My first foray into the world of intentional purchases began with beauty products quite a few years ago. If the brand advertised themselves to be “green” or “natural” (I’m looking at you, Tarte and OGX) I was immediately interested. I had no idea that the personal care industry is barely regulated, thus these descriptions meant nothing. Fast forward to present day when I have a much better grasp on what it means to purchase safer, cleaner personal care products. It has been over six months since I shared with you my current beauty ritual, so here’s an update:

(Side note – Right off the bat, you’re going to notice a lot of Beautycounter. This is not an advertisement, these are the actual products I use every single day. As a consultant for Beautycounter, I consider it my responsibility to have first hand knowledge of how well these products perform. As a consumer, I am very satisfied with the performance of these products and would love to share a detailed personal experience if you’re interested in a particular product.)

Morning Ritual

If it is the one time a week I wash my hair, I’m using Beautycounter Daily Shampoo and Beautycounter Daily Conditioner. Then I’ll wash and shave my body with Beautycounter Body Wash. Before I hop out of the shower, I wash my face with Beautycounter Charcoal Cleansing Bar. I’ve found that waiting til the very end of the shower gives the steam a chance to loosen the dirt and open up my pores, meaning a deeper clean than if I washed right at the beginning. Then I turn off the water, quickly pat dry my body, and moisturize with Beautycounter Baby Soothing Oil.

Once I’m out of the shower, I’ll apply a couple of swipes of LAVANILA The Healthy Deodorant to my underarms and coat the bottom length of my hair with The Honest Company Conditioning Detangler. I’ll then spray Leahlani Skincare Citrus and Citrine Regenerating Toner all over my face and pat Beautycounter Nourishing Eye Cream under my eyes before starting makeup.

I strive for a “No Makeup” Makeup look most days. I start by rubbing about two pumps of Beautycounter Dew Skin Tinted Moisturizer all over my face, including under my eyes. Depending on how I’m feeling that day, I might pat a couple drops of Beautycounter Tint Skin Foundation on my cheeks, chin, and nose using a Beautyblender to help cover discoloration. I follow with one click of Beautycounter Touchup Skin Concealer Pen under each eye in an upside triangle before blending inward with a Beautyblender. I add a hint of color to my cheeks with Beautycounter Color Sweep Blush Duo. The key to using a brighter blush is to just dot it into the apples of your cheeks instead of applying it all over. A quick curl with Tweezerman ProCurl Lash Curler then a coat or two of Beautycounter Lengthening Mascara helps open up my eyes a bit. Depending on my mood, I’ll apply Beautycounter Lip Sheer with my fingers or just stick with Beautycounter Lip Conditioner Calendula Balm. The final touch is to brush my brows into place with my toothbrush. On the most minimal days, it’s just tinted moisturizer, lip balm, curled lashes, and brushed brows.

Evening Ritual

About three times a week, I apply arrowroot powder to my roots as a dry shampoo. I then start removing my makeup and cleansing with Josie Maran Argan Cleansing Oil. I’ll rub about 3-5 pumps into my dry face, taking the time to really massage it in and concentrating on removing any eye makeup. After slowly rinsing that off with warm water, I exfoliate with a homemade raw honey/brown sugar mixture every other day. About twice a week I’ll follow cleansing with a homemade spirulina face mask.

Next I brush and floss. At the moment, I don’t have any toothpaste which is not the end of the world in my book. Brushing and flossing twice a day do the trick on their own.

Then a couple of sprays of toner, a couple pats of eye cream, and a pump of Leahlani Skincare Mahana Evening Replenishing Elixir all over my face, neck, and décolletage. Last is lip balm and Alba Botanica Fast Fix for a Pimple on any acne spots.

If you read my previous post about my beauty ritual, you’ll notice I’ve added a couple more products to the line up. Skin care products and having a rejuvenating and relaxing skin care ritual are something I’m really passionate about. But at the same time, I like to try to keep the process short and sweet. I’m still trying to find a good balance of how many products I really need as well as making sure I’m using everything I purchase. Hence the three face makeup products when I would be fine using just one. Or the powder blush and lip color when I would really love to just have one coral cream color for cheeks and lips. My product line up is still a work in progress, and I will probably always be as my skin and hair change over time.

Have you started the process of carefully curating your personal care products? Any advice for me or my readers? Or any products that are your absolute favorite? I’d love to hear what works for you! Thanks for reading!