Natural Collection Eyeshadow Singles and Duo's Review and Swatches - Cruelty Free Cosmetics

Between the ages of 11 and 14 I probably owned more Natural Collection cosmetics than I should admit to. Their products were never good but even back then they were the cheapest on the market and when I started to make some money working after school, they got binned in favour of Rimmel (I wasn't cruelty free back then) and Barry M.

11 years on and I needed some makeup to create a day to day zombie look. I didnt want to spend any more than a tenner and wanted it all to be cruelty free. Makeup Revolution was my first choice but I couldn't find a palette that fitted my vision when I was buying them. I did actually end up using the Light and Shade palette (the "dupe" of Kat Von D Shade and Light one) for my makeup and not touching these. Make of that what you will. 

I held onto them though as I figured it would still be fun to see if things have improved since the last time I owned any Natural Collection. Then again, their foundation retails for £1.99 so maybe expecting anything is expecting to much. 

LtR: Snowstorm, Sky and Blackcurrant/Violet 

So lets start with packaging. Its cheap white and very plasticky plastic. I don't love the screw tops and personally I hate makeup coming in white plastic. I don't know why, I just don't. I do understand that all of this is done to keep costs down, Its just not to my taste. Also if you look at the duo below you'll see the pans aren't even set straight. I will say it's fully functional thought so I should really stop being snobby.

LtR: Snowstorm, Sky and Blackcurrant/Violet 

Formula and swatches. Have a look at that photo and tell me what you think? So the formula would actually be really nice, if there was any pigment to it. Its soft and blendable with very little fallout, there's just no colour. When they're applied to the skin they do give off a really nice sheen if you spread them over a larger area, however that highlights every little change in skin texture. I was thinking about maybe trying to use them as a subtle highligh but I don't think it would work for me as I have issues with spots and bumpy skin.

LtR: Snowstorm, Sky and Blackcurrant/Violet 

I tried a few times to use these and up until today it always ended in disaster. Today wasn't much above disaster though. I tried everything I could think of to make them work, Applying with a natural brush, synthetic brush, foam applicator and fingers, and trying different primers and bases, nothing really helped. 

Today I applied Barry M face primer to my eyelids (the one from my 17 by 2017 project) which left them kind of wet and sticky and then patted the shadow on top with a flat brush. I didn't get intense colour by any means but it was wearable enough for me to leave the house with it on face. 

I did discover something that annoyed me a little. The eyeshadow did not crease, it was been on my face for 12 hours at the time of typing and it has not creased at all. If it had creased I would have been less frustrated than I am right now, because now I'm like maybe some of them have pigment, should I try them all? Grrr.... No. I will be strong.

I'm going to get rid of these as I see no point in keeping them. I've also written off the eyeshadows from Natural Collection and wont be buying more to try any time soon. I would be interested in trying some of the concealer and face powder type products as they seem to get really good reviews and revisiting the eyeliner and mascara of my youth. I will be steering clear of any and all lip products for now though as it seems to be mostly gloss and I absolutely hate lipgloss with a passion.

Is there a Natural Collection product you love I should try? Or have you tried the eyeshadows and had a better experience than me? Let me know.

XOXO Scruffy

Enquiry? Message me ascruffyduck@gmail.com