Indie Spotlight Review: My Beauty Addiction

I'm excited to bring you yet another review- I've spent a considerable amount of time lately putting primer on my arm, brushing on colors, and my family thinking I'm going daft because the colors are ending up on my forearm- and not my eyelids. I've decided no matter what I get, I'm swatching and sharing.

Allow me to introduce you to My Beauty Addiction's Mineral Eye Shadows. Sherrie contacted me last year and asked if she could send a few samples my way to play with colors and create looks and tutorials, since I'm a YouTuber and I share my eyes with the world. Well, actually my little community of wonderful friends! So I have about 30 little baggies of beautiful colors from Sherrie I've been playing with ever since. In addition to mineral makeup, she's also the creator and "scentster" of a wide array of bath and beauty products. I have not had a chance to use all of her products, but I'm sure in time I'll at least have a good idea of many of them. I can say, however, that her Suger Scrub Cubes in Fudge smell so good I want to eat them... They were a win from a picture I identified on her Facebook Page during one of her fun contests!!

The week before last, I was the recipient of a package from Sherrie. My goodies were tucked inside a big white bubble mailer, folded over for added protection. Inside, I found two bubble wrapped packages. Even more cushioning! I dove right into the longer package because the colors I saw peeking through had me foaming at the mouth- yeah, you would have thought I was a rabid animal. I couldn't resist opening it, so after ogling the colors for a moment, I remembered I forgot to take a picture. Whoops! I made sure to take a picture of the other one still wrapped, and the one that was opened... You have no idea the amount of self control I exercised that evening because I only opened up the larger of the two packages.

In the smaller, unopened one you can see that there's six little pots of eyeshadow, and one big container of... Shadow Poxy!! Yes, the one and the same eye primer I use often. It can be purchased in a 5g container, and the new big sized 10g container! I've also seen it sold in a slide-tin, like what you can find some lippies poured into.

I was so excited to receive these, I opened everything up right away, the first few pictures were taken the evening I received my goodies, with flash on otherwise the pictures would be blurry and not good. Can you believe your eyes and how intense those colors look?! My thoughts exactly! I wanted to wait to take the rest in daylight- and so I have! (remember to click the photos for bigger, better, more detailed products!!)

While I started this off with the stacker of currently unknown origins of what they are, I'm going to make it a teaser and share those colors with you last! I received six containers of 5g eye shadows, full to the sifter of product. Since I've only previously received samples of eye shadows from MBA, but also purchased Shadow-Poxy and the Foiling & Lining Serum, I was impressed with the company sticker on the top of the primer jar. It was clear- so I could see the product which was inside. I was pleasantly surprised to see the eye shadows came in the same way- a clear sticker with MBA's logo and weight of the product on the jar (1g). Now you may be asking why a 5 gram jar holds 1 gram of product. Well- minerals weigh considerably less than liquid and/or metal for examples. Five grams of eye shadow would be a LOT of product- so much, you wouldn't be able to fit it into a 5 gram jar. Needless to say- these jars came packed to the sifter with shadow.

Flip the container over, and you see a label which lists the ingredients, and a note at the bottom that there may be additional ingredients in the colors as well. This is actually a new change that Sherrie is starting to implement- labels will now have exact ingredients for each of her many colors. It's no longer going to be a "blanket statement" of "may contain..." which is pretty impressive, considering the time it takes to make the product and run the business. It's an extra step for her, but we'll easily going to be able to identify exactly what's in the colors! Especially great for those who are trying to avoid certain materials.

I have to rant here for a moment about Shadow-Poxy. It's one of, if not my favorite, primer at this moment to use. Due to the awful bags under my eyes, I still use UDPP under them to set my makeup- but as far as holding all day and keeping my shadows in place- this is the stuff I use. If you hang out on my Facebook Page or ask me, this typically is what I write as my answer when asked about what "Indie" brand of Eye Primer I use. Taa-daa!! And by the way, the color on my nails is Gorgeous by Sinful Colors for those wondering.

The jars themselves are not shrink wrapped, but mine arrived tightly attached and each one had a sifter seal to not only prevent the product from getting everywhere, but also done for sanitation purposes. Removing the sifters to me is like unwrapping Christmas presents... Put the cap back on and sift out some product. This is what I have to show you! Yes- the colors really are that intense.

