Happy Earth Day!!!

Posted by in Makeup, Skin Care | 2 comments

Happy Earth Day! I’ve made major strides to become more “green” since this this time last year. I’ve been incorporating organic meats and produce into my diet, I switched to non-toxic, biodegradable cleaning products, and I buy recycled paper products.

But making my beauty routine green has proven to be more difficult. I love luxe beauty products and don’t want to have to resort to “granola beauty” to be more green. Luckily, the beauty world has taken note, and is offering beauty fanatics Earth (and skin) friendly products, that look and feel just as fab as their not-so-good-for-the-Earth counterparts. Here are three lines that have caught my eye, a green wish-list of sorts:


I am dying to try NUDE Skincare! I’ve heard nothing but amazing things about this line (seriously, not one single complaint), and would love to give it a spin. Not only are the ingredients used organic and fair trade sourced, but the sexy packaging is made of 40% recycled materials. In addition to their products for normal/oily skin, I have my eye on their Advanced Eye Complex, $108. It’s pretty pricey, but like Kermit the Frog said, “It’s not easy bein’ green!”It’s sold out on Sephora.com, so I guess my bank account is safe!

I’ve been looking everywhere for Essie’s new Naturally Clean collection, but I can’t seem to find it anywhere! The line is free of parabens, and is made up of natural ingredients. What I’m really looking for is the Purifying Nail Polish Remover, $6. It doesn’t strip the nail bed of its natural moisture, and infuses it with anti-oxidants, vitamins, glycerin and eucalyptus oil. Nice!

I’m thisclose to buying some items from items from the Aveda Enbrightenment Collection, $35-50 each. The line promises to fade dark spots and even your complexion without the use of hydraquinone or other chemicals. Instead, it evens the skin with Vitamin C, grape seed extract, and mulberry root. I used to be a big Aveda fan back in the day, so maybe this collection will bring me back into the fold!

I would have loved to post some makeup that’s great for women of color but, sadly, there aren’t any worth mentioning (at least not to my knowledge…). Case in point. I’ve been looking for a natural foundation and powder, and was having zero luck finding a shade darker than beige. I was super excited to find out that former model Josie Maran’s natural cosmetics line included a tinted moisturizer and concealer in 2 shades for darker complexions (paltry, I know, but better than nothing I guess).

So, I went to Sephora yesterday to purchase it after seeing the color swatches on the Sephora site, and was stunned to see how light the darkest shade called “Espresso” was. It should have been called Cafe au lait. Ridiculous. My hope is that by next Earth Day, cosmetic companies will have realized that there are women of color who are Earth conscious and deserve to be beautifully green, too!

What are your thoughts? Have you tried to “green” your beauty routine? Why or why not? Let me know!

  • http://www.twitter.com/ticklemyfancy79 Francesca

    Hey Amber!
    I love your blog & read it religiously. Your Tweets are awesome too! This post, in particular, was great. I, too, am trying to be more ‘green’ from foods, to clothes, to beauty products. While natural skincare is easy to come by, I so totally agree with you about natural makeup for women of color! It’s sad really and kind of upsets me that many companies don’t cater to us as far as basic makeup goes, let alone natural makeup. We all deserve healthier
    skin and cosmetics! I tried that Josie Maran
    Tinted Moisturizer you mentioned, and even
    though the shade I received was an okay
    match(it was in the shade that comes right
    before Espresso…sorry I can’t remember the
    name), it was too oily for my combo skin. On drier skin types it’d be fabulous! Well, as you said, hopefully these companies will wake up and start making great shades(that actually match)for deeper skin toned ladies!

  • http://www.Brownbombshellbeauty.com Amber

    Thanks so much, Francesca! You’re too sweet! It’s too bad the Josie Maran tinted moisturizer didn’t work out. If I come across a good natural alternative, I’ll be sure to post it here on the blog! Thanks for your support! :)