Hi there! My name is Lisa Neff; my (non-makeup) blog is at http://wholenesswithoutsugar.blogspot.com; and this is my first-ever review, so please be gentle with me, LOL.
I met Amanda on the RAT Pack Facebook page, and she took me up on my offer to do a freelance guest blogger review. I love color, and cosmetics are my chosen medium. I buy, collect, and review cosmetics; I consider it my “hobby.” I’m a long-time member of Makeup Alley (screen name “hp11989”) and have been voted a Top Reviewer there.
I have short, warm-toned, medium brown hair; hazel green eyes; a pale, cool, pink-toned complexion; and pigmented lips. I prefer shimmery and sparkly eyeshadow colors from bright to neutral. I usually look best in colors with warm to neutral undertones, but I believe in my ability to detach from my preferences so that I can review any item fairly.
The only caveats I add to my budding experience with beauty blogging are these:
I will almost always be writing eyeshadow reviews since that’s what I wear the most often. So, on with the review: Today’s topic is Tick:Tock Cosmetics.
Company name: Tick:Tock Cosmetics
Web site: http://ticktockcosmetics.storenvy.com/
The Web Site Itself: 5 of 5 Stars
I had high hopes for this small indie company just based on the Web site, which is gorgeous. Things I liked include:
• Great font for the company name and tag line
• Fun tag line (“For Colors That Are Rockin’ Around the Clock”)
• Great storefront layout
• Excellent (huge) product shots
• Color names tie in with the overall theme
• Ingredients listed on each separate product page
• Great clickable (enlargeable) labeled “collage” product photo for each shadow.
Things I didn’t like or that confused me:
• No mention of whether or not colors are vegan-friendly (although they do state approved for eye and/or lip use)
• At the top of each individual product page are the links “eye shadow pigment” “handmade,” “Makeup,” “make up,” and “cosmetics.” These clickable links take you to a Storenvy page that list many items from different shops, with her shadows scattered among them. IMHO, she’s giving free advertising to the other companies listed on those pages! Plus it’s just confusing.
Pricing: 5 of 5 Stars
Fair and actually better than average in terms of FS jars: $5.50 for a 5-g jar (“packed” into 5-g sifter-capped jars) and only $.70 for samples in the dreaded longer baggies (2” x 3”) (sample size not stated, but it looked like an 1/8-teaspoon to me). No minimum order is stated. No free samples were included in my package, just a bottle-cap necklace (see below). Maybe this “extra would appeal to a 14-year-old girl, but not to me. I would have preferred an extra sample, which would also have been a better marketing tool. She must be marketing to a younger set =)
TAT and Shipping: 4 of 5 Stars
Ordered: 06/11/11
Shipped: 06/14/11
TAT: 3 days (good)
Shipping: $2.00
Actual shipping: $2.51 (plus the cost of DC, so she actually lost money on mailing)
Personal shipping email: Yes
DC/tracking: Yes
Invoice: No
Packaging/presentation: Small padded mailing envelope; sample baggies enclosed in slightly larger baggie
Sample packaging: The dreaded longer baggies (2” x 3”; they make it hard to get shadow on just the brush and not the ferrule, too)
Extras: Yes (bottle-cap necklace)
Product: 3 of 5 Stars
At present, Tick:Tock has only a small number of shadows and shadows only: 14 to be exact. However, they do show a preview of a new collection called “Tea Time,” which includes 6 new colors. They also state that an eyeshadow base is coming soon (see notice of their upcoming sale below). The product photographs are huge and beautiful; extremely nice presentation. The collage photos on each product page show how the shadows look with different applications; again, a very useful tool for choosing colors! All of the colors are fairly simple and contain shimmer or sparkles in approximately the same color family. I would like to them mix it up a bit with unexpected color pairings.
