Hello everyone! Now that I've had a bit of time to start testing products, it's finally time to post reviews. What I'm thinking of doing is putting together eco friendly and beauty products every second month to review and give my opinion on. The number will vary depending on what I've tried. I don't want to buy ridiculous quantities of products and waste them so I take my time before buying new things.
But how am I going to review them? I've put together a system that I've called the FLIPPER (hehehe) rating system, you can click here to get the details on how it works and what it stands for. For a quick reminder, each letter represents a criteria: F - Feel of the product, L - Labour/Ease of use, I - Ingredients, P - Packaging, P - Price, E - Ethical, R - Results. Each criteria will be worth 5 points for a total of 35. Ready? Let's get started!
Disclaimer : Some of the links below are affiliate links, you can click here to read my whole policy and what it means. I'd also like to mention that these are my personal opinions and experiences with the products listed. If I didn't like a product it doesn't mean that I don't like the brand, far from it! If one of your favourite products didn't work for me, don't take it personally! In fact if you have advice on ways to make it work, I'd love to hear it.
FARMACY EYE DEW - £33.00
I bought this from Sephora over Christmas and been using it ever since. It's a good day eye cream although for me it wouldn't be rich enough to use at night. It doesn't have any particular smell. It feels light but moisturizing and I've absolutely no complaints about the product. I don't love the packaging as much though. It comes in a super cute glass pot but I find the shape makes it difficult to get product out without getting it all under your nails. Plus the wood cover broke apart from the lid... Would I repurchase? Probably not solely because of the price and the fact that I don't like the pot. Farmacy is a great brand that makes fantastic natural skincare. Their products are also Cruelty-free. I'm still testing other things from them but so far I'm really liking the Honey Savior.
F: 4 L: 3 I: 4 P: 2 P: 3 E: 3 R: 4 TOTAL: 23/35
SUKIN SUPER GREENS NUTRIENT RICH FACIAL MOISTURISER - £6.63
My old daily moisturizer turned out to have BHT in it so I've been on the hunt for a new one, and I think I've found a strong contender! Sukin is an australian natural skincare brand and this cream is part of their Super Greens range which has a mix of greens like kale and spirulina with antioxidants like goji and acai berries. And it might sound strange but I can really smell the goji and acai. The cream is very rich for a day moisturizer so maybe it wouldn't be the best for people with oily skin. On my dry skin however, it has always worked great and I've never had problems with applying makeup on top of it. The pump is a bit clunky because it's like the ones from soap bottles, so I'd prefer a different packaging though. Sukin is Vegan, Cruelty free, Carbon Neutral, Grey Water Safe and has recyclable packaging. All in all, for that price, I was absolutely blown away and I would repurchase and recommend in a heartbeat!
F: 5 L: 4 I:5 P: 3 P: 5 E: 4 R: 4 TOTAL: 30/35
LILY LOLO BB CREAM - £15.50
Lily Lolo is one of the first green beauty brands I discovered when I started researching. All their products look gorgeous and I was so so excited to try them. Sadly in this case though, it ended being a bit of a makeup disaster. I love the convenience of BB creams, but when I started to apply this one though, it was tugging at my skin and I could hardly get any coverage. It also has a strong essential oil/patchouli type sent which I really wasn't a fan of. At all. I decided to stick with it for the day and see how things went. Well the sent never dissipated and gave me a headache, and at the end of the day my skin looked horribly dry and flakey. I did love the packaging though, it's a pump in a squeezy tube which is what I prefer. I have tried so hard to make this product work, I tried on bare skin, on moisturizer and with a primer, but nothing works. I will continue to try new LilyLolo products as there are loads I want to try and their price point is reasonable, but I will also stay far away from this BB cream.
F: 2 L: 2 I: 4 P: 4 P: 3 E: 4 R: 0 TOTAL: 19/35
ANNECO LOOSE POWDER MINERAL FOUNDATION - €25.95
I found Anneco at the Irish Craft & Design fair. The lady over there answered all my questions and was kind enough to offer me a sample to try at home. Right off the bat, as a dry skinned gal I've never been a fan of powder and mineral foundations. But I was happily surprised! I make sure to use a good moisturizer and/or primer underneath and I'm good. The coverage is pretty light so I keep this for good skin days but it's more than I expected. The application is a bit messy because it's a loose powder but I can credit that to the fact that I'm not used to it. Anneco is an irish company that does natural mineral makeup and all their products are vegan. I still personally prefer more coverage especially for the price, but if you prefer a very natural and easy look, I would definitely recommend this one.
