My Favorite 2018 Green Beauty Buys

It's crazy to think not just the year being over, but how my clean beauty journey is hitting 2 whole years. While I still haven't tried a ton of new brands, I did test a few new products and from all that testing I found products that reach for continuously all year that I wanted to share with you. And if you can't tell from above, I'm going to need to be restocking a few of these. If you're thinking of switching out your makeup to cleaner brands (or just keeping your options open), I would say this is post I wish I would have read when I was transitioning. So here are old and new favorites I cannot live without:

1. 100% Pure Fruit Pigmented Water Foundation

While I have been a 100% Pure fan for a long time, I never could find a foundation I had that "Ahh-ha" moment. That is until they came out with their Water Foundation this year. It gives enough coverage, but leaves a light, dewy girl you're glowing finish. It's one of those foundations that makes you wonder how you lived without this stuff. 

2. DERMA E Radiant Glow Oil

With oils being all the rage, I definitely tried one or two here and there. I never really gave one a chance, but with so many ways the Radiant Glow Oil can be used I got hooked. It's affordable. It's generous in size. It's a do it all-add it to foundation, use it in your hair, use it as a body moisturizer. I have been simultaneously been using it with my W3ll People Bio Tint (that'll be #3). It does have mica, which gives it a shimmer, but promise you won't end up looking like a glitter fest.

3. W3ll People Bio Tint

For those everyday looks, I'm all about this tinted moisturizer packed with zinc oxide sunscreen. I mix in 2-3 drops of Radiant Glow Oil and apply with a brush for a flawless application. I have every intention of repurchasing this one.

4. Honest Beauty Mascara

There was a ton of hype when this came out and even more hype when they rebranded/relaunched. Truthfully, I debated countless trips to Target over this one. And if you can't tell I already had a favorite mascara. Well, I found out I can have more than one favorite mascara. Totally not a bad thing, right? This has a two step application to give you some volume. One side is a primer and the other side is mascara. While I always want the best lashes, I don't have enough time to use this everyday, so it's my evening and weekend mascara.

5. W3ll People Expressionist Mascara

One of my very first green beauty products and still a favorite. I actually think my love for this mascara has grown. From the wand to the formula, it's just the perfect extra something, something for daytime lashes.

6. W3ll People Bio Bronzer Powder

Okay, okay I clearly have A LOT of W3ll People favorites. They haven't disappointed and you just can't beat how clean the ingredients are. They are also EWG verified and rank 0-3 in the Think Dirty app. But now back to this bronzer. You won't catch me without it and has lasted over a year-so it's gotten it's money's worth. They came out with a baked bronzer that I'm going to be testing soon. 

Let me know if you have any questions about these items or have a favorite green beauty product you couldn't live without! Here's to a cleaner 2019!

My Favorite Beauty Products in February

One way I figured I could share my nature beauty journey was on Instagram every Friday. Have you seen it? Well, I figured it would be good to share here on the blog in a roundup for you at the end of each month. And if someone could please explain how it's already the last day of February, I'd highly appreciate it. Overall, I hope this helps you on your natural beauty journey (or at least exposes you to some great brands).

When I made that commitment to swap out my conventional brands to those with clean ingredients, I knew perfume was the first to go. Fragrance is something that brands tend to keep secret, but can contain all kinds of unknown ingredients. There's just no transparency. The major concern is this can cause hormone disruption. So I made peace with not having perfume, and figured I wouldn't find a replacement for a really long time. Turns out, it wasn't that long. At my previous job, we received a PR package with Skylar, a natural perfume line based in LA. Meadow, a soft floral, was my introduction to the line. I've since picked up Isle, a clean and fresh scent. I know I probably wouldn't have bought Isle if I didn't already smell Meadow, but they do have a sample pack to test.

I'm pretty sure the cure to everything is a good face mask. Well, this face mask didn't disappoint! My skin is always dry and I didn't know what to expect from this mask. What I got was extremely hydrated skin that gave me that youthful look I effortlessly had in my early twenties. Yup, I'm sold! It is called Radiant for a reason. Svati Organics is a new non-toxic line I discovered at the Indie Beauty Expo last month. It's owned by a single mom and was inspired by her trip to India. 5% of the brand's profits are donated to send orphaned girls in India to school. 

Oh, Osea! It's an OG brand in the natural beauty world, that derives seaweed as the key ingredient to their entire line. Their Anti-Aging Hand Cream is one of their newer products, but lives up to the rest of the line. Again, my skin is dry. Painfully dry might be a more accurate description. My hands suffered from scaly, cracked patches that were desperate for help. After realizing I had been sent this cream, I gave a desperate try. A couple days later with daily use, I found my hands looking normal again. This definitely is a splurge, but a little does go a long way and it actually works.  