Colors Ordered (my take in italics)
Hourglass (far left in photos; also shown close-up): Orange with gold shimmer and orange glitter (TT description) This description was accurate. Hourglass is a pretty but fairly one-dimensional shadow despite the addition of shimmer and glitter. It’s close to a Creamsicle shade. A little bit of pink duochrome would have made it more wearable for me. UNFORTUNATELY NOT A REBUY =(
High Noon (second from left in photo): Light brown with a hint of shimmer (TT
description) I liked this shade and was hoping it would be a dupe for Aromaleigh’s
discontinued Infernal Chaos (third from left in photos). It came pretty close but was
actually darker and more pigmented. It doesn’t have much shimmer, and I see it being
quite a good staple bare neutral for school, work, or church/synagogue. POSSIBLE
REBUY =)
Alarm Clock (far right in photos; also shown close-up): Light pink with red shimmer
and pink glitter (TT description) There wasn’t anything special enough about this color
to make me want more of it. It looks like a lot of the other pink shades I have. However,
if you’re looking for a pink, or if pinks scare you (LOL), this one is pretty neutral-
toned: not too cool and not too warm. Again, it was pretty but fairly one-dimensional.
UNFORUNATELY NOT A REBUY =(
Would I Buy Again?
Yes, I would like to give this shop a second chance with some of the deeper colors: Salvador Dali (very cool “time/clock” reference, I’m assuming, to Dali’s melting timepieces), Times Square, and Grandfather Clock are colors I’d like to try. And I’ll probably get some more High Noon. Luckily they are having a big sale, with the release of the new primer and new eyeshadow colors, this weekend, August 13 and 14. This
time, however, I’ll pass on the bottle-cap necklace =)
OVERALL RATING: 4.25 OF 5 STARS!
I hope you enjoyed my review, and I’m looking forward to your comments! Look for
more reviews to come on my new beauty blog, http://fleurs-de-lisa.blogspot.com/.
I met Amanda on the RAT Pack Facebook page, and she took me up on my offer to do a freelance guest blogger review. I love color, and cosmetics are my chosen medium. I buy, collect, and review cosmetics; I consider it my “hobby.” I’m a long-time member of Makeup Alley (screen name “hp11989”) and have been voted a Top Reviewer there.
I have short, warm-toned, medium brown hair; hazel green eyes; a pale, cool, pink-toned complexion; and pigmented lips. I prefer shimmery and sparkly eyeshadow colors from bright to neutral. I usually look best in colors with warm to neutral undertones, but I believe in my ability to detach from my preferences so that I can review any item fairly.
The only caveats I add to my budding experience with beauty blogging are these:
- I lack camera skills in terms of photographing cosmetic products and swatches.
- I live a pretty simple life (read boring [plus I work from home]), so I don’t do crease colors or eye lining (just lid and brow bone highlight). This means you probably won’t ever see any funky looks or read any reviews of those products from me, LOL.
- I’m just as interested in marketing, presentation, and packaging as the actual cosmetics, so I will be covering those things, too.
I will almost always be writing eyeshadow reviews since that’s what I wear the most often. So, on with the review: Today’s topic is Tick:Tock Cosmetics.
Company name: Tick:Tock Cosmetics
Web site: http://ticktockcosmetics.storenvy.com/
The Web Site Itself: 5 of 5 Stars
I had high hopes for this small indie company just based on the Web site, which is gorgeous. Things I liked include:
• Great font for the company name and tag line
• Fun tag line (“For Colors That Are Rockin’ Around the Clock”)
• Great storefront layout
• Excellent (huge) product shots
• Color names tie in with the overall theme
• Ingredients listed on each separate product page
• Great clickable (enlargeable) labeled “collage” product photo for each shadow.
 |
| Example of collage photo (reprinted with permission of Tick:Tock Cosmetics) |
Things I didn’t like or that confused me:
• No mention of whether or not colors are vegan-friendly (although they do state approved for eye and/or lip use)
• At the top of each individual product page are the links “eye shadow pigment” “handmade,” “Makeup,” “make up,” and “cosmetics.” These clickable links take you to a Storenvy page that list many items from different shops, with her shadows scattered among them. IMHO, she’s giving free advertising to the other companies listed on those pages! Plus it’s just confusing.
