Review: Aromaleigh
Before Ordering: I am a regular Aromaleigh customer, so this was a small sample order to snatch up some limited edition colors that were on sale.
What I Ordered: Samples of the following: Holiday Blast (LE, 2008) eyeshadows in Champagne Toast, Cookie Party, Not So Silent Night, Party Dress, Re-Gifted, Spiked Punch, and Tangled Tinsel, Les Papillons (LE, 2009) eyeshadows in Emergent Beauty and Morphing Moon, Pure Drama Eyeliners in Drama Cocoa, Drama Silver, Drama Topaz, and Drama Violet, Pure Cover Concealer in #9, Satin Petals Frost eyeshadows in Dandelion and Ivy, and You’re a Doll! Finishing Powder in Parfait.
Shipping Time: I placed my order the night of December 28th, 2009, received a shipping notice on December 29th, and received the actual package on January 4th, 2010. Considering that timeframe included a postal holiday as well as a weekend, and they were shipped First Class, that’s pretty quick.
Packaging: My order was packed in a plain paper mailer, which is standard for Aromaleigh sample orders. My samples were all inside a larger bag, which was wrapped in tissue paper. The tissue paper wrapping is signature for Aromaleigh, because it’s always some shade of pink or purple and it’s always sealed with a logo sticker. A paper invoice was included, which my free samples were stapled to (again, standard procedure). I did not specify which samples I wanted on this order (you are able to select which 3 in-stock eyeshadow samples you would like), so I received Angel Bouquet (Gothic Lolita), Ego (Elemental Lustre), Imperial (Opulent Lustre), and Pink Grapefruit Parfait Aromatherapy Lipbalm.
Ingredients: Sample bags do not have the ingredients listed, but I know from experience that full-size jars do list them on the bottom label. Ingredients are also listed on the website at the collection pages, with base ingredients first and the individual shade ingredients listed as “may contain.”
The Product:
Because I order so frequently, generally I don’t bother swatching eyeshadows when I receive them because I’m pretty confident in how they will perform. The swatches on the product pages and on the forums are generally enough for me to determine how they will look on me. I also own some of the Pure Drama liners already and love those, so I decided to order the rest of the collection.
However, I did order some products I’ve never tried – the Parfait Finishing Powder and the #9 concealer – so I will be writing individual product reviews for them soon.
As I noted in my Mail Call post, I’ve never received samples from Aromaleigh that had handwitten names instead of printed labels. I’m guessing that they ran out of samples for those colors, since they are limited edition, and just made some quick samples for me from a jar. I have no problem with this whatsoever, and would much rather have the LE shades without labels than a refund or substitutions.
On a tangent, I know some people are put-off by Aromaleigh’s sample sizes, claiming that they are tiny. I will aknowledge that there are other companies who give bigger samples, however, Aromaleigh’s samples are fair for the price (and I order a lot of my samples when collections go on sale for 25% off – generally that means samples are $0.75 for shadows or $1.50 for face powders) and are more than enough for a few uses. I mostly order samples, because it allows me to have a wide range of eyeshadow colors without emptying my wallet or having to purchase storage carts (all of my bagged samples are in a 3-ring binder, which I upgraded from 1″ to 2″ last night). I don’t get to wear eyeshadow too much (my job has a somewhat strict dress code), but I have yet to actually use up a sample.
Customer Service: I’ve never had the need to contact Aromaleigh for a problem, actually, and can’t recall any instances of other people saying they had. Miss K (Aromaleigh’s owner) keeps lots of social networking pages (blog, facebook, tumblr, twitter, MySpace, flickr…), and keeps everyone updated on sales, new products (even releasing preview photos before collections come out), and site issues.
Final Thoughts:
- Was I happy with my purchase? Very.
- Would I order from Aromaleigh again? Of course, and probably within a couple weeks.
- Rating? 5 out of 5 stars.
A Girl and Her Shadows 
I, too, consider Aromaleigh to be one of the best indie mineral makup companies around in terms of turnaround, color creativity, packaging, frequent and now longer sales, and value. I also buy mainly samples for the same reason as you, and Aromaleigh is my go-to company for this purpose. I actually like their sample baggies the best, compared with those of other companies, because they aren’t too deep but rather more square-shaped and thus easier to get at the product with my brush. Thnaks for yur very thorough review! I second your 5-star rating for Aromaleigh.
Thank you for your feedback! I also like Aromaleigh’s sample baggie size; those deeper baggies are harder to work with, and I prefer not to put my samples in jars, unless they’re face powders that require a larger brush to apply.
Hello There, Im looking for anyone who might have any samples or full size Aromaleigh Eyeshadows they would be willing to sell?
I recently had a big clear out and my partner accidently threw all my Aromaleigh Samples i had collected for ages out!!! I had put them in a plastic bag and he said he throught they were rubbish so threw them!!!
GUTTED doesn’t come close to howi felt and still feel…So im looking for peeps who might be able to help?
Hope to hear from you soon, Jo xxx
I don’t have any spare full sizes, but I do have a number of unused samples I’d be willing to part with.
Spiked Punch, Times Square, Persephone, Rosy Cheeks, Damask, Promise, Orion, Shell, Earthly Delights, Foxglove, Sophie, Luster, Gilt, Cookie Party, Sunny Disposition, Be Mine, Regifted, Gilded Jealousy, Everlasting, Ivy, Absinthe Rock (x2), Arabesque, Cypress, Sage, Ella Runciter, Moss, Avalon, Feather Boa, Celeste, Isadora, Forget Me Not, Wave, Morphing Moon, Azure, Lotus, Cosmos, Laughing Muse, Blue Skies (From Now On), Heart & Soul, Le Mystere 107, First Kiss, Aurora, Orchid, Le Mystere 103, Tapestry, and Midnight.