A while ago I was contacted by Venomous Cosmetics to see if I would like to review them. After checking out their site, I was intrigued. They clearly state that they do not repackage and that all colors are custom blended. Additionally, they also offer pressed shades! I found it interesting that the creator of the company owns all animals listed on this site as pets. She owns 39 tarantulas, 4 true spiders, 6 scorpions and 2 whipscorpions. Also, Venomous cosmetics is local to Tampa! It’s neat that there’s a company close to me.
As I was really interested in Venomous’s pressing process, I emailed to inquire about it. Tracy sent me back this response:
The blended micas are mixed with a small amount of pressing medium and run through a sieve. This slightly damp mixture is then scooped into sterilized tin pans (4 large scoops), hand pressed to allow for more large scoops to fit, and then pressed with a C-clamp, pressing tile and ribbon to ensure it sets. As always, it is done in a sterile environment using gloves, mask, hairnet and tablecovering. Alcohol is used to sterilize equipment before use.
Additionally, she offers pressed samples! How cool is that?
Pricing:
Pressed Shadows $6.50 (26 mm refill pan)
Loose Shadows $7.50 (5 gram jar with sifter)
Pressed Sample $2.00 (15 mm sample refill pan)
Loose Samples $1.00 (1/8 tsp)
Lipgloss $5.00 for a 5.9 ml tube
Lipgloss Sample $3.50 for a 3.7 ml tube
Shipping Costs:
$4.95 flat rate for full sizes inside the USA.
$1.99 for samples inside the USA.
Tracy is still working out the best way to ship internationally for a reasonable price.
Loose Shadow Ingredients:
Mica, Titanium Dioxide, Serecite, Boron Glow, Silk Mica, Magnesium Stearate, Magnesium myristrate, and Zinc Oxide. **Some colors may contain: Carmine, Iron Oxides and/or bismuth oxychloride
Pressed Shadow Ingredients:
Mica, Titanium Dioxide, Calcium Carbonate, Zinc Stearate, Kaolin Clay, Silicon Dioxide, Allantoin, Caranuba wax, Isopropyl Myristrate, Dimethicone, Bis-vinyl Dimethicone/Dimethicone Copolymer. **Some colors may contain: Carmine, Iron Oxides and/or bismuth oxychloride.
Lip Poison (lip gloss):
Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Ethylene/Propylene/Styrene Copolymer, Butylene/Ethylene/Styrene Copolymer, Mica, Vitamin E, Jojoba Oil, Almond Oil, and Mint extract. **May Contain: Carmine, Red #40 and/or Red 27.
You can email to get an exact listing on which colors contain the ‘May Contains.’
Shade Descriptions for the Lip Poisons:
Shangri-La – neutral brown/gold pink with peach undertone.
Hysteria – fuchsia with violet shift
Hypnotize – red-coral with gold shift
The three lip glosses have good color payoff and I liked the colors that I tried.
Shade Descriptions for the Pressed Shadows:
Box Jelly – Satiny white with extremely subtle blue/violet/pink/green and gold shifts.
Mermaid – Deep sea green with subtle gold shift.
Centipede – Medium aqua with subtle blue sparks.
Chupacabra – Medium plum purple with blue shift.
Dragon – Black with pink and blue iridescence.
Box Jelly is a great white highlighter with just a hint of something going on, mostly gold. Mermaid was very pretty, though the gold shift is indeed subtle. Centipede was absolutely breathtaking for me. I LOVE that shade of blue.
You can see me wearing Centipede, Dragon and Box Jelly in this image.
Pegasus was used on the brow and inner corners in this look.
Chupacabra is a stunning purple. Dragon is a black that has strong blue iridescence. Overall, the color payoff from the pressed shadows is great.
The loose shadows were nice as well. There’s quite a variety of colors offered.
Boomslang is a light seafoam.
Deathstalker is a pale yellow.
Bermuda Triangle is a pretty yellow, reminds me a bit of Banana Mochi
Blue Ringed Octopus was a pretty, vibrant turquoise.
Singapore violet a lovely blue-based violet with blue sparks.
Indian Violet is more of a red-based violet.
Salmon Pink Birdeater lived up to its name.