The colors from left to right top row are White Diamonds, Secret Crush and VIPink; the second row is Heliotrope, Stargazer and After Party. The only thing I wasn't able to do was get a proper and accurate color representation of After Party- it's a true, stop-you-in-your-tracks bright purple. Not blue like my camera shows it to be. All swatches are done over Shadow-Poxy primer on the top, and the bottom is on clean bare skin to illustrate the difference of applications. For vertical pictures, the primer is on the left-hand side of the swatch, while bare skin is to the right.

White Diamonds- A shimmery, sparkling white which is very reflective in sunlight. This works wonderfully as a shadow color alone on your eyes, or as a highlighter. This is definitely a fitting name for this color- it sparkles just like diamonds.

Secret Crush- This color is a medium-bright mauve pink- it's a pretty blush of color with a soft pink undertone and just enough shimmer to catch your eye. Also a versatile color which would also be very pretty worn on your lips!

VIPink- A color not for the faint of heart. This hot pink has a very pretty magenta and violet  shimmer undertone! If you're a fan of trying bright colors, this one is a must-have in your collection.

Heliotrope- Iridescent violet compliments this multi-dimensional magenta and really gives it a kick of color to your lids. Whether worn as the main color on your lids, or as an accent, this one won't disappoint! It's got a very nice shimmer to it as well.

Stargazer- Violet and Magenta had a baby- and named it Stargazer. This amazing pink-purple shadow has a beautiful blue shimmer undertone. Depending on the angle you look at this duochrome color, you'll catch one, two or three of the colors!

After Party- This is a rich royal purple that for some reason only picks up as blue by my camera. I've tried different settings, different lighting... And it still did not cooperate. Rich, velvety, shimmery purple. There's one picture that gives you a hint of this color, and it's right below! If you're looking for a true, bright purple, this is it. The swatches below show you colors in natural light, and then shown using a flash for ultimate glitteriness!

 

 Taken With Flash:

 

Next up would be the teaser- the brand new Foils that Sherrie has just released. There are currently 30 different colors to choose from, and some have me positively drooling. I'll just share with you the colors I was sent in the stacker, but you can check out all the different ones offered in her Etsy Shop. I like this particular mode of delivery because these containers don't get the pigments caught in the threads! I hate when that happens- just a pet peeve of mine, and all my jars (except these!) do it. I'll get over it though!

The Foils are quite different from the Mineral Eye Shadows that I received from Sherrie. To answer your question- yes, they're still mineral shadows- they're just formulated differently. Looking at the colors themselves, you can see they're not quite as fine as regular shadows. They appear to be a bit more "lumpy", but that's just the way they settle in the jar. As soon as the colors are applied to your eyes, they slip on like a dream. My favorite thing about them? They're metallic. Once they're on your eyes, they look like metal "foiled" on your peepers! Due to the fact that these are indeed metallic shades, they wouldn't be ideal to use as blush or lippies- it would be too opaque. These have been swatched the same way as the Mineral Shadows- the top has Shadow-Poxy primer, and the bottom is blended in to bare skin. You'll notice that these have pretty awesome coverage with and without primer.

24k- A true yellow gold. This brings to mind gold-leaf detailing. This one really does glow from within... So if you ever feel like blinging out your eyes for a special occasion, reach for this one!

Aruba- A shimmery peachy-pink which makes me think of an ocean with pink sands. If you're a fan of soft, romantic colors- this would be a great option for you. It has a very light pink undertone which reflects light softly and gives the appearance of a metallic and pearlized color.

Warm Bronze- This is a rich brown shade with bronze metallic shimmer and a hint of dark orange undertones. I think any eye color and complexion could pull this shade off perfectly.

Fiji- Take me to the islands! This refreshing and vibrant green has cool light  green shimmers and a hint of soft pearl white to round it off nicely. And it's just in time to welcome in spring!

Jezzibel- Sexy, dark, and easily one of my favorites. A rich black shadow is complimented with hints of silver  and blue shimmer and a gunmetal gray undertone. Depending on the reflection of the light on this baby, you're catching glimpses of each!

Delirious- Get ready to wow them with this intense hue! I don't think I've ever seen a metallic blue this pigmented or intense! It's accented with a light aqua undertone, and will certainly turn heads!

 Please forgive my memory, I don't recall which white highlighter or gray shimmer I used on my eyes with this look... But as you can see, I did use Fiji and Delirious... And felt I belonged right in the Caribbean!

Pros:

Pricing: Excellent

Mineral Eye Shadows are all 5 gram jars.

