By Hannah Powling
I recently had the pleasure of meeting Gia Mills, Organic makeup brand Inika‘s ambassador and celebrity makeup artist to chat all things beauty and in particular – she introduced me to the innovative brand.
I am not usually one to opt for organic or natural makeup brands; I love the idea of them and the benefits of using a brand like this can offer, but I think in the past I have related organic makeup products to a kind of ‘restriction’ in ingredients; and possibly therefore making the products perform less? Plus there is often fewer colours, shades, textures to choose from. I think I associated brands like these with troublesome or sensitive skin too, but the truth is; any skin needs looking after.
I am happy to say I have been pleasantly surprised with Inika. This brand has placed importance on the performance in their products, keeping up with using high-quality, natural and safe ingredients. Using makeup that looks great but also feeds and nurtures the skin whilst wearing it definitely sounded like a complete bonus to me so I was excited to give them a go for myself. The best thing that really makes your makeup look amazing is well-looked after skin right?
Okay, you might not be able to do your next Halloween Sugar Skull Makeup using the pigments from this brand; but they do have a wide array of shades in their blush, vegan lippies and particularly the loose eye shadows.
Here’s some products I tried out for myself and what I thought of them:
The Inika Certified Organic Pure Primer and Liquid Foundation are both enriched with Hyaluronic Acid; which gives intense hydration to the skin. These are their two hero products and have been reformulated with this new ingredient. Initially I have to admit I was a little dubious about how well the primer would perform on myself, as I have quite oily skin so I so rely on my primer to work! Well, it smells citrusy, fresh; basically all the best natural stuff and feels super soft to rub in, it’s a delight in the morning. I leave it for a few minutes to sink in and apply the foundation – it does feel more like skincare rather than a primer which to me is pretty lovely. And it works.
The liquid foundation is light in texture and gives a glowy look. It sinks in to give a real natural even coverage to the skin and is quite illuminating. It has similar properties to a tinted moisturiser, but better. Whilst being super hydrating, it provides you with a smooth finish. Great for this weather especially. The only thing that is a shame is the selection of shades for this – with this they are limited.
Inika have a range of about 22 colours in their Mineral Loose Eye Shadow range and I was literally ooing and aahing over the colours; most of which are pearlescent and all have great pigment to them, and once blended in they last well on the eyelids. I think loose shadows can be tricky sometimes – what with the risk of fallout on your cheek bones… But a little goes a long way for these shadows so make sure you tap off your brush before blending out on your eyes.
The All Natural Mineral Setting Powder is a white powder which is perfect for large pores or oily skin. This is perfect swept over your skin once you’ve applied your foundation or to even out excess oil during the day. It has no colour; so keeps your skin as is, whilst giving a subtle matte texture without drying the skin out. Oh, and it also has an SPF for a little more protection. I don’t go a day without it.
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Give Inika a go for yourself.
Take a look at their full selection online.
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