Guide to Honeybee Gardens Cosmetics: Review, Swatches & FOTD!

*This post contains both affiliate & non-affiliated links; I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you if you use the links I provide. Read my full disclosure here💞✨*

Hey, loves! I’m excited to bring you an all in one review of Honeybee Gardens Cosmetics! Honeybee Gardens will always hold a special place in my heart because they were one of the first brands I ever purchased from when I first started using natural products, which was almost 15 years ago! They’ve come a long way since then and have expanded their line quite a bit. They were kind enough to send me their Moon and Stars eyeshadow palette as well as their lipstick in Heirloom for my honest review. The rest of the products in this review were purchased by me and I’m always completely straightforward about my opinions regarding products!

Here is a summary from Honeybee Gardens about the natural status of their line:

“Our entire line is gluten free, and a good portion of our line is vegan. We are PETA certified cruelty free, and one of only 300 companies WORLDWIDE to have achieved CHAMPIONSHIP status with the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics for our clean, healthy product formulas. Feingold certified, Paraben free, Non-GMO.”

In this post I’ll be reviewing and swatching the following products:

• Moon & Stars eyeshadow palette
• Lipstick in Heirloom
• All 5 pressed blushes
• Pressed foundation

Moon & Stars Eyeshadow Palette

HBG Eyeshadow Palette in Moon & Stars retails for $27.99 online, which breaks down to about $7 per eyeshadow shade. In the green beauty realm, this is the best deal I’ve found on pressed eyeshadows! These four shades are shipped with a cute and compact silver palette (pictured above) with 4 pressed eyeshadow pans in coordinating cool, purple/plum tones in the following colors: Ninja Kitty, Canterbury, Dragonfly, Drama Balm.

• Ninja Kitty is a satin, pale champagne shade that’s perfect for all over the lid, inner corner, and brow-bone. This is the type of soft, brightening shade I love to wear as a one and done shadow. It blends in with my skin tone in my swatches because I’m very fair.
• Canterbury is a matte, medium plum based Taupe that’s perfect as a crease shade. For a super simple, everyday look, Ninja Kitty and Canterbury is all that you need for added definition and light!
• Dragonfly is a medium-deep violet with a bit of a blue shift. This shade can vary in intensity depending on what type of brush you use to apply. For maximum pigment, using a flat, wet brush is ideal.
• Drama Bomb is a medium, vibrant lilac shade with silver shimmer. This shade can be applied subtly or full on, as well.

Swatches!

Left to right: Drama Bomb, Dragonfly, Canterbury, Ninja Kitty

Top to bottom: Drama Bomb, Dragonfly, Canterbury, Ninja Kitty

All in all, I’m having a lot of fun using the eyeshadows from this palette! A lot of different looks can be done using these shades and if you’re hesitant about using brighter shades, this would be a good palette to start with because the shades aren’t so pigmented that they’re intimidating. These shades are pressed very tightly, which made them more difficult to swatch, but they are very easy to work with when used for their intended purpose on the eyes! For people that love vibrant eyeshadow looks, I think you would definitely still be happy with these if you’re using the right brush. These shadows lasted all day on me and didn’t fade. For the price, you can’t beat these pressed eyeshadows from HBG!

You also have the option to purchase individual colors without buying the palette if you have a z-palette or something similar at home. This gives you a chance to buy colors you know that you’ll use regularly. It ends up costing a bit more to buy the palette separately and each individual shadow retails for $8,99. The empty palette retails for $12.99.

