Linnaeus Cosmetics Review: The Gemsbok Collection

Left to Right: Tough Stuff, Kalahari, Fabled

And now, *ahem, drumroll please!* for the last of the Linnaeus collections currently in my possession, the Gemsbok collection! By the way, did you all notice the apparent eyeshadow explosion in the jar of Kalahari? The seal was on there and everything.

I'm feeling a bit like a broken record on the texture of these shadows. The texture is very nice: smooth and blendable, plus they stick well both to primer and my bare eye. The wear is great, as usual. All day with primer, for me. Without primer, the surface shimmer in Kalahari faded, and Fabled was completely fine. Tough Stuff was the only one I didn't test without primer. When I swatched it on my arm, it left a pretty fierce black stain that my makeup remover couldn't get rid of (and I'd only left it on, dry, for 2 minutes... maybe even less!). I can tell you that 1) with primer, it didn't stain my eye 2) after I showered, the stains on my arm were gone. I chose not to test this shade without primer, because I wanted to test another shade later that day and I didn't want it to look blacker on application because of possible staining Tough Stuff may have left. I'll be doing a big Linnaeus post on Saturday; by then I'll have tested Tough Stuff without primer, so I'll let you know how it goes.

Left to Right: Tough Stuff, Kalahari, Fabled

Fabled is described as a light gray, however this looks more like a powdery, Cinderella blue on me. It's definitely very gray, but the blueness is definitely a main feature, in my opinion. Tough Stuff has a dark gray base with a heavy deep blue overtone that makes it gorgeous when foiled. Kalahari is such a nice beige. I love it as a highlighter and a lid color as well: it has a lot of versatility!

Left to Right: Tough Stuff, Kalahari, Fabled

When swept out, you see a bit less of the blue in Tough Stuff, but it's definitely still there (and gorgeous!) Kalahari is one of those colors that's so shimmery it makes me light up on the inside with excitement. Fabled looks more grey, less blue, but still very blue.

Left to Right: Tough Stuff, Kalahari, Fabled

When foiled, Tough Stuff is less a blued-out dark gray and more a deep, metallic Cobalt. You have no idea how much I love it! Fabled becomes pretty much a straight up powder blue. Kalahari sheers itself out a lot. I really had to build it up for this swatch. When built up it looks like a metallic, faded sort of gold, but otherwise, when foiled this is a pale, sheer shimmer.

On to the colors:

Tough Stuff is a dark grey with heavy blue overtones. Like I mentioned before, it leaves a pretty fierce black stain upon swatching, but I'm not sure about how this does in wear without primer yet. Over my primer, though (Too Faced Shadow Insurance) it was fine for me.
Kalahari is a warm beige with gold shimmer.
Fabled dances the line between light grey and powder blue. To me, it's more powder blue.

There are no FD&C dyes in any of these colors, and only Kalahari is lip safe.

Kalahari, applied wet to lips.

I love every gold toned color for lips. Kalahari is no exception. Love it!

By the way, did these colors remind anyone of denim? They just made me think strongly of jeans, especially Tough Stuff and Kalahari.

The Good:

• I adore these colors. Super pretty!
• Great wear.
• Excellent texture: very blendable and almost silky.

The Bad:

• That swatch stain. What a pain in the behind! It wasn't a fluke, either. I did swatches patted on, swept out and foiled. All three left some serious stainage!

The Neutral:
Nothing here!

Overall, I really like the colors in this collection. Kalahari, in particular, is such a lovely shimmery beige. Powder blue (Fabled) isn't a color I usually wear, so I don't usually buy it. Now that I have one, I'll be experimenting with it a bit! Tough Stuff is one of those deep blackened colors I always seem to love. It's a great collection, and easily one of my favorites!

You can currently buy the full collection for $12 here. Each individual color is also available separately for $5.