Hey friends!

Look at me branching out of my comfort zone! I’m trying out another indie company that’s new to me, Ten Three Labs!

I feel so bold.

I’ve been hearing good things about Ten Three Labs, so when I found out she was doing an Orphan Black collection, I WAS ON IT.

(PS: If you are not watching Orphan Black, YOU SHOULD, because it is an amazing and addictive show. Tatiana Maslany deserves all the Grammys, Emmys, Nobel Peace Prizes, whatever, because she is amazing in her 5+ roles.)

So the makeup. This collection featured 6 perfumes, 3 smudge sticks, and a salve stick that was a Gift With Purchase. I figured it would be a good introduction to Ten Three Labs different products.

See what I thought below!

The technical stuff:
I bought the sample size of the Project Leda Collection, which with shipping cost me $29. I ordered this collection on Jan. 15th, but then I realized I made a mistake with my order, which Cara, (the owner) quickly resolved for me the next day. Everything shipped on February 1st, which was within the 12-16 day turn around time, and I got it in my little hands on February 6th.

Everything arrived in good condition, except that my Mirror Twin perfume sample was almost empty. I’m assuming it leaked. I emailed Cara about this, and she’s sending me a replacement, so it’s all good! *Update: I got my replacement and she threw in a sample of Love Sucks Smudge Stick, the February GWP. Awesome! Thanks, Cara!*

The good stuff! (There’s a lot so I’m breaking it into sections.)

Smudge Stick Samples and Salve Stick!

I’ve heard so many good things about these Smudge Sticks, so I was very excited to try them! Since I got sample sizes, they came in a little clamshell and I used my finger for application.

 

Codified Attraction- I can’t find an official description for this, but I would say it’s a pale, pale peachy pink.

This makes me look so dead, although this might be the point of this color. It’s a super pale pink. It looks peachy on my arm, but when it gets to my lips it becomes a My Lips But Deader shade. (Thanks forever to Hello Waffle for sharing that phrase with the internet!) I’ll pass this one on to my paler friend.

The formula is creamy, lightweight and very easy to apply and comfortable to wear. It also smells amazing, like delicious vanilla frosting.

The German- I don’t see a description for this one either, but we’ll go with, deep brown-red. The color of dried blood.

This is a deep vamp brick red, leaning brown. I actually kinda like it on me, though I don’t know when I can wear it in real life. Again, the formula on this one is very comfortable and creamy.

Morgue Water-Murky blue with turquoise and green shimmers.

I figured I would swatch this one and throw it out because I’m not into weird colors on lips AT ALL. However, this is kinda fun. I have no idea when I’ll use it, (maybe Halloween?) but it’s pretty fun to have a blue shimmery lipstick in my collection.

Monkey Bum Face Salve Stick- These salve sticks combine a heaping helping of mango butter with avocado and castor oils for maximum moisture.

At this point in my blogging hobby, I am drowning in lip balms. So I’ve started to consider myself something of a lip balm pro. And I can say in my expert opinion, that this is a really good balm.

First, the brown sugar scent smells amaaaazzzzinnng. (Why can’t I eat lip balm again?) Second, my lips really like this. I put it on before bed and I’ve been waking up with smooth lips. Which is quite feat given my evil dry lips. Very nice!

Perfumes!

324B21–Amber, patchouli, nag champa, osmanthus
This is really, really subtle on me and sits very close to the skin. I’ve smeared it all over my wrist, and I am inhaling deeply to get a scent. I get a soft clean smell, a soft floral, and something kinda plasticky in the background. I think I’m picking up on the patchouli, nag champa, and osmanthus in that order. It’s not bad, it’s just so faint on me it’s hard to get a real feel for it. The notes in this scent make perfect sense for Cosima, though.

 

Brother Sestra-Labdanum absolute, petitgrain, smoke, peppered poppies, bergamot.
There’s a lot happening here and my brain is trying to sort out individual scents. The overall scent smells like a gin and tonic and powder to me. It’s slightly fizzy and boozy, but there’s a sorta faint powder smell in the background. It almost reminds me of a Christmas room scent you might burn in one of those wax candle thingies. I kinda like this, it’s really different, but in a good way. And PS: Other than bergamot, I have absolutely no clue what any of those other items in the scent list smell like, so. Real professional over here.

Corporate Clone-Hinoki wood, green tea, cucumber, blackberry, osmanthus.
Whoa, again my nose is trying to figure out what’s going on here. It smells like green tea, with a faint hint of berry, and then something almost metallic in the background. I get cool, green, herbal from this, which fits with the theme of the perfume. As it dries the cucumber comes out more, but it stays cool and green. This does seem like something Rachel would wear.

Homicidal Soccer Mom-Merlot, chardonnay, petitgrain, orange blossom, osmanthus.
Um, wet, I’m getting olives out of this, which I’m pretty sure is not right. Try again nose. As this starts to dry it becomes boozy and smells more like wine. Mostly I get boozy and a kinda dirty scent, which does fit Alison. The final dry down smells boozy and powdery, like soap and wine. Not really a fan of this, but people who like wine scents might enjoy it.

Mirror Twin-Almond, oleander, osmanthus, a small dose of dirt, a hint of blood.
YES ALMONDS. At first this smells like almond extract, which I personally think is one of the best smells in the world, (I’m weird, we’ve been over this), but then it starts to dry into evil almonds. It begins to smell a bit more like dirt mixed with almonds, and the sweetness of the original extract scent gets a bit cloying. It keeps changing as I sniff it. One moment I like it, the next it’s too much. I’m super confused, but I think I like it. The final dry down is a much softer almond and floral scent.I don’t understand the Helena reference here, except maybe she likes almonds.

Not Beth-Leather, tobacco, smoke, blood orange, osmanthus.
Ohhh, I like this leather note. A lot. To me this mostly smells like bourbon and leather, but it’s a really mellow and well balanced mix. It’s kinda like honey and leather, there’s a warm note in there that I’m really digging. The final dry down smells a bit smoky and rich. Cozy and comforting, I like this. The leather and smoke are perfect for Sarah’s character.

Overall:
I’m not going to lie, this perfume collection challenged me. There were not your normal run of the mill scents, I would say I was even more surprised by some of these combinations than I was with my first Darling Clandestine order, (who is supposed to be the weird perfume kid on the block). There were a lot of notes I was unfamiliar with, and some that just took me by surprise.

These scents also all morphed on me. Most of them started off very bold and in my face. My brain was like, “WHAT IS THIS?”. As they dried the stronger notes came to the front, and the perfumes mellowed out and became more balanced. Each one was definitely a journey on my skin, which was interesting and impressive.

I’m not sure if any of these are a full size buy for me just yet. I’ve got my eyeballs on Not Beth, but I’m going to see how I feel about it after using it for awhile. Though I can appreciate and enjoy each of these scents, I’m not sure if any are daily use for me.

I’m definitely going to have to try some of Ten Three’s General Catalog scents. I really like her leather and almond notes, so I might be picking up some samples of perfumes with those in them.

As for the Smudge and Salve Sticks? Definitely a fan. I only wish the Smudge Stick colors were more suited to everyday use. Now that Performance Colors is closed (SOB) Ten Three Labs could be the hero we need to fill the “moisturizing, comfortable MLBB indie lipstick” gap. It’s real need, friends!

Overall, a fun collection that fits the theme well. I’ll be trying more Ten Three Labs in the future.

Questions of the Day:
-Have you tried Ten Three Labs?
-What are you thoughts on the Project Leda Collection?
-Do watch Orphan Black? Who is your favorite clone??

Love,

Rebs!