i'm a regular bookworm and can never resist indie scent products inspired by various literary and other fandoms. from Westeros to Middle-Earth, from Kafka to H.P. Lovecraft, i simply can't get enough of how these works can transport one away from the mundane into a realm of imagination.
so when i stumbled upon Fanchromatic Nails and their sister brand Galatea Cosmetics, both of which are based around fantasy, geek and pop culture themes, it wasn't a question of whether i would be ordering from them, only how in the world i was going to choose a reasonable selection from their smorgasbord of amazing offerings which ranged from nail polishes, cuticle balms, wax melts, bath and body products and more.
as a first-time purchaser, i got a code when i signed up for their newsletter - it gave me 10% off the order plus a free travel-size base coat and top coat, which was a nice surprise.
their website is generally well-organised and easy to navigate, though it was a little confusing to browse a few of their sections such as the wax melts - the shop uses the same image of its melts packaging in one particular scent (Loyalty) for five different scent collections which all didn't involve that scent, and the collection which did have Loyalty ironically used a different image which didn't state any scent name, so it was slightly more counterintuitive to select the scents. that said, most of the other sections like the nail polishes were very straightforward, and for the polishes in particular i liked how they included multiple photos and angles of each nail polish in different lighting / over different bases to give a better idea of the actual colour and ideas on how to wear them, which made selecting colours quite a fun and insightful experience.
shipping was calculated separately at the prevailing rates for international orders, though they do offer free domestic (US) shipping for orders over US$35 which is a real good bargain. and the turnaround time from when i placed my order to receiving the shipping notification was a swift 7 working days.
behold, the loots! (surely you must have been wondering what was lurking underneath in that first photo...)
i ordered:
- wax tarts in Eldritch Elixir (Lavender, cucumber, gin, chamomile, Assam black tea) from their new R'lyeh Is For Lovers collection - squeee Lovecraftian goosebumps!
- 1oz cuticle balm in The Gibbous Moon (Meditations on a star-filled night: Lemongrass, black currant, patchouli, and sharp sweet peppermint) from the same collection
- a mini-size (5ml) nail polish in Imp which is a limited edition colour-changing black/burgundy/purple with multichrome flakes
- a mini-size (5ml) nail polish in The Maze which is a colour-changing black-to-clear with copper holo glitter
oh, plus the entire set of wax tarts in their Fantasy Destinations collection:
- The Labyrinth (Date fruit, dragon's blood resin, olive wood, clay)
- Forbidden Forest (Birch bark, fir needle, cypress, tonka, eucalyptus)
- Goblin Market (Exotic ambers, sandalwood, dark musk, decadent candy sweets)
- Mermaid Grotto (Sea salt, mimosa, lily, sandalwood, vanilla, lemon, musk)
- The Inn Between the Worlds (Balsam fir, coriander, tobacco, orange peel, nutmeg, tonka)
- Here There Be Dragons (Cucumber, cantaloupe, sea air, lemon, lily, green leaves, white tea)
i also bought a mystery nail polish grab bag which is a random selection of polishes not listed in the shop (potentially prototypes, one of a kind bottles, variants, overstock from event exclusives, discontinued colours, new/unreleased colours or even limited editions specially made for these bags). the grab bag comes in two variants: either four mini-size (5ml) bottles or two full-size (15ml) bottles, and i picked the four minis option for the variety. it's really a great deal, considering that the price of the mystery grab bag is about 30% off the regular price, and i could share my preferences on what i liked / didn't like when i made my order (no guarantees on how much they can accommodate though!)
when i placed my order, i commented that i like colour-changing polishes, that my favourite colours are blue and purple, and i don't like puke green or large glitter chunks. in my mystery grab bag, i ended up with the following surprises:
- a mini-size (5ml) nail polish in The White Wizard
- a mini-size (5ml) nail polish in The Grey Havens
- a mini-size (5ml) nail polish in Cloud & Shade
- a mini-size (5ml) nail polish in R'lyeh Is For Lovers
as a complete LOTR fangirl, getting two polishes inspired by that universe was really awesome. i'm super excited to try and see how they'll turn out, especially since a quick Google search yielded little in the way of descriptions for these so it's really stretching my curiosity to the limit. plus, it's really great that their nail polish is non-toxic, vegan and cruelty-free!
everything arrived in good condition, with the minor exception of a slight leak from the cuticle balm. presumably part of it had melted and leaked in transit, though it wasn't anything significant, and their smart use of brown wrapping paper for the products meant that the damage was mostly contained and didn't affect anything else (save for a few spots on the box lid and a couple of oily traces which were easily wiped up).
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this review is of products that i had purchased at regular price with my own money. i wasn’t asked to review this as a condition of receipt and didn’t receive any incentives for writing this. i’m not affiliated with Fanchromatic Nails or Galatea Cosmetics and as always, all opinions remain my own.
Fanchromatic Nails and Galatea Cosmetics catalogue is available here. prices are US$4 for a 3oz block of 6 wax melts (with a slight discount if purchasing a full collection set), US$7 for a 1oz cuticle balm, US$15 for either variant of the mystery nail polish grab bag, US$5.50 for a mini (5ml) nail polish and US$11 for a full-size (15ml) nail polish (before shipping).
all information correct at time of publishing.
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