Naturalla Beauty

*Press sample

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I first tried this mascara in the middle of the winter and wasn't overly impressed.  For me, cold weather goes hand in hand with watery eyes and the Lash Boosting Mascara does not get along well with moisture.  Or maybe it gets on too well.  Either way, tears, rain, snow, or the barest hint of moisture will have this mascara melting off your lashes and under your eyes in a flash.  

That said, I've pulled it out again since the weather's warmed up, and I actually quite like it, so long as it stays dry.  It's a solid black color and lashes look natural and fluttery, but also nicely defined.  It doesn't make them feel crunchy or hard, and it's - not surprisingly - a breeze to remove at the end of the day.  The formula, which has gotten a little drier since the winter, also plays much better with glasses now.  Initially, I was going crazy having to clean mascara off my lenses for the first two or three hours, but I haven't had that issue these last few weeks. I also haven't had any irritation or other problems when wearing the mascara multiple consecutive days in a row, which is a first for me with a Physicians Formula mascara.  With regards to the lash boosting claims, my lashes might be slightly longer and fuller, but I'm not convinced it's not just a placebo effect.  Regardless, my lashes look healthy, so that's a good thing.  

Mineral Fusion Liquid Lip Gloss in Polished

Nudus Lipstick in Halo*

Nudus's lipsticks have taken the green beauty world by storm recently and it's not hard to see why.  Gorgeous packaging is only the beginning for these lipsticks, which also boast phenomenal ingredients and rich pigmentation.  The formula includes anti-inflammatory turmeric and holy basil, anti-oxidant rich oils like pomegranate, raspberry, and kiwi seed, and is packed with other great botanicals as well.  Halo is described as "an angelic color with a hint of frost" and it's a natural pink that I think would look good on just about anyone.  Frost always makes me think of icy, metallic lipsticks from the 80's, but in Halo's case, it's more of just a subtle sheen.    I do find I need to wear lip balm underneath, but I haven't seen anyone else comment on that, and my lips do tend to be on the dry side.  

Sephora Long Lasting High Precision Brush Eye Liner

Water, Ci 77499 (Iron Oxides), Alcohol Denat, Glycerin, Ci 77510 (Ferric Ammonium Ferrocyanide), Pullulan, Disodium Coco-Glucoside Citrate, Sodium Dehydroacetate, Hectorite, Xanthan Gum, Citric Acid, Sodium Hydroxide.

Pretty darn clean.  I was as shocked as you.  I wasn't immediately familiar with pullulan, but a spot of research revealed it to be a starch-based polysaccharide commonly used in vegetarian capsules and not an especially concerning ingredient.  Everything else looked good too, so I decided to try it in the hopes of upping my liquid liner game.  The extra fine brush tip is what really sold me, as I love cat  eyes and winged liner, but my liquid liner skills are pretty nonexistent.  The formula itself is pretty standard, though it's pigmented, nicely black and completely matte.  I haven't had any problems with how it wears, but many of the review on the Sephora website do complain that it smudges easily.

It hit me, in a wave of post-shopping guilt that I later confirmed, that Sephora isn't a cruelty-free brand anymore.  I don't think I'd buy the liner again for that reason, but it still makes me happy to see a decidedly non-natural brand with at least an occasional clean product.  Just make sure you pick up the 12-hour Liner and not its waterproof, 24-Hour counterpart, which has a few more nasty ingredients.  

What makeup have you been loving recently?

*Press sample

Contains affiliate links

What I love most about this gloss is that it acts as a lip gloss and lip treatment, all in one.  We're still waiting on Spring weather here and my lips have been suffering a little.  Osmia's lip luster is perfect for those days when your lips need a little extra coddling, but you want to wear something more than just lip balm.  It really does help heal your lips, and they'll look fantastic in the process!

