I don't know as much about Spell cosmetics as i do about the other two indie companies because i have had contact with the others outside of ordering. Having read their blog i've discovered that the founder is a woman named Elle who has been a makeup artist and stylist for over 20 years and founded the company wanting to provide makeup free from any harmful chemicals. I have no reason to doubt this but i have to say i have been unable to find ingredients or information on whether the products are cruelty free on the website which does bother me a little.
Spell make a range of primers, blushes, foundations and even some skincare items but i only chose to purchase some lip products as i am a lippie fiend and had limmited funds. Since i placed my order it seems that practically everything i bought has either been discontinued or is being reformulated so i'm not sure how helpful this review will be! They have instead brought out a whole new set of colours of the 'obvious glosses' and a new range of potted lip colours.
Their prices seem around regular for an indie company, slightly more pricey than Fyrinnae at $8 or $9 for an eyeshadow (depends on what range the shadow is from), $12.99 for a foundation, $10.99 for a blush and from $8 to $10 for a lip product but Spell do not sell samples and i can't find anywhere on the website that tells you the weight or volume of product you recieve. My order came to $65.97 including shipping to the UK.
Spell always seem to have some great sales on (here is the page showing their current sales http://spellcosmetics.com/shop/index.php?main_page=specials ). At the time i ordered they had a 3 for 2 on both their obvious glosses and baciare lip cremes and 15% off a set of four hologlosses, so i picked them all up :)
My order arrived wrapped in black tissue and then with all the glosses together in a plastic bag. There was no invoice or anything extra added. All of the glosses i bought were in nice regular sized lipgloss tubes with custom labels.
Groupie Glam, Nat, Shawna, Prom Date, Lilac Blossom, Caliente
Firstly i picked up 3 Obvious Glosses (1 was free). I chose the colours Groupie Glam, Shawna and Nat.
Shawna was described as a bright red gloss and it's probably the most opaque product i recieved which i appreciate, however to me it's more of a pink than a red.
Groupie Glam was pretty disappointing. It was described as having colour-shifting abilities from pink to blue but to me it's just a very sheer pink gloss with blue glitter. It's very pretty, just not what i was hoping for at all:
And Nat. This was described as a pin-up pink. And well... it is pink in the tube but so incredibly sheer it really just looks clear when applied to my lips.
Next i picked up 3 of their Baciare lip cremes (again one was free) which were described as a mix between a lipstick and gloss, a thick, opaque creme colour.
The first i got was Lilac blossom which is an absolutely gorgeous colour, a warming lilac with a little silver sparkle. However it is only slightly less sheer than the Obvious glosses. It took me about 3 'layers' of gloss to arrive at this opacity:
Caliente was described as an orangey red. Sadly it is sheerer than the Shawna gloss. You can see some gold sparkles in the tube but these don't seem to transfer onto my lips.
The last i got was Prom Date and this one actually lives up to the Baciare formulas claim of being opaque, creamy and yet still glossy. This was only one 'layer' of the creme in this colour compared to the several the other colours needed. Unfortunately I'm not actually too fond on this colour, it's just a bit 'everyday' for me, but that's just a personal thing. I cant remember at all what the colour description was so i don't know if it was accurate or not.
I want to end this post on a positive note and luckilly the last bunch of products i used, the Hologlosses are absolutely amazing! Followers who have been with me for a while may remember me raving a certain Estee Lauder lip gloss which has opalescant effects and a sort of blueish 'glow' (http://lillianfunnyface.blogspot.com/2009/11/review-estee-lauder-crystal-pure-colour.html) well Spell have a set of 4 glosses which all have this amazing effect but in 4 different colours! These are all so gorgeous and unusual and i can't wait to try them over an opaque lipstick or liner. I'm imagining a pink lip with green pearlescence *___*
embers, blacklight, absinthe, moonlit.
See, absolutely gorgeous, no?
Moonlit:
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Embers:
Blacklight:
Absinthe:
I've only tried these products on briefly to take lip photos so i'm afraid right now i can't comment on their longevity. None of them are scented at all and all felt very comfortable and moist but not sticky on my lips.
So would i purchase from spell again? Hmm well i wasn't too thrilled with my order and, unless they come out with some other hologlow colours, i wouldn't purchase their lip products again. As i haven't tried any of their other products i can't comment on them obviously but the fact that they do not state on their website if they test on animals or not does disturb me a little (i seemed to miss this when i ordered) and i usually like to try samples of colours before i purchase a full size. I've heard other people saying that their shadows and other products are really high quality so i certainly wouldn't rule them out, but i'm just not as enamoured with them as i have been with other Indie makeup companies.
