My first introduction to ILIA lipsticks happened last year while poking around ABC’s apothecary section (I think that ABC, in NYC, is one of the most well edited, well curated stores, both in content and aesthetic.) In addition to a ton of beautiful things for the home, they carry the best of the best when it comes to non-toxic hair/face/body products. When you’re in NYC you have to check it out. It’s beautiful, you’ll want to own everything, and you’ll be bummed that so much is so expensive. That said, these well designed, sleek little silvery tubed lipsticks caught my eye, and were reasonably priced compared to other high-end lipstick lines. When I gave one a try on the back of my hand, I was surprised to find how well pigmented the color was, and how smoothly it went on. The only down side was that there were only 6 or 7 different shades available.

I came home and wrote to the ‘info’ email address from the ILIA website and asked some questions. Almost immediately I got really thorough answers back from owner and creator, Sasha Plavsic (who hails from Canada, but now calls LA home). She explained to me that she’s learned  a cosmetic can still be completely non-toxic, even though it contains a very small percentage of synthetic color.  Synthetic doesn’t mean bad for us, just as all-natural isn’t always good for us.  Without allowing for that teeny percentage of synthetic pigment, she explained, there’s no way to achieve the rich intensity of the colors we love in favorite lipsticks from MAC, NARS, and Tom Ford, to name a few. So the base into which she mixes the color is all-natural, organic, super nourishing, healthy for the lips and perfectly healthy for the rest of you – which is important since we all eat and absorb our lipsticks into our bodies every day.

Sasha worked diligently to create a product that would meet the Environmental Working Group’s strict guidelines (if you aren’t familiar with the EWG, please check them out.) They are highly informative and influential as an online encyclopedia for ingredients found in cosmetics and rates their levels of toxicity. I will absolutely write about them in their own post this month, and found a way to offer all the intensity of bold colors like orange, pink, and red, that have been missing thus far from all-natural lines. Then Sasha put them in great-looking containers. I’m a sucker for packaging, and this woman knows what she’s doing, with her strong background in design and marketing within the branding world.

The best news ever is that ILIA just launched a new collection, complete with 14 lip colors – 6 are highly pigmented, and the other 8 are still well pigmented tinted lip conditioners.  I’ve been wearing ‘Nobody’s Baby’  and ‘In My Room’ the past few days, which look like my lips, but better. I also love the hot pink lipstick shade ‘Neon Angel’. In addition Sasha’s also come out with some cheek tints and highlighter creams in a tube that look wonderful. (highlighter creams are for cheekbones, eyelids, bridge of the nose, cupids bow, etc.)  I’ll give them a try over the next few weeks and report back.

Finally, I really love her no-color lip balm. It’s one of my new favorites for sure.

My only request: ILIA, can you work on coming out with a a bright orange-red for your next edition?  I’d proudly wear it every day.

*note about the photo above: this is how much of a beauty product nerd I am – I got the products from ILIA on Friday around 6 and I decided to call off my plans that night so I could stay home and play with them, and play with taking pictures of them for the blog. Don’t they photograph beautifully?  Thanks, ILIA!!!

ILIA is sold at a good number of locations across the country and around the world (GO ILIA, GO!), see here for specifics as well as online at www.spiritbeautylounge.com