Beautycounter Cosmetics Review

Most people check Facebook 200 times a day but not me. My obsession is all things Instagram. I can flip through photos of other people’s lives for hours- which I do whenever I can’t sleep. That’s actually how I first learned about Beautycounter, it was on a friend’s feed and looked like a really chic and modern line that I should know  but somehow didn’t. A quick Google search of the company yielded high praise from Vogue, The New York Times, and a huge write up on Goop (which also has an incredible green shopping guide on cleaning supplies for the whole house at the end which is worth checking out.) It was there where founder Gregg Renfrew talked about how she wanted to create change in the beauty industry after learning that 80% of the ingredients used in persnal care products aren’t tested for safety and how 1,300 ingredients widely used in the U.S. are banned in Europe and only 11 are banned here. She set out to create a line so safe so currently nothing scores above a 2 on the EWG’s Cosmetics Database, a gold standard in product safety reporting. They vow to be transparent and to never use more than 1,500 ingredients that they consiter toxic and totally inappropriate in formulating their line.   Heather sent me a care package to try and here’s what I found. 

Eye Pencil in Brown $20: I wear contacts and have sensitive eyes that sometimes water for no reason so a gentle liner for me is a must. This one has a soft consistency with rich color that glides on easily and blends well. It lasts thoughout the day without smudging. It’s a medium brown shade (most ‘browns’ are so dark that they border on black these days) so fair girls will rejoyce, but if you’re any deeper than olive, stick with a black.

Color Shade Eye Duo in Oyster/ Amyethist $30: I’m mixed on the shadows because I’m looking at them from an artist standpoint where payoff is everything. These are a great everyday option because they give a wash of color that’s really easy to blend and not too dark. I was able to build them up a little playing with primers, but on their own they are very soft. If you like a subtle look, you’ll enjoy them because when shadows go on lightly you can easily blend out for a mistake-proof look.

Color Sweep Blush in Duo Bloom/ Tulip $36: Although I think $36 is a little on the pricier side for a blush they absolutely nailed it on the formula. I think that a good blush is really hard to find because so many have a hard consistency or give too way too much color that’s hard to blend. This one is velvety with a perfectly balanced amount of pigment that blends so completely into the skin that it doesn’t even look like makeup. It’s such a pretty, natural flush that’s almost impossible to achieve in a powder formula. This one’s a keeper, I may grab the bronzer (which is the same formula) too.

Lip Sheer in Twig $28:  A few years ago there was the big revelation that lipsticks contained lead (which the FDA doesn’t set limits for BTW so nothing has changed) which really freaked me out so I’m always happy to use a safe option whenever I can because lipsticks end up mostly in your mouth. The conssitency of their lip sheers are just that- sheer so don’t expect a heavy dose of color which is fine with me. I love how easy the formula is so I can swipe it on for a little bit of color to look more put together without being too made-up.  Everything about the packaging feels luxurious too so it’s fun to use.

 Tint Skin in Linen $38: The real winner though is their Tint Skin. Believe me when I say that this is hands down one of the best foundations I’ve ever used. (And that’s saying a lot.) It has such a light weight to it that I didn’t expect much coverage at all, but it glides on and covers every single ounce of redness and discoloradion (I have acne scars and melasma, so there are actual things to cover) to the point where I don’t even need concealer. It’s basically a thin coat of great looking skin that looks just as good the moment you put it on as it does when you take it off at night. Even in daylight it doesn’t look like I’m wearing makeup. The sample she sent was a tiny jar so  I’m ordering a full size this week.  

Do your research, know what’s in the things that you’re using on your body, and stay tuned for more safe beauty options to come. Disclosure: All of the products Heather sent to me were complimentary (also of the skincare which I’ll review after I’ve been able to try it all) for the purpose of review and the line is sold both from consultants as well as traditionally through their website. The links are to Heather’s personal site within Beautycounter. I wanted to support her for being so kind and generous and expecting nothing in return when she sent out the samples, but you can order through their main site as well if you’d like. I profit nothing either way.