review

January 18, 2011

Zoya – they’re here!

Just got my freebies from the facebook promo code in today.

I also purchase the Zoya Renew for a couple of other polishes I currently have that were getting old. Quick review on it is that it did make one sheer less streaky and easier to apply but I didn’t take a photo to share. I’ll probably do a more in depth review at another time.

The first photo is taken in my car in daylight and it’s the truest to actual color of the quick photos I took. Lulu, Shiloh and Loredana.

Please excuse the quick application and dark photo.
Shiloh is a great easy red. It’s very glossy looking. Slightly sheer for a red but not by much. It reminds me of a lollipop or some other red hard candy. Not orangy and not purple-y. I think it’s going to work well on most skin tones. There are little tiny tiny tiny sparkles. Super easy to apply and fast to dry. I’m going to redo my nails in this color tonight for a longer test-run.

Next up is Loredana which is a matte gray. It’s a little surprising going on because at first it looks like a glittery dark gray and then once it dries it looks like this:

I don’t remember ever owning a matte nail polish before. One downside I hear is that they don’t last as long. I will let you know what I find out. I wish the shade were just a hair lighter gray but I do really like this for a fall, winter sort of color.

I did not take a photo of Lulu. It’s a very sheer color and my inside photos were bad enough as it is. You really wouldn’t be able to get a good sense of the color. I will review it at a later date. It did go on well, just more sheer than I expected. I like it but I think it would take a lot of coats to get to the color of the spoon sample I had.

November 3, 2010

Burt’s Bees VS. Wet N Wild Natural Blend LIP SHIMMERS

Posted by By Hilary Baumann

Posted in Makeup / Cosmetics

I previously talked about the WNW Natural Lip Shimmers here:
http://clothingcult.com/2010/08/12/wet-n-wild-natural-blend-lip-shimmer-review/

Now I have some photos so you can see these Lip Shimmers compared to the Burt’s Bees Lip Shimmers. I also did the swatches on my arm in different lights since it can often be hard to tell what color something is online. Sorry that the first photo is a little blurry.

Burt’s Bees VS. Wet N Wild Natural Blend LIP SHIMMERS bottom line:

As you can see, many of the colors are similar but only a few could be mistaken for one another. Wet N’ Wild’s “Frost” is almost indistinguishable from Burt’s Bees “Champagne” Lip Shimmer and both “Nutmeg” colors are pretty darn close.

As I mentioned in the previous post, the ingredient list is natural with no parabens, no synthetics etc. which is very surprising for a cheap drugstore brand that doesn’t usually focus on natural products.

And when I say cheap drugstore brand, I really do mean cheap. Burt’s Bees Lip Shimmers are $5 each whereas the Wet N Wild Natural Blend Lip Shimmers are only $2 each. You can typically find then at Walgreens but if you don’t see them in the stores you can still buy them online. Amazon.com carries them but at a much higher price so I would recommend Walgreens.com or Drugstore.com if you’re having trouble finding them locally.

UPDATE: If you prefer lip gloss in tubes, check out my post on the Burt’s Bees new Lip Gloss:
http://clothingcult.com/2013/03/13/burts-bees-new-lipgloss-tubes/

October 5, 2010

Shared Video : ToneItUp.com @ Marie Claire featuring natural beauty products

Posted by By Hilary Baumann

Posted in Beauty & Skin, Makeup / Cosmetics, Nail Polish, Skin Care

http://www.toneitup.com
http://www.marieclaire.com

Some of the products mentioned in this video:

I disagree with the bit at the end about sunscreen. Many American’s are stuck in an office not getting out in the sun to get enough natural Vitamin D. You don’t want to burn, that’s bad, so there is a time and place for sunscreen. But this obsessive “you must wear it daily” is harming people. I’ll do a separate post next summer about eco-friendly sunscreen for when you want to hit the beach or go for a long hike.

As always, check your choices against: http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/

Brands mentioned in this video:

John Masters Organics
Living Proof
TRESemme Naturals
Tarte
Stila (not natural or organic)
Urban Decay Vegan
Priti Nail Polish
SumBody
Korres
Lavera
Pacifica
Juice Beauty
It’s a 10

August 12, 2010

Wet N Wild Natural Blend Lip Shimmer Review

Posted by By Hilary Baumann

Posted in Makeup / Cosmetics

http://wnwbeauty.com/Product.php?Pid=49

I am rather amazed at the quality of these for the price. They are a lot like Burt’s Bees lip shimmers so if you like those, you will probably like these. Also like Burt’s Bees the colors on the caps aren’t quite what’s inside. They aren’t quite lip glosses and they aren’t quite lipsticks so if you’re looking for something with just hint of color and shine these might be a good choice. At about $2 a pop I went ahead and bought 4 colors:

