Real Purity and Nvey Eco Lipstick Swatches

Today my order from Natural Solutions arrived, which I was really excited about as i've been really getting into lipstick's lately. I ordered a bunch of samples of lipsticks from Honeybee Gardens, Real Purity and Nvey Eco, and also a sample of 100% Pure's Foundation. Two of the samples I ordered were out of stock so they refunded me for those within days which was really good, as most places seem to take a while from experience. Any who, I just wanted to show samples of a few for now, the Real Purity and Nvey Eco one's. These colours are so nice, granted, not all of them are practical for me as I have zero social life, so no where to where them, but I love them all the same.

{L-R: RP Hibiscus, RP Coral Berry, RP Tangerine, RP Grape Sherbet, NE #363}

Real Purity Hibiscus nice frosted pink colour, in the pot it looks barbie pink but on the lips it's sheer  and not so bright. It also seems to have a purplish tint to it from the shimmer, but you can't really tell that much when wearing it.

Real Purity Coral Berry is a full on barbie pink, both in the container and on the lips. It reminds me a lot of the MAC lipsticks and is right on trend for lipcolours that everyone seems to wear these days. I actually like this colour a lot although i'm not sure i'd wear it out. It's highly pigmented, glossy, glides on oh so smoothly and has pretty good staying power, although it did rub off a bit after eating.

Real Purity Tangerine is similar to Hibiscus in that it is sheer and somewhat frosted. I Love the colour of this, a peachy orange melon shade.

 Real Purity Grape Sherbet, again a sheer and frosted colour. In the pot it is a gorgeous Mauve-ish colour, but on the lips it appears a bit lighter, more like a frosted grape colour. This also reminds me of a colour MAC would bring out.

Nvey Eco #363, somewhat similar to RP Tnagerine just more pigmented. This colour in the pot is the most beautiful brick red/orange frosted colour, so nice, whereas on the lips it is slightly more orange. This has fairly good staying power but after eating I was just left with an orange line around the edge of my lips which didn't look so good, but i'm sure would be remedied with a layer of lip liner underneath.

I'm very happy with all these lipsticks. Although some of them aren't practical for everyday, they are beautiful colours and both brands have created amazing formula's as far as how smmothly they apply and how hydrated your lips stay after applying.

Ilia Beauty

Just a quick post to share that Ilia Beauty is coming out with a new range 'Sping 2012'. Originally the brand only had 6 shades of 'Lip Conditioner', in gorgeous colours I might add, to now adding in a range of Illuminators, Lip care, Lip to cheek's and Lipstick's.  The lip care products are a lip balm and a lip exfoliator. Perfect

 Dare I say, I have a feeling these products will be the rival for my beloved rms beauty products.

The colour's for the new range are insanely gorgeous and I would absolutely buy them all if I could.

You can check out the new range here. They are taking pre-orders now, which will be shipped out on march 8th.

Lip care and Lipstick's are $24

Lip to cheek's and Illuminator's are $34

Now all this brand needs is some eye colours and they will be complete.

I Put a Spell on You (Lip to Cheek)

In My Room (Lipstick)

Polka Dots & Monnbeams (Illuminator)

Versatile Blogger Award

I was pleased to recieve the Versatile Blogger Award from Victoria at Naturally Sunkissed, and like Victoria, I han't heard anything of it before, never the less, it was a nice surprise.

Rules

~Thank the person who nominated you with a link back
~Tell 7 things about yourself
~Pass this on to newly discover blog's and let them know they've recieved the award

7 Things

1. I'm an obsessive list maker. I make list's for absolutely everything, then re-write them if they aren't neat enough, and truth be told, I really enjoy it.
2. I love the beach and one day hope to own a house on, or close to a beach so I can smell the sea air when I wake in the morning.
3. I cannot stand to sit still. I get very anxious and fidgety at the thought of doing nothing.
4. My first pet was a blue Budgy named Picky Pete. Weird name I know, but I was 4 and thought it was awesome.
5. I love to scare people. When I was younger, I would hide under the sewing cupboard everyday and scare my mum as she walked in the back door. Without fail, I scared her everytime, and now my lovely fiance cops it. Again, I really enjoy it!
6. I am a big kid. I love to be childish and immature, and dance stupidly, and laugh weirdly.
7. I HATE BUGS!!! (cringing at the thought.) When I was younger, apparently I used to eat worms, but I have grown in to a wussy, sooky lala at anything of the sort. Also, moths scare the crap out of me which is funny because I am obsessed with butterflies.

