Safer Skincare Better Beauty
Mascara is my life. Ok, mascara and eyeliner. Add coffee to that. Yes, I love my husband and kids too,of course! But I can quite honestly say that before leaving to go to the hospital to deliver each of my 3 kids, I feverishly applied an extra coat of mascara, lined my waterline in the darkest black I could find and only THEN was I ready to push out babies. No lie. It’s sort of been my “thing” for as long as I can remember and if you ask my husband how many times he’s seen me without mascara or liner on, he will probably not be able to recall more than a handful in over 13 years.
As I made the transition from Standard American Diet to gluten free to predominantly paleo, I also started looking at some of the chemically based crap I was consuming (yes consuming – skin is our biggest organ and both absorbs and detoxes) and started becoming really insecure about some of the choices I was making – for myself and my kids. After all what’s the point of a squeaky clean diet if your skincare and cosmetics contain cancer-encouragers and hormone disruptors? That’s just dumb. But let me back up. I was a ballet dancer for 20 years; I have a true passion for the aesthetic, for beauty, for making things pretty along with being functional. And after that I worked in high end designer and couture retail sales management, where again I got to create aesthetically appealing combinations on the canvases who were my clients. People like Lady Bird Johnson and the 1st Lady of Texas trusted us to make them look and feel the roles they were hand picked to fill. In a world of heavy stuff, I’ve always enjoyed escaping to a place of creativity and beauty, where life is light and captivating.
Now that you have half my life story, I have a confesh. I have had a real hard time letting go of my favorite cosmetics, namely my mascara and eyeliner. Believe it or not I gave up deodorant years ago and have not used antiperspirants in probably a decade. And I wash my hair once a week so that’s cut back on exposure to toxicity too. But mascara? NO. That I can’t go without (refer to sentence one of this post). In my time as a wellness advocate, I have had opportunities to promote MANY products. And I mean many many. Do I use essential oils? Yes, but I do not promote. Do I use a variety of food products that I love? Of course, but I keep my “advertising” to a minimum. I promised myself that my integrity need always come first. I began blogging to help people, not to become a walking billboard.
However, I also promised myself that if there was something I used personally that others could directly benefit from, then I would share it. I’ve included specific supplements, collagen, and other tidbits that have helped me on my journey and I love seeing y’all benefit too. I’m here to say I’m finally taking the plunge to the other side. The hippie in me can’t do it anymore. I’ve found products I want to stand behind because I see the integrity in them that I seek to practice daily. Aside from eating delicious food that keeps my body healthy, I also am committed more than ever to creating a healthier immediate environment and making better choices about what going ONTO my body, not just into it via my mouf.
I’ve taken the plunge into safe skincare and cosmetics, and if you aren’t familiar yet, you should definitely seek to learn more! I have been working with Crunchi, Beautycounter, and 100%Pure who are committed to providing safer cosmetics (and skincare) for those who are taking control and refusing to be poisoned by our daily products and sundries. I have been experimenting with all 3 and and I am loving them! I am going to break each one down so you can see what their mission statements are. Crunchi: 
Beautycounter: 
100%Pure: 
So how do you choose? What are the differences? Well in my opinion, there is no good, better, best. HONESTLY! It’s all about what your needs are and what your tolerances are. For some people some synthetics are ok as long as they are well tested and have lots of studies behind their safety and efficacy. For others any improvement from drugstore makeup and department store makeup is amazing. And still others have a very specific set of needs for their skin and beauty care. Here’s some other things to consider!
So the best bet is to learn the chemicals in common cosmetics and what you’d prefer to avoid. Here are some of the things avoided by each company: Crunchi: 
Beautycounter: 
100%Pure:
100% natural and 100% cruelty-free, all products are completely, 100% free of artificial colors, artificial fragrances, synthetic chemical preservatives and all other toxins
As you can see, these companies are committed to transparency, advocacy, action (on Capitol Hill), AND BEAUTY!!! They all believe that quality and performance MUST go hand in hand – that it is not necessary to sacrifice one for another.
If you have specific questions about products, just ask me! I will help you or find out the answer. I am here to help you find the perfect fit.
To check out each of the companies, you can click on the following links:
CRUNCHI BEAUTYCOUNTER 100% PURE
Products I am loving…
- Mascara, Primer, Lipgloss in Juxtaposition +Foundation from HERE
- Charcoal Bar, Lip Shine, Sunstick (awesome for the kids), Lustro Face Oil (Ylang Ylang) – (also check out their baby care) from HERE
- All Over Glow (Lightly Sunkissed), Lipgloss (Peacock Ore), Mascara, Nail Polish in Souffle from HERE
Have fun exploring and let me know what questions you have!!
