The Body Shop Earth Lovers Fig and Rosemary 100% Biodegradable Body Wash.

Wow that is a huge mouthful of a name and a heck of one to type out. Sheesh, could they have made it more convoluted? Anyways onto the body wash itself, not just the title.

Lets start first with the claims of this body wash. The Body Shop states that this body wash is 100% biodegradable (i.e. you should be able to use it in a river and not kill anything), soap free, sulfate free, paraben free and colourant free. On top of this they go on to state that the bottle is 100% recycled packaging.

I like that a popular company has actually made a nature-friendly body wash without you having to spend a huge amount of money at a specialty camping store for it. (At least I don’t think it was that expensive, it’s from The Body Shop, they are usually reasonably priced for the most part. I received this as a prize from Product Pixie’s blog giveaway so I don’t know for sure).

As someone who likes camping this is a great option in my opinion without worrying you’re going to make nearby wildlife sick (as normal soaps will. You try eating soap and see if you feel well).

I also like that they’re using 100% recycled plastic. It obviously can be done, I don’t understand why more companies don’t use it. You think it would be easier and more cost effective to melt down already created plastic than to create new stuff from scratch but I digress.

The body wash comes in an easy to flip open closed snap bottle. It’s also not an issue to squeeze to force body wash out of the bottle too, which is important in the shower when you’re all soaped up and wet.

The scent of it though it certainly sounds strange is actually quite pleasant. Not too herbally, and not too figgy either. Just kind of a little bit of both. It’s not a very strong scent either which I think is a perfectly okay thing to have in an ecologically impact aware product.

Now the important part, without soap (and everything else) does it actually clean? The answer is a certain yes. I’ve used this without issue cleaning both myself, and my recently dyed hair and both feel clean and are dirt free. Surprisingly even without SLS it foams up fine- not as well as with it but more than sufficient to clean oneself with.

I also tried it on my hair as there wasn’t any gentle shampoo in the shower at the time and I know SLS is really hard on dyed hair. So I figured why not try the body wash and if it doesn’t feel clean wash it again with something else. It worked seemingly without incident to get rid of the extra dye on my scalp, so bonus there.

Overall, there isn’t too much I can say about this. It’s body wash and it gets the job done without negative impacts. That’s really as much as you can ask from a body wash. It wasn’t particularly moisturizing or had any stellar skin revolutionary ingredients. Though to be frank body wash is barely on your skin long enough to do much for it. And that ingredient would probably poison small creatures. In comparison there isn’t anything harmful or potentially harmful in the body wash either which is great and probably better for you in the long run.

Sprite Rating: 9/10. It does its job and it isn’t going to harm the local environment. It doesn’t get a perfect score as it doesn’t blow my mind but it is a good product.

Would I buy this again? If I was going camping and actually remembered it then yes. Otherwise I’ll probably stick to my super luxurious body washes (ex. Lush It’s Raining Men, The Body Shop Satsuma Scrub, or just a plain super cheap bar of soap. Yes, I suck but that’s the water sanitation people’s jobs isn’t it, and you can’t say I’m not telling you the truth).

Three Custom Color Specialists Killer Heat Lip Gloss~ Review

A little while ago there was a deal where if you bought the book Killer Heat during the first week of it's release and sent in your receipt, Brenda Novak and 3 Custom Color Specialists sent you this gloss Killer Heat for free. I hoped on this deal as I love reading and this hit my genre perfectly as it was a murder mystery/romance. Plus who would pass up a free lip gloss?

Three Custom Color Specialists describe the gloss as a sheer red with a subtle champagne shimmer. On the website their swatches are way off, much darker than real life, though the description is accurate.

The gloss comes in a tub (unfortunately, I always find these kind of messy) that has a neat swivel cap that clicks into place. I really like the design of the packaging as it's very unique and you can see the product really well. 

Swatch on hand (two swipes, partially overlapped)

The gloss itself is nice, more pigmented than I thought it would be and it looks quite natural on the lips. Very youthful, just ate some berries type of look. It isn't sticky at all and it feels light on. It's not a bright or dark colour, but I think it will look nice especially during the coming holiday season. The gloss isn't very moisturizing, as in I don't think it adds too much moisture to my lips, but I don't think it takes away moisture either. Though it certainly makes them look moisturized as you'll see in the lip swatches.

Without Gloss (Sorry my lips are all chapped!)

With Gloss (More moisturized looking, eh?)

Overall, I like the gloss, I think it's pretty and subtle without being so subtle that I feel I'm not getting any pigment at all for my money. Would I pay the $21.50 USD for the product by itself? Honestly, no. I just can't get over the mess factor. I like applying the product straight to my lips, so unless it came with a lip brush that could click in somehow it's just not practical for me. Plus for that price I tend to go for more fantastic/interesting looking colours, as this one isn't too unique.

