fave products // ilia beauty true skin radiant priming serum & serum foundation

ILIA Beauty is one of the original clean beauty brands, and one I’d been interesting in trying for some time now. I love their motto, skincare-powered makeup, because I truly believe the two should go hand-in-hand in everyone’s routine. Finding the right balance between product safety and product performance can be tricky, but ILIA has really nailed it down. By using clean, effective ingredients and focusing on organic bases, vivid color, and active botanicals, they’re able to make mindful decisions about products that truly make your skin glow.

ILIA Beauty True Skin Radiant Priming Serum is the perfect product to help you transition from your skincare to makeup routines. Hibiscus extract, aloe, and beta-glucan create a super smooth base for makeup application thanks to their firming, moisturizing, and soothing properties. Plus, they help protect the skin from free radicals and harsh environmental factors that cause signs of aging. Pores and fine lines appear smaller, improving the texture of your skin and leaving you with a radiant glow! I especially love that it’s silicone-free, and leaves my skin baby soft to the touch.

The ILIA Beauty True Skin Serum Foundation is a killer two-in-one product. All the skincare benefits of a serum, plus the light but buildable coverage of a foundation. I love how weightless it feels on my skin, and- big bonus- it never gets cakey or flakey, but rather helps blur imperfections, leaving you with a velvety soft finish. Botanical actives like aloe leaf, rosehip, jojoba, and marula oils help sooth irritation and calm redness, and also boast some anti-aging properties thanks to their aid in plumping fine lines! Luminous skin is what you’re left with, and most importantly, your skin looks like skin! If clean beauty is important to you, and I hope it is, I highly recommend checking out ILIA Beauty soon!

 * This post may contain affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, it won’t cost you a penny more, but I’ll earn a small commission. This allows me to continue to generate content for you, and helps keep the site up and running. Thanks for your support! 

fave products // tata harper beautifying face oil

As the weather changes during the fall and winter months, and my skin feels like it needs an extra dose of hydration, I constantly find myself reaching for my Tata Harper Beautifying Face Oil. This oil really pumps up your glow factor- essentially improving skin’s radiance and revitalizing its appearance all at once. If your skin is starting to feel dry, dull, or has a somewhat uneven tone, Tata’s Beautifying Face Oil could really come in handy thanks to all the essential nutrients it packs into your skin. I love that although it’s somewhat of a powerhouse in terms of the numerous high performance botanical ingredients it boasts, it doesn’t feel heavy or greasy on my skin. Rather, it absorbs quickly and gets to work delivering ample moisture and hydration. Vitamin B from camellia oil helps revive dull or fatigued skin, while several antioxidants help fight the effects of free radicals, leaving you with smooth, supple skin. Yes please! After adding it to both my morning and night routines lately, my skin definitely feels more glowy and luminous. Of course, as with all Tata Harper products, this oil is completely non-toxic and free from any harsh ingredients like synthetic chemicals or artificial fragrances, making it great even for those with sensitive skin. I highly suggest picking up a bottle of Beautifying Face Oil for yourself- the sooner, the better!

fave products // innersense hair products

I’ve talked a lot on here about natural, organic skincare products, which are obviously super important to me. But what about that same level of quality for the products that go in your hair?! Enter Innersense Organic Beauty, an organic haircare brand using clean, natural ingredients making products for all hair types. I’ve been testing out their Hydrating Cream Hairbath & Hydrating Cream Conditioner, as well as the Refresh Dry Shampoo, I Create Waves Salt Spray, and Harmonic Healing Oil, and so far I’m really loving everything! Sometimes with products that are “too natural” I feel like my hair doesn’t even get clean, or looks greasy soon after a wash. But with the Innersense shampoo, I get just the right amount of “suds”, with no leftover residue after rinsing. I’ll admit I was a bit skeptical of the dry shampoo before I tried it- a foam to powder formulation with a pump dispenser? I’m used to the more standard spray models. But I was pleasantly surprised that the tapioca starch and witch hazel help eliminate oil while giving my second (or third?) day hair that extra oomph it really needs. Now, whenever I want to fake that Cali beach babe hair, I’ve been grabbing the salt spray, and I love the subtle texture it creates without leaving my hair dry and crunchy. Just spritz, scrunge, and go! I love using the healing oil on my ends post-shower. It’s super hydrating thanks to a blend of emollient oils and flower essences (& smells great to boot!). It even makes for a soothing scalp and nail treatment as well. What’s better is that all Innersense products are formulated without any of those nasty ingredients (think phthalates, sulfates, silicones, parabens, artificial dyes & synthetic fragrances), and are all cruelty-free and non-GMO! No matter your hair type, there’s a product for you in this lineup, so I highly recommend you check them out soon!


