Naturalla Beauty

I'm extra excited to write this review, because, after looking for over a year now, I may have just found my perfect foundation! 

The Company

Lucy Minerals is another great mineral makeup brand.  Annie, the owner, started making mineral foundation to cover her own rosacea and eventually began selling it as well.  What's unique about most of Lucy Minerals' foundations is that they contain an antioxidant blend of Apple Poly® polyphenols, trans-resveratrol, and green coffee bean extract.  You can find more information about the antioxidants on the Lucy Minerals website.  

I've never been a big fan of mineral foundation, just because I've never gotten enough coverage from a mineral foundation to suit my liking.  I'd read lots of good reviews of Lucy Minerals and heard how completely different it was to most mineral foundations, so I decided to order a couple "try it" sizes.  Try it foundations come in 5-gram jars (with sifters) and sell for only $2 each.  

Foundation

Lucy Minerals has several different foundation formulas.  I decided to try the Lucy Light Foundation and ordered samples in light and bisque, which are the two lightest neutral shades.  The 'light' in the name doesn't refer to the coverage, but rather to absence of the antioxidants that are added to most of Lucy's foundations.  My skin has reacted to several foundations in the past, so I went with this formula to avoid any extra ingredients and cut down on the chance of getting any kind of reaction.

Application

Right from the first application, I was very impressed.  You really only need a small amount of foundation to achieve an amazing finish.   One thing to keep in mind is that Lucy's foundations do give a heavier coverage than a lot of other mineral foundations, so you can end up looking cakey if you apply too much, which is why I'd stress the importance of applying multiple light layers over one heavier layer.  First, I stipple on a light layer all over with an Essence of Beauty flat top blender brush.  Then, with a concealer brush, I apply a little extra to any blemishes, discoloration, or anywhere else that needs extra coverage.  Lastly, I go over it again with the blender brush and buff on another thing layer all over.  

Coverage

What I love most about this foundation is the finish it gives.  My skin has been pretty good lately, but the foundation covers any redness or blemishes I have and completely evens out my skin tone.  At the same time, it does not look like I am wearing any makeup!  My biggest pet peeve with foundation is if it's obvious you're wearing it.  Lucy Minerals makes it look like my skin itself is amazing, not like I'm wearing a good foundation.  It has a matte finish, but still leaves my skin looking very healthy and natural. 

Wear

I get about 8 hours of perfect wear with just the foundation.  Around the 8 hour mark, I sometimes start to see a bit of shine come through on my nose or forehead.  It's nothing major, but ideally, I'd like to be able to get a few more hours of wear before having to blot or touch up.  Lucy Minerals recommends using a finishing powder and I have a sample of Silk Naturals' Perfecting Powder that I'm going to try with the foundation next.  Lucy Minerals also makes several of their own finishing powders.

Bottom Line

I'm so glad I didn't give up on mineral foundations before trying Lucy Minerals.  In terms of colours, I was lucky enough to find a perfect match in light, but I do hope they extend the shade range in the future, as it is a little limited.  They are willing to work with you and custom blend a foundation if you fall between two colours, but especially if you have darker skin, you might not find a match.   Another plus is that price-wise, Lucy Minerals is also less expensive than many other brands, at only $12 for the (full size) light formula and $14 for the formulas with added antioxidants.  If you're looking for a new foundation and do find a possible colour match, I highly recommend picking up a sample or two.  I've been using mine for about 3 weeks now and I think I've gone through less than half the sample.  I'll definitely be ordering the full size when I start to run low!

  

I needed to pick up some conditioner, so I placed another small order with iherb.  Here's what I got:

Organic Excellence Wild Mint Conditioner - I've been using Organic Excellence's shampoo for a few weeks now, but it took me a little longer to run out of conditioner.  I've only used the conditioner a couple times, but so far I like it a lot.

Humphrey's Witch Hazel Astringent - I keep reading about using witch hazel as a toner to minimize the appearance of large pores and I wanted to give it a try, since I've got some larger pores around my nose.  I actually had a ridiculous time trying to find straight witch hazel in stores around here.  All I kept finding was witch hazel toners, which of course contained plenty of other ingredients, so I was really glad to find plain witch hazel on iherb.  That said, I really was not expecting the strong smell this has.  It's apparently perfectly normal for witch hazel and there are tons of tips out there for masking it.  I think I'm going to try mixing some with a couple drops of an essential oil and see how that works.  I'll report back once I've tried it :)

Hurraw! Cinnamon Tinted Lip Balm - I've always heard good things about Hurraw!'s lip balms, so I figured I'd finally give them a try.  The cinnamon is very slightly tinted and smells just like Valentines Day cinnamon hearts. 

Grab Green Fragrance Free Bleach Alternative - I chose this as my freebie this time around.  I've tried natural bleach alternatives before, but they've always needed to be dissolved in warm water before you add them to your wash.  This looks extra simple - first, it's already in pre-measured tablets and second, they don't even need to be unwrapped.  You just throw them into your wash and the pods they are packaged in will supposedly dissolve in either hot or cold water.

I also got these lemon wafer cookies, but they didn't quite make it to the picture taking phase.  They were good while they lasted though! 

Don't forget, if you're new to iherb, you can use ITI429 to get $5 off your first order (affiliate code.)

I've suddenly gone a bit crazy wanting to buy loads of lip products.  I have more eye shadows than I'm likely to ever use, but my lip stash is pretty small.  With that in mind, I picked up two Honeybee Gardens lipsticks in Karma and Soft Kiss in my first iherb order.  

Honeybee Gardens has a good range of colours and a variety of finishes - matte, shimmer, frost, and sparkle.  Karma is a light peachy nude and Soft Kiss is a light baby pink.  Both colours are matte, which is actually what first drew me to the brand.  If I were to venture a guess, I'd say that at least half the natural lipsticks I come across are only available in frost or shimmer finishes, so it's awesome that Honeybee Gardens has such a variety.

I did write Honeybee Gardens with an ingredients question before purchasing.  Under 'may contain,' the ingredients on their website list ultramarine blue, which isn't FDA approved for lip use, but when I inquired, I was told that, although it used to be in one colour, that colour has since been discontinued and ultramarine blue is not in any of their current shades.  It would probably be a good idea to update this on their website, but either way, I was happy with the quick response I received.

The lipsticks come in silver tubes with the shade name on the bottom and the Honeybee Gardens logo on the top.  They feel creamy on, but are pretty standard - I don't find them especially moisturizing, but they don't dry out my lips either.  I did find they have a tendency to sink into my lip lines unless I apply a light layer of lip balm underneath, but as long as I do that, they work great.   They have no added scent or flavour. 

Prices vary depending where you purchase.  Direct from Honeybee Gardens, they are $11.99, but I got mine for around $9 on iherb.  I've seen them even cheaper other places online, and I've also seen them as high as $16 in local health food stores.  Honeybee Gardens also sells samples for $0.50.

Now onto the swatches -

I'm really happy with these lipsticks.  They're reasonably priced, work well, and I like both colours I chose.  Soft Kiss is a beautiful baby pink and Karma is a great nude.   I've always struggled with nude lips, but the peachy tones in Karma make it a lot more wearable.  I'm really glad to have both of these in my collection and I wouldn't hesitate to pick up more colours in the future.

If you do end up purchasing from iherb and you're a new customer, you can save $5 off your first order with the code ITI429 (referral code)