Day 3: Gift Ideas for the Natural Beauty Lover
You guys, I am super excited about all things related to this post! Without taking you through my ENTIRE personal journey with natural personal care and beauty products... I'll give you a few of the highlights and share with you the best of what I've learned over the last 4-5 years!!
In high school and through college, I think 100% of my make-up and personal care products came from a drug store. I didn't have much money of my own, and I didn't give much thought to the stuff I put on my body. I probably would go so far as to say I used the WORST of the worst back then!
My first two years after college were really formative for me on every possible level, but perhaps especially as I really began to dedicate time for my own personal interests and pursuits. During those first few years, I pursued food and cooking as a pretty serious side hobby in any ways I could. I didn't often stick to recipes, instead I would do HOURS of research about a type of cuisine and make very experimental dishes. I bought culinary textbooks and the cookbooks of highly esteemed chefs so I could learn about techniques and INGREDIENTS! (sidenote: I credit my culinary aspirations with giving me a love of ALL learning and I also credit it with giving me a crazy deep curiosity for things. I have been known to go down absurdly deep tunnels of knowledge about related plant species that have different characteristics and properties and could get absolutely lost on researching about even one single ingredient in the recipe I was preparing to make). I learned a lot during and after college about the properties of a variety of ingredients, healthy eating, nutrition and so on. I spent one and a half years as a vegetarian and LOVED what I learned through that process (I do eat meat now, but I'm FAR less reliant on it than I once was).
*Wait... hold on, I thought this post was about natural beauty and you keep talking about food!? I'm confused *
That's correct- thanks for bringing me back to reality! ... So through the process of learning about ingredients and exploring the connection between food and the body, I started learning a lot more about how our bodies function, the nutrients that fuel them, the things that are toxic to them, etc. I also learned about the cultivation of ingredients and how the method of cultivation can impact the earth! So I started making little changes to my lifestyle that would be more natural and holistic.
About 5 years ago I began switching all of my personal care products over to natural brands, and my makeup products followed shortly thereafter. Your skin is the LARGEST ORGAN on your body... and it absorbs what you put on it, so it is extremely unhealthy and even dangerous to put toxic products on your skin.
I started to embrace using products with healthy, cold pressed oils in them rather than worrying I'd look like a shiny mess. And (this will not surprise anyone who knows me) I started reading a bunch of hippie blogs (thank you - Wellness Mama!) to learn how to make my own products (I still believe that I make the best natural deodorant I've ever used or smelled!). At some point in the new year, I'm planning to do a wellness post centered around sharing some of my favorite natural and organic personal care brands, but for today...
I'm stoked to share with you guys some of the best "Green Beauty" makeup products I've found over the last 4 years!!
Many of these products have an especially luxe feel and would make really lovely, thoughtful Christmas gifts. Scroll down to see some of the products I recommend the most!
Several of my absolute favorite products are sitting on this little table above, so let me walk you through them.
In the Luxury category:
RMS: One of my absolute FAVORITE green beauty brands is RMS. Their line is really minimalist and is meant not only to NOT harm you, but also to help make your skin even healthier by infusing it with healthy oils and nutrients. Their "un-cover up" (I use shade 22) is the silkiest smoothest makeup that will ever grace your skin - I guarantee it! it's really lovely because it has a natural, slightly dewy finish and you can see your skin through it (hence the name UN-cover up). It gives just a sheer tint and really makes your skin look smooth and flawless. and it can be used as foundation and/or coverup.
The RMS luminizers are also absolute perfection! They give a dewy, irridescent highlight that is gloriously understated. No tacky shimmer. No pearlescent gleam. Just a reflective, dewy, glow. I personally have been loving the "living luminizer" and "magic luminizer" shades the best for a true highlight.
W3LL People: Another brand I could rave about all day is W3LL People. Their foundation is slightly higher coverage than RMS but a similar consistency. The product I Iove the most from this brand is the nudist multi-use cream stick. I use this as a blush and the color is SO rich and beautiful.
Axiology: The PERFECT luxury makeup gift- these lipsticks come in a sharp, sexy gold case, and the pigments on these beauties are INSANE! My favorite color is "Fundamental" (the perfect burnt red with an orange undertone that I wear almost all Autumn!)
Tata Harper: This is the creme de la creme of skincare! The perfect gift for someone you just want to pamper is this winter skin holiday set
Au Naturale: My favorite product by Au Naturale is their loose powder blush. The shades have a really lovely pigment to them, and a nice subtle shimmer to make the apple of your cheek pop!
100% pure: I actually love almost every product in this store- and there are a LOT of products. You probably can't go wrong with picking up something from 100% pure for the lady on your list. However, my top pick from here is the world's best natural conditioner and detangler: the Yuzu and Pomelo Conditioner. I highly recommend this for anyone with textured hair that needs a good detangler and hasn't yet been able to find it in a natural product (extra perk: it smells sooo good!)
In the "Great Value" Category:
Honest Beauty: Honest beauty has some really great options that fall into the affordable range and their ingredients are pretty good as well. In fact, I put them as the leader for their options and price point! I will definitely say that I like some products more than others, but don't worry because I'm going to steer you to the best ones! First - Honest Beauty has created an amazing mascara. It comes with a lash primer that makes the mascara really coat each lash for VAVOOM! and I think it does an amazing job! It's not perfectly "clean" but it's a heck of a lot closer than drug store brands! I also love the honest beauty eye shadows. With my brown eyes I feel like their green, brown, and smokey grey shades work best for me. I would also recommend the Truly Kissable Lip Crayon in Strawberry Kiss. The shade is a truly classic matte red (despite the berry connotation of the name). Probably the best true red I've found in fact. I also really love their moisturizers- the Younger Face Deep Hydration Cream is perfect this time of year, and their lightweight Even Brighter Everyday Moisturizer is my favorite in the humid summers.
Acure: The best affordable personal care items! You can grab many of their products at Target too which is great! Some of my favorites are the Seriously Glowing Facial Serum and their Repairing Shampoo and Conditioner.
All Items referenced above are linked at the bottom of this post as well!
Other notable brands/products:
Pacifica: For their mascara (great volume!) and their naturally scented perfume rollers.
Physicians Formula Organic Wear: For their CC Cream
Mineral Fusion: For their creamy lipsticks and subtle blushes
As I Am: For their Coconut Cowash which is the perfect conditioning wash for curly girls
Shea Moisture: for their amazingly affordable Hibiscus Styling Mousse another great one for curly girls...
With love from Chicago,
Jennifer