The impossible happened: it was sunny on a day I actually had time to swatch things. My Femme Fatale sampler pack arrived a couple of days ago and so I was dying to try them out and get the swatches up, even when I still had a whole bunch of photo's left to edit from a couple of weeks ago. I'll get those done soon, promise. Just like I've been promising myself to finally finish my cover letter and apply for that amazing internship, which I've been putting off because adult stuff is scary shit, yo. I really want to go abroad, though, to at least add some value to this MA degree.
I also added watermarks to my swatches, mainly because I've been included into the amazing IndieKnow swatch gallery. It's an absolute honour to be included! Their database is huge and really thorough, so make sure to check it out!
Okay, let's get down to business (to defeat the Huns)! I am in love with this collection, even if half of it is way too pink for me to be able to wear it. It's just so bright and happy! Brights are usually something I avoid, so these definitely filled some gaps in my collection. I also included a swatch of the newest COTM, which was included in the sampler pack.
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| Top row: Forgotten Love, Blinding Passion, Cheap Tricks. Bottom row: Mood Ring, Pretty Trinkets, Choose Wisely. |
Prices: I ordered a sampler pack, which are only available for a couple of days when a new collection is launched. It was 7.70 AUD and 2.50 AUD insured letter mail shipping, but they refunded 1.10 AUD for the COTM, which had been intended as a free sample.
TAT: Their current TAT is 10 business days, beginning the following business day from order placement. I placed this order February 12th and it shipped February 17th. It arrived in the Netherlands on February 25th, which was pretty quick!
Customer service: Sophie is a complete doll. I didn't have to contact customer service about this order, but they did send everyone a message that they refunded the sample that was supposed to be free. It surprised me, to be honest, since I wouldn't have minded at all if they hadn't.
These swatches were done over Fyrinnae's Pixie Epoxy. They are loose powders and need a sticky base to work properly.
Femme Fatale's description: "A vibrant pink-coral jewel tone with soft violet/pink sheen. Very subtle but feminine."
My verdict: Vibrant indeed! It's very orange in the baggie, but the purple sheen takes over almost completely over a glitter glue. I'm not quite sure how I am going to wear this yet, but that's mostly because the shift is a little too pink for my hair. It's quite similar to You Can't Scare Me from the 2014 Halloween collection so if you have that one already, you probably don't need this one.
Femme Fatale's description: "A gorgeous satin peach with gold highlight."
My verdict: Rose golds are my weakness and this one is pushing all the right buttons. It's a bit more orange than the average rose gold, but the base is quite obviously pink when you swatch it without glitter glue. It's bright yet muted, if that makes any sense. It's probably the most work-safe shade out of the collection, apart from Choose Wisely. I love the satin finish a lot, but then again, all Femme Fatale's satins are amazing. So smooth and pigmented!
Femme Fatale's description: "A vibrant mid-tone pink with shiny green-gold sheen. A smoother, slightly darker and less sparkly sister to Peebles."
My verdict: Holy shit, this is so bright! I don't own Peebles so I can't really compare it to that, but my original thought was that if Candied Apple had a baby with Barbie, it would be this colour. It's way, way, way too pink for my red hair, but I adore the colour of the sparkles. They're a really vivid limegreen and I want them to be added to each and every future Femme Fatale shade.
Femme Fatale's description: "A deep berry-pink with glorious soft green-to-blue-to-purple shift. A cross between Underlord and Obliterate."
My verdict: I could not quite capture the absolute beauty that is Mood Ring. The shift is gorgeous and really quite strong, but it refused to show up on camera. The berry base is one of the prettiest colours I've ever seen and the shift perfectly contrasts it. I need a bigger size of this one pronto. Honestly, you just need to see this in real life to fully appreciate it.
Femme Fatale's description: "A complicated shade, Pretty Trinkets has a subtle purple-brown base with strong bronze sheen and pink sparkles. The base shade is hidden on application, so you should see the bright bronze primarily."
My verdict: Pretty Trinkets has the honour of being my first Femme Fatale dud. I quite like the bright bronze base, but it's just a little too harsh and bright. The sparkles are huge and fuchsia (which I absolutely hate) and they clash big time with the bronze. I'd probably like it without the sparkles, but right now this is a no-no for me. It also stains quite badly, so use a good primer if you don't want your eyelids to turn bright pink.
Femme Fatale's description: "A slightly olive-champagne shimmery shade, this one is super sparkly and complex."
My verdict: My favourite, oh my. It's so impossibly pigmented, yet still very soft and feminine. While described as a olive-y champagne, it actually shifted from champagne to pink to oyster on me in certain angles. I'm definitely going to need a mini of this one. Choose wisely indeed and buy this one.
Femme Fatale's description: "A medium-dark blurple base with bright reddish/purple sheen. This shade may have slight blue staining."
My verdict: This is the February Colour of the Month. I had been expecting it to be slightly darker but I'm glad it's not. Purples with red shifts are my jam, so this is a lovely addition to my collection. I can't wait to use it with Hello Waffle Catticus Finch or Fyrinnae Serendipity. It is quite similar to Femme Fatale Watery Grave (part of my next post, just need to finish editing the photo's), just lighter and slightly more purple. It does stain pretty badly, though my stain was more green than blue.
Overall impression: This collection is gorgeous! So bright, so feminine, so interesting. I especially love Mood Ring, Blinding Passion and Choose Wisely, which I'll be buying as soon as the mini's return. Edge of the Archmage is a a beautiful purple, but it's pretty similar to some other shades I already own.
You can buy Femme Fatale's shadows here. They're currently out of mini jars, but those will return in a couple of weeks. Shiro Cosmetics has also started stocking Femme Fatale and they will restock somewhere in January. Keep in mind that they only stock full sizes, though!
