Swatches and Initial Impression: Linnaeus Cosmetics

I came across Linnaeus Cosmetics about a week ago, via a Project Wonderful link on Phyrra.net. Project Wonderful, by the way, is a great way for bloggers to earn some extra money with minimal effort and for small companies just starting out to get some inexpensive advertising space right where their target audience(s) will see it. If you fall into either category, I highly recommend you check PW out, but that's not why I'm writing today.

Anyway, on to Linnaeus. It's a brand-spanking-new mineral makeup company on Etsy. I know, I know, another MMU shop on Etsy. Seems they're popping up all over the place these days, right? What drew me in was the artwork on her ad:

I just thought that the ad was SO COOL, so of course I clicked on it. Linnaeus' hook is "inspired by wildlife", which I find a refreshing change to the gamer/nerd themes I seem to be running into more and more these days. I dig nature. Linnaeus Cosmetics are all vegan so I don't have to worry about which shadows contain carmine. I'm not a vegan myself, but I still get grossed out a the thought of spreading bug juice all over my face. So, yay for not having to worry about that!! Despite my no-buy status, I figured I'd get a chance for once to check something out before everyone else and their mother had reviewed it, so I ordered a few samples so I could swatch them for you guys. Samples don't count against a no-buy, right? :D

My samples were shipped THAT DAY, I kid you not. I ordered Brigand, Stilts, Fabled, Cliff Line, and Sprightly, and I was sent Pollywog and Zippy for free. Shipping was as fast as USPS First Class Mail allows, I think I had my order within 2 business days? Maybe 3. Either way, it was really fast like WOAH.

Here's how they arrived:

And inside:

So cute!! Little woodcut images of animals all over the place, and on the back of that piece of paper were "how to use" tips, making this a great little set to send to a mineral makeup n00b. Speaking of animals- each Linnaeus color is inspired by a different animal, and in each listing in the Etsy shop you'll get a snippet of information about said animal. Yay, learning! Samples have printed names and ingredients lists, and are marked "not lip safe" when necessary, which is always good information to have, but on samples you don't see this done too often by too many companies. Bravo!

Here's my swatches, the first 2 taken under an OTT daylight bulb, and the second 2 done under fluorescent light, both with no flash. Swatches were done on bare skin, and are arranged on my hand in the order you see their bags arranged in the picture below.

 

Shiny! The colors are well-pigmented and the formula is smooth and applies very nicely. These aren't just colored mica + TKB base in a bag, guys- Linnaeus Cosmetics shades are actually well-formulated mineral cosmetics! Can I just show you something? Look at this:

LOOK AT IT! This is a blurry close-up of Zippy, so you can see the pretty coppery red sparkles. SHINY!!! Also, this color has crazy staying power. After taking my pics, I rinsed my hand off with water, which usually gets most mineral shadows off, but no. So I rubbed them while holding my hand under the running water, and half of them came off. Zippy here, though, Zippy wasn't going anywhere. I had to get soap and wash it off, along with the remains of a couple of the other stragglers. Annoying when talking about getting hand swatches off your hand, sure, but if this were on my eyelids, it'd be a different story. Remember, the swatches were done without a base of any kind., so I was pleasantly surprised to find that they would stick so well without help.

I was surprised by Brigand, which was described as an aqua color, and looked, according to the photos on the site to be a light shade, but as you can see in the pictures above, it's much brighter and greener than described. Which isn't a bad thing, at least in this case, because it is a very pretty green shade, but just be aware that the colors you get may vary from what you see on the product listings. She even says it herself in each listing:  

"**Please note: Colors vary due to differences in computer monitor settings. Also, I have a shoddy camera that cannot capture most of the shimmer in the eye shadows worth a hoot. I’ve found that the colors have more dimension and shimmer than depicted in the pictures."  

So I'm just kind of confirming this statement for you ;) For the record, my swatches, when displayed on my monitor, show the colors as they appear in actuality, whereas many of the Linnaeus swatches do not match up to what I see on my hand when swatched quite as well. This can be said of pretty much EVERY MMU COMPANY out there, though, so I don't fault her, or anyone, for that. It seems like bloggers have the best (most accurate) swatches around, I don't know why or how but it's true. This is part of why I started this blog, and why I check out as many blog reviews as I can before purchasing from online MMU co's, because it really can be quite difficult to find accurate color swatches, and it's best to check multiple sources in order to get an idea of what you're buying ahead of time. Linnaeus' color descriptions are pretty much spot-on, though, so go by those.

This is my first encounter with this company, and I am definitely impressed. Customer service was top notch, and the products, packaging, and shop aesthetic are all winners in my book. Their current offerings are a bit limited, as far as color range goes, but the shades they do have are quality. In this way they remind me of Concrete Minerals, who also have a smallish selection of shades to choose from, but what they DO have, well, what they do have kicks much butt. I'm sure eventually we'll see more shades added to the line, but it's far better to start small with good stuff, than it is to have 1,000 crappy quality shades right out of the gate. I'm sad that I'm on a no-buy, because if I wasn't, Cliffline and Fabled would SO be on their way to my house right now :( I NEED that grey color! I definitely recommend checking out her shop and grabbing some stuff- I think there's also a sale going on, so take advantage while you can! The full-size packaging is to die for cute, so if you do get anything be sure to let me know so I can sit here and be super jealous of you <3