Current Obsession: Orange Lips!

Orange is a colour often passed over  in favour of pinks or reds when it comes to lipstick, but as far as I'm concerned this underrated hue deserves far more attention than it gets. Worn bold and bright for a standout look or in a subtler colour for a more muted pout, there's an orange shade for every occasion, skin tone, and season. Orange lipsticks cover the gamut from coral to peach to brick red, so there's truly something for everyone.

From left to right:

Aya lipstick in Just Peachy: This milky peach tone is perfect for those who are a little more faint of heart, or for mixing with bolder shades to make a more wearable colour. For more info, check out my review on this product.

LUSH Emotional Brilliance lipstick in Strong: This shade suites its name. Incredibly bold and long lasting, this shade layers beautifully with Just Peachy for a more toned down look, or makes an unmissable statement when worn on its own.

Ilia lip conditioner in Voila: This shade is the perfect happy medium between the orange and pink tones that make up its coral shade. Because of its sheer formulation, this is a wonderfully easy to wear colour in the perfect hue for summer. Voila also happens to be a limited edition, so be sure to snap it up while you can.

Are you going to take the orange plunge this summer? What are your current beauty obsessions? Let me know!

(wearing Ilia's Voila lip conditioner)

The Very Best...

Lip Balm!

Converting to natural beauty is often an exercise in trial and error. Since transitioning my collection, I've definitely purchased my fair share of products that don't do what they should. But every once in a while I'll come across something so utterly magnificent, it needs to be shared. Today's spotlight product is a beauty essential: Lip balm. But not just any lip balm, the lip balm. 

Epic Blend offers gluten free, cruelty free, vegetarian, all natural lip balms that moisturize and nourish your lips like nothing else out there. This is one brand that truly lives up to their name. 

If you're anything like me, you're forever buying (and subsequently losing) lip balms so you have at least one on hand at all times: in your purse, beside your bed, in your pocket. Chapped lips are the enemy and I know I, for one, am always armed against them.  My collection used to be a hodge podge of brands, but since discovering Epic Blend at a local health food store, I've embarked upon a monogamous lip balm relationship, and I'm not looking back.

On top of their other benefits, Epic Blend lip balms are incredibly comfortable to wear, sinking easily into your lips instead of sitting on top of them. The brand offers a wide range of natural scents for whatever tickles your fancy. My current faves are citrus and cherry, but whatever you choose, you really can't go wrong.

So for all you lip balm junkies out there, I highly recommend giving Epic Blend a try. If you can't find them at your local health food store, the balms also available for purchase through the Epic Blend website. So my natural beauties, go forth and moisturize!

*Note: I am not in any way affiliated with the company mentioned above. All products from this company were purchased solely by me.

Review: Aya Lipstick in Just Peachy

Based in Australia, Aya Cosmetics is relatively new to the beauty scene. Like all products featured on this blog, they're all natural and cruelty-free, though to kick things up a notch, Aya is eco-friendly as well. At the moment, they primarily offer lipstick, with a selection of toe separators also for sale. It was, of course, the lipsticks that drew me to this company though. As it stands, there are only four shades in the line, and the range is limited to nudes and pastels, though as the company grows I'm sure the colour selection will as well.

I went with the shade Just Peachy, a bright, milky, coral-peach colour, as I've been on the hunt for the perfect spring/summer shade.  In addition to Just Peachy, Aya also offers two nudes called In the Buff and Naturally Nude, as well as a pastel pink called Particular Pink. 

The Good

Formula: Aya lipsticks are creamy and moisturizing, making them a pleasure to wear.

Packaging: I'm a sucker for pretty packaging, and Aya offers just that! While the cardboard-like recycled material does make these lipsticks less durable than your average bear, I find them absolutely adorable and chic looking all at once, not to mention the fact that they're actually good for the environment.

Longevity: The vibrant coral colour of Just Peachy kicks around for a good few hours before fading evenly to a nice muted peach stain. No tacky lip rings either, which has to be my biggest lipstick pet peeve. 

