Spell Cosmetics 'Closing'

It seems the mineral makeup community is going through a few big changes recently, the biggest news maker is the closing of Aromaleigh (some stock still available on final clearance), but my other favorite, Spell Cosmetics is also closing the consumer portion of their company, ie. they will be concentrating their efforts on wholesale & private label orders. The liquidation of their consumer stock ends October 10th and Elle is offering some deals on the remaining inventory and bringing back some older collections.

I've reviewed the Jewel Thief Collection here if you are interested in ordering from them before they close the consumer portion of the website on the 10th.

Aromaleigh Ciao Italia Collection

A fittingly named collection for the very last one from Aromaleigh. Ciao Italia is an Italian inspired collection so the names are Italian. Molto benne!

Anyway, I'm honestly sort of surprised I managed to swatch/photograph these without destroying my kitchen. Gosh, I really now respect the work some of the great swatchers do. This ain't easy work, folks!

All pictures are clickable, each set was taken in natural and artificial light to show complexity and sparkle. They were all swatched dry over no base and patted instead of swiped.

top row left to right
#1 zabaglione #3 ciocolatto #6 rosmarino #7 liquiriza #9 mela
bottom row left to right
# 10 pera #12 menta #17 albicocca #22 mora #34 biscotti #35 nocciola

top row left to right
#1 zabaglione #3 ciocolatto #6 rosmarino #7 liquiriza #9 mela
bottom row left to right
# 10 pera #12 menta #17 albicocca #22 mora #34 biscotti #35 nocciola

top row left to right
#44 melone #45 fragola #49 fico
middle row left to right
#50 puffo #51 tiramisu #53 pistacchio #57 bacio #59 amarena
bottom row left to right
#60 fior di latte #65 mirtillo #71 melogranni #76 malaga #85 lampone #86 fritti di bosco

top row left to right
#44 melone #45 fragola #49 fico
middle row left to right
#50 puffo #51 tiramisu #53 pistacchio #57 bacio #59 amarena

bottom row left to right
#60 fior di latte #65 mirtillo #71 melogranni #76 malaga #85 lampone #86 fritti di bosco

Some of the standouts for me are:
#51 tiramisu
#59 amarena
#49 fico
#57 bacio

I also think the pink and reds in the #70 series are really nice, I'll probably be mixing them with clear gloss for my lips, not sure I'm adventurous enough to use them on the eyes!

The one I was most disappointed with was #34 biscotti - pretty much all glitter.

You can buy samples and full sizes of the line over at the Aromaleigh blog while stock lasts.

Aromaleigh Lost In Faerie Collection

I'm sure everyone knows by now that Aromaleigh is shutting down after 12 years. While I haven't been able to test these shadows as much as I wanted to, I want to get them up before they dissapear for good. That being said, unlike some other bloggers who have swatches of the entire collection, I really don't feel my swatches are that good and instead want to share my top 6 picks from the collection. If you want to see amazing swatches, check out (among others) Phyrra.

My top 6 in no particular order...

Elodie - This shade is gorgeous! It is basically an olive green with an almost duochrome effect with gold shimmer. I did find that a lot of the shades in this collection had more glitter than shimmer and I do prefer the shimmer as it gives the shadows (especially this one) a metallic quality where they just glow.

Naida - This is another shade that has mostly refined shimmer. It is a soft lilac but appears pink or gray in some lighting.This and Elodie are probably my top two faves of the collection.

Calista - I honestly couldn't nail down a color when I swatched this one. This is a not quite grey, not quite blue, not quite brown blackened shade with gold glitter. I don't think I'd even call it a taupe. A mystery!

Zanna - A blackened plum with gold shimmer. Very pretty and would be great to line.

Donella - The first thing I thought of this shade was chocolate mousse. A soft mousey brown with a little shimmer for pizazz.

Xylia - This is what I'd call blurple. Not quite blue, not quite purple.

Swatches in the same order, see how Elodie and Naida just glow?! These swatches were done without a base. I did however, pat the shadows onto the skin instead of sweeping or rubbing them on as that helps with loose powder shadows. There are also plenty of great bases out that suit mineral eyeshadows.

You can still find the Aromaleigh Lost in Faerie Collection at Dormant Dreams while stock lasts for $8 a jar (free shipping in the US). And until Aromaleigh runs out of stock completely, you can still buy their products at their website and get 35% off with code ADIEU35. It looks like they will be open till at least the beginning of August (the coupon expires on the 10th). If you've been wanting to try (or stock up on) their products, I wouldn't wait too long.

Disclosure: These products were sent by Aromaleigh for review purposes. 

Aromaleigh Haul

Wow, that's some fast turn-around-time! I ordered December 13th. My order was shipped December 15th and I received the eyeshadows today, December 18th!

Everything is beautiful. An extra sample of a lip product was included in addition to the 3 free samples you get with every order (that you get to choose - so cool).

I went a little crazy, though I erred on the side of caution with the colors. The only super bright one I picked, Fanclub, a neon pink, I thought would make a nice cheek or lip color. Haven't really tested anything but the colors are gorgeous.

 

I think this might be downward spiral?

l-r: pleasuredome, shadowplay, fanclub

pleasuredome

fanclub

dirtydeeds

brown sugar

The other ones I'm not too sure about. They don't look a like, but they all have a bit of taupey goodness to them which makes it hard to figure out comparing the photographs to the actual jars.

I love the sifter and the fact that it has smaller holes than some of the ones I've dealt with (cough Bare Escentuals) so the product does not seem to spill out quite as freely making me not have to worry nearly as much about storing them upside down.

Can't wait to actually use them!

I paid $3.25 per jar, which is 50% off the regular price of $6.50.

Aromaleigh

Aromaleigh has been having a countdown to Christmas sale in which they pick 1 collection and mark it down 50% for only 24 hours. Well, after reading this great account about the creator of Aromaleigh and seeing how very passionate about her products she is, I have been ordering lots of pretty colors 50% off. How could you not support someone like that?

If you haven't already checked out her blog, it's here and she announces the sales everyday with color swatches to boot! Even though I've never tried any of her products, I've heard great things about them and the color swatches make me very excited to get my goodies in the mail!

Have you tried Aromaleigh?