This is one of those things that I can blame Instagram for making me buy. After seeing these fun sticks from Cocokind a bunch of times, I figured at $9 each it couldn't hurt to test them out myself. And let's just say that they are on heavy rotation now. The Turmeric Stick has been a game changer for that time of the month when my hormonal acne decides to show up. Nothing ever cleared it up so quickly until this! The My Matcha is great to add moisture anywhere on your face, but I use it at night under my eyes. Again, this girl needs all the moisture.

Have you tried any of these? 

The Best Dry Skin Remedies

If you're sitting there hoping this dry skin will disappear as soon as Spring hits, you're not alone. Let's face it, Winter is almost over, but your skin has taken a beating. I know mine has. I'm no stranger to dry skin. Dry flaky patches and chapped lips are standard. Anyone else dealing with that too? Only this year, I didn't want to deal with all this dry skin like I normally do. The best part is I've got you covered from hands, feet, body and lips! Oh, and you know they have to be natural and non-toxic around here. 

• Honest Organic Healing Balm - I would have not survived without this! It's very thick and moisturizing in the best way. It is greasy, so I recommend using this at night. It's gone on my feet every night and my feet have never looked or felt better. 
• OSEA Anti-Aging Hand Cream - Not going to lie, this is a splurge. But, hey, it works and really gets the job done. Don't be fooled by the light texture (I know I was)! You're hands will get instant moisture, but used consistently you'll see all those dry patches disappear. Because of the texture being light, you can use this day or night. Oh, and a little goes a long way. 
• Lansinoh Nipple Cream - All I can say is I never want to live without this stuff! Yes, it is meant for those breastfeeding. It just happens to be the best for chapped lips and gives a little gloss. Seriously, if you have the worst chapped lips, this is the magical potion you need. Nothing has ever worked for me and this is the game changer.

Hope these help get your skin ready for Spring! Let me know if you have any dry skin products you love!

The Best Natural Deodorant

When I decided to commit to switching to natural beauty, there was no question I was starting with deodorant. Let me tell you how big of a deal this is. My armpits are possibly the stinkiest, most sweaty as they come. Yeah, think teenage boy in the summer bad. I was the girl that clinged to her clinical strength deodorant for life. It was the only thing that worked. BUT this outweighed all the health risks associated to wearing conventional deodorants. Honestly, I'm not sure I would have made this change or journey without having breast cancer diagnosis hit close to home (you can read about that here). 

It's been over a year of testing, hating, loving and back to testing. It is frustrating and plain smelly. Boy do I wish I knew what I know now. Luckily, I am 100% positive I've found something that works. But let's dive into the gists of what you should know before switching to natural deodorant:

• Girl, you need patience and commitment for this switch. Unfortunately, it's not an overnight thing. Your armpits have built up all the product for years of your conventional deodorants and need a grace period to detox. Let me tell you it's not pretty. This could take weeks to a month. 
• Do yourself a favor and try not switching during the Summer months. Like I said, it's going to get smelly. 
• After doing all that detox period, your body could get used to your natural deodorant and stop working like it did. This happened months after for me. It's disheartening--I KNOW. Many times, people end up buying several brands and rotate. It's not ideal, but something to know.
• Most natural deodorants contain baking soda and your body could be sensitive to it or become sensitive to it. There are formulations without it, but not many.
• Natural deodorants will still make you sweat, but kill the smell (after the detox period).
• While natural deodorants do work, you might have to increase the amount of times you apply it. For me, I noticed I had to apply 2-3 times a day.  

The truth is I thought I found my deodorant and it stopped working. Then, I had to start using two brands of  the deodorant for my own little concoction. I was applying that multiple times a day and still self conscious of smelling half the time. Even worse, I started to develop a sensitivity to one of deodorants. Again, I just could not give up on this process for my health. Not to mention, I wanted to find something for the women in my life and ultimately you. While this two deodorants several times a day and the occasional rash was not ideal, I stuck with it.

Then one day, I received a sample of SWAY Deodorant and I haven't looked back. As you know, I've been burned before with natural deodorant, but guys this by far has been the best natural deodorant I've used. Trust me, I have been using this skeptically for about two months, but have only good things to say. It hasn't been on the market longer than a year, but is very different from other brands. First off, they understand that there is a detox period and make a Detox Starter Kit. It comes with a roll-on deodorant and a dusting powder. While I didn't have that weird detox period, I'm certain it's because I've been using natural deodorants for the past year. The other big difference is there isn't any baking soda. They actually use apple cider vinegar in their deodorant. The funny thing is another natural brand suggests doing a detox paste with apple cider vinegar. You'll also appreciate that over time your body might need less applications and will not stain your clothes. And the woman behind the business is one of nicest business owners, so there's that. Never did I think I would be able to forgot about whether or not I put on deodorant and I can't tell you how awesome that is.

Have you thought about switching to natural deodorant or have?