This year I’ve been making the switch over to cleaner beauty products. While I’ve tried quite a few that were flops, I’ve found others that I truly love.
There’s a clean beauty movement making its way through the skincare and makeup market, and with so many new products hitting the stores with claims of clean, paraben-free, non-gmo, and organic, it can be confusing to weed through them all and find the best.
Clean Beauty Ratings
If you’re new to clean beauty, EWG’s Skin Deep & the Think Dirty app are great resources for beginning to understand the ingredients in the world of beauty and skincare. EWG is great if you’re on a computer and can build your own reports if the product you’re looking into isn’t already in their database. I like to use Think Dirty for on-the-fly reviews while browsing products at stores — though their product list is more limited than EWG’s so it’s a hit or miss at times.
When I look for skincare products, I search for those with an EWG score of 3 or below. And for Think Dirty, I’m usually looking for a score of 4 or below. Of course, there are always exceptions to that rule depending on the ingredient causing a score to increase and with that, I use my own judgment based on how I feel about the ingredient. You should do the same. Here’s a great article on skincare ingredients.
Today I’m sharing four clean skincare products I love and have seen improved skin health while using them.
Over the past year I’ve been trying lots of clean beauty products. Specifically looking for skincare and makeup with quality ratings from EWG’s Skin Deep and Think Dirty that are affordable, easily accessible to stock up on, and haven proven results when using them. While I now have quite a few clean beauty products I like, the four I’m sharing today are my most frequently used.
Heritage Store Rosewater & Glycerin
EWG Score: 0 // Think Dirty Score: 0 // eco-friendly, vegan, cruelty-free, paraben-free
I use the Heritage Rosewater a toner after washing my face. I love it because the smell is light, the ingredients are simple and it’s just plain refreshing. It’s moderately priced and can easily be picked up on 
Acure Brilliantly Bright Facial Scrub
EWG Score: 2 // Think Dirty Score: 3 // vegan, sulfate-free, paraben-free, cruelty-free, mineral oil-free, petrolatum-free
I love this scrub! And the fact that it’s green makes me love it even more. Acure facial scrub is made with French green clay and sea kelp. The grit in the scrub is gently but effective which means I can use it 2-3 times a week without feeling like I’m over exfoliating my skin. It’s also easy to stock up on, you can find it at Target, Whole Foods, and on Amazon.
Andalou Naturals Ultra Sheer Daily Defense Facial Lotion
EWG Score: 2 // Think Dirty Score: n/a // organic, non-GMO, gluten-free, vegan, sustainable, fair trade, cruelty-free
Moisturizer is all about personal preference. I prefer something that is light, non-greasy and contains SPF. I found 
Olehenriksen Banana Bright Eye Cream
EWG Score: 4 // Think Dirty Score: n/a // paraben-free, sulfate-free, phthalates-free
Yes, I know. A score of 4 is outside my preferred range but as I said, you have to use some discretion when choosing products and determine which ingredients are important to you. And for me, I’m fine with this rating and ingredients that cause it to go about my preferred EWG 3 score.
Eye cream as part of my skincare regimen is a new addition. I never used one but two times in a row, while getting a makeup touchup post-haircut at Jackson Ruiz, the makeup artist commented on my eyes and asked if I used an eye cream. After the second time, I decided to look into one and came across Olehenriksen’s Banana Bright Cream (no, it does not contain or smell like bananas, it’s named that for its pale yellow color).
This eye cream has a long list of accolades and lots of studies with proven results. And I too can attest to those results as I’ve seen a decrease in puffiness and dark circles since using the cream over the past 3 months.
Olehenriksen’s eye cream is moderately priced ($38) compared to other eye creams on the market, and after using it for 3 months I still have more than half a jar left. The cream has great coverage and you only need a tiny bit each use. I like to use it day and night and during the day, it works well as a lid primer before applying eyeshadow. Find it a Sephora and on Amazon.
Do you have any clean beauty products you love? Share them below! What other sites or tools do you use to check the quality of your skincare products?