Forwarding the Love to:

1. Tested On Human
2. My Health and Beauty Advice
3. Karma Naturals
4. The Lust Laboratory
5. Only Me
6. Healthy Living Natural Beauty
7. The Blossom Shed

Honeybee Gardens Lipstick

(Romance-Karma)

This is my first time trying the Honeybee Gardens lipstick's and it was a surprising experience. I have never really been much of a lipstick wearer because most lipstick's i tried made my lips dry almost instantly and I would spend days trying to recover them. I have read great reviews about this brand so I wanted to give them a go, choosing colours was the hardest part! I had seen swatches of the shade Karma so I definitely had to give this a go as I believe every girl should own a nice nude lip colour, and as tempted as I was to go for a barbie pink, I went for something a little more classic and wearable, Romance.

(Romance-Karma)

I'll start with Karma. Love it! The shade is perfect for my skin tone and has that nice hint of colour in it that makes it look oh so flattering and not at all washed out which is really hard to find. When I first tried applying Karma, it had a kind of waxy coating on it that made it really hard to get any colour onto my lips and it sort of gripped which tugged on my lips, so I found myself applying it to my hand quite a few times just to remove ithe coating. The texture is rather thick, thicker than the other shade, and quite pigmented so you don't need a whole lot but it you do need to smudge it in and blot, otherwise it appears patchy and looks really terrible. Another thing I found with this particular shade is that it works best if you don't put balm underneath. Perhaps it needs the dryness or something, but over balm it seperates and looks patchy also. I would suggest putting a tiny layer of balm over the top though as this Karma is a bit drying, nothing major, but enough to bother me. Apart from that I think Honeybee Gardens has done a great job with this shade.

Ingrediants: Karma

Canola oil, ricinus communis (castor) seed oil, cocos nucifera (coconut) oil, sesamum indicum (sesame) seed oil, butyrospermum parkii (shea butter) fruit, beeswax, theobroma cacao (cocoa) seed butter, copernicia cerifera (carnauba) wax, tocopherol (vitamin E), origanum vulgare (oregano) leaf extract, thymus vulgaris (thyme) extract, cinnamomum zeylanicum (cinnamon) bark extract, rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary) leaf extract, lavandula angustifolia (lavender) flower extract, hydrastis canadensis (golden seal) root extract. May Contain: titanium dioxide, iron oxides, ultramarine blue, carmine, manganese violet.

Romance, a really nice pinkish red, has the best formula of any lipstick i've tried. This goes on incredibly smooth and gives the lips a sheer but pigmented colour hit, it also appears a tiny bit glossy, like you've added a layer of balm over the top which looks really refreshing. Romance isn'drying at all, bonus, and the colour is extremely wearable for any occasion. The best part about Romance, is that the colour is buildable, one layer gives of the same hint of colour that I get from, say, Burt's Bee's tinted lip balm, 2-3 layers for a more lipstick type shade.

Ingrediants: Romance

canola oil, ricinus communis (castor) seed oil, cocos nucifera (coconut) oil, sesamum indicum (sesame) seed oil, butyrospermum parkii (shea butter) fruit, beeswax, theobroma cacao (cocoa) seed butter, copernicia cerifera (carnauba) wax, tocopherol (vitamin e), origanum vulgare (oregano) leaf extract, thymus vulgaris (thyme) extract, cinnamomum zeylanicum (cinnamon) bark extract, rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary) leaf extract, lavandula angustifolia (lavender) flower extract, hydrastis canadensis (golden seal) root extract. May Contain: titanium dioxide, iron oxides, ultramarine blue, carmine, manganese violet.

