Overall, I love Red Apple Lipstick! I love their philosophy and passion towards a "healthier" cosmetic. Most men and women don't realize just how many chemicals they expose themselves to every day. Please enjoy my review, I wish I had more ways of expressing how much I am OBSESSED with these lipsticks now. 

Texture - The texture of these lipsticks feel AMAZING!!! "Like buttah' " (I'm from Boston)  Smooth and silky. Gives your lips that great "glide" when you rub them together. The vitamin e in them gives you long lasting results as well. 

Scent/Taste - Reminds me of when I first started getting into makeup and was really into Lip Smackers. They have a very generic fruity smell that could be a "watermelon" or a "strawberry kiwi" type of smell often found in children's chapsticks. Personally I really like it and it isn't very strong but if you are very very sensitive to smells, you may want to be look into it a little more. And although you shouldn't eat cosmetics, I tend to lick my lips. The flavor is what you would expect, a fruity wax taste. 

Packaging - Not only does your order arrive dressed like a present in fun green tissue paper, and a reusable canvas type drawstring bag, but the tubes rock too. The tubes are a round solid semi-matte black plastic. "Red Apple Lipstick" is embossed in "shiny clear" on the side of the cap, and the RAL logo of an apple with lips is embossed the same way on the top of the cap. The base of the lipstick has ABSOLUTELY AMAZING TEXTURE! This was honestly one of my favorite aspects of these lipsticks. They look so edgy and expensive. They texture is just a simple dot pattern, but it makes holding these lipsticks so easy. (Even when you have slippery face primer fingers...) The tube itself is a shiny silver finished plastic. My only downfall about this was that it gets fingerprinty easily. Twisting up and down the lipstick is extremely smooth and sturdy feeling. (You know how some lipsticks twist themselves back down when you go to apply it? NOT HAPPENING HERE) Pulling the cap on and off has a great and satisfying "click" noise as well. (It is the little things that really get me excited.)

Customer Service - I can not even express how friendly, generous and just down right goodness  the whole Red Apple staff possesses.  Have a question? They will probly get back to you within 20 minutes lol. Somehow they are all magically around to help out. They also all have a great passion for what they do. It really shows and makes me feel that much better about using their products. 

THEY OFFER GREAT DISCOUNTS -  Red Apple Lipstick has both a VIP Membership, as well as a buy back program. I recommend taking advantage of one of these (or both). Everyone is trying to pinch pennies these days, but RAL  makes it easy to still get your cosmetics fix. 
Buy Back Program - http://www.redapplelipstick.com/lip-stick-exchange.html
VIP - https://www.facebook.com/RedAppleLipstick/app_285461331498329?ref=ts

     Armour Beauty is the brainchild of rocker/model and new mommy Theo Kogan. As the singer for bands including the legendary all-female Lunachicks and Theo And The Skyscrapers, Theo is known for her over-the-top makeup styles. She has modeled for Calvin Klein, Burberry and Kenneth Cole (to name a few) and has acted in film, television and continues to perform in avant-garde theater all over the world. A lip gloss that would stay on during a performance was something Theo craved and so she created what she considers the missing piece in the beauty industry.
     Armour Beauty melds high-end fashion with rock-n-roll attitude and is a favorite of Rachel Zoe, Janie Bryant, Karen O, Eva Mendes, Lady Ga Ga, Fergie, Kim Gordon and many more. Armour’s moisturizing formula is long wearing, cruelty free and environmentally friendly, with a beautiful range of colors. Theo is so inspired by music and classic pop culture that she named the glosses after some of her favorite songs, clubs and legendary icons.

     Alright gals,  I have found a new favorite lipgloss! Seriously, intense pigmentation and long wear without tons of stickiness! I have three of Armour Beauty's lip glosses in the colors After Hours, Barracuda and Ann-Margret! I didn't know what to expect when these arrived, but as soon as I pulled the applicator (pictured below) out of the container I got really excited because I could tell these weren't any flimsy sheer glosses, these were PACKED with pigmentation.

