“WOAH, PINK COW!” was what immediately came to mind when I first saw the Limited Edition, Lily Cole makeup collection from The Body Shop.
I’m not that kind of beauty blogger who dives into the sciences of products; I don’t squint at ingredient lists, I don’t dig up researches and lab tests done on ingredients and tell you how good or bad it is for your skin, I don’t really bother what goes inside that bottle of goodness (or evil).
The kind of beauty blogger I am, is simply, the kind who tells you whether it works or doesn’t, it looks pretty or pretty much sucks, it stays or vanishes before you even have had time to take your first toilet break of the day. That kind, I am.
I am also a superficial sucker for packaging (you are too, don’t deny HAHAHA!), so when I saw the pink and black prints, and ribbons, and pink stuff and more pink stuff everywhere, my mood lifted!
Not that I was down, but pink is the symbol for universal love, beauty, kindness, compassion. Lovers of beauty favor pink. That’s why Bun Bun Makeup Tips banner is pink. Lol. (I hope it still has some pink in it if you’re reading this in year 2027.)
And that’s why I smiled when I saw the new cruelty-free makeup range from The Body Shop!
And coz pink cows are cute.
Now that they have caught your and my attention, let’s get down to beauty beyond box and stickers.
The Body Shop Puff On Radiance Highlighter
The first item that reached out and grabbed me by the neck and screamed ‘You will love me! Look at how pink and fluffy and girly I am!’ was the Puff On Radiance.
Sitting atop a bed of pink toned, luminescent pellets, housed in a round, pink container, is a super soft puff that makes stroking it an absolute pleasure in itself.
Pat it all over your face for an overall glow, or spot-highlight areas such as your cheeks and middle of your nose. I like that patting the highlighter all over my face does not turn me into a discoball as I had feared. The glitter is very subtle, very elegant.
Makeup Tip from Bun Bun: To get product out of the bed of pearls, press the pink puff down and twist and twirl as much as you can – the puff, not you. Lol.
Oh! And it’s WATERPROOF! I applied it on my face and decolletage and removed my face makeup with makeup remover but forgot about the decolletage. After my bath I noticed that area still glimmering!
Price of The Body Shop Puff On Radiance Highlighter: S$34.90
The Body Shop Lip & Cheek Dome Blush
It’s funny how beauty products packaging have evolved. They now come in all sort of unique forms that make the unraveling and discovery quite an experience.
Just like when I discovered how to open the Kanebo Coffret D’or 3D Glossy Eyes palette, an “OHHHH, so this is how it works” escaped from my mouth when I touched the tip of The Body Shop Lip & Cheek Dome Blush and realized the shiny, plastic-like finish is actually the blush! I thought it was another cover!
See! So shiny! And you can see my fingerprint there. Hoho.
The Dome Blush is Lily Cole’s favorite product in the range, but it’s my least favorite.
Lily Cole, first ever “face” and ambassador of the Body Shop.
Pigmentation is so sheer that neither MAC 188 or Real Techniques Stippling Brush managed to get much product out. I had to swipe the cream blush directly onto my cheeks, something which I don’t like due to hygiene reasons even though I am the only user. It doesn’t last long either.
Before, I had my misgivings about cream or gel blushes as I assumed oily skin would make cream or gel blushes slide right off the skin. Canmake Cream Blush busted that assumption, but The Body Shop Dome Blush sort of reaffirms my notion that cream blushes are not so suitable for oily skin after all.
Price of The Body Shop Lip & Cheek Dome Blush: S$24.90
The Body Shop Mini Hi-Shine Lipglosses
Of the 4 shades – 04 Go Pink, 03 Go Play, 02 Go Wild and 01 Go Naked, I like 03 Go Play. Even before I did anything with it, I knew 03 would be my favorite because my birthday is 03 July. HAHAHA!!!
I did swatches and after trying on the three shades I have (wasn’t given 04 for whatever reason), 03 really turned out to be my favorite of the lot! I knew it in my heart all along. *Smug look
Left to right: 01 Go Naked, 02 Go Wild, 03 Go Play
This type of applicator is not my cup of tea, I prefer those with a wand. When I use the OCC Lip Tars, which also have the same kind of attached plastic applicator, I use a separate lip brush coz the color is too intense to afford any mistake. You can see how I used OCC Lip Tar in Strutter to create blood and Geisha lips for Halloween.
Price of The Body Shop Mini Hi-Shine Lipgloss: S$8.90
The Body Shop Pearl Radiance Primer
I was intrigued by the little shimmering pink beads in the The Body Shop Pearl Radiance Primer. How queer!
Their appearance remind me of shiny moth balls (I think moth balls look really pretty); their reaction remind me of bath soap balls that explode when you squeeze them; their squeezed-out form remind me of shaving foam; their blended out finish remind me of finely milled pearl powder.
Did I mention The Body Shop does not use shellfish to create the shimmer effect in their products? The shimmer effect you see is made from mineral mica and their binding agents are made from natural vegetable materials. No shellfish were crushed in the making.
