Lily Lolo: Not Your Average Mineral Makeup

Lily Lolo is an all natural mineral  makeup brand from the U.K. that just recently launched in the U.S. and Canada this year. I had been excitedly anticipating Lily Lolo’s North American debut because they are known for professional, high-quality mineral makeup with lots of product options and with reasonable prices.

Not only did Lily Lolo introduce their amazing mineral cosmetics to excited fans in the U.S. and Canada, the launch also welcomed some truly lust-worthy products. I was intrigued to be able to test out the brand’s new Mascara and BB Cream.

It was also timely that Lily Lolo also recently revealed its gorgeous, new branding identity. Sleek, minimalist, black and white packaging and a stylish new geometric logo exudes sophistication, style, and luxury for this cult-favorite cosmetics brand. {I love examining the work behind brand identity and re-design. See some lovely photos and commentary of the Lily Lolo re-design here.}

The Natural BB Cream has a light to medium coverage formula that is soft and silky, which makes it easy to apply using your fingertips or with a makeup sponge. With claims that it “promotes skin luminescence” and is “long-wearing and stays colour true all day”, this BB Cream features some great natural moisturizing and tone-correcting ingredients such as jojoba seed oil, pomegranate seed oil, argan oil, and manuka oil. It also smells delicious: very citrus-y and fresh!

The ingredients are organic, natural, vegan, talc free, oil free, silicone free, and non-comedogenic (doesn’t clog pores). Two pumps of product easily covers up any redness on my face but for dark acne spots or noticeable discoloration you might still want to use concealer along with this. This product definitely provides more coverage than my current daily tinted moisturizer and leaves my face with a glowing finish without making me look shiny. The finish is actually quite matte yet keeps skin moisturized all day. I also love the pump tube packaging which not only makes for easy applications but also makes this product very portable. I use the shade, Light and it’s a great match for my pale, olive skin tone. It looks quite yellow and peach-toned out of the tube but once blended into skin, the BB Cream really adjusts in color and sinks in nicely, quickly blurring imperfections and creating a soft, natural look.

My only gripe about this BB Cream is that compared to the original Korean BB creams (the products which started the BB cream craze), I’m not quite sure how “true” it is in fitting under the Beauty Balm umbrella. BB creams were created not only to conceal imperfections but to gradually improve skin; a sort of skincare and makeup all-in-one product. For me, I don’t think the Lily Lolo Natural BB Cream provides any beneficial skincare results other than functioning as a tinted moisturizer-like product, providing light coverage and an overall softened look.So far, this product has not caused any irritation or problems for my sensitive skin. However, I’ll definitely be using more of this light coverage BB Cream for the springtime! $22 for 40ml. at Lily Lolo or Credo Beauty.

It’s helpful to note that there are some ingredients to keep in mind if you’re pickier about formulas. This BB Cream includes benzyl alcohol (a naturally occurring and synthetic ingredient used as solvent and preservative that has been associated with skin allergies on contact),  and benzyl salicylate (an ester of benzyl alcohol and salicylic acid that has been associated with allergies and contact dermatitis). If you are worried about skin reactions or allergies, always test samples beforehand! If you don’t feel comfortable about certain ingredients and its effect on your skin, research them and decide for yourself!

Natural BB Cream Ingredients: Organic. Natural. Vegan friendly.  AQUA, CAPRYLIC/CAPRIC TRIGLYCERIDE, GLYCERIN, COCO-CAPRYLATE, CETEARYL OLIVATE, SORBITAN OLIVATE, SIMMONDSIA CHINENSIS (JOJOBA) SEED OIL, TRITICUM VULGARE (WHEAT) GERM OIL, PRUNUS AMYGDALUS DULCIS (SWEET ALMOND) OIL, ARGANIA SPINOSA (ARGAN) KERNEL OIL, STEARIC ACID, CETYL ALCOHOL, GLYCERYL STEARATE, BORON NITRIDE, BENZYL ALCOHOL, PARFUM, SODIUM BENZOATE, POTASSIUM SORBATE, TOCOPHEROL, ALOE BARBADENSIS LEAF JUICE POWDER, LEPTOSPERMUM SCOPARIUM (MANUKA) OIL, PUNICA GRANATUM (POMEGRANATE) SEED OIL, DEHYDROACETIC ACID, HELIANTHUS ANNUUS (SUNFLOWER) SEED OIL, SODIUM HYALURONATE, LIMONENE, LINALOOL, BENZYL BENZOATE, BENZYL SALICYLATE, CI 77891 (TITANIUM DIOXIDE), CI 77491 (IRON OXIDE), CI 77492 (IRON OXIDE), CI 77499 (IRON OXIDE)

