Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Sugarpill Cosmetics Swatches and Review

I can't believe I waited so long to try Sugarpill. I've wanted to try their stuff from the very first time I heard about them. The one thing that always kept me from clicking "place order" was me being convinced that I already had similar colors. I have a lot of eyeshadow... Really, a lot. And I didn't think I should spend money on matte white, matte orange, matte hot pink, et cetera when I already had the same colors from other brands. But when they had their Black Friday sale this year, I couldn't resist. I ordered a few things and now I'm kicking myself for not doing it sooner because they're FREAKIN' AWESOME.


What I really wanted was the Burning Heart palette (you know how infatuated I am with red and purple eyeshadows) but it was out of stock. Sad face. Yes, I know I could order the shadows individually, but I way prefer palettes over singles. Someday I'll get my hands on Burning Heart, but for now I'll settle for the Sweetheart palette and the three loose shadows I ordered.

This is the front of the Sweetheart palette. Just look at that amazing design. It's not a sticker; it's actually printed.

It's a sturdy, heavy cardboard palette with a magnetic closure and a full mirror inside the lid. The quality and construction of the palette itself is top notch.


The back of the palette is perfect. It lists the name of the palette, the shades, the URL of the shop and is just ridiculously cute.


The ingredients are listed on the back of the outer box. Click to enlarge.


The shadows, with flash and without. The shades are Dollipop (hot pink matte), Afterparty (bright blue matte), Midori (bright teal-green with slight shimmer) and Tako (matte white).


The only flaw with the palette? My Midori has a big crack in it.


Here are the shadows swatched lightly over bare skin. No primer. Dollipop, Afterparty, Midori and Tako.


I also ordered three shades of the Chromalust Loose Eyeshadow.

Not only are the boxes extremely adorable, the shades and ingredients are listed on the bottom.

Look at the design on the jars! This is honestly the nicest indie brand packaging I've ever seen.


The shades are Asylum (rust red shimmer), Goldilux (INSANE yellowy-gold metallic with sparkle) and Royal Sugar (bright blue with turquoise flecks).


Sugarpill Chromalust Loose Eyeshadow in Asylum


Sugarpill Chromalust Loose Eyeshadow in Goldilux



Sugarpill Chromalust Loose Eyeshadow in Royal Sugar



Swatched lightly over bare skin (no primer): Asylum, Goldilux and Royal Sugar.


I have not had a chance to try all the shades on my eyes, but I did a super quick look yesterday using three of them (Dollipop, Goldilux and Asylum):


I used:
Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion
Sugarpill Chromalust in Goldilux on lid
Sugarpill Pressed Eyeshadow in Dollipop in crease
Sugarpill Chromalust in Asylum on lower lashline and over Dollipop in outer crease
Urban Decay 24/7 Liquid Liner in Perversion
Hourglass Film Noir Full Spectrum Mascara

I've always heard that Goldilux is the most intense gold shadow ever, but I didn't believe it could be any different from the other 30+ gold shadows I own until I tried it. It is amazing. Seriously. Crazy sparkly without being glittery and it's super dense and shiny. Asylum is really shiny and sparkly and has great pigmentation as well. And, so far, Dollipop is the best hot pink eyeshadow I've ever used. It's not as neon looking as Make Up For Ever #75 or Kryolan UV Pink, but it applies so much smoother and easier and blends better.

My thoughts? Wow. These exceeded my expectations. Again, I can't believe I waited so long to try them. I have so many thoughts about these that I'll probably end up rambling for pages if I don't put it in bullet-point form.

