Naturalla Beauty

GIVEAWAY

Sponsored Post

Contains affiliate links

Contains affiliate links.

As you may already know, iHerb is one of my favorite places to shop.  Comparable to Vitacost and other discount sites, iHerb offers an impressive selection of health products - cosmetics, personal care products, supplements, and food - at very affordable prices.  My fellow Canadians can attest that we pay more for nearly everything here, compared to our American friends south of the border, so prices are almost always cheaper than what I would pay locally, even factoring in the cost of shipping.  Plus, iHerb stocks a lot of brands I wouldn't otherwise have access to.  I generally place a small order (<$45 to avoid customs fees) every month or two, but I haven't posted an iHerb haul since my first year of blogging (2011!), so I thought I'd show you what I bought this time.  It's been about two weeks since I received my package, so I can give my first impressions on most things too.  

I discovered Kiss My Face's Moisture Shaves last year and they're without a doubt one of the best shaving products I've ever used.  They have the consistency of a creamy, pearly lotion and help your razor glide effortless across the skin.  I also love the pump top and that the substantial 11 ounce bottle lasts a good, long while.  I haven't used this scent yet, but I like how it smells in the bottle.  The grapefruit really cuts the pomegranate's sweetness, creating a balanced scent that's both fresh and fruity. 

I rediscovered Crazy Rumors last month and enjoyed the Plum & Peppermint flavor so much that I immediately wanted to repurchase it when it ran out.  Unfortunately, iHerb didn't have that one, so I went for the next best thing: Pear & Peppermint and Plum Apricot.  I haven't cracked either of them open yet, but I'm hoping they'll be just as good! 

Tierra Mia Organics Healthy Dent Tooth Regime

I love my Earthpaste, but after 2.5 years, I've been looking to branch out and try something new.  Glycerin-free toothpastes are slim pickings though, let me tell you!  These are tiny soap chips that you use in place of toothpaste.  Unfortunately, they were an immediate fail, mainly because of the flavor - or lack thereof.  The ingredients list both peppermint and spearmint extracts, but they're virtually undetectable. And, with no noticeable flavor, the chips just taste like soap.  The lather was great and they left my teeth feeling clean and smooth, but I don't think it's something I can do on a regular basis.  

In hindsight, I wonder if this method would even count as glycerin-free, since glycerin is a byproduct of traditional soap making and is often left in the soap for increased moisture and slip.  I'll have to look into it more, but if you're eager to brush with soap, I think you'd do better with the peppermint Dr. Bronner's bar than this product.

Real Techniques Finish/Perfected Blush Brush

I bought this intending to use it with setting powder, but I ended up loving it for blush instead.  Usually I prefer smaller blush brushes, but the larger shape and fluffiness really does a great job blending.  I've yet to actually try it with setting powder.

Endangered Species Sea Salt & Lime Creme Filled Dark Chocolate

Sea salt and chocolate is one of my favorite combos and this lime creme filled bar didn't disappoint.  The filling wasn't super creamy and there wasn't a lot of it - just enough to give a subtle lime flavor - but it was still quite tasty.

Health Warrior Acai Berry Chia Bar

Like I said, I order from iHerb pretty regularly, so let me know if posts like this are something you enjoy reading, or if I should just stick to Instagram photos like this one instead.  I'm always looking for new things to try, so I'd love to know your iHerb favorites too! 

Plus, order this weekend for an extra 20% off ALL bath and body!  If you're new to iHerb, you can also save $5 or $10 off your first order with my referral code: ITI429.  

 *Contains affiliate links

 Contains affiliate links

I don't do a lot of haul posts, but this purchase is a little different, so I wanted to share it.  If you aren't familiar with it, TKB Trading is a supply store.  There are lots of other places to buy from, but I think TKB has the best selection for makeup ingredients.  As well, there's no minimum purchase required, unlike with a lot of other suppliers.    I've been mulling over placing an order with TKB for literally 2+ years now, so I was understandably pretty excited to finally do it (and even more excited when everything actually arrived!)

My main reason for ordering was because I want to try making my own pressed blushes.  I really do prefer pressed over loose blushes, but I just haven't found a company with the right mix of price, ingredients and color selection, so I've decided to try to DIY this one!  Once I was ordering, I did pick up a few things for other projects as well. 

Here's what I got...


Oils: If you can believe it, I've never used straight jojoba oil, so when I saw that TKB sold a tiny one ounce bottle for only $2.50, I knew I had to get it.  It's from The Jojoba Company and is pesticide free.  I also bought fractionated coconut oil, which I'll be using as a binder.  Because of its long shelf life, its one of the best oils you can find for pressing powders.

Natural Lip Liquids Set: I've made tinted lip balms using loose pigments, but I have trouble getting the color evenly incorporated and I sometimes end up with some of the pigment settling to the bottom before the balm has a chance to fully solidify.  These lip dyes are natural colorants predispersed in sunflower and/or castor oil, which should circumvent this issue.  I was originally only going to order four or five of them, but it ended up being only $1.50 more to get the whole set, so I just went for it!  In theory, I should be able to mix just about any lip color I want with these.

Micas: For non-dye colorants, you basically have two options: micas or oxides/ultramarines.  Oxides need to be ground together, and since I don't have a spare coffee grinder lying around, I opted for the easier option of premixed micas.  They can be used as is (although they work much better with some kind of base) or mixed together to make your own colors.  I stuck to pinks/purples/oranges, since I'm going to be making blush, but TKB has a huge color selection.

