♡ MOMMA Samples Kit Review ♡

Hello lovelies,

Today, I received my samples from The Ministry of Mineral Makeup Australia, or MOMMA for short. I was so very excited that I immediately rushed home to do some swatches of their products!

MOMMA is an Australian Brand that creates natural makeup and skincare products that are both cruelty free and chemical free. As I have sensitive, oily skin (as well as LOVE animals a crazy amount), I was very excited to stumble across this brand and try their products!

NOTE: I bought these samples with my own ten dollars, and all the opinions are my own.

MOMMA offers their buyers a Mega Ten Piece Samples Kit, wherein you can choose ten samples of their products for ten dollars that they will then deliver to you for free. This was pretty difficult to pass up as you get a choice of trying the BB cream or Liquid Foundation, two Matte and Semi-Matte Mineral Base Powder Foundation samples, and then get free-pickin’s of the rest of their products!
I chose to try their HD Finishing Powder, Highlighting and Contouring Powders, and their Yellow and Green Powder Correctors.

Let’s have a looky at some swatches of these products, shall we?

The reason I discovered this brand was that I’m on the lookout for my HG foundation. I heard so many good things about their Mineral Makeup on BeautyHaven, and I simply couldn’t resist trying these bad boys out!
MOMMA describes their Mineral Bases as follows:

"MOMMA’s Mineral Base Powder are formulated with only 100% natural ingredients, is virtually sweat-proof and waterproof (perfect sports makeup and great for busy mums and brides!), does not clog pores and contains NO synthetic chemicals. Feel and see the difference!

Apply directly on dry skin for a lighter coverage or apply straight after your daily moisturiser/day cream or using a dampened brush for heavier coverage and full spectrum sunscreen. Offers incredible oil control with no separate concealer or setting powder required."

Since I was a little unsure of the shade selection, I ordered the matte [x] and semi-matte [x] bases in both ‘Fair’ and ‘Ivory’ – the two lightest shades. Now, I’m not porcelain princess pale, but I’m not a tanned goddess either. Nevertheless, I was a little worried that these shades would turn up orange on me just like every supposedly pale foundation you’ll find in drugstores.
I was very pleased to be proven wrong!

 

From left to right: Liquid Mineral Base in 'Fair', Matte Mineral Base in 'Ivory', Matte Mineral Base in 'Fair', Semi-Matte Mineral Base in 'Ivory', Semi-Matte Mineral Base in 'Fair'

I found my true love in the Semi-Matte Mineral Base in ‘Ivory’. It is such a beautifully pale colour with yellow undertones, and blends into my skin like a dream. UGHHH, I love it! Just take my money now!
On their website, MOMMA does offer a shade in the Semi-Matte Base called ‘Porcelain’, and I’m not too sure if there has been a mix up as my love ‘Ivory’ is much lighter than the ‘Fair’ shade. I’ll have to update you on this, as ‘Porcelain’ wasn’t an option in the sample kit!
EDIT: I emailed MOMMA about the shade selection and, within minutes, they informed me that the light shade is indeed 'Ivory'. 'Porcelain' is about to be discontinued :(.
From swatching the Mineral Bases on my skin, I can say these are definitely full coverage. There was a pimple where I placed my true love shade, not anymore! They also feel so soft on the skin, like baby bum soft. Let’s just say that I’m very excited to try applying this with a brush to see how it looks and wears overall!

I chose to try the Liquid Mineral Base [x] instead of the BB Cream, as my skin is too damn oily to wear a moisturising foundation.

Below is the description MOMMA offers for their Liquid Mineral Base:

"NEW! Part of our Winter Collection, MOMMA Liquid Mineral Base is a Lightweight, Long Lasting, buildable, Medium to Full Coverage liquid mineral foundation formulated with pure minerals to give your skin a fresh, soft Matte finish all day without clogging pores or turning oily.

Non-sticky, non-drying, non-oily. Perfect for cold and dry winters and suitable for all skin types.

Only very little is required. Use approximately size of HALF a hazelnut for full face Medium coverage or size of one hazelnut for Full coverage. Blend and buff using Flat Top Brush until desired coverage is achieved. For a sheer coverage, blend using sponge. Use with or without MOMMA Mineral Base Powders for a complete full coverage."

