READY, SET, GLOW!

As promised here is my review for the Lily Lolo goodies I purchased last week. Now I don't profess to be a make up buff or anything like that, I'm just a girl that enjoys wearing make-up, like everyday, as in won't even go to the shops without at least a slick of mascara and concealer! 

I don't even particularly like to experiment with makeup either but must have tried out every brand going when trying to pin down my everyday faithfuls. Until now my signature look has always been: Rimmel wake me up liquid foundation and concealer (switching to Chanel whenever I could afford it), Max Factor finishing powder, YSL or Mac red lipstick, Chanel black crayon eyeliner, Benefit 'They're Real' mascara, Rimmel Autumn blush/Nars orgasm and a Bobbi Brown brick palette for a neutral eye.

That was pretty much me, day in day out, you could say I was stuck in a make-up rut. So to try out something new was pretty exciting and I'm so glad I did! As you know I'm on a quest to find natural, alternative products as I don't want to lather chemicals or lead on my face every day (see earlier post here) and Lily Lolo was exactly what I was looking for. I found the brand through the ravingly good reviews on MakeUpAlley.com and once I saw the price of their mineral starter kit I was sold. At only £13.49 for a starter kit and sample size products on offer, it makes it easy to take the leap of faith and experiment with getting the right shade of mineral foundation. I actually needn't have bothered with the kit as I bought a sample of 'Warm Peach' foundation alongside it and I knew that was the perfect shade for me as soon as I tried it, proving the website's Shade Guide to be extremely accurate. Alongside 3 foundation shades, the 'light' kit also contained a baby Buki brush and the sheer finishing powder.

I am in Love with the results, I really wasn't expecting too much as I doubted that mineral powder, dusted on lightly with a fluffy brush could give me the same kind of coverage as a liquid foundation slapped on heavily with my fingers! I did dip the brush in a couple of times when applying but you only need a very small amount of product each time. It was all so easy to apply and even has the little separator holes so you don't use too much product or have any spillages. You must be sure to moisturise first though as the powder will highlight any dry patches. The final effect was lovely and glowing, my skin barely felt like I was wearing any makeup at all! I also have quite dark circles so the yellow corrector did a good job at disguising them too, I bought one of their sponges to apply this but it didn't work very well so ended up using one of my own brushes instead so would definitely get one of their concealer brush next time.

(TRULY) NATURAL BEAUTY

My first post is about a topic close to my heart and the main reason I wanted to start a blog in the first place. As a vegan I've always been interested in only putting products into and onto my body that are of the purest variety. Now I want to help anyone who is transitioning to a natural lifestyle so they don't have to sift through the overwhelming sea of products like I did! Beauty products are the biggest minefield when trying to find one that is truly natural, this is because at first glance there seems to be a lot of products out there all claiming to be natural but upon closer inspection and after giving it some thorough research I've found that not all of these claims are what they seem. Despite the clever marketing the products themselves can still have a few nasty ingredients in them such as unsafe chemicals, metals and parabens, which I wouldn't want to put anywhere near my skin let alone on my face.

My quest to find natural make up began when I switched to using flouride-free toothpaste, mouthwash and most recently aluminium-free deodorant. They are a little more expensive than normal but I'd rather pay a bit more for something that's deemed safe. After that I began to wonder what else am I using on a daily basis with no regards to it's contents.

Mouthwash // Toothpaste // Crystal Deo // Bionsen Deo

I began to think about products I use on a daily basis and have the most exposure to. Then it hit me as I drank water from my bottle leaving copious amounts of red lipstick around the rim... lipstick! A product I apply and re-apply every day. I set about my research and found that most of the lipsticks from brands we all know and love actually contain Aluminium and Lead (see FDA cosmetics study here: fda.gov). I was shocked, this is a product I am bound to ingest several times a day when eating and drinking, how could these ingredients be allowed? This was not going to be an easy task with brands like Burt's Bees on the list. I'm also addicted to the high pigmentation in lipsticks from well known brands such as YSL and MAC, what could possibly be good enough to replace these?

I rushed into the body shop in a blind panic wanting to replace my current lippys with an easy to wear hue, without having to worry about the ingredients, after all cruelty-free equals natural as well right? How so very wrong! More fool me for rushing in without thought to buy their coveted lip and cheek stain. Upon unravelling my new purchase, I noticed the ingredients were cleverly contained in the part of the wrapper you throw away, closer inspection revealed the stain actually contained Methylparaben (from the paraben family, more information here). 

Thankfully after that disappointment Makeupalley.com has been a god send for me while trying to find truly natural make-up brands as it has a lot of alternative, under the radar brands listed. It's really helpful as most of the brands I liked the look of can only be purchased online, this isn't ideal with make-up as you can't return it once opened. Based on the Makeupalley reviews I've decided to order some products from Lily Lolo an online natural mineral make-up company based in the UK. The site was easy to shop as you can buy a mineral starter kit according to your skin tone using the shade guide. As you can see the packaging is modern, pretty and the kit is reasonably priced too (compared to some of the well known mineral brands). The fact that it lists whether each product is vegan or not is a real selling point for me too as it takes away the hassle of having to find out. 

As for the lipstick I haven't yet found my perfect shade as all the mineral ones seem to be quite pale and the colours I did like were made with Carmine (crushed beetles, yeeuck!). So for now I've plumped for a lip gloss in Damson Dusk which I'm hoping will do the trick for now. I'm really excited to receive them and will post a review of the products once I have them later this week, so stay tuned!

Ta ta for now!