Call me picky but I don’t want to compromise on performance or aesthetics and “make do” with daggy green beauty products. Thankfully there are now many options from companies that make products that do good as well as look good. I’ve been lusting after ILIA lip products for a while. Sleek sophisticated style meets organic substance well hello there.

I think of ILIA as the eco version of Lipstick Queen – producing fabulous quality, chicly packaged lippies. The colour palette looks luscious too, no granny shades in the mix. In the three years since launching, the range has expanded from being all about lips to covering all the beauty bases including highlighters, powder, mascara and most recently foundation and concealer  (reviewed here and here).

Anyway I finally succumbed and treated myself to a bit of an ILIA haul of these delectable items which I’ll be sharing in due course.

Everything about the packaging from the grown-up burgundy colour of the outer box (made from recycled paper) to the font to the brushed metal tubes (recycled aluminium) screams modern minimalist elegance. All ILIA products are made with up to 85% certified organic ingredients and contain no mineral oils or parabens. It’s no surprise to find out that Sasha Plasvic, the founder of ILIA has a branding and design background. In fact perfecting the packaging came first before the lip care products were formulated.

NOBODY’S BABY, ILIA TINTED LIP CONDITIONER

I am more of a fan of a bold lip but a bit of nudity never did any harm. As ILIA call this a lip conditioner rather than lipstick I didn’t have very high expectations about the pigmentation and thought it would just be a nice lip balm with a hint of colour. Nobody’s Baby is made with 100% natural dye though other products in the line do use synthetic dyes. Apparently the aspiration for this product was to be fancy Chapstick with organic ingredients.

Looking at the ingredients list (see bottom of page), the conditioner is packed with hydrating emollients including jojoba, beeswax, sesame seed oil and cocoa butter so the creamy feel on the lips is no surprise. That creaminess means that you have to be careful with the bullet as twist it up too far and you could find yourself sobbing like a baby when you break it.

SWATCH OF ILIA’S NOBODY’S BABY……Well mine actually

I was very pleasantly surprised when I swiped Nobody’s Baby on. The colour is sheer but also buildable so that it shows on my pigmented lips. On dark skin a lot of nude lipsticks can register as very chalky however Nobody’s Baby has a warm flattering undertone so would be great for green, brown beauties.

For those in London, the full ILIA range is available in-store at Content, 14 Bulstrode St, London, W1U 2JG or find stockists at iliabeauty.com  

Nobody’s Baby, ILIA Tinted Lip Conditioner ingredients: Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil*, Jojoba (Simmondsia Chinensis) Seed Oil*, Beeswax (Cera Alba)*, Euphorbia Cerifera (Candelilla) Wax, Sesamum Indicum (Seasame) Seed Oil*, Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Seed Butter*, Tocopheryl Acetate (Natural Vitamin E), Pomegranate (Punica Granatum) Seed Extract, Grape (Vitis Vinifera) Seed Extract, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Fruit Oil, Jasminum Officinale (Jasmine) Oil, Vanilla Planifolia Fruit Oil. May Contain: Mica, Titanium Dixoide, Iron Oxide (CI 77499, CI 77492, CI 77491), Red 7 CI15850, Red 28 CI45410, Yellow 5 CI19140. *Certified Organic Ingredients