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New in Makeup: Ashley Morgan Cosmetics

Those of you who've been with me for a while will likely recall that I used to write a lot about indie makeup and, even though I'm still a huge proponent of supporting smaller makeup brands, it's not something that's been very represented on the blog in the last couple years.  I'm hoping to change that going forward, starting with today's post on Ashley Morgan Cosmetics.  I discovered the company in a Facebook group and when I saw they had super promising clean ingredients and a free sample offer -- still going on here! -- I was quick to submit an order.  

 Ashley Morgan Cosmetics is a new company that launched earlier this year.  Created by makeup artist Emily Eads after her own struggles with migraines, endocrine disruption, and other symptoms of toxicity, the company creates high quality makeup completely free of harmful ingredients and designed to really work.  

 I've been trying out several products over the last couple months and I'm eager to share my thoughts on everything!

Liquid Mineral Foundation
First off, this foundation smells exactly like cotton candy to me.  It's super sweet and vanilla-y, but, even as someone who's often sensitive to strong scents, I don't find it ever crosses the line to sickly or cloying.  The coverage is a very natural looking light to medium and the foundation, which is pretty thin in consistency, feels very lightweight on the skin.  It does a great job evening out skin tone and covering minor imperfections, but it's not something that's going to offer a flawless full coverage.  Personally, I usually prefer a more natural, skin-like base anyways and I liked the formula a lot, but Natural Ivory was, unfortunately, not a great color match for me.  As you can see in the swatch below, it's both too dark and somewhat too yellow/warm-toned for my skin.

 Natural Concealer
The color of the concealer, on the other hand, was great.  Pure, the lightest shade, is nice and light and also runs more peachy/neutral, which is perfect for me.  The concealer has a very creamy and emollient texture and stays that way until set with a powder.  In terms of coverage, I'd put it at around a medium coverage.  My favorite use has been on blemishes and imperfections on the face, as it covers well, blends easily, and, once set with a powder, truly does stay in place all day without budging.  It works okay under the eyes too, but I usually prefer a bit of a drier/less emollient concealer for that area.     

 High Definition Powder
The HD Powders are invisible silica-based loose powders great for setting liquid and cream products.  They can also be used on their own for a slight blurring effect.  I tried both the Translucent (untinted) and the Light, and to be completely honest, I don't notice much difference between the two.  Both shades are very finely milled and silky and are basically imperceptible on the skin.  I don't notice any whitecast from the Translucent and I similarly don't notice any discernible color from the Light.  Silica powders are great for soaking up oil and the HD Powders work really well for setting foundation and concealer while slightly blurring fine lines and imperfections.  I'd be cautious using them for flash photography since silica is notorious for that dreaded flashback effect, but otherwise I think they're great.

(L to R) Natural Ivory Foundation, Pure Concealer, Light HD Powder, Rose Tinted Lip Balm
Organic Mascara
Possibly my favorite out of everything!  With a traditional bristle brush and a thicker formula, this mascara does a fantastic job building volume.  I've been layering it with my longtime favorite Zuzu Luxe mascara the last few weeks and the two together create some seriously impressive lashes.  I'm loving the combo, but the Ashley Morgan also works great by itself.  I love that it doesn't irritate my eyes in the slightest and that it stays put throughout the day without flaking or smudging.  

Organic Tinted Lip Balm 
There were these mineral lip tints that I wore way back in my early high school years and this balm is nostalgically reminiscent of those for me.  It feels nice on the lips and offers a pleasant minty tingle along with sheer but buildable color.  Rose is a warm pink shade, with some coppery and reddish tones running through it.  It looks pretty shimmery or even metallic in a swatch, but on the lips, it's much more subtle.  I love tinted balms in general and I like this one a lot. 

The Bottom Line
Ashley Morgan Cosmetics is a brand to watch!  Ingredients are top notch and the products consistently perform well.  I'd love to see an expanded shade range in the Liquid Minerals Foundation, but beyond that, I was super happy with everything I tried.  
  
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Miessence Revisited: Mascara + Mint Toothpaste

Miessence was one of the first brands I used when I started to get more interested in natural products as a teenager, but over time, I moved on to other products and companies, as we do, and they gradually fell off my radar.  I had the chance to revisit the line recently and have been happily trying out the Mint Toothpaste* and newly reformulated Mascara* these last couple months.   I'm excited to share my thoughts on both.


Mascara
To be completely honest, the Miessence makeup I tried years ago didn't hugely stand out to me, but the mascara was recently reformulated and I was eager to take the new version out for a spin!  First things first, the ingredients on this are pretty stellar.  It's free of the regular nasties, as well as all synthetic ingredients, and has one of the shortest and purest ingredient lists I've seen for a mascara.  If you're looking for 100% clean makeup products, this would certainly fit the bill. 

