Naturalla Beauty

I feel like I've been hunting forever for a natural foundation that offers a good colour match AND provides the coverage I want.  If you've been reading my blog for a while, you probably already know that I'm a big fan of both of Gabriel's makeup lines, but I'd never tried either of their foundations.  When I read the Glamorganic Goddess's rave review of Gabriel's Moisturizing Liquid Foundation, I knew I had to give it a try.  She even compared it to her old MAC foundation - high praise indeed!  

I put it to the back of my mind, but remembered just as I was placing my most recent order from White Rabbit Beauty and ordered a sample in the second lightest colour, Soft Beige.  There was a slight mixup with my order that delayed shipping an extra day and Jean from White Rabbit ended up throwing in two extra samples in Rose Beige and Natural Beige to make up for it.  (Talk about great customer service!)

The good news is that Soft Beige is a fantastic match for my skintone - probably the best I've found in any foundation.   In terms of application, I experimented with applying this a few different ways.  I find it's prone to going on a little cakey, even with just the thinnest layer.  What I look for in a foundation is something that makes my skin to look nice, but also not like I'm wearing tons of makeup.  The best way I found to apply this was just with my fingers and then stippling over it with a damp sponge.  This gives a nice, natural, slightly glowy finish.  It also got rid of most of the cakeyness, but up close, I still felt like you could tell I was wearing foundation, as it clung to any hint of dryness on my face.  My skin is normal to oily, so I definitely wasn't expecting that, especially from a foundation that claims to be formulated for dry complexions.

For all that this doesn't make it sound amazing, I probably would have purchased a full size and kept using it, at least until I found something better, if this was my only complaint.  I used this for about a week, and unfortunately, I started breaking out on my cheeks a few days in.  Of course, I can't absolutely say it was the foundation, but I'm definitely leaning that way.  I still have some left from my sample, so I may give it another try in a few weeks, just to be sure, and if I'm wrong (I really hope I am!), I'll update this.  Also keep in mind that I do have sensitive skin - sensitive to the point where I don't wear much face makeup on a day to day basis just because a lot of products make my skin itch so much that I have to wash them off.  So, even though this bothered my skin, if yours tends to be less sensitive, it probably would be fine for you.

The Bottom Line

This foundation was not a good fit for my sensitive skin.   In terms of coverage, because of the cakeyness I experienced, I don't think it's very buildable, but it does give medium coverage.  It also lasts well - on my skin, it lasted all day, even without a powder on top, though you might want to use one if you have oilier skin.  Despite Gabriel's marketing, I'm not sure this is the best foundation for dry skin, but I think it'd be worth at least ordering a sample to try.

Annnnnd I'm still on the lookout for my perfect foundation - if you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear them!

 

I can't believe I'm actually managing to get my favourites up on time this month!  Honestly, I haven't used a ton of products this month, but here are a few things I've reached for a lot recently: 

Running Bug Farm Unscented Organic Shea Butter Lotion Bar

I bought this from Running Bug Farm on Etsy a while back, but originally I found it a little waxier than I wanted it to be, so it ended up being set aside.  With the weather getting colder this month, my cuticles have gotten a bit dry and  I've been using this on them at night.  It's waxier than a liquid lotion or body butter and doesn't really rub in fully, which is why I tend to only use it before bed.  It works amazingly well and when I wake up my cuticles are moisturized and soft again, no matter how dry or cracked they might have started out the night before.  I have the unscented one, so the beeswax smell really comes through, which I love, but they do make these in various scents as well.

Revolution Organics Innocent Lip Gloss  

This is a great baby pink gloss.  It's very sheer, so ends up being a subtle, glossy 'my lips but better' colour.  As a bonus, it moisturizes my lips as well or better than a lip balm.  Seriously, if this was less expensive, I think I'd use it all the time, in place of lip balm!  My only complaint is that there are tiny beads of wax (you can see them in the swatch) that feel a little gritty when this first goes on, but within a minute or two, they melt and it feels smooth on my lips.  In Revolution's defense, this was left out on my front step by the mailman in the middle of last winter and ended up getting partially frozen, which likely is what caused this problem.

 

Silk Naturals Wistaria Butter Cream Lip Glaze

I've said it before and I'm sure I'll say it again, but Silk Naturals makes some of my favourite lip products.  Wistaria is a gorgeous pink with just a hint of purple to it.  On my lips I feel like it looks purpler than it does in the swatch.

