Alima Pure – Organic Nourishing Lip Balm

Alima Pure as a brand is a wonderful alternative.  Their packaging is adorable.  They are very eco friendly and animal friendly and everything they make is as natural as mineral make up can be.  They are Leaping Bunny certified as well as Certified Natural Cosmetics.  Everything on their site is rated 0-2 on Skin Deep Cosmetics Database. They are cruelty free, even their brushes are free of animal products. They donate at least 1% of their revenue to environmental organizations.  The list goes on and on.  This is a great company doing a lot for natural beauty and the environment.

Their prices aren’t bad at all, very comparable with other mineral make up lines if not a lot better than some I have seen. They send 2 free samples with every order. Their shipping is fast and everything comes packaged well. They have a full satisfaction policy, if you don’t love it, you can return it.  Their products have been seen in Real Simple magazine, Whole Living magazine, Natural Health magazine, Natural Solutions magazine and many more.  Alicia Silverstone frequently talks about their products on her blog, The Kind Life.

The Organic Nourishing Lip Balm comes in a thin tube, very cute packaging.  It is similar to the tinted lip shimmers from Burt’s Bees if you have tried those.  It is all natural and so gentle on the lips.  The color is really rich and pretty too and creamy.
 
 

ZuZu Luxe The Mascara

WHAT IT IS:
A cruelty-free lengthening mascara

HOW IT LOOKS/FEELS:
This gentle, nonirritating formula adds length to lashes; it’s available in Onyx, Espresso, Navy, and Clear.

WHY WE LIKE IT:
Free of talc, petrochemicals, propylene glycol, mineral oils, parabens, synthetic colors, fragrances, preservatives, and lead, this mascara is a spot-on choice for those with sensitive eyes, contact-lens wearers, and vegan-friendly beauty junkies. Plus, the clear mascara works well as a brow gel.

—Alison Caporimo
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Urban Decay Stardust Eyeshadow Review, Photos, Swatches

For Spring, Urban Decay’s launched nine shades of a new eyeshadow formula: Stardust Eyeshadows. According to Urban Decay, these have a silky texture that has “40% more glitter than our most sparkly shadows,” and that this formula “delivers a sheer wash of color, topped with … sparkle that glistens like wet now.” The glitter ingredient is called “reflex” and these boast no fall out or chunky glitter. They can be used wet or dry, depending on what kind of color you want to achieve. Each Stardust eyeshadow retails for $20.00 for 0.12 oz. For reference, Deluxe Eyeshadows retail for $18.00 for 0.09 oz. and Deluxe Eyeshadows retail for $16.00 for 0.05 oz.

Eyeshadows: Space Cowboy, Bobby Dazzle, Griffith, Diamond Dog, 54
Retrograde, Atmosphere, Moon Spoon, Void

For Spring, Urban Decay’s launched nine shades of a new eyeshadow formula: Stardust Eyeshadows. According to Urban Decay, these have a silky texture that has “40% more glitter than our most sparkly shadows,” and that this formula “delivers a sheer wash of color, topped with … sparkle that glistens like wet now.” The glitter ingredient is called “reflex” and these boast no fall out or chunky glitter. They can be used wet or dry, depending on what kind of color you want to achieve. Each Stardust eyeshadow retails for $20.00 for 0.12 oz. For reference, Deluxe Eyeshadows retail for $18.00 for 0.09 oz. and Deluxe Eyeshadows retail for $16.00 for 0.05 oz.

Stardust Eyeshadows

• Space Cowboy is a champagne beige with golden sheen and sparkle. It goes on barely there when used dry, but it has a more opaque look when used wet.
• Bobby Dazzle is a shimmery white (just slightly tinged by gold) with white and silver sparkle. This shade is best used dry unless layering over a more intense color, because it is incredibly sheer dry, though more obvious when used wet.
• Griffith is a soft, yellow-toned green with paler green sheen and sparkle. You can get some green to show when you use this dry, but it’s better when used wet or over a base.
• Diamond Dog is a dirty brown with a little gray and silverish sparkle. This brown kind of felt like one of those “ugly” browns to me for some reason. Somewhat pigmented when used wet but still nicer when used wet.
• 54 is an icy purple with silver-white sparkle. It’s pretty pale and cool-toned and like the other shades, best used wet.
• Retrograde is a darkened purple with red undertones and silver sparkle. I expected richer color, but I couldn’t achieve the deepness I wanted even when used wet. It just looks so dark in the pot, but it’s not nearly so dark in real life.
• Atmosphere is a bright teal-blue with silver sparkle. Atmosphere is easily the best shade of the nine — if you only wanted one, this is the one I’d recommend. It’s richly pigmented, even when used dry, and moreso when used wet.
• Moon Spoon is a gray taupe with cool silver sparkle. So so when used dry, smoother when used wet.
• Void is a gray-black with silver sparkle. It reminded me of Oil Slick, just with more glitter. I found this one didn’t seem to look much different when used wet–about the same as when swatched dry.