 At first the mascara formula was very wet and didn't seem to do much beyond just tinting my lashes, but after the tube was open for a few days, it thickened up a little and I ended up really liking it.  The brush is pretty standard and does a good job separating lashes and adding definition.  It's not a mascara that gives va-va-voom or incredibly dramatic lashes, but it does provide some noticeable volume and gives lashes a really pretty, wispy look.  

 It also manages to both resist smudging and flaking throughout the day AND is pretty easy to remove.  The mascara isn't waterproof, but it does hold up to a regular day's activities, and even survives intense or sweaty workouts.  When it comes to taking it off, I've used both an oil cleanser and a water-based makeup remover and didn't have any difficulty with either method.  The mascara has also never irritated my sensitive eyes, which is, obviously, another huge plus.

Mint Toothpaste
I've been strictly using glycerin-free oral care products for about three years now and let me tell you, with nearly every product on the shelf still containing glycerin, it's a challenge sometimes.  Once again, ingredients are quite minimal here and the Miessence toothpaste contains only organic aloe vera juice, baking soda, sea salt, stevia, non-GMO xantham gum, and organic spearmint, peppermint, cinnamon, and clove essential oils.

 The toothpaste is very fresh and minty.  So much so, in fact, that I catch a whiff of spearmint every time I open the medicine cabinet where it's stored!  At first I tasted a lot of salt as well, but after the first week or two, I stopped noticing it as much and mainly just taste the essential oils now.  The paste doesn't produce a traditional foamy lather, but it does froth up some and leaves both my teeth and mouth feeling very clean and fresh.  If mint isn't your thing, the toothpaste is also available in Anise and Lemon.  

 My only complaint -- and a pretty minor one at that -- is that I have a hard time squeezing the paste out of the tube.  I'm not sure what the issue is -- the toothpaste itself is a pretty standard consistency -- but it takes serious squeezing effort to get toothpaste onto my brush.  It's gotten easier as the tube is less full, but, at least at first, it was a bit of a struggle!
  
The Bottom Line
Miessence has some great products and I'm really happy to have rediscovered the line through these two items.  The mascara isn't ultra-dramatic, but it's a fantastic everyday product, especially suitable for ingredient purists or those with sensitive eyes.  The toothpaste is a great glycerin-free option that tastes great and leaves the mouth feeling fresh, minty, and clean.  In addition to working well, I love Miessence's commitment to using minimal, high quality and organic ingredients and will definitely be keeping a closer eye on the line in the future!

*Press sample
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Tough to Transition: Mascara (+ My Top 3 Natural Mascara Recommendations)

Mascara preferences are a pretty individual thing, but what everyone can agree on is that it's one of the most challenging items to switch when transitioning to natural products.  Like a lot of other mainstream makeup, mascara is loaded with carcinogens, hormone disruptors, and other toxins, including parabens, coal tar dyes, talc, petroleum, propylene glycol, aluminum, synthetic fragrance, and formaldehyde releasers.  Mascara also often contains shellac, a bug-derived resin frequently linked to contact allergies, and thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative that's been banned in children's vaccines, but is still permitted in cosmetics.

 Making the Switch
I've gotten several emails recently asking for mascara recommendations, so I thought it was about time to share my favorites.  Before jumping into the specifics, I do want to say that if you're used to conventional waterproof mascara, it may not be possible to find a completely comparable clean replacement, since the waterproofing ingredients and plasticizers are the very ingredients you probably want to avoid.   If you can't completely rule out waterproof, maybe look for a gateway semi-clean formula, or limit it to just special occasions.  

 My Eyes + Eyelashes
Since it's such a big determining factor in what makes a mascara work for one person and not another, let's talk about eyelashes.   My lashes are pretty healthy and have a natural curl and my eyes can be sensitive and are prone to watering.  So, what I look for in a mascara is something that adds volume, maybe a little length, and won't smudge, smear, or irritate my eyes. 

 With that in mind, here are my top three recommendations:

Zuzu Luxe The Mascara
I've gone through 10-15 tubes of this over the years, no exaggeration, and it remains my fallback "safe" mascara.  I know it won't irritate my eyes and I'm confident it isn't going to give me raccoon eyes or flake off throughout the day either.  Seriously, me and this mascara have made it through some tough days together - snowstorms, dog baths, emotional drama, and 14-hour days sweating outside as a camp counselor - and it consistently holds up well.  The formula is on the drier side and it does a good job coating every lash and adding (subtle) volume.  It dries slightly firm on the lashes - though not horrible and crunchy - which I think would help hold a curl as well.

