I've loved Shiro cosmetics for a really long time. Like other tumblr users, I was first attracted by the witty, relatable names ("bitterly cyberstalking your ex" is a personal favourite) but, although I'd read some views that suggested to the contrary, I really worried this would be novelty make-up as opposed to good quality. Still, a few weeks ago I decided to bite the bullet and order 5 sample baggies of different pigments from Shiro.
The top photograph is with flash and the bottom is without (both have my gross microdermal in, sorry about that...). I feel like the bottom show the colours closest to their true selves, the shimmer in the pigments isn't as pronounced as the top photograph, they're just a nice added bonus when you find yourself standing under a strong light .
From left to right these swatches are for "eye contact", "lingered in twilight", "huntress", "chimera" and "star crossed"
Out of the five, I was least impressed with eye contact. All five were applied slightly damp and I still found eye contact, although well pigmented, really sheer and difficult to build up. This might suit some people but it's left me with a colour that's not subtle enough for every day wear, yet not in your face enough for special occasions. The hot pink shimmer isn't unpleasant but I feel like it might be difficult to make it effectively wearable. Next is lingered in twilight, a really pretty colour not unlike smash cosmetics "absinthe" (a sort of black with a really deep forest green shimmer). In contrast to eye contact, this is highly pigmented AND super easy to build up. Although dark, the green gives it a wearable edge, and the colour spectrum in the pigment means it can be worn alone. Next is huntress, a really gorgeous pigmented silver shade that can be built up, but doesn't need to be. It's more grey than white, giving it the edge over a "traditional" silver. Personally I'll be using this as a base, but it's a lovely blendable pigment so it has a whole range of possibilities. Finally chimera and star crossed. Up close and personal, these colours are actually pretty similar. They're dark bronze colours with a gorgeous, subtle shimmer, although chimera has silver undertones whereas star crossed is more gold, both are really lovely autumn colours and, again, really pigmented.
The pigments do have a fair amount of fallout, but even taking the fallout into consideration, you need the tiniest bit for a real shot of colour, and so you really do only use a the tiniest bit at a time. These are only the $1 1/4 tsp sample baggies and I don't see myself running out any time soon, so I expect that the full sized pots would last you months.
On one last note I have to say I absolutely love their website. It feels personal to Caitlin herself, and that makes it a delight to browse and buy from. There are little parts of her personality everywhere from the collections themselves (based on things ranging from the hobbit to pokemon) to the little notes about delivery on checkout (if you order make sure to actually read these because they really tickled me). All in all, the pigments are lovely and the site is one of my all time favourites to browse through. They're definitely a company I will undoubtedly be buying from again in the future, this is both make-up and geekery at their best.
Sammy xo
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