Both were purchased from iHerb.com for $8.99 each.



Brushes, Brushes & more Brushes!

I've been on the lookout for other vegan/eco friendly cosmetic brushes lately, I do love the EcoTools ones that have gotten me through for so long now, but I would like to try some other brands so this is what I have found.

Bdellium Green Bambu Brush Set's

This is the 5 piece smokey eye brush set, you can also get a 4 piece foundation set or a 5 piece mineral set. I had never heard of this brand till I read about these brushes on the Pure Makeup blog but I can't find the link to add in. Anywho, These brushes are from the Green Bambu line, so naturally they are made from green bamboo and are antibacterial and I have read nothing but great reviews about this line of brushes.

5 piece smokey eye set $31.09
5 piece mineral set $40.50
4 piece foundation set $40.50


Walk On The Wild Side Vegan Brush Set


I absolutley love this set, the colours are so calming and the name is awesome too. I couldn't find any more information on them but they are vegan and the case is faux leather. 

 $89

Silk Green Line Brush Set

This set is a 12 piece synthetic brush set, the handles are made from bamboo and they come in a really cool zip up cork case.
It is a little on the pricier side but you do get all the brushes you could possibly need and from what I have read they are great.

$119


Sigma Mrs. Bunny Essential Kit

Another set that is on the pricier side, but come on, how cute are these?! They definitely would not suit the theme I have in my room but I cannot get over the awesome colour. Another vegan set, it comes with 12 brushes and the container, which comes apart to make two seperate brush holder cups. Love it. You can also get a Mr.s Bunny travel kit which has 7 brushes and the holder or the Mr. Bunny kit's which are exactly the same but in black.

$109

WotNot Vegan Makeup Brush Set

This set of 8 brushes looks to me a lot like the EcoTools brushe's but a bit more costly. I do like this set though, it looks basic, has all the essentials and comes in a linen brush pouch.

$79.95

Be Mine

Today I wanted to do a Valentine's Day inspired look, and I think it turned out surprisingly well. Sorry for the bad lighting, the weather is being very un-summery lately and these were the best shots I could get.

To start with I cleansed and moisturised my face with some coconut oil, then applied  Alima Pure Semi Matte Foundation in Neutral 3.

I then applied rms beauty "un" cover-up in 11 under and on the inner corner of my eyes to lighten them.

Next I applied a line of Madison Street Beauty eyeshadow in Redcurrent (deep pinkish red) along my upper lashline, going thick at the outer corner with a slight wing, then used Madison Street Beauty eyeshadow in Cherry Blossom (medium pink and one of my favourite eyeshadow's) over my lid, blending to just above the crease and to the tip of the wing. I then dabbed a little Alima Pure Luminous Shimmer Eyeshadow in Dream in the inner corner to brighten my eyes more, blending it into the pink a little.

I applied a thin layer of Larenim Mascara in Black, only to define my eyelashes, not making them to overpowering, and lined the waterline's with Couleur Caramel Eye and Lip Pencil in White.

Next I took a little bit of Alima Pure's Luminous Shimmer Blush in Freja to the apples of my cheeks, just enough for a subtle flush of colour.

Lastly I applied a light layer of Vapour Organic Beauty Aura Multi Use in Spark to my lips followed by a few dab's of Neal's Yard Lipgloss in Clear, then I blotted my lips to make it seem more like a natural tint to my lips.

I wanted to go for a subtle flush of colour and I think this look hit that goal perfectly, a look I may just go for on Valentine's :)

(sorry for the terrible angle, I was trying to capture the colour's better)

rms beauty

Since making the switch to organic and natural I have tried and tested many different brands and products, but there is particular brand that is always my go to and that is rms beauty. I have been a devout user of this brand since july last year and never leave the house without wearing one or more of the products as they are so versitile and the colours are perfect.

