Naturalla Beauty

Intelligent Nutrients hair care often sails under the radar in the green beauty blogosphere, but their products are truly some of the best!  If Rahua and Yarok are the current darlings of the mid- to high-end green hair world, then Intelligent Nutrients is their steady, classic counterpart that never goes out of style.  Started in 1995 by Horst Rechelbacher (who first founded Aveda in the 70's), Intelligent Nutrients has weathered all the ups and downs of the last 20 years of the green beauty movement and they're still going strong with exciting new product launches all the time.

Many will remember when the video of Horst drinking Intelligent Nutrients hair spray circulated a few years ago, and indeed the company was founded on the principle that no ingredient should be used unless it's completely non-toxic and edible.  As such, the line, which includes hair care, skincare, body products, perfumes, and even supplements, holds itself to pretty strict ingredient standards.  And, all levels - from raw ingredients to finished products, manufacturing, storage, and shipping - are regularly third part audited to ensure everything stays up to par.  Many products are certified organic and everything is cruelty free (Leaping Bunny certified) and manufactured using 100% renewable energy.  



The Harmonic Shampoo and Conditioner are described as "anti-aging, antioxidant rich, volumizing, super smooth, non-frizzy, scalp and hair nourishing shampoo [and] conditioner with color protection."  That's a lot of big claims, but I think the duo does pretty well on all accounts!

The shampoo has a creamy consistency straight out of the bottle, but it lathers surprisingly well and does a good job cleansing without stripping the hair.  It has a gorgeous minty-herbal scent and feels quite tingly and invigorating on the scalp.  According to the bottle, you can use this everywhere - head to toe - potentially making it a great multi-use product too.

The conditioner isn't overly thick, but it's thick enough that it can be a little challenging to squeeze out of the hard plastic bottle.  Packaging aside, I really have nothing bad to say.  The conditioner feels very hydrating, tames frizz, does a good job detangling, and leaves my hair soft and easy to comb through.  It smells a little different from the shampoo, though still predominantly minty and herbal. 

Both the shampoo and conditioner are made with Intelligent Nutrients' Intellimune Complex, a super-antioxidant blend found in many of the company's products.  Intellimune is a blend of cold-pressed fruit and vegetable seed oils designed to fight free radicals, reduce inflammation, protect healthy cellular activity and growth, and help slow premature aging and disease.  I have no way to gauge most of those, but I certainly appreciate the inclusion of so many nourishing, luxurious and organic oils, including buriti, pumpkin seed, black cumin seed, red raspberry seed, red grape seed, and cranberry seed, which don't often feature in hair products.  

Whether it's the Intellimune Complex or the formula as a whole, the duo leaves my scalp healthy and my hair nicely nourished without weighing it down.  

The Bottom Line
At $25 and $27 respectively ($33.50 and $36.99 in Canada), the Harmonic Shampoo and Conditioner are pricier than my usual hair care staples, but you do get giant 444 ml bottles that'll last you quite some time.  For me, these are more of an occasional treat than an everyday repurchase, but I'm always happy to have them in my shower when I do pick them up.  Both the shampoo and conditioner have top notch ingredients and work very well. I'd highly recommend both.

Have you used anything from Intelligent Nutrients?  I'd love to know your favorites!

Red Apple Lipstick has been making the rounds in the green beauty community recently and I figured I might as well jump on board too!  The company's focus is - not suprisingly - lipstick, but they also make lipgloss, liners, and eye shadow.  Everything is paraben free, gluten free and vegan.  I reached out to the company and they very kindly sent me Crush On Me lipstick and the Rockin' Cafe eye shadow palette to try.  



Crush on Me Lipstick
Red Apple has several different lipstick lines, each with a slightly different formula and ingredients.  On the whole, all the lines are non-toxic and have basically clean ingredients, but some do contain more controversial ingredients like synthetic beeswax (often petroleum-based) and/or retinyl palmitate (linked to cancer.)  The color I chose, Crush on Me, is from the Originals Series and contains neither.   

