Naturalla Beauty

Kiss My Face Moisture Shave

Real Purity is a four generation, family-owned, all-natural and cruelty-free company that's been around since the beginning of the natural product wave. The company makes makeup, skincare, and bath and body items, and specializes in products for sensitive and reactive skin.  I was offered the chance to try a couple products from Real Purity's makeup line and I chose the Pressed Powder* and Desert Rose Powder Blush*.  Real Purity's pressed makeup is made with minimal ingredients and is free of both talc and silicones.  Pressed powder makeup is increasingly available in the green beauty sphere, but inexpensive options are still a little scarce, so I was eager to test these two out!  Keep reading for my thoughts on both...



Desert Rose Powder Blush
I tried a sample of this blush years ago and always intended to come back for the full size.  Now that it's back in my life, I remember just how much I loved it!  The color is a beautiful mauve/plummy-pink unlike anything else I own and Real Purity's blush formula is phenomenal.  Desert Rose is completely matte, and is both pigmented and easy to blend.  Because I'm so fair, I like using a stippling brush to control the amount of product and slowly build the color on my cheeks.  It's super pretty and also very long-wearing.  A lot of blushes tend to fade and disappear off my face throughout the day, but Real Purity's is consistently still there at night when I remove my makeup.

The ingredients are super minimal -- just non-nano minerals, vitamin E, and pycnogenol (pine bark extract).  I genuinely think these are some of the best powder blushes in the green beauty realm and with an affordable $14.99 price tag and thirteen beautiful colors to choose from, you really can't go wrong!  Samples are also available for $1.50.

(L to R) Real Purity Medium Pressed Powder, Desert Rose Powder Blush

Pressed Powder
The Pressed Powder -- again made with only minerals, vitamin E, and pycnogenol -- is a great lightweight powder that can be used on top of liquid and cream products or worn alone, as a light powder foundation.  My first inclination was to pick the lightest shade, but the folks at Real Purity suggested Medium based off my photos and I'm glad they did.  The color looks dark in the compact, but it swatches and applies a little lighter, and anything paler would probably be too light for my skin.  Swatched, the color looks very peachy/neutral, but on my face it leans warmer.  It starts out looking a little too yellow initially, but the powder settles and melts into the skin within about the first half hour, at which point the color looks very natural.

 Check it out beside a few other powder foundations for a better idea of how the color compares:

(Top to Bottom) Real Purity Medium, Honeybee Gardens Geisha, Ecco Bella Fair, Ecco Bella Pale, Everyday Minerals 1N Ivory

The Pressed Powder is matte, but not flat-looking -- more of a natural or satin finish.  Coverage-wise, it gives light coverage, but you can build it up to a decent medium coverage with a couple layers.  Whether you wear one light layer or multiple, the powder really does sit nicely on the skin and doesn't look cakey or overly powdery.  Like the blush, it also wears really well and even does a good job absorbing/controlling oils.  My skin isn't super oily by any means, but I usually blot once in the afternoon and I find it less necessary on days wearing the Real Purity  The powder itself is a little dustier than the blush and it does kick up some extra powder as you apply it, but I think that same soft texture is what makes it so great at absorbing oils throughout the day.  

My only criticism is that, like a lot of smaller natural companies, the shade range is pretty limited.  There are shades for both light and dark skin, but with only four colors, I definitely think there's lots of room to expand.  Personally, I'd love to see a cooler/neutral shade of a similar depth to Medium.



The Bottom Line
Real Purity often falls slightly under the radar in the green blogging sphere, but they're a fantastic company with a long history of making natural products.  I love the brand's emphasis on ingredient purity and on using simple, minimal ingredients to suit sensitive skin, and also that they maintain an affordable price point across the entire range.  The Pressed Blushes are truly some of the best out there, and I also really like the Pressed Powder, although I certainly wouldn't say no to a few more shade options.

Real Purity is offering 20% off site-wide until February 28, 2017 with the code WINTRY.  Alternately, you can shop through my referral link and get $5 off your first purchase.  

One of the things I first set out to do with this blog was to show that great healthy products can be found at any price point.  Higher end brands are wonderful and I'd want to say otherwise, but I hear from so many people that they can't switch to natural/non-toxic products because of the financial cost involved, something that I rarely think is actually true.  

Yes, natural products cost more, but they don't have to cost a lot more.  

With that in mind, I decided to do a spin on the $20 Makeup Challenge that used to be so popular on Youtube.  If you aren't familiar with it, it basically involves shopping for a full face of makeup for under $20.  For the green version, I've upped the budget to $40, which I think is reasonable.  It's high enough to make the whole thing possible, but low enough that it's still a challenge staying under budget.  

I also didn't go shopping just for the sake of the challenge and instead opted to use things I already had.  These are tried and true products for the most part, not items I picked up just for the challenge or because of their inexpensive price tag.  



It all came together pretty well as a simple, everyday kind of look.  Not actually all that different from what I'd wear on an average day, pulling from my entire makeup stash. 



And, now for the price breakdown of everything I used.  To make things extra difficult, I limited myself to full and mini sizes - no samples - but those are, of course, another great way to try things on the cheap. 

Honeybee Gardens Pressed Mineral Powder in Geisha $9.34
Alba Fast Fix for Undereye Circles $4.79
ELF Mineral Eye Brightener $1.99
Brija Cosmetics Blush in Regulation Hottie $5.50
Shiro Cosmetics Eye Shadow in Housewife and Homunculus ($3.50 x 2) $7.00
Physician's Formula Organic Wear CC Curl + Care Mascara (after mail-in rebate) $5.99
Silk Naturals Kisser Slicker in Berry Crush $4.50

TOTAL: $39.11

My budget ran out without an eye primer, so I ran a smidge of the Fast Fix for Undereye Circles across my lids instead, which actually worked surprisingly well at keeping everything in place all day.  I slightly missed having an inner corner highlight and some kind of brow product, but I still think it worked out well, all said.  My only other issue was the CC Mascara, which I'm not a fan of, but Physician's Formula has other Organic Wear mascaras that are the same price and much better.  

I've tagged a few people on instagram, but I'd love to see anyone + everyone join in and share the love for affordable green beauty!  If you do participate, make sure to leave a link in the comments so I can check it out.