Etsy Find - Pollen Cosmetics

More and more, I find myself drawn to neutrals - browns, creams, taupes, soft champagnes, and so on. A particular color from Pollen Cosmetics on Etsy caught my eye, and I decided to try out a sample set.

 I selected the 10 sample set, and Lindsey, the owner, threw in a freebie. She has a fairly good color range, including several neutrals, and some brights. Currently, she only offers eyeshadows. Samples are $1.25 singly, or 6 for $5, or 10 for $8.50. Full sized eyeshadows are $5.50 for a 5 gram jar. You can buy a set of 3 jars for $15, or a set of 5 full size jars for $23, as well.

Sample sizes are 1/8 teaspoon in a small baggie (hate baggies! I know they're cheap and keep costs low, though). Each one is labelled with the name of the shadow, and a complete ingredient list. Each Etsy listing has a complete ingredient listing, as well as a swatch (some seem better than others), and color description.

Swatches! Discoteque is a very bright gold shimmer with medium pigmentation. Violet Me Go is a shimmery light purple with medium pigmentation. Book Collector is an orange-brown shimmery color with good payoff. Off White Wedding is a fairly pigmented white shimmer. Dazzle Darling is a gold-olive wtih good pigmentation. Saddle up is a deeper brown that appears lighter due to the shimmer, and has medium pigmentation.

 Future Sunrize is my skin-tone but better - in the baggie it's a gorgeous peach shimmer. Lily Jane is a super sheer purple. True to Form is a blue green shimmer, that almost has medium pigmentation (it's very similar to MAC's Blue-Green pigment). Rare Find is a purple taupe (love!!) with decent payoff. Ordinary Moments is a medium brown with gold shimmer, and medium pigmenation.

Shipping time frames for Pollen are stated at 5 -7 business days, whcih is sort of a long time. I've been watching to see if that changes, and it doesn't appear to. So, be prepared to wait a while.

None of these shades are super pigmented, but applying them wet helps (this is fairly standard for any loose or mineral eyeshadow, so it's just the nature of the beast). You must own Rare Find, Ordinary Moments, and Future Sunrise, though. MUST. They are perfection, and I plan on purchasing full sizes soon. I would recommend taking a peek at Lindsey's shop!