The texture is different from a lot of other glosses.  It comes out of the tube thick and semi-solid, but it's not at all sticky and it spreads easily on contact with the warmth of your skin.  Because of how thick it is, I prefer to take the gloss on my finger and dab it onto my lips, rather than applying it straight from the tube.  

The ingredients list rose geranium essential oil, but it isn't something I smell very strongly.  To me, the luster has a very mild, fruity smell.  In fact, it smells and tastes very similar to Vapour's Elixir Gloss (the non-plumping one.)

Color-wise, the luster looks dark and a little intimidating in the tube, but it sheers out a lot when applied.  It's colored only with alkanet and beet root, so it doesn't have intense, opaque pigmentation.  Instead, you're left with a beautiful, sheer colour.  It reminds me of how your lips look after eating a popsicle - plumped and glossy, with just a hint of red.   

The Bottom Line

I've heard a lot about Osmia Organics over the last couple months and the lip luster definitely lives up to the hype.  It's a lovely lip gloss, only made better by the fact that it also nourishes your lips.  It's been the perfect lip product for winter, but I already know I'll be reaching for it in the warmer months too!

I've also been using (and loving!) a sample of the company's Active Gel Nutrient Serum - more on that later.  Have you tried anything from Osmia Organics?

Ingredients: wild harvested batschia canescens (alkanet) powder and beta vulgaris (beet root*)-infused ricinus communis (castor bean) oil*, beeswax*, lanolin, GMO-free vitamin E oil, rose geranium essential oil*  (*=Certified Organic)

Silk Naturals makes several different lines of lip products, including lip balms, lip stains, lipsticks, liquid lip glosses, plumping lip glosses, and lip gloss sticks.  Most of these give sheerer color that's great for a subtle lip look, but if you're looking for more dramatic colour payoff, the Vegan Lipsticks do deliver.  Silk Naturals lip products also contain more than 80% organic ingredients, depending on which formula you choose.  Ingredients are listed individually for each colour, as well as a color description and information about opacity, finish, shimmer, whether it's vegan or not, gluten content, and whether or not it contains any  dyes.  I personally avoid FD&C colours, which does narrow the colour selection a bit, but there are still plenty of colours that are dye free if that's what you're looking for, and all colours are clearly labelled accordingly.  On the Silk Naturals website, you can also filter out any colours that contain dyes, for easier browsing.  

Scent-wise, all the ones I've tried smell faintly like vanilla and are slightly sweet to the taste, but nothing overpowering.  All Silk Naturals lippies are priced at less than $6 and they have several different formulas and tons of colours to choose between in each, so there really should be something for everyone.  Another cool thing about Silk Naturals is that they offer clones of eye and lip colours made by mainstream brands like MAC and Bobbie Brown.  Most colours also have swatches so you can get a good idea of the colour before ordering.  They also have a 30 day return policy, in case you don't end up liking a colour.

About the Brand

Cheeky Cosmetics is a vegan mineral makeup company.  Their products are handmade and contain no dyes, nanoparticles, ferric ferrocyanide, bismuth oxychloride, or carmine.  Their website is very clear and easy to navigate, and they can also be found on Etsy.  

First Thoughts

Cheeky Cosmetics is one of the first mineral makeup companies I ordered from.  They are Canadian, which is what first attracted me, and I've ordered twice now.  My experience has been all positive – great customer service, fast shipping, and nice products.  Shipping is also reasonable - $2 in Canada, $2.50 to the U.S., and $5 everywhere else.

Overall, I’m impressed with the quality of Cheeky Cosmetics eye shadows.  They come in a variety of finishes (matte, glow, shimmer, and sparkle) and there is a good selection of colours.  On their website, sparkly eye shadows are described as sheer if applied dry and metallic if foiled.  I find that a lot of these really do need to be foiled to show up vibrantly, otherwise a number of them end up looking kind of silvery and pretty similar to one another.  Also, while some colours exactly match what’s shown on their website, some don't, so samples are a good idea.  Samples come in clamshell containers.  I'm not sure exactly how much product they contain - they aren’t the biggest samples offered in the MMU world, but they are plenty big enough for several applications and to see if you like a colour.   