In fact when I first put it on I was immediately reminded of The Body Shop's Born Lippy tinted lip balm pots. However, when I went to swatch them for this post I found the 3CCS one much more pigmented, and less sticky than TBS ones, however as the 3CCS one has no smell, not as great smelling. Below I swatched my similar colour TBS balms next to the 3CCS Killer Heat for comparison.

Left to Right: TBS Raspberry, TBS Strawberry, 3CCS Killer Heat, TBS Cranberry

As you can see Killer Heat has much more pigment per product than TBS versions, which in my opinion is expected as it's 3 times the price!

Overall rating: 7/10 Points off for the lack of applicator and the fact the gloss didn't wow me. Plus the price (though with the book it was a good deal, wouldn't mind doing that again!)

Image from the 3 Custom Color Specialists website
Left to Right: White Heat, Killer Heat, Body Heat

P.S. There are two more shades 3CCS came out with to go with the other two books in Brenda Novak's Heat trilogy, White Heat and Body Heat. Click here to go check them out on the 3CCS website.

FOTD: Thanksgiving

It's Thanksgiving here this weekend in Canada so I thought I'd show you all my Thanksgiving look. It's a simple warm look but I love it especially with my new rust coloured shirt (which isn't showing up as rust in this picture unfortunately!)

Why is it I always like pictures of my self better when I'm looking up?

Here's what I'm wearing:

Face: Neutrogena Water-Light Sunscreen SPF 45

Cargo Activating Face Primer

Estee Lauder Double Wear Light Intensity 1

Laura Mercier Secret Concealer Shade 2

Mac Prep & Prime Powder Transparent

Cheeks: The Body Shop Autumn Leaves Berry blush

Lorac Oil-free Luminizer in pearl (cheekbones)

This look is great for bringing out the green in my hazel eyes!

Eyes: Annabelle Brow pencil in Auburn

Too Faced Shadow Insurance

Wet n' Wild Brule eyeshadow (to even out discolouration)

Urban Decay Lounge eyeshadow (all over lid and into crease)

Stila Eden eyeshadow (from crease to brow bone)

Mac Fluidline gel eyeliner in Rich Ground

Clinique Lash Power tubing mascara in Black

Lips: Mac Slimshine lipstick in Most Wanted

 I find it quite fitting for the autumn with all the leaves starting to change colour here. What do you all think?

FOTD: Simple Sophisticated Red

This is a really simple look I did the other day for classes. I think it gives a bit of personality without being overdone, and it's certainly work and uni appropriate. It also gives a nice flair of fall (yay! I love fall, it is by far my favourite season!)

Close up so you can see the blush and eye better.

Here's the products I used:

• Estee Lauder Double Wear Light Foundation Intensity 01
• NARS Face primer (the last remnants of my sample, so I didn't get full coverage)
• Too Faced Shadow Insurance
• Revlon Vintage Lace (matte) eyeshadow
• Stila Eden Eyeshadow (matte)
• Clinique Lash Pwer Mascara in Black
• The Body Shop Autumn Leaves Blush in Berry (metallic finish- highly pigmented so use sparingly!)
• Mac Lipstain Marker in A Classic
• Quo Eiffel tower lipgloss in Burgundy 
• Laura Mercier undercover concealer # 2
• Mac Prep and Prime Finishing Powder

The idea was to have bright light neutral eyes that look awake without attracting attention. The blush I focused on being there ever so slightly (like you've been out in a crisp fall air), which works well with this particular blush from The Body Shop as it has an almost frost finish so it highlights the cheek bones as well. The red lips I put a stain beneath and a gloss on top in near shades of red (less work over time for me!) in a matching colour to my shirt. I love this gloss by Quo as it is the colour of a ruby on, really wonderful rich jewel tone. A very very similar colour that's out right now is the Art of Darkness Hermetic gloss by Illamasqua. 

What do you think? Would you wear a similar look out and about? Let me know in the comments!

P.S. If you'd like to have an e-mail update option added to Hebridean Sprite Beauty please post so in the comments, or send me an e-mail. *hugs*

FOTD: Robot in the Jungle

Yes, I assure you you've read the title correctly. I was invited to a joint birthday party this friday night and that was the theme, and since it was a sort of last minute invitation, I went all out with make-up! I decided by the end of the night I was a type of purple artificial intelligence moss. I used an overload of metallic shimmer finish products, so it's kind of frightening, but tell me what you think!

