Eyes, Reviews

I first learned of Shiro Cosmetics through one of the beauty forums I hang around in. It’s taken me a while to get around to trying indie cosmetics, but then I found out Caitlin (the mastermind behind Shiro) was releasing a collection inspired by George RR Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire series. Bit of trivia for you – I’m kind of a big sci-fi and fantasy nerd, and that was one of my favorite series even before they turned it into an awesome TV show (Game of Thrones, in case you’re not familiar). I couldn’t decide which colors I wanted from the collection, so I just picked up the whole shebang in sample sizes.

Packaging

Since I got the sample set, mine came in small zip bags so I can’t really talk much about the packaging. The full sizes (.07oz/2g) come in acrylic sifter jars with custom artwork by Robert Hendrickson on the tops. You can see the artwork on the individual product pages here. As far as the baggies go, they can be a little messy to use, but what can you really expect?

Colors

There are fifteen eyeshadow colors in the Seven Kingdoms collection, all inspired by the books. I just realized while taking photos that a couple extra samples sneaked into my package. Not sure if that was intentional or not, but in any case, thanks Shiro! I also realized that I suck at keeping track of swatches – I accidentally left a Seven Kingdoms bag out of my photo set, and put the extras in there instead. These swatches are all over bare skin, dry, in natural light (except the last one, which is under artificial light).

Climbing Chaos – warm brown with copper shimmer

Farewell, Wherever You Fare (There and Back collection) – warm brown with gold shimmer; lighter and more glittery than Climbing Chaos.

Here I Stand – brown-black with green shimmer

Hodor – pearl-finish taupe

I Loved a Maid – crimson with a peach sheen

It’s Mossy! (Randomly Generated collection) – blackened green with blue/silver shimmer

Little Bird – warm near-matte pink

Maiden Queen – bright emerald with gold glitter

Master of Whispers – pale lilac with gold shimmer

Mother of Dragons – blood-red with purple shimmer

No Men Like Me – gold in a white/grey base

Queensguard – deep orange pearl

Salt and Stone – blackened green with very subtle red shimmer; it almost comes off as matte

Valar Morghulis – black with white shimmer

Women’s Weapons – deep red with gold shimmer

You Know Nothing – cool white with white shimmer

Gift of Mercy – (this is the one I accidentally left out, whoops!) black with multi-color shimmer

Overall, the colors are much more complex than most of the pressed shadows I’ve used. They can appear very differently depending on the angle and lighting conditions – to the extent that I wasn’t exactly sure how to describe some of them. I highly recommend checking out the swatches on the Shiro page and the IndieKnow review. In most cases the different colors in each shade were evenly distributed; the one exception is No Men Like Me. The white and gold didn’t apply very uniformly, making it appear a bit patchy. In the full size that could maybe(?) be solved by gently shaking the jar to mix everything together. On all of them, the pigmentation is very nice – a very gentle tap of the brush into the shadow will pick up plenty to get full coverage. There are a few colors in the collection that I don’t really see myself wearing a lot (oranges), but that’s a personal preference thing. The finishes run heavily toward shimmery duochromes, but you can still put together some great everyday looks with this set.

Texture, Application & Wear

Like the pigmentation, I was also really impressed by the texture of these shadows. They all apply very evenly and smoothly with a brush, and none of the glitters feel gritty. I expected lots of fallout since they’re loose powders, but that didn’t turn out to be a big issue as long as I don’t load the brush up too much. They blend nicely, and wear well for 8-10 hours over primer (NARS/Lorac) with no fading and minor creasing at the very deepest part of my lids, which are somewhat hooded.

Hodor (lid), Climbing Chaos (crease), Gift of Mercy (outer corner) and No Men Like Me (inner corner)

Master of Whispers (lid, inner corner), Mother of Dragons (crease), Valar Morghulis (outer corner)

In Short: This collection has a lot of gorgeous colors, and the quality rivals eyeshadows that are much more expensive.

The Shiro Seven Kingdoms Collection eyeshadows ($6 each) are available at shirocosmetics.com