Celestial Glow Look for Grew&Co Jewellery Campaign

Photos By Kirsty Ludbrook

I recently got the chance to create the hair and makeup for the amazing Jewellery Label Grew&Co. Only using cruelty-free & toxin-free beauty I used Jane Iredale products to create the look! In my kit, I always use a variety of natural beauty brands and love to combine and mix&match. Sometimes it's fun to create a look with products from just one great brand though.
Here is a little list of the products used to achieve the look, in case you are interested:

Skin:
Smooth Affair Primer
Glowtime BB Creme
PurePressed Base
Beyond Matte Powder
Enlighten Concealer (for the under eye area)

Always remember less is more. All these products are highly pigmented, a little goes a long way. Use small amounts and blend carefully. Using the Camouflage Brush for concealing and the Foundation Brush for the primer and bb creme. Then blend with the Blending Brush and add a tiny amount of PurePressed Base. This achieves a very coverage, flawless result.
Most of the time I like the skin to be more translucent overall, so I would usually only use the Glowtime for a dewy look on dry skin or the PurePressed for a satin finish on oilier skins.

Highlight:
"Oyster" Pressed Eyeshadow
used on cupids bow, inner corner of the eye and sparingly along the bridge of the nose.

Contour:
Beyond Matte in "Dark"
Cheeks: "Flawless" PurePressed Blush

Eyes:
Mystikol "Dark Topaz" as liner
Eyeshadow Kit "Daytime"
Longest Lash Mascara
Brows:
"Brunette" Greatshape Eyebrowkit

Lips:
PureGloss in "Beach Plum"

Nail Colour:
Sienna Byron Bay "Barefoot Dancer"

Trying out the Good Green Box

Back on the topic of how to find and discover green beauty products, there are some services that send out little bits and pieces of beautiful clean cosmetics.

One of them is Good Green Box, who was recently kind enough to gift me one of their boxes to review. I really like the idea, especially if you are someone that loves trying new things or just testing out samples before you buy.

The box consists of some full-size products and a selection of little samples.
There will always be a saving in getting the box versus buying the products separately. You can see what is in current boxes or has been in previous ones to give you a good idea.

The Good Green Box also has an online shop, so if you fall in love with any of the samples or products you can buy them via their website, often they offer special discounts and promotions for these as well.

Pretty sweet idea, no?

So the way it works is that you sign up for a subscription and you get a box delivered every monthly. Of course, this is a nice company, so there are no sneaky lock-in contracts, you can cancel anytime.

Here is what was in my box:

Full Size:
Pure Deo Co Natural Deodorant
I had never tried this brand. I received the Orange & Cedar fragrance, which is super pleasant.
I also like the simple and practical packaging, it comes as a stick and is super easy to apply.
However, it does contain Sodium Bicarb, which can irritate super sensitive skins.
Although my skin is sensitive, I haven't had a reaction to it. THe ingredients are super pure and clean. This product does contain Beeswax, so it's not entirely vegan. Aluminium free, Cruelty-Free!

Karen Murrell Lipstick
You already know that I am quite a fan of her lipsticks. And I have received a colour I haven't tried yet, whoop!This product does contain Beeswax, so it's not entirely vegan. 100% cruelty-free, non-toxic

Samples of the following:
Fresh Therapies Natural Polish Remover
It's my favourite, it's the best natural remover I have tried. It just simply works and it doesn't have that toxic strong smell of regular removers. It is the best alternative. I am using this on a regular basis in full size.

The others samples were:
The Devine Company Certified Organic Gradual Tan Natural Bronzer,
which looked and smelled like a great product, yet it's tricky to review from just a sample.
It has great ingredients, though, so I am sure it would work a treat. 100% organic, non-toxic

Be Genki Body Oil
Delicious smelling and pure oil, 100% vegan and organic! Love.

Baimeni Sweet Australian Almond Oil Cleanser
It doesn't get more gentle than this. Perfect for even the most sensitive skin and great for oil cleansing and removing makeup. 100% vegan, organic, cruelty-free.


