Welcome back! And welcome if you are new here xoxo
As you might know, I went on holidays recently – first in four years, so it was a big deal to me 🙂 I asked you if you want me to post about what natural and organic products I took with me and you said yes, so this post is for you guys! I will be very honest with you here and will let you know what products ended up working and NOT working in the different climate. You see, I live in the cold, rainy and humid climate here in Ireland (hello +14*C to 20*C summers with rain daily or trice weekly at the very least. Heatwave? What heatwave?) and Mediterranean ain’t that, we all know it. So a couple of products I counted on working for me turned out complete disappointments while one other spoiled as soon as we touched down, I swear. I will also make a list of products I will take on my next holidays, while my mind is still fresh on what worked and not. Shall we get started? Continue reading “What To Take On Holidays – Natural Beauty Edition”
Today is going to be a quick post on what natural and organic products I took to Rome for a mini getaway to treat Mom for her birthday. For those of you who might not know, my mom had a breast cancer about a year and a half ago. She won, which pleases me to no end, but being aware of the limited time we had left, I got this idea in my head to whisk my mom away for her ultimate Birthday this year and I didn’t rest until I made that happen.
I got request to see what exactly I took with me, so this post is for you guys – here is the breakdown of the products. Continue reading “Natural & Organic Products For A Weekend Away”
Welcome back! And welcome of you are new here xoxo
How are all of you, I hope life is treating you well? I’ve been thinking about my favourite products lately and which ones are long standing ones, and I have came up with a blog post on the spot – let’s see my ride or die favourites from 2018 still used daily today?
Welcome back! And if you are new here, welcome xoxo
So, with Mother’s day fast approaching, you might be wondering what to get that wonderful mom of yours? Let me help – I feel it’s best if I chose all products from one stop shop to save you time, and what better shop than Love Lula*? I will also keep this post short and sweet as not to take up too much of your time. I chose the products I love and believe would make a good presents. Most of them have reviews, and if they don’t, they are on the way. Existing reviews will be linked down below in the case you would love to read more in depth about products. Continue reading “Natural Mother’s Day Gifts – All From Love Lula”
Welcome back! And if you are new here, welcome xoxo
A quick post for today, a collection of my green beauty make up swatches (and links to the reviews where apt) I have had over a course of few years. Be prepared for way for swatches coming your way on my IG, Facebook, & Pinterest too – after spring cleaning my stash I collected all the samples I own, and instead of just throwing them away, why not be of service for all of us and post a series of natural products swatches? I myself find them crucial, because vast majority of my make up comes from online – from LoveLula, Citrine Natural Beauty Bar, GlowOrganic Brighton, PureAnada, and a few other retailers.
Welcome back! And if you are new here, welcome xoxo
How are all of you, I hope you are well?
I had my eye on Sarya Couture MakeUp as soon as the brand appeared in Love Lula* – it is a couture cosmetics line created with the finest natural and organic ingredients, so naturally it called my name. Imagine my delight when Love Lula asked me if I’d like to try some of the products – are you guys kidding me, yes please! After a little while of testing the products, here I am with my first impressions review and a make up look. Want to know more? You are in the right place!
Welcome back! And welcome, if you are new here xoxo
How are all of you? Now that the weather is getting warmer day by day, I was in the mood for new make up goodies – all natural of course! So imagine my delight when Lavera came forward wanting to send me a few make up goodies from their newly launched Spring 2019 collection – that was a sign, no less 🙂 Yes please!
Oh, please excuse me, but I have to add this disclaimer before we start:
As per new rules for bloggers, all the products sent to us for our consideration are now classified as an [AD] – nonsense if you ask me, but who’s asking me. If you have been following me for some time you know I always disclose what products were sent to me, but this does not make it an [AD] – an AD is advertisement post where you would actually be paid to talk about those products, am I right?
So we would be on the same page – this post features products both sent to me (marked with *) as well as bought with my own moolah. I am not paid to do this post, this is all my own doing, and the opinions are mine and mine alone.
Let’s just start with introducing Lavera as a brand for those of you who might have not heard of them – it is a brand widely known here in the Europe, but not so much in the US, I find? I have so much respect for the brand founder Thomas Haase, who made it his mission to make organic and natural cosmetics accessible for everyone everywhere – and that was more than 20 years ago! One of the true green beauty pioneers, no less.