Tart / Peche 101P – I included the french name from the plastic because it really is a peachy color. I like this one a lot – it’s peachy coral lip color that’s not too strong but pigmented enough that if you know you don’t look good in peaches, you should pass. This was the least sparkly of the group.
Cocoa 107P – A strong taupe color. This one looked horrible on me but it would probably look good on someone with olive undertones or darker skin. I tried mixing it with other colors but it just didn’t work on me at all. Reminded me of Burt’s Bees Toffee lipshimmer which also did not work on me whatsoever. I don’t think I have that to compare to currently though so I might be thinking of the Burt’s Bees Cocoa color.
Frost 100P – Almost white … just a hint of pink and lots of sparkle. This one seems more moisturizing than the others for some reason. It reminds me a bit of Burt’s Bees lipshimmer in Champagne but even whiter. If you go REALLY light it can be worn by itself barely. It’s really better for making other colors lighter and I will consider it a staple item for this reason. Added to the Tart and I had an almost warm neutral which didn’t make me look dead like most neutrals lipglosses do – super happy with that combination.
Sugar 102P – A light bubble gum pink. Again very sparkly. I’m somewhat ambivalent on this one. It’s probably going to work on more skin tones than the rest of the colors. I don’t love it but I don’t hate it. It’s boring and somewhat girly at the same time… I’m not sure. Glad I bought it but wouldn’t buy it again.

As for ingredients you’re probably wondering if they are actually natural. Well they are NOT organic but the best I can tell they ARE much healthier than most lip glosses and lipsticks. I do wonder about possible consistency issues from tube to tube because of the difference in how each felt.

Ingredients (abbreviated – skipped the scientific names): Castor Seed Oil, Sunflower Seed Oil, Beeswax, Macadamia Seed Oil, Carnuba Wax, Candililla Wax, Peppermint Oil, Thyme extract, Peppermint extract, sorbic acid, Organium Vulgar Leaf extract, Rosemary extract, Lavendar extract, Cinnamon Bark Extract, Olive leaf extract, Citrus lemon peel extract, linseed extract, rice bran extract May contain: Mica, titanium oxide, Iron oxides

Here’s a PDF scan I did of the plastic tubing from the lip glosses if you want to try and read every little thing: WNW natural ingredients

I’ll try and post some swatch and lip photos at a later date.

Will I buy more? I really want to try the maple and nutmeg colors and for $2 each I’m buying them if I see them.

—–
Update: (purchased)

Nutmeg 103P

Maple 105P

—–

Swatches located here:
http://clothingcult.com/2010/11/03/burts-bees-vs-wet-n-wild-natural-blend-lip-shimmers/

January 2, 2010

Pur Minerals Starter Kit – review

Posted by By Hilary Baumann

Posted in Makeup / Cosmetics

One of my requested Christmas presents this year was the Pur Minerals Starter Kit in Golden Warm.

http://www.purminerals.com/Pur-Mineral-Makeup-Starter-Kit

Starter_Kit_Vertical_HR_With-Box

The kit consists of a foundation, bronzer, blush and chisel brush.

I am disappointed that I researched the heck out of the foundation ingredients but neglected to notice that the bronzer has parabens. It’s not even a good bronzer at that in my opinion. Sigh.

I LOVE the foundation however. I have a hard time finding a good match for my skin that doesn’t look like I’m either jaundiced (yellow) or washed out. The Golden Medium works really well and seems to be a very neutral color. I like that I’ve found a fairly healthy foundation that is a pressed powder that evens out my skin tone and can cover under-eye circles. It’s not too heavy, not too light, lasts all day and doesn’t break me out. I can skip the bronzer because it doesn’t wash me out though I still prefer to use a bronzer.

The brush is decent. I don’t own a kabuki or chisel brush so this is a good addition to my collection but I think there could be better versions out there. This one was a bit scratchy the first few times I used it. I will continue to use it because it does a good job but I’m not blown away here.

The blush I can’t really comment on because my cheeks have a pinkish undertone so blush of any kind makes me look like a clown. I tried it on my hand and it seemed like it could be a good color for anyone who regularly wears blush.

—– update April 13, 2010
I’m out of the starter kit foundation. The pan was fairly shallow and looks like the full size the same depth. Starter kit size is 0.15oz and full size is 0.28oz. I rarely finish and re-buy a powder foundation though.