This is the new makeup collection from the Body Shop which we were kindly given a look at and some samples to try at a recent Body Shop bloggers event. The collection is based around baked minerals (baked in Italy apparently - well that's as near as I'll be getting to a foreign holiday this year... *sniff*). The products also contain community traded Olive and Marula oils. (Read about the Community Trade scheme HERE)
I really like the clear packaging that they have used this year - it looks a bit slicker, and more streamlined than last years collection in my opinion, but I've read other reviews saying the opposite... Tomayto, tomarto, one woman's meat is another womans poison etc etc...
There are two blushers in the collection - Coral and Petal. Both are pink with a coral toned highlighting section - Coral is the warmer of the two, with a peachy undertone, whilst Petal is much cooler and has a bluer undertone...
Left - Coral, Right - Petal
The blushers can of course be applied in various ways - you can mix the two shades, or apply separately, using the smaller section as a highlighter.
Above - Coral blush applied as separate shades, and on the right, mixed.
Above - petal applied separately, and on the left side, mixed.
Neither of the two blushes are massively pigmented, resulting in a subtle flush of colour with a sheen - I am partial to the Coral over the Petal blush, which is a little cool for my personal tastes. I also feel that the Coral is a little more pigmented, and works better with a light tan (fake of course!). These are great for travel - I've been lugging mine around in my handbag and dropped it in the floor several times (I seem to be suffering from a real case of butterfingers right now), and they have survived intact so far. I also like the fact that you are essentially getting two products in one.
On the other hand though, at £12 each, some might prefer a more pigmented product. I am also unsure how well these would work on dark skintones. They may be more suitable when used as a highlight on black skin.
The bronzers in the collection (£14 each) are very reminiscent of MAC MSF's but without the chunks of glitter which makes the MAC product so hit and miss.
Again two shades are available - Warm Glow (left), is a pale bronze with pink and rose gold veining, while Golden Bronze is a darker bronze with white gold veining. Obviously if you are after a matte bronzer, then these will not be for you - they are not suitable for contouring for example.
I've been finding myself reaching for these regularly - in particular the Warm Glow, which is more suited to my paler skin. I use it both in the traditional bronzer way, as well as sweeping it over my blusher of choice for the day, to add a little sheen and natural light to the face. This is a good "J-Lo Glow" giving bronzer - and I find it lasts well on my skin too. A definite hit from the collection for me. You get a decent amout of product too - 8g each.
I'm actually surprised by how much I like the bronzer - I was expecting it to be similar to the Prestige mineral bronzers which everyone was raving about last year, but which were a big fat glittery fail for me...
There are also a whopping eight eyeshadow duos to chose from in the range, in a variety of colours and both warm and cool tones. These retail at £9.50 each.
Above - clockwise from top left - Jade, Moonstone, Starlight, Sage.
Jade, is much more blue toned than its name suggests - whilst Sage is a nice warm green - I like the colour of Sage, however found the pigmentation in this shadow a little difficult to get decent payoff from - It is also less shimmery than the other shadows when applied.
(For reference, in all swatches, colours are applied from left to right - the main colour, then the darker shade, and then the two shades mixed, no primer used)
Top row - Sage, Bottom row - Jade.
Top Row - Moonstone, Bottom Row - Starlight.
Of the two silvery shades, I love the main shade in the moonstone duo as a highlighter, while Starlight is an easy smoky duo.
Above - clockwise from top left - Amethyst, Sapphire, Copper and Quartz.
Above - Sapphire and Copper Swatched.
I have to be honest and say that even though the Sapphire duo swatches beautifully, its doubtful I will ever wear it - I have a fear of blue eye shadow, as I have blue eyes and I never know when I'm crossing the "Pat Butcher" (for US readers - character in UK soap Eastenders who is synonymous with wearing oversized tacky earrings and frosty blue eye shadow) line with it. I can imagine this would look fantastic on hazel/brown eyes though, so this will be added to my kit for use on others.
I have been reaching for the Copper duo a lot - I find that this applies really well with fingers and looks great for a polished everyday work look. They blend well and last well - even on my oily lids these shades remain intact with no primer for over eight hours. The copper duo also looks great with blue eyes. You know that "P" word, we all hate when we talk about eyes and complimentary colours? Thats what this does.
Above - Top Row Quartz, Bottom Row, Amethyst.
At the event, MUA Chase Aston, who was a fantastic name dropper and very approachable (we all wanted to take him home), applied the Quartz duo to fellow blogger Rhamnousia (check her fab blog out HERE) using the main shade as a highlighter under the brow bone - this sounds like a strange thing to do, but it worked beautifully on Rhamnousia's asian skin - when it caught the light it created a beautiful pink sheen, but the overall effect did not scream "Hello. I'm wearing pink eyeshadow right up to my brow bone".
It looked lovely, but also brought home the fact that even though these are not the most pigmented eye shadows in the world ever (I find this with a lot of baked mineral eye shadows), that they can still be used to great effect. Use them dry to give a subtle but buildable wash of colour with a sheen (but no glittery bits), or apply wet for a more intense look. I also find using fingers works well with the shadows, as it seems to bring out more of the "sheen" in the products rather than applying with a brush
Overall this is a lovely, easy to wear collection with plenty of colour choice and its well worth a look - my recommendation is the bronzers, but the eye duos are well worth looking at too - obviously not all colours will appeal to all customers though.
Here's a quick look I wore last week using the Sage eye duo, coral blush and warm glow bronzer...
It's often said that the Body Shop makeup is overpriced - in a way I do agree with that but I also laud them for using fairtrade principles in sourcing their ingredients and for that I'm personally prepared to pay a bit more if I like a product due to that.
