Indie Style December Mini Awesome Box Swatches and Review!

Two posts in a day! I was going to wait but I wanted to review this while it was still relevant. Beauty sample boxes are very popular nowadays with many different themes. The concept is new but I personally never subscribed to any. I was extremely intrigued lately when I heard about the Indie Style Awesome Box. The Indie Style Awesome Box is a bimonthly box full of samples and goodies from Indie businesses. It's a very very new project and this December Mini Awesome Box was their little testing box before their February Grand Opening Box. You can check out the website for more information and like the Fan Page!

This mini box was $15 and I received it as a Christmas gift from my boyfriend. There were a bunch of cute goodies inside and I'll be reviewing and swatching all of it. I was really happy to try out all the products in the box, mainly because all but one of the sellers were new to me. All of the swatches were done over Coastal Scents Shadow Worx Matte Primer and the pictures were taken in daylight.

EMJewelry

This is a jewelry company headed by the lovely Erin of The Cheap Chick and Ravings of a Lipstick Lunatic. You can find EMJewelry at Etsy and Storenvy.

When I read that there were going to be earrings in the box, I was a little hesitant at first to ask for it. I don't have my ears pierced anymore, but I figured that I could just save these for a giveaway. And then I saw the earrings.

These are so cute and I really didn't want to give them up. Luckily someone lamented about not being able to wear them because they too didn't have pierced ears and Erin chimed in saying that she could send us clip ons to swap out the hooks with or to send them back to her to have her do it!

Needless to say, I asked for the clip ons. I haven't swapped them out yet but once I do I'll show how they look on me. I believe these earrings are exclusive to the box but she's got other earrings too.

Evil Shades

I've reviewed Evil Shades before on my blog, and this was actually the only company in the box that I've personally tried before! If you want to read my reviews, you can click here, here, and here.

In the box, I received a sample of Oh Pagan Tree eyeshadow which is described as a solstice evergreen base decorated with multi colored lights.


I found this to be a little lighter in person than pictured on the site. It is a pretty medium green with lots of shimmer and a strong gold highlight


Geek Chic Cosmetics

Geek Chic is another company that I've heard about but never tried. After swatching some of the eyeshadows though, they're certainly a company that I'll keep on my radar. I got eyeshadow samples of Across the Narrow Sea, Katamari King, and Solid Snake.

Across the Narrow Sea: "A lush, rich turquoise as deep as the sea at the end of the world. More green than blue, with gleaming seafoam highlight and a glitter of aqua sparkles" I think the swatch picture on the site is pretty spot on. It's a pretty blue with a green highlight to it.

Katamari King: "Pastel purple with tons of sparkle in the light" I really liked this eyeshadow, I think most companies can't do light purples well and this had good texture and pigmentation. On the site, I think it looks a little too lilac when for me, it is a little more pink toned.

Solid Snake: "Black/blue duochrome with tons of blue sparkle" I think for me, it's not as deep and black as it appears on the site, but more like a deeper, darker, navy.

Innocent+Twisted Alchemy

Innocent+Twisted Alchemy is another brand that's new to me. The artwork behind the brand is so so amazing. The shop doesn't seem to have many colors out but they do look intriguing.

I received a sample of Peppermint Kisses.

Peppermint Kisses is described as a "Satin white with a slight red sheen with red sparkles". I don't usually swatch over a glitter fixative, but since this color contains glitter I thought it might be useful to see how the color looks with it.

Left is just over primer, right is over Darling Girl Glitter Glue

Here's a closeup picture to show that you can really see the red glitter in the eyeshadow.

I might try the company out once I find more reviews on them!

One Hand Washes The Other (OHWTO)

I've personally never tried out One Hand Washes The Other before, but I know they're highly touted for their Black Magic soap and their other body and perfumery products!

In the box, I received a Solid Scent Sample in the scent 1605. The scent description is: "36 barrels of gunpowder, a faint yet insistent wisp of church incense, and a wafting of bonfire smoke. Warm ginger bread and a tall mug of hearty stout. Inspired by the story of Guy Fawkes, and created to evoke the tale every time you wear it. Opening mainly as a food scent, 1605 dries down to a warm, spicy, and softly smokey scent"

Scent is a very very subjective thing and what smells good to me may not smell good to you. A person's body composition means that a scent will most likely smell differently on you than it does on me. That being said, I personally did not like the scent that I got from OHWTO, but it doesn't make it a bad scent. I'm big on fruity scents, and don't really like incense scents. 1605 in the clamshell smells a little peppery and smoky, and that doesn't really dissipate once it's on my wrist. On me it actually smells a little bit like Carmex because it's got this herbal feel to it. I do detect a sweetness that rounds off the smokyness, but I think it doesn't work with my body chemistry and my personal taste for scents.

Whimsy Beading

I've heard of Whimsy Beading before, but I wasn't ever tempted to get any of the necklaces or the earrings before this Awesome Box.


For the opening box, Whimsy Beading didn't offer an actual product but a generous coupon code for their shop! If you're wondering, I do believe they offer clip ons as a custom option for their earrings. I'm already eyeing the Short French Hook Earrings (with clip ons if that's an option for those specific earrings) in the Winter's Gold Colorway. If you want to see some of Whimsy's work, you can check out this post by Phyrra which features a necklace and earrings by them.

Indie Style Extra

In every box, they'll be a little extra from the creator of the Indie Style Awesome Box. For the December Box, it was a little handmade Christmas ornament.


The next box will be on sale January 15th and will be shipped out around February 1st!