Innocent and Twisted Alchemy July 2015 Unboxing

Innocent and Twisted Alchemy is an indie makeup company run by a woman named Linda. The company also offers a monthly subscription service called the alchemists box. The payment is recurring and done through Paypal.

The box is 12$ shipped for the deluxe sample option, and 21$ shipped for the full-size option. This includes 3 custom made deluxe-sample/full-size eyeshadows with handmade labels exclusive to the box, at least two bonus samples from different indie companies, a card explaining this month's theme and providing information on the products in the box, and a 30% of coupon code for the store.




I'm going to be honest, the past few months have felt a little lacking for me with this subscription, but this month and the sneak peak for next month might have just changed my mind.

I was pretty excited for this month when I saw the sneak peak of the label art and it instantly stole my heart. The packaging and samples are also once again in line with what made me fall in love with this subscription in the first place.

This month's art was done by Betsy

 My apologies for the sad quality photograph here. This month's theme was tea party, and we ended up with two lip product bonus items, one of them actually being full size.

I have never tried products from any of these brands, though I hear a lot about Kae Q's besos and have been pondering ordering from Kiss My Sass for quite some time.

Shortcake Fantasy, Steeping Petals, Tea and Scones

 Did I tell you guys the label art was adorable? Because it is so cute!

The colors are really neutral this month, which fits with the theme but is a little bit of a bummer when you are trying to massively pare down your makeup collection.


Swatches are done with an elf eye shadow brush. Left to right: wet application, over elf eyelid primer, on bare skin.

All of this month's shadows really benefit from a primer.


 Shortcake Fantasy is a metallic baby pink.

I love metallic baby pinks, I own too many of them though, and so this one is going to have to go. However, this shadow definitely did the best without primer.

 Steeping Petals is a blackened brown base with glitter.

Finally, Tea and Scones is a taupe base with a blue looking glitter.










This is Rainbow Bit from Chirp Cosmetics. It is a little bit opalescent, but mostly it is just a metallic white shadow.

Apparently, it was custom made for this month's box according to the information card.


This is Sugar Pop from Wonderland Beauty Cosmetics 

It is a lavender base with a blue shift, and it is getting passed on to a friend of mine who will love it more than I can. Also, another color made specifically for this months alchemists box.

 Kiss My Sass Lip Tint in Circus Treat.





This feels like a tinted balm and goes on super sheer. The scent is absolutely heavenly, it reminds me of those super fake smelling creamsicles my school used to sell on popcorn and icecream day every Friday. It is even colored like an orange creamsicle. Ultimately, I'm passing this on, but only because I'm moving and need to keep my makeup collection to a minimum.

This is a besito from Kae Q cosmetics. The formula is super creamy with the coverage of a quality tinted lip balm, but it feels like a lipstick when you wear it. Personally, I'm not a fan of this product, but I know a lot of people love Kae Q's besos.






 The camera was not agreeing with me today, but here is both a lip and hand swatch of the beso sample in Mamey from Kae Q.

Value

As usual the cost for this box (and what I paid for it) is 12$ with shipping. The value of this box is calculated using only the cost of the products, not including shipping from any of the stores themselves, the additional packaging, the colors made specifically for i+ta 

Kiss My Sass Lip Tint- 2$

Kae Q Besito- 2$

Deluxe Sample i+ta Shadows- 3$ (x3= 9$)

Chirp Cosmetics Shadow Sample- 1$

Wonderland Beauty Cosmetics Shadow Sample- 1.30$

Total Value= 15.30$, which is still more than what I paid for the box, not including all the other aforementioned considerations about the value which probably should be taken into consideration but is difficult to quantify into a dollar amount. 

Innocent and Twisted Alchemy June 2015 Subscription Unboxing

 This month's theme for i+ta's subscription is based on a character from one of Linda's old comic books named Ethereal who was the subject of her most popular drawing ever (see the angelic powder and it's baby eyeshadow twin). Mostly, I'm excited that she gave us a print of Melusine which she did for Aromaleigh's Ephemera subscription and I love it. It's so pretty I am actually considering framing it and putting it on my wall.

