CutECOsmetics Sponsors Betty Hula Beauty Blogger Awards

Beauty Bloggers have been incredibly supportive of CutECOsmetics, so we’re delighted to give back a little bit of love by teaming up with one of our favourite skincare brands, Betty Hula, as official sponsor of the Betty Hula 2012 Beauty Blogger Awards.  Betty Hula products are designed to nurture skin and are perfect for all skin types.  

If you’re a Beauty Blogger and would like to enter, simply nominate yourself before 1st August 2012.  An independent judging panel will select a winner and three runners up, who will be announced on 10th August 2012.

Criteria

Judges will consider four main factors to select the winning beauty blog:

·         style of blog and writing

·         investigative reporting and getting to grips with the issue

·         interaction with followers and readers

·         point of difference.

The awards are open to every beauty blogger, regardless of how long you’ve been blogging, follower numbers or popularity.  It’s YOUR blog and content that counts!

Prizes

The winner and three runners up of the Betty Hula blog awards will receive a goody bag of gorgeous products and the chance to review a new Betty Hula product before it launches. 

The winner will also get the chance to be involved in bringing a brand new product to the market - including the development, packaging and launch with the lovely Betty Hula honeys. 

How to enter

All you have to do is send your name and blog details to the Betty Hula team at betty@bettyhula.co.uk and check out some of the fabulous entries on the Betty Hula Beauty Blogger Awards Facebook page here. 

Will you be entering the Betty Hula Beauty Blogger Awards with CutECOsmetics?  If you're not a blogger yourself, please share this with your favourite beauty bloggers!

Jubilee Beauty

We're getting ready to celebrate the Queens Jubilee here at CutECOsmetics HQ and have picked a few of our fave Jubilee Beauty buys!

1. Gorgeous lips that last with OCC Lip tar in 'Queen' £8.99
2. Get patriotic with Love & Toasts Union Jack themed Lip Glaze in 'Crush Rush' £7.99
3. Royal Nails with Butter London 3 Free Nail Lacquer in 'Tea With The Queen' £12.00
4. Try some Jubilee themed nail art with Barry M Nail Paints £2.50


And very exciting news that Butter London are releasing a special Jubilee Lacquer called Lillibet's Jubilee that we're very proud to be stocking - available from June on our site £12.00

Have you spotted any great Jubilee Beauty Buys?

Gold Medal Winning Nails

After our super exciting win yesterday in Jacqueline Gold's WOW competition for women in business we thought it was the perfect time to share with you these fabulous 'Gold' Medal winning nail polishes from Priti NYC.

Inspired by all the men and women who will be 'Going For Gold' Priti have released a special edition London 2012 set called 'Heavy Medal'. The best thing about Priti NYC Nail Polishes is that they are non-toxic and are made without toluene, dibutyl phthalate (DHB) and formaldehyde- all known carcinogenic ingredients.

The collection contains four edgy metallic shades Chrysanthos, Old Man Cactus, and Bills Bronze to represent the Gold, Silver and Bronze medals that we hope the GB team will be winning for us! Add to this Pewter Veil, a dark grey shimmery polish and we think you have the perfect winning metallic shades! All of which fit in perfectly with the trend on the catwalks this season for metallics.

Perfect for a special gift the polishes come packaged in this gorgeous box with a hand tied ribbon. We're really hoping that Jacqueline loves these too and have sent her a special set of them today in honour of our #WOW win!

Which Medal would you like to be wearing this summer?

Buy the set here

CutECOsmetics WOW Jacqueline to a Gold Win

CutECOsmetics are extremely proud to have been chosen by Jacqueline Gold as a winner of her WOW Women On Wednesday competition that celebrates women in business. Jacqueline Gold is the highly successful chief executive of Ann Summers and Knickerbox. Every Wednesday she holds the WOW competition on Twitter, inviting business women to tweet their business to her. She chooses her favourite three and retweets to all of her 23,000 followers, so it is a great honour and opportunity for small businesses.

