Journey to a Healthy Makeup

My last post - Toxic Beauty - covered my recent reasons into changing my beauty products to safer, less toxic brands.  I also covered what makeup I currently (then) used, as well as how they ranked on the toxicity scale.  If you haven't already, I encourage you to take a look at that blog post.

Now that I have had a chance to research, purchase replacement makeup products, and try them out I wanted to give you my opinions of what I have tried thus far.  So...here goes...

There were a few brands that sparked my interest in all my research.  I was looking for companies that didn't include ingredients in the dirty dozen list, and makeup that ranked as a 3 or lower on Skin Deep's cosmetic database.  The main goal was to reduce the amount of hormone disruptors my body was taking in as I already have a hormone imbalance due to PCOS. 

My makeup needs:

1. I have sensitive skin (probably having something to do with my hormone imbalance), so makeup can easily cause a lot of redness around my nose and cheeks, or cause breakouts on my forehead.  I already have pretty red, blotchy skin and break out regularly on my chin.  I also have horrible under-eye bags/circles that I need to cover each morning and scarring on my chin from PCOS.  So, I need a foundation that evens out my skin tone and a good concealer for my under-eye area and blemishes. 
2. I cannot live without a good charcoal colored eye-liner.  I'm not a fan of liquid, I really wanted a pencil that is soft and easy to apply.  
3. Shimmery eye shadows, not too vibrant, but ones that actually show up and don't crease up halfway through the day.
4. A good mascara that doesn't flake or clump.

Here is a summary of the makeups that I tried out and what I thought of them:

Foundation-

• Terra Firma Cosmetics Hydrasilk Mineral Foundation
  

  

  Terra Firma Sample Stack - Foundation/Blush

  Terra Firma caught my eye because it was a local company, had GREAT prices, and didn't include the ingredients I was trying to avoid.  I purchased the sampler, which includes 4 shades of foundation, a finishing powder and two blush colors.  This was a GREAT deal at $16.00.  I loved how they offer the option to try samples first since ordering online can be tricky. 
  
  The first 2 days of wearing the foundation and finishing powder together my skin felt like all the moisture was being sucked out of it.  This was so uncomfortable and itchy that the second day I washed it off within an hour of putting it on.  I tried again the next day, but didn't put on the finishing powder.  No itchy dry skin after that, so there must be something in the finishing powder that my face didn't like. 
  
  WHAT I LOVE- The coverage of the foundation is AMAZING for a mineral powder.  My skin tone was evened out, skin looked great, and it is buildable.  I also love the price and that they are local to me.
  
  VERDICT - I still prefer liquid foundation, so I'm not completely hooked.  I do love how it feels and looks, so if I don't fall in love with a liquid then I will consider using this full-time.
• Juice Beauty Perfecting Foundation
  I fell in love with Juice Beauty's products the moment I stumbled upon their website.  The reviews looked great, the prices were what I would expect ($35), and I was intrigued by what everyone was saying about how it smelled.  I know, smell is a stupid reason, but still it was intriguing.  I also had a family member that LOVED their foundation and other products, so based on her reviews I wanted to give them a try. 
  

  

  Juice Beauty Foundation and Finishing Powder

  
  This is a liquid foundation, which is what I was hoping to find, but when you put it on it dries pretty quickly so you would want to use your fingers rather than a brush to apply it.  It goes on smooth, smells citrusy (so nice and awakening in the morning!), and feels great all day.  I have had a couple mornings where my skin looked like I had too much makeup on, or it accentuated a dry spot more than I wished, but I've noticed it reacts differently to what type of moisturizer I put on first. 
  
  WHAT I LOVE- The coverage is good, evens out my skin tone.  It feels great on my skin and smells great. The finishing powder does an amazing job of giving that air-brushed look.
  
  WHAT I DON'T LOVE- Not as buildable as I wish it was, but that's what I use concealer for if I need to.  I've also gotten inconsistent results, so I'm still working with it to determine if it's my moisturizer or if I need to just exfoliate more. 
  