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, which means that if you buy the products featured, I receive a small percentage of the sale price. This helps keep Predominantly Paleo alive and running! Thanks for supporting!
Do u have a nontoxic eye liner that you use and recommend?
Right now I am using this one: http://amzn.to/1NEZ2FN and will be trying the pencil from 100% Pure soon http://shrsl.com/?~ckb3 – Also Crunchi is working on one and I know it is going to be great so I will try that too eventually!!!
Thank you for the links!!! I have been looking for a safer mascara (especially one that does not run all over my face). I will see if Crunchi’s mascara can endure southern summer heat and humidity. I look forward to trying out some of these companies’ product lines.
Great! I hope you love it as much as I do – keep in mind I do like to apply several layers to get that fuller thicker look. Enjoy!
Thanks for the recommendations! I just ordered a few things from Crunchi. Related question–what about hair color? That is the one area where I continue to go to the salon and use the chemical-filled stuff. I love your color!
Hey Jen! I am still working on hair color too – right now I do a non-permanent rinse 2-3 times a year. I want to do more natural color but I do not care for the red tint henna gives my hair so I am still searching!
Thank you SO much for this! Can you share what you use instead of deodorant/antiperspirant? Do you use any hair products? I’m thrilled to have these resources going forward!
Ha! Kelly you are going to laugh but right now I just put essential oils under my arms and maybe a teeny bit of baking soda. That’s it!
I love 100% Pure! I use the mascara, cheek tints, coffee bean eye cream and recently starting using the vitamin A coq10 wrinkle cream. The mascara is awesome! I used to get bald spots in my eyelashes and I always just assumed it was from washing my face too hard or stress. Always stress! But I switched to the mascara about a year ago and haven’t had one bald spot since!
That’s so awesome! I am loving the Crunchi mascara and the 100% Pure one too!
Thanks for this list! I started making the switch over a year ago and found 100% Pure. I love their mascara! Foundation has been the hardest for me to switch though. I’ve tried dozens and never like the way they cover or sit on my skin. I see that Crunchi has one, is this the one you use? They only have four shades. :/
Btw, Real Purity has a roll on deodorant that works amazingly well. It is mostly a blend of essential oils, I believe.
Hey Debbie! I LOVE the Crunchi foundation and it is the one I am currently using. Beautycounter offers a few more shades too if that’s an issue. I am going to shoot you a quick email too with more info.
Thank you! I thought I was on your subscriber list, but I guess I am not. Would you please add me?
Will do!
I’m just now getting a chance to take a look at your recommendations and am loving them! It’s always hard to tell exactly what the colors of the lip shades are via computer. Could you share a recommendation for a nude or pale pink lip gloss? Also, do you have a preference for shampoo/conditioner between Beautycounter and 100% Pure? Thank you for your help!
Hey Alyssa! I love this lipgloss from Beautycounter because it is super neutral and glossy (the name is Opal): http://bit.ly/OpalGloss
As for Shampoo/Conditioner, I would probably go for Beautycounter, because the fragrance in the 100% Pure one is a little on the strong side for me personally, but that’s just me. The great thing is you can try anything because BC has a very lenient 60 day return policy- though honestly I think you’ll love it all!
FYI…Beauty Counter Cosmetics is full of corn-derived ingredients. For those of us with corn allergies, BEWARE. Not sure why it’s being promoted on a paleo blog…
Well for a few reasons Stacy…
1. I have a corn sensitivity when I consume it but not so when I apply cosmetics topically; there are many like me.
2. I have a lot of readers who are not sensitive to ANYTHING but choose to eat grain free, gluten free, or dairy free by preference
3. As you can tell by the name of my blog, PREDOMINANTLY Paleo, I have a paleo-centric direction with some wiggle room
4. Beautycounter is a SAFER option for skincare than many of the products out there and I have a responsibility to my readers to introduce them to options that I believe in
5. Their ingredients are VERY CLEARLY labeled so for people who are very sensitive and allergic, they can scrutinize the products prior to purchasing them
6. If people DO purchase them and find they have a sensitivity they could not necessarily predict, Beautycounter has a very liberal return policy and is happy to accommodate
Hopefully that helps clarify for you why I would include Beautycounter AMONG SEVERAL OPTIONS on my blog. Thanks for your support!
which company would you say is the cleanest?
no toxins….at all!!!! (if that’s possible when talking about makeup)
I think that is a tricky question as even “natural” can have toxins too (ie red lipstick can have lead and most are not batch tested for heavy metals). That’s why I like Beautycounter for certain things because they have a never list of things they refuse to use and of the synthetics they use, they are well tested with safety info to back it up.
Your article has answered the question I was wondering about! I would like to write a thesis on this subject, but I would like you to give your opinion once 😀 totosite