The time for women with darker shades to rock nudes is now thanks to Mented Cosmetics. My mom actually put me on to this company and I was itching to try it out. The company, short for "pigmented", was founded by KJ Miller and Amanda E. Johnson, friends who saw the absence of nude lipsticks for darker skin tones and did something about it. I'll be reviewing 3 of Mented's lip glosses and 3 of their semi-matte lip shades:

L to R: Pink About Me, Coralition, #1 Cran

L to R: Brand Nude, Brown Bare, Peach Please

Size(s): Glosses: .24g / Lip Shades: 3g

• Vegan
• Cruelty free
• Pigmented colors
• Black woman owned
• Specialized for Black women & WOC's darker skin tones
• Applies smoothly and is super moisturizing 
• Sweet scent in the lipsticks 

• None 

Brown Bare, Brand Nude, Pink About Me, & #1 Cran

I've been wanting to try The Lip Bar's products for the longest! It's been on my "Black Owned Make up Products" to try list and I finally grabbed some during their holiday White Box BOGO sale. I purchased "Crown Me", a deep purple matte lipstick for my bff and the "Night Owl" lipstick for myself.

Despite the holiday postal delays, my package arrived in a week. Even if it arrived late, I still wouldn't have had an issue since I'm understanding of the mailing system as a business owner myself.


Size: .24 fl oz

Price: $12

Ingredients: RicinusCommunis (Castor) Seed Oil, PerseaGratissima (Avocado) oil, Caprylic/Capric triglyceride ( derivate of coconut oil), Magnesium Myristate, ButyrospermumParkii (Shea Butter), Kaolin Clay, Stearyl Palmitate, Carnauba Wax, Ozokerite, Euphorbia Cerifera (Candelilla) Wax, Microcrystalline wax, Vanillin, Citrus Grandis (Grapefruit) Seed Extract, Tocopheryl Acetate, [+/-] Mica, Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Iron Oxides (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499), Yellow 5 Lake (CI19140), Red #7 Lake (CI45410, CI15850), Red #40 Lake CI 16035,D&C Red #6 (CI15850), Blue #1 Lake (CI42090), Yellow #6 Lake (CI15985)


Here's the look I created with the Night Owl lippie:







Pros:

• Pigmented
• Vegan
• Long lasting
• Unique, bold, beautiful packaging
• Smooth application

Cons:

• Slight sheer finish

The good people at Esqido lashes sent ya girl some liners, y'all! I had such a great experience rocking their mink lashes (review here), the company sent me some of their gel liners to review too.

I received their two liners in "Black" and in "Dark Brown" in a plastic bag along with the company's card and thank you note.





Upon testing both out, I noticed how smoothly they glided on my arm. They're both very pigmented too.



After finally getting a chance to try both for makeup looks, I'm giving them two thumbs way up. What I like best about these eyeliners is that they're super smooth which is a huge contrast from many traditional eyeliner pencils (found at both drugstores and high end stores). Instead of it being a regular pencil, it can be pushed up from the bottom. I was going to say that the only con would be that unlike regular liners, this can't be "sharpened" with an eyeliner sharpener, BUT there's a built-in sharpener at the bottom! Love it!

Here are some of the looks I've created with the liners:

The good people at Influenster sent ya girl some natural hair products this time, guys! In my last VoxBox, I received some complimentary products from the popular hair care company DevaCurl. Let me be completely honest, at first I was very skeptical about using Deva Curl's products. Why? Because I assumed they were filled with harsh chemicals and I do get a bit uneasy when it comes to the more mainstream/popular brands. A lot of times their ingredients aren't always naturalista-friendly. Contrary to my suspense, these products are all natural and don't have any sulfates or other nasty ingredients.



In my box, I received two samples of DevaCurl's No Poo Decadence Cleanser, the One Condition Decadence Milk Conditioner, and one 8 oz bottle of their Leave-In Decadence.

