Naturalla Beauty

I know, I know, I've been a terrible blogger this last month, sorry!  My summer job is finished now though, so it's back to pounding the pavement and looking for a real job.  I absolutely loathe job hunting, but on the bright side, being unemployed for the time being means I should be able to keep the blog updated a lot more regularly!

Anyways, onto today's post - a review of Concrete Minerals!

Ordering

I've ordered from Concrete Minerals twice.  Both orders were placed from their Etsy shop, which I believe is now closed since they've opened their independent website.  Ordering on Etsy is always easy and their independent site looks really simple to navigate as well.

Shipping/Packaging

Both times I ordered, the second of which was even in the middle of the rush after they were featured on Heartsy, my order was shipped quickly.  Both orders arrived safely in bubble mailers.  Both times my orders included an information card about mineral makeup, a coupon code for 15% off a future order, and a free sample.  Full size eye shadows are $7 and come in 10 gram sifter jars - larger than the standard 3 or 5 gram jars I most often see used for mineral eye shadows.  They look to be packed about 1/2 to 3/4 full, depending on the colour, and the bottom says they contain 1.5 grams of product.  Samples come in five gram sifter jars and are very generous.  All jars list the company info and full ingredients.

The Product

Concrete Minerals eye shadows are very pigmented.  Even without primer or a base, they are quite vivid.  The texture is nice and they apply smoothly.  My only complaint is with a couple of the more complex colours.  Smut, for example, is described as a dirty silver with pink-purple undertones and it is AMAZING when swatched on my hand.  The problem comes when applying it to the eye - I just can't seem to get it to apply in all it's duochromey glory.  It ends up looking muddy, even when just patted on.  The same is true with Lolita, described as a shimmery taupe with pink undertones.  On the hand it is beautiful, but on my eye, it looks like an ordinary silver color.  I don't know if it's just me - user error - and the way I apply them or if it's because I don't use Concrete's own eye shadow primer, but it's been a bit frustrating trying to get these two colours to apply the way I want them to!

Anyways, moving on to colours I've been more successful with.  Blitzkrieg, which was the free sample in my first order is an amazing golden maple/bronzy brown colour.  It's become one of my top picks for neutral shadow and I'll definitely repurchase a full size when my sample runs out.  Ruse is a pretty golden bronze that's really versatile, and Napalm is an insanely pigmented orange.  Vegas is a light yellowy gold that's also very nice.  Croma is lighter than I expected, but still a nice, super pale lavender shade.

The Swatches

The Bottom Line

Overall these aren't my most reached for shadows, but there are ones that I like a lot.  Concrete Minerals came out with more colours a couple months ago and there are definitely a few I'm curious to try at some point.  Since not all the colours I've bought have worked for me, I do wish they'd offer sample sizes for sale, but they have great customer service and a 14 day "Love it or Ditch it" policy that allows you to exchange or return a colour that doesn't work for you.  All in all, I'd recommend giving Concrete Minerals a try if there are any colours that interest you.