I’m really fond of Shiro Cosmetics and they will always have a special place in my heart as they are the very first indie company I ever ordered from. Caitlin and her team provide exemplary customer service and really set the bar high in terms of indie cosmetics company and their quality. Basically, I have yet to be disappointed by an order from them. I usually get shadows but this is my first time getting a blush and a custom gloss form Shiro.

Shiro’s February Color of the Month was a gorgeous shimmery gold rose called “I Tried” and instantly became a favorite of mine. I thought it was so lovely, that not only did I get the shadow, BUT I also had to make it into a custom lipgloss. That’s right. Shiro does this wonderful thing where she let’s you play indie cosmetics creator and create your own lipgloss color out of any of their shadows that are considered lip safe. You can choose from sheer, moderate opacity, and full opacity (my favorite and what I chose to go with). As you can see from the photo, the metallic sheen of I Tried stood out in a very lovely way. Despite, the high shimmer to this shade, I still feel like this gloss is very wearable for everyday use. The gloss is not sticky at all and I was overall impressed with the full opacity level Shiro was able to achieve with this gloss.

I am also a really big fan of Shiro’s intertubes. Many of them are quite pigmented and they come in many fun colors. My favorite is Why Not Zoidberg, lovely summery coral, but I decided to take a walk on the wild side and try out a sample of Leeroy Jenkins, a pale lavender purple. I think I walked too far into the wild zone.

While I think the shade itself is awesome and bold and fun, I don’t really think it was suited for me. I don’t think this shade flattered me at all and I was kind of disappointed by it. On the bright side, at least it was only a sample size! I really have my eye on Team Buffy and Three Wolf Moon for my next intertube choices.

In the month of March, Shiro not only gave us a new Color of the Month, but Caitlin also introduced a new blush shade, You’re Making Me [Blush], to commemorate Shiro’s Facebook page reaching 10,000 likes (that is a lot of likes).

Bold swatch on the left, blended out swatch on the right

The color is described as a muted fuchsia with a blue shift and I am so thrilled with it! At first I was a little nervous about the blue shimmer but it is so subtle that I find it adds dimension to the blush shade. The shade is pretty pigmented and a little goes a long way.

The last part of my little haul contains some of Shiro’s shadows that I already know I love but just had to order more of.

L to R: Slave 23, Equivalent Exchange, Cake, Women’s Weapons, Doge, and No Men Like Me.

**Note: All shades swatched over UDPP (top), Darling Girl’s Glitter Glue (center), and NYX Milk (bottom)**

Slave 23: A shimmery soft gold that goes on sheer but can be built up to full opacity. I first got a sample of this but knew I had to get a full size when I saw how great it was for making neutral looks pop and adding a touch of glitz to them. The shimmer is very noticeable but this is by no means a glitter bomb. It’s a very tasteful shimmer that is suitable for both day and night.

Equivalent Exchange: A metallic grey-toned purple. This color looks both grey and purple, making it a great compliment for other purples or even as a great shade for a smokey eye.

Cake: A shimmery cream with a copper shift. I think this is my favorite Shiro shade ever. Seriously. I use it every. single. day. as an inner corner highlight and when patted over glitter glue, the copper highlight really shines through and the shimmer is intensified, making it perfect for a special occasion. I seriously love this color.

Women’s Weapons: A deep red wine. I got this as a sample when I bought the sample pack of the entire Seven Kingdoms collection but absolutely ruined it when I tried to press it as it was my very first time pressing. It ended us as like a cream shadow so I still used it. I loved the color so much that I bought another sample to repress it. This color has a very subtle shimmer to it but looks mostly matte. It is such a nice deep red that I like to use in my outer corner paired with rose gold on my lid. I’m itching to make a custom gloss out of this seductive color.

Doge: A pinky champagne highlight. Much shimmer. So highlight. This is a color of the month from November 2013 that is still available for purchase as long as the link is active. I like this color but not as much as I thought I was going to. Don’t get me wrong, it is a great highlight. But I think I was expecting a pinker version of Cake and I find this color to be less faceted and more on the sheer side. Maybe subtle just isn’t my thing.

No Men Like Me: An ashy gold that pops over primer. This color is quite deceiving, just like Jamie Lannister. This was another shade I demolished in my first pressing venture. I was unimpressed with this color when I first swatched it on my bare skin and even of Urban Decay’s primer as I am pretty tan and the color just wasn’t showing very well over my skin. I began to question why I even purchased another sample of this shade. But then I used glitter glue and it seriously changed my life. It turned into a gilded dream. A sophisticated antique gold that really gleams. I think this shade lives up to its name.