Wellness Challenge: Virginia Summer Weather Clean Make Up
"Clean, healthy and good for you" make up roundup for a dewy summer look
This year I've made it a personal goal to really 'clean up' my beauty and skin products. I want to be using as many 'clean' and if possible, environmentally conscious brands as possible in my routine. In looking at the choices I make for food quality and health, using drugstore conventional beauty products with not great ingredients didn't make sense. The simple fact is, the cosmetic and skincare industry in the US is highly unregulated. There's a lot of not-good-for-you stuff in many cosmetics that are actually banned in the UK. Over the past 6 months, I've found the change to 'clean' skincare easy. The products I've shifted to for skin care are actually working MUCH BETTER for me than conventional brands. Now granted, my shift was from drugstore/mid-level brands to mid-level/higher end 'clean' brands so quality in general I'm sure has shifted. But the way my skin has reacted has shown me I am resoundingly staying with this routine.
Last month I shifted to a 'clean' foundation that also included a sunscreen and I doubt except for on-camera work (where I blend a conventional and this foundation), that I'll ever go back to conventional foundation. To me, I still have this outdated opinion that the selection of better-for-you cosmetics doesn't have a lot of variety, and it just doesn't perform as well as other cosmetics. I think back to when I was in college even, and I'm positive there were never this many options in the cosmetic industry.
So now that I've gotten over finding an AMAZING 'clean' foundation, I decided it was time for the rest of my make up routine to follow suit. And I'm not going to lie, I still haven't found everything I typically use in my routine. Specifically mascara and concealer. Ugh. Today's post is going to share clean-beauty products I am currently using and LOVING that are also going to be the perfect thing for you for warm weather events.
Here in Virginia, the humidity doesn't mess around in summer. Which is exactly when there are a bunch of weddings and outdoor dinners. I can think of a multitude of occasions where between June and late September where I have been outside in the afternoon for a party and I am glowing. Just kidding, it's so humid my face is swimming and my hair has added six inches to my stature. Summer make up is hard for outdoor events. And now that Virginia has become a pretty popular destination wedding location (wineries though...) I'm sure some of you are headed our way. Here are a few of my current clean beauty routine favorites that work with the 'glow'.
Foundation: ILIA SHEER TINTED MOISTURIZER (see full notes in this blog post) I've already covered some in depth notes about this foundation but after using it for a month now I am seriously never going back to another foundation. I am IN LOVE with the coverage (I do still need some concealer for some under eye darkness). It's a good color match for me and it's something that also contains SPF. Double duty.
Bronzer: VapourSolar Translucent Bronzer: This made me realize how terrible my old bronzer was. The blendability is gorgeous and the light sheen and dewy finish make this perfect for summer. I've never been a blush person so bronzer is more of a daily color for me. I love that you can easily apply directly and blend out with your fingers.
Eyeshadow: ILIA: Silken Shadow Stick : ILIA has become my go-to brand. Every product I have in my makeup bag from them has become a major love. It's rare for me to find a brand that across the board nails it. This applies very easily and works perfectly for summer 'glow'.
Eyebrow gel: Jane Iredale PureBrow Brow Gel : I was a powder-filler user before this and at first I was worried this was going to make my eyebrows too intense (I'm pretty fair skinned but brunette). I bought the color 'blonde' and it really works well. I definitely recommend having a clean spooly on hand to make sure you're learning to evenly distribute product at first, but this has actually made my process more efficient.
Lip Exfoliator: French Girl Organics: Rose Lip Polish Coming from a place of "I have no lips" basically, I'm pretty conscious of any lip color I use. It's usually kind of a shock for people to see me with an intense or bold lip color because I just don't bother. But when I do use a lip color, or liner for that matter, I'm highly conscious of dry lips and I'm usually doing the 'color' thing for events. I have never been able to find a balm or figure out a solution to create an amazing smooth base for lip color. This fixes it. Now honestly, you could probably make a DIY version of this at home, but I currently do not have time/space for that deal. And this smells amazing.
What are your favorite 'clean' beauty products?
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