Current Green Beauty Obsessions (& Why You Should "Go Green")

I have basically been making it my life's work, as of late, to get everyone in my family to make the switch to clean, green, natural and non-toxic beauty and skincare products. Obviously, proper nutrition is still #1 when it comes to maintaining a healthy complexion and overall wellness, but what you put on your skin can be just as important as what you are putting into your body. Our skin is our largest organ, and whatever you are putting on it (i.e. creams, serums, foundation, etc.) is being absorbed into your bloodstream. So... we are eating a well-balanced, nutrient-dense diet, exercising regularly, self-caring and detoxing like crazy... and then slathering toxic products on our skin everyday?? It just doesn't make sense.

Now, I know that replacing your "tried & trues" can be scary and searching for new "holy grails" can be daunting. Then there is the question I'm sure many of you are asking, "do natural beauty and skincare products really work??" The answer is yes, and I am here to share some of my current favorites, and to convince you to come over to the green side.

To get started, here is a simple list of some of the first things that I look for on beauty and skincare product labels:

NO Parabens
NO Sulfates
NO Animal Testing
NON-Comedogenic 
Safe for sensitive skin

Next, I always check the ingredients of my products on the EWG Skin Deep website or Healthy Living App. The rating system lists the ingredients of a product and scores them on a toxicity scale of 0-10 (the lower the number, the better) ThinkDirty App is another good source to check your products. These sources break down the ingredient concerns and rate them from low to moderate to high. I always look for products with an overall score of 3 or less.

Below is an example of one of my current faves. W3ll People is an amazing green beauty brand with a fair price point (you can even find them at Target!). AND they are verified by the EWG, which means their products have reached their "strictest standards for your health".

Ok, so on to my list of current faves:

W3ll People Bio Brightener Invisible Powder ($21.99) EWG Verified! - My BFF turned me on to this stuff (she's a hair and makeup artist) and it is AMAZING. I've never really been much of a powder girl before trying this stuff and now I'm hooked! It's the softest powder everrr. I have dry skin, and this is the only powder I have ever been able to successfully use to set my undereye concealer, without accentuating any fine lines. I also use it on my t-zone where I tend to get a bit oily throughout the day. It has a very subtle iridescence to it that brightens you up without looking sparkly.

W3ll People Nudist Multi-Use Color Duo ($24.99) EWG Verified! - I love me some multi-use products. Cream blush is my absolute favorite for that dewy, youthful flush. The color pay-off is also amazing. They are super blend-able and just sink into your skin. I love that the colors can be used alone or together and can double as lip and eye color too!

Cocokind Skincare Organic Chlorophyll Mask ($19) - First of all... the ingredient list!! Only 4 ingredients that are basically food-grade (meaning you could probably eat it). Second... it's so good. My skin LOVES this mask. It's sort of like a clay mask (powder form, and you add water), but it doesn't harden and crack like a clay mask. It dries down nicely, is easy to remove with water and leaves your skin feeling purified, but not dry and tight. It smells really good and I feel like I'm feeding my skin wonderful things every time I use it.

Cocokind Skincare Mai-Light Maitake Rose Highlight  ($12) - Anything Rose Gold... you've got my attention. This is my favorite highlighter to date! The color is on point, adds a subtle, natural-looking glow, AND it's packed with skin-loving ingredients including mango seed butter and maitake mushroom powder. It's gorgeous. I love it.

Native Deodorant ($12) Rated 1 by EWG - Holy moly, these deo's smell so good AND they work! If I'm having a particularly active day, sometimes I re-apply... but that is NBD to me, especially considering the fact that they are non-toxic and rated 1 by EWG. My current favorite scent is Apricot & White Peach (heavenly. not even an exaggeration). It's a seasonal scent, so it isn't available at the moment, however Coconut Vanilla, Cucumber Mint and Lavender Rose are available year round. If you aren't into scents, they also have an unscented version! They also have "guy" scents which also smell amazing.

Hynt Beauty DUET Perfecting Concealer ($24) Rated 2 by EWG - First impression: wow. This concealer is definitely a "holy grail" product for me. I am always on the hunt for the "perfect undereye concealer" so this is a big deal to me. It is creamy, slightly dewy and perfect for the under-eye area. I've been really impressed with how well it covers up the darkness under my eyes (my main beauty concern). It is light, but buildable and it stays in place. Very minimal creasing if any on most days. A little goes a very long way, which is also really impressive. I ordered a sample size (I love this company for offering sample sizes), and I've been using it for around a month (!) and I even use it to even out my skin on other areas of my face!(!!) I will definitely be ordering the full-size.

