The Store / The Site

By now, if you've read any of my other reviews, you know that I don't love web sites on black backgrounds. I don't love them, specifically sites that sell makeup or something that I judge primarily by color, because I'm far more familiar with judging colors and swatches when they're surrounded by white or an very pale neutral color (pale grey, pale tan). Most of the text is either bright red or medium-bright silver-grey. There are some "admin" navigation links at the top of the page that I keep overlooking because they're in a more muted red than the other red text on the pages.

The site's main categories are at the top left. The right side lists the hottest items or categories. If you navigate down to an individual product page, or land there from another site's deep link, there are breadcrumb-links at the top of the product and category pages. And yay, there's a site search!! A few times when I've gone to the site looking for something, and the site's been in the midst of a reorg (or the products were simply rotated off to the Special or Clearance section) I was able to use the site search to find the current location of whatever-I-was-looking-for. Sure it's possible to use Google to search within a specific domain; but you're looking at the site as it was whenever Google last indexed it. A site search right on the server is almost always up-to-date. I appreciate having this feature on any site.

Occasionally, the webstore will be closed down for this or that reason. But there's always a notice on the front page saying that checkout is closed from X date to Y date. This can be frustrating, but not nearly as frustrating as going to an online store that you've read about, all primed to order a dozen or so items...only to find that the webstore in question is closed. Morgana also tends to post announcements of closures in advance, so that if someone's visiting a store and planning to purchase next week they'll be able to see if there's a planned closure coming up.

Shipping and Packaging

Order turnaround has varied, when I've placed orders with Morgana; but the current turnaround time is always posted on the front of the web site. Until recently, when packages were mailed out, you got notice that your order was shipped...but there was no tracking. Tracking information (for US orders, at least) has recently been added, so those of us who are extremely detail-oriented have more information at our fingertips.

Orders have always come well packaged, with individual full-size jars sealed (when I'd buy fullsize jars.) Sample baggies were not generally individually sealed, but...they're baggies, so I've never encountered problems with spillage. I most often ordered the 3.5 gram refill bags, which always came sealed inside another baggie - a double-barrier against any in-transit leakage. (And...might I add that I really really love having the option to purchase a 3.5 gram amount, and in a baggie? That lets me use / re-use my own jars to store my makeup.) When I've bought lipsticks, the tubes have always come either bubble-wrapped, or wrapped in tissue paper. I personally have never had a problem with a broken lipstick, though going by her other customer service, if one did have a problem she'd likely work with you to fix the situation.

The Products

I've purchased two types of products from Morgana: eyeshadows and lipsticks. (Actually, I think that a few years ago I also purchased some gel liners from Morgana, when she carried them and was Morgana Minerals. I can't quite remember. And it was before I had created an account with her site, so the order history isn't there.) The eyeshadows have ranged in opacity from a few quasi-sheers totally opaque, with most being fairly opaque and well pigmented. The lipsticks have all given good coverage, and while they're not as creamy as something like NYX or Revlon, they're vegan and have no preservatives, and few harsh chemicals. There have been a few colors that I didn't like as much as I thought I would, but that's a personal preference: the quality of the lipsticks themselves has always been rock-steady.

Summary

I intend to buy from Morgana Cryptoria again, and would recommend them to anyone looking for good quality lipstick or eyeshadow...just be aware that if you fall in love with a particular color, stock up (or ask if a thing is considered 'permanent'), because collections do have a tendency to rotate out after four or six months.

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