 

 

After entering for a number of weeks we won the award on Wednesday 11^th April, the winning tweet that caught Jacqueline’s eye was ‘Self funded Mum start-up! All my work in 6 months, handpicked ECO beauty brands with great reviews www.cutECOsmetics.co.uk’. Jacqueline always gives her reasons for the winning tweets stating that ‘CutECOsmetics is an online Eco friendly cosmetic store selling some fab products – quirky and interesting website. It made me stop!’ and ‘I thought it was very refreshing, loved it. Good luck with the rest of the week :)’. 

 

Many small businesses follow the #WOW hash tag each week to see if they will be the lucky winners and appreciate such an inspirational businesswoman taking the time to support small businesses ran by fellow women.

 

 It has been a successful start to the year for CutECOsmetics after being chosen by The Good Web Guide in their list of ‘The Best Sites for Makeup’ and also becoming a recommended company of Radio 2 presenter Janey Lee Grace on her website www.imperfectlynatural.com. We have also been featured on numerous beauty blogs over the last few months. We are hoping that this latest #WOW success will help to further spread the word of our website where we are launching even more fabulous brands including cult and beauty bloggers favourite Butter London later this month.

 

Happy Easter in The OCC Garden

We thought we would try and brighten up the Easter Weekend here at CutECOsmetics HQ by sharing with you the arrival of the New OCC Lip Tars 'The Garden' Spring / Summer 2012 Collection!

Spring has sprung at OCC with the gorgeous new floral shades in the Lip Tar range, OCC say:

'Inspired not by garden variety roses but psychotropic and poisonous plants, this collection turns traditional spring pastels upside down, injecting them with hallucinatory notes of nearly-neon vibrancy.'

The new range also launches with new packaging, featuring a precision nozzle applicator and now you get even more in your OCC Lip Tar tube (10ml).

So here are the lovely Spring beauties!

Digitalis - Pink Tinged Lavender (Left) 

 Ophelia - Pure Petal Pink (Right)

Kava Kava - True Peach Neutral (Left)

PennyRoyal - Roasted Peach / Brown (Right)

Belladonna - Ultra Ultra Violet

Chlorophyll - True Teal

If you've never tried these, a little goes a long way! All you'll need is a tiny bead applied with a lip brush. Wondering how you would ever wear some of the colours? The great thing about OCC Lip Tars is that they are meant to be mixed to create your own shades - so have fun with them!

They are £8.99 from here

We'd love to know which of the new shades you like?

Have you tried these yet?

Mineral Metallics To Shine

Here at CutECOsmetics we absolutely loved the trend on the catwalks this Spring for Smoky Metallic eyes as seen here on one of Emilio Pucci’s models in the SS12 show.  We think this look is gorgeous.

We thought we would showcase & put to the test the best in mineral eye shadows in some gorgeous Metallic Shades, so here are some of our favourites that we tried and tested:

Lily Lolo Eyeshadow in Sticky Toffee

Lily Lolo’s mineral eyeshadow is a natural loose powder with a good colour pigment and comes in a cute little sifter pot so you just get the right amount. Sticky Toffee is a light brown/beige shimmer with golden undertones. These are great used wet or dry. One of the best things is the price of these shadows at £5.29

This shade applied very smoothly and was the palest shade of the three giving a very pretty pale golden bronze. It blended well and had pretty good staying power without a primer.

Bellapierre Shimmer Powder in Bronze

Using 100% pure Mica powder, these beautiful shimmer powders will provide long lasting, vibrant color without any additional filler that can often smear, crease, fade and even cause allergic reaction. The Bellapierre shimmer powders are priced at £12.99 but are definitely worth the investment, the quality is great.

This shade was the real surprise, thinking it would just be a golden bronze shade but once applied the centre of the shade at the deepest point gives a gorgeous deep metallic brown/grey look to it. We completely adored this one. It applied very well with a lovely texture and creamy feel to it and you really only need the tiniest amount of this, great pigmentation and staying power.

BM Beauty Mineral Eyeshadow in AdobeBrick

BM Beauty mineral eyeshadows are free from parabens, synthetic dyes and fragrances, fillers, bismuth oxychloride, nano particles and animal products. A very reasonable price at £7.00

Adobe brick gives a smooth shimmery bronze brown

This shade does what it says on the tin! It applied well, again only needing a small amount. It’s a beautiful coppery bronze with a great sheen to it, not too sparkly! The BM Beauty shadow has good staying power and nice pigmentation.