Ingredients: Mica, Kaolin, Boron Nitride, Magnesium Carbonate, Zinc Stearate, Squalane, Polyglyceryl-3 Diisostearate, Sodium Dehydroacetate, Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Cucumis Sativus (Cucumber) Fruit Extract, Anthemis Nobilis Flow Extract, Tocopheryl Acetate. May Contain: Titanium Dioxide, Iron Oxides (CI 77491, 77492, 77499), Ultramarines, Chromium Hydroxide Green (CI 77289), Chromium Oxide Greens (CI 77288), Manganese Violet (CI 77742), Tin Oxide, Silica

Lipstick in Heirloom

Heirloom retails for $13.99 and is a beautiful, mid toned Mauve with a cream finish (no shimmer or sheen) that is such a perfect MLBB shade! If you’re a one shade of lipstick kinda person then you will love this one! It’s the kind of shade that will look good with anything. It doesn’t necessarily scream Lipstick when you have it on, so it’s great for the office or low key days. It’s also enough color and pigment to suit any occasion, as well. The formula is smooth and creamy with moisturizing ingredients. I’ve had lipsticks that I’ve found to be more moisturizing, but I also don’t feel that this formula is drying at all. I think when we’re no longer in the heart of winter, this would be all I would need during the day to keep my lips happy and hydrated! I’m also happy to report that all of their lipstick shades are Dye-free!

Ingredients: Ingredients: Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil*, Sesamum Indicum (Sesame) Seed Oil*, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil *, Euphorbia Cerifera (Candelilla) Wax, Copernicia Cerifera (Carnauba) Wax*, Trioctyldodecyl Citrate, Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Seed Butter*, Thymus Vulgaris (Thyme) Leaf*, Propanediol, Phenethyl Alcohol, Undecyl Alcohol, Tocopherol. May Contain: Mica, CI77891, CI77491, CI77492, CI77499, CI 5410.
* = certified organic ingredients

Pressed Foundation in Avignon

As you can tell by the above photo, my compact has been well loved! Over the years, HBG has reformulated their pressed foundation and it’s gone through some notable changes. I believe I first started using this product 6 years ago and when I first purchased it, the ingredients weren’t quite as clean, the foundation provided a satin finish, full coverage, and melted off fairly easily. Now the formula is very clean, ingredients wise, provides a very matte finish, light-medium coverage, and lasts all day on the skin without breaking down. Both formulas produce a fair amount of pickup during use, which can get messy (hence my compact) and I feel that it gets used up very quickly. For example, if I used this daily, I would probably need to repurchase monthly. With my loose foundations, it takes me at least 6 months to finish a full jar. It also depends on how much coverage you’re looking for because that will influence how much product you go through.

I can build this foundation up to a strong medium coverage, but I’m being heavy handed with my application and you’ll need somewhat of a tacky surface to get medium coverage (applying on top of a cream concealer for example or a slightly dewy moisturizer). This foundation will not cover red acne marks, old or new (believe me, I tried!).

Avignon is a new(er) shade that is between Geisha and Supernatural. Supernatural is the original shade I tried and that shade is too dark for me in the winter. 15 years ago I was NC 15-20 in MAC for reference. Avignon is a neutral shade with mild yellow undertones. Geisha might be slightly paler, but they’re very close; the main difference is that Geisha is 100% cool toned (it looks ashy on my skin because I’m fair but warm toned). I’m glad they’re slowly expanding their shade range a bit!

If you have oily/combo/normal skin and/or are looking for a light coverage foundation or powder to set your liquid base, you should definitely give this product a try! At this price point, I’d honestly recommend that any skin type give it a go, too. I believe HBG sells samples of all of their products, as well.

Retail price: $11.99 for the individual pan. The compact is sold separately.
Ingredients: mica, zinc stearate, zea mays (corn) starch*, lyceum Chinese (goji) berry*, bambusa arundinaceae (bamboo) powder, silica, tocopherol, rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary) leaf oil*, caprylic capric triglyceride. May contain: titanium dioxide, iron oxide (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499).
* certified organic ingredient

Pressed Blush

I have two full sized blushes and 3 samples.

Blush in Rendezvous

Blush in Tea Rose

Swatches!

