The Dark Side of Beauty: The Hunger Games

With The Hunger Games movie coming out in just a few days, it is the perfect time to review and swatch the Shiro Cosmetics 'The Tribute' collection (yes, I did buy the entire collection with my own money). The collection is inspired by The Hunger Games. I had to purchase the entire collection because I love Shiro Cosmetics and I have also found the books to be very entertaining. I won't dwell much on the matter, but although I do like the books, they contain many literary flawa. And that is besides the controversial issue about the similarities it has with Battle Royale. Actually, when I first read The Hunger Games about a year ago, the short story "The Lottery" was the very first thing I thought about. Anyways...this is not a book review...onto the makeup!

Price and Availability

I purchased the $32.40 mini jar set.

Each full size jar is $5, mini jar is $3, and a sample is $1.

Packaging

All the shadows come in little jars with a twist lid. I believe the mini jars do not come with the sticker for the collection, but Caitlin was kind enough to put sticker on my jars because I was confused and I had no idea you could buy the stickers separately for $.020. Full Size jars already include the stickers.

Review

I will describe each color and describe the formula down below with the swatches. But overall, I absolutely love this collection. Set aside the fact that it is inspired by The Hunger Games, because that is not at all the reason why I love the collection. Anybody could say that it is inspired by so-and-so, but that does not make something awesome. What does make this collection awesome is the colors, formula, and texture of the eyeshadows. I was absolutely AMAZED. I had to compare it a little to my other Shiro eyeshadows, more specifically, the Death Note collection. I thought the DN collection was great, but it had it's own small problems. This collection far exceeded that collection, and my expectations as well. Every color was well thought out and it is obvious the amount of work that was spent making them. The colors are extremely gorgeous, complex, pigmented, and very, very smooth.
One of the biggest improvements is the pigmentation. Most of these are VERY pigmented on their own, without any sort of base. The sheerest colors were Huntress and Wildflowers, but they are lighter colors (they are meant to be understated) and they are only the "sheerest" compared to the other more pigmented colors. So they are still pigmented, just not as much as the others.
And I must say, the range of colors is really great as well! Very Spring with greens, pinks, orange, gold, and even one blue/purple and silver.

Swatches
*All swatches are one swipe applied with a damp brush on bare skin

Girl on Fire - very fiery orange with golden sparkles. This color is gorgeous! One of the ones I knew I would love right away. This one was pigmented, not as smooth as the rest because the shimmers are almost glitter-like. Inspired by Katniss.

Baker's Boy - golden nude with tons of sparkle (primarily blue sparkles). Smooth, pigmented, and very glowy. This is a subtle color with a not-so-subtle shimmer~ Inspired by Peeta.

Cornucopia - bright sunshine yellow with golden shimmer. This one is also very smooth, the pigmentation is very good for a yellow, and the shimmer is very prominent. Inspired by the cornucopia in the game arena.

Remake- metallic dirty gold with violet shimmer. This one is surprising and absolutely gorgeous. I love gold and I love purple. Never thought about putting the two together in one eyeshadow. Smooth and pigmented enough to use without a base and still look fabulous. Inspired by Cinna's gold eyeliner.

Mockingjay - metallic coppery bronze. Like Remake, it is pigmented to use on its own and super-duper smooth! Inspired by the mockingjays (I think more particularly the mockingjay pin).

Wildflowers - a frosty, soft pink with shimmers. This is the most girly color in the collection. It is the sheerest of the whole collection, but it is meant to be a soft color. It is very smooth. Not my favorite color, but it fits well with the collection. Inspired by Rue.

Ever In Your Favor - magenta toned pink with darker magenta sparkles. Very fun and girly color. This one is nicely pigmented and smooth, although the shimmers are bigger so it is not as smooth as the others shades (similar to Girl on Fire). Inspired by Effie.

Unforgettable - magenta-tone cranberry shade with red micro glitter. The formula is quite the same as Ever in Your Favor, but this one is actually VERY pigmented. Inspired by Katniss.

Beyond The Fence - metallic olive and gold toned forest green. This is absolutely fabulous. Very pigmented, very smooth! Inspired by the forest outside District 12 (where Katniss and Gale hunt).

Star-Crossed - darkened metallic bronze with slight green undertones.AMAZING! I love this. It is SO pigmented, super easy to use ♥ Inspired by the Star-Crossed lovers Katniss and Peeta.

Rebellion - Raven-feather black (has navy and purple undertones) with green, blue, and purple sparkles! Oh my! This is wonderful! It is an eyeshadow version of THIS Julep polish~ It really does remind me of a Raven's feathers. VERY pigmented. Level of awesome-ness is OVER 9000! Inspired by the rebellion... (>_<" Caption Obvious much?)

Huntress - very pale silver with silver micro glitters. Reminds me of snowflakes. This is a very pale color, but is decently pigmented. The micro glitters makes it so it is not as smooth as it could be, but it is still very manageable. Inspired by Katniss.

Verdict

This collection as a whole has a lot of colors that can suit different people. If you like bright colors, you might like Girl on Fire, Cornucopia, the pink shades and Rebellion. If you like neutrals, there is also a very good amount of golds/bronze/coppers here. Of course if you are a matte lover, then this might be disappointing, but I love shimmer and glitter so this is awesome for me. The most unique shades and my favorites have to be Girl on Fire, Remake, and Rebellion. The prices are reasonable, and I think colors are worth ever penny. Shipping took about 2 weeks or so, maybe less. Overall, I think this is a fabulous collection and you really can't go wrong with any of these colors. You did an amazing job, Caitlin!

Rating: 10/10

Which is your favorite color from this collection? Will you watch The Hunger Games this week?

Ah yes the very anticipated Capital Colors collection is here! I received the colors I ordered not that long ago, even though I had pre-ordered them. Harvest Moon was at the top of my list. It looked stunning! And I am very glad I bought it.

Price: Eh it kind of depends. I've seen these range from $3-$7
Color: Bright Metallic Copper. To me, it seems that it leans to the orange side.
Formula: Goes opaque in two coats, dries fairly quickly. It didn't stain my nails nor was it difficult to remove.

Excuse the dent. I was in a rush :O

Verdict

I think this is an outstanding color! It is copper, yes, but it is a very bright and very metallic copper! I love the name and the concept of this shade very much. The formula is workable and well, it is a stand out in the collection. I really have nothing to complain about with this one!

Rating: 10/10

I have a couple of other colors to swatch, and I will post them up in due time.

Will you be picking up any shades from this collection?