Beauty Minimalism Ritual: New Year, New Approach

Say goodbye to complicated beauty routines and say hello to a beauty minimalism ritual.

As the beauty industry continues to inundate us with products and promises, it’s easy to find ourselves trapped in multi-step routines that seem more daunting than effective. What we want is a skincare ritual grounded in self-care rather than an overly complicated beauty routine. A ritual that is as straight forward as it is sustainable, with simple steps and even simpler ingredients.

Fortunately, some beauty brands are out here making moves! These brands are championing the need for uncomplicated skincare. From face masks that you can eat to Ayurvedic skincare lines that are personalized for your dosha, more and more beauty brands are embracing those simple ingredients and simple steps that we’ve all been craving.

Selia & Co is one brand that I’m super excited about. Harnessing the power of organic teas and botanicals, Selia & Co offer a line of products that are chock full of plant-based antioxidants with absolutely no artificial preservatives. Click on the images below for more info!

Soothing Skin Essentials

 

Those combinations are giving me all the feels! You know me, stay tuned and I’ll be back with some DIY versions that won’t break the bank. Until then, go forth, splurge and pamper yo’ self!

Cleansing Grains Facial- A Step by Step Guide

Before you invest in putting a mini-fridge in your bathroom to house all of your DIY beauty goodies, maybe you should give this cleansing grains skin care routine a try. Cleansing grains are a gentle powdered mixture of all natural ingredients such as oats, clays, nuts, and adaptogenic herbs. Much like the just-add-water facial masks I told you about, cleansing grains are a powdered no-fuss version that are the building blocks of this gentle skin care routine.

The Good Hippie, a small batch natural skin care company, offers a comprehensive beauty routine with specialized blends that target the concerns of the 3 major skin types: Balance for normal/combination, Repair for oily/acne prone, and Thrive for dry/mature. Each blend consists of the products necessary to achieve the best results in this 5 step beauty ritual.

Cleansing Grains Skin Care Ritual

STEP 1: CLEANSE

Begin with cleansing grains (Balance, Repair, and Thrive), a gentle, soap-free facial wash. Use daily, morning + night for beautifully balanced, clean, and clear skin. Twice a month, indulge in a facial steam (Balance, Repair, and Thrive); a medley of vibrant botanicals that provides a deep cleansing, leaving your skin with a healthy glow.

sTEP 2: Exfoliate

Exfoliate, twice a week with a scrub (Balance, Repair, and Thrive). Gentle exfoliators + aromatic herbs assist in cell rejuvenation, revealing a fresh, vibrant complexion.

sTEP 3: purIFY

Twice a week, treat your skin to a mask treatment (Balance, Repair, and Thrive). Natural clays + healing botanicals provide a deep cleansing while leaving your skin beautifully toned, detoxed, and revitalized. You may also use regularly as a spot treatment on blemishes as needed.

sTEP 4: HYDRATE

Toners and facial mists (Repair and Thrive) should be used daily, morning and night or as needed to re-hydrate and refresh throughout the day. Aloe water, essential oils, and purifying witch hazel remove dirt and impurities that may have been missed during the cleansing process, closes pores, and prepares your skin for optimal hydration and moisture.

sTEP 5: NOURISH

Moisturizing facial oils (Balance, Repair, and Thrive) are a blend of pure botanical oils and healing essential oils that feed your skin vitamins and nutrients, deliver concentrated moisture, and form a protective barrier, shielding your skin from the harsh effects of the environment. Used twice a day, morning + night, these readily-absorbing serums lend a smoothness, and a hydrating glow to your complexion. For your delicate eye area, use the deeply nourishing Thrive eye serum morning + night.

Just Add Water DIY Face Masks

These pre-made DIY face masks are the perfect no-hassle addition to your spa days at home!

I’ll be the first to admit that DIY beauty treatments can get a little bit complicated. Measuring spoons, glass bowls, and a ton of ingredients…I swear, sometimes my kitchen looks like a meth lab. So I was super excited to stumble upon Juice Generation and BeeCause, two companies that totally take the guess work out of clean beauty recipes. How convenient is it that these face masks come fully mixed and ready to go?!

Juice Generation Beauty Blends Face Masks

Apply a little with a face brush and drink the rest! These beauty blends work from the inside out and the outside in.

  • Papaya Avocado Papaya and lemon naturally slough away dulling dead skin cells for a brighter complexion; while avocado deeply moisturizes.
  • Watermelon Hibiscus Antioxidant-heavy hibiscus acts as an anti-inflammatory to combat stressed skin, while replenishing watermelon and soothing rosewater deliver a radiant complexion. Each sip is floral and slightly sweet.
  • Aloe Greens Your skin will drink in the calming blend of aloe vera, nopal cactus and cucumber, while the combination of pear, spinach, and avocado provides a hit of free radical-fighting antioxidants.