 This is the bag my subscription came in. The back of the bag is actually bright yellow, which is kind of cool, and very summery.

 We only got two bonus samples this month (though it is compensated for with extra products in the actual collection). Included is a sample of a bronzer from DarkHeart Designs, and a sample baggie of Mermaid Tears from Uponaworld Cosmetics, a color specially made for this month's subscription.





Here are closer shots of the jars this month, as always sealed with decorative tape. It usually doesn't do very much, but this month the powder was pretty messy and the tape did a good job keeping me from opening a box of eyeshadow insanity.

We also got another angelic powder, which I am so excited about because I loved the last one, it made it into my favorites and will probably be my go to for special occasions for a long time.

To the left is the new angelic powder, and on the right is the bronzer. The angelic powder is a cool toned pink, goes on beautifully, if you have the right coloring this could be a holy grail level product for you easily. The top of the swatch is heavy, and the bottom blended out. You can see how it settles into the skin and attracts the light without leaving a sheen when blended out, but still gives you the option of applying it heavily for an intense highlight.

The bronzer, is a different story. Of course it doesn't help that the label is illegible and looks like my ten year old sister drew it with a sharpie, but the product itself is patchy and chalky. Once you get past the patchiness though, it has a nice subtle shimmer, kind of a satin finish bronzer. It is too dark for my skin tone, but doesn't pull too orange so I'm sure someone is going to like it.



These swatches are done using my elf eyeshadow brush. The top and main part of the swatch was done using the elf eyeshadow primer, the middle/lower section was with no primer, and the bottom was done over Geek Chic's Power Up Primer.

Left is Mermaid Tears, right is Divine. Next to Mermaid Tears Divine looks very blue but it's actually a strangely well balanced turquoise.

The colors look super matte in the photo above, so I've also included an angled shot so that you can see how glittery these are in real life. Mermaid Tears has a beautiful golden shimmer, while Divine has blue and purple sparks.









From top to bottom: Breaking Down, Ethereal's Tears, and Voiceless

Breaking Down definitely benefits the most from a primer, and it is a very interesting shadow because depending on the primer you use it can look completely different. I'd say you can get like three distinct shades out of this.

Ethereal's Tears has one of the better formulas, I think it applies the most consistently out of all of Linda's shadows this month.

Voiceless is a much more shimmery shadow in person, but it is subtly shimmery like it almost wants to be a satin finish.



Also, here is a picture of the swatches after I gave them a decent rub with my hand.

Final Thoughts/ Value

i+ta deluxe sample shadows (4) = 12$
i+ta angelic powder deluxe sample = 6$ (?, no idea, this is just a conservative estimate)
DarkHeart Designs bronzer sample= 1$ (? also a conservative estimate, it is likely more)
Uponaworld sample= 1$

Total Retail Value (w/o shipping) = 20$

As always, this box goes way beyond its actual cost (12$ shipping included), and now I'm interested in looking into Uponaworld shadows because I adore Mermaid Tears, it has a fantastic formula. I am glad we got to see some bright fun colors for summer, though most of these products will be getting passed onto a friend this month so the personal value wasn't there for me.

Innocent and Twisted Alchemy May 2015 Subscription

The theme for the month of May was Alien, as in the movie. I am ashamed to admit I don't think I have ever seen this movie. Good news though, this review is done completely without fandom bias which is something I can rarely say, so its an interesting new perspective. I want to apologize for how late the review is this month, I'll get more into it in my monthly favorites but essentially I was graduating, and after I graduated I had my wisdom teeth removed and am still recovering from that.

New subscription swaps open up each month, deluxe sample size subscription costs 12$, and I believe full size subscriptions cost 20 or 21$, this includes shipping.

 Above is the packaging my subscription box came in, you can see in the back shot of the samples that it is a brightly colored plastic sandwich baggie. The samples this month include a petite jar from both Femme Fatale and Limnit Lipsticks, alongside two other traditionally sized samples.

 Linda apologizes in this month's note for using mostly neutral colors, but I personally love neutrals and I feel like overall the products in this box coordinate so well that it more than makes up for any lack of color this month.