All swatches are dry on bare skin.  Sorry for the less than perfect quality of some of them - I'm still working on lighting to make them show up the most true to colour.  
Colour Descriptions are from Cheeky Cosmetics.

  

Here's the second part of my Zuzu Luxe review.  Sunday I gave you the rundown on Zuzu Luxe's eye products.  Today, I'm moving on to all things lips.

Lipstick ($18.15)

Zuzu Luxe makes some of the best natural lipsticks on the market.  They offer a good range of colours and finishes, from creme to shimmery and frosted.  I have Sazerac and samples of Dollhouse Pink, Galaxy, Starlet, and Indulgence.  (Samples are $1 from White Rabbit Beauty)  My favourites are Galaxy and Dollhouse Pink, but really, all of these colours are nice.  They all give good colour payoff and have a nice feel on my lips.  I don't find them especially moisturizing, but they don't dry out my lips at all either.

Colour Descriptions:

Sazerac - peachy-pink frost

Indulgence - plummy red with gold sparkle

Dollhouse Pink - medium-light Barbie pink (swatch looks a little darker it actually is)

Galaxy - slightly sheer raspberry, glossy finish

Starlet - candy apple red

For March, all Zuzu Luxe and Gabriel Color lipsticks are 25% off from Gabriel Cosmetics with the code LIPS25.

Product

Just Pure Minerals Vegan Lipstick and Lip Gloss

Where to Buy?

Etsy or Independent Website

First Thoughts

On to the review...
Both times I ordered, my order was shipped quickly, within 1 or 2 business days.  Shipping costs are reasonable and products arrived safely wrapped in paper, inside bubble envelopes.  Between both orders, I bought lipsticks in Natural and Bali, a full-size lipgloss in Romance, and lip gloss samples in Black Cherry, Beloved, Pink Ginger, and Brown Sugar.  I also ordered Capri Lipstick for my Mom.

The lipsticks have a nice feel to them.  They are slightly waxy and have kept my lips moisturized, even in the cold winter months.  Staying power is good and they last about 3-4 hours on my lips.  Natural is described as a soft-pinkish nude.  It is slightly sheer, but can be built up, and looks very close to the picture on their website, if slightly less pink and a little more beige.  I’ve struggled to find a nude shade that I like on myself, and this is the best one I’ve found so far.  Bali is described as a sheer, sultry shade of cherry red.  I don’t find it sheer at all, unless I blot it down.  Also, the colour is more of an orange or brown-toned red than it appears online.  I think this would work well on someone with warmer undertones, but I don’t see myself wearing it very often.  Capri is also a deeper brown than it appears online. 

The lip glosses have a nice consistency too.  They are not sticky and feel nice and smooth on my lips.  Romance, Pink Ginger, and Brown Sugar appear very close to the photos, but again, there was some difference for Black Cherry and Beloved.  Black Cherry, their red lip gloss, is also more of an orange-toned red than expected, and Beloved, described as a deep pink, is very close in colour to Black Cherry.  The lip glosses are pretty sheer, so colour differences here aren’t as significant as with the lipsticks.  All the colours I tried are very wearable.  Lip gloss samples come in clamshell containers and sample orders placed on Etsy receive free shipping within the US.  

  

Swatches

  

Final Thoughts

Just Pure Minerals’ prices are affordable and their products have great ingredients and feel nice on my lips.  My only complaint is that not all colours are accurately represented.  I know this can be a big challenge for indie makeup companies, but it can be disappointing to receive a different colour than you are expecting.  Just Pure Minerals does have a 30 day exchange/refund policy on their independent website.  I don’t know if it applies to Etsy purchases or not.

Would I repurchase?

Probably.  I like the lip gloss formula and Natural lipstick is the most wearable nude shade I’ve found so far.