  
  VERDICT- I am using this every morning and like it.  Not sure if I love it yet.  I'm planning on using the rest of the bottle up and if I am hooked by then I will reorder.  If not, I will look elsewhere. 

Concealer-

• Terra Firma Hocus Pocus Undereye Mineral Concealer
  I purchased a sample baggie of this powder after reading great reviews on it.  This did NOT cover my undereye circles at all.
• Juice Beauty Correcting Concealer
  I purchased this at Ulta and took it back the next day.  It was watery and sheer, didn't cover my dark circles at all. 
• Tarte Maracuja Creaseless Concealer
  This is a creme concealer that comes in a squeeze tube.  It is thick, so you only need a dab for the undereye area.  I LOVE this concealer!  It covers so well for undereyes and blemishes without looking cakey and lasts all day.  This is my new favorite makeup product and it's worth every penny!

Blush- 

• Terra Firma Mineral Blush
  I haven't every really used blush because of my redness in my skin, but I really wanted to learn how to contour, plus some came with the Terra Firma sample stack so I gave it a try.  I have to say, I LOVE the "In Love" mineral blush color so much. I use it every day.  This is something I will continue to purchase.

Eye Shadow-

• Tarte Amazonian Clay Eyeshadow Palette
  I had a hard time finding a palette of eyeshadow to get that was safe for use. Tarte offers several choices, I chose the palette that included olive, peach, gold and espresso.  I do like this palette, however I have a hard time with getting the colors to stick around all day long.  I think I will continue to add to my eye shadow collection as I get more money, trying out other brands to see what I like the best.  This was a good get-me-by starter for the time being. 

Tarte Concealer, Eye Shadow, Eye Liner and Mascara

Eye Liner-

• Tarte Skinny SmolderEYES
  I have been HOOKED on Clinique's quickliner since high school, so I knew finding a replacement might be difficult. I needed something that was easy to apply and I love charcoal (not black!) which proved harder to find than I thought it would be.  
  
  This eyeliner intrigued me as it had GREAT reviews, looked like what I was used to using already, and came in a charcoal gray color. 
  
  WHAT I LOVE- I love how easy it is to apply and how it looks.  It goes on so smooth.
  
  WHAT I DON'T LOVE- I have to sharpen it often, about 2x a week. I purchased it a month ago and I've used at lease half of it.  Don't get me wrong, I don't use a TON of eyeliner, usually just on my top eyelid.  I also have to be sure to apply a light eye shadow over it if I apply it to my bottom lid so it doesn't smear during the day.
  
  VERDICT- I do love this eye liner, but I might try some of Tarte's others as they have many to choose from.  I wish it lasted longer.

Mascara-

• Tarte's Gifted Amazonian Clay Smart Mascara
  I received this as a free sample with my purchase, so of course I was going to try it out!  I also couldn't find a mascara I wanted to try with Juice Beauty and didn't end up splurging for Terra Firma's yet. 
  
  WHAT I LOVE- This mascara is a perfect, all around mascara!  No flaking or smearing.  Doesn't look clumpy.  Washes of well. And I love the container! It's an earth-friendly wood container.  Works better than the Clinique or department store mascaras I've always used.
  
  WHAT I DON'T LOVE- Nothing!  It's perfect!
  
  VERDICT- This is a keeper for sure!

Overall, I think I was pretty lucky to have found so many keepers.  My skin is happier.  Purchasing these brands, you can get JuiceBeauty and Tarte at Ulta.  Tarte is also at Sephora.  Terra Firma you can get off their website, or in some beauty stores (look at their site for locations).

Terra Firma - http://terrafirmacosmetics.com/index.html
Juice Beauty - http://www.juicebeauty.com/
Tarte - http://tartecosmetics.com/

Have you tried any other "safe" makeups that you would like to share?  I encourage you to comment below with your experiences!