Hey all! Happy New Year! I wish you all the best for the coming year…I know this is a bit late and I apologize for that.

I gave a lot of thought to what I would post this week, and I have to admit that I kinda threw my original ideas out the window. On my way into work last week, a spark of inspiration struck, and I decided to do a year in review for indie products I liked the best, and things I liked the least.

Now this is completely my opinion, and as such your results may be different.

Let’s dive in!

Favorite New Makeup Brand – Crow and Pebble

Crow and Pebble was started by the super talented Karen in May of this year. With collections inspired by classic literature, and a classy aesthetic, C&P also has some of the most blendable eyeshadows on the market today. Her collections include eyeshadows based off of Dune, highlights and contour powders based off of classic witches and wizards, Social colors benefitting charities, and fun onw-off Hamhoff oops shades. Must have colors include Gom Jabbar, Petrochemical Sheen, The Voice, and Devotion to Duty, but every color in her catalog is well considered and absolutely lovely. Check out her store here!

Favorite Nail Polish – Femme Fatale

Australian brand Femme Fatale has been a huge name in the indie nail polish scene for a long time, but I just tried their polishes for the first time this year. I am a chronic nail chewer and the only way I’ve been able to stop is to distract myself with crazy color polish, and FF has some of the best. I don’t have a ton, but the discontinued Sandcrawler and new What’s Said is Said from the Labyrinth collection have to be my favorites. Browse their selection here!

Favorite Lipstick – Notoriously Morbid

People have known about this for years, but I got my first Mystic Matte sample and fell in love with the formula immediately. Comfortable, light, and surprisingly non-drying, I only own the shade Karma, a lovely rose with a slight pearly sheen. I still maintain my love for Fyrinnae, but I admit the Mystic Matte is more comfy. Check out their shop here!

Favorite New Release – Everything Multichrome!

Oh man, I love multichrome. I posted a bit about Fyrinnae’s new multichrome Exquisites, and have had the chance to try Dawn Eyes’ Premium shadows, and am in love with them all. I know that Notoriously Morbid had their Black Friday multichrome set as well but I haven’t had the chance to play with any of them…yet. Some of my favorite shades include Magical from Dawn Eyes, and Lava in the Ocean from Fyrinnae.

Favorite Perfume – Uhhhh…..

Ok…so this was really REALLY hard. I only got into perfume earlier this year. Fyrinnae opened the door for me when they released their new perfumes, but since then I have tried most of the major brands, like BPAL, NAVA, Alkemia, and Arcana. I have some decided favorites, with Alkemia Ghost Fire, Sixteen92 Liber Officiorum Spirituum and Kuro Lolita, Arcana Lammas, and Fyrinnae Tarnished Crown ranking VERY highly.

Favorite Bath and Body – Luvmilk

My experience with Luvmilk has been nothing but AMAZING. I tried them for the first time earlier this year and have not found a bad product yet. My favorite product is definitely the Goat’s Milk Lotion, followed closely by their Bath Salts and Milk Baths. The scents are interesting and long lasting and the lotion makes my skin feel silky smooth! My favorite General Catalog scent is definitely Rainbow, but their Fall scent Sugar Ants and Jellyfish Punch from the Summer release are absolutely fantastic! Milky’s amazing shop is here.

Favorite Jewelry – Violet Forest Creations

Holly is an incredibly talented and gifted designer. Using gemstones and electroformed copper, she creates one-of-a-kind jewelry pieces that resonate with energy. I love her stuff so much that I made a purchase for my mom as well! I love my Aurora pendant, which is a gorgeous piece of labradorite. Check out her shop here!

Least Favorite Makeup Brand – Ammo Cosmetix

I tried this brand because of Cthulhu. I wish I hadn’t. Ammo Cosmetix is an Instagram brand and around Halloween they released ‘multichrome’ pigments based off of the writings of H.P. Lovecraft. Not only did the pigments not live up to their pictures whatsoever, they had a strange grainy texture, wouldn’t apply smoothly with a brush, did not blend whatsoever, had no posted ingredients list on the jar or on their site, and were insanely expensive compared to minis from Fyrinnae or Shiro. I’m glad I only picked up 2 of them. Perhaps this brand might work for someone else, but it certainly didn’t work for me.

Least Favorite Perfume Brand – Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab

So. I know this is controversial, and I know BPAL is insanely popular. I even have some scents I really like, like Blood, Dragon’s Milk, and Fenris Wolf. What I don’t like about BPAL is their glut of limited editions, obviously thrown together collections, and the Dorian Debacle of 2017. Is soil variations a thing? In addition, while I have some few decided winners from BPAL, the majority of what I’ve tried from their catalog is just OK for me, and gave me my very first ‘oh HELL no’ scent. I have some major longevity issues as well, and their price point is too high for their success rate. I know BPAL is the crème de la crème of indie perfume, but I don’t think I’ll seek them out (aside from swaps).

So there you have it, my Indie Year in Review for 2017. This was my first full year in the indie sphere and a lot happened. Not only did I start this blog, but I joined an indie discussion Discord channel, made a bunch of fantastic friends, got to try more indie everything, and started to discover who I was. I got to help Karen at Crow & Pebble with labels and eye swatches and Luvmilk with shampoo testing. I started moving away from some toxic friendships. I STARTED WEARING PERFUME.

Thank you all for all of your support in the past months. I wish you all the best things for the coming year! See you next time.