Aveda Uruku Lip Pigment in Maracuja

Hello!

After years of wandering into Aveda and being too shy to really get my hands dirty with testing their products, I finally made a trip where I worked up the nerve to play with the makeup products (despite being the only person in the store!) and ended up walking out with two lipsticks! I'm showing you Maracuja today, which is one of the Uruku Lip Pigments. As you may know if you follow this blog, while I by no means exclusively shop at organic of socially conscious retailers, I do make an effort to be aware of what those retailers are offering, and if I have a choice, I'll choose something from them over a standard option. I'm not claiming to know how to decipher which companies do the most good and which do the most bad, but I feel like companies like The Body Shop (which promotes fair trade, social justice, and sourcing ingredients from small international communities), Burt's Bees (which tries incorporating as many all-natural ingredients as possible), and Urban Decay (which is staunchly against animal testing and has designed as much of their line as possible to be vegan) are trying to make a difference within the industry, and that supporting them can't hurt. I am a healthy skeptic; I understand that these companies are probably stretching the truth when it comes to these issues. However, the fact remains that they are at least carving a niche in the beauty industry for natural, socially conscious products. Enter Aveda, whose stance fits in with these other examples; they are environmentally conscious, using less packaging where possible, and recycled/recyclable materials for their product containers and packaging. They also use natural ingredients and pigments, and all of their products are plant based, but they have still managed to craft luxurious products since 1978(!).  In addition to their products, they are Green-e certified, and buy enough wind power to offset the power they use in manufacturing. If you'd like to learn more about Aveda, their website is very informative.

The Uruku Lip Pigments use annatto (also known as uruku) as the main source of pigmentation. Annatto oil, from the Brazlian urukum tree, is also used to add smoothness to lips and help condition them. The formula itself isn't thick, so this is no replacement for a specialized moisturizing lip treatment, but I do think it's about as moisturizing as your average balm. It feels very nice on the lips; it's not slippery or greasy, nor is it overly creamy or sticky. Rather, it just adds some lightweight smoothness, and feels soft on the lips. They have a subtle sweet peppermint scent that smells more herbal and fresh than cloying, and no taste as far as I can tell. They stay on for about three hours, which is certainly respectable, if not long-wearing. They are $15 for .12 ounces of product; the case is very lightweight and minimal in order to be more environmentally friendly, about the size of a tube of chapstick. They sell separate cases if you want to protect the aluminum tube further, but I find the packaging it comes in to be just fine, if not beautiful; it is efficient, better for the environment, and easy to slip into a pocket.  As for the color, it's a soft metallic red. If you were interested in the Kat Von D lipstick in Adora, but thought it was too bright, this may be a more wearable alternative. It is an almost coral red with metallic shimmer in the same color, so it doesn't have a frosted finish. It's not completely opaque, but coverage is buildable.

Here is the box the lipstick comes in:

List of ingredients

Here's the lipstick itself:

With the cap on

And here's the bottom of the lipstick with the label. 

Here's the product twisted up:

Aveda Uruku Lip Pigment in Maracuja

And here it is closer up; you can see all of the shimmer, and the photo will get bigger if you click on it, if you'd like to see the color better.

Maracuja

Here's a swatch of the color on my skin; you can see that it is sheer here, but the color still reads "red", and its shimmer lends it opacity.

Swatch of Maracuja

 Here it is on my lips without flash

Maracuja close up, no flash

Wearing Maracuja, no flash

 And here's the color with flash.

Close up of Maracuja with flash

Maracuja on my lips, flash. 

Rating: 9 out of 10

I'm really thrilled with this lipstick! The scent is something agreeable, I love the way it feels on my lips, and the color is gorgeous. This may be my new go-to red, since it's not too overpowering to be worn with lots of different looks, but still gives the effect of a red lip. My boyfriend also asked me to include in my review that he really likes this color, for whatever that's worth. I am also happy that this is made with some natural ingredients and with an eye towards keeping the environment happy. Lastly, at $15, this lipstick is significantly more affordable than some comparable formulas. If you've never tried Aveda products, this lipstick might be a good place to start. Sure, it could be more opaque, or it could last longer, but neither of these are issues in my mind; I usually reapply frequently anyway, and some long-wearing formulas can be drying, and as for the opacity, I think the color is lovely with its level of sheerness; if I wanted a deeper red, there are many others to choose from, and I'm planning on layering this over a berry or red lip stain to see what that effect is. It is a really unique color- not your classic red- but beautiful in its own right.