Indie Single Eyeshadows for Deeper Skintones

Welcome to our first ever edition of Mija’s Makeup! If you’re unfamiliar, this is a project that I’ve been working on for a few month with my best friend Alyssa and some awesome indie brands. The idea came through consistently seeing how different makeup would swatch on different skin tones, and how many shadows, unfortunately, are not formulated to show up on deep skin. We would swatch the same products right next to each other, and it didn’t even look like the same product on each of our arms.

One of the wonderful thing about Indies is that they are owned and created by a wide range of people, and indies have the power to listen to their customers and create products with inclusivity in mind. We know so many incredible black owned brands, as well as brands that focus on making pigmented products that show up on ALL skin, so we came up with the idea of having Alyssa curate her favorite products for pigmentation and quality. We’ll be going through many different product categories in the future, but we’re starting with single eyeshadows! Here’s how it worked:

1. I posted on our instagram stories calling for any brand that wanted to participate in the project by sending their products. We received product from Dandy Lions Cosmetics, Coastal Scents, Surreal Makeup, and Shine by SD Cosmetics.
2. I gave all the shadows to Alyssa for a month along with a magnetic palette for her to try out and curate her favorites.
3. At the end of the month, we went over her picks, and took photos of swatches.

Note: This post is not sponsored in any way. We do have an affiliate code with Shine by SD cosmetics – it’s INDIEMOOD for 20% off. Additionally, if you like what we do and would like to support us, please join our Patreon! There are 3 tiers starting at $1, and we have exclusive content, voting for brands to review, and more!

Here is the final outcome!

The final palette had 12 shades of single shadows, and she also included 4 ‘Honorable Mentions’ – shades she loved but didn’t fit in the palette or were loose shadows.

Here is a shade list with links to every shade in her new palette. *no links below are affiliated accept the ones from Shine by DS Cosmetics, as stated above*

Praline – Dandy Lions
Snickerdoodle – Dandy Lions
Wild Raisin – Coastal Scents
Hazelnut – Dandy Lions
Cajun Craze – Coastal Scents
Rich Walnut – Coastal Scents
Harvest Brown – Coastal Scents
Sandstorm – Coastal Scents
Toasty – Dandy Lions
Clementine – Dandy Lions
Raisin Berry – Coastal Scents
Spice – Dandy Lions

Glitter Beige – Shine by SD Cosmetics
Mother Earth – Surreal Cosmetics
Apple Cider – Dandy Lions
So Fine – Shine by SD Cosmetics

For the honorable mentions – ‘So Fine’ by Shine by SD Cosmetics was a favorite, but since it didn’t fit into the color theme of the main palette, Alyssa didn’t want to include it there. Glitter Beige, which is the big pan from Shine by SD cosmetics, was actually Alyssa’s favorite of all! She said she uses it every single day on her eyes and inner corner, it was just too big to fit in the palette. She also loved Mother Earth by Surreal, it’s so pretty and shimmery, but it’s loose so it also doesn’t fit in the palette. For the shade Apple Spice by Dandy Lions, she loves it but it just didn’t make the final cut.

Overall, Alyssa said it was hard to pick, and that all the shadows were beautiful and pigmented. She was surprised at the improvement in quality, as this is her first time trying indie eyeshadows. She’s more of a natural glam type of girl, so with the shadows she can do a light, every day eyeshadow look, or a bold, glam ‘going out’ look easily. All in all, she had fun with the project and will continue using the shadows and palette!

About the Brands

Dandy Lions Co is a newer brand that handmakes beautiful pressed shadows. All of their products are 100% vegan and cruelty free.

Coastal Scents is a family owned and operated company that has set out since the beginning to make inexpensive but high quality products in tons of colors.

Shine by SD is a Canadian black owned brand. All the products are cruelty free and vegan. Everything is completely handmade with ingredients sourced from the US and UK.

Surreal Makeup has been in operation since 2011, and is all natural, mineral makeup. All their products are cruelty free.

Thank you so much to Coastal Scents, Dandy Lions Cosmetics, Shine by SD Cosmetics, and Surreal Makeup for sending eyeshadows for this project! Next, we’ll be doing highlighters! Please get in touch if you would like to contribute your brand’s highlighters for the project.