Indie Subscription: Aromaleigh January 2015 Ephemera Review

Aromaleigh just introduced their new monthly subscription box called the Ephemera, and January was it's first month! I had to subscribe to see what kinds of products we would be receiving, and I can already tell this is shaping up to be a great indie subscription! There were quite a few unique features about it that I wish some other companies were doing with their indie subs as well.

About - Aromaleigh opened back in 1998, and was one of the first indie cosmetic companies to be started. Kristen is the owner, and is based in South Carolina. They offer a few fandom related collections, including Hannibal, Sherlock, and the Hunger Games, but most of their collections are historically and mythologically inspired. The monthly Ephemera subscription began January 2015.

How cute is the packaging for this subscription?! I love that the box has a special sticker on it with the theme and month of the Ephemera. This month's theme was inspired by The White Witch from the book "The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe".

Shipping - The shipping for this sub is a little different in that you get your shipping email before your box actually ships, and it gives you the date of when it will ship in the email. Kristen wanted to break up the shipping so she wasn't overwhelmed doing everything on one day. Mine shipped on the second shipping day, which was the 3rd, and arrived 2 days later via USPS, from South Carolina to California.

Product Size - It sounds like for the most part this subscription will consist mostly of mini product sizes. It will vary each month what kinds of products will be included though.

Free Samples - Free samples are going to try to be included, but are not guaranteed. This month, there was a free sneak peek sample from Aromaleigh of an upcoming collection product, and also products from two other indie brands. There was also candy!

All eyeshadow swatches done over Too Faced Shadow Insurance primer unless otherwise noted. Blush swatches are done over bare skin and blended out.

Here's how the box looked still packed, we got two pieces of Turkish Taffy candy this month, which I loved! And the info card was folded up in the lid of the box.

Here's the info card for this subscription, and can I just say how much I love this card? I like that it gives the information behind the inspiration for the theme and each product. It gives the product descriptions and price values. It even explains the bonus items, including the sneak peek shade, and the items from other indie brands. Ideally, I'd just like all indie subscriptions to have an info card this informative. I appreciate it because the more info that I have on the card, the more thorough my review can be.

Here's everything all together to see the sizes of everything. There are two mini shadow jars that come with sifters. And the two mini face products are a little larger, also with sifters.

100 Years of Winter - ($4.50) "A smooth greened brown with white snowflake sparkles."

I love this neutral shade, it's got a kind of green shift to it as well. I used it in my look foiled and the green really comes through. This is an absolutely beautiful all over shade, and blends really nicely.

Enchanted Turkish Delight blush - ($7) "A wearable winter berry with a teal glow."

It's kind of hard to capture the teal glow of this blush in photos, but you can see it better in person. I love it, it's a unique spin on a traditional berry blush. It's pretty dark though, so you'll want to make sure to use just a tiny bit.

Pale As Icing Sugar sculpting glisten - ($7) "A neutral toned, soft metallic glow with a multitude of uses. A unique cheek or brow highlighter, and a beautiful all-over eyeshadow shade."

Since this product can be used as an eyeshadow or a highlight shade, I decided to swatch it for both cases. On the left is the patted on swatch as if you were using it as an eyeshadow, and the right is still over primer, and blended out as a highlight. It can give your face a kind of gray tinge if you use too much as a cheek highlight, so be very light with that. But it also works really well as a brow highlight.

The White Witch - ($4.50) "A pale aqua shimmer with gold duochrome."

Quite a few other reviewers were using this as the all over shadow shade, and I wanted to do something a little different for my look. I used it foiled as a bottom lash liner in my look, and I think it turned out great! It would also look nice foiled as an upper lash liner, but I didn't want to tempt fate and mess that up.

Bonus Sample: Locusta blush - ($2) "Coral blush"

This bonus sample is a sneak peek at an upcoming expansion to an existing collection to Aromaleigh. There's not a full description for this yet, but it looks like a pink coral blush with a strong pink sheen to it. This is the only product I didn't use in my look.

Dreamworld Hermetica Ectoplasmic Lips in Wytch's Heart -

This product isn't on Dreamworld Hermetica's site currently, as I think it's a new product. But it's a nice lip product that's in between a gloss and a lipstick, it goes on smoothly, and gives a nice white sheen to the lips. I like the color too, kind of in between a nude and a pink shade.

Ten Three Labs Superstition's Willing Victim - "Bay rum, peppermint, tea, lime, coconut, and sugar cane."

It smells like slightly sugared mint Moroccan tea, and I don't really care for this scent. I don't mind some minty perfumes, but this is just not my jam. I noticed that Ten Three Labs changed their sample sizes to 1ml vials, and this one was only half full, which I assume is just for this sub.

Look at The White Witch as a liner! It looks great!

I love the look of shadows foiled, especially 100 Years Of Winter, it really shows off that green duochrome.

For the look I used:

• Face - Miguhara BP Cream as a face primer and then Clinique Moisture Surge Tinted Moisturizer in Shade 01 applied with a Beauty Blender.
• Lips - Dreamworld Hermetica Ectoplasmic Lips in Wytch's Heart
• Cheeks - Enchanted Turkish Delight as the blush, and Pale As Icing Sugar as a cheek highlight.
• Eyes - Too Faced Shadow Insurance primer used all over lid. 100 Years Of Winter foiled with Glamour Doll Eyes Foil Me all over lid and blended up into the crease. Pale As Icing Sugar used as the brow and inner corner highlight. The White Witch also foiled with Foil Me used as the bottom lash liner. Finished off with a coat of Urban Decay Perversion mascara on top and bottom lashes.

Overall, I thought this was a great first subscription box from Aromaleigh, and it had a value of $23 only including the 2 shadows and 2 face products. Once you include the bonus sample, perfume, and lip product, then it was a really great deal for this month. I loved the look I created with the products, and even though the perfume isn't for me, it's always fun to try products from other indie brands in a subscription. I think my favorite product this month was probably 100 Years Of Winter, because I just can't get over that green duochrome. This was my first time trying Dreamworld Hermetica, and I had a good impression so far, so I'm looking forward to when they reopen and have their new products on the site.

Customer Service - I did not have to contact customer service regarding any problems with my subscription this month.

Availability - January's box is no longer available, but on January 15th additional slots for February will open.

Overall Satisfaction - My favorite product this month was 100 Years Of Winter. I really liked the first month of the Ephemera, I'll definitely be continuing my subscription.

Aromaleigh Ephemera info:

• $15 plus $2.99 US shipping on the 20th of each month
• January 15th there will be additional slots available for February's box
• "Box contents will vary from month to month, but a sample box contents might contain 2 mini jars of eyeshadow, a mini jar of rouge, a mini jar of cheek or face powder, a sneak peek sample, and a sweet treat."
• Bonus items from other indie companies are going to be offered occasionally, but is not guaranteed.

What did you think of this month's Aromaleigh Ephemera? Let me know in the comments!

For all other Aromaleigh reviews, click here