Naturalla Beauty

Have you ever used a product and deemed it just okay, only to be completely wowed by it later on?  That's pretty much how my experience with Acure's Moroccan Argan + Argan Stem Cell shampoo and conditioner has gone.  When I first reviewed these, although I liked them, I found them too heavily moisturizing to use as my regular shampoo and conditioner, but after about six months of use, I've come full circle and have come to love them as just that.  They're the main shampoo and conditioner I've been using for the last several months, so I figure I'm past due for an updated review.

Yes, they're supremely hydrating, but once I worked out the right balance for my curly, frizz-prone hair, it's not too much.  I use roughly a loonie-sized amount of shampoo (that's about one and a half quarters for you non-Canucks) but only a dime-sized amount of conditioner. I generally use more conditioner than shampoo, which I think is why it took me so long to puzzle this ratio out, but these amounts definitely works best here.  This way, the shampoo and conditioner help define my curls and minimize frizz but they don't weigh my hair down or leave it feeling heavy or greasy.  The result: soft hair and bouncy, shiny curls.  I like to use a more clarifying shampoo every 2-3 weeks, just to make sure I'm getting rid of any product build up, but Acure is what I reach for on an everyday basis.   I've even come to really like the almond smell, which initially wasn't a favorite.  

If you've got dry, wavy, curly, or frizzy hair, Acure's Moroccan Argan + Argan Stem Cell products are for you!  And if not, Acure also makes two other shampoos/conditioners for different hair types.  I'm curious how the other varieties compare, but since these have been working so well, I'm sticking with them for now.  In fact, I just bought my second bottles, which goes to show how much I like them!

Have you tried Acure's shampoos and conditioners?

Where to Buy: $9.49 from Vitacost, $8.62 from iherb, $9.99 from Acure

Reading more about the palm oil industry has left me wanting to switch away from products containing this ingredient, or at a minimum, to use only ones that contain palm oil that is sustainably sourced.  First on the list to change: bar soap.

I like to use bar soap both as hand soap and to wash my face.  I know a lot of people are concerned about using bar soap on their face, but it's what I've used for the last several years without issue.  Sure, it's not super luxe, but it gets the job done and it's incredibly affordable to boot!  I was excited to stumble across Badger's bar soaps, since before that, I didn't realize the company even made soap.  The line is made up of six kinds: three body, one baby, and two face and body.  The soaps are made with mainly organic ingredients, and although they do contain palm oil, it is sustainably sourced.  

Even more exciting than my experiments with pressing eye shadow are the two blush palettes I recently made.  These were the main reason I ordered from TKB Trading and I'm so excited about them!  I've only started getting more into blush over the last few months and in this case, I really prefer pressed over loose.  I'm quite fair and I find pressed easier to apply and less prone to over-application or streaking.    

There are, of course, companies that sell healthy pressed blushes, but needless to say, I was still inspired to make my own.  Unlike the shadows, these are colors I mixed up myself, which makes the end result that much more satisfying.

A few weeks ago I set out to try my hand at pressing eye shadows.  Using loose shadows isn't a problem for me, but there are definitely times when having a compact palette of pressed shadows is much more convenient.  Plus, there's something really aesthetically pleasing about looking at the colors all together in a palette.  





The Basics
Pressing eye shadow is awesome because you only need three ingredients: loose shadow, fractionated coconut oil, and rubbing alcohol.  Fractionated coconut oil is coconut oil that's been expeller pressed and refined.  It's food grade, but it has a longer shelf life than unrefined coconut oil and it stays liquid, even in colder temperatures.  You could definitely use another oil, but FCO is great since, with its indefinite shelf life, you don't need to worry about it going rancid.  I used 99% isopropyl alcohol to press these, but anything over 70% should be fine.  You don't want to introduce too much water into your shadow, so I wouldn't recommend going below 70%. 

I bought most of my supplies from TKB Trading, though the alcohol is from the drugstore and the loose shadows I already had in my stash.  In the two palettes I made - one neutral and one with brighter, more fun colors - most of the shades are colors I created by combining multiple shadows, but I didn't make any completely from scratch.

Since a lot of the shadows I was working with were samples, I used small, 15mm pans.  They're roughly the size of a dime, so pretty tiny, though you'll still need a good amount of shadow to fill them - between 1/4 and 1/2 teaspoon.  The amount varies because shadows from different companies will have different ratios of pigment to base ingredients, which makes them compact differently.  In loose shadow terms, a 3-gram jar holds roughly 1/4 tsp, and a 5-gram, 3/4 tsp, so you'll need, at minimum, the equivalent of a 3-gram jar.



Getting Creative
I think the best part of the whole endeavor was taking colors from my collection that I don't use much and turning them into new favorites.  For example, I mixed Noella Beauty Works Milk & Honey, which I find a little too yellow and Silk Naturals Cloudberry, which I've always wanted to have a little more pizzazz and created a warmer, more metallic peach shade.  Neither of these shadows were big hits on their own, but I really like how they turned out blended together!



