The cleanser with coconut oil that my skin loves – MV Organics Gentle Cream Cleanser
I put off trying this cleanser for years out of fear that the coconut oil would break me out. Until I had a mini MV Organic Skincare facial at a Credo Beauty. The cleanser is mega gentle, and although creamy, leaves no oily residue or breakouts, surprisingly.
The rosey facial oil calms my acne – MV Organics Rose Plus Skin Booster
I also put off trying this for years not out of fear, but more out of “meh, rose? Overrated.” My Credo Beauty facialist and MV founder Sharon both recommended I give it a try for my acneic therefore sensitive skin and I have never been more loyal to a facial oil. You may have noticed my posting volume has been way down the past several months which I have been in grad school. Given my insane stress levels (group projects, ugh), my face should have broken out so much more given how sensitive my face is typically to stress. I’m not complaining.
The face mask that is good enough to sleep in – Tata Harper Resurfacing Mask
At another Credo Beauty event (do you see a theme here yet?), Tata Harper advised my acneic sister and I to sleep in the Resurfacing Mask for a month to combat our acne. “What? And then apply facial oil over it?” Oh yes. I was worried about it being too harsh, but nope. I chickened out after a week (relegating the ritual to a once-a-week thing) but my sister kept up with it, with many thanks from her puberty-ful skin.
The hair styling lotion that makes my curls look good even on day 2 – Evolvh Ultimate Styling Lotion
At the same Credo Beauty event with Tata Harper, a hair stylist from Evolvh recommended this styling lotion for basically everything. I typically never style my hair–my style is usually to grow it out long so that the weight of my hair straightens itself out. But I have been obsessed with the curly bob/lob look, and this makes my usually awful looking second-day curls look pretty swell.
The neutral eyeshadows that make my monolidded eyes pop – Kjaer Weis eyeshadows
At the same Credo Beauty event with MV Skincare, I badgered Kirsten from Kjaer Weis and Natalie from Credo Beauty for eyeshadow color recommendations. I am such a noob at eyeshadow especially since 90% of eyeshadow tutorials don’t apply to my monolids. My initial set of Kjaer Weis colors were, although pretty, sort of awkward, not complimentary, and I didn’t know how to wear them well. They recommended Charmed, Wisdom, and Divine–a nice gradient from neutral to smoky. The secret is layering shades from lightest to darkest, however dark you want to go.
The bronzer that is just right for subtle contouring – Kjaer Weis Dazzling Bronzer
If Kjaer Weis’s highlighter wasn’t gorgeous enough, oh my goodness, the Dazzling bronzer. For subtle shading of my outer face which works better with my face than drawing a contour line, this is gold. Not too ruddy or orange-y or grey, just right.
The tiny lip tint that adds the perfect amount of glam – Kjaer Weis Lip Tint in Sensuous Plum
Another product I put off because I figured at least lippies in tubes are more hygienic then dipping my fingers in a compact. But the formulation is super hydrating and the color is so prettily glam, but not glaringly red so that my mother says I have a monkey butt on my face (not even kidding).
The toner that packs a serious burst of hydration – Antonia Burrell Forest Dew Conditioner
This thicker toner is so good for the winter and so good in combination with the Kjaer Weis foundation. It leaves my skin super hydrated (though I might wean off of this for the summer) and foundation just glides like butter over it.
The liquid eyeliner that doesn’t smudge or flake – Physician’s Formula Eye Booster 2-in-1 Lash Boosting Eyeliner + Serum
My sister and I had given up on finding a good liquid eyeliner, especially liquid eyeliner pens, because they either smudge like crazy or don’t have enough pigment. This doesn’t smudge, has a brilliantly skinny tip for feline flicks, and is jet black. It does erode from my monolid, but that’s my problem. Do my lashes look fuller? I guess?
The perfume that is luxurious and rosey but doesn’t smell like grandmas – LURK Eau de Toilette in RSW005
This was an indulgent purchase that was long on the wishlist. I love, love, love the oil version, but this EDT is the most gorgeous thing ever, especially in terms of packaging. Love how it smells, love how it looks.
The foundation with coconut oil that my face doesn’t break out with – Kjaer Weis Foundation
You may remember this one from my 2013 favorites, but probably wondered why there was never a review. First, Paper Thin was too pink for me. Second, I slowly weaned off wearing the foundation in lieu of treating my acne first. Now that my blemishes are much fewer in number, I have a super hydrating toner (see above) to properly prep my face with, and Silken is a much better match for my skintone, I am back in love with this medium/full coverage foundation.
The brow gel that tames the caterpillars on my face – Glossier Boy Brow
This is the least green of the pack, but so good that I can overlook the phenoxyethanol. My eyebrows are super black and full enough, but I just need a little something something here and there. This defines my brows and enhances my shape without turning me into Spock.
