SAFER BEAUTY PRODUCTS

Over the years, I’ve casually shared some of my favorite non-toxic beauty products with you all and as a result have gotten repeated emails and messages asking me to share more.

I have to be honest with you and tell you that while I probably use 90 to 95% natural and non-toxic skin and body care at this point, my makeup is probably 50% / 50%. It has been a current focus as I continue learning the dangers of mainstream personal care products,  and my friend Jennifer from Predominantly Paleo is my #1 resource to facilitate change and hold my hand through the swaps.

We started talking many months ago about which safer beauty brands we trust and what specific products from those brands were must haves. She has since gotten involved in working with Beautycounter and a few other safer and non-toxic brands. After lots of research, questioning, and my own digging, I am discovering that Beautycounter truly is an exceptional brand and mission, and is something I felt compelled to become a part of.

With all of the greenwashing today, there are a multitude of brands misrepresenting the quality of their ingredients, some of which are extraordinarily toxic or endocrine-disrupting. Beautycounter, on the other hand is fighting for transparency and is committed to bringing you safer personal care with their Never List.

You, my beloved readers, have convinced me to bridge real food and better personal care products, so that I can help you clean up not only what’s in your pantry, but what’s in your cosmetic bag and shower shelf too.

Jen (who shares a very similar personal mission) and I have decided to partner and bring you this resource. I am sure you have seen Beautycounter on other blogs, in ads and maybe even in Target, but if you haven’t taken the leap and want to try some products, we want to help you figure it out.

Let me start by making my personal recommendations:

Charcoal Mask. Charcoal Mask. Charcoal Mask. If you don’t know where to start, get the Charcoal Mask. It is the BEST face-mask I’ve ever used and I’m completely obsessed with it.

I also love the Citrus Mimosa body wash. It gets really foamy, which is amazing and often hard to find with more natural body washes. I love that Beautycounter uses zero synthetic fragrances, which is especially important to me as a woman and a mother with my growing boys.

Right behind that, I’m never without the Rose Neroli hand cream. It’s super moisturizing and hydrating and lightly (naturally) fragranced, yet not at all overwhelming.

I asked Jen, who suffers with a host of autoimmune diseases and Lyme,  to write a bit about her personal experience with safer beauty and why she got involved with Beautycounter as well as share her personal favorites, which include makeup recommendations!

As I continue to introduce a variety of trusted brands and products, PLEASE feel free to reach out with any questions. I’m thrilled to finally be bridging the gap so many of you have asked for and am excited to further my commitment to our non-toxic lifestyles!

Alyssa xo

———From Jen of Predominantly Paleo, Legit Bread Co. and 4x Best-Selling Author:——–

You know what’s truly amazing? That 10 years ago, I didn’t even know a real food movement existed. And now it has exploded to the point that it’s hard to ignore. How amazing that we are slowly working towards undoing some of the “doing” that has gone on for so long, that we are getting back into our kitchens and actually cooking our food! Even with busy schedules, working parents, and extracurricular activities that need their own calendars, we are slowly learning to navigate “busy” in order to take care of ourselves.

Our bodies are thanking us, we are witnessing the reversal of autoimmune symptoms and those of other serious conditions. This is not only gratifying, and eye-opening, but also lifesaving.

There is a missing link, however; one that is often overlooked but is just as crucial in our wellness. In my own health journey which you can read HERE, I have slowly learned that food is one aspect of my health that is indisputable. But while I was giving up refined sugar, grain and gluten, dairy, and more, I was overlooking my biggest organ. This organ is responsible for detox and it’s not your liver. It’s your skin! Your skin covers your entire body and pushes out toxins via sweat. We rely on it to help keep us well. And yet daily we slather soaps, lotions, and other cosmetics on it that SHOULD be safe…yet aren’t.

You know those delicious smelling lotions that make you smell like apple pie or tropical flowers? Those are packed with endocrine disruptors which can contribute to imbalances in all hormone systems (think thyroid, sex hormones, stress hormones and more). Every synthetic fragrance on the market is capable of this and yet we cover ourselves and our children in it. We expect personal care products to be safe because they are readily available to us. But are they?

