Looks like the term "mineral makeup" is now officially passe with the rise of organic and natural makeup and skincare brands. There are plenty of natural skincare brands (Liz Earle being one I'm more familiar with, although there are others), but I have rarely come across a natural or organic makeup line I wasn't skeptical of, because every other brand seems to throw out the "organic" label on its products, even when the ingredients list clearly shows otherwise.
However, I'm convinced by Zuii Organics. The brand hails from Australia, and is still owned by one lady. And the best part? It's the only makeup brand I've ever seen to be Certified 95% Organic by the USDA, and the Australian government, so it's got all the credentials to back it up. It's even certified cruelty-free, although that's pretty much a no-brainer, seeing how almost all its ingredients are plant derived.
The ingredients lists of Zuii Organics also makes for very interesting reading. You know I love reading my ingredients labels due to my over-sensitive skin, and for Zuii Organics, the ingredients aren't pore-clogging or comedogenic. Mostly, as I've mentioned, they're plant-based ingredients, and the usage of these ingredients is pretty creative - they use coconut oil, rose hip oil, and orange oil in their lip glosses, and the petals of various flowers (rose, jasmin, chamomile) for their eyeshadows. For a cosmetics-ingredients freak like me, this is all very fascinating.
Alright, you say. So the brand is certified organic by two governments, is cruelty-free, and has an ingredients list reading like a botanical essential oils shop. But is it any good? I thought this post was about lipgloss!
Okay, let me get down to the lipgloss. They're called Floral Lip Tints due to the plant oils in the product, and the shade I have is Hibiscus, a gorgeous slightly red with gold glitter. The Floral Lip Tints comes in a tube with a doe-foot applicator. It's quite similar to the normal lipglosses out there in terms of packaging.
Hibiscus is a red that leans warm, but isn't so warmtoned that cool-toned girls can't wear it. In fact, I've enjoyed wearing this gloss very much, and on me it's pretty neutral - no weird orange undertones at all. Also, there is some gold glitter in the lipgloss, but while it consists of discrete specks of glitter, it doesn't look like a glitterbomb on my lips at all. I really do appreciate glitter in moderation when it comes to makeup, since a little glitter goes a long way.
The best thing about the lipgloss is that although it's red, it's actually very wearable, because the colour of the gloss is slightly sheer. As you can see, the gloss can be worn sheerly, or more heavily. When it's worn sheerly, the base colour of the lip clearly shows through, and all you get is a little bit of red and some glitter. When it's worn more heavily, it starts looking a bit more like a traditional red lip gloss, with awesome gold shimmer thrown in.
Here are some swatches as a demonstration:
And here is the lipgloss on my lips. As you can see, it's red, but it's not "OMG BIG RED LIP!" Very wearable, and perfectly fine for the office, even if you're colour-shy.
The Lip Tints have a very nice non-sticky texture, due to the fact that they're formulated mainly using plant oils, as opposed to heavier waxes. The feel on the lips is light, fluid, and not tacky at all, while still being very moisturizing. I could see some people thinking that the glosses are too wet or slippery, but I personally really like the feel of these glosses.
Lasting power is also pretty decent. It isn't as long-lasting as a waxier, more sticky gloss might be, but given the formulation, I think it does a good job. It stays on for a few hours on me, and the colour fades a little bit by that time.
And because I love Hibiscus so much, I've even devoted an FOTD (face of the day) just to show you how pretty and wearable it is. I love how it gives some shine, and a bit of red colour, and the glitter doesn't show up in a distracting way on the lip.
Please forgive the straggly hair, I took that FOTD just after a shower, and my hair was still pretty damp. I'm also wearing Zuii Organics eyeshadows on my eyes, but you can't see too much of the colour from this photo, so I'll be reviewing the shadows in a separate post.
So would I recommend these Lip Tints? If you've been searching for a line of organic makeup, this is pretty much THE brand to look at - they're the only brand I've seen to actually be certified organic by a regulatory body. But even if you don't particularly care whether your makeup is organic or not (like me), these are still worth looking into if you like lipglosses that are light and moisturizing, and offer a hint of colour.
(Product was sent to me for review. Review is my complete and honest opinion. I am not affiliated with/compensated by the company for this review.)
