Naturalla Beauty

Tomorrow marks the official start of fall, so it seems appropriate to wrap up summer today with a favorites post.  These are the standout products I've especially enjoyed using over the last few months.  As many of you know, I've been focused on using the products I already have this year, rather than mindlessly buy-buy-buying, so while there are a couple new things here, most are products I've written about before, although not super recently. 



Gabriel Cosmetics Vibrant Pink Blush*
I used to be terrified of wearing too much blush and looking like a clown, but I've gradually worked up to being comfortable with brighter and more pigmented blushes.  Vibrant Pink is a matte cool hot pink and I loved it this summer.  It gives the prettiest pop of pink without looking overdone.  The Gabriel blushes are quite pigmented -  so a light hand is key - but they're blendable and easy to work with, even if you're fair skinned like me.  

Balanced Guru Calming Masque
I've raved about this mask several times before and it really is a consistent favorite of mine.  Made with a blend of detoxifying bentonite clay and sea kelp, soothing calendula, marshmallow root, echinacea, and aloe vera, and nutrient dense rosehip, sea buckthorn fruit, and gingko, it strikes a perfect balance between drawing out impurities and nourishing the skin with healthy vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.  The mask is actually quite detoxifying, but it comes as a powder, which allows you to easily tailor the liquid(s) you mix in to best suit your skin.  I like to use water, in combination with a few drops of a face oil to prevent the mask from drying as firmly as it does with water alone.  I also often mix in a drop or two of carrot seed or frankincense essential oil as an extra anti-aging boost.  My skin is always left looking visibly clearer and brighter after using the Calming Masque and I feel like it's something I'll always keep stocked on my skincare shelf.  

Ursa Major Fantastic Face Wash*
I really enjoy a lathering cleanser, but my skin can't tolerate how drying some of them are.  Happily there are products like the Fantastic Face Wash, which foams up nicely, rinses easily, and doesn't leave my skin feeling at all dry.  I first used it about six months ago but gradually drifted onto new things, as we do, only to rediscover it mid-August and fall head over heels all over again.  The scent is an invigorating unisex blend of spearmint and evergreen trees that's lovely and refreshing without being over the top.  The cleanser offers gentle exfoliation from sugar cane and fruit extracts, and a slight tingly sensation from the mint leaves skin feeling extra clean, though never dry or stripped.  

Pacifica Red Red Wine
I first saw this nail polish color in a Youtube video last fall and immediately set my sights on it.  It's taken me until the summer to actually get my hands on it, as even though a nearby health food store stocks the Pacifica polishes, they've been sold out of Red Red Wine every time I've been in.  The color is pretty much just what the name suggests: a classic dark red/wine color with a creme finish.  I wore it in the summer, but it's really a more traditionally fall/winter shade, so I don't foresee putting it away anytime soon.  The Pacifica polishes are 7-free and vegan, with a great, long-wearing formula.  

Brija Cosmetics You Know Who Highlighter
I used to prefer a matte complexion, but these days I really think glowing, luminous skin is the way to go.  To me, it just looks fresher, healthier, and more natural.  That said, I have some larger pores on my nose and cheeks and I've struggled to find a highlighter that provides the radiance I'm looking for without emphasizing or drawing extra attention to them.  But, I think I've finally found it in You Know Who, which gives a beautiful ethereal glow without any piecey shimmer or glitter.  It's a light, white/cream shade, but it doesn't look chalky or frosty on the skin.  It's also versatile in that it can be worn lightly for a subtle everyday look or built up to a more serious gleam for a dramatic highlight.  

Ora's Amazing Herbal All Purpose Salve*
This salve is great for lots of things, but my favorite use is on bug bites.  It works like nothing else on both swelling and itching.  We've got a good number of spruce trees in the backyard and plenty of mosquitos as a result, so whenever I'm out there with the dog, there's a decent chance of bites.  Just last week, I managed to get a bite right in the middle of my forehead, which, being in such an obvious spot, of course swelled up huge and looked like a goose egg.  I used the salve twice that night and it worked like a charm.  The formula has a grapeseed and coconut oil base and is packed with anti-inflammatory herbs like calendula, comfrey, chickweed, plantain, burdock, thyme, and St. John's wort.  It visibly starts to take down swollen bug bites within minutes of application, and within a couple hours, even the biggest bites are nearly gone.  With summer winding down, bug bites aren't as big of an issue, but I know I'll still keep this guy handy for its multitude of other uses.  It works well on other skin irritations and soothes everything from cuts and scrapes to pimples, chapped lips, dry cuticles, and rashes.  

