Vapour Organic Beauty - pretty in a stick

Vapour Organic Beauty

I recently had the opportunity to test a new line of cosmetics from Vapour Organic Beauty. It was a long test, because I wanted to make sure I gave everything a good try. The line isn't really for me (though there are a few standouts that will stay in my kit!), but that's not to say it doesn't have an audience! Keep reading to learn more...

Feel Good Cosmetics

An organic, good-for-you line with a bit of a twist (<---that's a pun): the products are almost all packaged in tube form. The ingredients are all food-grade, full of antioxidants, and great for your skin. Packaging is recyclable or made from recycled material, and the ingredients are all of sustainable origins.

The Vapour difference

There's another bit of uniqueness going on with this line, and it's found in their "moisturizing Organic base". This bit of chemical genius allows the pure mineral pigments used in the products to float over the skin. You won't find it settled in your fine lines or other nooks and crannies, and your skin will be able to breathe. 

Because of this unique base, I suppose, the product line is mostly presented in twist-up tubes. Certainly an interesting (and portable!) concept.

The Reviews

Skin

I sampled a few of the skincare products. Well, honestly, I sampled one and tried to sample another. Let me explain...

Stratus Instant Skin Perfector Vapour makes a product called Stratus Instant Skin Perfector. It's meant to be a sort of primer/radiance-enhancer/moisturizer hybrid. For $44, you get a pretty sizeable stick of this product, which you slick on before your foundation to minimize pores and fine lines while adding radiance. It sort of reminds me of Benefit's Dr Feelgood, a balm used to mattify and to minimize lines and pores, but this is a bit more radiant. Texture-wise, though, they're quite similar.

I quite liked the Stratus product. In fact, I'm still using it now on minimal makeup days, though for a full look I prefer a silicone-based primer (Mehron's Velvet Finish is my go-to at the moment). With Stratus, I notice a nice smooth texture to my skin (though I don't have tons of problems with that) and the pores around my nose look less obvious. I don't know that it extends wear of foundation, though it doesn't promise to anyway, but it does add a very subtle glow (no shimmer) to the skin. Nice product. Is it worth $44? .... er, probably not.

 

Atmosphere Luminous Foundation I'd love to tell you tons about the foundation, but I can't because the samples I got were WAY to dark for me. The lightest was #110, seen above, and clearly too dark (it's the lightest they make). It's also fairly yellow-toned, so again: MISS.

Again, the tubes are quite sizeable (larger than a MAC or Bobbi Brown foundation stick), and the packaging is quite nice. The product rolls up nicely with no catches and no mess. Great idea, lovely execution. $38.

I did briefly wear the #110, despite the color mismatch, and can say it's quite comfortable and easy to apply and blend. It's got medium buildable coverage, and feels cool on the skin.

Others The line also makes concealers ("illusionist") that match the foundations and an interesting product called Trick Stick, which is a sheer lilac illuminating product. 

Cheeks

Aura Multi Use Blush I got to try two shades of this (there are three) and was pretty pleased. The color goes on sheer, but is buildable to a degree and safe for lips and eyes as well as cheeks. $28

I kind of like the stick blush thing, and this felt really nice going on. I don't know if it was my dry cheeks or the product itself, but I did really drink it up, so reapplication was necessary after a few hours. That kinda sucked. 

Eyes

Mesmerize Eye Color Again, tubes (theme becoming clear?) of sheer, good-for-you color. These products are billed as a "exciting new approach to eye color".  Vapour asserts that commercial eye shadows contain irritating adhesive ingredients that increase length-of-wear. These Mesmerize shadows don't have any irritating ingredients at all, and moisturize the eye area. They're also chock-full of antioxidants.

Vapour suggests that you layer a powdered mineral eye shadow (which they don't sell) on top of the Mesmerize product if your eyes "aren't suited to cream eyeshadows". $16.

Well, my eyes must not be suited because these sticks get the worst review I've done on a product in a long, long time.

Application: dreadful. Using a stick (fairly small, but still...) on the eyelid is not easy. It's awkward and not at all elegant. Vapour says that the sticks allow for "precise application". No.

Coverage: Sheer is an understatement. These are super sheer and even on my parchment-shaded skin they disappear. For a split second, a second coat is visible when one tries to "build", but then it just disappears. *poof*

Texture: It feels like putting a dry-ish lip balm on the eyes. Weird. It does sort of settle down to a drier consistency after a bit, but there's still a slight waxy feel to it.

Wear: Well, it creases like a bitch, so the whole "use it as a base for powdered mineral shadows theory" is crap. I tried it over a MAC Paint Pot. Creases. I tried it over UDPP. Creases. Ridiculous.

PS: Vapour cheerfully suggests that you reapply the Mesmerize product often. Right, 'cause that's a selling point for eye color. Everyone loves touching that up all day long. 

Oh... and I thought the color selection was weird.

My mom taught me to always say something positive, so I will say that if you like super-sheer washes of color on your very dry eyes, this may be for you!

Somehow I misplace Charm so here it is:

Yeah, the swatches don't look super-sheer. Wait 'til you see the "face of the day" below.

Lips

Loved the lip products I tried from this line. Loved them! They made up for the disappointing eye products, for sure. These are actually still in my purse and happy additions to my permanent collection. ("Permanent collection". Ha! Sounds like a museum, right?)

Lux Organic Lip Conditioner Not sure how I forgot to take a picture of this, but really... does it matter? The packaging looks like the other stick products, and the balm is, well: balmlike.

Ingredients like shea butter and jojoba are familiar to a lot of us as intensely hydrating, and Vapour tosses in a ton of other ingredients like myrhh, Evening Primrose Oil, and Lecithin (all also hydrating), and Lemon Balm (healing), Green Tea (antioxidant), and Iceland Moss (antimicrobial).

Really nice lip conditioner, and the Lemon Balm gives a nice, light citrusy scent (but not taste). Drawback? The $16 pricetag.

Siren Lipstick These are essentially the same packaging as the eye "colors", though the color of the tubes are different. I was worried. I shouldn't have been.

 

They're moisturizing, buildable (to a degree), layerable (therefore versatile), and really smooth. They slick on nicely and don't smudge all over the place. Quite lovely.

Elixir Lip Gloss A product not in a tube!? Well, it's in a squeezey tube, not a twist-up tube. But the variety is nice. I was fully prepared not to like these, either, thinking they were going to be too sheer or taste weird. Isn't it funny how you get thoughts in your head before trying something? There's a lesson to be learned here...

Castor oil, beeswax, antioxidants, and food grade ingredients, as you probably expect.

The shades I got were Hush and ...? I dont know, because the other one wasn't labeled. I'm guessing it's Sultry. I like both and may even consider buying the others in the collection. They applied smoothly, felt great, weren't gummy, were semi-sheer and look great alone or over lipstick. Very nice. And I don't usually like cream (non-shimmer) lipglosses!

 

A look with the products:

 

Colors used: Does it matter? You can't really see them.

The cheeks are Torch.

The eyes are, believe it or not, Storm and Smolder.

Lips are Knockout.