I LOVE makeup. I always have. I was the one girl in my friend group that knew everything about makeup and had it all. I’ve always been so intrigued by the variety of products they made and wanted to try them all. When I was about 13 years old I started wearing makeup, which was your drugstore brands like Maybelline and Covergirl that my mom would buy me. They were cheap and carried by almost every store. I would get these really heavy foundations not because I felt the need to cover up my skin, but because I wanted to try all of the different types of makeup. Wearing makeup made me feel older because I finally had a “makeup routine” every morning just like my mom. Little did I know as I got older I would choose to wear less and less makeup.
Though I had really enjoyed using a lot of different types of makeup on my face, as soon as puberty hit I actually had something I needed to cover up. So I kept on it with the drugstore foundations and concealers to try and hide the pimples I was getting. Unfortunately, just like most teenagers I had pretty bad acne all throughout high school. My skin was just never clear.
Later in high school I started using more high quality brands like Benefit and Too Faced. I noticed a common trend that happened at least once or twice a month to me. I would wake up with a very painful and inflamed bump under my eyelid. It hurt to shut my eyes and it made my eyes look so puffy. So to cover it up, I slathered on even more mascara. Even with makeup on I was never confident or happy with my skin. All of my friends faces were clearing up and wearing less makeup was becoming a trend when my skin was suffering from the worst acne I’ve ever had.
I was also in cheerleading my entire high school career which required me to cake on as much foundation, eyeshadow, and false eyelashes possible a couple days a week. I had gotten so used to my skin flaring up the next day, I would plan to let me skin breathe that day and push through the embarrassment of showing my no makeup face. Bad skin had become a normal for me that I eventually accepted.
As high school came to an end and college started I wanted to start living a more non-toxic and minimalistic lifestyle. I started hearing about all of the hormones disruptors and harmful ingredients that most makeup products have in them, along with a lot of other day to day products we use. I wanted to make the switch to non-toxic makeup to see if it would help my skin, but let me tell you… throwing away my expensive eyeshadow palettes was HARD. I had bins and bins of makeup. Expensive makeup.
I also had to think about my financial situation, as an unemployed first year college student living away from home. I didn’t really have the budget to buy a whole new set of makeup. So over the course of a year, I would throw out a few old products and buy one new non-toxic item. The switch wasn’t fast but it was okay because I was slowly changing my lifestyle and reducing the amount of toxins I was putting on my skin. I was using a combination of generic and non-toxic items for a few months, but it made the change so much easier.
A year later, I am fully switched over to non-toxic and clean beauty products. My skin feels like it can breathe and I know that my products are nourishing my skin while I wear them, not stripping it. Switching to clean beauty has definitely made an impact on my acne along with a lot of other switches I have made that I will share later on!
If you read all of that, thank you for your time. Now for the GOOD stuff. Here are my top 4 favorite clean beauty items that I use almost everyday!!
- W3ll People Bio Tint Multi-Action Moisturizer SPF 30– This stuff is GOOD. I use it when I want a little coverage for nicer events or even if I just want to wear a little more makeup that day. It has SPF 30 which is also amazing because it is protecting your skin as well as giving you a soft dewey look! It is definitely minimal coverage, but I’m all about that life now 🙂 It contains a lot of different seed oils and plant extracts. It is free from parabens, sulfates, synthetic fragances, oxybenzone, and other harmful ingredients. It costs $28.99 on the Well People website, but Target now carries it and I believe I’ve seen it at some Whole Foods stores. Though it is one of the more pricey products, you do get 35.5 ml of product and a little goes a long way. It has not clogged my sensitive skin or been the cause of any of my breakouts. I really do like this product and am also on the hunt for a more college student bank account friendly one too!
- Cocokind Mai-Light Highlighter– You NEED this highlighter. First off, I’m a huge Cocokind user and stand by all of their products. I will be writing a post eventually about my acne-clearing journey and they play a big role!! This is a rose colored highlighting stick that is beautiful. It is made up of 11 ingredients, all that I can read and know what they are. It is made with maitake mushroom powder which is SO cool! They make 2 other shades of this highlighter- one more bronze and one more gold. I find this pink shade looks so good on my fair skin and I wear it all the time. I wear it without any face coverage and it looks amazing. It is $12 and seriously lasts FOREVER. You can get it off Cocokind’s website, Target, and Whole Foods!
3. Honest Beauty Mascara + Primer– I’m SO picky when it comes to mascara because that that’s the only thing I wear most days. I have naturally long eyelashes and like to showcase that as much as possible. I was really skeptical to try this one one, but honestly it’s shown to be a really reliable mascara that I love right now! It has great ingredients and comes with a rubber brush which makes it a lot more hypoallergenic. I don’t notice that primer does anything super drastic, but it is nice to have sometimes. I like to try a lot of different mascaras until I find the one that works best for me, but I did re-buy this one once I was out! It is $15 and can be found at Target or on Honest Beauty’s website! I will definitely be trying out more clean mascaras that I hear about, but for now this one is great and I recommend if you are new to clean beauty!
And LASTLY
4. W3ll People Expressionist Brow Gel– This little guy is a life saver. Before switching to this brow gel, I used Benefit’s Gimme Brow Gel. Well People’s doesn’t make your eyebrows crunchy which I love!! It slicks your brows and adds some color to them while leaving a very natural look. Again, very minimal coverage but that’s what I’m here for these days. Just like the Bio Tint Moisturizer, it has a clean and nourishing formula. I didn’t love how big the application brush was at first, but I have learned to love it! I also have naturally dark brows so I don’t use it to completely fill in my brows but just to add a little extra tint in the spots I need it! It is $17.99 which is about $5 cheaper than Benefit. I have only bought one and it has lasted me about 4 months so far because I don’t use it everyday. It can be purchased at Target, Well People’s website, and Whole Foods. I will definitely continue to purchase this item because I LOVE it.
If you are looking to switch to non-toxic makeup, these are all great options to start out with 🙂 And if you already made the switch, I hope I validated all of these amazing products or gave a few more recommendations for you to try! It may seem overwhelming, but remember baby steps are what make the most impact. Thanks for reading!
xoxo