The lightest shade of this Liquid Mineral Base was ‘Fair’ and let’s say that it was a little….dark.  Because of this I wouldn’t recommend it for people on the paler end of the spectrum, but I would be interested to see how it wears on someone that it matches!

Let’s move right along to the other half of the samples…

I of course had to try the HD Powder [x], as I don’t think I could ever go without setting my foundation unless I want to be an oily nightmare.
MOMMA’s description of the powder also reeled me in with these claims:

"Made of 100% pure mineral silica, our HD Finishing Silk Powder is designed to fight humid weather and oily skin. The translucent fine powder mattifies oil and shine and helps keep skin looking fresh and radiant all day! Dust lightly before or after foundation on areas prone to oil and shine."

Who doesn’t want ALL of those things?

I think it’s probably a good thing that I couldn’t manage to swatch the HD Powder, as it properly disappears into the skin like magic rather than leaving a yucky white cast on your skin. It’s like another level of softness, I couldn’t stop stroking my arm afterwards! I’ll be really interested to see how it fares at controlling my oils, as I have not yet found a power that is mighty enough to combat them.

Now for the swatches:

From left to right: Colour Corrector in 'Yellow', Colour Corrector in 'Green', Mineral Highlighter, Mineral Contour Powder in 'Hazelnut'

 I’m quite the fan of colour correcting, as I have both super dark under-eye circles and a lot of facial redness from acne.

Here is MOMMA’s description of the correctors [x], for those who are new to the concept:

"Color correctors are worn under our Mineral Base to help neutralise redness and dark circles.
Green cancels out really red areas like pimples, rosacea, broken blood vessels and red rings around the eyes on fair skin tones.
Apricot brightens dull sallow skin and works great on dark eye circles on darker skin tones.
Yellow works on olive or tan skin and cancels out those purple-blue under eye circles and dark patches."

The colours of both of these seem a little intimidating but, when I applied a small amount of the green to my bright red nose, it transformed into a very light pinky hue. For a powder corrector, that’s pretty decent! Both of these correctors are available in a cream formulation, as well as an apricot shade for darker skin tones. I’m thinking I’ll pick up a yellow cream corrector instead, as I need a bit more coverage under the eye as I cancel out the purple tones.

Finally, let’s talk highlighting and contouring powders!

I am a massive rookie when it comes to highlighting and contouring. I have to put it out there, I stink. I thought I would give these mineral alternatives a go in case they were more forgiving of my lack of skills!

Here are MOMMA’s descriptions of both the highlighting and contouring powders:

Mineral Highlighter [x]:

"For that special night out when your skin needs little bit of sparkle! Our silky shimmer and illuminating powder is highly pigmented so a little goes a long way! Apply and blend into skin using a kabuki brush on body or our all time favourite Flat Top Brush or use a fluffy Blush Brush on the face to highlight and sparkle! Apply to cheek bones, shoulders, decollete, cupid’s bow, eye lids, inner corner of your eyes, brow bone,  forehead, nose… anywhere! Suits all skin tones."

Mineral Contour Powder [x]:

"Long lasting, extremely blendable formula for sculpting and defining your features! For best results, apply using with our Sculpting Brush and Flat Top Brush for blending. For highlighting, use our Fair shade Matte or Semi-Matte Mineral Base!"

The Mineral Highlighter is veeeery pretty. It is very subtle, with finely milled shimmer particles throughout to give a really nice shimmery effect to the skin. I can see myself using this, as it seems very beginner friendly. I’m all about that!

The Mineral Contour Powder is very soft and blendable, yet unfortunately is too dark and orange for my skin tone. I would LOVE to see how this works on someone with a matching skin tone, though!

We’ve reached the end of the samples! I hope this has been helpful if you have been looking into natural makeup, or just want to switch to cruelty free cosmetics!

   ♡ Until next time ♡

♡ Products That I've Been Loving ♡

Hello buds,

Long time no blog…Safe to say that I got swept up in the stress of exams, and I am now recovering from my wisdom teeth removal. So much fun!

This was meant to be a June favourites blog post, but I think we’re a little too far into July for me to get away with that. Therefore, this is a post about some stuff I think is pretty great.