The Price: Unlike many natural makeup products, the cost of these lipsticks is comparable to most drugstore brands. At around $15-$18 a pop, depending on what country and website you're buying from, they're not exactly cheap, but they're certainly more affordable than many other brands in the same genre.

The Bad

Availability: Like my past few reviews, Aya only appears to be available online, making the brand more difficult to get a hold of than if they were available in brick-and-mortar stores. I found mine on eBay, as it offered the cheapest shipping option to Canada, though they do sell from their website as well.

Texture: While the feeling of these lipsticks on your lips is a pleasant one, the finish or texture is strangely milky, for lack of a better word. It appears to sort of sit on top of the lips instead of blending in. (see swatches at the bottom of this review)

Selection: As noted above, the colour selection for Aya lipsticks is currently very limited. No big if you're a neutrals fan, but for those (like me!) who like a bolder lip, Aya doesn't have much to offer just yet.

The Ugly

There's nothing ugly about these pretty lippies!

The Verdict

Just Peachy took some time to grow on me as a colour. It's very bright, almost florescent for the first hour or so after application, which I wasn't so sure about at first. After a few days, however, I fell in love with this vibrant, spring-friendly shade and have been wearing it most days since. If you're a fan of nudes and pastels, I highly recommend giving Aya Cosmetics a look.

Natural lighting

Artificial lighting

Review: Ilia Lip Products

Ilia is a Canadian-based natural cosmetics company that began its life with a distinct focus on lip care, though it has since grown to include mascaras, highlighters, and other beauty treats. All Ilia products boast commendable ingredients lists, including up to 85% certified organic ingredients, and offer a rare compromise between high end flair and safe, natural formulas. 
I came across this brand on one of my many expeditions around the internet in search of lipsticks I could feel good about wearing, and have since purchased and thoroughly tested two shades while on the hunt for the perfect red lip. This review will focus on the lip conditioner Bang Bang, a bright, orange-based red and the lipstick shade Femme Fatale, a sultry mix of red, brown, and plum.

The Good

Formula: Both the lip conditioner and the lipstick fulfill the promises made in their product descriptions. Bang Bang definitely conditions and hydrates my lips and leaves them feeling moisturized while simultaneously offering a much more rich, pigmented colour than a tinted balm (you can see by my poor, disheveled Bang Bang looking decidedly melted thanks to its buttery texture). Femme Fatale is an even stronger, more saturated colour than its conditioning counterpart and lasts considerably longer as well. Overall, I'd say this is the sort of formula you'd expect from a department store product without all of the icky ingredients.

Packaging: Made from recycled aluminum, Ilia's packaging is sophisticated and sleek. It also gives a satisfying click when you pop the lid back on, which I consider a bonus!

Colour Selection: Unlike many natural brands, Ilia keeps its shade choices youthful and fun. Anything from bright pinks and purples to deep reds to subtle nudes can be found in their line.

Colour Descriptions: I mentioned in my last review just how important accurate online colour descriptions are to me when purchasing hard-to-find cosmetics on the web, and thankfully Ilia just seems to get it! The brand's official website describes Femme Fatale as a blend of berry and burgundy, which I would consider to be spot on for this shade.

Finish: Ilia lip conditioners have a lovely, glossy finish while their lipsticks are near matte with a slight sheen. Both are very flattering.

The Bad

Availability: Unfortunately, Ilia is a hard brand to come by in stores. While they do have a list of retailers on their site, the odds of actually living near one are slim, at least in my part of the world. This means that, like all too many natural brands, Ilia is most easily accessible via the web, which is a problem for those who like to test cosmetics before purchasing.

Swatches: Frankly, this seems to be an industry-wide epidemic in that I have yet to find a brand whose products appear the same in online swatches as they do in person. Ilia is no exception to this rule, I'm afraid, though they are still better than most.

Colour Description: I know, I know, I have this in two categories, but stay with me here! While Ilia writes impressively accurate colour descriptions when they write them, they occasionally...well...don't. Colours like Bang Bang only have cute little blurbs about the kind of women who might enjoy the shade, which is charming, but leaves you knowing as much about how the colour looks as you did when you went hunting for the description in the first place.

