Clean beauty: Looks good & it’s good for you
You guys have seen over the last couple years how my life has evolved to be more focused on wellbeing and that has extended into my makeup bag too. These days I’m not really wearing more than a brow and a lip stain and honestly think it’s happened just through habit and having healthy skin. However, whether I’m getting fully glammed up or just ready for the day, I want to know that what I’m using is kind to myself and the earth. Like you, I don’t want to compromise on look, feel or quality and know these brands are as good if not better than other toxic alternatives.
Ere Perez
This female owned Australian ethical beauty brand literally blew me away when I first got my hands on it.
Ere prides herself on makeup with skincare ingredients, native Australian extracts and botanicals to keep the skin underneath both healthy and happy.
My go-to products:
For face - Oatmilk foundation (I wear the colour Chai)
For brows - Almond brow pencil
For cheeks - Vanilla Highlighter for a glossy, non shimmery, skin-like finish.
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Cost: $20-50 per product
Bite Beauty
I discovered this brand in a PR package when I received their mascara. After trying many clean mascaras, it quickly became my favourite and sent me down the a rabbit hole with the whole brand. And after trying most of their goodies now, I’m beyond impressed. Bite pride themselves on their strict clean criteria and being majority organic. You’ll also find a lot of their products are infused with superfood goodness.
My favourite products:
For eyes - Upswing Full Volume Mascara and Upswing Extreme Longwear Eyeliner
For face - Changemaker Micellar Foundation (in M65)
For lips - Agave Night Time Lip Therapy Mask
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Cost: $25-55 per product
RMS Beauty
The brand I fell in love with before my skin fell out of love with coconut oil based makeup products. Regardless, if your skin handles oil well, then this is for you! RMS pride themselves on being chemical and heavy metal free, as well as keeping the beauty bag small with an effortless end product.
The dreamiest products:
For face - "Un" Cover-up Concealer (in shade 22)
For face / eyes - Master Mixer as a highlight or to create a glossy lid
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Cost: $36-44 per product
Eye of Horus
Inspired by the vibrancy of Byron Bay, Eye of Horus are clean, conscious of the environment and really have taken clean beauty up a notch with fun colours and lust worthy palettes. They’re also literally around the corner from me! I really fell for the brand when I tried their Universal Duo - a bronze and blush duo in perfect warm summer tones. Also worth noting that if you’re someone on the oilier side, Eyes of Horus have a lot of powder based products compared to other clean brands that are majoritably creams.
Can’t do without:
For face - Universal Duo and Love and Light Palette
For eyes - Winter Solstice Palette
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Cost: $60-78 per palette
Kjaer Weis
Pronounced *kigh-er why-ss (it took me so long to figure that out I would go into Credo a clean beauty store in LA and be so Australian, can I get the “Kayyyjayerr Weeees pencil.”
Kjaer are “that” brand! They’re natural, organic but also luxury. Their products come beautifully presented and with beautiful formulas to match. Silky, clean, effortless beauty.
I’m definitely more a cream kind of girl as I have more irritable dry skin and find less powder is always better, especially on my cheeks. Their cream blush is beyond divine and I would go as far as to say it was probably my makeup hero. Seeing as I’m not much of a blush queen I just found it the perfect amount of pop without making my cheeks look over the top.
Dream worthy products:
For face - Cream Blush (in Blossoming)
For lips - Lip Pencil (in Soft)
For brows - Brow Gel (in Blonde)
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Cost $40-60 per product
Kosas
This brand call themselves the “makeup for skincare freaks” as their products contain active skin nourishing ingredients whilst still being clean and affordable. In all honestly, I haven’t tried as many of their products as the others brand, however what I have tired really blew me away. A makeup artist used their tinted face oil on me which not only looked amazing but left my skin hydrated, dewy and really glossy all day.
Recommended product:
For face - Tinted Face Oil (in 4 I think) - obviously if your skin doesn’t like oils this isn’t for you! They also do a cream foundation which is much lighter while still containing oils.
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Cost: $56 per product
Chantecaille
Last but definitely not least, one of my favourite makeup brands of all time.! Chantecaille’s messaging is clear; botanical ingredients inside products that give back to mother nature with every purchase. I’m not going to sugar coat it, Chantecaille is not a budget product but they put their money where their mouth is with the causes that they give back to and the quality of their products. I discovered my cult favourite product again on a shoot when one of my favourite makeup artist’s Angie was looking for a clean foundation that my skin wouldn’t react to. She then introduced me to Chantecaille Future Skin which is is oil free and “gel like” which makes it great for reactive skin types.
That day I bought my own and I’ve taken it to every shoot since, important to note I haven’t even scratched the surface of the product so at least the $110aud price tag goes a long way.
Heavenly products:
For face, Future skin (I use Cream and Sand)
For eyes - Ma Palette Trio - love that they let you customize your own colours!
For cheeks - Radiance Gel Bronzer
For lips - Lip Definer (in Natural)
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Cost: $28-110 per product
I hope you find some products that you really love in this list!
It can take time to cycle out the “naughties” with the newbies, but I’ve found just switching out a product at a time really helped me. Beauty really isn’t worth sacrificing ourselves for, especially when there’s so many beautiful clean options on our doorsteps. Please know that no makeup will ever make you more beautiful than you already are. Everything you need is already within you and your beauty shines out so deeply from inside you.
