Recently I was given an opportunity to get a makeover at The Body Shop during “Beauty Live” event at the Galleria in Dallas.

Did you know that The Body Shop not only sells natural, sometimes organic, and phthalate-free makeup but that they also have skincare and makeup professionals that can help you tailor a skincare regimen to your skin and apply the makeup?

On the weekend that I visited The Body Shop in the Galleria, they had a special guest makeup artist visiting, Shalini Vadhera. I am not very savvy about celebrity makeup artists, but apparently SHE IS A HUGE DEAL and I should have been intimidated. Fortunately, I was too clueless to be nervous. She was very sweet and beautiful, and she did an amazing job on my eyes. You might not know it to look at me, but I LOVE eye makeup. My husband dislikes lipcolor so I actually do a lot of color on my eyes most days. I’ll usually match my eye makeup and liner to my clothing, and I always use more than one shade of shadow. I’m not super good at it, but it makes me feel more confident.

Here is what you probably want to see most: before and after. (apologies for my terrible camera skillz)

They were gracious enough to send me a professional head shot which they took – much better than my point-and-shoot:

And some un-professional shots of my eyes specifically:

The products used were from the “Brush with Fashion” collection – each item comes with it’s own brush, which is genius because brushes are absolutely the best way to get a natural look. Those foam thingys that come with most eye makeup? Throw those things away! They do a terrible job. I never use them unless it is to wet the tip and use the shadow as liner. Even then, an eyeliner brush does a much better job. So I love that I can use the brush that comes with the eyeshadow.

The Body Shop Values and Campaigns
One of the best things about The Body Shop is how conscientious they are! The Body Shop is involved in a number of internal efforts to better our world, including a commitment to no animal testing, support of community trade, sourcing responsibly, respect for the environment, and treating their employees well. Externally, the company supports a number of campaigns to end sex trafficking worldwide, to stop HIV, and to end domestic violence.

Seriously, people, the fact that I could link to a page on their web site for each one of those individual efforts is AMAZING. I know very few companies who are that transparently and completely committed to ALL of those values and campaigns. I am so impressed.

And did I mention that all their products are phthalate-free!?

You might not have any idea how difficult that is to find, but take it from someone who actually asked their PR representative to delve deep into the company to confirm this – it’s not easy to find a company who has done this. Part of the reason their products don’t contain phthalates is because the company is based in the UK and the European Union has largely outlawed the use of phthalates in most products.

For an even better post than mine, check out another blogger’s post on She Is Dallas about the event I attended. Then come back here real quick!

I kind of have a crush on The Body Shop.

Next up, I’ll be trying out their skincare line. Please be patient with me, as I am still stalking the skincare specialist for her recommendations. Then, I want to give the products a full 14 days to work!

NOTE: I was given a free makeover and some products in exchange for an honest post about what I thought. These opinions are my own.