Lily Lolo’s new Mascara has garnered lots of praise among mascara-lovers and beauty bloggers alike. Firstly, I think the packaging is stunning: how many sleek, black & white mascara tubes have you seen before? It’s very unique. As for the mascara’s formula, it’s definitely up-to-par with long-lasting, voluminous conventional mascaras out there. This mascara really helps to amp-up the volume and length of my lashes. The natural, organic formula is also really gentle and safe for those with sensitive eyes: “Made with pure inert minerals, organic, and natural ingredients. Completely free of gmo, nano particles, talc, additives, harsh chemicals, parabens, gluten, bismuth oxychloride,dyes, fillers, fragrance, preservatives, petroleum based chemicals, and other questionable ingredients.”

This mascara lasts all day without smudging or flaking. I also love the depth this mascara gives my lashes due to the darker tint and weightier formula. The mascara wand is thick and wide which helps give overall volume to lashes. Compared to my favorite mascara from Kjaer Weis, the Lily Lolo mascara doesn’t provide as much definition to lashes. I prefer smaller, thinner mascara wands for more exact definition and because my eyes are smaller, to lift and separate lashes more effectively. Overall, this is a great voluminous, lengthening mascara that I really enjoy using. It’s definitely at the top of my favorite natural mascara list! You can purchase the black or brown version at Lily Lolo.
$19 for 7ml at Lily Lolo or Credo Beauty.

Mascara Ingredients: Gluten free, vegan friendly.  AQUA (WATER), MYRICA PUBESCENS FRUIT CERA (MYRICA PUBESCENS FRUIT WAX), PROPANEDIOL, COPERNICIA CERIFERA CERA (COPERNICIA CERIFERA (CARNAUBA) WAX), POLYGLYCERYL-6 DISTEARATE, SUCROSE STEARATE, ACACIA SENEGAL GUM, GLYCERYL DIBEHENATE, HELIANTHUS ANNUUS SEED CERA (HELIANTHUS ANNUUS (SUNFLOWER) SEED WAX), LACTOBACILLUS FERMENT BIS-OCTYLDODECYL DIMER DILINOLEATE/PROPANEDIOL COPOLYMER, POLYGLYCERYL-10 MYRISTATE, ORYZA SATIVA BRAN CERA (ORYZA SATIVA (RICE) BRAN WAX), GLYCERYL CAPRYLATE, ROSA CANINA FRUIT OIL, ARGANIA SPINOSA KERNEL OIL, XANTHAN GUM, POTASSIUM SORBATE, GLYCERYL UNDECYLENATE, MAY CONTAIN IRON OXIDES.

Overall, I loved my introduction to Lily Lolo and can’t wait to try more of the brand’s high-performing makeup. I actually have a Lily Lolo lipstick (which I also love), that I received from the blog swap I did with U.K. blogger, Kate. Have you seen the beautiful new, Pressed Eye Shadow Palettes?! Eyebrow Duo and Eye Primer I’m lookin’ at both of you next!

 Have you tried anything from Lily Lolo? What do you think about these products? Check out the full U.S. & Canada website here or find Lily Lolo at Credo Beauty.

 

*Product kindly provided for consideration. As always, these are my own and honest options.

**More info here: http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/ingredient/700697/BENZYL_ALCOHOL/,  http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/ingredient/700701/BENZYL_SALICYLATE/