That’s a wrap for 15 of my favorites from 2015. Have any favorites in common? If not, what were some of your #greenbeauty highlights from 2015?
Disclaimer: While many of these products were recommended to me at Credo Beauty events, I bought every single one of them myself. *faints. Also, while there are affiliate links included, I actually do not have any affiliate links to Credo Beauty. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I am not being compensated for my words.
Always love reading your favorites! So lucky to have Credo near you. I’ll be visiting my family in So Cal soon and I hope to visit The Detox Market. Good luck with grad school and Happy 2016!! 🙂
Author
Thank you Stacey! Yes! The Detox Market in LA is such a good place to visit as well–such a slew of good brands. They also have events fairly often these days. Thank you and a very happy 2016 to you as well 🙂
Oh that Rose Plus Booster sounds like it’s to die for! I’ve been testing so much mainstream skincare for my job and still go back to my green beauty faves. Definitely one to test on my list once I’m done struggling to finish all my older products.
http://charmystique.com/
Author
Rose Plus Booster is as good as it sounds!! The size and price (and slight leakiness of the bottle) kill me, but the product is worth it. Hope you try it soon! xx
Gah I love Credo. It makes my trips home to see family all the more fun though I’m hoping for the day they carry Yuli there!
Author
I know right?? I was so sad to leave the East Coast and Cap Beauty…until I moved an hour away from Credo Beauty ;D For Credo to carry YÜLI would be the dream, wouldn’t it? Maiden Lane Studios in SF carries YÜLI–I keep meaning to visit, but haven’t gotten the chance yet.
I ordered the Dazzling Bronzer and some of the eyeshadows yesterday and am much looking forward to try them. But: I went for the eyeshadow refill pans to pack them into a palette with other shades. Do you know if I need magnets for this? Otherwise I will see it in a few days time :D.
I’m so sad that there isn’t a Kjaer Weis foundation match for me. Silken has the right undertone, but is too dark for my NC13 skin :(.
Author
Nice! Yes, you will need magnets–normally the compacts have the magnets. Definitely less expensive to order refills.
Oh no I’m sorry to hear that there isn’t a KW foundation match for you 🙁 Have you sampled any of the lighter shades?
awesome picks here! Love the KW eye shadows and so many great products for me to try now! I need to get on that Tata Harper Mask for my acne!! thanks for sharing this 😀 Just schedule my best 15 of 2015 post for tomorrow. it was SO HARD to narrow it down!
Author
Thanks Tianna!! You have some awesome picks too! Haha, I love your paragraph of honorable mentions. Tata Harper Mask == amazing. xx
Isn’t the Physicians Formula eyeliner amazing?! Hard to beat!
Author
Aaaaabsolutely amazing. I owe it to you posting it on Instagram/your blog for finding it!!!
When Tata gave you the advice to sleep in her mask, did she say you should use it every night? I was wondering if I could do the same to combat my forehead breakouts from an allergy.
Here’s why:
I broke out from a shampoo that hard that my forehead was covered in breakouts and little blisters. As a reaction I got blackheads and whiteheads all over my forehead, too, which you can only see when I stretch the skin between my fingers (I don’t know how to translate it properly … sorry xD). It’s like blackheads on the nose, but on my forehead.
As I knew I would have trouble to get rid of this I tried Paula’s Choice AHA and BHA but it didn’t work for me. I looked horrible for more than 2 1/2 months and gave up. The products didn’t work because they haven’t cleared my cloged pores properly.
When the visible breakouts from Paula went away and I was left with whiteheads and blackheads, I tried a sample of the Tata Resurfacing Mask. After the second use my skin exploded but at the same time I noticed that some of the blackheads went away and I can finally sqeeze them out. Now I was wondering if Tata draws out all the gunk and I will be left with my normal skin again, when all the stuff from the allergy is out of my skin. That’s why I wanted to ask you if it’s normal that the mask draws out the gunk or if I reacted to it and shouldn’t buy a fullsize product … :/
Thanks for your advice in advance.
Author
Omg–so sorry to hear about your bad reaction 🙁
The Tata Harper Resurfacing mask is really excellent–I’m guessing it helped draw out gunk by exfoliating the surface of your skin. It’s not exactly a clay mask so I’m not quite sure if it exactly draws out gunk but I would say that it moves aside dead skin cells so you can get at the gunk.
When Tata gave the advice to sleep in the mask, she recommended to sleep in it for a month every night. I think you wouldn’t want to do it too long beyond a month every night to avoid sensitizing your skin, but definitely listen to your skin and gauge how your skin feels.
I hope this helps and best of luck!!
xx Jade