The Blog – Arbonne

amber17 years ago I had the pleasure of meeting a young new bride on her wedding day.

 

Karyna came to MAC to get her makeup done on her big day and we connected immediately on our mutual love for color as we designed a beautiful neutral smokey eye with soft green highlights. (Juxt eyeshadow-since discontinued-for all you MAC junkies out there)

 

The pictures of me doing her makeup that day are still some of my favorite. Her photographer was nowhere in sight capturing these beautiful and candid moments from somewhere in the distance.

 

Karyna and I stayed connected through social media, even when she moved to the UK. While there she started her own business venture with Arbonne,  Recently Karyna and her family have moved back to Edmonton.

 

amber2A few weeks ago Karyna reached out to me about doing some product testing with Arbonne.  Which I was very interested in. I had heard good things about Arbonne but hadn’t had an opportunity to be left alone with a bunch of the product for a few days. So of course I jumped at the opportunity.

 

Karyna and I met at chapters in the Starbucks both toting our little ones, her 3 year old daughter Robyn on foot and new son Henry strapped to the front of her and me with my 2 year old Staffy, Gnarley. We chatted for a while, Gnarley entertaining Robyn,  catching up and she gave me a  makeup case full of an array of different product to take home and test.

Below I will list the product, my thoughts and review of it and the link to shop Arbonne

Listed in order of my favorite things.

Liquid sunshine – A self tanner for your body.

Packaging: I liked the bright blue squeeze bottle. Easy to access and no mess.

Texture: A lightweight gel like lotion which allowed for it to be easily blended and absorbed into the skin. Unlike other self tanners I use, this one did not have a color to it. (It’s important to be thorough when you can’t see the tan right away.)

Smell: I quite enjoyed the initial lemony, citrus scent. However I did end up with that tell tale self tan ‘smell’ once it was totally set.

Finish: Once the self tan was applied, my skin was tacky to the touch until I was completely dry. I liked the tackiness because that’s a good indicator as to when you have dried enough to put on your clothes.

Acceleration: I applied this product at 2:30pm and by 5pm I started to see the color develop. By the following morning the tan had deepened, with a nice olive undertone.

I was the most excited about this product and enjoyed the color it gave me for about a week. Although I liked the liquid sunshine I think I prefer self tans that have a bronze tone in them so I can see where I have applied. As thorough as I tried to be I still ended up with streaky elbows and wrists.

 

Sheer glow highlighter – A cream highlighter for all skin types.

Packaging: Another easy to use squeeze tube that allows you to control the amount you desire.

Texture: Creamy, smooth and almost fluffy.

Smell: No strong smell.

Finish: A hydrated sheer glow that can be applied under foundation all over or on top of foundation pressed onto high planes of the face. A dewy finish.

I really enjoyed this one. It reminded my of a cross between strobe cream and strobe liquid from MAC Cosmetics. Not as thick or as runny. To be used sparingly on mature skin and not in place of a moisturizer on dry or dehydrated skin.

 

Smoothed over lipstick:  A creamy, medium coverage lipstick

Packaging: Large circular container with an embossed bullet.

Texture: Creamy, smooth and hydrating.

Smell: Minimal to no smell.

Finish: Hydrated with a soft sheen and medium color payoff.

I enjoyed the packaging the most about this product. The large round container felt luxurious and would be easy to find at the bottom of my purse. The texture and finish is most comparable to MAC amplified lipsticks.

 

Eyeshadow: Matte, satin and shimmery medium to full color payoff.

Packaging: These come in small single or double shadow packaging with an easy to open and click to lock kid.

Texture: I tried the matte, the satin and the shimmery finish shadows and enjoyed the soft, blend able texture.

Smell: None.

Finish: Nice color payoff, decent staying power and the finish was true to the way it looked in the packaging.

I would definitely work with Arbonne shadows again. I used them on myself and liked them enough to bring them in to play with on Shawna Randolph (host of Alberta Primetime on CTV)

It’s a Long Story, Mascara:  A juicy, wet mascara with a lengthening water resistant formula.

Packaging: Big container, big wand, big lashes.

Texture: Wet, but kind of creamy.

Smell: I didn’t smell this one.

Finish: Thick and dark long lashes.

This mascara had a nice big wand and a really lightweight creamy consistency to the formula which didn’t weigh my lashes down. I’m a self proclaimed ‘drug store’ mascara fan. My favorite being Voluminous by Loreal. I feel like Arbonne’s mascara stands up to my standards. No smudging and easy to remove.

 

amber3I am really into Arbonne’s value system as a company when it comes to ingredients. Some ingredients you can not expect to find in their products are:

talc | tallow | carbon black | animal products or by-products | parabens | formaldehyde-donating preservatives | phthalates | formaldehyde | alkylphenols | benzene | monoethanolamine | triclosan | synthetic dyes | hydroquinone | artificial sweeteners | artificial flavors | cholesterol | trans fats | mineral oil

 

If you are looking to use a natural and cruelty free brand I think Arbonne is a great choice! They also claim to follow the principles of ‘green chemistry’ however I am not sure what that means.

 

Thank you again to my friend Karyna for giving me the opportunity to play with this amazing product!