Nude by Nature

I'm sorry that it has been quiet on the blog posting for a number of month (well years almost) but I have been struggling my way through a skin condition called perioral dermatitis. It is a rash that mainly effects young women (20 - 40 years old) so some think it is hormonal but I suspect had something to do with the number of products I used on my face over the years. It consists of small raised and bumps around the nose and mouth and also - as my doctor referred to it - had the appearance of being scaly. I will do another post detailing all the remedies I have been using, what has worked and what hasn't, but for the time being one of the major courses of action was to make my skincare routine completely natural and that meant finding a makeup brand that wasn't loaded with the chemicals that are ubiquitous in most makeup brands. As I researched I was shocked and upset by the scarce number of options. People are really concerned about what they put into their body at the moment, with every other Instagram picture being a healthy juice or avocado on toast. But there isn't the same level of interest on what people are putting onto their skin. With the epidermis (our skin) being the largest organ of the human body it is only common sense that we treat it with respect and constant use of chemicals through using makeup is one way that we aren't treating it with the love it deserves. 

During my research I came across Nude by Nature, an Australian brand that promises that their products are “formulated without synthetic ingredients or preservatives like Talc, Silicon, Phthalates, Sulphates, PEGS, Siloxanes, Triclosans, Phenoxyethanol or Parabens.” Parabens and sulphates are one of the key ingredients that dermatologists say to avoid for those people with dermatitis and are found in most cosmetic lines. At the moment Nude by Nature is only available through feelunique.com in the UK but as more people hear about it that is bound to change.  As well as being good for your skin by being packed full of natural goodness, it is also good for your conscience as it 100% cruelty free and PETA certified, another key aspect that is overlooked by many cosmetic brands. One area that shouldn't really factor into our choices when we are buying something is the packaging but lets face it, it always does (I know someone who only buys products for the packaging). Nude by Nature has a luxury feel to it but the prices are still high-street (£18 - £25). The rose gold and cases are so pretty and the whole range feels so well designed and elegant. The compacts are substantial and even though plastic used for tubes it feels matte and sturdy rather than cheap and cheerful. 

The perfecting primer (£22) is silicone free (silicone clogs your pores and is one of the ingredients that creates glare in flash photography) and instead includes vitamin A & E, papaya leaf and recommend for dermatitis green tea. I find some primers can be sticky whereas this glides onto your face and leaves it smooth and moisturised without in any way feeling oily. It provides the perfect base for the luminous sheer liquid foundation (£25) or the radiant loose powder foundation (£25) both of which comes in a range of shades from light to dark and in warm, cool or neutral tones. I am of the super fair variety so can find it difficult to find the right shade for my skin but C1 Ivory matched it entirely and provided the perfect balance between smoothing out my skin tone but not obscuring my freckles. Even though it looks too light in the photo I can assure you the skin on my neck (where you should test foundation for colour) is as white as a ghost. The foundation feels like no other that I have tried, it is sumptuous. It feels more like a luxury face mask than foundation, you can almost feel it nurturing your skin when you apply it. It is lighter than lightweight, it is like being kissed by makeup Gods it feels so divine. It melts into your skin and all day my skin felt taken care of and cared for. 

There are two annoying things about perioral dermatitis that I wanted this make up to be able to help with - (1) that it could pacify and cover the redness around my mouth and nose and (2) that it would moisturise and not emphasis the dry, flakiness that's also a symptom of the rash. Task 1 - The foundation did cover up most of the redness and any that was left over was tackled by the perfecting concealer (£20) I'll admit a small tube but only a tiny amount is needed to blast the last remaining redness and under eye circles that are the bane of any woman over 25. On both counts it did a sterling job and didn't sit in the creases of my eyes like some concealers do after a few hours wear. This has to be down to the shea butter and jojoba oil that is highly moisturising and plumps up the skin. 

Task 2 - Normally transparent powder or powder foundation is the kiss of death for my skin as all it does is highlight the dryness and scales that appear. Not using a finishing powder can mean that your foundation doesn't stay in place as long as you don't get the same mattifying effect so you end up with a shiny forehead. The Nude by Nature translucent powder (£22) didn't accentuate the dryness but actually helped to cover it, possibly because it doesn't contain talk, which drys out the skin. It's honestly like you're brushing on silk to your face. Even after a day of wearing makeup, where usually my forehead would be oily and the lower half of my face visibly dry, my make up looked exactly the same as it did when I applied it in the morning. No dryness and no oiliness, just perfect.

Nude by Nature has got me falling in love. Not only are the products hands down some of the best that I have ever tried but they have provided a way for me to still wear makeup without making my skin breaking out. My face has never felt so nourished and looked after when I have applied make up. For 18 months I have been in a constant cycle of hating my skin because it looks so damaged and sore and applying makeup to cover it up, only for it to get worse. Now I can continue to wear makeup whilst treating the problem as it contains ingredients such as green tea and vitamins. This is a photo of me after a 10 hour work day and there is not one patch of my skin I am unhappy with here, even though if I took the makeup off you would see bumps, redness and uneven texture all round my mouth.