Indie Weekends: Hello Waffle Duchess Collection and Lip Products Review

My Hello Waffle Duchess Collection arrived earlier last week, and I just could not wait to swatch them all! Plus, I ordered quite a few of the lip products, 9 of them in total, which is everything that I didn't have or that was new. I figured I may as well swatch those too! I had to get the full size collection for the adorable Archer inspired label art, which is what the Duchess Collection is based on. If you haven't seen Archer yet, you are missing out! 

There was a sale for the one year anniversary of Hello Waffle, and I could not resist making a large order. That's usually my strategy for orders, is to wait for a discount code, or a new release, and make a large order since the shipping from Canada to the US is about $7.50. Which isn't too bad, but large orders mean I get tracking too! And now I'm rambling, so let's get to the review and pretty pictures!

About - Hello Waffle is an indie cosmetics company specializing in beautiful eyeshadow collections, blushes, made by Christine, the owner. Hello Waffle is based in Canada, and currently has collections inspired by Archer, Fringe, famous musical composers, cats/literature, and a collection celebrating reaching 1000 Facebook likes. She also offers seasonal fairytale inspired collections that can be purchased in the season they are inspired by.

Shipping - I ordered as soon as the collection went up, and received shipping 2 days later. It arrived in 6 days via USPS from Canada to California.

Product Size - For the Duchess Collection, you can order individual shadows as minis (halflings) or full size jars (which come with the label artwork). Or you can order the whole collection in samples, minis, or full size jars. The Adventure Duo is only available as a set in full size form. I received minis for them though because they were a gift with purchase with my order.

Free Samples - I received my two gift with purchase shadows, which were part of the sale. As well as two full size shadows with my order. I love the Hello Waffle free sample policy, because I don't think I've ever received anything smaller than a mini for my free samples.

The Duchess Collection - 

Ants - "Matte dark khaki green."

This one had the most sheen out of all these shadows, and blended the best. The others blended really well too, but this one was especially good. Probably because it's not quite fully matte, but I like the color. It would be a good crease color, or blended out to be a nice all over shade.

Can't or Won't? - "Matte light neutral."

This one had kind of a peachy tone to it, blended nicely, and would probably work well as a transition shade. Many of these looked to be good transition shades, which I think mattes work well as.

Danger Zone - "Matte light blue."

Out of all the shadows in this collection, this one I had the most problems with. It took me several tries to get a swatch that looked presentable for the photo, and even then, you can see it's a little sheer. But again, with a certain look, this would make a great transition shade. Or even an all over shade, for an icy blue look.

Mother - "Matte dark blue-grey."

This one was also just a tad bit sheer, but not too bad. It did blend nicely, and would be a perfect transition shade for a smoky eye, or an all over shade for something more work appropriate.

Num num num num num - "Matte burnt orange-peach."

I wouldn't describe this as a peach color, but more of a burnt orange clay color. I can see this as a perfect transition shade blended out for a red shadow look. Or as a crease color with a purple lid color might be nice.

Ocelot - "Matte mustard yellow."

This is definitely a shocking mustard yellow shade, but again I think it would be a perfect transition shade for several kinds of looks. Plus, I just love the ocelot on the label! He's so cute!

Oh Kreiger-san - "Matte dark muted pink."

This shade I can see being very versatile. As an all over shade, lid shade, crease, or transition shade. I really like this one, it's not too bubblegum pink, it's not hot pink either, but just a nice muted pink shade. And I love pinks, reds, and purples for my shadow looks, so this will be perfect!

Uh, Duh! - "Matte burgundy red."

Of course I love this one too. It's a dark matte red, how could I not? And it blended really nicely too. I might have to pair this in the crease with Oh Kreiger-san for a Valentine's look.

Yup! - "Matte light mocha."

This was one of the shadows from this collection that after seeing swatches, I was really excited for. I think it's the most versatile shade in the collection, and could be used as a transition shade for almost any look. It's a perfect matte light brown, and it blended so nicely.

I really enjoyed the Duchess Collection, probably more than I thought I would. There aren't many indie companies making quality matte shadows, and I think Christine nailed these. I usually have a hard time blending mattes, but these worked beautifully. And so many of them would make perfect transition shades. I love the variety of colors as well, the only color category that's missing is purple. But otherwise, these will be so versatile.

The Adventure Duo - 

Lumps - "Peachy-pink shimmer with subtle purple sparks."

Christine really excels at rose gold shadows, and this one was like butter. A rich, creamy, metallic, that blended like liquid gold. Just stunning, I can't wait to wear this with Shades of Red.

Shades of Red - "Black base with an intense molten copper duochrome and a spattering of blue sparks."

I was looking forward to this shade just a little more than Lumps, but now that I have them both, this one is so beautiful. Even though the base is black, the red sheen is just so strong that this will look stunning in the crease, with Lumps on the lid.

This is probably my favorite duo/gift with purchase I've received from Hello Waffle, they are just so creamy, and the shades themselves are incredible!

Lip Products - 

All the lip products I got. 5 of the lip balms, which are actually more akin to lipsticks. And 4 lip glosses. The one tiny thing is I wish the labels were all facing the same way. But it's not that big of a deal.