Hope you had a fabulous summer and are looking forward to fall!

Gabriel Cosmetics - or more specifically Zuzu Luxe - was the first natural makeup I remember using.  I discovered one of the company's makeup displays as a teenager, whilst wandering through a Wild Oats store in Salt Lake City, and I remember being surprised by how modern and even trendy the color selection was.  This goes back several years - to before I'd made the switch to using only natural products and to long before anything close to today's natural makeup selection existed - and Gabriel Cosmetics and Zuzu Luxe have not left my makeup bag since.  

The line has expanded quite a bit since those days and I'm always eager to check our the company's new releases.  I recently had the chance to try a few new-to-me products and I jumped on it.  I was sent the Zuzu Luxe Mosaic Illuminator in Light* and Gabriel Color Vibrant Pink Blush* and Florentina Multi Pot.*  



Mosaic Illuminator (Light)
Can we just admire how gorgeous these mosaic powders are for a minute?  If there's one thing I'd say is still lacking in the non-toxic makeup realm, it's pressed powders like this that can rival high end mainstream makeup - in terms of packaging and visual appeal, as well as performance - so it's very exciting to see Zuzu Luxe stepping up to the task.  

According to the company, the Mosaic Illuminator "captures light and covers imperfections, giving your complexion a luminous beautiful finish."  It's a light powder that gives minimal coverage, but a really nice, slight radiance to the skin.  It's particularly great for this time of year when skin can start looking a little dull. 

Used by itself, the illuminator slightly perfects and evens out the skin.  There are some yellow-toned components that are helpful for toning down redness, but it still doesn't provide as much coverage as I'd like by itself.  Instead, I like to use it over top of another foundation, as more of a setting powder.  That way, you get the coverage from another product, but the lovely finish and radiance of the Mosaic Illuminator. 



Vibrant Pink Blush
Vibrant Pink looks crazy bright in the pan (it's even brighter in real life than in the photos!), but on the cheeks, it provides a pop of color that's neither garish or over the top.  Gabriel (and Zuzu Luxe) pressed products are always great quality and Vibrant Pink is no exception.  I only need to lightly tap my brush into the product to get enough color for my cheeks and it doesn't kick up much excess powder or fall out either.  I also love that this is a matte shade, but is still pigmented and very blendable.  I'm definitely interested in trying more colors in the future.  



Florentina Multi Pot
Gabriel's Multi Pots are designed to be a three-in-one product for the eyes, lips, and cheeks.  Florentina is a matte, bronzy/neutral pink or raisin color that I never would have chosen for myself, but I ended up quite liking the natural, subtle look it gives, particularly on the cheeks when used as a blush.  The texture of the Multi Pot is significantly drier than a lot of other cream blushes, so it's never greasy or oily on the skin.  Instead, it feels like it sets to a powder-like finish almost as soon as you blend it.  

This consistency also helps it last better on the eyes - although it did crease when I tried to build the color up to more than a sheer wash - but it also means that I don't love how it feels on the lips.  On bare lips it acts as more of a stain, but can be a little drying.  I've also tried applying it over a lip balm, which compensates for the dryness, but means you won't get the best color payoff.  It's all good though, as Florentina is probably a color I'd wear more on my cheeks and eyes anyways!  



The Bottom Line
I already loved Gabriel and Zuzu Luxe products and these three have only served to reinforce that.  If you're looking for high quality natural makeup with great ingredients and the same ease and convenience as mainstream products (no loose powders here!), I don't think you can do better than these lines.  The products are also pretty widely available at Whole Foods and other health food stores, which is always a plus.