Blackbird Cosmetics is a brand that I have watched grow since they started. As someone who used mattes almost daily, these wearable shades called out to me. As soon as I heard that they were bringing out pressed shadows, I planned my order.

Turn Around Time

I placed my order an hour or so after they were released on 13th March. My order shipped 4th April, and after they had gotten through customs I received my order on 18th April.This was probably one of the lengthier waits I’ve had with indies but as it was a new release I anticipated waiting even longer.

Unboxing

You can tell that a great deal of care goes into this brand. There was a hand written ‘thank you’ on the invoice, there was a free ring attached to the package, and the branding as a whole is impeccable.

I’m so in love with the branding. Brown card for the packaging with printed logos and hand written names. It all ties together so nicely and it’s something I really appreciate.

I’m glad to see that the ingredients are listed on each shadow. Fortunately I am not sensitive to most products but it’s always an added bonus.

Great care went into ensuring the pressed shadows stayed safe during their shipping journey. Pans were bundled in threes and wrapped in corrugated card. The pans were separated with another piece of card between each one. Single pans have their own card packaging, and are snug in a zip lock bag. There were no breakages and I am sure this is solely down to this care and attention to detail.

The Order

I ordered two samples and received four – Imogen, Beau, Everest and Figment. They are all very wearable shades and the samples are average in amount.

I have swatched all of these shadows with Urban Decay Eye Shadow Primer Potion at the top, and nothing on the bottom.

Figment applied well although the primer darkened it. I found that this applied better on its own. It’s a very wearable muted taupey pink that would not be out of place in most makeup collections.

Imogen also applied well although the primer darkened it. I found that this too applied better on its own. Another very wearable pink.

Everest seemed to hold more colour with the primer, although applied well without. An almost-khaki green, it will probably be the easiest to incorporate out of all the greens in my collection.

Beau applied well with and without primer, and also stained. A gorgeous reddy-brown; I can see this being used regularly.

The Product

Most of the shadows have slight marks or bumps on the surface. Whilst this doesn’t particularly bother me, it’s maybe something to be wary of if you are planning on gifting these shadows. All of them look and feel incredibly buttery. They are very powdery though – the slightest touch with a brush produces a lot of product, so whilst they are a dream to apply they probably won’t transport too well.

I tried to pick a wearable selection of shades that I knew I’d get a lot of use out of. I think they complement each other fairly well and I feel I could keep these in a palette and use only these happily.

Dim Tradition applied equally well over primer and without. It has a slight glowly quality. I think this will be the most used out of all of them.

Thirteen applied well over primer and without. It was ever so slightly chalky but it’s a lovely pinky oatmeal shade.

Fiction applied slightly patchy and I had to build the colour up. However it’s a gorgeous neutral.

Smudge applied well with and without primer. It’s slightly less neutral than Fiction but the coverage was even. I think I will use this quite a lot!

Fire Pledge applied well with and without primer. This was my one adventurous shade. I have been wearing a lot of reds and burgundys recently and I am looking forward to incorporating this brighter shade.

Ruca applied better without primer. It’s a deep red-brown and I love it! I think this is a very wearable shade.

Summary

All in all I couldn’t be happier with my order. I chose my shades thoughtfully and I have a nice little collection of neutrals. I am looking forward to ordering a few more once I try these out properly. One thing that stuck out was how substantial this order felt. I have placed much larger orders with other indie companies but this order was so well put together with all of the packaging and finishing touches that I really felt it was well worth the money. I have spoken to Maleah, the owner previously about another matter and she was lovely to talk to and very quick to reply. Blackbird Cosmetics is definitely one to watch – as well as loose and pressed eye shadows they have also released a set of setting powders, and contour powders. In the future they are seemingly going to expand to produce more face and lip products.