You see, I like my face to be glitter-free. If you have blemished, acne-prone skin like mine, it’s best to avoid foundations or face products with glitter/shimmer as they tend to accentuate the blemishes. They work to highlight what you have – if you have relatively good, clear skin, it will bring out the best in you, but if you have troubled skin… it’s just not ideal.
I prefer matte liquid foundations like the Bourjois 123 Perfect Foundation. Let there be no shimmer-shimmer in the foundation, some in the blush, more in the highlighter, all you want on the eyes. =)
The good thing is that the shimmer in The Body Shop Pearl Radiance Primer is not overbearing, and is evenly distributed. You can wear use it as a primer under foundation, or by itself just to brighten the face.
I still prefer my Holy Grail face primer, Monistat Chafing Relief Powder-Gel, anytime though.
Price of The Body Shop Pearl Radiance Primer: S$32.90
The Body Shop Liquid Eyeliner
This is The Body Shop’s brightest and most dramatic violet eyeliner of all time. The thing with liquid eyeliners, in my opinion, is that the product stands either on the ‘THIS IS LOVE!’ side or the ‘WHAT WERE THEY THINKING??’ side. No in-between. You can check out rating meanings here.
Big name MAC Liquidlast Liner in Inky got the ‘WHAT WERE THEY THINKING??’ rating while humble Bourjois Liner Glitter Fizz was awarded the ‘THIS IS LOVE!’ accolade. Oh, Revlon Colorstay Liquid Liner got the ‘WHAT WERE THEY THINKING??’ grade too coz its felt tip applicator felt more like wood tip. Lol.
Too strict? Probably. But it just means I’m serious when I share what the product’s worth.
However, The Body Shop Liquid Eyeliner possesses such a charm that until now I am unable to decide if I love or hate it.
This violet is so, so, so GORGEOUS that I find myself looking at my eyeline a lot and wondering why my eyes look so pretty that day. On the other hand, its felt tip makes it hard to control, pigmentation is inconsistent and is not waterproof at all. I yawned, not cried, and a stream of purple dripped down the side of my face. =.=”
Tip from Bun Bun: To get intensity, do not run excess off the brush at the top of the bottle. Just apply straight to the eyeline. Don’t even spread, just dab. Then let it dry, work on the other eye, and come back for the second layer.
Left to right: Swatched after swiping off excess; Swatched straight from bottle
Omg I LOVE you, this violet, so much! Why you so difficult to work with?!? 😐
Price of The Body Shop Liquid Eyeliner: S$22.90
The Body Shop Shimmer Cubes #24
I’ve long wanted to try The Body Shop Shimmer Cubes, they have been around for ages but I never had the urge to get them mostly due to the bulky packaging. Cannot depot eyeshadow! Cannot fit into my Z Palette!
Also, to have to open the lid, and then open FOUR individual lids to get to each shade is just too much trouble in our world of easy-to-use products.
Now that I’ve got a chance to try them, I cannot justify why I didn’t try The Body Shop Shimmer Cubes earlier. What bulky packaging, what cannot depot, what troublesome lids... All these don’t matter anymore!
The pigmentation is great, the texture velvety, the color true to pan, the wear long and lasting. AND NO GLITTER FALLOUT! 😯
Can you see how much product each block contains? I don’t know, but PLENTY! (Okie, 3.5g each but that spoilt the fun. Haha)
I doubt I can ever finish any eyeshadow I have in my stash, hard to hit pan even if I stop getting more and use up each diligently for the rest of my life, but consumers love to know they are getting a lot for their money’s worth and the cubes definitely make you feel you’re getting a lot for your money!
Shimmer Cubes! Why did you not convince me sooner??? I am now a convert. I want more cubes!!!
Tip From Bun Bun: Use them WET! Wet your eyeshadow brush, tap off the excess water and swipe over the cube. Oh, and sponge applicators work better than brushes for shimmer cubes, somehow.
I like them so much I might actually do a separate post on them. I’ll have swatches in a separate post okie? 🙂
Price of The Body Shop Shimmer Cubes #24: S$36.90
If you’re into vegetarian and 100% cruelty-free makeup, you can take comfort in knowing that The Body Shop’s quality makeup products involved no shellfish, bug shells, or animal hair in production.
The Body Shop Beauty With Heart Makeup Collection will launch on 9 July 2012.
Oh, and I just realized from reading the press release supplement that the inspiration for the bold colors and pattern is ladybird wings. What pink cow!!! HAHAHA!
Here's a look I created with products from The Body Shop Beauty With Heart Collection.
(I did not follow the eyeshadow application instructions. I did it my own way. Check out 'How to apply eyeshadow tutorial')
Which product from the Beauty With Heart range would you get? Which would you like to see a full review? Do you own any The Body Shop Shimmer Cubes? 😀
With the recent news on Urban Decay's decision to not sell in China after all (great decision by the way, not only becoz they stuck to their core principles, but also coz they won back fans around the world who threatened to boycott the brand if the China deal went through), what are your views on animal-tested products?
Note: The products in this post were provided to me by the manufacturer or their PR company for consideration. I am not affiliated with the company and not paid to make this review. These are my honest thoughts and opinions, as you can already tell.
