Unboxing: Vegan Cuts - Beauty Essentials Kit

 

Purchased: Vegan Cuts

After seeing reviews of Ipsy and Birchbox which is a subscription service where you pay monthly to receive sample beauty products to try, I went on a search for a vegan version and stumbled across this brand. I had seen a couple blogs post about them before (veganbeautyreview.com - one of my favourite blogs being one of them!) and decided to give them a try.

I purchased the "essentials kit" which came with a limited edition makeup bag (not going to lie, the polka dots had me sold!) and 10-15 (depending on the bag) items, just to get a feel on what type of things I would be getting if I signed up for the month-to-month service.

Face products:
- Two cleansing face wipes from La Fresh which was kind of disappointing as a full pack of 10 is less than 6 dollars, I don't think I'll be able to see if I actually enjoy these but oh well.
- Hydrating gel from Lotus moon that I'm looking forward to trying!

Body products!
- Black soap body wash by Soapbox (excited for this!)
- A natural deodorant by Death By Lavender which the smell is a bit off putting but maybe it will end up alright!
- Sunscreen by Sunology
- Hydrating body lotion by Weleda which smells so delicious. I've recently tried a facial oil from Weleda and I'm so in love with it so hopefully the quality of this is good too!

And lastly beauty/hair care products!
- Nail polish from Rainbow Honey cosmetics that I wasn't too keen on in the bottle but it applies so smoothly and the glitter applies evenly, it's definitely a perfect accent colour!
- Creamy lip butter in the shade "Lava" by Pacifica, another brand I've recently tested out and I'm loving. They have a range of candles, lotions, perfumes and cosmetics that is all 100% vegan!
- Lip and cheek stain by The All Natural Face in the shade "Dusky Rose" - swatched nicely and I'll be seeing how it works.
- And lastly, a detangler and shine booster by Nu Style, I have tested this twice and although I'm not keen on the smell, my hair was noticeably softer and shinier so maybe I'll end up purchasing the full size after I've tested this more!

*Not pictured - another soap and a body tonic which has been misplaced somewhere.

My verdict? I'm really glad I decided to try out this company, there's so many brands I hadn't even heard of that I'm now aware of, some brands and products I'm excited to test out and try and only one or two disappointments that could turn end up being great however I don't think it is worth the price I paid and I would have liked to seen a couple more "deluxe samples"! Hopefully I end up loving all the products.

Let me know if you're signed up to a beauty box and what your thoughts out or if you've tried vegan cuts before.

As always, thank you for reading! XO

I No Longer Support Tarte Cosmetics

*Apologies about the picture, posted from my phone.

I definitely did not think I would ever be writing a post like this on my blog as Tarte is and has been one of my all time favourite brands especially since going vegan. I have recommend this brand to anybody that will listen, I personally use most of the products pictured on a daily basis and through my encouragement, a majority of my friends (and followers on my blogs!) have tried Tarte themselves.  However, I say this with an extremely heavy and sad heart that Tarte has been bought out by Kose Corp, a japanese company that tests on animals and although the brand claims they will be keeping their "cruelty free" status, I believe they have lost that and sold out for a higher pay cheque.

I do not and will not ever support a brand that has a parent company that tests on animals as I don't feel comfortable with my money going towards supporting animal testing in any way and that means once I have finished all of these products, I will not be giving a single cent more to Tarte. I highly encourage anybody reading this that feels the same way as I do to email them with your disappointment and boycott yet another brand that has fallen down the same road as Mac, Urban Decay and the likes.

As always, thank you for reading XO

Haul/Swatches: Silk Naturals Mineral Eyeshadows

Purchased: Silk Naturals

Vegan eyeshadows that are cheap and claim to be a dupe of Urban Decays naked palettes? Don't mind if I do! when I first saw these reviewed, I couldn't wait to get my hands on them and when I came home to find them at my doorstep today and swatched them myself, I had to share them with you all.

The first "set" I picked up was the supposed dupe of Urban Decay's Naked Basic palette which has 6 neutral, matte based (with one satin/shimmer shade) eyeshadows to create every day looks. I've never owned the UD version and I was skeptical about these matte shades by Silk Naturals especially with my experience with any type of mineral makeup let alone eyeshadows but I am absolutely blown away by these! The eyeshadows are incredibly soft, super pigmented and blended so nicely when swatched and I can't wait to create some everyday work-suitable looks with them to test them out!

The other set I got was the supposed dupe of Urban Decay's original Naked palette, I own the Naked 2 but I decided to pick this one to try it out first (maybe now I'll buy SN version of Naked 2 to do a comparison video side by side!)

Again, I was absolutely stoked on how pigmented these are! The picture of the first 4 shades I swatched do not do the actual eyeshadows justice and the rest speak for themselves. I'm most excited for the Caliber shade - look at that colour pay off!

The only downside to these are the packaging as it can be quite messy and isn't exactly that travel friendly but so far, I'm super impressed with them and I'll be doing a follow up post on these!

As always, thank you for reading! XO