It’s been a while since we’ve reviewed makeup on The Amazing Blog; so, we were excited to receive a range of makeup pencils from plastic-free and zero-waste mineral makeup brand Annabelle Minerals. It’s the first time we’ve reviewed Annabelle Minerals, and we couldn’t wait to try their latest launch of their eco and vegan EYE Pencils, JUMBO Eye Pencils and JUMBO Lip Pencils.
Anna Szczerba founded Annabelle Minerals in her home country Poland in 2016. Before creating her cosmetic company, she was a lawyer who studied law in Kraków. She began her company because of her personal experience with blemishes and when looking for solutions she came across a forum that introduced her to mineral makeup. This is when she discovered that mineral makeup helped with her breakouts and blemishes. With the lack of mineral makeup to be found in Poland, Anna decided to create her own with the help of a lab to manufacture her first cosmetic products, initially selling on her online shop and Facebook page. Eventually, she was able to quit her day job, and after a year, her brand was able to take off. Annabelle Minerals has been created with a view to being waste-free. As a starting point, with every product they release, they make an effort to use sustainable packaging. "Our passion is finding beauty in the surrounding reality, which is why the mission of Annabelle Minerals is making sure that every woman believes in the beauty that she has inside." As a vegan and cruelty-free brand, their products also offer UVA/UVB protection and are plastic-free, making them perfect for zero-waste lovers. They are also an award-winning brand with five awards to date which include Beauty Shortlist Awards in 2020 and 2021 and three Global Green Beauty Awards in 2020.
Annabelle Minerals sent us their complete set of makeup pencils, which include JUMBO Lip Pencils, EYE Pencils and the JUMBO Eye Pencils. The brand told us the thought process and reason behind launching these new products. "We are constantly on the lookout for new launches in the spirit of less waste. As a brand, we’ve become very eco-conscious and are evolving towards being more sustainable with every new product, and makeup pencils were something that was missing in our offerings. We've been in the process of creating the lip pencils for months to make sure the first lip product is special and something we would use ourselves daily. Then we liked the results so much, that we decided to create something for the eyes, too."
Key ingredients common to all the makeup pencils are: Hydrogenated vegetable oil, copernicia cerifera wax, silica, glyceryl undecylenate, cocos nucifera, vitamin E, mica and oryzanol. The hydrogenated vegetable is best known as a thickening agent in cosmetics and for offering products a long and safe shelf life. However, it also has the added benefit of occlusives these help prevent transepidermal water loss. The copernicia cerifera wax is vegetable wax it’s a texture enhancer, stabiliser and a hypoallergenic additive to cosmetics. Silica when applied topically significantly improves the elasticity, texture and hydration of the skin. Glyceryl undecylenate is used to emulsify a product along with its antimicrobial properties. It also acts as a skin-conditioning agent and seals moisture into the skin. Cocos nucifera (coconut oil) is highly moisturising and the fatty acids give nourishment to the skin. Vitamin E is a light stabiliser, hydrator and antioxidant with potent anti-inflammatory benefits. The mica is a natural mineral that is commonly used as a colour additive and for its shimmery qualities in cosmetics. Finally, oryzanol which is extracted from rice bran oil and good for natural UV-A and UV-B absorbing capacity
Let’s start with their JUMBO Lip pencils - these are effortless to apply with creamy, non-drying formula, making them are comfortable to wear all day long. They also nourish and soften while providing long-lasting coverage and are versatile enough to use as a lipstick or lip liner, leaving a velvety semi-matte finish. The JUMBO Lip Pencils come in three natural lip shades. Cranberry is a deep and moderately cool berry shade. It gives a natural, multidimensional look. It's perfect for an everyday makeup look or a unique statement look. When you're looking for a natural and simple lip, then the Clover shade is the way to go. This nude pink shade accentuates your lips naturally and easily—ideal for an everyday look. Lastly, Marigold is great for when you want a warmer hue. This colour has peachy tones that go great with daily makeup and could even be used with a bold smokey eye for an evening look. Marigold makes lips appear fuller with its natural lip tone colour, and like the other two colours, leaves a semi-matte finish.
As mentioned, there are two different types of eye pencils – their EYE Pencils and JUMBO Eye Pencils. Both these eye pencils leave a creamy and velvety look and give a great colour payoff, and come in three shades. They are gentle and perfect for sensitive eyes, or beginners as they are long-lasting, and can be applied in several ways, starting as a basic eyeshadow and to a precision eyeliner. To quote Annabelle Minerals “[They’re] super blendable and very easy to use, we think they’re a great staple product.”
The slim EYE Pencils offer more precision lining than the JUMBO. We loved the versatility of Dark Wood a classic/go-to pencil as it is excellent as an eyeliner and eyeshadow primer. This shade will become a must-have in your makeup bag. Forest Sky is a graphite grey shade, and it is ideal for green and blue eyes as it leaves a soft and smoky effect. Lastly, comes the shade Pine, this brown shade gives a matte finish that you can use, again, with a smoky eye or even use as a filler to touch up eyebrows.
Their JUMBO Eye Pencils, as Annabelle Minerals says “Glide on effortlessly and create infinite looks with minimal effort.” Their smudgeable formula makes them easily blendable. The Fern, as the name suggests, is a beautiful green shade and has iridescent mica particles whose colour changes depending on the light. You can wear it alone or mix and match it with the other pencils. If you want a more suitable shade for an everyday look, then Maple is the colour for you. With a deep brown and copper glow, Maple is excellent for everyday use, again, it has the same iridescent particles as Fern, but here they reflect the light with a copper halo. Last but not least, we have Mist, a classic white and beige pencil with a matte finish. This colour can be used as an eyeshadow, liner, primer, and highlight.
Our conclusion? For the eyes, we loved experimenting with blending more than one JUMBO shade together to get a graduated look. The EYE pencils apart from precision liners, made great waterline pencils as they didn’t transfer or bleed. And the JUMBO lip pencils are a brilliant trio of natural lip colours - again we mixed and matched, using them to fill in and subtly enhance our natural lip colour. All makeup pencils are packaged in traditional natural wood and, for protection, have a metallic rose gold metal cap at the end. They have good eco-credentials as they're biodegradable (except for usable metal caps) and zero-waste products. Another one of our #amazingfinds we think these products are great as a standalone or blended with each other - here you can have lots of fun experimenting with different looks. The only thing missing is a JUMBO pencil sharpener - maybe something for the brand to add to their e-shop? You can find the JUMBO Lip Pencil here for £11.90 and the EYE Pencil and JUMBO Eye Pencil here for £9.90 and £11.90 each.