Does Pressing Change Colors?
When I first started talking about pressing shadows, a couple people asked me if it altered the colors, but I haven't found that to be true.  I didn't have loose leftovers from all the colors, but I've compared those I had, and while the pressed ones are perhaps slightly darker, I don't think it's enough of a difference to be noticeable on the eye.  The pressed also adhere a little better without a primer, as you can see in the below photo (all swatched over bare skin.)  The top row is the shadows after being pressed and the bottom is in their original, loose form.

(L to R) The Starshine Company Sea Foam, Madd Style Cosmetics Hold Fast, Cheeky Cosmetics Sun Goddess, Shiro Cosmetics Master Sword, Shiro Cosmetics Vileplume

The Bottom Line
I'm really happy with how this experiment turned out!  The whole process was a lot easier than I expected and the shadows are smooth and creamy with awesome color payoff.  They do tend to kick up a bit more powder than your regular, silicone-filled pressed eye shadows, but I've found the same thing to be true of natural pressed eye shadows I've bought. 

I'd originally hoped to include some kind of photo tutorial of the process with this, but I didn't manage to get it together in time and I didn't want to delay the post any longer.  Let me know if you'd be interested in seeing a more in-depth tutorial in the future.  In the meantime, Oxana124 has a video on pressing with fractionated coconut oil that you can check out.  I followed the same process, but I used much less oil - only 2-3 drops per shadow, compared to the 12-14 she uses in the video.  

Mixing colors was fun and I have this compulsion to press all my shadows now!  I love looking at the finished palettes, but aside from that and the obvious ease for travel, in a lot of ways I prefer using loose shadows.  What do you think of pressed vs. loose shadows?  Have you ever tried pressing your own?  

I've seen a bunch of these posts pop up on different blogs over the last few weeks, and I figured I'd join in and share my top lip picks for spring and summer.  In the warmer months, I'm more drawn to brighter lip colors, but at the same time, I prefer lighter products that are a little bit sheer.  I've narrowed it down to these six favorites.

Makeup has been a favorite of mine for quite some time, but it's only in the last six months or so that I've become more interested in skincare.  It's amazing how much of a difference a slightly more involved routine can make!  A couple months ago, I won an Osmia Organics lip gloss in a Facebook giveaway and Sarah, Osmia's owner/formulator, kindly included a sample of the Active Gel Nutrient Serum as well. 

"This gentle face serum provides an extra layer of soothing moisture, with hyaluronic acid and niacinamide to help maintain intracellular water in the skin cells.  White tea and aloe comfort the skin, and rice protein acts to smooth and support the collagen structure of the skin.  This gel serum is meant to be used as a middle layer, between washing and applying a moisturizer or an oil serum.  Think of it as a multivitamin for your face."
Osmia recommends applying the serum to moist skin, so after cleansing, I mist my face with George's Aloe and make sure to rub the serum in while my skin is damp.  It absorbs quickly and unlike a lot of other gel serums, it leaves no film or tacky feeling on your skin.  I prefer my morning skincare to be quick and with fewer steps, so I usually only use the serum at night, but it does work well under makeup too, should you want to use it during the day.

The first night I used it, I did a double take over how much more plumped and firm my skin felt only a few minutes after application.  At 25, I think I still have fairly young skin, but I can't remember my skin ever feeling as firm, plump, and lifted as it's become since I started using this product.  In the beginning, this feeling would last until the morning and then my skin would seem back to normal, but once I hit about the 3 week mark, I noticed that my skin seemed to be retaining the extra moisture better and feels this way all day long.

The serum is also fantastic for fine lines.  Some of you may recall my struggle with the two small lines between my eyebrows, and Osmia's serum has made a real difference with them.  I've tried a few different products in the hopes of targeting this area, and this is the first one that's given real, visible results.  I know hyaluronic acid can sometimes reduce the appearance of lines just by plumping the surrounding area, but I think it goes beyond that, as the lines definitely seem shallower and less pronounced, even up to 24 hours after using the serum.  Makeup also sits better on this area and I've had less problems with it settling into the lines throughout the day.  

I've been using the sample once a day for about a month and I've still got a little left.  A full size retails for $55, and considering how potent the serum is and how far the sample alone has gone, it's something I do think I'll be purchasing in the future.  I'm so impressed with the results I've gotten from this product!  Osmia's Active Gel Nutrient Serum is a light serum that's equal parts gentle and effective, and I think it would suit a lot of different skin types.  

Ingredients: aloe barbadensis leaf juice*, glycerin*, camellia sinensis (white tea) extract*, calendula officinalis extract*, hydrolyzed rice protein, oat beta glucan, leuconostoc/arundinaria gigantea ferment filtrate, niacinamide (vitamin B3), sclerotium rolfsii gum, hydrolyzed oats, hyaluronic acid, proprietary blend of essential oils*.  
[*certified organic ingredient]