Whatever you want to call it, natural beauty, green beauty, clean beauty, etc., the bottom line is that beauty and skincare products that are made *without* tons of crazy chemicals and questionable ingredients have steadily gained steam over the past few years. And for very good reason in my humble opinion. Just like we strive to nourish our bodies well from the inside by eating clean, fresh, organic foods, we should nourish our bodies from the outside as well.
I started phasing out conventional beauty and skincare products a few years ago (starting with my deodorant) and I’m finally at a place in my routine where I’m mostly using all natural products. Eye makeup has been the toughest but I JUST recently tossed all my old remaining eyeshadows, turns out those expire anyway so it was probably long overdue. I’m also still looking for a great natural shampoo/conditioner so if you have any recommendations I’d love to hear.
All in all though, I’ve come a long way during the past 5 years. Here’s what my beauty routine used to look like and here are the products I had in my rotation about a year ago. I’ve since added a few more clean products into my rotation, here’s what I’m loving and using today:
Skincare:
100% Pure – I just purchased a few items from the 100% Pure line. I had been searching for a new moisturizer because the facial oils I was using just weren’t cutting it any longer. I walked away with the Puristry Restorative Facial Oil and Restorative Sea Culture Extra Riche Créme moisturizer. The combo is heavenly. My skin has been very dry lately and after a quick scrub with this guy, plus the oil followed by the moisturizer, it is silky smooth. It’s only been a few weeks but I’m already so impressed with my results. I was skeptical because it seemed too good to be true (with a name like that!) but the company has a great rating on EWG and the Think Dirty app, so my mind is at ease knowing that the ingredients are indeed pretty darn good.
K’Pure– I found this natural deodorant and of all the ones I’ve tried this is my favorite by far! One caveat is that it does require hand application (instead of roll on) but I find that a small price to pay. (However, if you prefer something like the traditional roll on, the Vapour’s AER Next-Level deodorant has some amazing reviews.) Most importantly, it works! I had previously been using the Lavanila but my skin started to react to it after my daughter was born so I’ve been searching around for a good alternative. This company also has several other natural products including an eye serum, bath salts, scrubs and more.
Suntegrity – While visiting my family in Arizona I visited Citrine Beauty, an amazing store full of ONLY natural beauty products. It’s like a mini-Sephora for the green beauty crowd. They recommended this as another great tinted moisturizer with SPF and I’ve rotated between this and the Beautycounter one and have been loving it!
Makeup:
RMS – I use the brand’s “Un” Coverup and I can’t emphasize enough how much I love, love this stuff. It has a light finish but provides full coverage. I also plan on purchasing the finishing powder to help “set” the makeup a bit, especially in those warm summer months coming up. This brand has a full line of cosmetics including eyeshadows, liners, bronzers, lipsticks and much more.
Kjaer Weis– I’ve been using this foundation for a while now and am also very pleased. And the packaging is just lovely, sleek metal cases and you buy refills of the makeup inserts. So it’s better for your skin and the environment. Win-win! holla. I also picked up the lipstick in the color ‘Love’ from this line and love it. The color is bold but adds such a great pop when I don’t feel like wearing much else on my face. It’s definitely a matte finish (which I like personally) but that could be drying for some, so a some balm or gloss on top can help. I’m eyeing their gorgeous eyeshadows to purchase next!
Ilia – I’ve been using their Polka Dots & Moonbeams highlighter and their tinted lip conditioner for a while now and yep you guessed it, have loved it. No complaints here! The lip conditioner goes on a bit sheer so it’s not quite as heavy as a typical lipstick and true to its name is very moisturizing. Overall, great products and want to try some of the other items in the line!
Beautycounter – I was introduced to this brand at a conference a few months ago and immediately purchased their Dew Skin Tinted Moisturizer with SPF. I sound like a broken record here ya’ll but I love it! Very moisturizing, great finish and of course I’m thrilled it has SPF already built in. Also LOVE the company’s mission of advocating for government to update the very outdated federal laws that apply to the beauty industry. For example, did you now that the U.S. has not passed a major federal law to regulate the safety of ingredients used in personal care products since 1938!!! Yep you read that right. Beautycounter is working to change that so that the consumers can have access to safer products. Makes me an even bigger fan! Great products and great mission.
Jane Iredale – I actually own and love the mineral eye liner pencil and purebrow brow gel but I’m itching to try so many more of their products! The contour kit from this line is calling my name and this eyeshadow kit is full of great neutrals that can be the push I need to finally embrace green beauty all the way! Eye makeup has been my final frontier left to conquer so I’m pleased to know there are some gorgeous green products to choose from!
Per-fekt – I picked up a sample of the brand’s lash perfection gel and was beyond pleased. I was nervous since this was my first foray into the natural mascara category and was nervous that no natural/green brand would be able to match the performance of the conventional stuff but boy was I wrong. This product is awesome to say the least. It lengthens and defines my lashes (no clumps!) and best of all, it’s made without all the harsh chemicals of its conventional counterpart.
Brands I still want to try:
True Botanicals – I’ve read some great things about this brand and since I’m now trying to be more adult and have this whole skincare routine thing down, I’m looking to actually build up a collection of skin care products. This line sounds fabulous so I’m itching to make some purchases! You take a quiz detailing your skin and hair needs and they can make recommendations about products that might work for you. Love that.
May Lindstrom – There are some fabulous products in this line and I’ve heard really good things about them. As with most green/natural skincare and beauty products these aren’t cheap but the rave reviews and clean ingredients are well worth it in my opinion.
Vintner’s Daughter – Their active botanical serum has quite the cult following which of course leaves me desperate to try it. I don’t have the budget just yet, but I’ll probably make the splurge at some point. After all, with so many overwhelmingly positive reviews I want to try it for myself!
Vapour – From lipsticks to eyeliners to serums, this line includes a wide range of products that green beauty bloggers rave about. I’m keen to try out several of the products.
Final thoughts
So here’s my take on it. The green/natural beauty industry has evolved so much over the past few years. There are now numerous options to choose from when it comes to skincare/haircare/makeup that are made with much healthier ingredients than their conventional counterparts.
The biggest bummer is that most of these products are only available online, but there’s more and more green beauty online retailers who will ship the products (and many of them have generous return policies as well.) Including returning used products for store credit. I recommend ordering samples when available! They’re a great way to test something out and see if it works for you.
Choosing what skincare and beauty products you use is a personal choice but for me, incorporating the green lifestyle into my beauty routine was a no-brainer. I feel better knowing the products I’m using are cleaner, greener and healthier for me overall.
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