B. Koi Cosmetics White Gold Eye Shadow

This is the dream highlight shade I never knew I needed.  It's a gorgeous shimmery cream with golden undertones that looks amazing as an inner corner colour.  It seems to fit perfectly no matter what other colours I'm wearing on my eyes.  Applied with a lighter hand, it also works really well for highlighting the cheekbones or other areas of the face - it's a bit shimmery, but overall it's got more of an iridescence and no chunky glitter anywhere in sight.

Darling Girl Cosmetics Sugar Plum Eye Shadow

Sugar Plum is a difficult colour to photograph!  I don't think it looks anything like the swatch on Darling Girl's website and it's only sort of true to how it looks in my swatches.  Darling Girl describes it as a 'metallic slightly pinked purple,' which is definitely true, but I also see a golden iridescence in it.  It works nicely with other pinks and purples and also with golds and browns.

Silk Naturals Shangri-La Eye Shadow

This was a gift with purchase with one of my orders, so unfortunately I don't think it's available to buy.  As you've probably noticed by now, I'm not the best at describing colours, but to me, this looks like a metallic black raspberry or a dark pinky purple shade.  I use it a lot in my outer corner or crease, but with different placement, I think it'd make a beautiful purple smokey eye too.

And that's all we have for this month - all makeup, save one thing, but that's what really has stood out for me lately! 

Silk Naturals has definitely become one of my favorite companies.  They're my top pick for lippies these days and their other products are quickly becoming favorites too!  Orders come really quickly, they have great customer service, and I always feel like I get great value for my money too.  

Here's what I got in my latest order.

Bronzer samples in Malibu Miss and Beach Bunny

I'm still looking for a good bronzer for my pale skin and these look promising.  Malibu Miss is matte, while Beach Bunny has a slight shimmer.

Eye Shadows in Sweet Tea, Cloudberry and Daiquiri

I realized I don't have a lot of neutral eye shadows and was looking for a few more "work friendly" shades.  These three are nice peachy nudes, although Cloudberry and Daiquiri are similar enough that you probably don't need both.  Sweet Tea is a gorgeous peachy/brown and my favorite of the three.  I'll try to get swatches of these (and maybe the rest of my Silk Naturals shadows?) up one day soon. 

Sleep in a Jar Under Eye Concealer in Light Peach

My samples lasted a while, but they did finally run out, which was my original reason for placing this order.  I've reviewed this here - basically, it's my go to undereye concealer.

Vegan Lipstick in Crazy Love

This was a new lip stick released with Silk Natural's Spring lineup.  It's described as a somewhat sheer ruby pink with just a hint of purple, and as the lipstick equivalent of SN's Shrieking Violet liquid lip gloss, which is possibly my all time favorite lip gloss.  The swatch on SN's website is pretty accurate.

Liquid Lip Glosses in Icing and Innocent

I've also seen Innocent compared to SN's Wistaria Butter Cream, which is another of my favorite lip products.  Innocent is a pretty light pink that leans slightly purple, similar to Wistaria, but in the liquid lip gloss formula.  Overall, I think I still prefer Wistaria.  Icing is described as a light pink, but on the lips, it's really more of a clear gloss with gorgeous multi-coloured shimmer.  Really pretty on top of other colours.  One thing worth noting is that Icing has a fairly strong fruity (strawberry?) smell/taste that I'm not a big fan of, while the rest of my SN lippies have a really subtle vanilla scent.

+ Free GWP Eye Shadow in Siesta and free sample of Nekkid Eye Shadow

Silk Naturals always includes a gift with purchase (usually an eye shadow) with all orders over $10 and all orders also come with a free sample.

Over the summer, I was lucky enough to win four Noella Beauty Works eye shadows in a giveaway from the lovely Anne of The Velvet Rose Petal.  So first off, a big thank you to her for sending these my way! :)

Noella Beauty Works is a fairly new company, started in November of 2010.  In spite of their newness, they have a pretty impressive lineup of products - foundation, concealer, bronzer, blush, and eye shadow.  Since I got these from Anne, I can't speak to ordering or Noella's customer service, but I will say that I've only heard positive things.  I haven't had any contact with Jackie, the owner, but she's pretty active on both facebook and twitter, so I imagine it's easy to get in touch with her, should you need to.

The Product

In terms of the actual product, I don't have a whole lot to say!  I'm really liking all four colours I received.  Judging by the ones I have and those I've seen in their store, Noella's colours are beautiful, softer shades.  The colours I got have more of a satin finish on bare skin but over primer they do 'pop' and become more dramatic looking.  They aren't the brightest colours out there, but they're gorgeous and very wearable.  The shadows are super smooth to apply and blend very easily. 