Kind of scary, aptly named "whore-bot" silly shot

Soft-focus effect so you can see where I added the most silver/white shimmer cream

Grainy day-light pic (before I changed shirts, put on a silver necklace and pulled back my hair :D)

Pore-mania close up (very warm light)

Right eye open

Left eye closed

All Evil Villain looking

Side shot for highlights

Close-up! *shoos hands at pores*

So First off, the reason I don't look so great in these pics is because I ran out of primer, so I've got pores galore at the end of the night especially (which is when the last pictures were taken). I'm getting waiting on some Cargo primer in the mail (which I'll review about later this month), but, ignoring that here's the products I used:

• Estee Lauder Double Wear Light Foundation Intensity 1.0
• The Body Shop Fall Leaves Blush in Berry
• Mac Go For It lipstick
• MUA (Make Up Academy) eyeshadow in shade 9 (all over the lid) (*psst* Urban Decay has an exact dupe of this colour eyeshadow!)
• Mac Vex eyeshadow
• GOSH Waterproof Cream Shadow Stick in Ivory
• Mac Fluidline in Rich Ground
• Clinique Lash Power Mascara in Black Onyx
• Too Faced Shadow Insurance
• Mac Plum Dressing Eyeshadow (Crease)
• Mac Petalscent eyeshadow (one of two highlights)
• Mac Prep and Prime Loose powder
• Laura Mercier Secret Concealer Number 2

If I were to do this look again I think I'd cut out the blush and just use straight silver/ivory all over the cheek instead, I think it would have been more striking and machine-like. 

Thanks for reading! Leave me a comment telling me what you think!

Review: Autumn Leaves Blush in Berry from The Body Shop

Autumn Leaves Blush in Berry

So, I don't think these are out yet, when I went into the shop they had them in the back, but let me buy one as I told them I saw them out online (well I heard they were supposed to be out online by now.... but I got to buy one!)

I got to swatch both in store and my gosh these are beautiful in real life! Each colour is rich (and NOT overspray! Yay!) and have a shimmer that makes them look lit from within. Although they at first appear to be shimmer crazy and frost-mania but blended, these are really quite beautiful, especially for fall. The berry shade is warm but I think it has enough coolness to it to really look good on cool skin tones as well. The warmer almost bronze chestnut is also stunning really lovely copper colour and I honestly wanted it too, but one I don't wear bronzer, and two that would have been another $21 USD. It would have gone well with my hair too (lol, yes I'm a little obsessed with these I like them so much!) In total you get 9 grams or 0.3 oz. I think this is such a unique colour for fall and a nice addition to any collection. Here are some more pictures.

Up Close

Each colour can be used as an eyeshadow too. There is a white gold, a coppery-brown, a dark cranberry and the base colour a rose pink. Here are the swatches.

From left to right: Copper-brown, White gold, Cranberry, Rose, and Mixed together

Cool light again, but a slightly different angle

Warm light, these are the closest to reality :D

The only thing I have to say is that I won't be able to wear this daily as it has Dimethicone (a Silicone) in it, and some seed oils. Both would be for moisturizing the skin but both for me can cause acne. Also try not to drop it, I did and a part of the powder broke off the bottom (not much, but a bit).

Overall, I definitely recommend popping into The Body Shop (convincing the SA's to check out the back) and taking a look-see. A beautiful powder that reminds me of a Mac MSF in colouration.

Rating: 9/10

One last thing: If you sign The Body Shop Petition to stop sex trafficking of children and young people, they'll give you a sticker with a $5 off backing on a $25 purchase. This is only available in store though between August 2010, to December 31st, 2010. 

Mini Haul

This is my last haul for a while as I'm in love with the very expensive Guerlain palette (to see pictures and information go here, and to see swatches be sure to check out Karla Sugar's Blog (can anyone say amazing!?!). On top of this I'm going to Tanzania in August for a field course and travel vaccines and bug nets are expensive. However, I'm all for enjoying this mini haul, and happily planning what to get for after my no buy (information in a coming post). Not to mention showing pictures of the pretties to specific people as hints for gifts. *innocently bats eyelashes* Anyways, lets start this off!
First up, I visited Mac for the Go For It lipstick, a punky blue-based purple that looks lovely on sheer and built up. It's a creamsheen formula and it has a slight hint of silver shimmer to it but one thats barely noticeable. I've also found that it wears really prettily to a soft lilac-berry shade on my lips. With tax this cost $18.65 CND. All in all this is a win!
This is with the lipstick built up quite a bit, one or even two swipes goes on more subtle and sheerer than this.

