TKB Trading - Swatches

Hello again readers!

I'm really excited about this post (although, I'm excited about most posts to be honest), but this brand is something special. TKB Trading Company is a company that supplies micas, glitters, pigments, bases, tools, and so much more to companies, and to those passionate about makeup. 

The company features many pre-mixed formulations that you can wear right out of the bag, as well as ingredients that you can combine to make your own creations. 

I ordered all sample sizes (retail about $1.50+ depending on the product, sometimes even cheaper!), and was blown away with how much was included in each bag. Many Indie cosmetic companies that I buy from, ship out sample baggies (retailed for about $1 each) to try out their products before committing to the full-size (but they're so gorgeous you just can't help yourself a lot of the time!). With TKB, their sample sizes are HUGE. They have a nice weight to them, and there is so much product included it's like buying a full-sized Indie product.

Now, this isn't a post saying "Hey, don't buy from Indie companies!" because I love Indies, and a lot of their products are created with MANY different ingredients and not just one single bag. However, there are quite a few of these products that are just too good to pass up from TKB, and it's definitely worth a shot without taking away from the fun of Indies.

Mermaid's Gold:

I'm really impressed with this pigment. A beautiful yellow-gold with a green shift. The shift doesn't photograph well at all, and is much more intense in real life. I've used this as an eyeshadow and as a really intense highlight.

Chameleon Fine:

The most used duochrome ever. Rust-brown with a teal/blue shift. I'm so glad I can get a ton of this for cheap, as this is one of the best. It's exactly like the Makeup Geek Insomnia pigment, but SO much cheaper.

Nosy Be Chameleon:

The shift isn't as uniform, but the shimmer is more intense. A really beautiful shade. If you're a fan of duochromes, add this to your order.

Smokey XXX:

A plum-grey matte with a pink shift. Really gorgeous, and adds a beautiful effect to a smokey eye.

Ultramarine Blue:

If you're a fan of bright, matte blues, this one is for you. It does stain a little bit, and I find it works best over a base, but it's so freaking gorgeous. Darker in real lift, but pulls lighter in photos.

MyMix Slate:

Ready to wear matte light grey-blue pigment. Really pigmented, and so smooth.

Ferric Ferrocyanide:

Ferric Ferrocyanide I was hoping was going to be THE matte navy blue of my dreams. In the pouch, it's super intense. Of course, it was a pipe dream. You'd have to mix this in with another shade to make it work and so far I haven't been able to do that. I tried using a glitter glue since it won't adhere on it's own, and it just doesn't work out at all, it STILL comes out patchy even when I pat it onto the glue. I'm just not cut out for making my own cosmetics. My search for a perfect blackened navy continues...

Also, this will stain like crazy! If you touch it at all, you'll be dyed blue for days! Be careful of this ingredient!

Periwinkle Blue:
Well, as the name states, a matte Periwinkle Blue. I'm not sure if I really like the color, but the formula is nice. It's soft, and pretty pigmented. Easy to use.

Colorana Dark Blue:
Not that dark, just a blue shimmer. This is a really intense blue, and I wouldn't use this as anything except a lid color, or a pop of color on my lower-lashes.

Soft Aqua:

I was hoping that this would be a matte, but this is more of a satin aqua. It's a really beautiful aqua shade, and doesn't make me look sickly. Really impressed with the color.

True Green:

A green pigment with shimmer. I was really hoping it'd be a little darker, but I'm okay with this. I don't wear greens too often so it's not a huge deal.

Hydrated Chromium Oxide Green:

Similar to the Ferric Ferrocyanide, the Hydrated Chromium Oxide Green is just not cut out to be worn on it's own. In the packaging, it looks like a beautiful true green, but it's just not able to cling to the skin, even with glitter glue. What a shame it looked really pretty.

Soft Mauve:

A beautiful satin mauve. I've used this as eyeshadow, and as a blush. Such a beautiful soft shade. Very easy to wear.

MyMix Ariel:

 A burnt orange-red. I can't use this as a blush, but this would be so beautiful on people with darker complexions. I do however how it looks around my blue eyes as eyeshadow.

I am a HUGE fan of the "Hilight"/"Travel to ____" series of powders. They make the most beautiful, "alien" highlights ever. They of course aren't standard looking like champagne or gold, but they catch the light beautiful. I use them as highlighters, but they can be packed on top of other shadows, or bases to change the effect too, even as liner – so many possibilities!

I can definitely see these gaining a lot of popularity in the future, with the introduction of unique and out-there highlights introduced into the cosmetics industry.

Hilight Blue:

Sheer white base with blue shift.

Travel to Pluto:

Sheer white base with a green/silver/gold shift. Beautiful shade and something that I reach for more often than I care to admit. (A lot).

Travel to Mars:

Sheer white base that shifts to a pink/red.

Highlight Violet:

A sheer white base with a violet sheen. 

Chameleon Glitter:

A glitter version of Chameleon. A beautiful rust-brown base with a blue/teal shift. I wasn't sure if I liked this as much as the pigment, but it's such a more dazzling version that I couldn't resist adding all three to my collection. Glad to have it, and this one is the easiest glitter I own to apply.

Luminosity Glitter:

A fine silver/holographic glitter. This is the kind of glitter to reach for when you want to dazzle at a party, and looks really nice applied to the nails as well. 

I tried Luminosity as a polish, and it really is just another version of China Glaze's Fairy Dust. It's easy to make polishes with these, but it needs a good base with them to suspend the glitter in the product. Otherwise the glitter just sinks right to the bottom.

I also bought a baggie of Multi Flakies. It's just flakie glitter, nothing super amazing, but the best part is I could use it on my face, body, or nails depending on the look that I'm going for.

I really liked it on the nail. It's a more subdued version of a multi-colored flakie nail polish, so it's very soft. I've only tried it over black (my go-to for trying out glitters and toppers!) so I want to try it over different kinds of polishes too!

It looks a little cloudy on the nail, and I"m not sure if I would have had to put another base instead of a clear coat. On top of that, it settles to the bottom and NEEDS to be shaken up. I'm not too keen on having to put that much effort into a nail polish.

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Thanks for reading!