Crop Natural Skincare* is a relatively new brand that came out with a small range of skincare a little while ago, and just recently launched their makeup line! Crop is a natural brand with no nasties like parabens, mineral oil, petrochemicals, etc. It's suitable for sensitive skin and doesn't test on animals! The whole ethos behind the brand is very admirable and you can read more about it on their website! I was very generously sent almost the whole range of makeup (thank you so much Crop!) and have been testing them out for the past few weeks. Before I get into the reviews, I do want to mention the packaging! It's lovely and minimal and looks quite classy - I'm into it. Oh and, unfortunately I couldn't really test the liquid foundation or brow pencil as they are the wrong shades for me! I will try and keep this post concise and I've split the products up into recommendations, 'eh' products and ones that I wouldn't recommend, so keep reading for my thoughts!
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| L-R: Tinted lip balm, Lipstick, Primer |
THE GOOD 'UNS
I briefly mentioned this in my August favourites, but I think this is a great powder. Something about the Crop powders is that they are very hard which often means the product is very sheer. This, in the case of the bronzer and highlighter especially, is a real issue, but works in favour of the face powder. It is sheer and really won't give any coverage, but it mattifies without looking heavy or cakey, and controls oil pretty well!
Also mentioned in my favourites, the primer is lightweight, absorbs easily and mattifies and controls oil without leaving the skin dry or uncomfortable. It contains ingredients like almond oil and shea butter which help moisturise but all in all, this is definitely a mattifying primer!
Natural Lipstick in Plum
This lipstick is so lovely! The formula is creamy, pigmented and super comfortable on the lips. It's not super moisturising but it definitely doesn't dry out my lips. The Plum shade is such a great everyday colour - it's a plummy (duh), mauve-y colour with a hint of brown. Quite trendy but really very wearable!
Natural Tinted Lip Balm in Berry
I'm not really a fan of the pencil format of this product - it doesn't really make sense to me? Because, it's not like you need precision to apply tinted lip balm, and I would much rather packaging with a twist up mechanism. Oh well - the product inside is pretty nice! It's really sheer but gives a lovely hint of colour. The shade itself does remind me a bit of strawberry juice or something :P I can't say it's the most moisturising tinted lip balm, but it's okay. It gives a slight shine and is super comfortable to wear. Great for no makeup days!
Mineral Kabuki Brush
There's not much to say other than this is a lovely brush. The bristles are soft, and the brush has a slight angle which makes it quite versatile. You can use it for powder, bronzer and blush. The folding feature means you can even do contouring, as well as helping it dry faster!
Natural Lipstick in Plum
This lipstick is so lovely! The formula is creamy, pigmented and super comfortable on the lips. It's not super moisturising but it definitely doesn't dry out my lips. The Plum shade is such a great everyday colour - it's a plummy (duh), mauve-y colour with a hint of brown. Quite trendy but really very wearable!
Natural Tinted Lip Balm in Berry
I'm not really a fan of the pencil format of this product - it doesn't really make sense to me? Because, it's not like you need precision to apply tinted lip balm, and I would much rather packaging with a twist up mechanism. Oh well - the product inside is pretty nice! It's really sheer but gives a lovely hint of colour. The shade itself does remind me a bit of strawberry juice or something :P I can't say it's the most moisturising tinted lip balm, but it's okay. It gives a slight shine and is super comfortable to wear. Great for no makeup days!
Mineral Kabuki Brush
There's not much to say other than this is a lovely brush. The bristles are soft, and the brush has a slight angle which makes it quite versatile. You can use it for powder, bronzer and blush. The folding feature means you can even do contouring, as well as helping it dry faster!
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| L-R: Blush, Eyeshadow Quad, Eyeliner, Concealer |
THE 'MEH' PRODS
I really like that this blush is split into four different shades which makes it a bit customisable, but as previously mentioned, the pressed powders are very hard and sheer. It's not so bad on this blush, meaning you can get a sheer, natural flushed look which is definitely beneficial for some and especially those with fairer skin tones. It's not a bad blush by any means, but it takes a lot to build up the colour and, as you know, I have a lot of blushes that I prefer!
Okay, to be fair, I actually haven't really tried this on my eyes so my review is going purely off of swatches. At no fault of the product though, these shades just aren't my cup of tea! I pretty much never wear smokey eyes, and definitely not silver/black ones. This powder is a little softer than the face powders but the pigment still isn't outstanding. I will say though - oddly - the lighter shades are more pigmented than the darker! To sum up, the formula is okay but there are definitely better out there and, probably, for cheaper.
Not a terrible eyeliner but not amazing either. The pigment is pretty good and it's fairly creamy, but it's not budgeproof and does smudge a bit.
Again, not a fan of the pencil packaging (I just hate sharpening things k) and the formula is pretty average. It could be creamier and can look a little dry under the eyes, I haven't tried it on blemishes but I think the formula would definitely exacerbate dry/flakey bits. Not terrible, but not great either.
I was really hoping this would be a mineral foundation but it's extremely sheer - so much so it may as well be translucent. In that case, I find it works fairly well as a setting powder but I really dislike having to faff around with loose products - so I'd rather reach for the pressed version. The formula on this one is smooth (unlike the translucent version, talk soon) and doesn't look cakey.
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| L-R: Bronzer, Highlighter (HEAVILY layered) |
THE NO-NOS (soz)
Now here's where the lack-of-pigment becomes a real issue. This bronzer is so sheer that I have to build it up to at least, like, four layers to get a natural finish. After a while - I think it sealed over - I pretty much got no pigment at all so I scraped the top off and it was a bit better. This would possibly be good for super fair peeps who want a really natural wash of colour, but to be honest, it takes so much effort! The colour is nice and I like that you can customise it but, let's be real, only the darkest one really shows up.
I was really looking forward to this as I (and everyone else) have been on a major highlighter kick! Unfortunately, it suffers the same downfalls as the bronzer. Especially because it's so super pale, it's pretty much invisible. Also, there's really very minimal shimmer so it doesn't give the glow or, well, "highlight-ness" that I want. It could possibly work like an Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder situation to set all over to add a bit of a glow but the powder can look a bit dry and chalky on the skin.
Now I have some pretty crappy lashes, so most of the time my lashes look unspectacular but this mascara really did NOTHING for them unfortunately! Like it added a bit of thickness and blackness, but next to no volume or length! I'm not a fan of the brush either, it's really big and the teardrop shape is odd. Luckily, this doesn't really smudge (that much) but that's really it's only redeeming quality (not that that really redeems it).
I was actually super keen for this since I don't have a loose translucent powder and idk, maybe I wanted to experiment with baking??!? This powder is just...really bad though? I never even thought a translucent powder could be terrible, but the texture of this is just...not good. It's really GRITTY. Like, I was swatching it on my hand and it almost felt like a fine exfoliator. I tried it on my face, and yeah it mattified but even touching my face I could feel the granules. It's the weirdest thing and so unfortunate because the other (coloured) loose powder feels fine?
I didn't mean to end this post on such a negative note (soz for being a debbie downer) but yes, in general, Crop's makeup line has been pretty average, with a few great products and a few duds to even things out. I think the brand and what it stands for is amazing, they use great ingredients and have lovely packaging so I definitely think there are a few products worth checking out (but also some to avoid)! You can purchase Crop Natural Skincare products on their website, or at Coles.
*Products in this post were sent for consideration.
