Showing posts with label face colour. Show all posts

Pure + Simple Face Colours

I did a full review of Pure + Simple's Taupe Face Colour shortly after I got it, but I don't think I've mentioned it since, or ever talked about the two other shades I ended up picking up shortly after.  The Face Colours are powder products, pressed without talc or silicones.  Depending on the shade, they can function as blush, bronzer, eye shadow, and perhaps even lip color.  

I have three shades, and while I've never tried any of them on the lips, I can readily attest to how well they work on both the face and eyes.


Glow - is a bright, watermelon pink, with a noticeable sheen.  I barely even need to touch my brush into this color to get enough product to use as a blush.  

Rose Gold - is a bronzy peach, also with a pretty heavy sheen.  I like to use this one on the cheeks - again, with a light hand - and since I also love doing peachy eye looks, I regularly use it as an eye shadow too.

Taupe - is an interesting medium brown shade.  It looks like a cool-toned brown in the pan, but on the skin it has a golden glow that warms the colour up a good deal.  Of the three shades, I've definitely used this one the most.  It's a very versatile, medium crease shade  and works great to blend out almost any eye look.  I find myself reaching for it all the time.  



Pure + Simple's Face Colours are some of the most pigmented pressed makeup items in my collection.  If you're fair like me - and maybe even if you're not - you really need to be careful not to pick up too much product when using them on the face.  Otherwise, you can very easily end up in clown cheek territory.  In all three shades I've used, the shimmer is very finely milled, so while the colours give off a beautiful sheen, there's no actual sparkles or glitter on your face.  They're also buttery soft and blend easily, so even being so pigmented, they aren't a difficult product to work with. 

Have you used anything from Pure + Simple?

Pure + Simple Face Colour in Taupe

Pure + Simple is a small Toronto chain of holistic spas that also manufactures their own skincare and makeup lines.  I've worked literally down the street from one of their spas for over a year now and it's taken me all that time to actually make it into the store.  When I finally did, I knew I wanted to try something from their makeup line and was leaning towards the blushes, which Nicole from EcoChicBeautyDiva has raved about many times, but by that point, I felt like I'd already rounded out my blush collection pretty well with my DIY blush experiments.  Instead, what ended up making it's way home with me was their Face Colour in Taupe, in the hopes it would end up being that ever illusive, perfectly natural-looking contour color.  


I love that it's pressed and Taupe has that perfect balance of being nicely pigmented, while also blending very easily on the face, so you aren't constantly at risk of overdoing it.  In terms of the actual color, however, I'm a little more conflicted.  In the store, I was convinced it was a cool brown, which is why I thought it would make a good contour shade for my pale, slightly cool-toned skin, but on the face, it actually ends up leaning more warm.  The base color is definitely cool-toned, but it also has a warm golden shimmer/sheen running through it.  While the shimmer isn't visible once it's on the face, it is enough to noticeably warm up the color.

Pure + Simple Face Color in Taupe, swatched heavily and blended out.
Did Taupe end up being the perfect contour shade for me?  Unfortunately not.  BUT it does make a lovely all over bronzer, even on my fair skin.  As an added bonus, the face colours are multi-use powders, intended for eyes, lips, and face, and while I've yet to try it on the lips, Taupe also makes a great mid-toned neutral eye shadow. 

So, even though it didn't work out quite as planned, I'm not sorry I picked this up.  It's always nice to support a local company and as someone who does most of her makeup shopping online, it's also refreshing to be able to do some in-person swatching for a change.  If you're looking for quality pressed makeup, without the silicones or other nasties, Pure + Simple is definitely worth a look.   My interest is certainly piqued and I fully intend to try more of the brand's products in the future.


Ingredients: Mica, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Olea Europaea Fruit Oil, Zinc Stearate, Lavendula Angustifolia Flower Wax, Limnanthes Alba Seed Oil, Butyrospermium Parkii extract, Bismuth Oxychloride, Tocopheryl Acetate.  May contain: Titanium Dioxide, Iron Oxides.