I’m back! At least, I’m gonna try my best to be back and actually post on a semi-regular basis again. What better way to celebrate returning to blogging than with a huge swatch post? Since I last posted, Corvus Cosmetics has released three seasonal collections, a collaboration collection with Ten Three Labs, and launched a color palette series with three installments thus far. Today I have 11 of the 16 shades in the most recent collection, Nevermore.

For a brand overview, see my previous posts about Corvus here. Changes since then include reducing sample sizes from 1/4 tsp to 1/8 tsp (still $1.50 and very generous), and COTMs are no longer being offered, though Noel did offer a GWP with orders over $50 USD during her Black Friday sale.

About the Collection – Nevermore is Corvus’ cornerstone collection, inspired by the poems and short stories by Edgar Allan Poe. Growing up in Baltimore, Noel has a passion for Poe and intended on creating a collection to honor him since opening Corvus. Nevermore and the mini color palette collections are the only permanent collections at Corvus; all others are are seasonal. The collection consists of 16 shades ranging from neutrals to colors, mattes to glittler-splosions, lights to darks.

All swatches are done over NYX HD primer.

Lady Ligeia – “A pale cool-toned ivory matte.” Inspired by the story of “Ligeia.”

Lady Ligeia is a cool toned grayed ivory matte. I’m always impressed with Corvus mattes. They are very pigmented and blend well. It is like Skin Walker’s cool sister (you can see Skin Walker in the left corner, which I will be reviewing soon).

Maiden – “A soft and sheer pink with a strong gold shift.” Inspired by the poem “Annabel Lee.”

Maiden is a soft cool toned pink with a strong gold sheen. I was worried that Maiden would be similar to The Thirteenth Gift from the site swatches, but it is far lighter and the base is cooler than The Thirteenth Gift’s coral base. It is very pretty as an inner corner highlight or as a lid shade. Annabel Lee is one of my all time favorite poems and I had to get the full size of whatever shade Noel made for it, and I’m glad it’s a shade I actually love.

Thy Love Lenore –“A pale rose with a strong blue shift.” Inspired by the story “Lenore.”

Thy Love Lenore is a gorgeous dusty rose with blue shift. Sadly the blue did not show up very well in this picture, but trust me, it’s there. When Noel teased this shade on Facebook before the launch, I immediately knew I needed a full size and I have no regrets. Wearable and soft but still interesting (aka my favorite kind of eyeshadow). Lenore is probably my favorite from the entire collection.

Putrescence – “A pallid blue with a strong green shift.” Inspired by The Case of M. Valdemar.

Putrescence is a grayed baby blue with green shift. So I totally had it in my head that Putrescence was a silver, so I kept saying to myself, “wow that’s blue.” Now that I look at the description, everything makes more sense.

Scimitar – “A metallic silver with a red shift.” Inspired by the story “The Pit and the Pendulum.”

Scimitar is a cool toned silver with pink-red sparkles. I believe it is the same pink-red that is in Gingerbread Haus and Jersey Devil, so if you like those, you’ll probably like Scimitar.

Helusion – “A light canary yellow with a subtle turquoise shift and violet sparks.” Inspired by the story of “Eleonora.”

Helusion is a velvety butter yellow with teal shift. Yellow is a difficult color for a lot of people, myself included, but I feel like Helusion is a very wearable shade, especially as an inner corner highlight.

Nevermore – “A dark purple with a strong gold shift.” Inspire by the poem “The Raven.”

Nevermore is a smokey deep purple with vibrant gold sheen. This is the title shade for the collection and I think it captures Poe very well. I personally don’t wear colors like this, and I received it as my free sample, but is a very nice purple/gold.

Tapophobia – “A deep chocolate brown with a subtle violet shimmer.” Inspired by the story “The Premature Burial.”

Tapophobia is a warm chocolate brown with purple shift. This reminds me a lot of Dark Matter Makeup’s Taurus, though I haven’t swatched them side by side yet. It’s a lovely crease color.

Amontillado – “A shimmery deep wine.” Inspired by “The Cask of Amontillado.”

Amontillado is a shimmery medium red with subtle gold sparks. If there’s one color to count on Corvus for, it’s reds. Absolutely lovely pigmentation and blendability.

My Last Jest – “A dark burgundy with lots of gold sparkle.” Inspired by the story of “Hop-Frog.”

My Last Jest is a lovely burgundy with a gold-splosion of sparkle. You guys. This shade. Surprise top favorite for me. When I first opened the bag to do my first impression (bare skin) swatches when i received my package I was immediately blown away. The gold sparkles are gorgeous on the bag, and stick around on the skin. This is like Gryffindor in shadow form.

Berenice – “A dark matte red-brown, the color of dried blood.” Inspired by the story “Berenice.”

Berenice is a deep deep matte brown toned burgundy. Berenice was originally released as a COTM (which I previously reviewed here) and was rereleased as part of Nevermore. Again, I love Noel’s matte formula and I like using Berenice as a crease shade or as a liner.

The remaining five shades from Nevermore that I do not own:

Catalepsy – “A smoky olive green.” Inspired by “The Fall of the House of Usher.”

Masquerade – “A deep teal with a strong violet shift.” Inspired by the story “Masque of the Red Death.”

Orang-Outan – “A deep coppery brown.” Inspired by the story “The Murders in the Rue Morgue.”

Phantasm – “A blackened base with an intense teal shift.” Inspired by the story “The Black Cat.”

Vulture Eye –“A pale blue with a strong silver shimmer.” Inspired by the story “The Telltale Heart.”

Overall – As a fellow lover of Edgar Allan Poe, I absolutely adore the Nevermore collection. Noel captured the stories and poems with beautiful shades, all of which are intensely pigmented and blend easily. The collection covers a wide range of finishes and colors, as well as light shades and deep shades. My top two favorites are Thy Love Lenore and My Last Jest.

What are your favorite Nevermore shades? What’s your favorite Edgar Allan Poe story or poem?