STEPHANIE'S CLEAN MAKE-UP FAVORITES

I LOVE my make-up and am very brand loyal when I find THE product. When I started making cleaner choices to avoid toxins in my beauty products it was HARD because many of my favorites I had been using for years, possibly decades - and I wanted to love them forever….But I was motivated because I knew how harmful these ingredients were and wanted them off my face and out of my blood-stream (everything you put on is quickly absorbed into your body). Craziness, the average American woman uses 12 personal care products and/or cosmetics a day, containing 168 different chemicals, according to the Environmental Working Group (EWG). It took me SEVEN YEARS and I finally have a clean make-up bag that I love even more than the original - safe AND effective products and I’m supporting companies I can believe in. There is one exception that i’m still working on and may just stick with - my Chanel water-proof eye liner…. I must have really greasy eyelids or something because none of the clean brands I’ve tried have stayed put - and of all my makeup, eyeliner takes up the least amount of real estate on my face. So I’m keeping it for now and am okay with it. 

Heads up, there are lots of beauty brands out there that I claim to be “natural” but really aren’t - the term is “GREENWASHER” and there are lots of them out there. Neutrogena, Clinique, Arbonne, while they may have removed fragrance and parabens (one of the more popular toxins out there) they’re loaded with lots of other garbage. There is the great EWG.org app that you can type in most products and it will give a safety rating as well as list of ingredients - awesome resource.

One of my trusted beauty advisors is Caci owner of Toccare Day Spa in Charlotte, she’s a gem. She has carefully selected the cleanest make up brands that work well too. Highly, highly recommend her products and treat yourself to a facial as well, THE BEST (she’s also the only person I trust to do my eyebrows!!). From Caci I buy my Vapour Organic Atmosphere Luminous Foundation which is a precision stick designed for all skin types - Great texture and smooths out fine lines, medium coverage (not too much and not too little - just right in my opinion!) Winner of Allure Best of Beauty Award! I’ve been using for a couple years and very very happy with it.

BeautyCounter is another brand I really like and I love seeing how they are helping educate about the risk of toxins in beauty products, such an important message to get out! I have a couple reps that I work with that would love to help if you don’t have one already - In Charlotte my friends Mary Laird Garrison and Amelia Abbot, and in Winston-Salem Heather Prince (message me and I’ll connect you). All are very passionate about clean makeup and can help you find the right product for you. From BeautyCounter I love my Tawny/Whisper Powder Blush Duo because it is almost the exact same as my old favorite Nars Orgasm shade. Lots of pretty colors to choose from with eyeshadows - I use the Shell/Malt Eyeshadow Duo which is a great every day neutral that works with my green eyes. I LOVE their glosses - love, love, love them. My two favorite shades that are always in my purse are “Peony” and “Fig” just the right text texture, no weird scent or flavor. Pretty!

Poofy Organics is another brand to check out. Their Poofy Glam HD Mascara is THE BEST OUT THERE!!! I’m not gonna downplay it, my mascara search was painful - some of the clean brands I tried were SO BAD. Nothing came even close to being as good as the L’Oreal Voluminous I had used for over a decade and cherished and adored. I love aggressive lashes and everything I tried was like nothing was happening - I would have to apply, apply, apply, apply forever to see anything at all, then it would quickly disappear. Then I found Poofy Organics and all is well in my makeup bag again!!! It seriously is almost exactly like Voluminous - friends that have ordered and tried agree. I have not tried any of their other makeup, but know they are seriously clean, safe and non-toxic. I use their baby wash and lotion on my kids and love it, love it. I recommend!!! 

Chantecaille - I just discovered this brand at Neiman Marcus and want to try more. Its a family owned business with RAVE reviews and a really pretty Instagram page. Their products are 72.9%-100% all natural and crafted from the purest ingredients. I bought their Chantecaille HD Perfecting Powder and LOVE it - was created for high definition cameras, which show ALL THE LINES. Leaves a flawless finish and weightlessly sets foundation - GOOD STUFF. I also bought a lipstick and love it, beautiful color and texture. Heads up, its fancy and expensive (please don’t tell my husband). Go see Andre at Neiman Marcus at Southpark - he’s AMAZING and can get you all gorgeous!

River Organics - This is a company out of Wilmington and I met owner at the SHIFT Charlotte event. I am OBSESSED with her lip balms. Whatever word of extremity is after obsessed is what I am. I consider myself and EXPERT in lip balms, 100% serious about that. I have not been without a lip balm of some sort for as long as I can remember. If I was, it was for ten minutes max and my blood pressure was out of control. My sweet husband has back-ups just in case for me. First thing I do when I wake up is put on more balm and its the last thing I do before I fall asleep. That being said, River Organics are THE BEST. I love the subtle color, the perfect amount of shimmer (not in all of them), the texture, the shade, everything. I especially love the recyclable and 100% packaging. Try them all. She also has other makeup items and I want to try them as well!

Please share with me your favorite clean make-up finds - I would love to hear, the search is on-going!!