I have raved about i+ta's shadows for a while now but another thing I like is that while this month's colors are neutrals and make great neutral looks, they are unique (particularly with regard to drone). Yes, I do own similar colors that would create a similar result, but I don't own the same colors.

Also, getting a box of neutrals for summer is great for girls like me, because I like to lean towards neutral eye shadow looks with bright lips and cheeks instead.





Left: Drone
Middle: Face Hugger
Right: Ripley

This month's swatches are heavy brush swatches done over elf's eyelid primer

From left to right: Limnit Lipstick Extraterrestrial, Femme Fatale,
Siren Song, Quarantine by Aromaleigh 

As always, I am impressed with the brand selection this month, receiving shadows from Femme Fatale, Limnit Lipsticks, and Aromaleigh. 2/3 of the samples this month are also deluxe size, which is super cool. I have ordered from Aromaleigh a couple of times before, and I love this brand quite a lot. Femme Fatale is a brand I was never super jazzed about, but a brand I am glad to get to try out, and I had been looking at Limnit Lipsticks for a while now.









The Femme Fatale eyeshadow is a deluxe sample size, packaged in a small jar that had a heat sealed shrink wrapping, and also a sifter and plastic sticker over it. This is incredibly fancy for being a sample.






The Limnit lipstick is a petite sample jar of their new color. It is a lovely brown shade. This is applied with an elf lip brush, though I like it more applied with my finger. As I type this I am recovering from the removal of my wisdom teeth, but I am hoping to try this using an eyeliner smudge brush and plan on ordering tubes of lipstick.

Also, attention readers, I now must admit to an indie sin. When I had first heard about how great this brand is I thought it was probably really good for being an indie company, but after honestly getting to try the formula, it is just as good if not better than a lot of high end product formulas. It dries down to a satin (semi-matte) as described, is true to color, and feels very solid but comes off creamy and pigmented

Value and Final Thoughts

 Once again, overall I am quite happy with this subscription, the only thing I would say is that being an end of spring/early summer box the looks you would create with this box are all pretty winter/fall oriented (given just this box and nothing else). However, overall I am impressed once again. I love the amount of love that goes into each monthly box concept, and even more than that I adore that Linda is able to include that love and creativity into her monthly box without sacrificing value and quality.

Limnit Lipsticks 2g Extraterrestrial-  4.60$
Femme Fatale Eyeshadow Petite- 3.85$
Aromaleigh Quarantine Eyeshadow Sample- 1.00$
Siren Song Cosmetics Clam Shell- 3.00$
Innocent and Twisted Alchemy Deluxe Sample Jars (x3)-  9.00$

The total retail value of this box works out to 21.45$

that is 9.45$ over the actual price of the box just for the product. This isn't even taking into account the amount you save in shipping, the custom label art, and the 30% of coupon code you receive every month.

it+a Alchemist's Subscription April 2015

I am like a week late in reviewing this month's Innocent and Twisted Alchemy's subscription box, but I am going to review it anyway. Besides, I figure most people who read this are considering buying the subscription anyway so as long as it is before the date new slots go on sale I should be good, right?

This month the subscription came with two eye shadows and a highlighter. I adore the products we got this month, but I feel like I say that every month.

 I still have not mastered how to properly photograph these cards. I tried, but I think it's going to be hard to read the top portion of the card. Essentially, Linda got into anime as a kid because of Sailor Moon and so this month's theme is "I Want To Be A Magical Girl". The art is by April Hurtado.

 Here is the artwork. This is kind of difficult to see again because I suck at photographing these cards but April has the image up on her DeviantArt in all its digital glory!

Here are the samples for this month. We ended up getting one of Blackbird Cosmetics' infamous matte shadows, a sample from AFK cosmetics, a sample form Notoriously Morbid, and a sample from Eccentric Cosmetics.

 I don't know how well you can see it, but this is the highlighter. It is a white highlighter with just a touch of pink. I did both a heavy and blended out swatch. It doesn't have a ton of shimmer, mostly it is meant for glow. This particular product is perfect for spring, when glow is in but tanning has not blown up yet. It reminds me a lot of Becca's opal highlight, just for people who are after glow and not an intense sheen.