The Ugly

Price: Lipstick Lord have mercy! Alright, natural cosmetics are more expensive than toxic drugstore brands, I get it. And Ilia is a high end natural cosmetics brand to boot, I get that too. But at $24 bucks a pop, with anywhere between $5 and $10 worth of shipping thrown on top, these products are definitely a luxury more than a necessity, even for the most diehard lipstick fan (ahem).

The Verdict

If you can swallow the price tag, I definitely think Ilia is well worth the investment. Their lip products not only have the aesthetic appeal and quality of high end cosmetics, they also offer you the soothing benefits of a balm. Whether the lip conditioner or the lipstick is the better purchase really depends on the person. If you prefer highly opaque, bold colour, the lipstick is definitely your best bet. If you want a smooth, glossy, semi-sheer colour with balm-like benefits, the lip conditioner is for you. Either way, you'll be getting a high quality product with ingredients few could complain about.

Femme Fatale

Bang Bang

Left: Femme Fatale  Right: Bang Bang

Natural Nail Polish Remover Challenge: Priti NYC vs Suncoat

                 

In this corner, weighing in at 2 oz., it's Priti NYC's Soy Polish Remover!

From the Label

Description: This earth friendly product is naturally derived from crops and does not contain any petroleum ingredients. Readily biodegradability - it is non-toxic, contains no carcinogens and can be used with all brands of nail polish. Our soy nail polish remover will not dry out nails or nail bed due to the organic lemongrass oil it contains.

Suggested Use: Saturate cotton with remover, place on nail for a minute and gently rub - using a sweeping motion - polish off. 

Ingredients: Natural soybean esters, biodegradable dibasic esters, organic lemongrass essential oil

My Experience

Scent: a light, unoffensive citrus scent.

Ease of Use: I find it can be a bit time consuming to have to wait a minute for each nail and usually end up only leaving the cotton on for half the recommended time. Though in all honesty, with a little extra scrubbing, this works just fine. Other than my impatience, the remover was straight forward enough.

Availability: Priti NYC is available in select stores, though I've yet to come across them locally and have had to order online as a result.

Price: This product normally sells for $11.25, though it's currently on sale for $9.99. Sale or no sale, I'd say this is pretty reasonably priced for a natural, non-toxic polish remover that works.

Effectiveness: Even with my little time cheat, this remover was able to take off the vast majority of the polish I'd been wearing with little hassle. 

My right hand after one round with Priti NYC's Soy Polish Remover

In this corner, weighing in at 1 oz., it's Suncoat's All Natural Nail Polish Remover Gel!

From the Label

Description: This gentle gel is earth-friendly, nontoxic, nondrying to the nails. Free of alcohol, acetone, acetates. Removes all types of polish. Easy squeeze tube is ideal for home use, great for travel.

Suggested Use: Squeeze a dab of gel onto each nail. Spread around nail surface with a tissue or cotton ball. Leave on for two minutes. Rub off. Wash hands with soap and water. Repeat as necessary.

Ingredients: Ethyl lactate, methyl soyate, glycerin, silica, vitamin A, Biotin

My Experience

Scent: Though this remover claims to be unscented, there is a very strong plastic-y smell that actually gave me a headache after working on one hand, and I'm not typically scent-sensitive. 

Ease of Use: The gel is fun to use, though I find that, when spreading it across my nails with a tissue as directed, I end up inadvertently removing most of it. I also find you need a lot of gel per nail to have it do anything, which means you go through the bottle very quickly.

Availability: I found this remover at Whole Foods, and have seen the Suncoat brand at a number of health food stores.

Price: I picked this up for a little over $8.00, which I'd say is in the reasonable range.

Effectiveness: Oh goodness, I'm afraid I'm going to have to turn the remainder of this portion over to be written by Negative Nellie. I wanted this to work, truly I did. But alas, it was not to be. The first round of gel-applying, waiting, and removing left me with all but a bit of the top coat of my nail polish still in tact. And I waited the full duration for this one! The second round left my nails splotchy. Finally, the third try left me with nearly naked nails, though there was still enough polish around the edges to leave me sighing.