The packaging is a matte, slightly squish plastic (think NARS) shaped into a square. You squeeze the sides and it releases the plastic flip-top back. I’m not drooling over the packaging, but it’s functional. It’s particularly streamlined and “clean” for Urban Decay, actually.

The glitter in the Stardust eyeshadows is definitely not the typical chunky glitter a la Midnight Cowboy Rides Again, but I did encounter a decent amount of fall out when I used Atmosphere in this look earlier this week. It wasn’t the worst fall out I’ve encountered, but I did get enough to be able to say that these definitely are prone to fall out for me. I used it over Urban Decay’s Primer Potion and wet, for reference, and still had the fall out. I’d say the fall out is a little less than their typical glitter eyeshadows, certainly much less so than Midnight Cowboy Rides Again, as well. If you don’t mind a little clena-up, then these might be fun to play around with.

These are probably better over dark bases or else layered on top of more pigmented or vibrant shades of eyeshadow. I could definitely see these working well over a black base for a very smoky, glittering eye. Even though layering seems to the best way to use these, they weren’t quite as blendable as Urban Decay’s powder eyeshadows. When used wet, they have a bit of a tendency to “stick” in places, so you may find yourself using a similar-colored powder eyeshadow to help blend out the Stardust eyeshadow.

Bottom Line: I have never been a fan of eyeshadows that produce a lot of fall out. I don’t want to have to spend extra time cleaning up after application; I don’t mind a little bit–the kind that can be covered up with foundation, just not a lot. These have enough fall out that I don’t love them, and I think the colors themselves aren’t as vibrant as I’d like to see from Urban Decay, so they’re not to my taste. Atmosphere was the only one that really popped to me.  It’s like they’re okay – Urban Decay states they’re sheer, but they also say “no fall out” which I found not to be the case in my experience.

I found myself preferring Stila’s Jewel Eyeshadow Palette for my dose of glitter, because I found the color went on a bit more pigmented when used dry, but I also didn’t encounter very much fall out when I used them either. Of course, the shades aren’t similar, so you may go one way or the other based on what kind of color you want.  I will say that if you use a sponge-tip applicator or your finger to press on the glitter, there is a lot less fall out, though.  Additionally, for a glittery-based eyeshadow, the fall out was much less than I’ve experienced in the past, on the whole.
 
 

Urban Decay Cosmetics- Lip Junkie Lip Gloss!

Do you get annoyed with the stickiness of some lip glosses,  “You want a super-shiny gloss, but can’t stand the sticky texture, right? Wait till you feel the soft, cushiony texture of this gloss by Urban Decay,”

This is what Ulta.com provides us with: “Lip Junkie stays put longer than other glosses, but never feels gummy or gooey. It comes in a range of pretty amazing shades, and the color payout is amazing. Take your pick from sheer pretty neutrals, kick-a** brights, or glimmering near-black. And the flavor? Think yummy wedding mints…a sweet mint with a little zing that makes breath feel fresh. Urban Decay’s bonus ingredient, Maxi-Lip, even plumps lips an average of 40% when used daily for a month. (Maxi-Lip is a non-irritant plumping ingredient that doesn’t sting or inflame your lips like other short-term plumpers can.) Urban Decay’s superstar ingredient can actually help your lips become better defined, super hydrated and full. YES, PLEASE! Urban Decay’s sleek gloss tube is molded, not crimped, no more worrying about lip gloss explosions in your bag. (Finally!) Urban Decay finished it off with a soft angled tip that lays down a smooth, precise application without mess. This gloss will hook even you jaded junkies. All shades but Heavy and Naked are vegan.”

There are 10 different colors available to choose from: Naked, Runaway, Crush, Heavy, Jilted, Love Junky, Midnight Cowboy, Peroxide, Perversion, Redlight.  Each cost $19.00 here, not exactly cheap, but not over-the-top expensive either.