This is Berry Bomb. It is the same swatch just at different angles. It is the most gorgeous berry color (as usual swatched over elf eyelid primer). This is by far my favorite product in my bag this month.







This is Green Grenade. It is a pretty pale green with a silver shimmer. This might be good as a wash of color over the lid.

Here are all four of the bonus samples swatched on one hand. Upper left: No More a Witch from Notoriously Morbid. When I first saw this shadow I thought this was going to be just your usual brown/green duochrome (don't get me wrong, I adore that color, but it isn't unique). However, I was terribly wrong. This is a deep black brown with an intense green shift, not for people who are afraid of commitment.

 Upper right: Dog Days from Blackbird Cosmetics.This didn't really need a primer so when I applied the shadow over a primer that was a little too wet it caked up and was difficult to blend. It is a unique taupe/purpley color, but it is also a very wearable color. I am impressed.  I have heard so much about Blackbird's mattes in the indie world, and I was not dissapointed. Based on this shadow alone, these mattes easily rival my mainstream pressed mattes.

Bottom left: Sea Spirit from Eccentric Cosmetics. I had never heard of this brand before recieving it in this subscription, but I am super pleased with the product that I received. Sea Spirit is a wearable taupey-warm brown with an aqua shift.

Bottom right: The Earnest Elf from AFK Cosmetics. I have been wanting to get something from them for a long while. This was the only shadow that I thought really could have benefited from an upgraded primer. The green didn't feel nearly as opaque as it was supposed to be.

Price and Final Thoughts

This subscription costs 12$ per month, that includes shipping. The actual value of the box (by my math) is determined by how much the product costs (if a sample from a company is usually 1.50$ I am counting the value as 1.50$ even if it is an exclusive shade), this does not take into account the coupon codes received, the custom label art, or the shipping it would have cost to get all of these items.

Petit Jar of Eyeshadow from i+ta- 3$
Petit Jar of Eyeshadow from i+ta- 3$
Angelic Powder from i+ta (1)- 8$
Sample from Notoriously Morbid (2) - 1.25$
Dog Days from Blackbird Cosmetics Sample- 1$
Sample from AFK Cosmetics (The Earnest Elf full size is only 3.50 as of right now though)- 1.50$
Approximate Sample Cost from Eccentric Cosmetics (3)- 1.20$

Total Value- 17.95$

Personal Value-  Berry Bomb + Highlighter+ Blackbird+ Sea Spirit= 13.20$

I don't know if I would have bought the highlighter because I am drowning in it currently. Well, I don't know if I would have paid 8$ for it, 4$ for half the product is much more up my alley. Basically that means if I had my way the box value/personal value would be a little under but I am still completely pleased. I was a Mew Mew Power kind of girl as a child, so I am in love with the theme this month, not to mention the new product in this box and that the brands she includes always have me stoked.

1. This is a new product, it isn't even up on the website yet. It looks to be a packed full 10g jar with a sifter, so I'm pricing it based off of a 10g subscription box blush. I could be totally wrong.

2. they are undergoing website updates so they don't have the exact color up yet

3. They only sell sample packs, so this is based on the 5 sample pack that costs 6$

Innocent and Twisted Alchemy March 2015 Subscription

This is a little late in being posted because I forgot my nice camera at school (we were turning two years worth of independent art study). I was however rather impatient, so a few of these photos are just cell phone quality, sorry about that.

 To the left is the little bag which everything came packed in. It is adorable and sealed with bear tape and says "Especially for you". On the other side, it is pink stripes! Pink is my favorite color, so I was very pleased.



Also, if you were wondering why I didn't review last month's its because I forgot I hadn't purchased a recurring subscription so I was waiting for weeks all excited about getting my bag only to realize I wasn't going to because user error.  I have remedied that now.

 Above is everything laid out all together to show you the contents of the previously displayed bag. This month's collection was based on Mirror's Edge, which is a game I do not play so I can't tell you much more than that. This month includes samples from My Pretty Zombie, Corvus Cosmetics, Brija Cosmetics, Darling Girl and Detrivore Cosmetics. I had a ridiculous amount of trouble photographing the other side of the full colored drawing of Faith (the game's main character) which explains all of these things and tells you what you get in better depth.