My left hand after three rounds with Suncoat's All Natural Nail Polish Remover Gel

And the winner is...

This challenge has a clear-cut winner for me. Priti NYC's remover is effective and, unlike its competitor, is not offensive smelling. While it may be a touch more expensive than Suncoat's version, I'd say it's definitely worth the extra few dollars for a nail polish remover that will leave your nails, health, and nose happy.

Review: 100% Pure Lip Glazes

                           

In my seemingly eternal quest for natural, cruelty-free makeup, I came across the brand 100% Pure and was instantly intrigued by their unique approach to cosmetics. 100% Pure is not only natural, vegan, and cruelty-free, but their pigments are derived from fruit rather than chemicals or crushed insects (don't even get me started!). Naturally (darlings), I had to give their products a try, and being the unabashed lipstick junkie that I am, it was only a matter of time before I settled on two of their lip glazes. This review will be about the shades Seduce and Lychee in particular, though the brand boasts a fairly wide variety of lip glaze colours. Now on to the fun part!

The Good

Texture: 100% Pure's answer to lipstick is something called a lip glaze, though part of me wishes they'd taken a page out of Revlon's book and called them lip butters instead. These glazes are very buttery and apply smoothly, leaving your lips creamy and moisturized. Depending on the season, I sometimes find myself using them in place of a lip balm. 

Smell: For those who prefer scentless makeup, these lip glazes may be a miss, but I find the light fruit scent to be a plus, especially considering the fact that it's merely from the product's fruit content rather than being added artificially.

Pigmentation: I find these glazes to be pretty build-able, which makes them versatile; always a good thing in my book. One swipe will give you a sheer wash of colour, though a few more coats will result in a glossy, opaque finish.

The Bad

Availability: I've only come across the 100% Pure line on the internet, and from what I understand there is only a small collection of actual stores that carry it. This makes choosing colours a pain in the tush, as you cannot swatch items for yourself.

Price: While not as outlandish as some natural lip products, 100% Pure is on the higher end of the scale. Lip glazes run for $19 CAD on the official site, and this doesn't include shipping. I managed to nab both of my shades from eBay, though even there I found myself debating which kidney to sell for them.

Staying Power: Like most buttery lip products, these lip glazes aren't built for durability. I find Lychee is a bit more resilient than Seduce and at least leaves a light stain behind. Seduce, on the other hand, high tails it for wherever it is lipstick goes when it's bored of your lips within the first hour or so of wear.

The Dude, Seriously?

Colour Descriptions: When it comes to shopping for cosmetics online, accurate colour descriptions are an absolute must in my book. I can't swatch these products for myself so I'm relying on the company to essentially do it for me. Unfortunately, this is 100% Pure's biggest downfall as far as I'm concerned. If I'm going to be spending my money on something, I want to know what I'm getting, and that hasn't been the case with my 100% Pure purchases thus far. Lychee is described on the official site as a naked pink, though both swatched on my hand and on my lips it's closer to a deep, red-pink. Not the my-lips-but-better shade I had in mind, though I like the colour enough not to let that put me off. Seduce, however, is another story. I bought it for the same purpose Lychee had originally been meant to serve, and I was convinced that this time would be the charm. After all, with a description like 'light nude', how can a girl go wrong? Unfortunately, though the colour looks close to perfect when swatched on my hand, it comes off almost florescent orange on my lips. While I understand that a person's lip colour will alter that of a lip product, my own lips are only very lightly pigmented and certainly not in the habit of turning lipsticks neon.

The Verdict

I'm still smitten with the idea of fruit pigmented makeup, though this may be a case where something looks better in theory than in execution. From what I've seen myself and what I've heard from others, the line's products, and it's lip glazes in particular, are fairly hit and miss. I simply haven't tried enough at this point to tell you which ones fall into which category. For that reason alone, I'd say it's worth it to search out sites that offer samples so that you don't end up with a case of pylon lips. That said, though, when you find yourself a winner like I have with Lychee, it definitely feels worth it. So my final verdict would be to pursue with caution.

Seduce

Lychee

Top: Seduce  Bottom: Lychee