Lochness monster is a pretty sea blue with a bit of golden shimmer.
Pegasus is a really nice flattering highlight shade that seems like a beige with a bit of pink to it.
Alien is a bright minty green.
Platypus is a lavender with a blue shift.
Inland Taipan seems to be a taupe.
Stiletto Snake is a nearly matte black.
Monster Under Your Bed is a blackened shade with turquoise/green shimmer.
Purple People Eater is a blackened purple with blue shimmer.
You can see Hysteria on my lips here.
This is Shangri-La
I really like the fact that Venomous offers pressed shadows and I think it’s unique that she offers pressed shadow samples! I hope that this is the direction that we will see Indie companies moving towards in the future. I think by offering some of their colors as pressed, they will have wider mass appeal. Many people often find it easier to travel with pressed shadows and some people have been hesitant to try loose shadows because of the potential mess, so I definitely think that offering some pressed is the way to go.
Would I purchase from Venomous Cosmetics?
Yes! I like what I’ve tried. I love the pressed shadows option, as right now I think it’s very rare for an Indie company to offer. I think the prices are reasonable. I feel like the ingredients are good. The color payoff and blendability are good. I like most of the colors that I tried.
What do you think of Venomous Cosmetics? How do you feel about Indie pressed shadows?
Products were sent to me for review purposes. All opinions are my own.
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Hello Cotton
Oops! I thought you’d posted this already ’cause I remembered reading it, and now I posted mine a few hours before! D: Sorry
Anastasia recently shared..No Vermicious Knids
LOL! No worries! Seriously, I don’t get bent out of shape over stuff like that
*hug
More eye candy, yay
Centipede looks amazing on you Phyrra!
I’m pretty sure I’ve seen Silk Naturals’ Shrieking Violet on your blog, so do you think it’s close to Hysteria? Based on swatches Hysteria seems to have more purple flash and Shrieking Violet a blue flash but it could be the lighting. I love Shrieking Violet so I’ll probably love Hysteria too.
Shangri-La looks so much like Mac’s Devilishly Stylish lipglass. Goes well with the theme, it’s from Venomous Villains collection
I’ll have to dig it out because I don’t think it’s close. I think Hysteria is more pink.
Shangri-La is really neat! I like that it pulls more gold on my lips than I thought it would.
They look amazing! Chupacabra does look like an amazing purple. And I’m totally addicted to purple eyshadows. The pressed samples are a really good idea. I don’t mind using loose powder but it’s not optimal for traveling.
Julia Mathias recently shared..New year- back to blogging!
Same here! I think pressed is good for travel.
O_O Wow! These look amazing. I can’t believe they offer pressed! That is such a great option. That Hysteria lipgloss looks so pretty.
Oh darn you Phyrra! My wallet hates you.
femputer recently shared..new Wet n Wild trio swatches
It’s really pretty and reasonably priced :>
Oh my gosh. I need to have all those pigments and lippies. Your last look is AMAZING. I definitely need a full tube of Shangri-La.
Lady In A Top Hat recently shared..BelleLuxe Eyelash Extensions with Dasha
Thank you! I definitely think they’re cool.
I’m really really attracted to her “theme”. I really adore creepy crawly kind of critters, an d hope she names more of her colors after her arachnid pets.
Names aside, those purples are really tempting. Her pressed sample pans are simply adorable as well!
They’re awesome
Shangri-La looks so pretty!
KittenMittons recently shared..Awesome Giveaway- MAC lippies!
Thanks lady! I think so too
Gahhh… I swear, every time I think I have that stupid budget worked out, something else comes along and blows it!
I like that this company is in FL, too, cos that means I’ll get my stuff really fast when I order!
Me too! They’re so close to me!
Hysteria and Platypus look amazing! The pressed shadows look interesting, too
Lily recently shared..REVIEW – Peacocks Evie Glam Glitter Eyeliner
I really like the pressed shadows!
It’s great that they offer pressed shadows, I really want to try them out sometime. I use a lot of loose eye shadows (because of all the awesome colours they come in) and while I don’t dislike loose eye shadows I do prefer pressed shadows. They are less messy. So it’s great to see and indy company offering them.
