The inclusive beauty movement is going stronger than ever thanks to brands like CTZN Cosmetics. Upon first discovering it, I immediately resonated with the brand’s founders, the Khan sisters (Aleena, Aleezeh, and Naseeha), who shared their story and inspiration behind the creation of the brand. Growing up, they were disappointed in the lack of South Asian women represented in beauty campaigns and set out to be a guiding force for change. I had a similar experience growing up and was always bummed to discover that many popular eye shadow palettes then just wouldn’t show up on my skin tone. Beauty brands have come a long way since then, but I still love discovering those at the forefront who are creating incredible makeup specifically made with darker skin tones in mind.
Now that I’ve had a chance to give some of CTZN’s key offerings a try for myself, let’s just say I’m ditching my previous 20-step makeup routine and instead opting for just a few of this brand’s wonderful multi-use items. They’re every makeup minimalist’s dream. If you’re curious about my thoughts on the brand, read on below and find out.
Let’s start with the brand’s newest offering, the Eye Elements collection. It was love at first swipe, TBH. These double-ended eye shadow sticks come with a shimmer side and a matte side. The shimmer side allows you to create a flashier look on the lid while the matte side can be used to add more depth to the look. These eye shadow sticks are also the brand’s first collaboration with legendary makeup artist Sir John who is also now the brand’s chief creative officer. I can tell a lot of time, thought, and love was put into these eye shadow sticks because the formula is unreal. It’s buttery, creamy, and blends out so beautifully with a brush or your finger. And holy moly—those colors are insanely gorgeous. I loved applying the matte shade all over my lid and blending it out with a flat concealer brush and then swiping the shimmer shade on top. Each shade is *chef’s kiss* and perfect for everyday wear IMO.
If I’m being honest, all the shades in this collection were so good, it was hard for me to narrow it down to a handful of favorites. Although I didn’t get the chance to take photos in every single shade that I tried, I wanted to include a few of the standout shades I tried. Moon Medium is this beautiful, rich shade of rose gold that almost has a touch of bronze to it. The matte side is this buttery toffee shade that compliments the
This shade called Ember was another one of my favorites because I actually used the matte side as a bit of a bronzer to warm up the rest of my face. That’s the great thing about many of these shades, you can use them on other areas of the face because they’re that versatile! There are so many fun ways to play with these shadow sticks and I’m sure there are a few I haven’t even thought of yet.
Deep Earth is a shade I’d wear to a birthday dinner or on a night out. As the name would suggest, it’s such a rich, deep, and fiery shade of red-orange.
What I love about each shade in this collection is that even the lightest ones of the bunch (like this one) show up so well on darker skin tones. If you’re into the cold girl makeup vibe, I’d give this hue a try. It leaves almost an icier finish and stands out when applied on the inner corners of the lids.
wearing CTZN Cosmetics Nudiversal in Kuala Lumpur
I tend to gravitate toward neutral lip colors most days (if I wear lipstick at all), so I was immediately excited about this brand’s shade offerings for its Nudiversal lipstick. Like the eye shadow sticks, these lipsticks are double-ended with one matte side and a glossy one to top off the look if you’re feeling it. I loved the both the matte and glossy formula, but they worked beautifully together. I also hadn’t been able to find a neutral brown lipstick shade I really loved until I tried this one!
This rosy brown shade just really takes the cake. It’s so creamy and pairs beautifully with the eye shadow sticks.
I’m not usually huge on lip liner, but if I were to opt for one, I’d definitely go for this velvety formula. Sometimes, a liner just really locks everything in on the lips so I’d save this for special occasions or nights I’ll be wearing makeup for a while.
This definitely offers more of a matte finish, but don’t worry, it also doesn’t dry your lips out like crazy. I also can’t get enough of this stunning deep burgundy shade. It compliments darker skin tones so nicely.
This dewy, lightweight highlighter balm creates a really subtle shine on the skin without making you look oily. CTZN does multi-use products well and the Globalm follows suit. It can be used on the lips, cheekbones, and eyelids.