The good people at Influenster sent ya girl some makeup, y'all and I'm #SoShameless about it! This is my third VoxBox so far and I was super geeked to receive it complimentary from the company (also for a #contest). Let me add that this isn't just a sample, this is the official and actual size of the makeup! Marc Jacobs Beauty's Shameless Foundation just released this year back in February when I received the box. Some of the promises the foundation gives includes it lasting for 24 hours, being oil free, contains SPF protecting ingredients, and has a self-setting finish.

Shameless also has 29 different shades ranging from the lightest beige to the darkest brown which is a plus in this day and age of non inclusive beauty brands.

Photo: Marc Jacobs Beauty

I'm obviously getting much better at identifying my shade since the Y740 color I picked out was perfect. I was a bit nervous since I've noticed how some makeup companies seem to make shades for darker skin tones with such red and orange undertones. I have an olive/neutral undertone and the Y740 is described as "tan with caramel undertones" which appeared fitting for me.

The foundation comes in a rounded square shaped tube which is 1.08 oz as I mentioned before. Although it seems like the foundation tube is pretty small, a little but goes a long way. When I first received the foundation, I swatched it and it came out pretty decent, a bit dark since I used a lot.


So let's get into more of the details!

Size: 1.08 fl oz

Price: $46

Ingredients: Water, Cyclopentasiloxane, Isododecane, Cetyl PEG/PPG-10/1 Dimethicone, Caprylyl Methicone, Alcohol, Sorbitol, Polyglyceryl-4 Isostearate, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Glycerin, Nylon-12, Hexyl Laurate, Cellulose Acetate, Adipic Acid/Neopentyl Glycol Crosspolymer, Phenyl Trimethicone, Acrylates/ Polytrimethylsiloxymethacrylate Copolymer, Magnesium Sulfate, Phenoxyethanol, PEG-10 Dimethicone, Propylene Carbonate, Caprylyl Glycol, Sodium Stearoyl Glutamate, C10-18 Triglycerides, Xylitylglucoside, Silica, Aluminum Starch Octenylsuccinate, Anhydroxylitol, Triethoxycaprylylsilane, Polyisoprene, PVP, Xylitol, Tremella Fuciformis Polysaccharide, Xanthan Gum, Polyhydroxystearic Acid, Sodium Citrate, Dimethicone, Sodium Hyaluronate, Globularia Alypum Leaf Extract, Disodium EDTA, Glucose, Cetearyl Alcohol, Stearic Acid, Ceramide NP, Phytosterols. May Contain (+/-): Mica, Iron Oxides (Ci 77491, Ci 77492, Ci 77499), Titanium Dioxide (Ci 77891).





Description: "Have it all with Shameless Youthful-Look 24H Foundation. Inspired by Marc’s very own shameless attitude—and his tattoo—this innovative foundation lets your best self show all day long. It’s clinically tested for 24-hours of long-wear, and contains a first-to-market technology that encapsulates the SPF in pigment. This innovation makes the SPF visibly undetectable, so there’s no flashback in photos and no ashy, grey undertones in the formula."

Pros:

• Matches my skin tone
• Has a natural, matte finish
• Can be built for full coverage
• Great packaging
• Blends well
• Cruelty free (source)
• Vegan (source) 
• Has a SPF 25 which is perfect for summertime! 

Cons:

• Possibly creates creases

A little bit definitely goes a long way! I got a bit too carried away with building with the foundation, but it came out great! I was really impressed with this from the color to the overall look. My only con would be that there were slight creases around my mouth, but perhaps that's due to adding too much. I absolutely love that there's a natural matte finish which is the look I often prefer. I saw it mentioned that makeup-istas don't have to wear setting powder/spray with this, but I still used it with both (products mentioned below). The real challenge will to see how effective it is in the summer when the sun is beaming on my pretty face. I have combination (and acne prone) skin, but sometimes I can get oily in the cheek area. Setting powder really does help a lot, but I'll share an update on how it works without setting it. Nonetheless, I'm shamelessly here for Shameless!

Rating: 4.5/5