Pricing: 5 of 5 Stars
Fair and actually better than average in terms of FS jars: $5.50 for a 5-g jar (“packed” into 5-g sifter-capped jars) and only $.70 for samples in the dreaded longer baggies (2” x 3”) (sample size not stated, but it looked like an 1/8-teaspoon to me). No minimum order is stated. No free samples were included in my package, just a bottle-cap necklace (see below). Maybe this “extra would appeal to a 14-year-old girl, but not to me. I would have preferred an extra sample, which would also have been a better marketing tool. She must be marketing to a younger set =)
 |
| Bottle-cap necklace |
Ordered: 06/11/11
Shipped: 06/14/11
TAT: 3 days (good)
Shipping: $2.00
Actual shipping: $2.51 (plus the cost of DC, so she actually lost money on mailing)
Personal shipping email: Yes
DC/tracking: Yes
Invoice: No
Packaging/presentation: Small padded mailing envelope; sample baggies enclosed in slightly larger baggie
Sample packaging: The dreaded longer baggies (2” x 3”; they make it hard to get shadow on just the brush and not the ferrule, too)
Extras: Yes (bottle-cap necklace)
Product: 3 of 5 Stars
At present, Tick:Tock has only a small number of shadows and shadows only: 14 to be exact. However, they do show a preview of a new collection called “Tea Time,” which includes 6 new colors. They also state that an eyeshadow base is coming soon (see notice of their upcoming sale below). The product photographs are huge and beautiful; extremely nice presentation. The collage photos on each product page show how the shadows look with different applications; again, a very useful tool for choosing colors! All of the colors are fairly simple and contain shimmer or sparkles in approximately the same color family. I would like to them mix it up a bit with unexpected color pairings.
Colors Ordered (my take in italics)
Hourglass (far left in photos; also shown close-up): Orange with gold shimmer and orange glitter (TT description) This description was accurate. Hourglass is a pretty but fairly one-dimensional shadow despite the addition of shimmer and glitter. It’s close to a Creamsicle shade. A little bit of pink duochrome would have made it more wearable for me. UNFORTUNATELY NOT A REBUY =(
 |
| Tick:Tock under flash conditions |
 |
| Hourglass close-up |
description) I liked this shade and was hoping it would be a dupe for Aromaleigh’s
discontinued Infernal Chaos (third from left in photos). It came pretty close but was
actually darker and more pigmented. It doesn’t have much shimmer, and I see it being
quite a good staple bare neutral for school, work, or church/synagogue. POSSIBLE
REBUY =)
 |
| Tick:Tock under natural lighting |
and pink glitter (TT description) There wasn’t anything special enough about this color
to make me want more of it. It looks like a lot of the other pink shades I have. However,
if you’re looking for a pink, or if pinks scare you (LOL), this one is pretty neutral-
toned: not too cool and not too warm. Again, it was pretty but fairly one-dimensional.
UNFORUNATELY NOT A REBUY =(
 |
| Alarm Clock close-up |
Yes, I would like to give this shop a second chance with some of the deeper colors: Salvador Dali (very cool “time/clock” reference, I’m assuming, to Dali’s melting timepieces), Times Square, and Grandfather Clock are colors I’d like to try. And I’ll probably get some more High Noon. Luckily they are having a big sale, with the release of the new primer and new eyeshadow colors, this weekend, August 13 and 14. This
time, however, I’ll pass on the bottle-cap necklace =)
OVERALL RATING: 4.25 OF 5 STARS!
I hope you enjoyed my review, and I’m looking forward to your comments! Look for
more reviews to come on my new beauty blog, http://fleurs-de-lisa.blogspot.com/.
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