Best of Indie Reader's Choice Award Series - Voting Time!

After many hours spent compiling and cross-referencing responses, it's time to cast your votes in the Best of Indie Reader's Choice Award Series! I've set up a Google Form as usual and you can vote in as many or as few categories as you'd like. Voting ends in two weeks on January 12th and the winner (and top three) of each category will be announced soon after.

 The nominees are listed in random order to ensure that no brand receives any ballot order effects. 

 Companies: Feel free to "campaign" if you'd like to by linking to the blog post but no spamming please! There's no true "prize" for winning other than a badge (which I'm hoping will be done soon) and the knowledge that the indie community supports your company and your products! 



I've also linked to all the companies nominated below to show my support. If you found any brands you were intrigued by, feel free to check them out. I tried to do my best to include all brands but if your brand was nominated and not included in the list below, feel free to leave a comment. Some of the shops are closed for the holidays but will reopen in January (in time for you to shop!)

Disclaimer: I haven't shopped at all of the stores listed so do not take the fact that they're listed below as an endorsement. The companies listed were crowdsourced from the nominees. Some companies will be listed in multiple places due to selling beauty, bath and body, and/or perfume.

 Indie Beauty Companies

A-England
AFK Cosmetics
Aromaleigh Cosmetics
Aromi Beauty
Baroque Cosmetics
Beauty Bar Baby
Blackbird Cosmetics
Blanche Neige Cosmetics
Chinovi Cosmetics
Cirque Colors
Contrary Polish
Corvus Cosmetics
Darling Girl Cosmetics
Dawn Eyes Cosmetics
Detrivore
Digital Nails
Dolly's Polish
Dreamworld Hermetica
Eccentric Cosmetics
Emerald and Ash 
Esoteric Aesthetic
Femme Fatale Cosmetics
Fierce Magenta
Fyrinnae Cosmetics
Geek Chic Cosmetics
Girly Bits Cosmetics
Glamour Doll Eyes
Glory Boon
Hare Polish
Hello Waffle Cosmetics
ILNP
Impulse Cosmetics
Innocent + Twisted Alchemy
Kae Q
KBShimmer
Kiss My Sass
Life's Entropy
Limnit Lipsticks
Liquid Sky Lacquer
Little Sparrow
Lucky 13 Lacquer
Lucy Minerals
Lunatick Cosmetic Labs
Meow Cosmetics
Morgana Cryptoria
My Beauty Addiction
My Pretty Zombie
Native War Paints
Nayll
Notoriously Morbid
Octopus Party
Parlo Cosmetics
Performance Colors
Portland Black Lipstick Company
Powder Perfect
Pretty Zombie Cosmetics
Pumpkin & Poppy
Rainbow Honey
Shiro Cosmetics
Silk Naturals
Spectrum Cosmetics
SweetPea and Fay
Ten Three Labs
The All Natural Face
Tilt/Shift Cosmetics
Victorian Disco Cosmetics
Violet Voss

Indie Bath and Body Companies


Indie Perfume Companies


Thanks for taking time to vote (if you did) and be sure to support some of the great indies that were nominated!
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Best of Indie - Reader's Choice Awards Nomination Period

Hi everyone!

For the holiday season, I wanted to do a Reader's Choice Awards series specifically for indie brands. There are tons out there that focus on mainstream cosmetic brands but there really isn't one specifically for indie brands.

The way I have it set up is that you can nominate your favorite indie brands and indie products, with a focus on handcrafted products. This means that brands like OCC, Sugarpill, and Makeupgeek wouldn't be applicable since their products are not manufactured in house by the owner. That's not bad of course (especially on the scale that they operate), but I'm wanting to focus on the smaller, handcrafted brands.

The nomination period starts now until the 26th (or until nominations peter out). After the nomination period, I'll compile the results and let everyone vote on the brands and products for another two weeks. After everyone votes, I'll announce the top three winners for each category and will hopefully have it up by January 12th. By then, most indie shops will have returned from their winter hibernation and you'll all have new shops to purchase from!