What I liked:
  • Website is extremely well-designed, eye-catching, attractive, easy to navigate and shows multiple clear pictures of each product.
  • Packaging is the same: well-designed, eye-catching and attractive. It's the best indie company packaging I have ever seen. No crooked stickers or scribbly hand-written labels; this is something I can be proud to display or give as a gift.
  • The pressed eyeshadows are HUGE! Much bigger than a MAC shadow, bigger even than a Stila or Make Up For Ever shadow pan. They contain 4 grams / .14 oz of product, so they really are as massive as they look.
  • The Chromalust loose shadows are pretty big as well. They are 5 grams packed by weight, so some shades may look more or less full, but contain the same amount of product.
  • The Chromalusts come in a big wide-mouthed jar without a sifter making them much easier for me to use (but also easier to spill).
  • The products are all a great value.
  • The colors are just as bright and pigmented in real life as they appear on the website.
  • Formulas are smooth and silky, not powdery and streaky.
  • Every shade I've tried so far applies and blends beautifully.
  • You get a pretty glittery sticker with your order and the shipping box has a kitty on it.
  • $5 flat rate domestic shipping on order under $75, orders over $75 get free shipping (including international).
  • Their models are smokin' hot. All the makeup, outfits, props, and everything in the promotional photos on the website looks awesome. Really well done.

What I didn't like:

  • My Midori was cracked. The shadow still works just fine but it's still a little disappointing to get a brand new item that looks damaged.
  • Burning Heart is always out of stock when I want to order it!
  • The shipping. I know that I ordered during a sale and I expected some delay, so I don't fault them too much for it, but I would have liked a little warning if it was going to be more than a few days past the stated shipping time. I ordered on the 25th and didn't get a shipping notice until the 3rd. The package didn't actually ship until the 10th. Their website states turnaround as 1-3 business days. Again, I definitely understand why it took so long, but a little notice on the website or in the order confirmation would have been nice and would have adjusted my expectations a little more.
  • Dollipop stained my skin. It's not a complaint but it's worth mentioning. I expect hot pinks to stain so it was not an issue for me and I didn't mind, but it may be a problem for some people.

So, overall, I'm very happy with everything I ordered and I would definitely order from Sugarpill again. I have a wishlist as long as my arm now. Dying to try Burning Heart, of course, but also Bulletproof, Decora, Lumi, Hysteric, Birthday Girl... pretty much everything they make, really. The packaging design, the construction, attention to detail and the quality of the products are better than almost any high-end/more expensive brand I've ever tried and definitely the best indie stuff in my collection. They sell only bright, sparkly, fun colors that are actually a good quality. Plus, you get this card with a baby goat and a hot chick on it with your order:

Kids love nipples. Sexy ladies and adorable baby animals. I approve. Baaaaa!

Sugarpill palettes are $34, individual pressed shadows are $12 and Chromalust loose shadows are also $12. As far as I'm aware, Sugarpill is available only from their website.

28 comments:

  1. I want everything they make so bad!

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  2. this red and gold looks just fabulous on you :)

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  3. Amazing! That eyelooks looks so great on you

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  4. You have to get Lumi, it's really beautiful! :)

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  5. The green shadow isn't cracked! If you read the FAQ (or whetever the section is called) you see that "issue" listed, they say that the eyeshadow pans with smudges are just overfilled, that means you got more shadow than you should have gotten - but for free ;)

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  6. I so love Goldilux, but holy glitterbomb batman!

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  7. Thank you so much, everyone!

    Violetta, I love colors like that, I don't know why I didn't order it when I ordered these!

    Killer Colours, I did see that in the FAQ, but mine didn't look like a smudge, it looked like a crack, so I wasn't sure if that was what she was referring to or not. But she also says it's only less than a hundredth of a gram of extra shadow, so I would have rather had a non-cracked looking one instead. Oh well :(

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  8. Amy would for SURE replace your cracked shadow, I know they experienced 20 times the orders on Black Friday that they thought they would so they're super busy, but she's a wonderful person and super easy to deal with :)

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  9. Sarah, good to know! I'm don't think I'm upset about the crack enough to make her go though the trouble of exchanging it for me when they're so busy, but maybe once they are back to normal I'll email them about it :)

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  10. Those Chromalust loose eyeshadows look AMAZING!

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  11. I bought my first Sugarpill-stuff during the Black Friday-sale (and it did say on the website that those orders wouldn't ship until after Dec.1):
    Love+ and Tiara
    Now, Love+ is the brightest, smoothest, easiest-to-blend red eyeshaow that I've ever used! It's amazeballs!! And I'm pale as a sheet and it hasn't stained my skin yet either.
    And Tiara is such a gorgeous silvershimmer, with a big plus of being vegan. It's really hard to find a good silver around here, that isn't bunny-tested.