 * This post may contain affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, it won’t cost you a penny more, but I’ll earn a small commission. This allows me to continue to generate content for you, and helps keep the site up and running. Thanks for your support! 

fave products // iS clinical reparative moisture emulsion & youth eye complex

Oh iS Clinical, I really can’t get enough of you lately! Your serums swooned me months ago, but I really have yet to be disappointed by any of the products I try. The Reparative Moisture Emulsion and Youth Eye Complex are no different- surprise, surprise- so I wanted to give y’all the scoop on these classics from Innovated Skincare ASAP! The Reparative Moisture Emulsion has kept my skin protected and feeling smooth and healthy thanks to some powerhouse pharmaceutical-grade botanicals, peptides, and antioxidants. Copper Tripeptide Growth Factor? May sound confusing, but it’s clinically proven to fight signs of premature aging by reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles over time. Same goes for Extremozymes, which are enzymes that work to protect your skin from environmental stressors. Add in hyaluronic acid for both penetrating and surface hydration, and you’re good to go! Lots of makeup artists love this product, as it’s great for all skin types, and is a great way to prep the skin before applying makeup. Plus, paraben free is the way to be, y’all ;)

The Youth Eye Complex works similarly to the Emulsion above in many ways, but with a focus on the delicate eye area, providing you with both immediate and long-term visible improvements. You’ll find Copper Tripeptide Growth Factor and Hyaluronic here as well, but also acetyl octapeptide-3 and pseudoalteromonas ferment extract (sounds scary, but they aren’t!) which help fight pesky signs of premature aging, like wrinkles and puffiness. Yes please! Since incorporating this cream, my under-eye area has felt more firm, with increased elasticity, and not to mention looks brighter as well! As an added bonus, I also love using this product around the similarly delicate lip area. Try it out for yourself and see! Now tell me- which iS Clinical products have you tried and loved???

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 * This post may contain affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, it won’t cost you a penny more, but I’ll earn a small commission. This allows me to continue to generate content for you, and helps keep the site up and running. Thanks for your support! 

fave products // fresh beauty black tea age delay serum, eye concentrate & mask

Black tea in your skincare products? Yep, you heard me right! And not for the first time either. Remember this Fresh Beauty Black Tea Kombucha Facial Treatment Essence from a while back? This age-delay, anti-pollution toner is great for fighting pesky environmental stressors that cause your skin to age. I was and still am a big fan to pat some on post-cleansing! Lately I've been trying out some more products from Fresh's black tea line, and am happy to say I'm super pleased with the results! 

Let's start with the Fresh Black Tea Age-Delay Firming Serum. It works to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, offering an overall corset-like effect on the skin with its lifting and tightening properties. Ingredients like black tea ferment (aka kombucha) and extract, blackberry leaf extract and lychee seed extract fight free radicals that increase signs of aging while also improving your skin's elasticity. I love the combo of a super concentrated blend of peptides along with the antioxidant-rich honeysuckle leaf extract- this baby is no joke! I definitely feel like it helps define and contour the skin with continued use.

The serum pairs wonderfully with the Fresh Black Tea Age-Delay Eye Concentrate, which is great for any puffiness and dark circles you may have, and is also extremely hydrating for the delicate skin around the eyes. Black tea is obviously at play here as well, along with noni fruit juice, a powerhouse ingredient known to retain and increase moisture and protect the skin. The cooling formula is great for use both morning and night!

Whenever I feel like I need to take it to another level, I reach for my Fresh Black Tea Firming Overnight Mask. This leave-on mask provides intense moisture to dehydrated skin, and leaves you with a firm suppleness come morning. In addition to the ferments and extracts featured in most of the black tea products, the mask boasts belle de nuit extract, which is a real game changer when it comes to soothing and rebalancing your skin. Plus, super hydrator hyaluronic acid is present to provide and lock in ample moisture! I love waking up to wonderfully hydrated and plump skin. Now I'm craving a kombucha- thanks Fresh Beauty!

 * This post may contain affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, it won’t cost you a penny more, but I’ll earn a small commission. This allows me to continue to generate content for you, and helps keep the site up and running. Thanks for your support! 

fave products // fleur & bee serum and creams

Y’all know me- I love a good line of natural, non-toxic products that won’t irritate my skin, but are actually effective. Not surprisingly, this has been even more true throughout my pregnancy over the last several months. That’s why I was stoked to find a new, local brand called Fleur & Bee, which specializes in 100% vegan skincare! So far this minimal line includes just the essentials (think serum, face & eye creams, toner), but is made with quality, cruelty-free ingredients, and none of that toxic crap! Plus, it’s all super affordable, so you don’t feel like you have to skimp on it each time you apply. Maybe the best thing about the company, however, is that they donate 1% of sales to help distribute menstrual hygiene products to girls in need. How amazing is that?

By now I’m sure you’ve heard me applaud the many benefits of a vitamin C serum. I recently added their Nectar of the C Rejuvenating Vitamin C Serum to my routine, and I have to say I’ve been pleased with the results. This baby helps soften the appearance of fine lines and leaves me with glowing skin, which just goes to show that natural can still be powerful! It even stands up to serums that cost 2-3x as much! I’ve also been testing out Fleur & Bee’s creams, and they’ve been equally as impressive. The Crème de la Cream Moisturizing Face Cream is gentle and lightweight, but packed with potent botanicals and vitamins like Q10, vitamin C, vitamin E, aloe vera and pomegranate to keep your skin sufficiently hydrated. Plentiful antioxidants help fight wrinkles and even skin tone as well! The Eyes Eyes Baby Anti-Aging Eye Cream helps combat tired, puffy eyes and dark circles thanks to ingredients like vitamin E, squalane, caffeine, and green tea! It definitely helps me to awaken looking more well-rested in the morning (even if that’s not necessarily the case lately thanks to the wonder that is pregnancy). So smooth and hydrating! I definitely recommend checking out Fleur & Bee if you’re on the hunt for some new non-toxic, cruelty-free skincare that won’t break the bank!

 * This post may contain affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, it won’t cost you a penny more, but I’ll earn a small commission. This allows me to continue to generate content for you, and helps keep the site up and running. Thanks for your support!