Review and Swatches: Geek Chic Cosmetics - Fang Banger's Quartet

First of all, I should note that I approached Deb and Chantel at Geek Chic Cosmetics about doing a review. They sent me 4 sample baggies of colors of my choice so I chose the Fang Banger's Quartet. More about that later.

First of all, I was so excited to get the ball rolling on a potential addiction. I've been eyeing Geek Chic Cosmetic's site for a long time and every time they come out with a new set it makes me drool with envy.

In this review, packaging, although noted and described won't play a huge part in my review. They have just changed their sample packaging so what you receive will be different. Also, the pots you see in the photos are my own. I took the shadow out of the sample baggie so that I could apply it easier. The one thing I will note is that everything comes with a sticker with a full list of ingredients which is great!

The following swatches are on bare skin with no primer:

With Flash: Top L to R - Viking King and Purity Burns

Bottom L to R: Blood Bond and Eyes of the Werewolf

Natural Light: Top L to R - Viking King and Purity Burns

Bottom L to R: Blood Bond and Eyes of the Werewolf (I mention later how Eyes matches my skintone, I promise it's there.)

The following colors do contain metal powders so speaking of ingredients, if you have allergies to any metals, I would take note of the ingredients before ordering.

Viking King:
This was the first color that I tried. It's a shiny, uber-metallic antique gold. While gold eye shadows are easy to come by in the world, I have yet to find one with this type of color pay off without a primer. It made my lids look gilded which was something I loved at the time. Having a week off from my blog to deal with real life let me wear it multiple times. The first time I put it on, I was worried because my eyes itched a little bit. It wasn't anything big but I was concerned because I knew about the metal powders. I decided to give it one more try and I was very relieved to find out that the feeling I had was more than likely due to fatigue and not an allergic reaction. One of my favorite looks is to put Blood Bond (review and swatch further down) on the bottom of the lid and put Viking King on the rest of the main lid. It has a hint of Gryffindor to it as well as a bit of royalty.

This is a great everyday shadow and can be used in a variety of ways.


Final Verdict: 4/5

Purity Burns:
A silver shadow with iridescent sparkle. Another great everyday look with a frosty light gray color base. More than likely officially my go to Slytherin silver color and I will be wearing this tonight to the midnight showing of the final Harry Potter movie. The shadow goes on smooth with very little fall out. The powder is fine and very light weight. Something that I love about all of these. I don't feel like I'm made up when I just put a little bit on. Being someone who never used to bother with make up and also was a stage actor, while I am used to feeling made up from the thick base needed for stage work, I don't like it for everyday. Yet again, silver is pretty easy to find elsewhere however I think the iridescent sparkle is what sets it apart from others.

Final Verdict: 4/5

Eyes of the Werewolf:
The base color of this reminds me of the dog that Sam Merlotte tended to shift to. This color matches my skin tone almost perfectly and is the quintessential eye shadow for me to just add a shimmer to my lids. Although the site bills it as a copper, it's not as orange as traditional coppers and this is what I like about it. There's not much else to say about it that I haven't already spoken about the other colors just that it's even more an everyday color for me due to the neutrality.

Final Verdict: 5/5

Blood Bond:
Probably the only color that isn't an everyday color for me. It's not to say that the deep, shimmery burgundy is bad but more to say that I don't go out often enough to see use for it. To me, it's something I would wear to a club or with specific costumes that call for a dramatic burgundy eye look. The one thing I did do with it was my Gryffindor Eye of the Day and I wore it to Ba-Con's Barfleet party.

Final Verdict: 3/5

Overall:
I am really pleased with this set as my first experience with Geek Chic Cosmetics. Deb was very helpful in communicating with me about any delays in the shipping of the samples as well as answering any questions. Always a great plus when dealing with independent companies. I potted all of my samples in some old sample pots I had left over from products I had received but I don't use and this makes it a bit easier to use the right amount of product. Although now, samples are shipped in clamshells which will be massively easier.

I will definitely be rebuying Viking King, Purity Burns, and Eyes of the Werewolf on a regular basis. Blood Bond will probably already last me a long while  but eventually I probably will rebuy it. Being a LARPer who plays a vampire, it has it's uses. :)

Final Verdict on Whole Set: 4/5