    So, I need more Sugarpill - soon! ^_^

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  12. ChromaCraze, they are amazing!

    Bloodlover, if it did, I didn't see it anywhere! I looked all over the site, News, FAQS, main page, every section on there and I didn't see any notice stating that. Still, my order didn't actually ship until December 10th so it wouldn't have given me an accurate time frame anyway. Won't deter me from ordering again!

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  13. Isn't Goldilux fun? You need Tiara, too. It's the Goldilux of silvers. Just saying... lol. I 'm pretty sure I have 2/3 of the Chromalusts by now and I'm starting my way into the pressed shadows. I bought Dollipop during the Pink Friday sale, but haven't really been doing makeup since so I'm yet to test it.

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  14. I've heard some good things about this brand. The colors are so beautiful & bright. I've never tried them. You've really confirmed this brand. Will have to look into them.

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  15. You can purchase Sugarpill at Camera Ready Cosmetics, Rave Ready, and Amy's store on eBay.

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  16. I bought an absolute SHIT TON of Sugarpill during their sale. Can't wait for it to arrive! I already have Goldilux and you're right. It's sensational. I was wearing it during my last trip to the MAC outlet store - they asked me if I was a MAC artist at the counter. LMAO! Sugarpill is so easy to use that it makes even my hack job look pro.

    And I agree on the packaging. Cutest and best quality indie brand packaging out there... Well for now, anyway... ;)

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  17. Sugarpill is one of my top favorite brands. Amy is amazing and the sweetest person in the world to deal with, business wise. She would have likely gladly replaced the palette for you. I had an order never get delivered once because of a mixed up address and she sent out another order for me, no questions asked. This is honestly how she's been since her days of only selling over Ebay. The shipping thing was mentioned on her FB, not the website, for Black Friday sales. :)

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  18. I also ordered during the BlackFriday sale! I was so impressed, and I would have cried if Midori was cracked - that was my favorite one! I got a sample of Royal Sugar and love it! I would never use that whole jar of loose pigment though... so It's going to need to wait.

    I also had the same shipping issue! It said first week of december it shipped, but I tracked and tracked and tracked and didn't ship until the 9th or 10th as well. Urgh!

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  19. nice look, but I feel sad for your midori shadow! I hate when that happens.... maybe you should contact sugarpill or something?

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  20. I haven't tried them yet either but really want to. Everything looks very pigmented and I like the red and gold!

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  21. I LOVE their pressed eye shadows, haven't tried any of their loose eye shadows but I want to! Goldilux looks insane!

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  22. I need to go on her website and get hooked up pronto.

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  23. "Plus, you get this card with a baby goat and a hot chick on it with your order."
    Thoroughly enjoyed the phrasing. :)

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  24. The Makeup Geek Store at www.makeupgeek.com also carries some of Sugarpill's products including the Burning Heart palette (it is also out of stock now there too). She just developed her own shadows too and apparently the pigmentation is out of sight - you may want to check those out too! I really want to check out both Sugarpill's and Makeup Geek's eyeshadows in the near future!

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  25. I had nearly the exact same experience (and order) as you! My midori is cracked from my sweetheart palette in the same way-- I can't quite tell if it's an 'overpacked' issue or a 'cracked' issue, so I haven't bothered emailing... My shipping was delayed nearly unreasonably as well (I knew it wouldn't ship until Dec 1, but it didn't ship until the 13th-- 12 days after I was notified it shipped!)

    I ordered Goldilux, Royal Sugar, and Lumi, as well as the Sweetheart Palette, and 3 of the colors from burning heart (because I've put off ordering for a year and a half and knew if I didn't get them now, I would never get them). Haven't gotten to play with them yet though as they only arrived the day I was leaving town to visit friends in the next state over.

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  26. Looks interesting. I really like the packaging. ^-^ But the colors are not so special to me. The Glitters are cool, though.

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