Review: Meow Cosmetics
Before Ordering: I had been to the Meow Cosmetics site before, and while a large range of colors was offered, they weren’t quite what I like. Then I read about the limited edition holiday collections and a discount code for Thanksgiving, and decided to place an order.
What I Ordered: Samples of the following (shades marked with an asterisk were purchased for someone else): BrowBeaters in Auburn and Soft Brown, Egyptian Treasures in Miw and Royal*, LE 12 Pains in Batteries Not Included, Black Friday, Cat In Tree, Hangover, In-Laws, and Party Crashers, LE Glacial Grove in Brisk*, LE Merry Mayhem in Coal, Fa La La, Ho Ho Ho, Jangle, Jingle, and Snowangel, LE Xmas Ghost in Frostbite, Fruitcake, Grinch, Meow Mistletoe, Midnight Kiss, and Winter Coat, ModernEyes in Evil, Fang, and Territorial, ScandalEyes in Starr J, and VandalEyes in Strip Search.
Shipping Time: I placed my order on November 26th, 2009. The main page of their site clearly stated that they were closed for the Thanksgiving holiday, but would reopen on December 1st to start processing orders. To my surprise, I received my order on December 4th.
Packaging: My order arrived in a flat-rate Priority Mail paperboard envelope, which is just fine for sample bags. The samples themselves were inside a little drawstring animal print bag, which I found to be very cute. An invoice was included, which had a hand-written thank you and was signed off by two different people as having been checked for accuracy. To me, this means they take their business and customer satisfaction seriously, and I was impressed. Two free samples also arrived with my order; Tickled Pink blush and ScandalEyes in Traci L.
Ingredients: Some product ingredients are listed on the site, but it isn’t consistent. The FAQs (link tucked into the Customer Service page) talk about the foundations, and some of the eyeshadow collection pages list them at the top, but I couldn’t find anything on other pages (IdealEyes, ScandalEyes, and the LE holiday collections, for example).
The Product:
The holiday collections are full of great colors. There are some brights in the regular collections, but a majority of Meow’s eyeshadows are more neutral or subdued.
In particular to the colors I swatched, though, Frostbite seems to be a more shimmery version of Territorial, which I suspected when I saw the sample bags. Jangle and Ho Ho Ho are similar in shade, but while Jangle is more of a sparkle/glitter, Ho Ho Ho is a shimmer. The three greens in the middle of the photos – Miw, Grinch, and Meow Mistletoe – are pretty indestinguishable in the bags, but look quite different once swatched and I am happy I ordered them. Meow Mistletoe in particular is an awesome lime green; the holiday collections are available until January 31st if you want to snag it.
The formula is consistent, making for well-pigmented shadows (a couple of them swatched more sheer at first, but easily became more opaque when layered or patted on – most of the swatches were rubbed in a circular motion). They also applied very smoothly.
Customer Service: I didn’t have any need to contact Meow with an issue, nor can I recall hearing of an instance where someone else had to. I do consider their doublechecked order fulfillment system to be good customer service, but the inconsistencies in ingredient listing need to be fixed.
Final Thoughts:
- Was I happy with my purchase? Yes.
- Would I order from Meow Cosmetics again? Yes.
- Rating? 4 out of 5 stars.
A Girl and Her Shadows 
Thanks for the swatches! I also really like your rating system – 4 out of 5 is a great rating.
Thank you for the feedback! Beauty blogging is new to me, so if someone finds it helpful, then I’m doing something right.
The Sexist Stay-at-home father is so not down with cosmetics. Unfortunately his wife and sister-in-law, not too mention his three daughters, have a different opinion.
How is it unfortunate? I see bright, fun eyeshadow as a way to express yourself and make the day a little brighter, and there’s nothing unfortunate about that.
Nothing, really, my sister-in-law is a cosmetician or hair stylist or whatever, or at least she went to Northwest Hair Academy (you wouldn’t believe the tuition…or maybe you would). Anyway, I’m surrounded by women and they all love makeup, so who am I to say what’s unfortunate?