Make Up Monster recently shared..Bubble Goth
I like both, but it is awesome to see both offered!
I’ll definitely order from here. It’s so rare to see pressed shadows without talc (I’ve got a huge sensitivity to talc), that I feel the need to swipe these up =D
That’s awesome, Deah!
The colors intrigue me, but for some reason the site itself does not. Maybe It’s just me, but I find the site a little too bright. My computer loads the page slow because of the pictures so that puts me off a bit as well. I’m just ocd when it comes to slow pages, lol.
I love spiders and creepy crawlies, but putting a real life picture instead of maybe a cartoon or drawn picture throws me off too. When I buy make up I don’t expect a spidey in my face
I do like the references though!
I actually saw this company promoting itself on makeupgeek.com on the swap and sale forum which I found odd… It seemed tacky I guess because with myself being a owner of a indie mineral company I would never dream of doing that. As soon as I clicked the link in the post this bright page came up (slowly), and I was instantly turned off. I don’t take people who self promote on make up forums seriously.
..sorry for my rant! I didn’t mean to get sidetracked, lol.
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Hmm, I’ve had no problems with the site loading. While spiders scare me, especially after having to have surgery due to a spider bite, I think it’s a neat concept for a company.
indie pressed shadows? Heck yes! I’ve been dreaming of this day! I much prefer pressed over loose, though I love both. The colors are really nice, and I adore the fact that I could get pressed samples, and that sample shipping is only $2! Looks like I’ll be hitting up their sample section soon hehe…
MakeupFancyEm recently shared..A must-follow blogSugarpill giveaway!
Very cool!
Monster Under the Bed looks fabulous, and the name cracks me up!
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It is hilarious!
These look really nice! I loveeee the lip swatches!
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Thanks Jen!
Alien, Platypus and Shangri-La for the win!
I’ve considered pressing some of mine, but mostly for my sister. She doesn’t wear much make-up, and worries about breathing the dust from loose powders. I prefer working with loose eyeshadow, and generally roll with the punches with fall-out so long as it isn’t dark.
I might try it in the future. Right now, I’m trying to grow slowly so I don’t drown like I’ve seen a few companies do.
Parched recently shared..Candy Faerie Wings
I’ve had some of my pressings go wrong, so I’m always loathe to try it and screw it up.
You know, more frequently, I’m depotting to try and use my pressed stuff as loose. Or because I’ve managed to break yet another pressed (I’m good at that!) Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.
L’oreal H.I.P. stuff depots awesomely.
I think next time I do a wholesale order, I’ll get some pressing medium.
Parched recently shared..Candy Faerie Wings
I think I did press the l’oreal hip powder restless and it came out ok
I had one of the sticks, and it was great, but it was weird to apply it, then I broke the end off, so I depotted it and now it is even better.
Restless looks gorgeous! I had Captivating. It’s really bold.
Parched recently shared..Candy Faerie Wings
Oh one of the shadow sticks? I think I had the silver one at one point. Never thought to depot that! Cool
Shangri-La looks hot!
I agree!
i just got my order today, and i love it!! the pressed samples are LITERALLY THE CUTEST THING TO EXIST EVER.
i also want to point out an example of excellent customer service–two of the samples that i ordered (wandering spider & fer-de-lance) ended up being out of stock when my order shipped. so she sent me FULL-SIZES instead. O_O in my opinion, that is definitely considered above-and-beyond.
tazelwurm and sea urchin are my favorites right now. i <3 purples!
That is so sweet Erin!
Colours look really pretty! I’ve just entered the giveaway
There’s only 1 thing I don’t like about their website. I HATE spiders lol, so it’s kinda hard for me to go to their website, as soon as it opens I have to scroll down to avoid the tarantula.
Sakura recently shared..Ayumi Hamasaki FOTD Challenge – Look 2- GAME
I know what you mean. After my spider bite and surgery I am terrified of spiders.
I have to ask, because im a total freak for green shadows..What is the green shadow you are wearing in the picture above? I have yet to see something that bright! Nice review by the way, i plan to invest in some of these products
I thikn that’s the green from the Wet n’ Wild I Dream of Greenie trio.