For over a year, I’ve been working away at transitioning beauty routine an household to include more nontoxic products. On top of certain ingredients in home cleaning and beauty products being toxic to our own bodies, I also want to have a mostly “clean home” before babies (whenever that chapter is!). My personality is very focused on planning ahead in many areas of life, this one included!

Finding a nontoxic detergent or clean beauty blush are both cumbersome. Sometimes you hit the jackpot by finding a clean replacement to your favorite products on the first try, but more often than not it takes a few tries.

I was reflecting on my beauty routine the other day and couldn’t believe all the amazing clean beauty makeup products and brands I’ve discovered compared to this time last year! I feel much more confident in the area of clean beauty, even though I have a lot more to learn! The best starting point is really understanding toxic ingredients (find the top six to start with here) and knowing that you do not need to transition over everything at once. I held guilt in that I read all of this research that shows these beauty product I used and loved were toxic, but wanted to finish the makeup product. It’s simply not financially feasible for most of us to trash all our products and rebuy. Honestly, I would have felt wasteful too!

To find the clean makeup routine I’m sharing today, I would research alternatives to certain products that were almost empty. So if I hit pan on a blush, I research others that were from clean beauty brands so that once I needed to place an order, I knew the nontoxic blush I’d try.

When I reflect on the clean beauty space a year ago, when I first started on this journey, there have been so many more brands become available at major retailers and inevitably, more discoverable.

If you’re wanting to try some new nontoxic beauty products, I hope today’s post is helpful! 

My Current (Mostly Clean) Makeup Routine

Primer: REN Perfect Canvas Clean Primer

About four months ago, one of my favorite clean beauty skin care brands, REN Clean Skincare, sent me this primer. With one look at the consistency, I wasn’t sure it’d work for me. I typically reach for putty or balmy primers like this from Tatcha that is more like a balm and fills out your pores and smooth skin and the REN Perfect Canvas Clean Primer is like a translucent face serum. Verdict was in after one use, I really like it! This primer not only works great at gripping makeup and keeping it in place all day, but it also reduces shine and minimizes pores. 

And unlike standard primers, this clean option by REN really is like a face serum because it has loads of natural ingredients with major benefits like – 

• Agave extract which plumps the skin and creates a smooth base for makeup.
• Prebiotic extracts help support skin and reinforce your skin barrier which is very important because much like a security guard for your skin, your skin barrier is there to stop potential problems passing through and to protect what lies within. A thin, weak or damaged skin barrier allows irritants in, or irritates more easily, so building up this surface layer could be the key to reducing skin sensitivity long term.
• Alpha-Glucans keeps skin plumped and hydrated.

To apply, just dab two to four drops into your skin. Just with any base products, avoid rubbing it all around in circular motions and try to dab, dab, dab it gently into the skin.

In addition to Sephora, you’ll find this primer at Nordstrom. Note that the primer recently got a refresh and Nordstrom still have the “old” bottle branding. 

Blush: Ilia Multi-Stick
So many of you guys RAVE about this this Ilia multi-stick lip and blush duo stick and I totally understand why. It quickly melts into the lips and cheeks, blends very easily and uses all clean and organic ingredients!

Many ingredients inside boost hydration like avocado oil, vitamin E, and organic cocoa and shea.

I also love how it’s packaged for on-the-go application.

While it’s a small stick, a little goes a REALLY long way so I foresee this product to last me many, many months.

Foundation: KOSAS Tinted Face Oil

After searching for a super light product to wear on “no make up days” for running errands or working from home, I found this tinted face oil that not only gives great coverage and color pay off, but also is chalk-full of amazing superfoods! So just like the primer we just talked through, it’s like make up and soothing, hydrating skincare in one!

Don’t be turned off by the fact it’s called a face “oil”. It’s not the consistency of an oil and certainly does not make your skin oily! It actually has velvety matte finish. 

After using it for over a month, I really like this product. So much that I did an entire review of it here so check that out if you’re intrigued, but here are some spark notes –

This tinted face oil is a featherweight, light-coverage, clean beauty “foundation” and hydrating skin elixir in 16 shades that can be worn across 48 skin tones and was designed to be applied as easily as your daily moisturizer with no blending required!

Three types of mineral pigmentation are delivered in a base of six active botanical oils to instantly even the appearance of skin tone, minimize pores, erase imperfections. The oil formula is super silky, breathable quickly absorbed into skin quickly, leaving a velvety finish.

Unlike other foundations and CC creams, inside the KOSAS tinted face oil you’ll find clean ingredients that allow your skin to breath and hydrate and nourishing your skin like: 

• Jojoba Seed Oil: Soothes and balances.
• Avocado Oil: Cushions and thoroughly hydrates.
• Red Raspberry Seed Oil: Tones and supports natural reparative processes.
• Meadowfoam Oil: locks moisture and plumps skin.
• Rosehip Oil: Fights against pollution and free-radicals.

Tip: When purchasing primers or foundation products, keep in mind if they are an oil or water base. You want to use both an oil primer and foundation or both water. Why? Well, think of Italian dressing.. oil and water repel against one another 🙂 If you wear a water primer and an oil foundation, your make up will look crumbly. So all that to say, I wear this under other foundations, but not the under the face oil below. 

Bronzer: Lilah B Bronzer

On days I want a touch of color, I reach for this bronzer. I didn’t realize how toxic my previous bronzer was so I’m happy to have found a replacement. The texture of is silky and it has coconut oil in it which hydrates your skin. 

SHOP MY CLEAN BEAUTY MAKEUP FAVORITES 
KOSAS TINTED FACE OIL I REN PERFECT CANVAS PRIMER C/O I ILIA MULTI-TASKER

So those are all the clean products! The other products I use are:

Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz: This is the best eye brow pencil because the tip is fine so you’ll achieve little brow hair looking strokes rather than heavy pressed caterpillar brows. I’ve used it for 5+ years.

Glo Skin Beauty Foundation Stick: I use this for touch ups when on the go! I don’t enjoy it as an actual foundation as I find that it sorta pills off my face, but really enjoy it for quick touch ups around my nose or mouth during the day.

IT Cosmetics Bye Bye Pores Airbrush Setting Powder: I am not sure how they do it, but this is a holy grail in my book. I notice a difference in the staying power and the finished look of my makeup when I don’t use this. It really holds everything in place! I use this brush and it’s heavenly.

Mascara: YSL The Shock: I have been loving this mascara! It’s a great ‘one and done’ mascara meaning it lengthens, separates and volumizes. It wears really well through the day and won’t flake on your cheeks.

Have you tried any of these products?! Tell me below! Xo Mindy

SHOP THE REST OF MY MAKEUP ROUTINE