Ha, I suck at blogging. I have to shamefully admit that this order arrived on October 30th and that in the time it took me to finally get around to swatching them for this blog, I have already placed and received my second order. Yeah. Oops.
Upside to this is that I have had plenty of time to test and play with them, so I can now confidently share with the world how very much in love I am with these shades and with this company in general. They're probably my favourite so far, both in terms of quality and overall experience. I know some people are a little hesitant because of past drama, but it seems that they have upped their game immensely. Their new site is a massive step up from what it used to be, too, so if that was holding you back before, do yourself a favour and give them another chance.
Prices: Regular Fyrinnae's mini's are $2.25 and contain 1/3 tsp, while Arcane Magics are only 1/4 tsp. They are filled quite consistently and will probably last you ages, since a little shadow goes a long way. Full sizes cost $6.80 and from what I've seen, you'll need more than just one lifetime to finish them. Get mini's first and then return for full sizes of your absolute favourites (and an excuse to buy more pretties). Pixie Epoxy is $7 for a full size tube and $2 for the cutest, tiniest sample sizes. Seriously, they are adorable and I'm probably going to toss in a couple of them in all my future orders just so I can give them to my friends when I introduce them to indies.
TAT: Don't let the four to seven weeks turn around time on their website scare you: it's grossly exaggerated and only meant for extreme cases. This order was placed on October 19th, shipped on October 24th and arrived on the 30th, which is ridiculously fast for international shipping. Way to go, USPS. My second order was placed on November 16th, shipped on November 21st and arrived yesterday, on the 28th. Keep in mind that I am in the Netherlands, so this probably won't be representative for other countries.
I ordered nine mini's, a full size Pixie Epoxy and received Shenanigans as my free sample. Speaking of Pixie Epoxy: you will need a sticky base for these shadows to show up properly. They can be used on normal primers of Nyx Milk, but they will still miss that oomph that makes them so amazing. My swatches were done over PE.
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Look at that adorable packaging! My cat's absolutely fascinated with it. Unfortunately my camera is a little too old to be able to properly photograph the jars and I've used them to much already to reliably show how full they are anyway. Learning curve!
Fyrinnae's description: "This shade is a glowing iridescent copper highlight upon application, despite how photos make it appear. A sticky base makes more color come though, but it works well and "glows" over regular primers. Depth of hue may appear to vary slightly due to its translucent dark base."
My verdict: This might just be my absolute favourite eye shadow ever. It is very hard to describe and even harder to photograph true to life. It's grey, it's purple, it's copper, it's gold: it's a true chameleon that changes depending on what you pair it with. I have been wearing this pretty much everyday, as it makes for a gorgeous all-over-lid shade (especially paired with Rapunzel in the inner corners, so pretty!) and can be spiced up by adding golds, purples or browns. I am going to need a full size of this. Yes, I know what I said about never being able to finish Fyrinnae's full sizes, but I am still going to need a full size.
My verdict: RHE has an extremely strong shift - which is pretty much impossible to photograph. It shifts from a light gold to a quite a bright yet soft pink. Fyrinnae lists it as their all-time top selling shade and it's easy to see why. It is my go-to highlight colour, but I've also worn it as an all-over-lid shade, which worked surprisingly well with my red hair.
Fyrinnae's description: "Shimmery, metallic coppery bronze with hints of red on a charcoal base to boost the colour. It is much better in person."
My verdict: Such a lovely, warm copper. It is quite brown and pairs well with golds, other browns and coppers and greens. I use it as a crease colour quite a lot, but it would probably work as an eye liner really well, too. It's less dark than it looks in the jar and not nearly as gold as Fyrinnae's swatch makes it out to be.
Fyrinnae's description: "Molten bright copper? Metallic gold on red? You decide. It's metallic gold on red; a firey, warm blend of hues with a metallic finish, and will appear differently depending on how it's applied, much like Mephisto."
