Neal's Yard Remedies Eye Shadow in Camellia

Neal's Yard Remedies Eye Shadows, according to the company are "made with 100% natural mineral colours in super-fine organic corn powder, with antioxidant white tea, milk thistle, and organic sweet almond oil." It is also said to contain no lead, parabens, talc, and is a vegan product. All this sounds very enticing for the organic revolution that has struck the cosmetic industry.

The puny eye shadow range consists of four colors in sage (green), barley (light brown), truffle (dark brown), and camellia (dusky pink). 

First off, the packaging. It is a basic, no-frills type with a plain blue screw-top cover. This comes with a sifter that is not pictured. It's my first time to use shadow in loose powder form, and I find the small jar very inconvenient and frustrating. With the sifter on, it takes some effort to coax the product out and the result is always a mess with powders flying everywhere on the dresser and the cap. I decided to do without the sifter for better product control. Camellia is what I thought would be a neutral pink shade, but turns out to be a tricky color. On my yellow-based Chinese skin, it can look like I am suffering from a sort of allergy. The texture is also quite rough; not silky like most eye shadows I'm used to. I guess this is what gives for the "natural" part of it, but putting on starchy powder on the lids is not something I enjoy. 

Overall, I find the product sub-par, added to the fact that the shade is not flattering at all. Being organic/natural does not give companies leeway to slack off on packaging and quality. I feel there are many other products in the market that deserve your hard-earned money.

Neal's Yard Remedies Lip Gloss

Neal's Yard Remedies is an English organic skincare brand that I chanced upon during my visit to Oxford earlier in the year. The brand has a whole range of products ranging from face, body, hair, mother & baby care, aromatherapy, even products for men. Being the beauty junkie, I jumped straight to their cosmetic offering. 

Their makeup collection is quite small consisting of lip glosses, eye pencil liners, and eye shadows in loose powder form. I tried two of their lip glosses, Rosehip and Mulberry. It says that these glosses do not contain parabens, silicones, or carmines. The brand is marketing its products heavily on its organic and therapeutic qualities. 

You can see the consistency is very different between the two products. Rosehip is far more liquid than Mulberry. In fact, it is dripping out of the container each time I open it. Mulberry is thicker and pastier in texture. Both contain slight shimmers that are not noticeable on the lips. Rosehip is a cheerful bright red shade. It applies transparent but the color is still evident. It has a shiny effect on the lips. Mulberry, on the other hand, is very pigmented. A little goes a long way with this shade, and it looks like a cross between a lipstick and gloss when put on. Almost opaque, it has none of the glassy finish of Rosehip. It is a muted plum shade which is close to my natural lip color.

They both sport slanted tips with screw-cap covers. They're 15ml for £9.50 each which is not bad at all. I'm actually having a hard time finishing these up. Overall, I prefer Mulberry because it is an easier color to wear, and more importantly, because it feels more comfortable on the lips and stays on longer owing to its texture. Rosehip can oftentimes feel like an oil slick on the lips. However, it is still a useful shade for a "casual" red look. Because it is not matte, or overly sheer, it provides the perfect balance of shade and consistency which make it an easy red to wear.