After fifteen years in natural beauty, here's exactly where I'd start.
After fifteen years of recommending (and obsessing over) toxin-free makeup, I've been asked so many times where to start. And I do hate to say this, but the truth is, you'll want to bin anything containing phenoxyethanol, parabens, silicones and talc, and if you're new to this, that's probably going to be a lot, sorry. But the good news is, you don't need much to replace it.
I've been doing this for a long time and in the beginning I loved having drawers and bags of product, but over the years I've fine-tuned it down to the best of the best. These days I'm a simple girl. I just want a handful of products that will create the perfect face for day or night, and highlight my best features. So if you're ditching the toxins and starting from scratch, here are the exact products I'd start with.
1. INIKA Organic Serum Foundation
If you buy one thing off this list, make it this. It's the world's first certified organic serum foundation, so you get skincare and makeup in a single step. It builds to a full coverage that feels completely weightless, like you're not wearing anything, and it stays put all day. It's made with ceramides, baobab and macadamia oil, and it's dermatologist approved for sensitive skin. I even use it as a body foundation because the coverage is so good. It has great clinical results too, with 93% saying it concealed redness, imperfections and uneven skin tone. I'm shade Fearless (just like me!).
2. Benecos CC Concealer Palette
This is the perfect compact concealer palette. It has four creamy, colour-correcting shades that cover everything. The green tones down redness, the pink and beige hide dark circles, and the purple shade brightens pigmentation. It's made in Germany and certified natural to the strict BDIH standard, plus it's such a great price. A little goes a long way so it lasts for ages, and it comes in a small, thin compact so you can take it anywhere.
3. Benecos Mission Invisible Translucent Powder
How cute is the name! The serum foundation does have a dewy finish, so I set it with this. It's made with finely milled corn flour instead of talc, along with natural light-reflecting minerals, chamomile and organic argan oil that keep shine under control all day. It goes on invisible and it doesn't go cakey or settle into those fine lines. It's also made in Germany and certified natural, plus it's super thin and compact. You'll just need a powder brush or puff to apply it.
4. 100% Pure Green Tea Fibre Brow Builder
This one brings back the brows I over-plucked in the 90s. It's made with tiny green tea leaf fibres that grab onto the hairs you've got and fill the gaps, so sparse spots look fuller and grey hairs blend away. What I love is how opaque it is. Rather than a gel that just washes your brows with a bit of tint, this actually builds them up from almost nothing, so even bare patches get real shape and colour. There's vitamin E, pro-vitamin B5, cocoa seed butter and maracuja oil in there to condition while you wear it, and candelilla and rice bran waxes to hold everything in place all day. In this photo of me, I'm wearing the Soft Brown shade.
5. Ere Perez Coco Lip & Cheek Crayons
A 3-in-one lipstick, lip liner and cream blush in a wooden crayon, which is everything you want when you're keeping it to the basics. These award-winning crayons come in a whole range of gorgeous shades, and you can use them on lips, blend them onto cheeks as blush, or even use them to contour. They contain coconut and baobab oil to keep them hydrating, and they go on soft and blendable with a creamy satin feel, then stay put once on. Because it's all in a pencil, it's easy to take anywhere for a quick top-up. My favourite shade is Charm, which is a peach nude.
6. Luk Beautifood Lip Nourish Lipstick
There's a bit of history here for me. Back in the early 2000s, when I worked in advertising, I was the account manager on Luken-May, Luk founder Cindy Luken's biscuit brand. Then years later, around the time I started my first toxin-free shop Nourished Life, Cindy had launched her lipstick range. You wouldn't believe my surprise when she reached out to me to stock them, it was the world's biggest yes. She's a food scientist, so these are made with food-grade ingredients that nourish your lips while you wear them, and they even taste like food. You can't pick a wrong shade, they're all so beautiful and flattering. If you're not sure where to start I sell little sample pots, but my favourite is the Nude Pink.
7. Dr Hauschka Lip Line Definer
Imagine a lip liner that's completely invisible but smooths the little lines on your lips and stops your colour bleeding or feathering. Well, this is it. It does all that without leaving a visible outline like a traditional lip pencil. It's made with rose petal extract and jojoba oil so it's nice and hydrating. It defines, shapes, and gives a subtle plumping effect too. It works under any type of lipstick or lip gloss, it's made in Germany, it's certified natural, and it's just the best kept makeup secret.
8. INIKA Organic Eye Pencil
A super soft, creamy liner that glides on. It's certified organic, made in Italy and suitable for sensitive eyes, with rich, pure mineral pigment and conditioning botanical extracts, plus carnauba wax to keep it water-resistant and lasting all day. Sharpen it for a fine line or smudge it out for a smoky eye. I wear Cocoa, a warm brown that's softer than black. But if you want more shade variety, I also love the Ere Perez Jojoba Eye Pencils. They're made with jojoba oil and the pigments are super rich and won't smudge. My favourite shade is the Bronze, it's so flattering.
9. 100% Pure Fruit Pigmented® Ultra Lengthening Mascara
Hands down the best natural mascara I've ever found. The colour comes from fruit and plant pigments, things like blackberry, blueberry, black tea and cocoa, along with minerals and even bamboo charcoal. It lengthens and defines each lash without clumping or flaking, and there's pro-vitamin B5, biotin, vitamin E, castor oil and jojoba in there to condition the lashes. I'm obsessed with the Blackberry shade, it's a deep purple that makes green and hazel eyes really pop!
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