With the change of seasons, a ton of new products have entered my life – welcome to my NEW clean beauty haul! Some makeup, some skincare, some body care and some haircare… all with safer ingredients. I haven’t had much time to throughly test them out yet (some first impressions here and there) but I wanted to tell you what I picked up/why so you can let me know which you’re most interested in. Some of the brands include Necessaire, Ilia, NARS (whattt!), Banish, Bite Beauty, Olaplex and more…
Some of these products were sent to me in PR, and some were purchased by me.
It’s really cool that some cleaner brands are starting to recognize me as a cleaner beauty blogger now, and I hope to be able to feature more new-to-me brands in more clean beauty haul posts, so you all can have lots of options for safer solutions.
I have seen this aesthetically pleasing body care set from Necessaire on Instagram for months, and knew it was sold at Sephora. I wanted to try it out, but body care easily goes to the back of my priority list in terms of ‘testing new stuff out.’
I usually just pick up whatever looks safer/cleaner at my local grocery store (Sprouts!) and call it a day. But when Necessaire reached out to see if I’d be up for trying their line, I was SO EXCITED!
This brand is legit, guys. The founders have worked in the beauty care industry for major conglomerates for years, and formed this line to support your actual HEALTH! As quoted from the website:
We believe the products you use every day should make a true difference in your wellbeing and support your health. We obsessively research our ingredients and only use clean, effective, and high-quality ingredients your body can actually use.
We started with body care and sex care, because we believe these products deserve to be the first thought, not an afterthought. We believe personal care is bigger than body wash, more than body lotion. We believe personal care is self-care—and that self-care is a necessity.
I have the body wash (Sandalwood), body exfoliator (Sandalwood) and body lotion (unscented) – it’s all nicely packaged in a set (perfect for gifting, too). My husband and I have been using it for a couple of weeks so far, and he likes it way better than the Alba Botanica Midnight Tuberose body wash we’ve been using (I also don’t love that one, either).
WHO HASN’T BEEN TARGETED BY THESE MAGICAL ILIA FACEBOOK ADS YET!? I know it’s not just me.
These gorgeous, flawless women smearing this on their faces, looking kissed by angels and effortless as a silk robe. Sign me up!
I’ve been testing this tinted moisturizer/SPF hybrid out this week, and HOLY GLOW! I’m still working out my thoughts on this, but stay tuned. I think a YouTube video will be in order…
You’re probably like… _HUH NARS ISN’T CLEAN?_
No, it’s not traditionally clean. Majority of their products do not meet clean beauty standards.
BUT… there are couple of NARS products that fit “MY” current ‘clean enough’ standards for certain uses. For example, if you need a fuller coverage foundation suited for normal-oily skin that is NOT a powder formula…. you’re not going to find it in many (if any) clean beauty brands. It hasn’t been made yet.
If it was, I’d be raving about it for you.
But for now, the NARS Soft Matte Foundation is checking the boxes, as it is formulated:
Free of sulfates SLS and SLES, parabens, formaldehydes, formaldehyde-releasing agents, phthalates, mineral oil, retinyl palmitate, oxybenzone, coal tar, hydroquinone, triclosan, and triclocarban, and contains less than one percent of synthetic fragrances. This product is also vegan and gluten-free.
It’s PRETTY matte, though. So this is definitely not for my super dry ladies who want fuller coverage. Go for the NARS Radiant Longwear Foundation.
Another line I had seen on social media (YouTube, Instagram) more so a couple of years ago but didn’t think anything of… Banish skincare!
Banish reached out to me asking if I’d like to try their natural, clean skincare line targeted at acne-prone and uneven skin tone types. No strings attached. No required blog posts or social media posts… just… “Would you like to try it out and see what you think?”
When I looked into the ingredients, I was really happy to see it’s a vitamin-c focused regimen, freshly made in batches from California, that also uses arnica, Centella asiatica and a host of other really great-for-your-acne-prone-skin to combat acne and brighten/fade the after effects.
I’ve only used a few of the products for 24 hours at this point, but stay tuned for further thoughts!
I saw Bite Beauty came out with a new plumping lipgloss and I love their lip products so I figured I had to pick one up in a neutral light pink shade!
This formula uses cinnamon oil to naturally plump the lips and can be worn on it’s own or over makeup.
I’ve worn Guava Puff a few times and it’s comfortable, not too tingly, and a pretty shimmery cool pink.
Left to right: Bite, Guava Puff; NARS Soft Matte Foundation, Stromboli; Ilia Super Serum Skin Tint, ST11 Matira
Every time I wash my hair, I run a styling/reparative hair oil through my hair…. even if I don’t blow dry it.
Over the years, I’ve used and like many. Orofluido was my #1 favorite for a long time, then Moroccanoil, then the Goldwell Kerasilk oil (still a very top favorite, but it’s hard to find – mostly at salons) and recently the Ouai oil. None of these would be categorized as even remotely ‘clean.’
A few months ago, I tried out the Olaplex shampoo and conditioner a few months ago and am OBSESSED. I use it every week and love the way my hair feels when I use it – even without any styling products!
I bought the Olaplex oil the other day because I figured it was time to switch out my beloved hair oils for a cleaner option. Olaplex is ‘clean at Sephora,’ which means it’s far better than many other options… and will also perform as well as its traditional counterparts.
So far, I’ve only used this hair oil once but I’m a huge fan of the way my hair feels this week. It’s smooth, bouncy and shiny!
A little goes a long way, and the bottle is tiny but mighty!
That’s what I’ve picked up recently in my clean beauty haul! Have you tried any of these? Tell me your thoughts… and also which do you want a follow up, in depth review about?
-Steffanie