What about parabens, shown to be linked to cancer. What about formaldehyde, used as a preservative in cosmetics? Why are we putting these into our bodies?

Here are some interesting tidbits:

In my time as a wellness advocate, I have had opportunities to promote MANY products. And I mean many many. Do I use essential oils? Yes, but I do not promote. Do I use a variety of food products that I love? Of course, but I keep my “advertising” to a minimum. I promised myself that my integrity need always come first. I began blogging to help people, not to become a walking billboard. However, I also promised myself that if there was something I used personally that others could directly benefit from, then I would share it. I’ve included specific supplements, collagen, and other tidbits that have helped me on my journey and I love seeing y’all benefit too.

But there is one brand of personal care products that really stands out. They are committed to transparency, to making sure the public KNOWS what ingredients are in the products they are consuming. Beautycounter is that brand and while it is a young company, they are making real change in the beauty industry by combining SAFETY + SCIENCE. They have a long list called their “Never List” of ingredients they promise will never be found in their products. And they are working Capitol Hill in the hopes that other companies will follow suit.

There are a million reasons to fall in love with Beautycounter aside from the fact that they have YOUR best interest at heart. But one of the biggest is that their products WORK!! The cosmetics are synonymous with high end beauty products but with safer ingredients. And the body care products are equally as amazing and are scented only with pure essential oils and nontoxic fragrances that pose no threat to your body’s delicate systems. Because after all, it’s not enough to rub beets on your lips and call it lipstick, we need products that are SAFE + PERFORM.

I have been talking to Alyssa about Beautycounter for many months now and while she found it intriguing, she too wanted to stay authentic to her readership.

This integrity is something we both find to be more important than promoting without true conviction. So she has been slowly immersing herself into the products, trying them out and finding her favorites.

While she continues to discover hers, I wanted to share some of mine!

Must have COSMETICS:

• This clickable CONCEALER PEN is great for under eye cover up and for blemishes. It’s not super heavy but the coverage is amazing.
• This BLUSH DUO (in Tawny/Whisper) has a bronzer and blush, stays on all day, and is suitable for most skin tones.
• This LIP GLOSS (in Opal) is my favorite way to get a neutral gloss with incredible shine. Since we tend to “eat” our lip wear, this is a great option to convert to and feel good about.

Must have SKINCARE:

• This NOURISHING CLEANSING BALM is incredible for several reasons, two of which are: it can be used to remove makeup AND it can be used as an overnight moisturizer. It only takes a bit and goes a long way!
• This CHARCOAL BAR is the BEST!!! It is the “gateway product” into Beautycounter because just about everyone becomes obsessed with how CLEAN it leaves your skin. Charcoal is a detoxifyer too which makes it perfect for pulling toxins out from the pores.
• This BALANCING FACE OIL has Ylang Ylang and Wild Chamomile to soothe skin. It’s great as a nighttime product or even under makeup. Just a couple drops helps hydrate and keep skin looking fresh!

Must have KID CARE:

• This brand NEW DIAPER RASH CREAM is fantastic for little ones sensitive skin and you can trust there are no yucky ingredients that can harm baby.
• This KIDS BODY WASH is absolutely adored by my 3 kids. It smells great naturally, and comes in a pump so kids don’t waste product.
• This SUNSCREEN STICK legit smells like tootsie rolls yet has no garbage in it at all! Great for the whole family, I stick this guy in my purse for when we end up spending hours in the sun. No burns!

This is an extremely exciting time in personal care products where we have access to products that WORK, that are SAFER, and that are backed by a company that genuinely cares about its clients. If you have any questions, please reach out to Alyssa or me and we can help navigate your needs!

If you purchase any Beautycounter products through one of the links on this page, we officially become resource for all questions, concerns and more. We promise we will *not* stalk you but we will let you know about new product alerts or can’t miss sales and specials.

A note to other bloggers or those of you who may want to get more involved with Beautycounter. We want to hear from you and can answer any questions you have about why BC may be a good fit for you!

Email either of us alyssa@everydaymaven.com OR jennifer@predominantlypaleo.com