I asked for some recommendations on brands to try and a few people said to try out The Chequered Lily Apothecary. I scoped online for a few swatches and came across this set by Sirvinya. I saw swatches of the Pirates of the Caribbean inspired Pirates! Collection and was really drawn in. I purchased a Blogger set which included seven eyeshadow samples that I could pick and one picked by Kimberly, the owner.
Where to purchase: The Chequered Lily Apothecary
Price: $4.00-$5.50 for sets of seven to ten samples and $6.50 for 1 gram full size.
Do they test on animals? They do not test on animals.
Packaging: Samples are packaged in a ziploc bag and full sizes are in a 5 gram jar with a sifter lid.
Vegan Options? The majority of the eyeshadows are vegan (I asked Kimberly the owner and she approximated about 85%!) and the vegan and non-vegan shades are all clearly marked in the title of the listings. All the shades I got today are vegan.
Order Minimum? No
Were they within turn around time? The etsy site listed that turn around time was within 3-5 business days and they did ship within that though I did note that on the specific sample listing I purchased from, it said samples ship within 72 hours. A little conflicting but I got my order within the time frame.
My Thoughts on the Formula
Man alive, I really like these eyeshadows. They reminded me of Aromaleigh eyehadows because these have an amazing sparkle to them, applied smoothly on, weren’t dry or chalky, and had intense pigmentation in one swipe. I've found that some indie eyeshadows require a primer underneath to look good but these applied nearly just as pigmented without a base or primer. I will say though that since Oxalis and The Black Pearl have so much sparkle to them, they do need something sticky to adhere the sparkle. I feel like the swatches on the listings kind of underestimate how well the eyeshadows actually perform but I do appreciate that the product photos of the eyeshadows are quite accurate.
I’m a sucker for maroon/burgundy and gold so it’s no surprise that Captain Jack and Cursed Treasure were my favorites of the PoTC colors. Oxalis was also my next pick. At first glance, Oxalis might just look like a typical green with gold sparkle but the depth of the colors is almost indescribable.
Anyway, onto the swatches!
Swatches
As always, applied dry over Too Faced Shadow Insurance and pictures were taken in natural daylight.
Captain Jack: "Sultry metallic rouge red with copper and bronze reflect" I'm absolutely in love with burgundy or maroon type colors. Around the edges of the shadows, you can see the hint of copper. Part of the Pirates! Collection.
Cursed Treasure: "Richest metallic blackened gold with bronze reflect and green gold glitter" When you see Cursed Treasure in the bag, you'll be immediately reminded of old gold coins, with that hint of bronze underneath the golden sheen. Part of the Pirates! Collection.
Dead Men Tell No Tales: "Rich blackened antique copper/bronze with bronze glitter" This actually reminds me of wooden hulls of ships. It's not super unique but I really liked the pigmentation of this. Part of the Pirates! Collection.
Neverwhere: "Warm, dirty pinked-grey with pink and gold reflect" In the bag, it looks like quite a boring beige but when worn on, it's got a beautiful pink reflect. It's sheerer compared to the rest of the batch, but still very pretty. I'd say this could be used as a transition color.
Oakmoss: "Cool toned brown with golden green metallic sheen" I wish I could have captured how the gold sheen stood out against the brown base, it was so pretty.
Oxalis: "Rich, grassy, clover green with loads of glittering reflects" This one does have the potential to stain your eyelid so be sure to wear a primer underneath. Lots of companies have been using this beautiful gold, almost flaky sparkle to their eyeshadows and I love each incarnation. The glittering gold contrasts with the green very well but to get the best adhesion, I'd wear this over a sticky base.
Stranger Tides: "Deepest shimmery green/teal blue with teal glitter" This one I'm just okay on with the color. I've seen a few companies do the dark blue base with teal sheen so it's not entirely unique but at least this one applied well. Part of the Pirates! Collection.
The Black Pearl: "Super sparkly blackened silver with silver reflect and holographic glitter" I wouldn't call this a blackened silver, it's more of a blackened grey with silver sparkles. Like Oxalis, to get the best adhesion, you need a more sticky base for the sparkles. Part of the Pirates! Collection.
Final thoughts
All in all, I'm really impressed. I'd like to try out more eyeshadows from them and it's quite economical that they offer sample sets so I can try out a variety of colors. I appreciate that they take efforts to take real life color accurate pictures of their eyeshadows though at first glance, the swatches do look underwhelming on the site. Oh and they're actually a local indie company (well local as in they're about 100 miles from me) from San Diego. I'm glad to be able to support a California business and this means that I'll get any future orders pretty quickly >>
Have you tried anything from The Chequered Lily Apothecary?
Disclaimer: I purchased these products myself. I'm not being compensated for this review and none of the links in the post are affiliate links. All options are mine and honest.
These look stunning, I've had readers recommend them as well so thanks for the reminder!
ReplyDeleteI really like Neverwhere! I'm trying to actually curb my indie spending because I just don't use my pigments but... yeah I need some of these, they look great!
ReplyDeleteI've purchased from the Chequered Lily before and really loved their products.
ReplyDeleteGreat customer service too, as the owner answered all my questions and made a custom listing for me with the exact samples and full size I wanted.