     The doe foot applicator makes it easy to put the products exactly where you want and doesn't take to much out of the tube and makes a mess. I have been wearing these to work and when I go out and this formula has tons of ingredients that make sure your lips don't dry out. They all have a base of Shea Butter, Avocado, Mango, Olive Butters and oils, Grape Seed Oil and Vitamin E! Which is why I don't think these are stick and tacky feeling.

     Looooook at how amazing the intense color payoff is!  Most of all I love the high shine that these give off. It looks like I put lipstick on and put a clear shiny gloss over it! But nope, all that comes from just one of these Armour Beauty shades!  I'd really love for you girls to try these out, they are very high quality and beautiful colors to choose from. 

Get your own for $21 and check out their Facebook to stay up to date on the latest information!
 

     Recently I had the chance to try out GIELLA custom blend cosmetics lipstick and lipgloss. I was in for a real treat! "GIELLA does no animal testing, and stands behind its products as the finest quality available in the industry. Our products are all non-comedo genic (non-pore clogging), fragrance free, and allergy free." They have been seen in the high fashion and beauty magazine such as Glamour and Nylon and also worn by many celebrities!
     I got to try two colors of their lipsticks and a gloss. Now before I even begin, they have 70, yes seven zero, shades of lipstick to choose from! 13 are shimmers 10 aromatherapy scents, 4 moisture/matte/antioxidant adds and 3 levels of coverage! They are also 99% pure natural ingredients! What more can a gal ask for besides help picking a color!! Well, you could also use the menu on the right of the site to create your OWN custom blended lipstick! Ahhhh I'm in love. They also match discontinued lipstick:www.giella.com/discontinued.

     In the slideshow above, I show you each lipstick and the lipgloss swatted on my hand and then on my lips.  The lipsticks are heaven. They go on nice and creamy and have a matte finish. I have to say I'm never usually this pleased with neutral matte lipsticks! The color Judy has some kind of amazing coconutty smell to it. I was taken by surprise when I put it on, because I did not expect a scent at all. It's a definite bonus!
     If your looking for a soft non sticky lipgloss then you should take a peek at their lipgloss collection. 72 colors, 13 shimmers, 10 aromatherapy scents, adds of soy butter, vit E or matte, tube or wand: get artistic and create your own custom blend lip gloss. Use the menus and guides to the lower right. Our lip gloss base is paraben free, silky smooth and so easy to apply. I could create hundreds of colors! I wish there was a store near me where I could play all day! The one I have is in the color Bubbles and is a mauve pink with teeny tiny particles of gold. When applied to my lips it goes on very sheer but can see the hints of gold. Very pretty to wear with anything or even over one of these lipsticks! 

Lipstick and Lipgloss is $28 each

Check our their Facebook for daily updates and info!

     Kara & Camie are the owners of Junkie Cosmetics and have loved makeup since they were much younger! Kara went on to work for Lorac Cosmetics and the now defunct Tony & Tina Cosmetics, as a freelance make-up artist and sales rep around various Nordstrom and Sephora locations in Arizona and California. With Kara's business experience and Camie's marketing ways and creativity in two weeks they had started their journey which had created Junkie Cosmetics and they started with this beautiful collection of lipgloss! They are currently working on several additional products, including eye shadow, lipstick and blush!

     These come in a .2 fl. oz. container and has a lip brush applicator. When trying to decide which colors to get it was difficult. They had 11 shades to pick from and they were all so different! I picked the 2 that I thought I would love and that I didn't have anything similar to. So the two I got were in Heartbreaker and Vixen!

     The first color I tested out was "Heartbreaker". A sparkly clear gloss that has lots of multi-colored sparkles with in. As they described it: Your lips will twinkle! When I opened the package for this one I was so excited at how pretty and girly it was! Also immediately thought of wearing this alone would be so pretty but then I also was thinking about throwing this gloss over some plain matte lipsticks to add some glitz and glam!