Crush on me is a great, cool-toned pink.  It's got a hint of lilac to it and some silver/white shimmer.  In the swatch, below, it looks like a bright pink, but on the lips, it goes on as a paler shade.  I prefer to do a once over, sheer wash of color with this lipstick, as building it up can make the sparkle feel a little gritty on the lips and it can start to look frosty.  

I've seen a few complaints about the lipsticks settling into lip lines, but I really haven't had any problems.   It wears well, lasts several hours, and fades pretty evenly.  My only complaint - and if you're a frequent reader, you'll probably see this coming - is the scent.  The Originals Series lipsticks contain tangerine oil and essence of vanilla, and Crush on Me has a sweet, brown sugar smell.  To me, it's a bit sickly, but the scent doesn't last too long on the lips so it's not completely unmanageable.  From what I can tell, the rest of the lipstick lines are unscented.

Ingredients: Ricinus Communis, Euphorbia Cerifera (Candelilla) Wax, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Oleic/Linoleic/Linolenic Polyglycerides, Copernicia Cerifera (Carnauba) Wax, Cera Alba, Sesamum Indicum (Sesame) Seed Oil, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Tocopheryl Acetate from an all natural non gluten source, Prunis Dulcis (Almond), Citrus Tangerina (Tangerine) Peel Oil, Essence of Vanilla, May Contain: Titanium Dioxide, Manganese Violet, Mica, Iron Oxide.

Rockin' Cafe Palette
The company's name may include lipstick, but for me, this eye shadow palette is the true standout.  Eyeshadows are pressed and sold either individually or in palettes.  The pans are pretty standard - 26mm - so they'll fit into MAC or other palettes.  Red Apple also sells two-pan palettes and branded magnetic Z-Palettes to hold them.

The Rockin' Cafe Palette includes four shadows and the Z-Palette, which can hold up to nine shadows.  I love neutral eyeshadows, so picking this palette was a no-brainer.  It's a well-balanced selection, with two mattes - Porcelain and Brownie Points - and two satin/shimmer shades - Champagne and Twinkle Taupe.  

How cute is this Z-Palette?  Yes, those are little apples all over it!

Porcelain - is a matte shade, very close to my skin color.  It's great for evening out any pigmentation on the eyelid and also works well as a subtle brow highlight.

Champagne - is a beautiful, shimmery taupe.  At first glance, it seems very warm-toned, but there are definitely some cooler, silver tones in there as well.   Probably my favorite of the four, I love using this all over the lid.

Twinkle Taupe - is a pretty coppery/bronze shade with a subtle sheen.  Less taupey than I was expecting from the name, but still a great color.  

Brownie Points - is a matte medium brown.  It works really well blended out in the crease, or you can intensity it for liner.  It's one of those super versatile shades that I find myself reaching for all the time.  If you don't already have a color like this in your collection, you really need to think about adding one!  

All four colors apply smoothly, blend easily and have good pigmentation.  They also kick up less powder/dust than other silicone-free pressed shadows I've used.  They can be applied both wet and dry, depending on the look you're going for.



I did have a bit of a learning curve getting these shadows to last on the eye, but once sorted, they work beautifully.  I'm not sure why, but with my usual Faerie Organics primer, they were a hot mess.  No creasing, but they did pretty well disappear off my lids within two to three hours.  When I use The All Natural Face's Magic Primer, they fare much better.  This primer has never worked perfectly for me, but it does keep the shadows on all day with only minimal creasing.

Ingredients: Mica, Zinc Oxide, Silica, Ascorbyl Palmitate.  May contain: iron oxides, titanium dioxide, chromium, ultramarines 

The Bottom Line 
I've been happy with everything I tried from Red Apple Lipstick.  The price point is on the higher end ($23.50 for lipstick, $18.75 for eye shadow), but, factoring in ingredients and quality, I don't think it's unreasonable.  The products perform well, and Red Apple also offers discounts when you buy three or more of either item.    There are definitely a few more eye shadows and (unscented!) lipsticks that have made their way onto my wishlist.

Have you tried Red Apple Lipstick?



Disclosure: Products provided for  review.  I was under no obligation to write a positive review in return for free product, nor was I compensated for this post.  All opinions are my own.  Contains affiliate links.