TopBox has sent me some Burt's Bees products to review, and I'm about to spill the tea on their makeup. I wanted to love the products that TopBox sent me because it's Burt we're talking about here. The brand is super popular and mostly known for their lip balms. They also don't test on animals, and their products are formulated without parabens, phthalates, SLS, petrolatum, talc, or synthetic fragrances. But the products didn't wow me, and one particular product was so awful that I'm debating tossing the bottle in the trash. And I hate wasting products.
I had a slightly better experience with their 100% Natural All Aglow Lip & Cheek Sticks. I received the shades Suez Sands and Dahlia Dew. Their lip & cheek sticks retail at $20.99. I've never tried a cream blush or a stick blush, let alone one that doubles as a lip tint. This product tries to be versatile, but that makes application dirty and germy. If you're using this product on your face then your mouth, you're going to have to wipe it off between uses otherwise you're applying a cesspool of germs onto your lips. I wouldn't recommend using the stick directly on your face (which is literally its sole purpose as a stick product) because it will move your foundation around relentlessly. I found that the best way to apply it to my face to swipe a clean makeup brush against the stick, then to dab it onto my cheeks. You can also use your fingers to transfer the product from the stick to your skin, but the lighter you dab (which is easier with a brush), the less likely you'll be disturbing your foundation. Paired with the Goodness Glows foundation, blending the two were difficult, and if not done correctly, will make your foundation patchy all over. As a lip tint, the product applies well and will last an hour or so. And I'll admit, as a lip tint it does feel nourishing. Colour-wise, Suez Sands is a dusty rose colour and applied very lightly, which looked natural on my cheeks but not opaque enough to be noticeable on my lips. Dahlia Dew is very red and I found it to be too dark to look natural on my cheeks, but added a nice darker tint to my lips.
The Burt's Bees 100% Natural All Aglow Highlighter Stick and 100% Natural All Aglow Bronzer Stick retail for $20.99. You will need to apply it the same way as you would the cheek/lip sticks: with a brush or your fingers. If you use the sticks directly on your face (more specifically, with the Goodness Glows foundation), you will smear all your foundation underneath. They have one highlighter shade called Opal Mist, which is a soft and opal/cream colour and applies lightly and gives a more natural and subtle looking glow. Their bronzer sticks have two shades, Golden Shimmer and Bronze Splash, which can be described as gold and darker gold. I received darker gold, and it applied like a gold highlighter. I wouldn't use this as a bronzer because it's too shimmery, but I'd definitely use it as a highlighter, especially for warm summer days.
Lastly, I also received their 100% Natural Nourishing Mascara, which retails for $14.99 and comes in the colours black brown and classic black. It's made with jojoba oil and glycerin to nourish lashes, and is supposed to be delicate for your eye area. I've seen many reviews saying that they thought it was clumpy and flaky. Personally, I didn't see any flakiness whatsoever. As for clumping, maybe a teensy bit, but that can always be rectified by twirling the mascara wand as you apply the product. This is a trick that I use with all my mascaras to create a flawless, clump-free finish. It also didn't hold up very well with water, so if you happen to shed a tear while wearing this mascara be prepared to have it run down your face. This product wasn't the best mascara that I've ever used, but it wasn't the worst. It didn't make my lashes look lengthened or anything, but is good for a more natural lift for my lashes. It was meh, but it's budget friendly for anyone looking for natural makeup products.
I wanted to love these products by Burt's Bees. I wanted to love how they were made from natural ingredients. But I feel like these products missed the mark for me. I can learn to use all the stick products so that I can apply them more expertly. The mascara I can work with. But these products were all meh. Not incredible, but not horrible either. And for meh products, I don't know if I could justify the price points. If you want to make better consumer choices by purchasing natural products, then maybe this is the product line for you. However, the foundation was absolutely horrid and I would never recommend it. Maybe it works better on people with different skin types than me, but this product is definitely not meant for anyone with oily skin unless they want to look oilier than they already are.
P.S. This is the look that I created using all the products (minus Bronze Splash). If you can't tell from the picture below, I suck at selfies! I'm not even smiling. My house has poor lighting, so you can't really tell, but my skin looks super oily/shiny because of the foundation. Opal Mist didn't give much of a highlight, the mascara looks average, Suez Sands didn't make my cheeks look very rosy because it was too sheer, and Dahlia Dew did an okay job adding some tint to my lips, but it didn't last much longer than an hour or so. Overall, the look is very natural. So with the exception of the foundation, I may keep some of these products in my arsenal of makeup for days that I want to look more natural (ie. when I do a no-makeup makeup look).
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| Burt's Bees Goodness Glows Liquid Foundation - $20.99 |
I'm going to start with their foundation, because it's the one I had the most issues with. I received their Goodness Glows Liquid Foundation in the shade Classic Ivory. It retails for $20.99 at Shoppers Drugmart, which is where you'll be able to find this hot mess of a foundation in Canada. I need to start with the smell. OH MY GOSH. The SMELL. I've been reading other people's comments about the foundation online and I've seen reviews saying it smells like a dirty mop, smelly socks, and plastic. To me, it smells like expired makeup or old oil (I have an older batch of cuticle oil I made. It's a few years old, and smells exactly like this). It's probably because meadowfoam seed oil is used as one of the main ingredients. Once you apply it and get past the scent, that's where the real issues start. It's marketed toward dry and combination skin types, so I don't know why I was sent this product, as I've mentioned during several pre-qualifiers with TopBox that I have oily skin. Their product page literally says this foundation won't make your skin feel "heavy, cakey, or greasy", but it did exactly that to me. It applied streaky, and made my face look super glossy, so I had to add lots of setting powder to mattify my skin. After a full day of wear, my skin looked super shiny all over and the makeup started separating. It will also smear and move everywhere if you try to add other products overtop. This is the WORST foundation I've ever used in my entire life, so I'm glad it was free.
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| Burt's Bees 100% Natural All Aglow Lip & Cheek Stick - $20.99 |
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| Burt's Bees 100% Natural Highlighter/Bronzer Stick - $20.99 |
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| Burt's Bees 100% Natural Nourishing Mascara - $14.99 |
P.S. This is the look that I created using all the products (minus Bronze Splash). If you can't tell from the picture below, I suck at selfies! I'm not even smiling. My house has poor lighting, so you can't really tell, but my skin looks super oily/shiny because of the foundation. Opal Mist didn't give much of a highlight, the mascara looks average, Suez Sands didn't make my cheeks look very rosy because it was too sheer, and Dahlia Dew did an okay job adding some tint to my lips, but it didn't last much longer than an hour or so. Overall, the look is very natural. So with the exception of the foundation, I may keep some of these products in my arsenal of makeup for days that I want to look more natural (ie. when I do a no-makeup makeup look).
*These products were free for me to test and review.
