As a little girl I remember being transfixed by my grandmother’s collection of sleek lipstick tubes, begging her to let me try them all. As a preteen in the early 90’s, it was Wet N’ Wild’s Pink Frost all the way. Paired with braces and lots of glitter gel - cute right? These days I go with a slightly less glitter-heavy look and I don’t always wear lipstick, but when I do, I love wearing a bold red or hot pink lip and I feel like a babe in charge when I do. My obsession for beauty products hasn’t waned one bit.
Up until about 5 years ago my bathroom counter was littered with name brand, “luxury” makeup and skincare brands. Armani foundation, Chanel lipstick, Nars blush, Yves Saint Laurent Touche Éclat. They were beautifully packaged, boasted buzzy brand names and made huge claims of efficacy.
They made me feel beautiful.
Except that I regularly suffered from incredibly itchy, allergy ridden eyes and yes, sometimes my cheeks and forehead would break out in tiny little bumps, and occasionally my whole face would get really red and swollen, lasting for hours like I had one big hive. But apparently I just had “sensitive” skin. So I set out to buy conventional products directed to “sensitive” skin. Not much improved. As I later learned, these products were full of chemicals that are known to cause allergic reactions and skin irritation among much, much worse effects.
I’ve suffered from an autoimmune disorder since I was 15, not coincidental that it manifested around the same age that I started using makeup on a daily basis and my full-on product obsession began. When I finally started to put the pieces together and educate myself on the ingredients in the products I loved so much, I realized that I was bombarding my body with a scary amount of toxic chemicals. Not so great for a gal with a sensitive skin and a faulty immune system that attacks itself.
According to the EWG, women use an average of 12 beauty products a day, containing an estimated 163 ingredients total, many which aren't doing your body any favors and some which are proven carcinogenic. How many times do you apply hand cream in a day? It really starts to add up. Then you add the environmental toxins that we are exposed to on a daily basis into the equation.
The truth is, when it comes to cosmetics, the FDA doesn’t have any regulations on product testing or the ingredients used. This means that it’s up to the companies manufacturing the product to ensure that they are safe to use. There is literally no regulation for use of the words “natural” or “organic” until you get to USDA certification. In order to know if the ingredients listed on your products are safe you either need to be a chemist or do A LOT of research.
So I did a lot of research.
I tested ENDLESS products and I discovered the creme de creme of clean beauty.
Since I started this journey, the allergic reactions have ceased and face hives are a thing of the past. I’ve stopped smothering my body in synthetic ingredients to mask the issues of my own creation - I’m now nourishing it with healthy, effective ingredients. It’s like having eaten processed junk food for years and thinking that feeling crappy is normal, then discovering vegetables and feeling like a new person. It‘s been life changing.
The best part is that in the last 5 years the clean beauty scene has exploded. Clean beauty no longer means buying your makeup from Whole Foods (great for fresh produce, not so great for finding a highly pigmented red lipstick). Clean beauty is now housed in sleek instagram-worthy packaging and the formulas rival the efficacy of any conventional “luxury” designer brand.
These days I don’t view “luxury” skincare and beauty the same way I used to. Yes, I still want beautiful, modern packaging. But now, for me, luxury is using products with ingredients that aren’t possibly linked to breast cancer or reproductive damage, because applying foundation shouldn’t be a game of Russian Roulette with your health. Luxury is knowing what you’re using on a daily basis is safe and creates a space for you to fully indulge in the ritual and the sensorial experience of each product.
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