Remember the days of going to the health food store for face products and the only option being Dr. Hauschka (which we still love, by the way, mais ce’st tres cher!)? Boy have things changed. Over the years, the beauty industry has grown substantially. There are now more products than ever before. From anti-aging creams to anal bleaching creams and moisturizers, we are now spoilt for choice when it comes to looking for any beauty products that take our fancy.
We are so spoilt, in fact, that nowadays our doorman brings up daily piles of submissions from new lines of vegan, cruelty-free, and organic products – enough to rival any conventional beauty editorial director’s – all natural products are bigger and better than ever.
So how do we weed through the average and the excellent?
Simple – we review every single one of them for you.. so you don’t have to waste your cash or your energy.
Here are our new favorites.. get excited.
Get very excited:
Mychelle Dermarceuticals has always been one of our favorite plant based beauty lines, but the addition of their newest lines just brings it to a new level of love affair. Their newest anti aging products do not disappoint. Mychelle’s product list reads like our dream grocery shop: red algae, macadamia oils, apple plant cell cultures (“phytocelltec”) which protects skin cell growth and encourages skins regeneration, sea daffodil flower (“pancratium maritimum calari-net”) which is shown to significantly reduce skin pigmentation in 6 weeks, and more delicious and rare options. Wouldn’t you rather put nature’s miracles on your skin instead of hideous unheard of chemicals? You can’t go wrong with any product from this line. They’ve also introduced a new skin brightening line, a sensitive skin line (this is a dream come true to those of us with easily aggravated skin,) and a wonderful array of SPF options for summer.
New to the GGA repertoire of favorite beauty brands, Farmaesthetics was founded by Brenda Brock, the daughter of a 7th generation farming family from Texas. She first made her handmade herbal skincare preparations available to customers, other than friends & family, in the summer of 1999 at an organic farmstand in rural Rhode Island. Today her full line of 100% natural skincare products is still committed to sustainable beauty, all Farmaesthetics products are 100% natural utilizing certified organic herbs, flowers, oils & grains from American family farms. They have the most glorious packaging (like an old apothecary) and work incredibly well. Note, many of their products contain honey (not our recommended item below) so vegans, take note.
Nourish products are the first entirely organic (USDA certified) products.. ever. You’d think all our other favorite lines are organic, but not so. Many use organic ingredients but aren’t entirely made from organic produce. Nourish is headquartered in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, where they create and produce healthy, concern-free, eco-friendly skin care products that really work (and that are as pure and clean as the organic fruits and vegetables you find at your local market). In addition to being completely natural and organic, Nourish products are also cruelty-free, gluten-free, and mostly vegan. They even make an organic deodorant! They smell really incredible, and their typography will appeal to graphic snobs.
Organic Beauty Now is an incredible conglomeration of wonderful natural products for both Mama and baby. Made with the highest quality ingredients, using only natural oils, bases and essences – they are certified organic and/or all-natural, cruelty-free and not tested on animals, and free from chemicals aka – no parabens, synthetic fragrance, mineral oil, propylene glycol, sodium lauryl sulfate or any other notorious cosmetic ingredient. The hard aluminum pump shampoo is a welcome addition to our array of hair products. The smell on this line doesn’t blow us away, it’s more benign (aka no real smell) but the products work very well and the ingredient lists are beautiful – in their shampoo beets and endives (!) provide body and shine.
Mor Cosmtetics is a line of lovely high end products, packaged magnificently (the image below doesn’t do it justice, this moisturizer looks so gorgeous in our bathroom!) that smell divine. The Marshmallow Hand & Body Milk is free of parabens, sulphates & synthetic dyes and not tested on animals. The Fragrance “sugar dipped rose petals with white carnation and cotton candy play beautifully to create a deliciously sweet perfume” immediately got “What are you wearing?!” comments from GGA’s husband.. which is saying alot considering how many products we try on the daily!
Roux Maison is not technically a beauty product, but we had to add it to the list of our new favorites because it makes us feel more beautiful. Ever get jealous of your non green friends amazing smelling laundry? We know it’s just gross chemicals from Happy Sunflower Tide, or whatever icky cancer-causing products they are using, but sometimes it smells so good next to our boring old fragrance free eco products. Enter Roux Maison to save the day. This natural laundry detergent is perfect for lingerie, bathsuits, and anything you want to keep looking new and smelling like heaven. Roux Maison is a unique collection of eco friendly laundry products that utilize all natural ingredients to produce fabric specific laundry detergent formulations. From sports gear to swimwear and lingerie, the range uses earth and fabric friendly ingredients to clean and conserve clothing. The laundry formulas are custom blended with 100% natural essential oils that are synthetic and preservative free so if you want a break from Seventh Generation, or want to upgrade the smell of your clothes to something a bit higher end, this is where it’s at.
