Credo Beauty

Brand Spotlight: Studio 78 Paris

December 10th, 2016 by Karen 12 Comments

Brand spotlight: Studio 78 Paris

Chic, French, fun, natural and fabulous.

Who is that coy cutie peeking out from behind the leaves on these pieces from the Studio 78 Paris makeup line? I want to hang out with her and her fabulous mane of cascading foliage. 🙂

“Studio 78 Paris carries the prestigious ECO CERT organic certification. Using botanical ingredients combined with a gorgeous shade range Studio 78 Paris was created by Margareth Halfon who got her experience developing products for Guerlain Makeup and Rouge Baiser. These perfectly pigmented products are also gentle enough for sensitive skin.” –credobeauty.com

The playful pigments in the Studio 78 Paris makeup line are products of founder Margareth Halfon’s creative mind. The organic beauty brand is still mostly under the radar here in the U.S., but Credo Beauty does ship their products and many other clean/natural beauty brands internationally to our side of the pond. And if you’re interested, now’s the time to act because you can also get 20% off orders over $75 through Dec. 11 using code CredoLovesFriends.

In many ways, I dunno…Studio 78 Paris seems like a line that could (and should) be the next underground cult fave of beauty girls who know what’s cool before social media and magazines call it cool — chic black and white packaging, playful pigments, and a simple elegance that’s totally casual.

Everything in the line carries the ECOCERT organic certification, which means that their products all have at least 95% plant-based ingredients, and no GMOs, parabens, phenoxyethanol, nanoparticles, silicon, PEG, synthetic perfumes and dyes, or animal-derived ingredients, unless it’s things that are naturally produced by animals, like milk and honey. The packaging is also biodegradable or recyclable.

I’ve tested a few of their products so far, including…

On the Beach Blush, $34

On the Beach Blush

This long-wearing baked mineral blush is pretty pigmented and has a soft satin finish that I really like. You can sheer it out if you don’t want a ton of color on your cheeks, or you can build it up in layers for a brighter look.

I usually like when my blush doesn’t look too “blushy,” and this peachy shade is one of most natural-looking blushes I’ve ever worn. I think it looks A LOT like the impeccable Chanel Joues Contrastes, which are IMO the crème de la crème of natural-looking blushes. Sadly, Studio 78 Paris only makes three shades.

BOO! [INSERT WHINY VOICE HERE] 🙁

INGREDIENTS: mica, zea mays starch, squalane, zinc stearate, cocos nucifera oil, helianthus annuus seed oil, prunus armeniaca kernel oil, persea gratissima oil, chamomilla recutita flower extract, parfum, dehydroacetic acid, benzyl alcohol, limonene, linalool. May contain: ci 77891, ci 77491, ci 77492, ci 77499, ci 77947, ci 77510, ci 77007, ci 77288, ci 77289, ci 77742.

Liquid Lipstick in Ruby Wedding, $32

Ruby Wedding Liquid Lipstick, a.k.a plummy red perfection

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Brand Spotlight: Lily Lolo

December 9th, 2016 by Karen 13 Comments

Lily Lolo Mineral Makeup

Lily Lolo.

Could that be the cutest name for a makeup brand ever? It’s so sweet! The gal who created the line, Vikki Kahn — named it after her two sisters, Lisa (Lily) and Lorraine (Lolo).

Aww! 🙂

Lily Lolo is a 100% natural British brand of cruelty-free mineral makeup, and their products are free of parabens, synthetic perfumes and dyes.

Lily Lolo founder Vikki Khan

Years ago, or so the story goes, the founder, Vikki, ordered some mineral makeup from the U.S., and she was so impressed by it and talked about it with all her friends, but nobody over there knew what the heck she was talking about! They didn’t know what mineral makeup was yet! So Vikki started Lily Lolo out of the spare bedroom in her home, and now the line is growing fast and sold internationally.

20% off Friends & Family sale at Credo Beauty

Lily Lolo is one of many fab clean/green beauty brands available now at Credo Beauty, and you can get 20% off orders over $75 right now through Dec. 11 using code CredoLovesFriends.

Lily Lolo (for some reason, I keep wanting to call them Lily Lilo) has a pretty broad makeup selection, too, like mineral powder foundation, blush, highlighter, bronzer and bb cream, eyeshadow palettes, eyeshadow singles, liners, primer and brow products, lipstick, gloss and lip pencils. And the prices are in the MAC range, so they aren’t drugstore, but they aren’t Tom Ford-level either.

So, what is mineral makeup?
Everyone’s got a different definition, but mineral makeup usually refers to makeup made from minerals like iron oxides, talc, zinc oxide and titanium dioxide that are ground and milled into micro particles, and most mineral makeup formulas are free of organic dyes, preservatives and artificial fragrances, so some people feel that they’re better tolerated than regular non-mineral makeup brands, but it all depends on the company and their ingredients. Mineral brands often use fewer potentially irritating ingredients, but it varies, so check your labels.