Apparently Corvus Cosmetics and Darling Girl Cosmetics created special shades just for the Alchemist's box, and Linda has a speed drawing video of her making this month's image here.


First I thought I would show off the shadows from this month's collection, and then do the samples. The jars came packed full and sealed with colorful tape that matched the color that were supposed to be represented in the game (apparently minus red).










This is the yellow jar, but as you can see, the color is not yellow, so that was a bit confusing as the others matched. This color is called Leap of Faith. It's a gorgeous silver though, it has a very slight green shift to it and it applies nicely even without a primer.





This is the orange (Critical Objective), it is a carrot shimmery orange color. I was worried about how this would turn out, but it looks really pretty.






The blue shadow is labeled Runner Vision. It looks like a royal blue matte base with some interspersed shimmer. This is the only shadow I have a legitimate complaint about as it had a rather patchy application.




Finally, all three of them are swatched on one hand. I was trying to redeem the blue a little bit, and so I ended up not grabbing all the shimmer in the orange, and not showing off the prettiness of the silver.

 The top left swatch is The Shard by Corvus Cosmetics. I am in love with how complex and beautiful it is.

The Boy Who Lived by Brija Cosmetics is the far right swatch, it is a very pretty antiqued gold. It is not only a part of their permanent line, but also Harry Potter themed. I am actually slightly disappointed I did not get a sticker with their logo on it, because they have the prettiest company logo I have ever seen.

 The bottom swatch is Celery and Bile by My Pretty Zombie (more on it below). It is a pale green with a gold sheen.

Celery and Bile by My Pretty Zombie. It is a very pretty pale green with a golden shimmer, but the name kind of skeezes me out. Now to be fair, all things bodily, unpleasant and questionable is the entire premise of the company, and if they had an eyeshadow named Anxiety or ADD a package would already be on its way to my house. My mental illness struggles are a part of me and help to define me but they are not all of me, and makeup and beauty follows in the same vein.

Anyway, the left swatch is with primer, and the right swatch is one bare skin. I'm going to actually play with this as a highlight.

Finally, Nymph and Adorned. Nymph is the top swatch and is a matte and slightly purple red. Adorned though, which I initially thought was purple is more of a sparkly old brick color.

Cost, Value, and Personal Value 

The Subscription itself costs 12$ including shipping for the Deluxe Size subscription (which I have). Each jar of the month's collection is labeled with an exclusive monthly label that was hand drawn by the shop owner herself. It includes samples from various indie companies which vary from month to month. 

This also came with a 30% of i+ta cupon code, a 15% DG code (I have been considering a purchase for a long time and took this as a sign from the universe I needed to purchase from them), and a 15% off code from Brija Cosmetics. So keep that in mind as well. These are price estimates based ONLY on the amount of product you get from each company, this does not consider that some shades are LE or come with discount codes or come in special packaging

3 eyeshadow samples from i+ta cost 3$ each (we get jars in the subscription, which are more expensive). That means these three shades would cost 9$ at least.

A petite jar from DG costs 2.50$ 

The sample baggie of The Boy Who Lived costs 1.25$

A sample baggie from Corvus cost 1.50$

Finally the samples from Detrivore costs 1$

Total value: 15.25$ which is 3.25$ more than what you paid for, not including shipping. 

For me personally, I won't use Runner Vision, and I probably wouldn't have bought Adorned or Nymph, but we'll count Adorned because of the coupon code. That works out to being a personal value of  11.25$ which is .75$ less than the cost of the box, and I didn't have to pay shipping which would have cost more than seventy-five cents. 

The value is there, the quality is there, I get to try indies from several different companies for even cheaper than they already are, I love the themes of this brand even if I can't personally relate to this one, and it's not nearly as competitive as other indie subs. This month I think all the subs sold out in 12 hours, but I came in 7 hours after release time and still managed to get one. A lot of subs sell out in under ten minutes.