Left to right: Breathless, Rendezvous, Tryst, Tea Rose, & Euphoria

• Breathless-pale, matte ballerina pink with neutral undertones so it doesn’t pull too cool or warm. Perfect for fair skin tones or people who like a very natural blush shade that doesn’t scream “blush” on the cheeks. This is a very pale shade and it gives a subtle effect.
• Rendezvous– my favorite shade! This is the kind of color that will work for the majority of skin tones because it’s a rose shade with subtle hints of red and just enough warmth to make it very versatile. This is what my natural flush looks like and it adds just a subtle sheen to the cheeks in a very natural way.
• Tryst– a warm, medium Coral with red undertones and a matte finish. This shade would be particularly beautiful on medium skin tones!
• Tea Rose– this is the warmest of all the shades. It’s a satin-matte terracotta shade with a bit of burnt orange and a hint of nude mauve to round it out.
• Euphoria– this is a satin, medium peachy pink coral with a golden sheen. This is very similar to the ever famous Nars Orgasm shade that is a popular color in general because it works for so many people.

You get a whopping 8.5 grams of blush for $16.99 and these blushes come in the compacts, rather than pan form. 8.5 grams is a lot of blush! So, $16.99 is reasonable in comparison to other pressed blushes on the market that are usually 2.5 grams. These blushes apply smoothly, are pigmented, and stay put all day. I have nothing but good things to say about these. I wish they had more colors!

The only negative is that phenoxythanol is listed high up on the ingredients list, so this may not be the best option for purists. I’m okay with phenoxythanol, as long as it’s far down on the ingredients list in the lowest possible amount to be effective in preserving the product. If this were a moisturizer or something I was slathering all over my body or face, I would be more strict. But for the amount of blush that’s actually used in one application, I can live with phenoxythanol being higher up on the ingredients list in this case. That’s just my humble opinion. 🤗

Ingredients: mica, zinc stearate, boron nitride, lauroyl lysine, octyldodecyl stearoyl stearate, octyldodecyl sterate, phenoxyethanol, tocopheryl acetate, caprylyl glycol, passiflora edulis seed oil, carthamus tinctorius (safflower) seed oil, cucumis sativus (cucumber) fruit extract, aloe barbadensis leaf extract, sorbic acid, tocopherol. May Contain: mica (CI77019), titanium dioxide (CI77891), CI77491, CI77492, CI77499, CI15850, CI77007

FOTD:

I wanted to do a soft feminine look with a bit of added fun with a hint of added purple from the beautiful Moon and Stars Eye palette. This look is super simple because I didn’t use bronzer or any contouring product. This look can easily be vamped up or scaled back, depending on your tastes and plans!

Details (all products from Honeybee Gardens, except mascara and concealer):
💜Pressed Foundation in Avignon
💜Blush in Tryst
💜Ninja Kitty eyeshadow as highlight
💜Ninja Kitty eyeshadow all over the lid, brow bone and inner corner.
💜Canterbury eyeshadow applied in the outer corner and crease as transition shade.
💜Dragonfly eyeshadow in the outer v for added dimension. I took a flat liner brush to apply this shade on my lower lid as liner.
💜Drama bomb applied over Dragonfly with a flat liner brush on the bottom lash line for that subtle pop of purple.
💜💄lipstick in Heirloom 😍, the perfect shade of medium mauvey-pink for the sweetest touch of rose.

That just about wraps up my lengthy review of Honeybee Gardens’ makeup, which is now conveniently available on Amazon! I took the time to review this brand because they offer natural and affordable, conveniently pressed makeup that rivals high end, luxury brands. As the years go by and the green beauty movement continues to thrive and grow, I’m seeing more and more “eco-luxe” brands pop up that come with huge, unreasonable price tags. I don’t want the average person (which is exactly what I am!) to feel that he or she can’t afford to live a healthier lifestyle. There are many affordable options out there and we have a lot of influence by choosing to support the brands that we purchase from!

I have nothing negative to say about the products or the HBG brand itself. Honeybee Gardens has been in business since the start of the Green Beauty movement in 1995, which speaks volumes in itself! I feel that they truly care about the green movement and that’s incredibly important to me!

I hope you found this review helpful! This is not a sponsored post; all opinions are my own. ✨

Have a beautiful day!! 💞💕💞

Love and light, 🙏

Julie