Lily Lolo has much more information about the ingredients they use on their website.

Um, the looks Lily Lolo has done for their campaigns? WOW! — absolutely gorgeous, like what celebs would wear on the red carpet to the Oscars.

It’s glam, but it still seems approachable, and that speaks to my makeup soul. 🙂

One of Lily Lolo’s recent campaign looks

I’ve tried a few things from the line, and my favorite by far is the Laid Bare Eye Palette, which is $34 and comes with eight neutral powder shadows in shades of beige, tan, gold, khaki and charcoal.

Lily Lolo Laid Bare Eye Palette ($34)

Their eyeshadows are made with pure inert minerals and completely free of GMOs, nano particles, talc, additives, harsh chemicals, parabans, gluten and bismuth oxychloride, dyes, fillers, fragrance, preservatives and petroleum-based chemicals.

The shadows swatch super shimmery, but when you blend them out on your lids, they look less shimmery, so what you end up with is a soft, satiny, red carpet glow.

I’ve worn the palette a few times (most recently in this Tom Ford Winter Soleil post yesterday), and I keep getting compliments on it. I think it has a special sauce where it isn’t too shimmery (it’s a soft, satiny glow), and the shades aren’t too in your face.

I’m always kind of shocked at how quickly I can do a complete eye look with this palette. The powders are just THAT easy to blend, and there’s very little fallout at all. If you like green/clean beauty products, and you’re on the prowl for a solid everyday eye palette, check it out.

Lily Lolo Champagne Illuminator ($26)

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Brand Spotlight: Kjær Weis

December 8th, 2016 by Karen 19 Comments

Kjær Weis is an innovative cosmetics line created by Danish-born, New York-based makeup artist Kirsten Kjær Weis

All we need now are some jingle bells and ribbons! ?

I’m a big fan of giving gifts to yourself during the holidays (and giving gifts to other people, too, of course), but, you know…sometimes, if you don’t do it, who will?

In the spirit of holiday self-gifting, have you checked out any products from Kjær Weis before? They’re my new favorite luxury natural beauty line.

20% off for Friends & Family at Credo Beauty

If you want to #treatyoself, enter code CredoLovesFriends now through December 11th to get 20% off orders over $75 from Credo Beauty, where you can find Kjær Weis and many other fab natural/organic beauty brands. Happy shopping!

Kjær Weis. Um…how do you say that? Is it a hard “k,” hard “j”? Well, it’s pronounced “kee-yar wise,” and it’s the last name of the brand’s founder, New York-based makeup artist Kirsten Kjær Weis.

Shiny packaging!

Kirsten said that when she was creating the products for the brand, she wanted to use natural ingredients, but she wanted everything to perform as well as products from the big beauty brands.

The makeup is made in Italy using certified organic or certified natural ingredients from around the world, and everything is labeled either “certified organic” or “certified natural” by Italy’s organic governing body.

They don’t use any artificial ingredients, so no parabens, petroleums, or artificial colors or fragrances, and everything is cruelty-free.

Also, because a common issue with products that contain natural ingredients sometimes is that the colors vary from one individual item to the next, Kirsten hand-inspects every batch to make sure that the colors and textures are all consistent, which I think is pretty cool.

Here I’m wearing Kjær Weis Cream Foundation in Illusion, Cream Blush in Sun Touched and Lipstick in Love

It’s an elegant “less is more” line with a focus on enhancing your natural features, and the product range has been edited down to the kind of beauty basics a gal might take with her on a weekend trip, like cream foundation, cream blush, cream bronzer and highlighter, lip tints, lipsticks and powder eyeshadow.

They use ingredients like…

Plantago Lanceolata Leaf Extract — A medicinal herb that can stimulate collagen production. It’s an antioxidant with anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial properties, and it’s supposed to be great for sensitive skin.

Glyceryl Caprylate — A naturally derived “preservative” from coconut and palm plants that acts as a moisturizer and emulsifying agent with excellent antibacterial properties.

Cera Alba — A refined form of beeswax. According to Kjær Weis, theirs comes from ecologically sound apiaries, and it’s used as an emulsifier and consistency regulator. Beeswax has a structure that provides a breathable barrier against outside elements while nourishing the skin.

Rosa Damascena Flower Oil — Derived from the rose plant. A natural perfume.

You can find out more about their ingredients here…

Wearing the foundation, cream blush and lipstick

I’m already completely hooked on the line. I’ve only tried three things so far, but I want to try everything else! ERRRRTHANG.

Kjaer Weis Cream Foundation in Illusion

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