Having been a professional makeup artist for over 8 years now, I have to say that over the years I’ve come across some great products, and some not-so-great products. I thought that after using certain “vegan-friendly” brands, I would never find any better… but I did.
We were raised on a farm, many farms, and at times we didn’t have running water or plumbing. We had no idea what we were missing out on when bathing in the rain. No, I am not making this up – and I will tell you that to this day during a summer storm, I’ll throw on a swimsuit and wash my hair in the rain. You will have a hard time finding your hair to be softer than it is after a rain wash. Anyway, back to the point – we were raised using homeopathic remedies, natural “cures” and growing up being aware of what we put into our bodies. I went into college to study biology, with a focus on cosmetic chemistry because I loved it so much. I couldn’t find a course at the school I went to, so I bought the textbooks used online to study up.
Fast-forward to me now as an adult and mother of two. I just had my eyes opened, and I mean WIDE opened, by a girlfriend that started talking about the ingredients in skincare, makeup, and body products. She listed several I was using by name (the ones that are “vegan” and supposed to be the best for your skin!).
For example: did you know that tear-free children’s shampoo and body wash actually use an ocular numbing agent to NUMB YOUR CHILD’S EYE?! This ingredient can, and has been known, to cause damage! It isn’t tear-free at all!
How about that lovely matte red lipstick stain? Do you kiss your babies with that mouth? Yes… yes I did. The FDA just did a study and 100% of the 100’s of lipsticks tested contained no small amount of lead – WHAT?! – yes, lead. This includes the “natural” brands like Burt’s Bees, and Avon. And of course the high-end brands like Dior and M.A.C., then the average woman’s go-to’s from CoverGirl to Revlon.
Okay, this is just the tiny chip of the tip of the iceberg that is American beauty product hazards, so I am going to tell you about this new American brand that is the ONLY one in the country that has even stricter standards than Europe. They ban 1500+ harmful ingredients from being used… USA only bans 11 as of 2017.
It’s called Beauty Counter
I decided to try out some of their makeup. Using only 5 products, could I get results as good as the leading brands with the small amount that Beauty Counter claims you only need to use?
Check out the results in my 5 Minute Face Using 5 Products makeup tutorial.
5 Minute Face – Beautycounter Flawless in Five
Stephanie Clarke, Beauty Contributor
what a wonder can five minutes do to a face, simply amazing and very informative!