indie brand – Bronze Butterfly

After trying KoyVoca’s incredible Hi Life Highlighter in $1,000,000,000 Babe, I was eager to try some more of their products. I initially reviewed a few of their items in this post, but I really wanted to try their foundations and lipsticks. So I ordered two of the Classic Cream-to-Powder foundations in the shades Savannah and Mali. I also ordered the Nude Perfection lipstick in Vanity.

For starters, my products arrived fast, as in, less than a week. Kudos to KoyVoca for consistently getting their products out quickly! Next, I squealed when I saw the package: the products came in a gorgeous, festive envelope. Can we get into this shiny red packaging?

Next, I was impressed by the size of the foundation compacts. There is a lot of product in them! These also have really nice mirrors in the interior of the compact.

Wrappers on, wrappers off

(left, Savannah, right, Mali)

I’ve swatched the products below. Can you tell which foundation is Savannah and which is Mali? I’ll give you a hint: Savannah has neutral undertones and Mali is warm-toned. In person, I could clearly see that one foundation was warmer than the other.

I was really glad to see that Savannah (the shade that most closely matches the skin on my face, top swatch) is truly neutral: not too warm or too cool. Mali (bottom swatch) will be perfect during the summer, when my skin gets a bit warmer toned (even though I don’t necessarily tan every summer).

The product picked up easily with a swipe of my finger, though they work best with sponges (I wish the compacts came with sponges! Oh well.) I actually applied Savannah with a flat top powder brush and it buffed into my skin perfectly. It looked like my skin but better!

Now these are cream-to-powder foundations, so I was surprised that I had to apply powder on top of them to mattify the finish. Normally, cream-to-powders dry down and look flawless, but these still had a bit of shine to them. No matter: a good mattifying primer and a light application of translucent powder does the trick.

Next, I tried the Nude Perfection lipstick in Vanity. KoyVoca has only a few lipsticks, and each of them are designed to flatter women with deeper skintones. Vanity was one of the deepest shades available and looked like it would be a gorgeous hue, so I got it. I wasn’t disappointed.

First, the tube is magnetic, so the top of the lipstick tube is extra secure (it’s unlikely that the top will just “pop off” while in your purse). Next, the lipstick has a pleasant smell. It’s difficult to describe, but it doesn’t reek of the cheap chemicals that can occasionally be smelled when purchasing inexpensive lip products. And then there’s the color.

This gorgeous shade looks like a grown up nude hue on me. I love it! It’s moisturizing, smells good and looks great. It’s been my go-to “throw it on and go” shade. It may even be taking the place of my Liya Nude, since Vanity is a richer hue with a little more red to keep it from being a “flat” brown.

Overall, this KoyVoca mini-haul was a hit! I have 3 products that I know I’m going to enjoy using over the next several months. The prices are reasonable ($10 for each foundation compact and the lipstick is also $10), and the quality is great! I still highly recommend that you give KoyVoca a try!

A few weeks ago, I ordered a ton of beauty products from small, indie brands. One of the orders I placed was with Glow by Melodye. The company specializes in sleek lip colors that last for a long time and leave lips shiny, hydrated and picture perfect.

I purchased the colors “I Love Her” and “Extraordinary Smile”. “I Love Her” is bright, bubblegum pink with bluish undertones, while “Extraordinary Smile” is a bronze that balances both cool and warm undertones.

I tried both of these colors and enjoyed them both. I wore them with a deeper-colored lip liner to create a more ombre-d look. I liked the application as well as how these products weren’t drying at all. Also, the color was intense enough that it didn’t fade during the day, but not overpowering to the point that people noticed my lips before they noticed me. Full disclosure: these are NOT matte lipsticks. These feel like lip glosses and you can build up the color, so instead of drying down to a dry matte look, these instead have the look and feel of a semi-sheer liquid lipstick.

There is one caveat about the product: the two that I purchased had shimmer in them, which was not indicated on the website. I fully expected “Extraordinary Smile” to be shimmery, because the product photo on the site depicts a shimmery-looking product in the tube. But “I Love Her” surprised me: the photo on the site appears to be a shimmer-free product, but it isn’t. I saw the shimmer when I looked at the tube in person, and then I confirmed the added shimmery flecks when I swatched the product. Other than that unexpected finish, everything else was fine with the product.

Here’s the deal: nowadays, EVERYONE has lip products. So it’s hard for me to say conclusively that this is the best available. However, the prices are reasonable and the products work well. The shipping was also pretty fast, and the packaging was cute (hot pink envelopes!).

A bit of brilliance: Melodye enclosed three of her business cards, so I can easily refer my friends to the website without having to remember the hyperlink information.

Would I order again? Yes, definitely. The price, speed of delivery, and quality of product are all good reasons for me to reorder. I only wish that the brand would extend to other products, or at least add additional shades to the line (I already have lip products in pretty much every shade on the website). Once Glow by Melodye expands, I’ll be right there, ready to support again.

Tag: indie brand

Review: KoyVoca Mini-Haul

Review: Glow by Melodye Lip Glaze