So I've always been big on home remedies and DIY stuff like facials and recycling but after doing some research on all this 'bad ingredients' hype I've started making some serious changes. I've been trying to avoid things like Mineral oil and other petroleum byproducts for a while. I overhauled my hair routine quite a while ago when I realized my hair was in dire need of some TLC. But now I'm taking it to the next level. It's easy to get lost in this 'Lifestyle Makeover' thing so I'm doing it in baby steps. Started with the hair routine and always keeping an eye out for products with more natural and healthy ingredients then what I was previously using. This month I've begun eliminating the 'bad ingredients' in my beauty regimen. By 'Bad Ingredients' I mean things like Parabens, Sulphates, Silicone's, synthetic preservatives, artificial colors & fragrances, etc. By Beauty Regimen I mean, skin care, makeup, body wash & lotions, etc. So after talking about this venture with some people I thought I should share with you all some of the great brands I've found and that have helped make this transition not only easy & effective but also affordable.
If you're curious about what kinds of organic/natural products are out there, how much they cost and if the're worth trying, then you definitely need to check out this company. For $15 a month they send you a box of treasures all natural / organic and each individually packaged in the most adorable little satchels and cloth with twine. In Junes box I'm really looking forward to the deoderant and the rest is a suprise that I'm chomping at the bit for. I will do a post on my June box opening as soon as it arrives.
So far I have two go to brands that are readily available in my area. I currently reside in a small town with no Target, Whole Foods, Trader Joes, or even a Costco. Yes I miss the city but I have managed to find great brands that seem to cover nearly all my needs as of yet.
My drugstore makeup salvation! I've been using this brand since I first started wearing makeup. They have such a wide variety and you can always find killer deals. Today I got 2 tinted moisturizers for the price of one, a mascara and an eyeliner that both had the 'Try Me Free' stickers on them. The 'Try Me Free' is a fabulous rebate program, see their website via the link above for more info, ingredients, products, prices, ect. They also run great promotions on their facebook page. I've fallen in love with all of the products I've tried from this company. The only down side is that my favorite eyeshadow from them has parabens in it. earlier this week I switched from the baked trio eyeshadow (that I realized had parabens) to the organic wear eyeshadows. The new shadow is growing on me but I gotta admitt that it's rather difficult to work with. I feel like the light colors in the duo's are to light, and that says something because Im really light skinned. Also they seem to be 'pressed' to hard. But I do like them now that I've adjusted to them. Their 2in1 eyeliner + booster serum is my favorite eyeliner hands down. I haven't noticed any new eyelash growth but in truth I haven't been looking for it. I mostly love the aplicator, its basically a pen but what I love is that I can get very thin line or a thicker one if preferred and it never smudges on me. For me that's important because I have a heavy hand when it comes to aplying liner. I typically use a pen like liner but have never had this level of control with the thickness of the line. They have a mascara that's shaped like a leaf, so cute and it's a great formula and brush. I kinda wish the brush had a little more of a point to it but the size and bristles are perfect. I don't beleive the formula is waterproof which is typically a deal breaker for me but this mascara hasn't smudged, flaked, or clumped at all on me, ever. I've been using it for a few months now and I really doubt I'll ever switch to anything els. It's great for both length and volume. I actually gave my roomate all my other mascara's (lancome, makeup forever, & smashbox). Now I have to talk about their tinted moisturizer. First, let it be known that I am a FULL COVERAGE girl. I usually use Makeup forever's Matte Velvet foundation but have been trying to find a healtheir replacement. Do you have any idea how hard it is to find an organic liquid foundation, let alone one that's full coverage?! It's not possible don't bother trying. So I picked this up thinking it was going to be a 'not good for me' return and I fell hard, again. I've used tinted moisturizers from Stilla, Lancome, ect. and hated them all. They made my already oily skin even more blotchy, red, oily, usually broke me out something fierce, and most have a not so pleasant smell. The organic wear tinted moisturizer by physicians formula is a god send. No it's not full coverage, der, it's a 'tinted' moisturizer after all. But it evened my skin tone out wonderfully and smoothed over my pores. It smells Amazing! Like real lavender with mayber a hint of sage. It's so calming. I've never used a bronzer that wasn't physicians formula and I recently discovered the Happy Booster Blush which is the most adorable thing I've ever seen and has an great color for my cheeks. So ya, I highly recomend PF
Aside from makeup Burts Bees covers the rest of my body. They have everything! Toothpaste, lotions, body washes, bar soap, hand & foot care, skin care. I'm currently using the Soap bark & chamomile deep cleasing cream, body butter, body wash, cuticle cream, hand lotion, and ageless eye cream. I gotta say that the eye cream is a miracle in a jar for me. I've never been able to use any sort of moisturizer on my undereye area. I always had really bad reactions whenever I would try an eye cream. I've always wanted a good one because I have really bad circles and puffiness, this allergy season it's gotten really bad. Anyway I gave this a shot because it's all natural. I keep it in the fridge so the chilled temp can help with the 'de-puff' effect. Not only have I not had any sort of bad reaction but my circles are basically gone! That's a first for me and the puffiness ran away too! So that led to me trying the face wash. I was previously using the Olay Pro X cleansor which is $20 and doesn't even last me a month. This is about $8 and I've never experienced such great results from a face wash. It feels good, smells good and it makes my skin soft and even. Usually after washing my face I have to race to get my moisturizer on before I start peeling from the cleanser drying my out and my face is massively red and splotchy. Not this stuff, my face felt like a cloud pulled from heaven. I love everything I've tried from them as well and can't wait to try more. If you're curious to try Burts Bees follow the link above to there site. A hint for good deals: Rite Aid has great sales on this brand and Physicians Formula regularly.
I hope to have reviews up soon of other brands such as Yes to Carrots, Organic Splendor cosmetics, monthy Eco Emi box unveiling, and much much more!
The pictures used in this post can be found on the brands websites. The waterfall picture at the top of this post is a picture of Multnomah Falls and can be found at http://www.travelpod.com/travel-photo/mikebrookedavis/1/1243200600/2_multnomah-falls.jpg/tpod.html Multnomah Falls is a local waterfall here in the Columbia River Gorge where I live and is easily accessed from Interstate I-84 between Troutdale, Oregon and Cascade Lock, Oregon.
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