 Lily Lolo Vegan Mascara
A much more recent discovery, the Lily Lolo mascara gives truly impressive volume and length.  One coat looks soft and natural, but add one or two more for seriously amped up, voluminous lashes.  The consistency is a little wetter than the Zuzu Luxe, but it's still on the thicker side.  The color is a very dark black and the mascara lasts just about all day without issue.  I get about 12 hours of perfect wear and then it starts to flake a tiny bit.

Physician's Formula OrganicWear Lash Boosting Mascara
I couldn't not list Physician's Formula, both because of its easy availability and inexpensive price point.  It's not nearly as smudge-resistant as the other two - in fact I struggled a bit in the winter with watery eyes - but as long as you stay relatively dry-eyed, it works well and it does give a beautiful, dark, fluttery lash.  I don't know that it necessarily made my lashes grow any more than normal, but they did seem full and healthy, and even slightly conditioned while I was using it.  I haven't tried all the OrganicWear mascaras, but this one is without a doubt my favorite of the three or four I have tested.

What's your favorite natural mascara?
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Makeup Basket #1: Mineral Fusion, Zuzu Luxe, Nudus, Bare Minerals + More!

Sometimes I skip writing about makeup because I don't feel like I have enough to say about a single product to justify a post. Which is where I thought this series could come in, with mini reviews of several products in one.  I haven't done a lot of shopping recently, but I've been revisiting some makeup already in my stash and I wanted to share several products I've been enjoying.


The Mosaic Illuminator is an interesting product.  It's not a highlighter, as the name might suggest, but rather a light, luminous face powder.  When I wrote my initial review, I was mainly using it over foundation as a setting powder, but more recently, a combination of better skin and more time working from home has had me using it differently.  I've been pairing the Illuminator with just a bit of under eye concealer and a tinted lip balm for a very minimal, "no makeup" makeup look.  It has a beautiful  finish and I find that the yellow parts really do a good job correcting minor redness.  I wouldn't say the powder has any real coverage, but it gives a pretty, soft focus, almost airbrushed look to the skin.

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.  


I got this a while back, after noticing that I didn't have just a plain, clear lip gloss.  Polished is exactly that and is super convenient to wear over any lip color.  I like the squeezy tube packaging and I'm happy with the formula as well.  It's a thinner consistency, but decently glossy, quite moisturizing, and completely non-sticky.  The berry scent isn't my favorite, but I've still been enjoying the gloss overall.

My mom bought this for me a few months ago when we were at the outlets in Niagara Falls.  The Color Boosts are a little sheer, I think because they're meant to be be something you can use all over your face, but I stick to using The Adrenaline Rush, which includes a matte pink and mauve and a luminous gold, as a blush.  I like to swirl my brush into all three colors, which creates a pretty peach shade with just a hint of golden luminosity, but I suppose you could use the colors individually as well. 


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.  

I was suckered into browsing the Sephora website by a Bare Minerals gift with purchase (featured in my Mid-Winter Favorites) and this somehow ended up in my cart.  Before you check to make sure you're still on a green blog, take a look at these ingredients -
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.  

The Adrenaline Rush Separately and Swirled Together, Nudus Halo, Sephora Long Lasting Eye Liner

What makeup have you been loving recently?
*Press sample
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Review: Zuzu Luxe Part #1: Eyes

I've decided to split this review into two parts, instead of having one ridiculously long post with everything.  Today I'll look at Zuzu Luxe's eye products, and tomorrow, lips. 

About the Brand
Zuzu Luxe is a subset of Gabriel Cosmetics, which began initially as a skincare line.  Today, Gabriel Cosmetics also has two makeup lines, and a line of children's products.  Zuzu Luxe is their luxury cosmetics line and offers more dramatic and varied colours than Gabriel Color, their original makeup line.  Like all Gabriel Cosmetics products, Zuzu Luxe products are all natural and free of synthetic chemicals, nanoparticles, and animal by-products.

Eye Shadow ($15.25)
I've got five Zuzu Luxe eye shadows, in Prism, Odyssey, Gem, Absinthe, and Egyptian Gold.  These contain no talc and apply nicely.  I did manage to shatter my Egyptian Gold at some point and a couple other colours have crumbled a little on the edges too, as you can see in the picture.

Gem is a little disappointing in that the gold sparkles that are visible in the pan don't show up very well on application.  The rest of the colours are quite nice though.  I especially like prism as a highlight and Absinthe is gorgeous on the lid or in the crease.  I don't find myself reaching for these as often since I've started using more loose mineral eye shadows, as they don't give the same colour payoff, but they're great for travel or when you just don't want to deal with loose eye shadows. 

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