Naturalla Beauty

I can't believe how long it's been since I've updated this blog.  I got overwhelmed with other life stuff, but I'm back now with a long backlist of posts I want to get up, so hoping to keep up with posting more regularly again!

First up, I wanted to bring you some more swatches of Honeybee Gardens lipstick.  In the past I've ordered these from iherb, where they sell for a couple dollars cheaper than on the Honeybee Gardens website, but this time around, I ordered some samples directly from Honeybee Gardens so I could try out more colours.  I really like these lipsticks, but the swatches on the Honeybee Gardens website are a bit lacking and I haven't seen many blogger swatches floating around either, so samples seemed like a safer bet.   

You can find my initial review here for more information and hopefully this will help anyone who might have been considering these, but unsure about colours!

Sample Size

Samples are small slices of lipstick in baggies.  They're a little awkward to apply, but you do get enough for several applications.  Definitely worth the $0.50 cost!

Valentine

 Honeybee Gardens describes Valentine as a medium matte pink.  It's basically a deeper version of Soft Kiss (which you can see in my original review.)  Soft Kiss is a great baby pink, but I sometimes have a hard time wearing it.  Valentine is still a fairly light pink, but for me, the slightly darker shade is often easier to pull off.

Burlesque

Burlesque is described as a fuchsia sparkle.  Looking at the sample, I can see sparkles, but on the lips, they really weren't noticeable.  This might just be how it shows up on me, but I found it leaned more towards coral than fuchsia.  One of my favourites of the bunch, nonetheless.

Risque

Risque is described as a medium berry matte.  Sorry for the messy swatch of this one...not sure how I didn't notice that until I was editing the photo!  To me, Risque isn't so much a berry colour as a blue toned, somewhat pinkish red.  I did also get some feathering with this colour, so I'd recommend wearing a lip pencil underneath it. 

Tuscany

Tuscany is my other favourite of the bunch.  It's decribed as a red grape sparkle, though on me, it seems like a very natural, mauve-ish, my lips but better shade.  Again, I didn't find the sparkle very noticeable on the lips.

Paradise

Paradise is described as a cool neutral pink rose.  It's a pretty colour, but not a shade I'd personally wear.  It leans a little brown and I don't find lip colours with any brown in them to be especially flattering on me.

Camelot

Camelot is described as a ruby plum red sparkle.  From the description and swatch on the Honeybee Gardens website, I was expecting the colour to be a lot deeper and more vivid.  I guess it's a sheer plummy red colour, but not really what I was hoping for when I chose it.

The Bottom Line

I really like the formula of these lipsticks and there are definitely some gorgeous colours in the line, but I do think Honeybee Gardens could improve their website with more accurate swatches (and descriptions for some colours too.)  For that reason, I'd recommend swatching them in store (if possible) or ordering samples before investing in full sizes.

  

I've suddenly gone a bit crazy wanting to buy loads of lip products.  I have more eye shadows than I'm likely to ever use, but my lip stash is pretty small.  With that in mind, I picked up two Honeybee Gardens lipsticks in Karma and Soft Kiss in my first iherb order.  

Honeybee Gardens has a good range of colours and a variety of finishes - matte, shimmer, frost, and sparkle.  Karma is a light peachy nude and Soft Kiss is a light baby pink.  Both colours are matte, which is actually what first drew me to the brand.  If I were to venture a guess, I'd say that at least half the natural lipsticks I come across are only available in frost or shimmer finishes, so it's awesome that Honeybee Gardens has such a variety.

I did write Honeybee Gardens with an ingredients question before purchasing.  Under 'may contain,' the ingredients on their website list ultramarine blue, which isn't FDA approved for lip use, but when I inquired, I was told that, although it used to be in one colour, that colour has since been discontinued and ultramarine blue is not in any of their current shades.  It would probably be a good idea to update this on their website, but either way, I was happy with the quick response I received.

The lipsticks come in silver tubes with the shade name on the bottom and the Honeybee Gardens logo on the top.  They feel creamy on, but are pretty standard - I don't find them especially moisturizing, but they don't dry out my lips either.  I did find they have a tendency to sink into my lip lines unless I apply a light layer of lip balm underneath, but as long as I do that, they work great.   They have no added scent or flavour. 

Prices vary depending where you purchase.  Direct from Honeybee Gardens, they are $11.99, but I got mine for around $9 on iherb.  I've seen them even cheaper other places online, and I've also seen them as high as $16 in local health food stores.  Honeybee Gardens also sells samples for $0.50.

Now onto the swatches -

I'm really happy with these lipsticks.  They're reasonably priced, work well, and I like both colours I chose.  Soft Kiss is a beautiful baby pink and Karma is a great nude.   I've always struggled with nude lips, but the peachy tones in Karma make it a lot more wearable.  I'm really glad to have both of these in my collection and I wouldn't hesitate to pick up more colours in the future.

If you do end up purchasing from iherb and you're a new customer, you can save $5 off your first order with the code ITI429 (referral code)