Indie Christmas Week: AFK Cosmetics Christmas on the Rift Collection Review

I have for you a Christmas themed collection from AFK Cosmetics called the Christmas on the Rift Collection to review today! The collection itself is inspired by some of the skins in the video game, League of Legends. And there were two gift with purchase items included if you ordered so much, which are inspired by the recently released game, Dragon Age: Inquisition.

About - AFK Cosmetics is an indie cosmetics company specializing in eyeshadow and lip products that are mostly video game themed! Dena is the owner, and she is based in Washington.

This is how you can tell I was having a busy and hectic day when I swatched these, because I didn't even realize that I was missing Nashor Clause from this collection. But it was a crazy day, and I didn't notice until I started writing this review, that I had the shade Fear Me in the photos, instead of Nashor Clause. Unfortunately, because I didn't notice in time, I don't have a swatch or photo of Nashor Clause, but you can't order these shades anymore anyways.

Shipping - My order shipped 11 days after I ordered, and arrived via USPS in 3 days from Washington to California.

Product Size - The shadows were available in sample bags or full size jars with label art. The sample bags are very generously filled, about as much as a mini jar's worth of eyeshadow. The tinted lip balms were only available in full size lip balm tubes.

Free Samples - I think Fear Me was supposed to be my free sample. If that's the case, I received one free sample bag with my purchase.

All eyeshadow swatches are done over Too Faced Shadow Insurance primer.

Eyeshadows:

Dark Candy - "A semi sheer dusty mauve, with a bright blue sheen."

I like this color, but I don't like how sheer it is. It might be a good all over shade to blend out. Or to pair with Nashor Clause, which is a dark purple shade.

Fear Me - "Deep steely blueish green with green flecks."

I think this was my free sample, and since I accidentally took the photos for it, thinking it was one of the Christmas on the Rift collection shades, I figured I may as well include it. It's a dark forest green with a silver sheen.

Inquisitor - "A light, earthy moss green with gold sparkles."

This was the free gift with purchase if you spent $25+. It's inspired by Dragon Age: Inquisition, which I am actually playing right now! I like the shade, it's kind of like a muted olive green with golden sheen and sparkles.

Nashor Clause - "A medium red based purple with a blue green sheen, and green sparkles!"

This is the shade that was missing from my order. Hopefully, I can get a replacement of this, as the swatches look really pretty.

Silent Night - "A deep, velvety brick like red with minimal shimmer and just a hint of glitter."

I love red shadows so much, that I ordered a full size of this shade. It's a deep brick red with a strong orange sheen. It looks just beautiful, and it's very satiny.

The Earnest Elf - "A light and bright green with a subtle blue sheen."

This shadow is kind of a lime green with a silvery blue sheen. It applied a little patchy, and had some unmixed pigment in it.

The Festive Treant - "A bright, but still earthy green that is filled with rainbow 'christmas light' inspired sparkles."

This shade was like a dark moss green with silver sparkles and a bit of a sheen.

Winter Wonderland - "A very bright cerulean blue, with lots of silver sparkles."

I had the most trouble of all with this eyeshadow. It had a lot of unblended pigment, the sparkles were large and wouldn't spread out evenly. It was very sheer and patchy. I think the only way to make this shade work, would be over a sticky base or glitter glue.

Tinted Lip Balms:

Sleigh Belle - "A bright, red based orange with just a hint of gold sparkles. It has a semi glossy finish and is nutmeg sugar cookie flavored."

I was surprised by how much I actually liked this shade. It's bright orange with just a bit of red in it. It's really pigmented and covered well. As a lip balm, it's moisturizing, but it does make it difficult to stay within the lip lines accurately. But, because it's a glossy balm, it would be easy to apply with a lip brush.

Tiny Evil Santa - "A simple deep blue based red, that borders on a wine like red. This balm is fairly opaque (for a balm) and has good buildabiliy, and a shiny finish. And just in time for Christmas, it comes in a delicious roasted chestnut flavor."

This shade I had the most trouble with out of all the tinted lip balms. I was really looking forward to it, because of how red it looked in the swatch photos on the website. But, I think if you really built it up, it would look nice. I bet if you had really matte lips before applying it would work better.

Witch of the Wilds - "A fairly opaque purple based red with a fun purple sheen."

This was the lip balm shade that was a gift with purchase for orders $50+. I didn't bother trying to get my cart over $50, because I didn't think this shade looked that exciting from the photos. But, when Dena sent my replacements for the duplicate shades I ordered, she sent this along with it as an apology. I really appreciated that for one, she bothered to do that at all, and two, sent me something I didn't already have. 

Overall, I think the Christmas on the Rift collection was a fun tribute to League of Legends skins. I don't play, but B plays and he explained all the artwork and references to me. This collection was limited edition, and is no longer available, but I don't think even if it was still available that it was a necessity unless you really love League of Legends. The main collection had two greens, and two purples, and the gift with purchases added another green and another lip tint that looks similar. I had application problems with a few of the shadows, and I'll have to really play with Tiny Evil Santa to see if I can get it as pigmented as the swatch photo. It's no surprise, but Silent Night was my favorite shadow, and I was surprised by how much I liked Sleigh Belle.

Customer Service - Unfortunately, I had several problems with this order. I had ordered doubles of a few of the shades, and Dena was trying a new invoice software, and the invoice didn't even show the additional samples on it, so they weren't included in my order. Luckily, I noticed this right when I received my order, emailed Dena, and she quickly replied and sent out replacements the next day I believe. For some reason, I didn't go through the rest and make sure I had the right items, which I normally do for every order since I have such bad luck with indie orders. The issue with having Fear Me instead of Nashor Clause just fell through the cracks I guess, so I didn't notice that until right when I started writing this review and I was gathering my swatch photos. I had a frantic day when I swatched them, so it didn't even occur to me then. But I emailed Dena about this problem, apologized profusely because I didn't notice it sooner, and haven't heard back yet.

Availability - The Christmas on the Rift collection and the gift with purchases were meant to be limited edition, and they were only sold from November 18th to November 21st.

Overall Satisfaction - My favorite shades were Silent Night and Sleigh Belle. I wasn't overly impressed by the collection, especially not compared to the online swatches.

What did you think of the AFK Cosmetics Christmas on the Rift Collection? Let me know in the comments!

For all other AFK Cosmetics reviews, click here