All nominated brands will be included as long as they handcraft their products, I won't be including them if they utilize a lab to manufacture their products. For ease, I've generated a Google Form that you can use. Feel free to fill out as few or as many categories as you'd like. There's no real "prize" to the award but I do hope this gives many brands the opportunity to get the adoration that they so richly deserve! The focus is primarily on makeup brands but there are a few categories for handcrafted perfume and bath and body products.

If there's a category you'd like to see added during the nomination period, please leave me a comment and if enough people want to add it, I'll be sure to edit the Google Doc. I'm focusing on specific products and not colors at this point. The complete results will not be public as I don't want to hurt the feelings of brands who may not have received an expected number of votes. I will include all brands in the nomination period (again, excluding brands that utilize a lab).

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Colourpop Lippie Stix in Flawless - Swatch and Review

I Purchased This

 When I got my two Supershock Eyeshadows (swatches and review here), I also picked up a Lippie Stix in the shade Flawless. Flawless looked so beautiful as a red-violet and I was so intrigued considering it was only $5. It also looked hella slick and it's been so worth the $5.

colourpop flawless lippie stix product photo (1 of 3)

Where to Purchase: Colourpop
Price: $5.00 for 1.0 grams/ .0352 oz of lipstick
Do they test on animals?: The company does not.
Packaging: The lipstick comes in a white plastic twist up tube with a holographic label. The packaging is similar to what you might get with an eyeshadow pencil, it actually reminds me of the old MAC Shadesticks. The bullet has an angled tip. 

 colourpop flawless lippie stix product photo (3 of 3)

 Keep in mind that the price is proportional to the amount of product you get. It's about 1/3-1/2 the size of a regular lipstick so $5 is pretty reasonable. I also like the packaging since the bullet has an edge and is slim enough that you can apply it without needing to use a lip brush. It's very travel-friendly since it's got such a slim profile.

 Flawless is described as a "deep red violet in a satin finish".

 Click here to see my swatch and read how I feel about the formula!
Read more »
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Q-Tips Holiday Glam Look and Beauty Cleanup Tips

Sponsored

Today I've partnered with Q-Tips to share my Q-Tips Holiday Glam look and also tips for after you've done your beauty look. Creating a beauty look involves not only the creation but also the refinement at the end. If you need to sharpen up your look, Q-tips® Precision Tips™ and makeup remover are an economical way of cleaning up makeup messes without the need to use up a whole makeup wipe. You can also use q-tips to clean up your nails too so it's incredibly multi-purpose so you're covered from head to toe!
Q-tips Holiday Glam Look

 Here are the ways I use q-tips to complete up my beauty look:

 Eyes: Inner Corner Cleanup

 I use a Q-tips Precision Tip to create a clean edge and to make sure my eyeshadow starts and ends exactly where I want it to. After I've applied the eyeshadow all over my eyelid and on my inner corner, I use the q-tip to clean up the shape and make sure it doesn't look messy. It also helps to clean up any eyeshadow fallout. Eye look complete!

 Lips: Red Lipstick Cleanup

 During the holiday season, everyone whips out the red and dark lip colors but these can be particularly unforgiving around the lip line. A lip brush can only do so much if you've got unsteady hands. After applying a red lipstick, I use some makeup remover or concealer around the edge to get a clean line. Red lip look complete!

 Nails: Nail Polish Cleanup

 Like red lipstick, red nail polish often comes out for the winter season. Reds can be unforgiving when the nail polish floods your cuticles or the sides of your nails. It's hard for me to cover my whole nail so I'm always cleaning up afterwards. I also did a nail look combining a gold foil nail polish with a red creme nail polish. I dabbed on some of the gold using a piece of plastic wrap to get a slightly marbled look.
q tips campaign 3 (1 of 2)

 and here's my final look. Eyes, Lips, and Nails all put together for a party!
q tips campaign 3 (2 of 2)

 I hope my look inspires you when you're gearing up to do your makeup for a holiday party or gathering! Neatness counts and the details really do matter. Feel free to visit Q-Tips' Instagram for lots of inspiration and Holiday Glam looks!

 Disclosure: I was compensated by Q-tips to create this post. All opinions are my own. 
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