Defying all his critics, Thomas started developing effective cosmetics with a 100% natural basis, founding the company Laverana and the brand lavera on November 23, 1987. The company name Laverana already reveals that the brand and company are inextricably connected, as “lavera” stands for “true” and “na” for “natural cosmetics”. In a time when everything revolved around chemicals, Thomas discovered his lifelong dream and dedicated his life to a vision of “organic and natural beauty care for all”. Since 1988, he has been developing the natural personal care market and leading Laverana as its founder and executive partner. The driving force behind Laverana since its foundation remains its goals of democratization, differentiation, and internationalization. Mr. Haase isn’t interested in only being a short chapter in a book: he wants to make history, as well as a lasting impact on the world of personal care products. Does all this make your heart sing? It sure does for me!
Lavera promises 100% Natrue certified natural cosmetics – free of synthetic preservatives and fragrances. 100% of their products are tested for skin compatibility and are dermatologically approved. Never tested on animals though, Lavera is against animal testing. Every product is researched, developed and produced in Germany. All ingredients are fully declared on packaging, INCI card or website. I suggest you go over those, as Lavera is fully transparent with what’s important for consumers, they clearly state if the product is vegan, gluten free, suitable for pregnant ladies use, etc.
I am very excited to let you know that Lavera added 59 colour cosmetic product to the range of existing ones. You can expect new formulations, new design and completely new products! 22 new face products, 21 eye product, plus 16 new lip products – exciting, huh?
Now, let’s get into the post and my first impressions of the product – I have had about a week to play with the new goodies, but the good news is, make up isn’t like skincare where you would have to test it for 4-6 weeks to see results and make your opinion on it. Shall we get started? I thought you’d never ask 🙂
First thing first, foundation – I applied this new  Lavera Soft Liquid Foundation (in Ivory Light)* which has this Green Anti-Pollution Complex, promising to protect skin cells from air pollution and counteracts the effects of free radicals with natural anti-oxidants and organic algae, which should lead to a fresh, radiant skin. I agree, the skin definitely looks radiant. The consistency is similar to a light runny lotion, but please have in mind you will have to work rather quickly blending it in – it sets fast. The shade is ever so slightly too dark for me right now, but I reckon it should be a pretty good colour match for me in the summer. For now I just make sure I blend it down my neck too. You might need to set it to avoid it settling in your pores, and I should also add there’s fragrance in this foundation too, which is kind of strong at first, but fades away eventually. Please keep that in mind if you are avoiding fragrance. It is suitable for vegans, contains no carmine or lanolin, no gluten either. Suitable during pregnancy. Staying power is pretty good. I will list all the ingredients of all the products, as well as swatches at the end of this post if that’s OK with you. Next I moved on to the eyes and did a super simple, one-shadow-all-over look. I applied Beautiful Mineral Eyeshadow in Light Sand* – perfect for a daytime if you ask me! Next I applied Soft Eyeliner in Black and Natural Definition Mascara – it has an interesting brush, something I have never seen before. It has twice shorter wand with spiky bristles, see the photo down below. The description promises definition, volume and separation, and while I love the look it gives me (long and definitely separated lashes), I don’t see much volume if I am honest. That’s totally fine, I will go on to get a different mascara next time, probably Intense Volumising Mascara or Butterfly Effect Mascara? With my eyes done, I applied Soft Lipliner in Pink 02 to outline my lips, and the last thing I do is apply a Beautiful Lips Colour Intense Lipstick in Coral Flamingo both on my lips and cheeks, sort of like a multiple. I didn’t have any Lavera blushes on hand, and this is one easy way to have a pulled together look in no time. The lipstick is nicely pigmented, creamy and easy to work with, but for some reason it pulls brown on me, not coral. I added a bit of the eye shadow as a highlight too. I will admit, this a bit out of my comfort zone with this look, especially having in mind that these photo are untouched. You guys know I don’t do Photoshop or even filters, what you see is what you get with me. I do it for you, see how much I love you guys? Not the easiest thing to do for a woman on the (very) wrong side of 30s with dermatitis prone skin! See how much I love you guys? Do you like this look?
LAVERA SOFT LIQUID FOUNDATION WITH THE GREEN ANTI-POLLUTION COMPLEX
Have you tried Lavera natural cosmetics? What is your favourite product? Please tell me so I could check them out! One little side note, their So Fresh Mineral Rouge Powder in Columbine Pink is close dupe to Nars Orgasm – see this blog post to see 20 more natural versions of it. With swatches and everything! I worked hard on that post 🙂
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