If you’re interested in indie mineral makeup, chances are you’ve stumbled across Meow Cosmetics, or seen their name mentioned in passing. Last autumn I decided to order a few Meow products and give them a whirl. I’ve been using them consistently for many months now, and I figured it was time to blog about it. I’ll be honest… I love this company! I’m always looking to support small businesses run predominantly by women. I’m impressed by the texture and pigmentation of every single product I received, and I’m planning on purchasing more from Meow in the future when money isn’t so tight.
Feliner Mineral Liner Shadow in the shade Cat O’ Nine Tails (5 gram jar / $7.00) This color is gorgeous when used dry, but absolutely brilliant when used wet. How Meow describes the shade: “Deep, rich and dangerous: Deep chocolate brown/ebony with copper shine and plenty of bronze/gold sparkle!” I think this is an accurate description. I love the feel and consistency of this feliner. It’s denser and more clingy (if that makes any sense) than a typical loose eyeshadow, and it’s rather long-wearing for a mineral product, especially when used over an eye primer. I’d love to try a few more Feliners in the future. Out of all the products I ordered, I think this is my favorite. I’m hoping to try the following shades in the future: Ninth Life, Sex Kitty, Neurotic, Tail of Woe, Cat Claws
Eyeshadow from the Stripped Collection in the shade Exposed (5 gram jar / $7.50) I’m a sucker for neutrals. I love them. I live for them. Exposed is described as “satiny golden peach.” I think that’s a good description. Sometimes I think of it as a bronze, sometimes a very warm gold with a touch of pink and orange to it. It’s fairly light, so I suppose a metallic, golden peach is a good description. Like many of the meow shadows I’ve seen, it’s got a gorgeous, very fine shimmer to it. Both the Meow shadows I purchased blend out smoothly, but can also be built up to achieve more intense color and shimmer. Other shades from this collection I’d like to try: All of them. Especially: Buck Naked, Topless, Peeled, Bare
Eyeshadow from the Friday the 13th Collection in the shade Trepidation (5 gram jar / $8.25) Described as a “metallic cinnamon hued copper with golden caramel highlights and pink glow,” Trepidation is similar to Exposed, but definitely has a more prominent gold highlight. It’s got some a copper shimmer in it, though. Overall it’s slightly darker and more muted than Exposed, but still has a beautiful metallic finish. If you like to wear colors in the gold and bronze families but don’t want something too extreme for every day wear, this is one of those products that can be dressed up or dressed down depending on your mood. I find myself turning to Trepidation when I want to look put together in a hurry, and partnering it with a subtle brown eyeliner. But it can also be built up over primer for a more intense look.
swatches applied dry, without primer:
Equilibrium Balancing Powder (20 gram jar / $13.95) Meow claims: “For dry skin, it is the ideal emollient priming base coat. For irritated skin, it is a smoothing, calming, healing primer. Worn overnight, it can help calm sensitive, damaged or irritated skin. And for all skin types, it is nourishing and moisture balancing top coat with the benefits of silk powder and soothing allantoin.” I have sensitive skin prone to bouts of dryness, and I find that this works best for me as a priming base coat. I’ve yet to try it overnight, but if I ever remember to I’ll let you know how that turns out. I have a feeling it will work well for me. I also enjoy using it as a finishing powder, but find I don’t need to in the winter months, as the foundation alone gets rid of any shine on my face, and any additional product would accentuate any flaky skin around my forehead and nose. Once applied, the product absorbs any oil on my t-zone and keeps my foundation looking natural for hours. I think this would also work well for someone with oily skin used both as a base and finishing powder.
Original Formula Mineral Blush in the shade Infatuation (20 gram jar / $13.50) How Meow describes this shade: “Sheer peach/pink with a hint of brown” I’d say Meow’s description is dead on. It becomes even peachier and less pink when blended out into a thin layer.
This has been my absolute favorite blush for the last four months. It’s a warm, mostly matte product with only the tiniest, tiniest hint of shimmer to it, making it perfect for everyday wear. Other shades from this collection I’d like to try: Spasm, Fantasies, Sassy, Here Kitty Kitty, Cat Scratch Fever
Purr-fect Cover Concealer in the shade Frisky Chartreux (20 gram jar / $16.25) I hadn’t experimented with this concealer much before creating the look featured in this post. Now I’m wondering why I didn’t! The foundation covers pretty well on its own, so I suppose I just didn’t feel a need to break out the concealer for every day wear. What surprised me most was how well it photographed— I’ve never seen the problem areas of my face (blemishes, scarring, redness around my cheeks and nose, dark circles) look so good on camera. This product is a highly pigmented powder with a creamy feel to it. I’m especially fond of how it makes my (normally quite purple) under eye area look. No creasing, either. As one might expect from a concealer, it’s a bit lighter and more yellow than the corresponding foundation.
