Down the Indie Rabbit Hole

[MIKAGlam]

I cannot recommend the HoG lip balms enough. I'll be ordering backups and more flavors for sure. The scent is nice and strong (which is rare) and it feels great on. Vanilla Chai needs to be shared with the world!

Ohh I must have vanilla chai. I have HoG on my SS wishlist but forgot to add the vanilla chai balm to the list. Thats ok. My girl wanted to try indies so I'm going to add that in to what I get her from HoG.

 

[MIKAGlam]

In the hype of SS I just realized I still haven't received a shipping notice for my HoG order.

I hope TaT isn't too much if I order from their permanent stuff.

 

[BSquared]

Only lip balm I have from HoG is mocha hazlenut latte and it is sooooo good. It's definitely nuts and COFFEE and not chocolate which is sometimes hard to find too.

 

[LadyK]

So all this indie talk on the SS thread has had me looking at lots of indie brand pages.  I would love to try out one with a sample bag/box or even a subscription box.  Any recommendations?  I am open to trying makeup or skincare or bath products.  

 

[Kelly Silva]

So all this indie talk on the SS thread has had me looking at lots of indie brand pages.  I would love to try out one with a sample bag/box or even a subscription box.  Any recommendations?  I am open to trying makeup or skincare or bath products.  

The subscriptions are really hard to get in to, most of them are sold out within minutes, or have a waiting list. I would suggest starting with some of the big brands for your first foray:

Shiro Cosmetics

Hello Waffle

Glamour Doll Eyes

Haus of Gloi

Those are some good places to get started, and all of them carry sample sizes.

 

[meaganola]

So all this indie talk on the SS thread has had me looking at lots of indie brand pages.  I would love to try out one with a sample bag/box or even a subscription box.  Any recommendations?  I am open to trying makeup or skincare or bath products.  

I love indie makeup subs!  I get...  four of them.  I think.  Glamour Doll Eyes OTM, Notoriously Morbid Vanishing Cabinet, innocent+twisted alchemy mystery bag, and Hello Waffle Visage, plus the Espionage Cosmetics Nerd Makeup sub box (mostly nail wraps for the sub box, but EC also makes everything shadow and lip gloss) will be starting in April (since it hasn't started yet, there are no past boxes to look at to get an idea about what they send).  The catch is that they typically have limited numbers of slots, so it can be *very* hard to get one.  We have crashed websites with demand.  I also get Rainbow Honey's mystery bag (no limit on that one!), and here's the thread for that one.

As far as skincare goes, I don't know of any indie subs for that.  For bath products, there's Fortune Cookie Soap Box, although it's quarterly, not monthly.  Here is a link to the Winter 2014 box.  A lot of indies offer sample sizes, so you can put together your own sample box!  Haus of Gloi, Paintbox Soapworks, Savor Soap, and Purple Cat are a few such bath product companies that come to mind off the top of my head.

 

[meaganola]

Double-posting for a Hello Waffle ooooOOOOoooo!

I am cooking up something special for Black Friday. Details to come soon. Due to the substantive nature of what is being released, I will NOT be having my general catalogue available for purchase on Black Friday except for the 1000 Likes and Catssic Literature collection. Blush selection will also be limited.

Eek!  Something so major that she's shutting everything down except for 1000 Likes and Catssic Literature?  WHAT SORT OF MAGIC IS COMING OUR WAY?

 

[BSquared]

So all this indie talk on the SS thread has had me looking at lots of indie brand pages. I would love to try out one with a sample bag/box or even a subscription box. Any recommendations? I am open to trying makeup or skincare or bath products.

I would second Kelly's recommendation. All 4 of those are great companies and some of the bigger ones.
Glamour doll eyes is going to get you your order the fastest (her TAT is insanely fast) however I believe she is on vacation until the 20th. Shiro is not quite as fast but still good and has a ton of colors too.

The only small downside to hello waffle is 1) you can't buy individual samples, but you CAN buy I think sets of 5 or 10 samples. This is not a bad thing because one will not be enough, trust me 2) she's based in canada so shipping time is longer and slightly more expensive. Her product is beautiful however.

Haus of Gloi is DELICIOUS and I recommend everything /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

Welcome to the dark side!

