Hey Guys! I'm back with another set of green beauty products I've been testing for a while. I've been trying these for a few months and I think they are a pretty well rounded bunch. I want to do one of these reviews every few months but I always wait until I have a good enough range of products to try out. That being said I also don't want to waste product which is why I don't buy new things all the time!
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.
RMS BEAUTY "UN" COVER-UP CONCEALER - £34.00
I feel like RMS is one of the more well-known green beauty brands, and that's why I was so excited to try their products. They call this a concealer foundation but from my own experience, it only works as a concealer. The texture is pretty rich and creamy and it does need warming up like most RMS products, it also doesn't smell of anything which is great. As a concealer, it's super moisturizing because of the rich texture and illuminates the under eyes very well! It's not the most full coverage concealer I own, but it's more than enough for an everyday natural look and it doesn't crease on me. The RMS website says that this can also work as a foundation. For me an my dry skin, I found it hard to apply on larger areas, and it clung to my dry patches and emphasized my skin's texture whenever I tried so I gave up on it. As is usual with RMS, the ingredients and packaging are top notch. Would totally recommend as an under eye concealer for dry skinned gals!
F: 4 L: 3 I: 5 P: 4 P: 3 E: 4 R: 4 TOTAL: 27/35
PEARLESSENCE COCONUT ROSE HYDRATING FACIAL OIL - €10
Since I have dry skin, I am no stranger to facial oils. I have tried a good few so far and I have to admit this one is one of my favourites! The oil comes in a glass bottle with a dropper, it's light yellow in colour and is definitely on the more "liquid" side when it comes to texture. It feels very moisturizing on the skin but is never leaves me feeling nervous about clogging up my pores. The oil itself has a faint smell of roses which is perfect. I apply facial oils in the evening before I got to bed, sometimes on its own and sometimes after my night cream if I really want to pack on the moisture. It has never strained my pillow and always leaves my skin plump and fresh. I haven't found much information about the brand Pearlessence online, but I often find their products in TK Maxx here in Dublin and I have been happily surprised with the ones I've tried so far!
F: 5 L: 4 I:4 P: 4 P: 5 E: 2 R: 4 TOTAL: 28/35
ANTIPODES LIPSTICK - PIHA BEACH TANGERINE - £19.99
I've wanted this lipstick for so long! I'd go into the natural beauty store and swatch it and try to resist, but I finally caved. I am slightly obsessed with orange lipsticks so I've been trying to find a perfect green beauty alternative, but nothing feels quite right. This is a bright orangy-red perfect for the summer time. The ingredients are amazing and the packaging is absolutely adorable. The lipstick swatched very nicely as well, feels rich on the lips and doesn't smell of anything. That being said, it wasn't the one for me. My lips were a bit dry because of the scuba diving and it didn't feel moisturizing or looked that good on my dry lips. I will keep trying it though and see how it performs in more "normal" conditions. I also find that the rounded tip/applicator made it a bit difficult to be precise with such a pigmented colour, so it might require a bit of attention!
F: 3 L: 3 I: 5 P: 3 P: 3 E: 4 R: 3 TOTAL: 24/35
& OTHER STORIES CRÈME FOUNDATION - TRÈS IVORY - €25
This is a product I literally rushed out to get after I first saw it online. There aren't a lot of places where you can get natural foundation in person so I was very happy to be able to go and swatch it. For me this foundation is very comparable to the l'Oréal True Match! As always you can bring back empty packaging to the store, but it comes in a glass bottle with a pump. It had medium coverage but would be buildable to full. I have tried applying it with my fingers, a beauty sponge and with a brush. The brush left streaks so that wasn't great but fingers and sponge worked wonders depending on what method you prefer. In terms of consistency, it feels rich without being thick and smells a bit like a beauty oil. I'm not sure how this would work for people with oily skin, but it did okay on my dry skin. I would advise to be cautious if you have very dry skin because some days the skin on my nose was a bit flakey (unrelated) and it didn't look good at all.
F: 4 L: 4 I: 5 P: 5 P: 4 E: 3 R: 3 TOTAL: 28/35
BEAUTY KITCHEN SEAHORSE PLANKTON 5 MINUTE MIRACLE MASK - £24.00
I discovered this brand by complete coincidence when I was picking up something from the natural store. This is a UK skincare brand and I was super impressed by their ethos. The plastic seals they use in their packaging are completely biodegradable (and it says so on it) and from what I understand they use leftover cosmetic bottles & jars so they warn people that the shape of their bottle may change from one batch to the next. This particular mask is part of their Seahorse range, for which a portion of the profits is donated to The Seahorse Trust. This mask leaves the skin soft and plump and I've been using it before going out or if I need a good skin day! The texture is like a light cream and the scent isn't overpowering at all. And of course all the ingredients are natural, this mask is named really well and I don't know what I could ask more!
F: 5 L: 5 I: 4 P: 4 P: 4 E: 5 R: 3 TOTAL: 30/35
RMS BEAUTY EYE POLISH - LUNAR - £26.00
I was so excited to finally try these! The eye polishes are cream eyeshadows, and all of them have a shiny/glossy finish. These swatch beautifully! I have a very natural colour so it's a bit hard to see my swatch but the collection has loads of different colour options, from more natural to more colourful. Sadly, this didn't work so well when actually on my eyes because it creased A LOT. I have oily eyelids though so it's probably why the product isn't staying put. I found the results much better when using a primer though, so at least I can use up mine. Despite the issue I'm having though, it looks great on the eyes! It shines without being sparkly, and the name polish really is appropriate. All in all, these are a bit too pricey for me for something that doesn't perform perfectly. If you have the money, I think these are a great option if you want to quickly put something on your eyelids before you leave the house, or if you want an easy-to-do eyeshadow look that still has some pop to it!
F: 4 L: 3 I: 4 P: 5 P: 2 E: 4 R: 3 TOTAL: 25/35
& OTHER STORIES NATURAL NAIL POLISH - MILLE MAUVE - €9
I picked this up when I bought my first batch of & Other Stories natural makeup. I've been testing this for a while and to be honest, it's probably my least favourite product of that collection so far. The colours are very pretty and the polish applies beautifully. The brush is big enough to cover a good chunk of your nail in one swipe but not cumbersome at all to use, and the polish itself is pretty fast drying which is great for clumsy people like me. The problem I have with this though is that it starts chipping A LOT on day 2. And because I am clumsy, I really don't want to have to redo my nail polish every 2 days. That being said, if you like to change your nail colour often and don't need it to last for days, this can be a great option!
F: 5 L: 3 I: 4 P: 3 P: 3 E: 3 R: 2 TOTAL: 23/35
