Importance of Switching to Clean and Safe Beauty Routine

I read somewhere that avid makeup “wearers” apply upto 5 pounds of makeup in their lifetime, which got me thinking: what exactly are we applying on our faces? Our skin is the largest organ of our body, so are we taking adequate care of it? My initial response was yes, of course. I had a dedicated skin regime, come exhaustion, drunken nights or worse – laziness, I combated it all to follow my strict routine. Then as I read some more, I started to think about the chemicals in those products (most of which I could barely pronounce).

Body:

The basic fact that changed my mind was that I quickly shifted to organic/clean food products when I realized the harmful use of fertilizers and toxins. So why would I subject my skin to them? It was this small yet obvious logic that made me make the switch.Other than that, many speculate the long-term effects of these products because the chemicals work as endocrine disruptors. Chemicals such as lead, parabens, formaldehyde, PEGs and phthalates (to name a few) are frequently used in your everyday beauty products such as shampoos, lotions, foundations, perfumes, deodorants, lip glosses and so much more. I don’t want to delve more on the science of the topic because I’m still learning and don’t want to cause panic with half information. So I suggest you do your own research. Here’s what I’m avoiding: Parabens, phthlates, sulfate, DEA/MEA/TEA, gycols.

Mind:

I purged my entire beauty cabinet and donated all my precious Huda lipsticks, Becca highlighters, Marc Jacobs bronzers. The initial setback was real, I felt naked and relieved at the same time. Now all my makeup fits in a tiny pouch and it’s kind of exhilarating and freeing. The purge taught me that less is more. I have explored my three new lipsticks as a blush, eyeshadow and lipstick of course. I have a few carefully-formulated, researched and thought-out products that aim to reset your skin back to its healthiest, best state.

Environment:

Most of my makeup as you can see is from Kjaer Weis, who revolutionized clean makeup and made it luxurious. Her packaging doesn’t quite make me miss my Guerlain lipsticks as much I imagined. But under the beautiful packaging is a wonderful idea of refills. I’ve already bought my refill for my foundation and can’t tell you how happy I am. Besides that, all these brands are cruelty-free and avoid plastic packaging as much as possible. Even these RMS Beauty highlighters come in tiny glass bottles.

Expense:

I won’t lie, it has been a little expensive to buy all of these products. But also mostly because I did the whole haul at once. I swapped my makeup, deodorants, shampoo etc all at one time, but overall, I think it will equalize because I can’t go make an impulse purchase at the MAC store next door.

This entire exercise has certainly made me realize the importance of mindfulness. Now, my impulse isn’t to check if I have that lipstick shade but instead check if the brand is devoid of animal testing, what are the ingredients they use and how transparent they are about them.

Dirty little secret:
After that whole rant, it’s only fair I share that I have saved my Luminous Silk Foundation by Giorgio Armani Beauty, a handful of Guerlain lipsticks and Fenty Beauty highlighters for a rainy day. They’re all stashed in a little pouch under my vanity like letters from an old boyfriend I don’t want my husband to see. Here’s hoping they stay there!