BeeCause Face Masks

These come pre-mixed so you don’t even have to add water!

  • Banana & Oatmeal This smoothing mask hydrates and moisturizes dehydrated skin with nutrient filled bananas. Zinc filled whole oats and oat powder gently removes dirt and oils while effectively reducing inflammation and acne-causing bacteria.
  • Green Tea & Seaweed Made with green clay, seaweed, green tea, and tea tree oil, this absorbing mask helps to remove excess oil and dirt.
  • Honey & Blueberry This ultra conditioning and antioxidant-rich formula is filled with real blueberries and raw honey. The combination of Argan nut oil helps to fully hydrate and nourish the skin, a necessity in preventing aging skin.

Also available at Thrive Market

2 DIY Hair Mist Recipes to Rescue Your Winter Worn Tresses

With hat season quickly coming to an end, I’ve had to scramble to find a way to keep my hair smelling fresh and looking moisturized without having to actually put in the effort. I ditched commercial shampoos a long time ago, and my hair has never been healthier, but if I’m being totally honest, I kinda miss the intense (yet seriously toxic) fragrance that goes along with store bought shampoo. My go to has been this 3 ingredient herbal shampoo recipe, but even with the ease of making my own shampoo, and the hair care routine I follow (washing and deep conditioning once a week), I still wanted to find a mid week pick me up for my hair. Enter hair mist. I don’t even know how I ever lived without this stuff! These homemade recipes feature Aura Cacia Essential oil blends designed specifically for DIY hair care. Each recipe fits perfectly in a travel size mist bottle so they’re perfect for your purse, your gym bag, or your carry on!

Hair Protecting Mist

ingredients

  • 12 drops Aura Cacia Enrich Essential Oil Blend (find it here)
  • 1 tbsp Aura Cacia Organic Argan Skin Care Oil (find it here)
  • 1 oz distilled water

Directions

  • Combine all ingredients in a mist bottle
  • shake until well blended
  • to use, mist hair sparingly

Leave-In Conditioner Mist

Ingredients

  • 11 drops Aura Cacia Elevate Essential Oil Blend (find it here)
  • 2 tbsp aloe vera gel
  • 1/4 tsp Aura Cacia Organic Argan Skin Care Oil (find it here)
  • 5 tsp distilled water

Directions

  • combine all ingredients in a mist bottle
  • cover and shake until well blended
  • to  use, shake bottle and mist hair, then smooth with fingers

Hack Your Skin Care Routine With These 3 Adaptogenic Beauty Product Lines

Adaptogens have been making the rounds in beauty and wellness circles for some time now. Think of them as a botanical arsenal in the battle for restoring your body’s natural balance. Used for centuries in herbal medicine, adaptogens encompass a wide range of herbs and natural substances that are said to have a normalizing effect on the body. Notice the recent spike in kombucha elixirs at your local store? Yeah. That’s part of the trend. So with all this talk of adaptogens, it was only a matter of time before I dipped my face in some adaptogenic potion, because, you know, that’s how I roll. I’ve made some pretty dope homemade skin care recipes featuring adaptogens like matcha and maca, but still…

Sometimes that lazy diva on my shoulder whispers in my ear that she just wants to be pampered without all the fuss of homemade recipes, and without compromising on any of the healing benefits of natural skin care. Finally, the beauty industry has answered the prayers of the lazy diva in all of us by tapping into ancient wisdom and offering up easy to use products that are both natural and effective. I’m seriously crushing on so many products right now, mixing and matching as I go along. The funny thing is that even though I’m dabbing a little of this and a little of that, my sensitive skin is drinking it all up and healing itself. Yay, adaptogens! Here are some of the products I’ve been mental over this week!

Allies of Skin

This product line, with it’s unique blend of adaptogens, helps the healing process along. The products are gentle enough for daily use and treat everything from acne to wrinkles to loss of skin elasticity to sun damage. Best product is by far the Allies of Skin 1A Overnight Mask…um, clear skin while I sleep?! Yes, please!

Snow Fox

Originally designed for hypersensitive skin, the Snow Fox line is organic, plant-based, and suitable for all skin types.Their cooling masks are amazing and they even have a travel kit ready for your next adventure.

Edible Beauty

This line has something for everyone. Whether you suffer from dry skin, oily skin, combination skin, sensitive skin, or ageing skin, Edible Beauty has a range of pure, botanical ingredients to address your concerns. The packaging is amazing and goes super well with this DIY I made a while back. The kit pictured above contains some of the best products I have EVER used! An Australian company, they’ve finally started shipping to the US and Canada.