Which metallic shade will you be wearing this Spring?

Roses: More Than Just Pretty Petals

We can all appreciate the beauty of roses and their beautiful scent, but did you know that they are much more than just a pretty petal? 


Here are a few interesting facts about roses and why we love them at CutECOsmetics HQ and a few of our rosy products thrown in....


1. Rosehips can be used to brew tea and to make jams. They are known for their high vitamin C content and are delicious!

Smith's Rosebud Salve

2. Rose oil and Rosewater are fantastic anti-ageing ingredients, helping to improve hydration and to feed the skin with healing vitamins. 

Figs & Rouge Rambling Rose Organic Balm

3. In aromatherapy terms, Rose is used to balance moods, it is a nostalgic fragrance that can calm and soothe.

Balm Balm Organic Rose Geranium Face Balm

4. Rose is also treasured for its fantastic anti-inflammatory properties and it is gentle enough for the most sensitive skin.

Korres Wild Rose Lip Butter

5. Did you know that Rose essential oils are the height of luxury? Costing between £3000-6000 per kilogram of raw materials! 

Priti NYC Nail Polish Japanese Rose

Have we refreshed your appreciation for this ever so traditional ingredient?

Are you a Rose fan or not? 

Makeover Your Make-up Storage with these Cute Ideas

We know here at CutECOsmetics how much you love your makeup collections and wanted to share a few ideas for creative & eco ways of storing all your fave products at home.

We absolutely love this stylish handmade brush wrap from Joanne Parkin, perfect for keeping those treasured EcoTools or Bdellium tools tidy! The brush wrap is made from a peacock liberty print, dupion silk and leather measuring 30cm x 21cm. The design is available in 3 colours, black, turquoise and silvery grey. Available from www.notonthehighstreet.com 

Perfect for storing your bamboo brushes are these bamboo bathroom organisers. A great sustainable source, bamboo is not a tree but a grass so is super fast growing & when harvested it doesn't need replanting!

How about making your own eco makeup bag? That's exactly what you can do with this Organic Cosmetic Bag Kit from Kotori Kits. The kit comes with all you need to make your own organic canvas bag with easy to follow instructions for newbie crafters. Available from www.notonthehighstreet.com

For those of you with a slightly bigger collection of makeup to store like us! We recommend these ultra cute caddies by 3Sprouts.
Made from 100% Cotton Canvas and lined with polyethylene so perfect for any spillages! These are available in the UK from LittleZilla on Amazon.

 

Our final pick are these wonderful & ethical baskets available from www.basketbasket.co.uk The baskets are from the Maata-N-Tudu Association in northern Ghana. It was created to support the women of this region to improve the quality of their lives. BasketBasket pay a much higher rate for their baskets than they are able to get in the local markets, so all baskets purchased directly help to improve their lives.

We hope you like our suggestions?

Tell us what you think and how you store your makeup collections!

LAQA&CO Land at CutECOsmetics HQ

Another exciting delivery arrived today, we are sure you are going to love this bunch just as much as we do. We are delighted to share with you the stunning collection from LAQA&CO. Each box features a different design from a independent artist, who receives a percentage of the profits from their box design, it's a unique, quirky twist that we are just in love with.

 

Laqa & Co Nail Polish Pens

No only does this range look gorgeous, the products are also fabulous, we've got our excited mitts on the Nail Polish Pen and Lip Pencils. The great thing about Laqa & Co Nail Polish Pens is they are '3 free' & the Lip Pencils are paraben free plus of course they do not test on animals With bizarre names and luscious colours, we are pretty sure that you will struggle to resist these beauties.

Laqa & Co Nail Polish Pens retail at £9.50 & Fat Lip Pencils at £13.00  


Which one has caught your eye? Have you tried this brand before?

Get them here

Korres Colours Arrive in Stock!

We are so excited to announce that we are now an official stockist of some of the most beautiful colour products from Korres. Everything in this new line is cruelty free, with many vegan and vegetarian products, plus it's flipping gorgeous! So let us introduce you to these new beauties, now available to buy in the UK, with free delivery!


