Aveda Nourish-Mint Smoothing Lip Color

I have been getting more and more obsessed with Aveda every time that I visit my salon and see more of their products on the display.  I have a hair appointment next week and that means that I have been stalking the Aveda website and looking to see what products that I might want to try this time around.  Early last week, I decided that I couldn't wait and I ordered a few of the Nourish-Mint Lipsticks and have been playing around with them ever since they have arrived.  I have tried to limit the amount of lipsticks that I buy and I have failed every single time that I try and do this so I have just decided to give up and keep buying more lipsticks...

I have said before in this blog that lip products are the one item that I prefer with natural or organic ingredients.  I once read that the average woman eats about eight pounds of lipstick over her lifetime and using a more natural product will eliminate some of the chemicals that are ingested.  I am not saying that I will only be using natural lip products but I will be trying to find more brands that fall into this category.  Aveda falls right into this category and I couldn't wait to order a few lipsticks from their website.

The Aveda website states the following about their Nourish-Mint Smoothing Lip Color, "75% of women noticed fuller lips after 2 weeks*.  Smooths appearance of fine lines by 26%**.  Increases moisture by 26%**.  Contains refreshing aroma-flavor with the certified organic essential oils of peppermint, vanilla, and ginger." 

These lipsticks smell very similar to the C.O. Bigelow Vanilla Mint Mentha Lip Shine and I love that aspect of the product!  I ordered lipsticks that are in the Berry and Rose families to start with and will continue to purchase more from this product collection.  I surprised myself by not ordering a red shade but I wanted to add some different shades to my collection and I am sure that I will be ordering some red hues in the upcoming weeks. 

Here are the available shades from Aveda!

- 510 Fossil - neutral gold rose with light shimmer
- 520 Sutra - cool earthy rose with light shimmer
- 531 Blushed Honey - cool bronze rose with high shimmer
- 711 Butternut - warm rich brown
- 821 Kashmir Brown - shimmery natural nude
- 312 Lychee Splash - shimmery coral pink
- 320 Sugar Apple - cool deep violet pink with shimmer
- 330 Mulberry - warm rosy pink with light shimmer
- 935 Magenta Berry - deep magenta
- 611 Stargrape - cool shimmery violet plum
- 908 Snapdragon - warm saturated red
- 909 Rare Orchid - cool red violet
- 410 Wild Plum - soft shimmery plum
- 430 Cerise - deep red plum
- 721 Poppy - bright cool red
- 907 Wild Fuchsia - bright fuchsia pink
- 720 Hot Pepper - deep warm spicy brown
- 733 Cherry Bud - warm brick red
- 913 Cana - intense red-orange

I bought Mulberry, Stargrape, and Cerise.  Mulberry is the easiest of the shades to wear, it is semi-sheer rosy pink that works very well with my pale cool toned skin.  I can wear this one with any type of eye makeup look or for a more natural look.  Stargrape is one that I have only tried once or twice at home so far, this deep satin plum will work well later on in fall and will be best for getting dressed up at night.  I would not be able to pull this off in a professional environment because of the contrast between my pale skin and deep hue but someone with a deeper skintone would not have that same issue.  Cerise is listed as a "red plum" but I found it to be more of a warm plum than having a "red" cast to it.  I would use Cerise in the same way that I would use Stargrape, Cerise is a warm plum satin that will be a great shade when dressing up and going out this fall. 

I found that the Aveda lipsticks are not as pigmented as many of the other ones on the market.  If you prefer a more pigmented product than I recommend NARS or Urban Decay.  Nourish-Mint can be described as having a medium pigmentation, every shade appears nicely on the lips but the effect is not as dramatic as a full pigment lipstick.  These lipsticks will be an easy transition for someone who prefers sheer lip balms or lip glosses to a traditional lipstick.  The majority of these shades will be easy to work into a more professional look, exceptions will only be with the deepest of the lipstick shades.

My favorite aspect of this lipstick formula is the hydrating property.  These lipsticks hydrate and feel like a traditional lip balm and help to care for the lips while providing a great color.  The downside here is that this formula tends to come off pretty quickly and does not last much longer than three or four hours (without eating or drinking).  This is common issue with very hydrating lipsticks so I am not surprised but I would love for these shades to last a bit longer than they do. 

I am already making a short list of shades that I will pick up from the salon on my next visit.  I need to get a red from this formula, therefore my top pick is Poppy.  My other choices are Sutra and Magenta Berry.  Sutra will be a good neutral for me and Magenta Berry will be a good fall bright for me to work into my makeup look.

photo courtesy of Aveda