Review and swatches: J. Lynne

I look like I have the plague. My face is covered in spots and blemishes. I think they are caused by stress (work, my birthday is in a couple of weeks etc) and Friday's office X-mas party didn't help either (although I had fun!).

So this is a perfect day to post a review. I also have swatches but I'm afraid the lighting issues continue. So bear with me.

I stumbled accross J. Lynne through Mineral Makeup Mutiny website. I hadn't heard of the brand before and I decided to have a look at their website. After that, I was 100% sure I wanted to give them a go. All their products are cruelty free and made by the company so that's a huge plus.

I wanted to try out their Japanese garden collection. The colours looked soft and pretty and I'm such a sucker for Japanese-themed products. I also got offered a free gift, either two blushes or two eyeshadows in sample sizes. I went for blushes and I asked if I could choose those samples. I got an answer that due to logistical reasons it wasn't possible to choose the samples which I respect.

The website has pictures of the shades as well as a written description. However, some of the described colours sound a bit odd , like "cool bronze". To me, bronze is a warm colour.





This is the oh-so-sweet packaging in which my order I arrived. I felt like it was my birthday or Christmas already!

I unwrapped the papers and went "hmmmmm...". The jars are HUGE. First, I thought that I got sent full sized products instead of samples. The jars are also fairly heavy because they are made of thick plastic.

This is where the disappointments begun. Inside the enormous jar was a tiny amount of the product. Maybe it wasn't as little as it was made to look like but it felt and looked strange. I took Fyrinnae's sample to compare the packaging and the amount of product.





The website says that the sample size is "1/16 teaspoon of product in a 5 gram jar".






I have used Fyrinnae's sample pictured here several times. It's one of my favourite highlighters, Sakura. Funny thing, J. Lynne's sample pictured here is Sakura, too! (I wasn't kidding with the Japanese names) I'm pretty sure that Fyrinnae's sample has more product but I'll have to verify this. However, putting this little product in such a huge jar is a waste in my opinion. Also, the jars are so large that I have problems storing them!


Let's move on to the swatches. I used Too Faced Shadow Insurance as a primer.



Top row, from left to right: Mokuren, Nashi, Wakakusa
Bottom row, from left to right: Sakura, Tachibana, Kuzu, Fuji





Kinoko, Takenoko, Seri, Mikage





Mokuren = delicate ivory with icy buff and pink tones
Nashi = lush wheat colour with golden tones
Wakakusa = icy, pale green with golden tones
Sakura = sweet, lustrous pinky-peach
Tachibana = golden-peach with pink irisdescence
Kuzu = sweet, luminous plum-pink
Fuji = soft, icy silver-violet with hints of pink
Kinoko = lush golden-brown with silver tones
Takenoko = olive green with icy bronze tones
Seri = soft, cool green with silvery highlights
Mikage = lustrous silver-grey
(shade descriptions from J. Lynne website)

These colour are all Satin Pearls shadows which means that they are silky and pearly shades. They are pretty but nothing special, to be honest.

Also, there's an issue with the price. Sample sizes are $1.25 a piece, full sizes $8. Sample set (all 12 colours) is $15. Shipping fee for international orders is $11.

I wanted to love J. Lynne but I just can't. There's nothing wrong with the products and the colours are all pretty but something felt missing. Also, the sample blushes I got? One was almost fark brown and the other beige. A bit of a risk sending these sort of colours to an unknown customer.

I hate writing negative reviews and I wasn't sure if I should write this at all but I've also promised to give my honest opinion of the products I've tried.

If you're a fan of easy, pretty colours then you might like J. Lynne. Their customer service is first class and the formula of the products is good.

Have you tried J. Lynne?