Single Colors for $5

Three for $12 (save $3)

Five for $17 (save $8)

Shadow Collections start at $9.99

Color Stacks are 6 shadows (your choice) in a stack for $19

3 Color Stacks are 18 colors (your choice) for $48.50

4 Color Stacks are 24 colors (your choice) for $62.50

Mineral Eye Shadow Samples- 10 for $5

Molten Metals line are $5 each (Metallic Shades) each for a 5g container

New Velvet-Foils are $7 each for a 10g container

New Velvet-Foils are 3 for $16 (Metallic Shimmers) also in 10g container

Shadow Poxy-

5g container for $4.50

10g container for $8.50

Customer Service: Excellent
Sherrie is very easy to contact, and has a very quick turnaround time for emails and inquiries. Of all the times I've interacted with her, I've typically had a response well within 48 hours. Ordering is quick and easy, and as we all like the process to be as low-fuss as possible! I've only ordered through her Etsy store, not through her website.

Shipping: Excellent

From the time I've ordered product, and have it delivered- it's received well within one business week. The package I received the other day made it to me in three or four days (I can't recall exactly which). I was very happy to find it in my mail box!

Presentation: Excellent

My goodies were packaged very well to insure there was no damage during transport to my base camp. I've always received a little note from Sherrie in my packages, and this one certainly didn't disappoint! It had the names of colors, and a "Hope you like them!" (which I do!)

Packaging: Great/Excellent

All my jars arrived with tightly fitted lids which are easy to twist on and off. Sifter seals ensured that none of the product spilled during transport. It's also reassuring for sanitation purposes.

The containers are all attractively designed and well thought out for placement of text. The logo and type of product is clearly marked on the top of the jars with a super-convenient clear label so you can see inside the container and identify the color of your product(s), and ingredient information and color name is clearly marked on the bottom. As previously mentioned, the stickers for the names and ingredients are all being re-vamped and each will have their own individual ingredients list very soon.

Product: Excellent

The Mineral Eye Shadows are all finely milled, highly pigmented, and some have more sparkles and shimmer than others. The product shots themselves will give you an excellent idea how they look applied, and are very true to what the photographs show. The shadows themselves are subdued and softer if applied without primer, and will give you a great color kick if it is used. They're easy to apply, have little fallout, and blend very easily. None of the colors I've personally used "muddy" or lose their luster when they're blended out- which sometimes happens with colors. This is also happily the case for the Molten Metals and Velvet Foils lines.
Velvet Foils have bigger particles than the Mineral Eye Shadows, but they go on intense and with a beautiful luster. The colors I've swatched go on best with a dense brush, or if you prefer a foam applicator. I'm not a fan of those, so I used a brush to lay these on. I find that patting them on first, and then using the brush to blend will spread the color evenly and almost effortlessly.

Con:

My jars came with tightly twisted, very well fitted lids, attractive labeling, and sifter seals.

This isn't really a complaint of mine, but rather an observation. If possible, I'd like to see shrink wrapped jars make their way from Sherrie's lab to their new homes. Again- this isn't really a complaint or problem I see with the products, but merely an observation. I like when my jars are shrink wrapped. Overall, this doesn't change or really affect my position that MBA's Mineral Eye Shadows, Molten Metals, or Velvet Foils are all excellent products.

Conclusion: Would I continue to purchase products, and recommend My Beauty Addiction's cosmetics to friends and family?

Yes, I would.

Sherrie has a wonderful array of products to offer, and I'm excited to try some more of her other bath and body items as well. The shadows themselves have wonderful staying power- I'm talking way past a regular 8 hour workday. I've worn these shadows not only in the heat of summer, but during swimming days too. Sometimes my eyeliner fades, but the colors? Still there, still vibrant- and I love it! Who can say they've gone swimming and come up with their eyes still looking perfect? I can! I've literally had my face melt off in the summer heat, and my eyes? Still looking freshly applied- and I'm ready for more! Fallen asleep at night with my makeup on... Waking up to an awesome smokey eye look because my liner has smudged, but the shadow colors? Looking as if they had just come out of the jar.... Yeah, awesome staying power!

Thank you Sherrie for making such awesome mineral shadows!

I look forward to doing more business in the future!

x0x0x0 ~*Snarky P

~*Disclaimer: These products from My Beauty Addiction were sent to me free of charge, and for review purposes. I have not been compensated in any way, shape or form for writing this article. All views and opinions are my own. Keep an eye out for this shop- she's joining a group soon!!*~