Tick:Tock II: Black Friday Preview

Company name: Tick:Tock Cosmetics
Web site: http://ticktockcosmetics.storenvy.com/
Huge Black Friday/Cyber Monday supersale: http://ticktockcosmetics.blogspot.com/2011/11/black-fridaycyber-Minda-supersale.html

BTW, ONLY 10 DAYS LEFT TO ENTER MY GIVEAWAY!

This my second review of Tick:Tock Cosmetics. Improved areas are marked with ***. Just for the sake of mentioning it, the two co-owners took my previous comments and criticism very well and incorporated some of them fairly quickly. They addressed the vegan issue with this text: “This product, and ALL products by Tick:Tock Cosmetics are always 100% Vegan!” Tiffany and Elizabeth clearly have a healthy working relationship, which forms the basis for a great product and a great company. I was very impressed with their professional reaction, and thus their company went up several notches in my mind just on principle. The Store Envy tabs were explained, too, but I still think the way Store Envy does that is just plain weird!

The Web Site Itself: 5 of 5 Stars

Tick:Tock still has among the best product/swatch photos on the Web IMHO. Nothing has changed. See my original post here for deets.They have added a lot of new colors, but although the text of a tab at the top implies that they have 36 original colors (“Tick:Tock Originals [36]”), sample sizes are included under that tab, thus indicating double the actual number of available colors. Despite that, the product line, including new eyeshadow colors as well as two colors of eyeshadow base, has grown impressively since my last review. A new fall  (winter?) eyeshadow collection should launch soon, and they did have a good-sized Halloween collection (including their first attempts at lip gloss; reviewed later below), the shadow of which are now on clearance. They will be offering a gloss in the Christmas collection. BTW, they are good at frequently changing the well-designed banners as appropriate. Considering the banner is part of the “storefront,” this is just good window dressing and keeps the shop looking new and up to date!

Pricing: 5 of 5 Stars

The pricing is still the same. They have fairly frequent sales, especially if you “like” them on Facebook. See my previous review for deets. The Halloween eyeshadow collection is now on clearance.

***TAT, Shipping, and Packaging: 5 of 5 Stars: Sorry to be so vague below, but I’ve been sitting on these products and wasn’t in the habit yet of photographing/recording every part of the unwrapping process when the packages came in, LOL.

Ordered: Sometime during late fall

Shipped: Within 3 days!

TAT: 3 to 4 days?

Shipping: $?

Actual shipping: $?

Shipping email: No

DC/tracking: Yes

Invoice: Yes

***Packaging/presentation: Much improved! The samples baggies were contained in a slightly larger “taxi” baggie so I didn’t lose them, and – best of all – they ditched the evil longer samples baggies in favor of the smaller square ones! I can’t tell you how dorkishly happy this makes me!

Sample packaging: Square zip-lock sample baggies

Extras: Yes  (x 3 for reviewing purposes)

***Product: 5 of 5 Stars

Colors Ordered (my take in italics)/Sent for Consideration (my favorites are bolded)

● Happy Hour (extra; available on Black Friday): This is Tick-Tock’s first attempt at a duochrome (DC), and they did it quite well J I thought it was just a tiny bit imbalanced: The yellow was stronger than the pale blue flash, which was quite faint, but it was well blended and did what DCs are supposed to do: Flash a different color depending on lighting and/or angle. Unfortunately I can’t wear yellows in almost any form (excepting Aromeleigh’s Dandelion), and my camera couldn’t quite capture the DC essence of the shadow, but I’m quite proud of them for getting this right. COOL DC COLOR, BUT I WON’T PURCHASE :-(

● Oh-Nine-Hundred: Army green with green and gold shimmer and green glitter. I didn’t find anything special about this color, but I didn’t find anything wrong with it either, except that to me it’s inaptly described. I think of Army green as being much deeper, but perhaps they meant one of the greens that appears in the camouflage print? NOT A REPURCHASE :-(

● Back to the Future (available on Black Friday): No description yet. I loved this color so much, I asked them if I could buy a full-size jar of it before it will be released on Black Friday (happily, they complied). It’s a stunning mélange (yes, I was a French major, LOL) of mainly teal with purple and blue sparkage! Pigmentation is very good, and it applied like a thick, colorful carpet on my lids over Fyrinnae PE. ALREADY PURCHASED IN FULL-SIZE! 

● Delorean (extra; available on Black Friday): No description yet. Vroom, vroom! I love Tick:Tock’s sideways references to time J This shadow is an explosion of purpley-blue shimmery goodness! POSSIBLE REPURCHASE :-)

From left to right, top to bottom: Happy Hour, Oh-Nine-Hundred, Back to the Future, and Delorean in natural light

From left to right, top to bottom: Happy Hour, Oh-Nine-Hundred, Back to the Future, and Delorean with flash

● Salvador Dali: Deep purple with purple and red shimmer and purple glitterJ If they deepened the base color a bit and loaded it up with just gold shimmer and glitter, I’d wet my pants for it. PROBABLY WILL NOT REPURCHASE :-(

● Grandfather Clock: Rich chocolaty brown with loads of gold shimmer and gold glitter This is perhaps the first time I have ever seen a deep brown shadow gilded with the requisite amount of gold in it (according to me at least). This shadow has a thick, pillowy texture applied over base and Fyrinnae PE. If I could walk on it, I would leave footprints behind. It’s a buttery soft sparkling mink coat that I want to bury my face into. The gold shimmer and glitter absolutely mesmerized me. I’m pretty “jaded” in terms of eyeshadows (I’ve literally tried almost everything out there), so this is no mean feat. ALREADY PURCHASED IN FULL-SIZE!

