As I have tried to clean up my lifestyle (chemical free, natural medicine, organic, whole-life wellness, etc.), the one area which I have been leery to change has been my cosmetic routine. You see, when it comes to prioritizing natural food and household products, I would much rather look after the well being of my family than that of my skin. Natural make-up is expensive, the durability and longevity of product wear isn’t up to par with conventional brands, it smells funny and simply doesn’t look good. Done and done. Wash my hands of that!
Or so I thought …
I know this may sound silly, but with my first pregnancy, I didn’t know I was pregnant for quite some time. I had powerful and painful migraines which I treated with the necessary forces required – aspirin with codeine and caffeine, prescription pain meds and wine. I was terrified I had completed contaminated the poor child once pregnancy was my confirmed. From that point on, I didn’t wear nail polish or perfume. I bought all natural shampoos, lotions, cleansers, to the very extreme. I wore natural deodorant that didn’t work and made me stink! I even tried a natural foundation from the health food store, but it was awful! It made my pregnancy acne worse, it stank, I couldn’t find the right pigment and it was expensive! Yeesh. So, I scurried back to my chemical-laden cosmetics.
But this time around, I had some time to prepare. In November, my BFF introduced me to her Pure Anada lip gloss and mascara. She looked AMAZING. I was ready to give natural cosmetics another try. I reached out to Pure Anada and tested a wide selection of products of my choosing. As soon as I found out I was pregnant, I ordered more product. As is typical of me though, I don’t like to open things right away (I wait to wear a new outfit for a couple weeks, admiring it in my closet; I keep my new lap top in a box until I can fully savour it; and with my Pure Anada makeup, I left all the product in the box until I would have enough time to go through each item one by one … I know, I’m weird.) and it took me until March to use all the product consistently. Now, I am in love. Moreover, I am in love with the price. Put “natural” and “affordable” (I would even go as far as inexpensive!) in one sentence and I am sold. My make up lasts all day, it looks great, I love how easy my routine is, I’m not polluting my body or baby, and it’s Canadian. Can I get a whoot-whoot?!
Outfit details: Dress // Pink Blush Maternity (similar here), Shoes // Aldo (similar here), Belt // Anthropologie (similar here)
Pure Anada Make-up: Loose Mineral Foundation in Prairie Rose, Colour Corrector in Mint, Blush in Sweet Pea, Eyeshadow in Mirage, Eyebrow Colour in Coast, Eyeliner in Black, Mascara in Black, Lip stick in Strawberry Cream, Lip Balm in Lime Divine, Shea Butter (Belly butter in my case!), Marine Mineral Toner, Nail Polish in Ravishing Red
If I can’t convince you further, look at the cost break down (Canadian Dollars).
Previous make up regime:
- MAC eye shadow – $19
- Nars blush – $35
- Nars foundation – $57
- Nars powder – $55
- Nars concealer – $29
- Maybaline mascara – $7
- MAC liquid eye liner – $24
- Lancombe eye brow liner – $30
- Lip gloss – $12
- Essie Nail polish – $8
Grand total = $276
Current Pure Anada beauty regime:
- Eye shadow – $8
- Blush – $12
- Loose mineral foundation – $25
Powder- Concealer/colour corrector – $8
- Mascara – $14
- Eye liner – $14
- Eye brow colour- $8
- Lip gloss – $14
- Nail polish – $12
Grand total = $115
Product highlights
- Products DO NOT contain: parabens, formaldehyde, petrochemicals, nano/micronized particles, carmine, lakes and dyes, or synthetic fragrances.
- Products DO NOT contain: gluten (Vitamin E is derived from Rice Bran), Tree Nuts (or oils), Bismuth Oxychloride (common mineral irritant)
- Products are cruelty free
- Products are truly natural
- All their ingredients are listed on their website
- Pure Anada gives back: I love supporting a brand which benefits the communities in which they live and work. Pure Anada provides product to “Cancer Chic” and “Canadian Breast Cancer” fund as well as profits from their princess collection (children’s) toward “Compassion Canada“.
- Product tutorials: I was a little nervous about using their loose mineral foundation. The application was just different (easier, but different) than what I was used to. They have tips and tricks right on their website!
- You can buy $1 samples : Not sure of a colour or shade? Order a sample! This was such a benefit to me as I couldn’t figure out what foundation colour or lip stick to choose.
- They are Canadian 🙂
Product favourites/recommendations:
- For those of you looking to ease yourselves into natural cosmetics, you simply cannot go wrong with mascara. For $12 a bottle, a product most women use and are familiar with the application, why not try it out? My eyelashes are long, thick and the mascara lasts more than all day without crumbling (this is me admitting there are nights when I’m too tired to wash off my make up …). Pure Anada collaborated with a chemist in Europe to get this product up to par, so I would definitely say it is a must-have! And no heavy metals? Yes please!
- Loose mineral foundation. This was a stretch for me to try. I just couldn’t believe that ONE product could provide full, yet natural looking coverage for my blemished skin. For blemishes, you can spot treat with an eyshadow brush, and then blend with Pure Anada’s flat top brush (note: I think it is a MUST to buy their flat top brush for application. It has been design speicfically for mineral products). I would also like to dig into the liquid foundation. My skin is, sadly, getting older and I would like to try and hide some of my forhead creases! That being said, with well hydrated skin and applying loose foundation after spritzing with their mineral toner, the coverage is amazing!
- Pure Anada eyeshadow is $8 per shadow and actually can last an entire day on my eyes! It doesn’t crease, I don’t get itchy/sensitive/allergic eyes, and the colour selection is vast.
Where to buy:
There are few online retailers from which you can buy PureAnada product. The one I am most familiar with is The Pure Boutique who ship to Canada and the US with $50 minimum to qualify for free shipping.
- Well.ca (Canada $29 minimum to qualify for free shipping; US $99 minimum to qualify for free shipping)
- What’s in Store (Canada and US – shipping costs are calculated from your order total before tax and shipping)
- Shop Purely Posh (US only – Shipping is a flat rate of $6 per order to ship anywhere in the US)
- You can also buy in-store at Pure Boutique in Morden, MB!
Over the next while, I will post my reviews on products varying from loose mineral foundation to facial cleaners and moisturizers! I hope you will enjoy my feedback. And if that’s not enough, I’ll be hosting a giveaway on Instagram in the days to come!
What’s stopping you from making the switch?