Trying out some new products
Ahhh… clean beauty. Clean beauty is something that I’ve loved for years but I don’t think I’ve ever done a proper blog post on the subject. Moreover, I cannot talk about clean beauty without mentioning Credo Beauty in the same breath. Credo is, of course, the largest, safest, and real-est clean beauty assortment retailer in the US. In addition to being cruelty-free, all of Credo’s products are formulated without harmful ingredients.
I was lucky enough to receive a goodie box of some of Credo’s best-sellers and customer faves to try out… and boy oh boy are they good. Keep reading to find out my faves and maybe you’ll discover some new clean beauty products to try out for yourself!
As you already know, I am on a journey to switch from antiperspirant to natural deodorant – so I was psyched to see this one by Type A Deodorant make an appearance. Pros: it’s super easy to apply, lasts all day, the scent is neutral, and it works better than most natural deodorants I’ve tried. Cons: sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) is one of the main ingredients, so if you have an alkaline sensitivity like I do, this deodorant will not work for you. Just something to keep in mind!
Some new skincare faves
Tata Harper is a skincare line that I’ve been dying to try. Formulated and packaged by hand on Lake Champlain in Vermont, this clean beauty brand is the crème de la crème. Credo sent me the best-selling Tata Harper Reparative Moisturizer, which is said to lock in hydration with hyaluronic acid while minimizing the look of aging skin. With a single pump of this magical elixir, my skin looks hydrated, plumped, and nourished. What an absolute treat! I’m totally hooked.
Another clean skincare line that has been a long-time fave is Goldfaden MD. I religiously use their Doctor’s Scrub to exfoliate my skin in the shower, and their Facial Detox mask to spot treat acne flare-ups. I was so pleased to see a new-to-me product come through this haul: the Goldfaden MD Bright Eyes eye cream. Just a tiny drop applied to the undereye and orbital bone reduces the appearance of under eye darkness, puffiness, and fine lines for a more luminous and youthful glow. Praise be! I’ve happily added this to my skincare routine and am crossing my fingers that I’ve found another Goldfaden MD winner.
A clean makeup convert
Okay, let’s talk about clean makeup for a sec. While I love me some clean skincare, it was hard for me to get on board with clean makeup in the past. In my experience, the staying power, color payoff, and the texture of clean makeup has been less-than-stellar. However, now that I’ve tried out these customer-faves from Credo, you can label me a clean makeup convert.
While the PYT Beauty No BS Eyeshadow Palette and W3ll People Bio Baked Bronzer are beautiful (and practical), the true standouts of this haul are the Maya Chia Highlight of the Day Serum, the Ilia Color Block Lipstick, and the Ilia Limitless Mascara.
My new holy grail products
After only two uses, the Maya Chia highlight serum lands firmly in my top three all-time favorite highlighters. I’ve used liquid highlight in the past and always found it to be a little too glittery/silvery/fake-looking. But oh my-my this serum is so incredibly stunning and pigmented. It’s a pearlized mineral sheen suspended in an ultra lightweight oil so the teeniest drop will be more than enough to highlight all the high points on your face. Have you ever wanted your skin to look like glass? Get this highlighter.
My other two clean makeup faves come from the brand Ilia, which I’d seen before but never been adventurous enough to try. The Color Block Lipstick is crafted from customized pigments milled in organic castor seed oil and pack 4x more pigment than any lipstick Ilia has ever made before. The formula is ultra-creamy, lasts for hours, and is super comfortable on the lips. Also, the color Cinnabar is an unusual brick reddish-pinkish-nude that I’ve never seen before and is absolutely stunning for fall.
The Ilia Limitless Mascara is another one for the books. The formula is buildable, flake-free, curling, lengthening, and volumizing. Whew. An absolute dream to use, the wand is the molded plastic kind, with one side boasting tiny spikes and the other side a fine, delicate comb. While most mascara wands make me feel like I’m using an unwieldy tree trunk to coat my lashes, this mascara wand has the delicate precision of a surgical instrument.
An honorable mention
In the makeup category, an honorable mention goes to the Rituel de Fille Inner Glow Creme Pigment in Nymph. This sleek little compact houses a deep, translucent, blood red creme product that applies like a dream and awakens lifeless cheeks, eyes, and lips. I’m not usually a creme blush-wearer, but this little product may have made a convert out of me. The shade Nymph is a Credo-exclusive, so be sure to snap it up before it’s gone!
Another new-to-me brand, Alpyn Beauty, sent through this beautiful pale pink creamy cleanser, aptly named the PlantGenius Creamy Bubbling Cleanser. I’ve been using this as the second cleanser in my double-cleanse nightly routine (the first cleanser being a balm or oil), and let me tell you that this mousse-y, bubbly cleanser gets the job done well. The antioxidant-rich lather cleanses with exfoliants, linoleic acid, and ceramides, so my skin feels squeaky-clean but never stripped. It’s quickly becoming a staple in my skincare routine!
