Lots of times there are "extras" that the folks at LBB with throw in for free that add to the fun. Most times you can trade those items as well - they might throw in a free chocolate bar with your order or a sample size beauty product. Sometimes they have great promos like the one that's going on right now where you get full size products that are tradeable as part of your "bag" of goodies. This month their free gift with purchase for their VIP members is a full size makeup product from the Pixi beauty line.
I have used Pixi makeup before - I have a Tinkerbell pallette that I picked up when it was on sale and also a primer that I got from a beauty subscription box. I have two bags open right now (because the jewelry was super cute in this selection window and I needed a new wallet desperately) and the free Pixi item was a great attraction for me since I normally think their makeup items are a little too pricey. The one thing about the Little Black Bag site that I think you really have to look out for is the fact that the pictures don't always look like the merchandise you receive in terms of color. They seem to have REEEEALLY bright lighting in their photography studio and nearly everything looks lighter than I think it will look when it shows up in real life. They have pretty good descriptions of the colors in the text below the images, but the items themselves have deceiving photographed depictions on occasion.
I started thinking about that in terms of the makeup pictures and then I realized that swatches of the makeup on someone would be super helpful in picking something that works with your skin tone. I am very fair but I figure that you could at least get a sense of the colors if I swatched them for you. So... I went to Target where they have testers of Pixi products and did just that. There are three shots of each of the swatched products - the lighting in the store (florescent), the lighting in my house (incandescent) and in bright sunlight. Not all of the products were available to swatch - there wasn't an eye bright primer or either of the lip and line pencils there, and one of the eyeliner pencils wasn't available - I ended up swatching several because I didn't remember seeing many as a choice on the site - I knew there wasn't a basic black or teal option so I skipped those but did the other six - only two were offered on LBB though.
I hope that this helps you make some good choices as you swap and switch the items in your bags!
First up: the Fairy Lights solo eye shadows: these are very sheer and the first two colors (French Lace and Champagne Glow) barely show up on me. The center color (Cocoa Haze) is more of a matte finish but all of the others are very shimmery - best pictured in the bright sunshine shot.
I swatched all the colors they had available - On the bottom shot of the pans in the store the bottom row right are the Fairy Lights eye shadow singles in French Lace (the middle is just a white plastic disc) and the right is Sunshine Ray. Top row left to right is Champagne Glow, Cocoa Haze and Boho Bronze. They didn't have pans of Antique Gold, Alluring Apricot, Glided Olive or Bronze Beam. I looked at the packages to match up the color swatches. The shelf also said "Nude Nouveau" but I didn't see any boxed product in that color - I think it might have gone where the white disc is.
On my hand left to right is French Lace, Champagne Glow, Cocoa Haze, Boho Bronze and Sunshine Ray.
In all cases the top photos are in the store, next is at home, bottom is in bright sunlight.
Next are the Endless Silky eye pens, the Lid Last eye pens and the Lip Blushes. All of the Lip Blushes are pictured, I swatched several eye liners but they didn't have the Cafe Gold in a tester and they did not have the Lip and Line products in testers at all, but they did have all the Lid Last eye shadow pens that LBB offers.
Top left is the Oyster glow Endless Silky Eye Pen and the far left is Deep Plum. The others were Copper Glow, Black Cocoa, Sage Gold and Black Blue but they are not offered on LBB, and the Cafe Gold eyeliner that is offered wasn't available as a tester.
Middle left to right are the Lid Last Eye Pens in Peach Pave', Mocha Mauve, Bronze Brilliance, Brun Beam and Graphite Glint. That is the way they are lying top to bottom in the above shot of the pans in the store.
Finally the lip blushes were the biggest surprise - I got Purity in my bag and I'm glad I didn't switch it for Youth because I wanted a shade that was more of a berry color. From left to right is Youth (a very pale pink), Energy (a coral or salmon pink), Luck (a mauve with a bit of a brown or orchid hue) and Purity (a nice berry). I love lip stains and I am thinking about trading my Lip and Line in Orchid Rose for another shade of lip blush but I'm on the fence about it! What do you think?
If you're interested in opening a Little Black Bag this month (it is a monthly service - you can buy as much or as little as you like, but there is a 9.95 monthly fee which turns into a $10 credit on the site if you don't skip the month or cancel outright) you can use my referral link to give it a shot. I know when I first tried it I couldn't decide which item I wanted to open with and I got a pop up box after I registered and completed my profile that offered me a free extra item to start. They run promos all the time and there might be one for new members soon - check your email after you register for a special offer on your first bag.
Try Little Black Bag!
Here are a couple quick photo of some of the adorable bags and jewelry I've purchased and received as trades over the past several months on the site - I have scored some amazing deals, made some great swaps and made some friends along the way - (I'm talkin' about you All Things Tashia!)
Brown and burgundy doctor bag: Mellie Bianco. Pink "Kaley"quilted bag: Lionel. Blue and white spectator satchel: Elise Hope. Silver and gold studded flap over satchel: Pink Cosmo. Berry Sedona Satchel: Big Buddah. Jewelry from 'ZAD, Vince Camuto, Catherine Stein, 1928, Mocha, CZ by Kenneth Jay Lane, R.J. Graziano, Ben Amun, BCBGeneration, Flea Market Girl and probably others.
My favorite pieces are the Vince Camuto choker and bracelet (heavy silver and black mirrored squares), the BCBGeneration chain bangles (I got them in both gold and silver through trading although I never had them in my bag to begin with) the 'ZAD birds (pheasant necklace and owl stud earrings on the red box top) and the fab CZ by Kenneth Jay Lane earrings in the center - they look like they are on fire with sparkles. I am so excited that I got the CZ by KJL bow earrings coming soon. I had a very lucky and wildly popular (to everyone but me) necklace in my bag that I traded for them! Yay!
I hope this helps the folks who are already LBB addicted and that the quality and value of lots of the things they offer is apparent. I am going to do a more detailed entry later on with lots more pictures - even my husband loves the website. He opened a bag so he could buy his Mom a birthday present of an Elise Hope purse and did all his trading himself. The Mellie Bianco bag and the Vince Camuto bracelet were actually his choices/gifts to me - what a sweetheart!
Much love to y'all - happy trading!
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