Base Ingredients: Properly made loose makeup powders, be it eye shadow, foundation, or blush, consist of pigments and some kind of base.  The base helps the pigment apply more smoothly and last longer too!  I got a few different options to play around with - Kaolin Clay, Sericite Mica, C-Smax (sericite mica treated with carnauba wax), Zinc Oxide, Silica Microspheres, and TKB's Matte Texture Base.


Pans/Pressing Tiles: TKB sells tin pans, which unlike the more traditional aluminum, are magnetic.  I got a few different sizes and I've got projects in mind for each.  I bought some small 15mm round pans that I want to use to make a couple small eye shadow palettes.  I really don't mind loose eyeshadows when I'm at home, but there's no denying that there are times when pressed are more convenient.  I also got 36mm round pans for blushes, 27mmx13mm rectangles, and 52mm squares, and pressing tiles for each size pan, which should make it that much easier.  For the sake of comparison,  MAC eye shadows are 26mm, so 15mm is quite tiny, about the size of a dime.  Likewise, 36mm is on the small side for a blush.  It's the same size as the pans in my Jane Iredale Eye Steppes palette, which I think are comparable in size to Stila eye shadows. 



Palettes: I got two small clear palettes that I'm going to turn into travel eye shadow palettes.  They're light and compact and hold nine of the 15mm pans.  They aren't magnetized, so I''ll need to glue a magnet in the bottom, but for $0.50 each, I'm not complaining!  I also got two palettes to use as blush palettes.  Each of these holds four 36mm pans.



Random Other Things: I also got a couple mascara tubes, a syringe, and a small funnel.  I have ideas for a couple lash/brow things I want to make, but tools were last minute throw-ins.  I do think they'll come in handy though.  

The Bottom Line
I'm really pleased with my first order from TKB Trading.  Prices are very reasonable, although once you factor in shipping to Canada and the taxes/brokerage fee I got stuck with, it did end up being a bit of a splurge.  All the same, I'm super excited to start playing around with all these goodies!

Do you have any experience making your own makeup?  Also, would you be interested in updates on how things go once I start concocting?

 

I needed to pick up some conditioner, so I placed another small order with iherb.  Here's what I got:

Organic Excellence Wild Mint Conditioner - I've been using Organic Excellence's shampoo for a few weeks now, but it took me a little longer to run out of conditioner.  I've only used the conditioner a couple times, but so far I like it a lot.

Humphrey's Witch Hazel Astringent - I keep reading about using witch hazel as a toner to minimize the appearance of large pores and I wanted to give it a try, since I've got some larger pores around my nose.  I actually had a ridiculous time trying to find straight witch hazel in stores around here.  All I kept finding was witch hazel toners, which of course contained plenty of other ingredients, so I was really glad to find plain witch hazel on iherb.  That said, I really was not expecting the strong smell this has.  It's apparently perfectly normal for witch hazel and there are tons of tips out there for masking it.  I think I'm going to try mixing some with a couple drops of an essential oil and see how that works.  I'll report back once I've tried it :)

Hurraw! Cinnamon Tinted Lip Balm - I've always heard good things about Hurraw!'s lip balms, so I figured I'd finally give them a try.  The cinnamon is very slightly tinted and smells just like Valentines Day cinnamon hearts. 

Grab Green Fragrance Free Bleach Alternative - I chose this as my freebie this time around.  I've tried natural bleach alternatives before, but they've always needed to be dissolved in warm water before you add them to your wash.  This looks extra simple - first, it's already in pre-measured tablets and second, they don't even need to be unwrapped.  You just throw them into your wash and the pods they are packaged in will supposedly dissolve in either hot or cold water.

I also got these lemon wafer cookies, but they didn't quite make it to the picture taking phase.  They were good while they lasted though! 

Don't forget, if you're new to iherb, you can use ITI429 to get $5 off your first order (affiliate code.)

iHerb is a great site that brings together products from hundreds of brands and sells them all at discounted prices.  They sell tons of vitamins and also lots of natural bath and beauty and grocery items.  I placed my first order with them recently and was really excited when it came this week.

Shipping was inexpensive and also very quick.  I think I got a shipping notice within 2 hours of placing my order.  I forgot to take photos before I tore into it, so I don't have pictures of the packaging, but my order came in a box with everything individually sealed in plastic bags.  I especially appreciated this when the shampoo I ordered managed to leak in transit -  because of the way everything was wrapped, the mess was mostly contained and it didn't get on anything else.  Also, when I emailed iHerb about the leaking, they immediately credited me the whole cost of the shampoo - great customer service in my book!

I'm sure I'll do reviews of a lot of these products once I've had the chance to test them out, but in the mean time, I'll leave you with my first impressions of what I got.

Organic Excellence Wild Mint Shampoo - the shampoo I've been using got reformulated recently and the new version just isn't working for me.  I've heard really good things about this one!

Clif Honey Oat Crunch Granola Bars - Canada can be funny sometimes about what it manages to import.  We can get Clif products here, but only from certain product lines.  I've never seen these here before.

Honeybee Gardens Lipstick in Karma and Soft Kiss - I've been meaning to try Honeybee Gardens for a long time now.  These both look like really pretty colours.

Crazy Rumors Lipbalm in Cola - Another company I've heard a lot about.  I'm not crazy about the scent though - it really doesn't smell very much like cola to me. 

Now Foods Vanilla Lipbalm - iHerb lets you pick one free product/sample in every order, and this is what I chose.  I also received a couple other samples as well.

Bottom Line

I'm really happy with my iHerb order.  The combination of great prices, customer service and fast shipping has me already planning my next order :)

 

If you're new to iHerb, you can use the code ITI429 to get $5/$10 off your first order.