Lush and lovely Korres Lip Butters with Shea Butter and Rice Wax. These stylish, iconic lip balms hydrate and soften lips with a hint of subtle gloss and delicious colour. Which one will you be tempted by? Here are just a few to get you salivating...

In addition to the ever so desirable Lip Butters, we are also pleased to introduce you to Korres Wild Rose Liquid Foundation, Concealer, Mango Butter Lipsticks, Cherry Lip Glosses, Eyeliners, Pro-Vitamin Mascara, Watermelon Tinted Moisturiser and Blushers! We are sure that you will be as tempted as we are. Here at CutECOsmetics HQ, we are super excited to try out the Peach Powder Blush, what do you think?

Have you tried Korres make up before? What do you think?

CutECOsmetics in The Good Web Guide

We were very excited and proud to be chosen by The Good Web Guide as one of their Best Sites for Make-up a few weeks ago!

Here's the article:

Good Web Guide Best Sites for Makeup

This is what they had to say about us:

"For cosmetics with a conscience, cutECOsmetics should be your port of call. This family-run business has worked hard to find organic, vegan and cruelty-free cosmetic brands to stock on their site. Shop by brand (Barry M, Urban Decay, Nvey are all available here) or you can even shop by Ethic! Looking for a bright red vegan lipstick? Get it here."

Our site has only been running for a matter of months so we were absolutley thrilled to have been recognised amongst some massive brands like Mac, Benefit, Glossybox & Cult Beauty.

Thanks very much Good Web Guide you made our month!!

Visit our award winning website CutECOsmetics

Fat Free Easter Eggs

Want some eggs for Easter but without the calories or guilt? Or do you purely just want a fun alternative to Easter eggs? Check out these cuties from EOS, our very own lip balm Easter eggs! 

Just as delicious, but they last longer and are 100% fat free. Treat yourself or treat a friend, it's up to you! One thing is for sure, here in the CutECOsmetics HQ we'll be using EOS eggs for our Easter Egg Hunt this year! We want them all. They smell so good, we want to eat them! 

Which flavour EOS balm do you think sounds the most delicious?

EOS Lip Balm Spheres are only £5.95 from cutECOsmetics and we offer free delivery!

Award Winning Natural Makeup

Well readers it’s that time of year when Natural Health Magazine announces the results of their Natural Health Beauty Awards and we are very excited that so many of CutECOsmetics brands received awards. The main aim of the awards is to find the best products on the market that are free from chemical nasties such as parabens, petroleum, PEGs and phthalates.

We would like to give a huge congratulations to the brands we stock that won prizes and tell you a bit more about the worthy winning products. So here they are!

Eye shadow Category

Winner

Lily Lolo Eye Shadow

These mineral shadows come in a huge array of shades and are free from harsh chemicals, dyes and fillers. They have a silky and creamy formula that has great stay power; they are 100% natural and most are suitable for vegans.

Highly Commended

Inika Eye shadow

The Inika range is all certified as cruelty free, vegan and halal. The mineral eye shadow has a very fine texture and is highly pigmented so you really do only need a small amount. The purity of the shadows also means they are perfect for sensitive eyes.

Blusher Category

Highly Commended

Bellapierre Compact Mineral Bronzer

The Bellapierre Compact Mineral bronzer is made with 100% pure mineral pigments and bound with soothing Jojoba, it blends easily and provides a luminous colour that will not change or fade throughout the day. 

Concealer Category

Highly Commended

Inika Natural Perfection Concealer

Makes under eye bags vanish in a flash and has a lot of staying power. The light texture blends easily creating a flawless base and because the INIKA concealer contains certified organic ingredients such as macadamia and rose hip oil, your skin will feel hydrated. Perfect for even for the most sensitive skin.

Tinted Moisturiser Category

Highly Commended

Nvey Moisture Rich Fluid Foundation

Organic Chamomile, Vitamin E organic Safflower Oil combine to create this soothing, moisturising and aromatic liquid foundation. This luxurious formula assists dry and sensitive skins.

Congratulations to all the Winners!

 You can purchase all of these products from our shop www.cutecosmetics.co.uk

 

Do you have a favourite winning product?