Avril Organics Lipsticks

Hey, ho! I am well and alive, just distracted most of the time. The elephant in the room is my inevitable huge shopping spree in the past month. I don't know what to categorize it : retail therapy? The "big haul" in preparation to returning home (Malaysia, to any new readers) where everything is slightly pricier? Or just my "Oh my God, I NEED this!" irrationality? Suffice to say.. Can we not talk/blog about it?

While I have been procrastinating blogging, I have been distracted by many things. Aside from the shopping, it has been going through the archive of Mercedes of l'amour et la musique. I don't think I am her targeted audience. I didn't care for natural/eco products, I've got no disposable income for luxe items and I cringe whenever someone starts talking about new-age *energy* healing crystals. Notice the "didn't"; I am far from being an eco-beauty aficionado, but that side of the beauty industry is intriguing. Does it really matter? Would it make a difference? How bad can conventional (usually more affordable) products be? Additionally, the alternative health Mercedes talks about constantly are actually things my family has practiced for years : acupuncture, homeopathy, healing massages, aura reading, using crystals for health reasons etc., just not hyped in a Valley-girl manner. In a way, she reminded me of my Mum's habits and rekindled some childhood memories. I was very skeptical of her practices, but I am now more than intrigued! One of these days I might just grab a cup of coffee with her, a notebook in hand and I'll ask her everything about it. And she knows everything. (Mothers always do, I suspect.)

In the spirit of this new-found interest in eco-beauty, I sought to look for organic lipstick brands because lipstick is kinda my thing. One that popped up was Avril Organics, an affordable organic French brand. I ended up buying several things (eyeliners, face powder, a mascara; I will review them in the future) but today, let's talk about lipsticks. I bought all of the lipsticks online and in my Google search for its swatches, I found very few and no comprehensive English review of these lipsticks. So I hope this is going to be helpful for someone out there.

There 9 shades and I have 4 of them. The colour that piqued my interest the most was Terre Battue, which looked like a rich terracotta, but has more orange rather than brick red. I instantly thought of my favorite lipstick, Nars Audacious in Jane. I love terracotta lipsticks, and Jane is my first love. I didn't know the undertone of my complexion (i.e. a year of frustratingly trying to match a foundation that won't make me look like an oompa loompa or ghastly grey) and Jane taught me I might be warm. I have since discovered that I am (might be) neutral, leaning warm. Jane also made me realize how I naturally tan as somehow, when I put her on, the darker outer region and lighter middle region of my face becomes more obvious. It's probably because the colour makes my complexion look cohesive. I took this understanding of my face architecture in my subsequent journey of learning how to bronze, and fell for my second love : bronzers.

Anyways, less gush about Jane since I intend to dedicate one post to this lipstick one day.

Bare lips

Terre Battue, Saumon

Nude, Brun Rose Nacre

I would describe Terre Battue as an orange terracotta and it is very warm. My yellow teeth ( Hey, coffee! Hey, tea! Also, Hey genetics!) looks so much yellower, but life is just way too short to wear boring lipsticks (the wise words of Sarah). Terre Battue is the first one I bought and as soon as I got the lipstick in the mail and tried it on, I had to order 3 more colors. Saumon is a lighter version of Terre Battue, Nude is a pink nude and is my-lips-but-better colour on me, while Brun Rose Nacre is mauve, leaning brown.

Avril lipsticks in Terre Battue, Saumon, Nude, Brun Rose Nacre (with flash)

I tried comparing Terre Battue to Jane, and indeed, they are not dissimilar. The orange in Terre Battue is more obvious next to Jane. I also swatched my Nars Audacious in Anna, which is a cool-toned mauve on me to see how "cool" Nude and Brun Nacre Rose are, and I concluded that these colors are quiet neutral.

Nars Jane, Avril Terre Battue, Saumon, Nude, Brun Rose Nacre, Nars Anna (with flash)

They are all very moisturising and have a creamy finish, Nude has the tiniest bit of silver shimmer in it. Saumon applies more patchily than the others, but it is not too terrible. On me, they all become more matte and they remain opaque for at least up to 4 hours without eating and drinking. 

These lipsticks have a slight waxy feel to them. Some might dislike this quality, but I don't mind the waxiness as it is not something I can't work with. It has a pleasant "fake natural" scent (lol this description makes no sense?!) but they disappear very quickly.

Also to note, I love how the lipsticks are shaped. I'm not sure how to explain it and I hope my attempt in these blurry, outta focus pictures are somewhat helpful. There's no sharp point to them, so that part of the lip at the cupid's bow don't appear too strong. The shape is also pretty easy for me to get a decently straight lipstick application on my upper lip in one swipe. No outside-the-lip lipstick accidents. Basically, I thought it was perfect for the shape of my lips and how I like to apply my lipsticks. I didn't know I cared about how lipsticks were cut until now.

I bought these lipsticks form different online shops : Ecco-verde for Terre Battue, econaturalproduct (Ebay) for Saumon and Rose Brun Nacre and bugster0178 (Ebay) for Nude. They are all under £7, which is pretty affordable. On whether I'd buy more shades, the answer is No. I am not attracted to the other colours and as you've seen, these shades are not vastly different from each other. I was slightly interested in Aubergine, but I feel that I can get it by mixing Brun Rose Nacre with other deeper shades in my collection. Wild Organic Beauty mentioned that the colors of Avril lipsticks are "old fashioned" and I can see why she made this statement. These colours are typical classics in any line (I disagree with using "old fashion") and slightly tweak the opacity and depth of each color group. The colours that I already own are sufficient for me.

On eco-lipsticks, in general: I am interested in other brands, such as Benecos and Lavera, maybe Lily Lolo as well. But I won't purchase them any time soon. I don't need more lipsticks, I really don't. (Also I'm broke. Duh.)

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Ingredients (from Ecco-verde): Polyglyceryl-2 Triisostearate, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond) Oil, Cera Alba (Beeswax), Mica, Olus Oil, Ci 77491 (Iron Oxides), Jojoba Esters, Copernicia Cerifera Cera (Copernicia Cerifera (Carnauba) Wax), Ci 77891 (Titanium Dioxide), Hydrated Silica, Trihydroxystearin, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Parfum (Fragrance), Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil, Glyceryl Caprylate, Tocopherol, Candelilla Cera (Euphorbia Cerifera (Candelilla) Wax), Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Ci 77492 (Iron Oxides), Ci 77499 (Iron Oxides), Glycine Soja Oil, Dendrobium Phalaenopsis Flower Extract.