The Colours

Smokey Plum - a medium shade plum with moderate cocoa undertones, perfect for accenting the corners of the upper lids.  Part of the glam collection, high shimmer, but not so much that it can't be paired with casual wear.  This isn't a colour I'd normally choose, but I really like it.  It's a dirty purple with some shimmer, but not really what I'd tend to consider a high shimmer eye shadow.

Milk Chocolate - a light/medium brown with lovely lavender and taupe undertones.  A really nice light brown/taupe on bare skin.  Turns into a slightly metallic, medium brown with copper flashes over primer.

Milk and Honey - a soft, creamy beige with golden shimmer.  Really subtle colour on bare skin, but becomes a more metallic pale gold over primer.

Mango Berry - a summery bright orange with very strong pink undertones.  This was the colour I was most excited about and it didn't disappoint.  A gorgeous soft coral shade.  If you're scared to go for a full on orange or if pink shadows make your eyes look irritated or tired, this is a great colour, halfway between the two.

The Bottom Line

I've been really pleased with the shadows I've tried and would be quick to recommend them.  Noella Beauty Works has a good selection of shades in a variety of finishes (everything from matte to high shimmer) and there are definitely a few more I'm interested in picking up in the future.  I'm not sure how long this special will run for, but if you order soon, Noella is currently offering a free shadow of your choice with any purchase over $10 with the code nbwebsite.

  

I know, I know, I've been a terrible blogger this last month, sorry!  My summer job is finished now though, so it's back to pounding the pavement and looking for a real job.  I absolutely loathe job hunting, but on the bright side, being unemployed for the time being means I should be able to keep the blog updated a lot more regularly!

Anyways, onto today's post - a review of Concrete Minerals!

Ordering

I've ordered from Concrete Minerals twice.  Both orders were placed from their Etsy shop, which I believe is now closed since they've opened their independent website.  Ordering on Etsy is always easy and their independent site looks really simple to navigate as well.

Shipping/Packaging

Both times I ordered, the second of which was even in the middle of the rush after they were featured on Heartsy, my order was shipped quickly.  Both orders arrived safely in bubble mailers.  Both times my orders included an information card about mineral makeup, a coupon code for 15% off a future order, and a free sample.  Full size eye shadows are $7 and come in 10 gram sifter jars - larger than the standard 3 or 5 gram jars I most often see used for mineral eye shadows.  They look to be packed about 1/2 to 3/4 full, depending on the colour, and the bottom says they contain 1.5 grams of product.  Samples come in five gram sifter jars and are very generous.  All jars list the company info and full ingredients.

The Product

Concrete Minerals eye shadows are very pigmented.  Even without primer or a base, they are quite vivid.  The texture is nice and they apply smoothly.  My only complaint is with a couple of the more complex colours.  Smut, for example, is described as a dirty silver with pink-purple undertones and it is AMAZING when swatched on my hand.  The problem comes when applying it to the eye - I just can't seem to get it to apply in all it's duochromey glory.  It ends up looking muddy, even when just patted on.  The same is true with Lolita, described as a shimmery taupe with pink undertones.  On the hand it is beautiful, but on my eye, it looks like an ordinary silver color.  I don't know if it's just me - user error - and the way I apply them or if it's because I don't use Concrete's own eye shadow primer, but it's been a bit frustrating trying to get these two colours to apply the way I want them to!

Anyways, moving on to colours I've been more successful with.  Blitzkrieg, which was the free sample in my first order is an amazing golden maple/bronzy brown colour.  It's become one of my top picks for neutral shadow and I'll definitely repurchase a full size when my sample runs out.  Ruse is a pretty golden bronze that's really versatile, and Napalm is an insanely pigmented orange.  Vegas is a light yellowy gold that's also very nice.  Croma is lighter than I expected, but still a nice, super pale lavender shade.

The Swatches

The Bottom Line

Overall these aren't my most reached for shadows, but there are ones that I like a lot.  Concrete Minerals came out with more colours a couple months ago and there are definitely a few I'm curious to try at some point.  Since not all the colours I've bought have worked for me, I do wish they'd offer sample sizes for sale, but they have great customer service and a 14 day "Love it or Ditch it" policy that allows you to exchange or return a colour that doesn't work for you.  All in all, I'd recommend giving Concrete Minerals a try if there are any colours that interest you.