DISCLAIMER: I bought all of these nice things with my own money. I’m not being sponsored by any of these companies and my glowing opinions are my own <3.

Let’s get started!

First off, let me just ogle over a life changing make up product for dark circles. I should point out that I have very, VERY dark circles that require four layers of makeup to cover, which is neither fun nor economical to endure.

The Savvy CC Powder [x] in the shade Brightening has literally changed my life.  It brightens my dark circles with or without makeup, which for me increases my comfort level so much for when I want to go outside but can’t be arsed putting my face on. It has teeny-weeny shimmer particles through it, which are barely noticeable unless you’re swinging your head back and forth. Even then you would be a sparkly goddess, so is that really a con? 
Unfortunately, I think this powder is only available in Australia (sorry international friends!). However, by Australian standards, it is extremely affordable at $9.99 RRP. 

Next, let’s talk about hair products. 

Do you have red hair? 
Does it fade like a bitch?
Then you need John Frieda's Colour Refreshing Gloss [x] in your life. 
(For reference, I use the shade Warm Reds)
I have been using this product for two months now and oh my god is it wonderful. Let me start by saying I dye my hair with Schwarzkopf Live Hair Dye ( [x] and [x] ), which is only supposed to last 8 washes. Over a month later, my hair is just as bright as when I dyed it! 
Because I’m so committed, I did a timeline of how my hair looked throughout a month of using this product.

This is the day I dyed it:

This is me halfway through the month:

And here we have me a month later:

Dat study glam tho.

Now, THAT, is magic.
John Frieda’s Colour Refreshing Gloss retails for $16.99 RRP, but is regularly on sale at Chemist Warehouse and Priceline. 


Let’s talk about hair-styling products. Anyone with a pixie cut will know the struggle of finding the right products to do your hair justice. I feel that I have now found a winning combination that equates to hair badassery.

Behold, Fudge Matt Hed Extra [x]:

And Cedel Extra Firm Hairspray for Hard to Hold Hair! [x]

Fudge Matt Hed Extra is literally glue for your hair. I like to use this to stick my hair in its standard punky position and then spray it like crazy with the Cedel Extra Firm Hairspray. If the right amount of product is used, your hair will not move for no man.
 I’m not even exaggerating. Forget the days where the wind is your worst enemy, you now can take on the damn world!
Now, Fudge Matt Hed Extra is quite pricey in Australia, retailing at $19.99 RRP. However, both Priceline and Chemist Warehouse regularly have Fudge sales, so I would take advantage of those wherever possible.
Cedel Extra Firm Hairspray is the high price of $3.99 RRP. I know, I know, you may feel like you’re breaking the bank, but it is definitely worth it. 


Moving on to skincare!

I have no idea why, but deodorants have never lived up to expectations. I have always ended up a sweaty, yucky mess at the end of the day, whether it is scorching hot or freezing cold outside. I decided to try Mitchum Women Clinical Odour Control Powder Fresh deodorant [x] (say that ten times fast…). I have to say that, without a doubt, this is the best deodorant ever. My armpits smell like lemons all day long, and I barely produce a drop of sweat. What more could you ask for?
Mitchum-long-ass-name-deodorant retails for $12.95 RRP. This is a little pricier than your bog standard deodorants such as Dove and Nivea, but this product is regularly on sale at stores like Priceline and Coles for under $10.00. 
I’m frugal, can you tell?

Someone forgot to take a picture~

Finally, the award for best exfoliating scrub on this earth goes to Sukin Super Greens Detoxifying Facial Scrub [x]. I started using this a week ago when my skin had a massive acne breakout in all the worst places. I’m talking mountains on my cheeks that no concealer could cover, which were also majorly owchy. This scrub has literally faded any signs that I ever had bad skin. I have not had skin this acne free since before my Lyme Disease treatment. Furthermore, it reduces my oil production, meaning my makeup doesn’t break up on my face for over 10 hours! I recommend every person give this one a go, it is so gentle and keeps your skin baby smooth! On top of that, it smells like lollies. Need I say more?
This scrub retails for $12.99 RRP, and is worth every single penny.

We have reached the end of my list of amazing products. I hope that these recommendations have helped you if you had been iffy about trying any of them!

                                                                                                                  ♡ Until next time ♡