Flawless Feline Mineral Foundation in the shade in Frisky Chartreux (3 ounce jar / $28.95, or a “munchkin” travel size container for $16.75) This is a great full coverage mineral foundation for everyday use. It wears best over primer, but I’m satisfied with how it performs over moisturizer alone. It doesn’t irritate my sensitive skin at all, and I’m impressed by the amount of product I received for the price. I’ve worn this almost every day since October, and I’ve still got a fair amount of product left in the jar. Since Meow features such a wide range of foundation shades, I recommend reordering samples first! (So do they.) Frisky Chartreux is perfect for the winter, but I think I’ll need to switch to Naughty Manx when I’m out in the sun more. I’m already on the line between a Manx and a Chartreux, and in the summer I know I’ll be in solidly Manx territory. If you’re switching foundation shades for the summer, don’t just assume you should go down one shade in the same breed. Order up some more samples before purchasing a new full sized product. Samples of all Meow products are only $1.00 each.
It’s also worth noting that unlike the mineral foundation from Bare Minerals (and probably a bunch more companies I’m unfamiliar with) Meow’s foundation doesn’t contain bismuth oxychloride, so there’s no need to buff it into the skin as you’d have to with a product that did.
♤ Look ♤
I’ve devised a look which showcases all of the aforementioned products. Meow doesn’t make mascara or lip products, so I’m wearing my Physicians Formula Organic Wear 100% Natural Origin Mascara, and Maybelline’s Blushing Beige with a hint of NYX’s Gala on my lips. I primed my eyes with Urban Decay’s eye primer potion in Eden, which is a pale, yellow-based matte beige color. Everything else is Meow.
♤ As always, the photos on my blog are never retouched, and no filters are used. ♤
♤ Eyes ♤
♤ Eyeliner: The eyeliner portion of this look was made entirely with Cat O’ Nine Tails. For the wing and outter corner of the lower lid, I used the product wet. The rest of the top lid was created using the product dry. As you can see, the product becomes much darker when used wet. Using it dry really showcases the beautiful red and bronze micas. I wanted to show just how versatile a product this is.
♤ Eyeshadow: I used Exposed all over my upper lid, crease, and outer corner. Then I used Cat O’ Nine Tails to emphasize the crease and outer corner of the lid. This color becomes slightly more muted and less intense when used as an eyeshadow. You could certainly pack it on to achieve a darker eyeshadow look, but here I opted for a softer crease. I brushed a small amount of Trepidation across my lower lid, just below the feliner. I used a sample of another eyeshadow I received called Witty Kitty for my brow bone highlight.
♤ Brows: Yet again, I used the feliner wet. However, Meow makes a product specifically for brows! I recommend checking that out.
♤ Face ♤
♤ Primer: After allowing my moisturizer to dry, I primed my face with Equilibrium Balancing Powder. This can also be used as a finishing powder, but I wanted to show the finish of the Flawless Feline foundation without any additional products applied on top of it.
♤ Concealer: I concealed my blemishes, acne scarring, and under eye circles with Purr-fect Cover concealer. Meow makes another product specifically for concealing under eye circles, but I haven’t tried it yet. (I’d love to try it at some point, and when I do I’ll let you know.)
♤ Foundation: I applied an amble dusting of Flawless Feline foundation and brushed off any excess with a cotton ball.
♤ Blush and highlight: I swept Infatuation over my cheeks and slightly beneath my cheek bones, as well as around my temples, and below my hairline and jawline. I took the eyeshadow brush I used to apply Exposed to my lids and used a small, small amount of Infatuation to contour the sides of my nose, and just below the tip of my nose, too. I applied Witty Kitty as a cheek and bridge-of-nose highlight using my index finger.
♡ My initial order of $1.00 samples and subsequent full size order both shipped quickly, and there were no mistakes. They also included a few extra samples! Customer service is so important, especially with online transactions. ♡
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