100% Pure Fruit Pigmented Mascara

I used to use 100% Pure several years ago when Bath and Body Works carried outside brands at select stores in the country.  Once it was discontinued from this store, I had a lot of problems finding the line and usually had to order it online and hope that I liked the fragrances when they arrived.  Last month, I found the line at the Fresh Market near my house and now I can go right back to shopping and loving this line and I decided to begin by shopping the makeup line this time around.

When I used the line before, I had only used the body products and the lip products.  I want to try everything else in this line now, starting with the eye and face products.  I have never used many natural eye makeup products and this should be an interesting experience if nothing else.  Last week, I purchased the Fruit Pigmented Mascara in this line and have been using it for the past few days.  I like the idea of using natural products closer to my sensitive eye area but I will say that this mascara formula is not capable of crating the style of lashes that I prefer and I need multiple coats to get my lashes anywhere close to thick and false-looking. 

"100% natural, 100% vegetarian.  Colored with black tea and berry pigments.  Lengthens, separates, thickens and glosses lashes.  Water and smudge resistant; suitable for sensitive eyes."

This mascara comes in four shades:
- Black Tea - black
- Blackberry - plum
- Blueberry - navy
- Dark Chocolate - deep brown

I bought the Black Tea mascara since black mascara is the only shade that I wear.  This mascara is best for women that prefer more natural looking lashes or that already have long, thick natural lashes.  Neither of these describe me so this mascara is not the best formula for me.  One coat gives my lashes a black tint but I need two full coats to get any type of additional volume to my eyelashes.  The formula works well to separate my lashes and keep them defined and non-clumpy.  This formula is not made to help hold any kind of curl either.  This formula starts to flake off in about eight hours and it pretty much almost worn off by the time that I am home from a full day of work and then class at night.

As I said earlier, this formula is best for those who like a more natural lash look or who already have great eyelashes.  I am burning through this mascara because I have to use at least two or three coats of it in the morning, I can't see that I will get much more than two months from this tube.  I don't think that I am really a candidate for natural mascara formulas.

I thought that removal would be easy with this product because it is more natural and doesn't have the chemicals and polymers that more traditional formulas contain.  I wrong in this aspect of the product, I need MAC eye makeup remover to get this product off and I can only get about 75% of the product off my lashes and then the rest ends up on my face after my shower.  Maybe if I needed to use less of the product then this wouldn't be so much of an issue but I can't see myself using only one coat of the product.

This formula is one that I would only use on a casual weekend day, it makes my lashes darker but I need to apply a lot of product to get my lashes to look even the slightest bit thicker.  I don't know that I would even be able to expect the same type of results that I get from a DiorShow or They're Real! from this type of formula as the developers have many less ingredients that they can work with.  I like the concept behind this mascara but the performance is not what I need from a mascara so I will not be buying another tube of it.  However I am still interested in what other eye makeup products are in this line and I will pick up a few each time that I visit Fresh Market for food.

photo courtesy of 100% Pure

100% Pure Coffee Bean Caffeine Eye Cream

Going off of the wonderful luck that I have had with the 100% Pure body products, I am deciding to expand my horizons into their skincare line. I looked on their website and I found some cleansers that look very enticing and a bunch of other products that I certainly mind having but I decided to zero in on one product, the Coffee Bean Caffeine Eye Cream. My B. Kamins Therapeutic Eye Cream is amazing for dark circles but doesn’t really wow me in the puffiness area. The other day, I looked in the mirror when I woke up and almost died when I saw my face. This was the morning after a stress related crying fit but that doesn’t change the fact that I looked terrible. Quite frankly, looking like I felt terrible made me feel 100% worse so I decided to start searching for a new anti puffiness eye product.

I have heard rave reviews for this product and just off of the top of my head, I can think of two people that I know that really love it. I already know that caffeine speeds up the cells of the body so whatever it can help to slim down and improve the appearance of cellulite. Based on this assumption, I would assume that it would work to reduce the appearance of the puffiness in the same manner. Here is the description of the product from 100% Pure, “Anti-inflammatory, caffeine rich green tea and coffee de-puffs and reduces swelling while increasing circulation to alleviate and brighten dark circles. Concentrated with potent anti-aging vitamins, antioxidants, and nourishing blackcurrant oil. Truly, 100% Pure.”

Reduces swelling, puffiness, and increase circulation all while being an organic product that is actually good for my skin?! This is coming home with me the next time that I am able to get to a mall that carries this line. And I think that I will be looking into more face care products from this line too.

photo courtesy of 100% Pure

100% Pure White Chocolate Body Cream

Now that winter has pretty much come to an end, I have to put away one of my favorite body creams to use in the cold weather months. The product in question here is the White Chocolate Body Cream from the company 100% Pure. The amusing part of my love of this product is that I actually don’t like white chocolate, I would pick any kind over white. But somehow, I absolutely adore the White Chocolate Mochas from Starbucks in the wintertime. And I guess that I am one of the only people that drinks those because one day, I ordered one right after a guy did and the barista was so shocked that two in a row were requested that she decided that him and I were going to get married and that we belonged together. All before 9:00 in the morning…

Quite frankly, I prefer this body cream. It is made with real white chocolate and smells much more like the real thing then many of the fake chocolate products on the market. This product is all natural and 100% vegetarian. Here is the description from 100% Pure, “Luxuriously rich, nourishing body cream immediately softens, hydrates and makes your skin more healthy. High concentration of Vitamins C & E repair and protect against aging. Organic Green Coffee and White Tea increases circulation and are high in antioxidants. Smells delicious because it's made with real chocolate, not synthetic fragrances. 100% Pure never uses any synthetic chemicals, artificial fragrances, petro chemicals, chemical preservatives or any other toxins.” And if you don’t believe me that this product is 100% Pure, here are the ingredients, “Organic White Tea, Organic Cocoa Butter, Cocoa extract, Organic Macadamia Nut Oil, Organic Kukui Nut Oil, Organic Green Coffee, Pure Chocolate Absolute, Lavender Honey wax, Chamomile wax, Vitamin C (ascorbyl palmitate), Vitamin E (a-tocopherol), Pure Hazelnut Absolute, Japanese Honeysuckle, Citric Acid, Witch Hazel.”

I learned a lot about this line when I worked for Bath and Body Works and I have never looked backwards on this line since. I also have the Chocolate Mocha products to use in the wintertime too and the Virgin Coconut products for the summertime. The major difference that I notice with this product (different from traditional lines) is that it doesn’t always absorb fully if you use too much of it and a bit of it will stay sitting on the skin. But since, very little of this product needs to be used to get results, I have been using the same bottle for over two winters and it is barely half empty.

Maybe White Chocolate Mocha boy would love it too…

photo courtesy of 100% Pure