● Times Square: Dark silver with loads of shimmer and sparkle I can’t wear cool-toned colors at all, so I knew I was taking my chances by ordering a sample of this shade, and I’m so glad I did! It actually showed up as a navy base on me, and I guess enough of the shimmers in it are warm-tones enough that I can pull it off. DEFINITE REPURCHASE! :-)

● Spring Green (MIA): Light minty green with loads of holographic and purple glitters. Although I lost the sample of this and couldn’t swatch it for you (I’m sorry), I did like it quite a bit. It’s a very bright spring green, the shade of the little budlings that come out just before leaves appear on the trees in the spring. I would consider getting a full-size jar of this :-) NOT A REPURACHSE :-(

Salvador Dali, Grandfather Clock, and Times Square in natural light

Salvador Dali, Grandfather Clock, and Times Square with flash

● Clepsydra (extra; “water clock” in Greek; available on Black Friday): No description yet. Tick:Tock is going all intellectual on us now, LOL! I swatched Clepsydra and Tempest Fugit along with Delorean because I’m fairly new to blues, and they all looked kind of similar to me; swatching them together showed the differences. Delorean is more purpley-blue than the other two; Clepsydra is more towards the teal side and has a more satin finish; and Tempest Fugit is a light, shiny blue. They are each beautiful, but I prefer Back to the Future to Clepsydra for a teal (it’s more complex).  I like Clepsydra but would prefer a more sparkly finish. I don’t do blues well, SO THIS WON’T BE A REPURCHASE FOR ME :-(

● Tempest Fugit (extra; time flies” in Latin; available on Black Friday): No description yet. Although blues are very tricky for me (they usually look fake and Mimi-ish), and I can’t find any pattern among the ones that DO work on me, Tempest Fugit was one of the lucky ones that passed through my blues-don’t-look-good-on-me filter. It’s quite “shiny” (I can’t think of a better word [“frosty” and “sparkly” just don’t capture it]) and highlighted my hazel green eyes nicely. POSSIBLE REPURCHASE :-)

● Delorean (see above for review). Delorean looks truer to life in this photo compared with the one above.

Clepsydra, Tempest Fugit, and Delorean in natural light

Clepsydra, Tempest Fugit, and Delorean with flash

● ZomBLING lip gloss (Halloween collection; extra; no longer available): No description available. I told Leeb I would be glad to test their recent efforts at making lip gloss (for the Halloween collection), and I was scared when I saw their selection: purple-based wine with holographic glitter! I’ll be 51 years old in December (I know; I’m an ancient relic in the beauty-blogging world!) and casual in my appearance, and although I like lots of sparkle on my eyes, I’ve never dared to try it on my lips. Plus I’ve heard on Makeup Alley that glitter can feel “gritty” on the mouth, so I was blinded by the fear of looking like a disco ball with bleeding lips! I’m happy to say that was not the case at all. The lip gloss was thick and very sticky (comparable to MAC but not quite as thick) and stayed on my lips for several hours in a stain-like fashion. I had fun wearing it around the house, but I’m not sure I would wear it out. But that’s just me. Your mileage may vary :-) They will be offering a new gloss in the Christmas collection.

ZomBLING close-up in natural light

ZomBLING on my (paper-thin) lips in natural light

ZomBLING on my lips with flash

● Black Hole (extra) Eye Shadow Base (sample): Our take on the NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil...IN BLACK HOLE! This is Tick:Tock’s take on NYX’s Jumbo Eye Pencil without the greasiness (thank God for that). I chose not to review this product because there are many other and much better reviews of it on the Internet. I did, however, try it, and this stuff is the bomb! I have never tried a black base before, and I does really change the color of the eyeshadow applied, effectively giving you two colors from one pot of shadow. Eyeshadow adhered to it like white on rice and did so for a very long time. However, I’m not a fan of fingers in pots in general, plus I’m happy with my current bases/primers and don’t need any extra “special effects,” so I won’t be purchasing this product. If they came up with a lighter, creamier (like UDPP) version in a tube with a doe-foot applicator, I’d snap it up pronto! Nevertheless, I am grateful that they sent me a sample for consideration.

● Infinity (white) Eye Shadow Base (sample): Please see review for Black Hole but substitute “white” for “black,” LOL.

Would I Buy Again?

Yes! In fact, I already have :-) I bought full sizes of Grandfather Clock (possibly the most stunning gilded brown I have ever sported on my eyelids) and Back to the Future (even though it won’t be available until Black Friday!). Tick:Tock Cosmetics is now officially on my radar as being an all-around great company. If it keeps going like this, I expect it to give some of the more-established companies plenty of competition in the future! My only question now is: Why on Earth are they keeping the Tea Time LE collection LE?  I need me some, Earl Grey, Raspberry Tea, and One Lump or Two?!

***OVERALL RATING: 5 of 5 STARS!

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Please note that I purchased some of these products, and some of them were provided to me by the company owners for review purposes.

 BTW, ONLY 10 DAYS LEFT TO ENTER MY GIVEAWAY!