Sunday, 17 March 2013

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





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