     The second color I got was in "Vixen".  I picked this color because I don't own a color lipgloss quite like this nor have I seen one like it recently. Its a beautiful lighter plum color with gold shimmer which you can really see nicely in the photo above. They seem to put the perfect amount of glitter within their glosses, it's not chunky and not overbearing. This color I just can't get over!

     After wearing these little beauties out a few nights, I have to say I 100% would recommend these to anyone who asks about them. They are super soft on the lips and have ZERO stickiness to them. I feel like all of the colors they have would be very wearable with tons of different looks throughout the years! They just released a pretty coral colored one for summer which I am hoping to get my lips on!
    I do want to note not to rub your lips with a dry towel to take off "Heartbreaker" just because I did that for the photo and had glitter all over my mouth area! Haha, so just use a wet napkin and you should be good to go! I really would love for you to go check out their other colors and "Like" them on Facebook so you can be notified when they have their new products available!! Also, these two are such sweeties!

$16 per lipgloss

Reading the ingredients is all fine and dandy... but what do any of those words actually mean? Below (scattered through the next few pictures) I have taken the guess work out of all those scary names for you. Most of them are just scientific ways of saying things you already know. Now you can see what your putting on your face!


Hydrogenated Polyisobutene- synthetic mineral oil substitute used for pigmentation dispersion 

Ethylhexyl Palmitate- derivitive of palm oil, organic silicone replacement, used for consistency

Ricinus Communis Seed Oil-  a.k.a. Castor oil, moisturizing

Carthamus Tinctorius Seed Oil- a.k.a Safflower oil, an edible vegetable oil, smoothing and conditioning 

 Tocopherol Acetate- naturally occuring antioxidant, form of vitamin E

 Ascorbic Acid- Vitamin C, natural preservative 

Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil- a.k.a Jojoba oil, used for conditioning and stabilizing


 Propylparaben- A PARABEN!!! used for preservation and scent

 Butyrospermum Parkii- a.k.a. shea butter skin conditioner and thickening agent

BHT- antioxidant, preservative 

Ozokorite- mineral wax derived from coal and shale, adds stability, binds ingredients

 Beeswax- made by honey bees, gives thickness and smoothness

May Contain: (MAY contain always scares me... Does it ? Or does it not? )

 Mica- natural mineral, used as a colorant 

 Iron Oxides (Yellow 77492, Red 77491, Black 77499, Brown 77499)- inorganic chemical used as colorant 

 Carmine 75470- natural colorant 

 Manganese Violet 77742- inorganic salt used as colorant

Ultramarine Blue 7700- mineral derived blue pigment, colorant , may be produced synthetically

Chromium Hydroxide Green 77289- mineral colorant, used widely in hair dye 

D&C Red NO.: (6, 7, 27), FD&C Yellow NO. 5- man made colorants 

 Polyethylene Terephthalate-   thermoplastic polymer resin 

Ingredients List-
Glycine soja (soybean wax), Hydrogenated Palm Kernel Oil, Bees wax, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter) Fruit, Olea Europaea (Olive) Oil, Cannabis Sativa (Hemp) Seed Oil, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Limnanthes Alba (Meadowfoam) Seed Oil, Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Seed Oil, Eupatorium Rebaudianum Bertoni Leaf Extract (Stevia), natural and/or syntehteic fragrance oil, Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Extract, Tocopherol (Vit E). 

Overall-
I am super impressed with Barefoot Venus in general, as well as their Lip Fables. Cute packaging, the highest quality natural ingredients and great customer service. 

The best thing is, their prices are super affordable!

This would be a great gift for anyone. They have so many types of products and so many delicious scents.

I hope all of you go check out their website, and add them on all their social media pages as well. 

Website - http://barefootvenus.myshopify.com/
Facebook  - http://www.facebook.com/BarefootVenus 
Twitter -   http://twitter.com/#!/BarefootVenus 
Pinterest - http://pinterest.com/barefootvenus/