 

Why I Threw Out Thousands Of Dollars Worth Of Makeup

Have I lost my mind? No, I have done some research and learned some shocking truths about the ingredients in makeup & cosmetics a few years back!

Yes, this is not a recent event, as many of you know: I am a natural, organic & cruelty-free makeup artist, owning a huge selection of only the best green beauty brands from across the globe and love working with these beautiful products. Supporting boutique businesses with quality cosmetics has been so rewarding. But it's not always been this way. (see picture above, my kit many years ago)

I know first hand how the so-called "high-end", "luxury" brands use their marketing and packaging to make you believe you are buying something good!

I too had a professional makeup kit boasting with Chanel, Nars, MAC, Dior, Laura Mercier, Stila, Make Up Forever etc... but not only DO THEY ALL TEST ON ANIMALS!!!! The ingredients are also very cheap and nasty, nothing luxurious is found inside those formulas once you do your homework!

So into the bin, it all went. Thousands of dollars of makeup & cosmetics. Well, to be totally honest I did pass a lot of it on to other artists, who are still happy to use these conventional products.
As it wouldn't really be green to just throw them out...

I thought it was important to mention that I do know all these products too well myself and have worked with them for many years in my career. It was a conscious choice to get rid of them and to find products that perform, yet are truly luxurious! Products that actually are benefitting your skin, as well as the environment and also don't harm any animals. It wasn't the easiest journey to find replacements for all the trusted products I used to own, but time, lot's of trial and error and determination got me there!

Are you ready to change to healthier, better makeup?

If you are curious and want to make the change to healthier & better beauty products, follow my steps & tips on How To Become A Green Queen here! (Of course, you don't need to throw everything out at once...)

And please feel free to comment and engage and ask for advice! I am more than happy to help :)
I thought of working on a little blog post series about my best natural beauty swaps if you are interested...?!
 

Secret Garden Editorial for WHITE Magazine

Working on Editorials is always so much fun, especially if you have a great team!
This shoot was for Issue 29 of White Magazine.
As usual, I only used natural/organic/cruelty-free makeup on set!
While I always use a huge variety of different products & brands in my kit, the key beauty products I used here were by Ere Perez.

If you are curious on how to create the look, I have listed below on how to create it using Ere Perez Makeup.

Highlighter: Versatile Vanilla Highlighter in Falling Star
Blush: Pure Rice Powder in Bondi Blush
Lips: Ere Perez Rich Olive Oil Lipstick in Surprise used as a stain, by pressing the colour into the lips with fingers

Eyes:
Volumizing Waterproof Mascara
Eyeshadow From Beginning To End
Pure Rice Powder Bronzer

Skin prep: Edible Beauty Vanilla Silk Hydrating Lotion & Citrus Rhapsody Radiance Tonique

(All products used are Vegan with the exception of the Lipstick, which contains beeswax)

Credits: An editorial for Issue 29 of White Magazine
Photography: Julia Trotti
Model: Blair @ Chadwick Models
Makeup & Hair : Liv Lundelius
Florals: Jardine Botanic

Weleda Tinted Lip Balm Review

A hint of colour, a nourishing balm, no annoying smells or flavours and a beautiful sheen, this sums up the brand new tinted lip balms by Weleda.

I was SO happy when I checked the ingredients and saw that they are VEGAN as well.
(insert happy dance here!)
Most lip products still contain beeswax and honey, so I am giving Weleda extra points for replacing those animal ingredients with precious plant oils and waxes and creating a more sustainable product.

Weleda always has a high standard in their quality of ingredients. And you have heard me raving about this company before. ( I really enjoy their pregnancy/baby range as well, worth checking out if/when you are pregnant)

But lets get back to the lips:
They come in practical little squeezy tubes with built in applicator nozzle and come in three different shades: Nude, Rose and Berry Red.
Nude is a very pale colour, with enough pigment to block out natural lip colour.
Rose is a light pastel petal pink (not as deep as most other colours called rose)
Berry Red is a sheer, shimmery raspberry type colour, just enough to deepen and enhance the natural lip colour.

I can't really find any fault with these beauties. Five out of five stars ;)
They are all pretty! And will be used a lot over here!