review - oslo cosmetics

As previously mentioned in this post, I ordered a blogger pack from Oslo Cosmetics, a new indie makeup brand. Joyce, the owner, is lovely and very prompt about sending everything out, and she's always welcome to customer feedback. I was dying to try their shadows because there are so many gorgeous colours.

Their loose eyeshadow is different from most brands. It's stickier than traditional loose eyeshadows. For those of you with sensitive noses, there is a bit of a scent to them--I don't know why, but I think they smell a little bit like stale cardboard. But it's a minor issue that doesn't affect my opinion on them.

They may look like they don't have much product in them due to the density of the formula, but trust me, a little goes a long way!

From left to right, we have Colossus: Carinae, Dark Days: Ara, Starlight: Grus, and Starlight: Serpens. Sidenote: can camera companies consider making lefthanded cameras? Because I am suffering over here. I made swatches on my right arm and then realised that I had to hold the camera with my right arm in order to actually see what I was doing. So I apologise that these swatches are out of focus... Holding the camera in my left hand was tedious! I wish someone took a picture of me during this process because it was absolutely bizarre. The following photos of the shadows themselves are also kind of haphazard in their size. I'm trying to get used to using my dad's 35mm camera, but it's a steep learning curve!

Let's start with the shadows!

Colossus: Carinae

Oslo Cosmetics' description:

Beautiful, shimmery/metallic peach-pink, with light green/gold shift.

As much as I love colour, I'll always gravitate toward peach-pinks that have hints of gold in them. They look amazing on everyone and this is no exception. It's perfect for everyday looks or to blend out warm shades. I didn't notice much of a green shift, but the gold was enough to sell it to me.

Dark Days: Ara

Oslo Cosmetics' description:

Dark, sultry shimmery brassy red.

For some reason, my photographs just aren't capturing the gorgeous red tones in this shadow and they always look brown. It's a deep red-brown and it would look wonderful in a smokey eye. (Sidenote: don't be afraid of reds in eyeshadows!)

Starlight: Grus

Oslo Cosmetics' description:

Bright, rich sapphire blue with duochrome blue glitter.

This is SUCH a gorgeous blue. The glitter can make it a little difficult to blend, but if you apply a thin layer of loose powder over your lid before you put on eyeshadow, it'll make everything much easier. I can't get over how wonderful this is for autumn because it's metallic and so bright.

Starlight: Serpens

Oslo Cosmetics' description:

Flashy, bright indigo-blue-violet, with mystic duochrome glitter.

This shade was much more on the dark blue/indigo side for me and I wish it had been a little more violet like the photo on the website. The glitter also made this one the hardest to apply evenly and it was the only shade that disappointed me.

Overall, I really liked how these applied. I tested Grus over primer on one eye and with no primer on the other, applied with my finger. The website suggests using a sticky primer like its eye primer wand or a velvet cream base, but since I didn't order one of those, I just used a silicone-based eyeshadow primer. Without primer, it only lasted three hours before it started to crease and after six hours, it was completely gone. The website doesn't make any claims about the shadows being long-lasting, so this was more for my own sake than anything else. With primer, it lasted about seven hours before there was any noticeable creasing.

I then tested the shades all together in a sloppy look that was slapped together before having to run errands, so no photos of that, unfortunately. This time, I applied the shadows with a brush and I think it made the application a lot smoother. I would definitely recommend using a brush because that way the oils in your fingers don't mess with the formula of the shadows and make them harder to blend out. With primer, they lasted 8 hours before creasing.

The shadows come in a variety of colours and there's even a Game of Thrones collection coming in November. If you're looking for an indie brand to try, Oslo Cosmetics may be for you!