F: 4 L: 3 I: 4 P: 3 P: 3 E: 3 R: 3 TOTAL: 23/35
& OTHER STORIES CLASSIC POWDER IN BEAU FAWN - €19
I've been on the lookout for a new bronzer and decided to pick up this powder in a shade that I could use a bronzer to try it out. Not bad! This pressed powder is super smooth to the touch, because of this though I would highly recommend tapping the excess off your brush before applying. Trust me. Once I got the hang of it, I was so impressed. This powder blends very seamlessly and Beau Fawn is a great bronzer shade! & Other Stories isn't an ethical brand but they did come out with a whole range of natural beauty products which I'm dying to try. They also have a program where you can bring back the packaging in store and they will recycle it. I was also impressed that the guy at the till reminded me of it! The packaging is beautiful and the price is decent for the quality, I'll definitely try it again in my actual shade when I run out of my pressed powder.
F: 5 L: 3 I: 4 P: 4 P: 4 E: 3 R: 4 TOTAL: 27/35
LILY LOLO NATURAL MAKEUP MIST - £10.52
I got this in the same order as the BB Cream. And it's a bit funny because my review is pretty much the opposite. When I first tried the mist it was a bit of a disaster too but I figured out it was because of the packaging. The pump sort of.. spits in your face. And not even straight. It's difficult to find the right spraying angle plus it leaves droplets on your face. But I was having none of this so I just decided to transfer the liquid into an empty bottle from another setting spray and ahhhhhhhhh what a change. I really like the formula. It feels very fresh on the skin and has a very slight scent that doesn't linger. It doesn't prolong the wear of my makeup but it does make everything melt together perfectly. I especially liked it on top of the mineral powder foundation. So it's a bit of a mixed review for that one. I did see on the brand's instagram that they had gotten new misters but I'm fairly sure I got a new one so.. I don't know what's up with that. The price is very reasonable though so if you have an empty bottle on hand, I'd recommend it. Otherwise I'd say pass.
F: 4 L: 4 I: 4 P: 0 P: 3 E: 3 R: 3 TOTAL: 21/35
TARTE GIFTED AMAZONIAN CLAY SMART MASCARA - €25
I mentioned in my evening makeup tutorial that I have a really hard time with mascaras as they all smudge on me except from the tubing ones. I have tried other Tarte mascaras before and my overall thought is that they make my lashes look great but smudge. This one does the same. It's perfect for a natural everyday eye look and does make my lashes look fuller and longer. It also does smudge on me but definitely not as much as some others. I can wear it for a normal work day but wouldn't risk it for a night out where I might get sweaty. If you don't have that problem though I'd absolutely recommend giving this one a try. In terms of ingredient, it passes my requirements but does contain ingredients like Cyclopentasiloxane that some people prefer to stay away from, so it's worth mentioning.
F: 4 L: 5 I: 3 P: 5 P: 3 E: 3 R: 3 TOTAL: 26/35
& OTHER STORIES JARDIN RHÔNE NAIL POLISH REMOVER - €9
This is the item that drew my attention to the & Other Stories natural beauty range in the first place. Would you look at this?!?!? It looks like a high-end perfume bottle! I finally picked it up a few weeks ago hand I've been testing it ever since. It's the first natural nail polish remover that I try so I wasn't sure what to expect. I did take me a few tries to get used to using it but now that I figured things out it works perfectly. I find the trick is to let it work a few seconds before "scrubbing" the get the polish off. It leaves an oily feeling behind but I don't mind it as my cuticles need as much help as they can get anyway. It has a strong essential oil type of scent but nothing like what regular removers. All the ingredients are natural as well. It is more expensive than most other removers but I find it works well and I don't need a lot, so we'll see how long it lasts. I would totally repurchase this (I'm a bit of a sucker for this glass packaging though...).
F: 4 L: 4 I: 4 P: 5 P: 3 E: 3 R: 4 TOTAL: 27/35
3 comments
Thanks for a great post. I especially like your review on the Jardin Rhone nail polish remover. I didn’t think such a thing as natural nail polish remover existed!! Hate using acetone as it is very harsh, so it’s good to know there is an alternative 😀
Ahh thanks! Yeah me neither, it was a complete coincidence when I saw it but it works great 🙂
I did not knew that Lily Lolo has a Setting Spray. As I’ve never used Setting Sprays back then when I used regular cosmetics, I think maybe I should give this one a try 😉