Edit: forgot about purple cat. I'd STRONGLY recommend this as a toe-dip into indie bath products. She has a set of 6 mini sized body butters for $10, you can pick your scent. Shipping time was fast and I loved her stuff! Good way to try a few different scents

 

[CurlyTails]

So all this indie talk on the SS thread has had me looking at lots of indie brand pages.  I would love to try out one with a sample bag/box or even a subscription box.  Any recommendations?  I am open to trying makeup or skincare or bath products.

I really think that Glamour Doll Eyes is a great way to get started. You can order a "grab bag" of samples to try out so you don't have to think about which if the magical colors to choose!

 

[meaganola]

One thing about GDE being closed until the 20th:  Even though they're not shipping for a week and a half, you're still almost definitely going to get your order faster than any other indie shadow company given their TATs, especially this time of year.  GDE's TAT is bonkers fast.  I've placed an order, gone to look for my keys to go run errands, and received shipping before I've found my keys.  It can take longer to get order confirmations from Sephora.

 

[EggyBread]

I'm excited to get my first indie makeup! My GDE OTM arrives on thursday!

 

[Shalott]

I just got shipping for my Debaucherous order from 10/24. Was yours before that?

Mine was from 10/24 as well, and I got a shipping notice from Etsy about an hour after she replied to my convo. It being Veteran's Day in the US, no postal service is actually occurring, so it still just shows as a tracking created. I think it will get sent tomorrow though, none of the reviews I read said anything about major delays once the product was actually shipped. /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

She also mentioned in the convo that they are super busy right now, so if anyone was thinking about ordering from Debaucherous for their Santee, I'd probably hold off. But I am super excited to try the goodies, after all the good things I've heard!

 

[ohsailor]

The last time I ordered from Aromaleigh (a HUGE order, about 3 weeka go) I got it less than a week later, and I love her eye shadows!

Newbies def need to try Fyrinnae, too. Slow TAT but the shadows ARE TO.DIE.FOR. 

Geek Chic Cosmetics for Fandom lovers!

 

[ohsailor]

Also, this thread changed my life a little bit (or a lot) for the better. Not only is my outlook on products completely different (I got two boxes from Sephora the other day but no indie packages and was sad, haha!) but I have met so many lovely, wonderful ladies that I'm really getting to know. Everyone is awesome!

 

[Allison H]

Also, this thread changed my life a little bit (or a lot) for the better. Not only is my outlook on products completely different (I got two boxes from Sephora the other day but no indie packages and was sad, haha!) but I have met so many lovely, wonderful ladies that I'm really getting to know. Everyone is awesome!

Mainstream makeup is just so boooooring once you start shopping indies! I agree that the ladies here are so wonderful! /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

 

[biancardi]

I got mine haul from HoG - they did put in the wrong sample, and I did email them the other day about that.  Still waiting on a response. 

My first impressions on the scents I ordered (which were all full size) - Snow Wolf, Three Treasures, Plotter's Breakfast, Rosy Cheeks and Wintervale.  All of them except Plotter's Breakfast are amazing scents to wear as perfume.  SW & Wintervale are wonderful piney scents, Rosy Cheeks is a berry scent with strong pine scents, 3 Treasures is very exotic and spicy.  Plotter's Breakfast is not one I will wear as perfume - it has too much "something" in it (not sure, but the something is a bit off putting to me as a personal scent), but it is great as a scent that goes in my home oil burner.  All of them are great for that use as as well, but Plotter's is better suited for that.  I should have gotten the sample size in Plotters, but live & learn.

 

[MIKAGlam]

I'm going to place a HoG order for my SS but I am going to add either vanilla Chai or hazelnut lip balm. But which one? I want them both but I'll be good and only get one.

 

[EggyBread]

So... I got my GDE OTM today, and I loved it so much I just ordered 16 more eyeshadow samples. 

 

[BSquared]

My OTM seems to be stuck in pre-shipment. I WANT ITTTTTTT!

edit: I just ordered Sunday so this is not abnormal or excessive by ANY means...I just have no patience for the pretties lol

 

[Allison H]

My OTM seems to be stuck in pre-shipment. I WANT ITTTTTTT!

edit: I just ordered Sunday so this is not abnormal or excessive by ANY means...I just have no patience for the pretties lol

LoL you have such bad luck when it comes to mail shipping. /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

Granted, you'll receive the OTM at a decent time though! /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />