Dawn Eyes Cosmetics swatches

But only two, sorry. And they're both the same shade, actually, just one is more glittery than the other ...

When I saw these swatches of Grey Fire at Mascara and Mineral Junkie, I sat up and took notice of Dawn Eyes Cosmetics (DEC) for the first time. If you've been "in" the indie makeup community for a while, you sort of get cynical about all the new companies constantly popping up, and I definitely have been guilty of assuming that just because a company is new, it won't have any really unique shades. DEC put me and my assumptions to shame!

Dawn Eyes Cosmetics samples with metallic silver labels

The website is nothing fancy, but easy enough to use - certainly not any more difficult than Artfire, for example. Eyeshadows are listed in different color categories and by collection, and below each swatch photo is a link to an entire album of unedited photos of the color, which is incredibly helpful! I wish more companies could do this, it makes it so easy to see all the different nuances of each shadow.

When I went to look at Grey Fire, I discovered that it had a sister, so to speak: Glittering Grey Fire. I decided to sample both versions (samples are $1 each for 1/8 tsp) ... and can I say that these are kind of weird? Is that okay? Look:

L: Grey Fire; R: Glittering Grey Fire; swatched over Kiss My Sass Cosmetics primer, direct sunlight, no flash

Okay, see how Glittering Grey Fire has weird whitish patches in the swatch? The loose shadow starts out tan with red sparkle, but apply the least bit of pressure and it turns ashy and the white cast spreads like oil dropped on water. SO WEIRD!!! But that's what the color is supposed to look like, as you can see in the product photos on the website (listed under Reds & Oranges). It just took me completely by surprise because ... well, I've seen pressure-sensitive colors before, but none that behaved like this ^_^;

L: Grey Fire; R: Glittering Grey Fire; swatched over Kiss My Sass Cosmetics primer, direct sunlight, no flash

"Weirdness" of the formula aside, this color is very pretty in both variations. I'm not sure a normal person would need both the super-sparkly and more matte versions, but I do think they're different enough to warrant being offered separately: Grey Fire is that whitish-tan with a red duochrome that was hiding in the photos (grr!), and Glittering Grey Fire is that amped up with very visible red glitter ... like a work-safe version and a party version, basically :)

At the moment I am in a deep financial hole, so I can't see myself ordering more from DEC for a while but I do intend to explore their collection further at some point! I wish I could take advantage of the sale currently in progress, which offers three different deals to choose from, but it ends tomorrow (8/20) at noon CST and I don't think I'll find myself a ton of money by then ^.^ They are offering rainchecks on a case-by-case basis for those who won't get their paycheck before the sale ends, though, and I think that is incredibly thoughtful and generous of them. So overall, I am impressed with this "young" company and recommend you take a look and see if anything catches your eye!