. These notes are sometimes my favorite part of ordering indie– I feel all blushy and fan-girly (they talked to ME!!).

The items I ordered! This was Daisy Bird’s blogger pack- a full sized blush and shadow, and four shadow samples for $7. This is a really generous blogger pack. Top left jar is Not So Loud Lilac blush, top right jar is Hello Hyacinth shadow. Baggies are Germinate or Die Trying, Mean Green Bean, Dandy Dandelion, and April Showers. Are those not the cutest names ever? (ESPECIALLY Mean Green Bean and Germinate or Die trying).

Hello Hyacinth

Hello Hyacinth is a beautiful, vibrant orchid purple with blue shimmer.

It is beautiful in the shade, but it really comes to life in the sunlight! I would say this shade, and perhaps April Showers, are the most glittery of the shadows.

April Showers

April Showers is a shimmery white. I personally think it’s slightly cool toned, and it had excellent pigmentation.

Dandy Dandelion

This is one of my favorite shadows of the bunch! It is a beautiful yellow (not too cool, not too warm) that is really spot on for a dandelion. It has just enough gold colored shimmer, not matte, but not super glittery either.

Mean Green Bean

This was a surprise for me! Typically greens are hit and miss. Mean Green Bean is a matte true green color, the shade of my favorite haricote verts cooked in delicious butter, with excellent pigmentation when applied over eye primer. Here it is swatched over Glitter Glue on top and UD Primer Potion on bottom. It actually didn’t apply too badly over the Glitter Glue, but like most all loose mattes, I prefer the eye primer application.

Germinate or Die Trying

IS THIS NOT THE LOVELIEST COLOR? This is a matte mint green color (if I re-named it, I would call it Mint To Be), with excellent pigmentation. It’s a color that I am excited to apply with a warm brown, or maybe a bright coral (or a rusty color like Jo’s gorgeous look on her blog, Coffee_Pls). This also applies better over eye primer, but honestly, I wasn’t disappointed with its application over Glitter Glue like I was over some Shiro mattes (like Hodor).

Not So Loud Lilac Blush

This sort of a color makes me sort of afraid when I think about applying it, but after giving it a go, it is ever so lovely. It’s a very light, delicate color, and is quite smooth. I found it easy to blend over my cheeks, and the color built up gradually in a very manageable way. This is the first purple blush that I feel actually works fairly well for me, so I am REALLY excited to have a full size of it.

Turn Around Time

Daisy Bird had a 5-10 day TAT when I ordered. I placed my order on May 22nd, it shipped on May 29st, and I received it on May 31st, well within the TAT. Alice was very nice and professional in her communication– I had forgotten to include the link to my blog in my order and she was really pleasant in contacting me about it to make sure I was, indeed, a person with a blog, and her note on my packing slip was sweet (with a beta fish, come on, who couldn’t love that!).

The Look

I bemoan not having natural light for photos!! But I enjoyed doing a much more out-there look with these shadows as a demonstration of their pigmentation and blendability (shut up, SpellCheck, I’ve decided that is a word) I built up the Not So Loud Lilac blush a bit to get a better look at the color, and I still hold my original opinion from the swatch– it is a lovely shade, and I am excited to see how far I can take it this summer.

 

Green cut creases with yellow lids aren’t really my MO, but I was impressed with the shadow’s performance. I used Mean Green Bean to create the cut crease, and then blended Germinate or Die trying up into April Showers, which I used as a bit of a light brow bone highlight (and also inner eye highlight). The shadows are applied over NARS smudge-proof primer, with the exception of the middle of the lid, where I patted some Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy for a bit more of an intense yellow color with the Dandy Dandelion. Of course Hello Hyacinth had to go under the eye, because why not?

 

Ah yes, and the mental lubricant that is the corner stone of any crazy look, Pinot Noir.

Products

• MUFE HD Foundation in 110
• Palladio herbal foundation primer
• NARS smudge-proof eye primer
• Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy
• MAC fluidline in Blacktrack
• Kat Von D tattoo liner
• Laura Mercier Secret Concealer in 01 and Secret Brightening Powder
• Daisy Bird Mean Green Bean, Germinate or Die trying, Hello Hyacinth, Dandy Dandelion, and April Showers blush
• L’oreal Voluminous Butterfly Lashes in black
• NYX taupe blush
• Daisy Bird Not So Loud Lilac blush
• Anastasia brow dip in Auburn (ooooo, aaahhhh)
• MAC Up the Amp with YSL 108 Violine Out of Control glossy stain over top

Final Thoughts

If you took your favorite colors from your little organic garden out back and smeared them onto your face, you would have Daisy Bird Cosmetics shades. I found these shadows and the blush to have excellent pigmentation, and blended well. I did experience fall out when I applied, but that’s to be expected with loose shadows.I also wore Dandy Dandelion to work today, and the pigmentation remained excellent throughout the day (which is largely thanks to my NARS smudge-proof primer, I know, but poorer quality shadows tend to migrate a bit more, I find).

I am particularly in love with Daisy Girl’s brand aesthetic– I can’t say that the shadow formulation is much better or worse than other shadows out there, because it is in step with other good indie shadows I’ve tried. I didn’t experience any frustrations or issues with application, so for me it comes down to ‘Do I like the feel of this brand?’, and I do! I wish that there were some neutral colors in the collection, just because I am a bit of a neutrals kind of gal, and I also would like for them to very quickly create a bird-inspired collection specifically, because I would throw fistfuls of money at that.

I also appreciate that she has a great balance between mattes and shinier shades– even her shadows that do have shimmer to them aren’t glitter bombs (though Hello Hyacinth and April Showers DO have a really decent amount of shimmer to them). Her range of finishes make her shadows more versatile, and at the end of the day main downside I can note for her brand is the range of colors available is a bit narrow, though this is understandable considering it’s a new store.

As a last note, say her new You Bet I’m Blushin’ blush looks stunning and I suspect would be a great indie alternative for NARS Exhibit A, as a red blush to create a lovely natural flush. I will be positioning myself strategically to pick up a jar when I have the opportunity.

Your Turn!

What Daisy Bird shadows call to you? What would you do with a kick-ass matte mint green shadow?