Here's a picture of me wearing it while lounging on my bed.
My next stop was Sephora, because after finding out that my beloved Make Up Forever HD Primer in Blue was breaking me out due to the high amount of silicone contained in it (though, as a side note it smelt great, felt great, evened out my skin tone, and really helped my foundation last- *cry*), I needed to try a new, Silicone-free primer. And so I hunted down a shop girl and commandeered her into providing me with three silicone-free primer samples. The ones I got were:
1) Korres Face Primer Silicone-Free: This looks like a body butter. It's a white glob that stayed in the exact area it was placed in the container despite the awful jarring it encountered while in my purse throughout the mall. It looks quite thick so I'm a little wary of this one, but it is 99% natural with "skin perfecting and smoothing extracts". It claims to visibly reduce the appearance of pores and fine lines as well. This primer comes in a white tube with a twist cap (think toothpaste tube) and is 1.01 fl. oz. in full size.
2) NARS Makeup Primer: This seems to have a more gel-like appearance than the Korres one but still is milky coloured. It also comes in a plain white tube and contains 50ml of product in the full size item. Nars claims that it
"Soothes and prepares skin with natural botanicals and vitamins while creating a protective base for longer-lasting, natural looking foundation application and wear. The airy, lightweight oil-free gel cream formulation helps reduce redness and inflammation while increasing hydration. Worn under foundation, powder or alone, the result is translucent, healthy looking skin"
They go on to point out it excludes oil, silicone and synthetic fragrance, prevents makeup from breaking up and includes Echinacea, Grape, Kiwi, Lavender, and Green Tea extract. Not exactly sure what all of these extracts are supposed to do for you but it certainly sounds interesting.
3) Lorac Aquaprime: This one is a clear bubble filled gel. It kind of reminds me of Aloe Vera gel with the consistency and bubbles but without the green tinge. Lorac calls this an anti-aging primer as it contains Sodium Hyaluronate, a ingredient that they claim helps diminish the appearance of fine lines. It's also supposed to have a moisturizing effect, all while being oil, fragrance, silicone and paraben free. It comes in a white tube with a black pump on the end, and contains 40ml of product in the full size version.
I'm hopeful one of these will suit my skin and harsh makeup wear! (ahem Harsh = oily skin, naps during the day, leaning up against unsuspecting people/walls/objects/animals, etc.)
Then, I sneakily went off and browsed the store some more before asking a different SA to prepare me a sample of Laura Mercier's Secret Cover concealer in shade number one. This concealer is specifically designed for the undereye area and I'm hoping it covers my genetically derived blue circles but doesn't crease after a little while of wear (like every other concealer I own- Is it so much to ask that I not look like a zombie or a gaunt over-worked university student even once I apply foundation and concealer and powder? No I say no it is not!) This salmon coloured concealer comes in a cream in a cute little brown pot. In total there are 6 skin shades for one to choose from which doesn't seem like many, but the thing to remember about concealers (especially undereye ones) is that its okay if they are lighter or not exactly your skin tone as if they are a shade lighter you'll look more awake and the peach or pink undertones will counteract any darkness of your circles. The full size product contains 0.08oz.
After scoping out the beauty section of The Body Shop and pouting upon the realization that they didn't have the Autumn Leaves compact in stock yet and the SA not even knowing what the heck I was talking about (see this post for a brief look at the compact I'm talking about). However, since The Body Shop was having a buy 2 get 1 free deal, and the place always smells so darn good, I ended up purchasing a Mango sugar scrub, a lemon body moisturizer and a strawberry moisturizer. The scrub looks luscious and contains mango oil for moisturizing so I can't wait to use it on my legs in the shower.
Picture shamelessly stolen from the USA Body Shop Website.
Lastly, I boringly got citrus mint toothpaste as I find mint too much and they didn't have vanilla *pout*. So that's all, When I get a chance to really try out the primers I'll let you know what I thought of them (and which if any I decided to get). Anyone else purchased anything lately? Let me know in the comments! Or if you have and questions or other comments I'm happy to read them too! :D

The Body Shop: Autumn Smoke and Fire Collection 2010

Is anyone else drooling? I just think this is gorgeous! Part of the new Body Shop Fall collection these Autumn Leaves compacts are limited edition and come in the two colours shown here, Berry and Chestnut. They are going to launch Tomorrow and will retail at $21 CND/USD. From what I can tell from descriptions, the leaves are not just overspray and the blush will have a shimmer to it. Personally, I think these are going to sell like hot-cakes, as to me they really embody all the things I love about fall, even with the shimmer reminding me of the slightest bit of frost on grass in the mornings. The compacts are said to contain marula oil and nut oil which is suppose to soften the skin.
The Smoke and Fire collection also includes three Kajal liners in Charcoal (black), Steel (blued silver), and Evergreen (dark green) which retail at $10 CND/USD.
What do you think?

I have a Review up now if you're interested!

Information and Photo from www.zinkmagazine.com and TheNotice: a Beauty Blog