My absolute favourite product from the range is the lip2cheek in Muse, although I have to admit, I rarely wear it on my lips or cheeks, I use it as an eyeshadow (which i'm sure I have mentioned previously). For years I searched for the perfect, skin-toned, cream eyeshadow and Muse is just that. It blends right into my light skin giving my eyes the perfect hint of shine and colour, making them look fresh and awake. There aren't many lip or cheek products you can get away with wearing on your eyes without irritation, which to me, proves the purity of these products.

Not only is Muse perfect on it's own, it is also great to use as a base for powder eyeshadows or as a mixer for the other rms products. I find that Muse takes the 'bite' out of solar which makes it a bit more wearable for everyday, and in turn makes a really beautiful golden tan colour, and when mixed with seduce it makes a perfect in between brown for a subtle smoky eye.

I haven't mixed it with magnetic as I find magnetic to be perfect on it's own but I have mixed it with the lip2cheek's in modest and smile, which also make nice blended colours.

Used on the cheeks, Muse looks like it is not even there, but gives a subtle highlight and looks beautiful if you are going for a fresh/dewy no makeup look. I definitely think that if you were looking for one natural/organic cosmetic brand that suited all of your basic needs, then rms beauty would be it.

The Bathing Beauty Blog shows different ways to use the rms products which I found handy when I first strated using them, they also show how you can mix some "un" cover-up in a darker colour with a little living illuminizer to make a bronzer. Genius!

To finish off my rave I just want to share my excitement about rms beauty bringing out a new shade of cream eyeshadow. The shade, Karma, will be out this month in America and the shade Solar has been reformulated to be a bit more wearable. You can read about it here.

*NOTE: The only negative thing I have heard (read) anybody say about the products, is that the eyeshadows tend to crease. They do a little but personally this doesn't bother me at all as the colour still shows well.

**NOTE: If you wanted to try some rms products but are a bit iffy about the price, Spirit Beauty Lounge has a Delux Sample Kit where you can pick 9 different samples of any products to try for a small price which is a cool idea if you don't want to spend so much on the unknown.

Stress and body states

I'm sure that by now everyone is aware of the havock stress will wreak on our bodies, but I thought I might elaborate on that a bit today.

Your body has two states it can be in, sympathetic and parasympathetic, both are useful in their own ways but can also cause health issues if their is not balance.

The Sympathetic state is catabolic, and is most often referred to as the 'fight or flight' state, the state that our body goes into when we are doing vigorous activity, when we are excited, scared or nervous. It is in this state that our heart rate increase, pupils dilate, we sweat, breath deeply etc. which is essential functions when we are in the aformentioned activities.

The Parasympathetic state is anabolic, and is referred to as the 'housekeeping' state. It is in this state that our body goes through the necessary functions such as digestion, elimination and resting, essential for our body to heal, grow and to recieve the nourishment it needs.

 When in the sympathetic state, our body is basically in a constant state of go, which means it is using all of its energy stores for defense and to prepare for activities rather than nourishment. When our energy stores are depleted, we begin to feel exhausted and irritable.  We have to let our body rest at this point in order for the much meeded 'housekeeping' functions to begin once again. This is why, after a big meal, we become tired and need to rest, because our bodies need to switch to parasympathetic state in order to digest the food.

It is extremely important for one's health that our bodies have balance bewtween the two states, ensuring that we can rest easily when needed and perform vigorous tasks when needed also.

Remaining in one state too often causes great stress on the body and many health issues can arise. 

Too often being in sympathetic state can cause aggression, anxiety, irritability, copious sweating, high blood sugar and high blood pressure.

Too often being in parasympathetic state can cause fatigue, and make one prone to depression, low blood pressure, metal toxicity and more.

[picture source: here]

References:

Human Anatomy & Physiology - Elaine N. Marieb, Katja Hoehn (eighth edition)

http://www.drlwilson.com/articles/NERVOUS%20SYSTEM.htm