A Tail of Two Kitties - "A dark brown-toned burgundy."

I really like this one, it looks close to *Sigh* which I reviewed here. Kind of the same base shade, but this one is more brown toned than *Sigh* which is more pink/red toned. Very pretty, and this batch of balms felt more creamy than the first ones I purchased. Definitely a tad bit more glossy, and more moisturizing.

Cherrylicious - "A vibrant cherry with soft golden shimmer."

This one I had a hard time building up to look like the website swatch, but it's kind of a reddish bubblegum pink shade. I didn't see the shimmer, but I think it would be a good shade for spring or summer. I do wish it smelled like cherries though, but the balms didn't seem to have a flavor or scent.

It's Mauvelous! - "An awesome mlbb mauve."

My lips are a little more pink pigmented than this shade, so it didn't really work as a my lips but better color for me. A little too nude, but if you're looking for a good nude lip gloss, this is a nice one.

Jane Pawsten - "A lady-like demure pink."

This shade is part of the Catssic Literature collection. A very light wash of pink, this one will be just perfect for spring.

June Bug - "Warm orange-coral with the subtlest amount of blue/green glow."

Without the shimmer this is a closer my lips but better shade for me, but this is the best selling blush shade June Bug in lip gloss form. It's a beautiful coral shade, I really liked this one.

Marsala. - "For the colour of the year. Slightly darker and on the browner side of the marsala spectrum."

This shade will only be available during 2015. I love this shade. It's very pigmented, I didn't have to dip the wand back in the tube for more product for the photo swatch. It's more of a dark brownish orange shade, not really Pantone Color of the Year Marsala at all, but maybe more like what marsala wine looks like. Very beautiful gloss, you only need the tiniest bit of product to coat your lips, and it's just so striking. I want to mention that I would usually expect a bold shade like this to feather, but you can see it did not. It stayed right where I put it, so kudos to it for that.

My Lips But Deader - "An extremely pale nude."

I loved the joke behind this gloss. Even though I knew it wouldn't look flattering, I had to get it. I did blot this one after applying because it was kind of going all over the place. I think it looks better blotted, but is still going to be hard to pull off this shade by itself. Because it's so much lighter than the natural color of my lips, I had to make sure to go outside my lip lines a little to get it to look right.

Practice What You Peach - "A soft peach with a blue glow."

I was hoping this one would show up more than it did, but I couldn't build it up. It was very sheer, and you can kind of see my natural lip color through it. If you have lighter pigmented lips than I do, it might be better for you than it was for me. But I would say with a heavy application, this would look flattering on a lot of skin tones. I also wish this one smelled or tasted like peaches!

Romeow and Mewliet - "Bold, rusty orange-red."

This shade is part of the Catssic Literature collection. This shade wasn't quite as bright orange in person, it was a little darker, but I loved this one too. It applied smoothly, and the color was just fabulous. For anyone who loves to rock an orange lip, this is a perfect shade for it.

There were some hits and misses among the lip products I purchased. I thought the lip balm formula was much better this time around, more creamy and not as stiff. But the lip gloss shades definitely won't be for everyone. A few are pretty bold, and a few are very light, perfect for spring or summer.

Overall, I loved the Duchess Collection so much more than I had anticipated when I first saw the swatches. They are just some high quality matte shadows that will work so well with many varying looks. And a lot of them look like they would work beautifully as transition shades. My favorites are probably Oh Kreiger-san, Uh, Duh!, and Yep! I anticipate those being the three I will reach for the most. And the Adventure Duo is so pretty, if you didn't get it as a gift with purchase, I highly recommend buying the duo as full size. Those shadows are so buttery, and will look great together, or Lumps would be an awesome every day go-to shade.

For the lip products, my favorites were A Tail of Two Kitties, June Bug, Marsala, and Romeow and Mewliet. I went into my purchase knowing My Lips But Deader probably wouldn't look good on me, or almost anyone else. I hoped It's Mauvelous would look as nice as it did in the website swatch, but maybe it's just my skin tone that doesn't work as well. And Jane Pawsten will definitely be a go-to for me in the spring. It's light enough that applying it without a mirror will still look good. The balms seemed to have no scent or flavor, and the glosses were vanilla scented.

Customer Service - I did not have to contact customer service regarding any problems with my order. Any time I had to though, I've received excellent customer service.

Availability - The Duchess Collection is permanent, and so are all of the lip products with the exception of Marsala. Marsala will only be available for the rest of 2015. Even though the lip products are permanent, they won't always be available for purchase. They do take some time to make, so once Christine makes another batch, many of them will be available again.

Overall Satisfaction - My favorite shadows were Kreiger-san, Uh, Duh!, Yep!, Lumps, and Shades of Red. My favorite lip products were A Tail of Two Kitties, June Bug, Marsala, and Romeow and Mewliet. I liked the Duchess Collection more than I anticipated, I recommend it to anyone looking for some great quality matte shadows!

What did you think of the Hello Waffle Duchess Collection? Let me know in the comments!

For all other Hello Waffle reviews, click here