100% Pure Coffee Bean Caffeine Eye Cream ($26) - Like concealer, I am always on the hunt for the perfect undereye cream. To say I feel like I've basically tried them all (from drugstore to high-end) would be an understatement...but then I found this. So far, it has been living up to it's reputation to depuff, moisturize and brighten without irritation to the delicate undereye. Did I mention that it smells incredible?! At first, the scent put me off (usually scented products irritate my eyes), but the scent comes from natural coffee bean and vanilla. I don't drink coffee or consume caffeine as a general rule, but my peepers sure do look forward to this treat every morning! (P.S. it wears very well under makeup!)

Mad Hippie Cream Cleanser ($15.99) Rated 1 by EWG - I've talked about this cleanser and this amazing skincare brand before in this post, and I continue to be amazed by it. This cleanser is so good. It gently, but effectively removes makeup, leaving my skin feeling soft and not stripped of its natural oils. I even rub the cleanser directly onto my eyes to remove mascara and it doesn't sting! The price really can't be beat for the quality and effectiveness. It even comes in a glass pump bottle! I love it, and expect to be singing its praises for many moons to come.

So there you have it! My current favorite Green Beauty obsessions! What do you think? Are you interested in trying any of these products, or making the transition into clean, green and non-toxic beauty?

xoxo

Friday Favorites: Coming Up Roses

Happy Friday! I'm currently obsessed with anything and everything rose: Rose colored, rose scented, rose flavored... you get it. Rose is so subtle and pretty, and makes a wonderful addition to beauty products. I also really love discovering new beauty products. I just received my first order from cult favorite Glossier this week and I'm really impressed. I think these products really live up to the hype, and I'm excited to try more of this brand. Although these products aren't made from 100% natural ingredients, I like the message behind the brand. They encourage you to accept your flaws and show off your skin instead of covering it up. I have also been loving these natural anti-aging products from Kiehl's, another long-time cult favorite band wagon I am just now jumping on.  Here's a list of my current favorite obsessions:

Glossier Stretch Concealer $18 - This product appealed to me because it claimed to be like second skin. I have some hereditary darkness under my eyes and have nearly literally tried every concealer on the market. My under eye area also tends to be sort of dry, which is not a great base for concealer. Needless to say, my under eye area is my biggest skin concern. I am happy to say that this product did not disappoint! A lot of reviews I read said that this product was too sheer, but I totally disagree. I think it beautifully smooths imperfections and it is so ridiculously smooth and moisturizing... AND it stays put. You would think something so creamy would slide around, but there was barely a crease to be found hours and hours after application. The best part? This stuff is totally build-able (another claim I read about the product that did not disappoint) without being cakey or heavy. Do you get that I LOVE IT?

Glossier Cloud Paint in Haze $18 - Glossier totally gets me with their simple, pretty and fun packaging. These little paint tubes are filled with skin plumping, build-able color that looks flattering on virtually every skin tone. I really dig a healthy flush, so I chose their deepest berry color to try. It's so pretty! It looked a little intimidating when I squeezed a drop out of the tube, but it goes on very sheer until you build it up. Pretty much goof-proof, which I love because I am no make-up guru. 

Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate $46 - I've used some light-weight anti-aging products since I was in my teens (mama is a long time Mary Kay lady), but now that I'm in my thirties, I decided to step it up a bit. I've been blessed with the 'still look like I'm 12' genes, and I'd like to keep it that way. This product is an expert concoction of essential oils and claims to reveal younger looking skin overnight. A little goes a long way, and I add a few drops into my moisturizer at night before hitting the sheets. After just a few days, my skin felt noticeably smoother (like crazy smooth) and my fine lines diminished. Plus, it smells good and is super easy peasy. I'm sold. 

Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Eye $37 - As I mentioned above, my under eye area has been my main skin concern for years. I've tried so many (so, so many) under eye creams over the years, but I have pretty sensitive skin and most have crazy ingredients that cause more harm than good. This eye cream is a dream! It's super supple and not at all heavy. My skin literally sucks this stuff right up! I wake up looking like I've actually slept HOW BOW DAH! 

Evan Healy French Rose Clay Mask $26.50 - I have been using Evan Healy clay masks for years! The green tea clay is my absolute fave, and I just recently discovered this amazing French Rose version. The green tea mask is a little more aggressive and will leave your skin pretty pink for some time after removing it. This mask is pink going on, but is made for sensitive and congested skin types so it leaves no irritation. It also has a bit of grain to it for exfoliation as you rinse it away, leaving you with clean, smooth and happy feeling skin.

Heritage Store Rose Water $9 - I have come back to this product after a few years of not using it. I used to purchase the version with Glycerine, but I found it to be irritating to my skin. I came across the non-glycerine version and I love it. I like to spray it on after using my rose clay mask to help soothe my skin. I also love adding some to my bath for that light rose scent.


What are some of your favorite products?

xoxo