My verdict: Small disclaimer: I adore orange, especially when it's wearable. Fireside Interlude is out there yet extremely wearable: it's very warm and very bright without being too in-your-face. It's pretty much the perfect fall colour, but wearing it on your lower lashline will spice up your look year round. It might not be for everyone, but it's definitely for me.
Fyrinnae's description: "A rainbow of sparkle fills rich, metallic gold over a dark base. This shade works well over primer, but you may find it appears best without a sticky base. Shenanigans is a replacement for Medieval Haunting: They're nearly the same metallic finish and gold-on-black color, but this one has multi-color sparkle instead of just silver and gold. "
My verdict: Shenanigans was my free sample and it's almost as if it knew that I hadn't picked it out myself. I dropped it while swatching (managed to salvage most of it! thank you, glass table) and my pictures weren't sharp - which I noticed when I'd already removed the swatch. Oh, well. At least you see the gorgeous sparkle, which looks more pink and blue than rainbow. It's a lovely cool gold and with the sparkle, it reminds me of golden medals and the Olympic Games. I haven't tried it without a sticky base yet, since I don't own a proper primer and my skin is dryer than the sahara, meaning I can just wipe it off when I swatch on bare skin.
Fyrinnae's description: "Lush, metallic warm green with a touch of cooler green sparkle throughout."
My verdict: Look at how bright it is! It's not quite chartreuse, but it does lean quite golden. The sparkle is tiny and quite muted, which is right up my alley tbh. I received Tyr yesterday and oh boy, they are the perfect combination! Looking at my swatches, I really want to pair it with Mephisto, too.
Fyrinnae's description: "Mephisto is a dark royal blue with a vibrant metallic red sheen that's quite striking when the light hits it. Metallic finish, not sparkly. If the red goes somewhat coppery on application, add a little more."
My verdict: Mephisto is pure magic, but definitely a magic I haven't mastered yet. I believe Fyrinnae actually recommends not using PE for Mephisto, but since I lack a good primer, I had to. This shade is wonderfully complex: on bare skin it is a brilliant royal blue, but over PE it's a rich purple that turns coppery red when you swipe or blend. My swatch turned out patchy, but I chose to use it anyway because it shows all possible colours (and I just didn't want to redo it, sorry). It's a little unreliable, but so, so, so unique and gorgeous.
Fyrinnae's description: "A remake of our old Steampunk shade (but better!), this is an antiqued deep copper on black, with a touch of gold sparkle and hues of pink/plum. Move it toward light or change the angle, and it becomes gold to chartreuse, the black base setting off the vivid highlight while still retaining its Victorian-era depth."
My verdict: Steampunk is one of the Arcane Magic shadows and my swatch shows this really well. I really wanted to disregard my template and use four photo's to show all the shifts and colours. It ranges from a blackened purple to a lighter purple with golden sparkle to a bright golden green, all depending on the lighting. The Arcane Magic shadows are slightly more expensive, but so worth it.
Fyrinnae's description: "Deep black with varying hues of glowing copper shimmer."
My verdict: Not quite deep black, but definitely deep and warm. It ranges from orange to purple to brown to red, depending on the lighting. It has a very slight sparkle to it, but all in all, it's very neutral. I love using this one for a smokey eye or simply for adding some depth to my crease. Also makes for a killer eye liner.
Fyrinnae's description: "Metallic red shines over a deep black base, making this shade perfect for liner as well. Darker than it appears here."
My verdict: Very dark indeed! It applied a little patchy, showing the pure black base, but that might just have been me screwing up with the PE. It has a very faint golden shine, but it's not really a duochrome so much as a satin finish. I love the look of it, but I gotta admit I haven't used it much since it is such a daring shade. Perfect for Christmas, though!
Overall impression: I adore Fyrinnae, simple as that. Their shadows are pure magic and they last all day for me, even without a proper primer underneath the PE. I haven't had any problems yet so I can't comment much on their customer service, but the owner is a complete sweetheart judging from his IMAM posts. International shipping is quick and very reasonably priced. Honestly, I could gush about them all day, but in case you want to try for yourself, you can buy these eye shadows here. You won't regret it, I promise you!
