Going Green

Hubs sometimes call me paranoid because I'm a constant worrier of toxins and so-called unnatural chemicals all around us. I am in the midst of swapping all our plasticware to freezable glass containers (Daiso has nice stackable ones); I changed my moisturisers to plain ol' argan oil and tamanu oil, works just as well, a lot cheaper plus no nasties inside. 

The only stuff I've been unable to cut out from my lifestyle are my beauty products. Let's face it, I'm all for natural beauty as much as as anyone but ... I've dark eye bags, blotchy and tired looking skin just to name a few. I have been on the lookout for more green beauty products and found that Pure Tincture, a Singaporean beauty website that focuses on natural skin and beauty items, ships to Malaysia. Yay!

The staff are friendly and took great pains to answer my questions via e-mail and over the phone. Plus my cousin Jean also wanted a lipstick so we shared shipping costs together.

I settled on Alima Pure Satin Matte foundation in Beige 2 Straw. It's a pure powder foundation which I wanted to use over sunblock and contains only 4 ingredients: titanium dioxide, zinc oxide, mica, iron oxides. Jean and I ordered an Ilia lip conditioner each (hers was  Blossom Lady and mine was Crimson & Clover). Pure Tincture also threw in a handful of samples for us. 

I wanted to love the Alima foundation, given the price, but unfortunately, I think I'm allergic to something inside it. I broke out into a rash the next day, which is kind of odd as I don't have particularly sensitive skin. I've read a couple of reviews and it seems that some people have less than awesome skin reactions to mineral powders. The itch on my face was so bad that I'd to take a Zyrtec and I didn't dare apply anything to it except fresh aloe vera :( I'm sorely tempted to give it another go in hopes that it's all in my mind ...

The Ilia lip conditioner, on the other hand, received huge thumbs up from Jean and I ... well, apart from the high SGD exchange rate. The silver, minimalist lipstick case is from recycled aluminum and has a nice, solid feel to it. I originally wanted to pick a lipstick because lip conditioners always gave me the impression that the colours weren't intensive enough but I'm really glad I went with the Ilia lip conditioner: it is anything but sheer! It contains vitamin E, cocoa butter and jojoba oil but the texture is pretty similar to most lipsticks. 

Crimson & Clover is a fresh, pop of red and can be pigmented, depending on how heavy handed you are during application. I'd describe it as a cheerful hibiscus red without any berry tones or blue-reds in this. I'm now hooked onto Ilia's lip conditioners and can't wait to get more ... though this time, I'd probably wait for the currency exchange rate to drop a little first!