My best green beauty discoveries of 2017 that ACTUALLY WORK - nothing sponsored, just realness as always. As I've been on this journey to regain my health for the last four years, I've slowly started to "green" different aspects of my life. I started with my diet, then home, then body and hygiene products, and now, finally.... MAKEUP. Ugh. Que giant elephant tears. (Here's a post on four other easy ways I detoxed my life.)

It's not that I didn't think this was important - it's just that I had SO MUCH money invested in makeup products. And it's not like you go through them quickly like soap or other things. Every time I'd go to throw away a Mac eyeshadow, I envisioned a $20 bill bursting into flames in front of my very eyes. Or and angel losing it's wings. I mean, just relish in all this overpriced, toxic beauty for a second.

I mean, last year I had over 2,000 Sephora points. Those are dollar for dollar, my friends. And that's only Sephora. So when people start whining about throwing away their $5 Revlon foundation - I'm really not in the mood.

I'm sure some of you can relate to this crisis.

Why Natural Makeup?

According to Dr. Mercola, over 13,000 chemicals are used in cosmetics yet only 10% have been evaluated for safety. WHAT! What's even WORSE is that cosmetics can come on to the market without ANY type of approval as the law doesn't even require cosmetic companies to share their info with the FDA. Bottom line: you are putting an average of 168 dangerous chemicals on your skin per day and no one is regulating it.

The skin on your face, especially around the eyes, is SO sensitive and thin. It takes about 30 seconds for those toxins to fully make it into your bloodstream - and we're talking dyes, fragrance, numerous chemicals. Plus, a lot of the makeup going on your eyes eventually gets IN your eyes during cleaning or just by particles falling and that ain't good.

Here is a list of the 7 most dangerous chemicals in your makeup. These chemicals are linked to infertility, endocrine disruption, premature aging, cancer, and a hundred other things. Eew.

The quest for natural products that actually work is a long and costly one. And I'm VERY PICKY. I researched various websites, chemicals, and scoured reviews. So I'm hoping to impart some of my knowledge upon you and spare you the misery. I can't, however, spare you the misery of throwing away your toxic makeup.

Top 10 GREEN BEAUTY PRODUCTS OF 2017

Note: I have semi oily, acne prone skin. My products are always geared toward sensitivity and keeping pores clean.

Primers.

Crunchi Smart Primer. {Note: I am not a Crunchi distributor, I just like their stuff} Primers are pretty important. They are the first layer to touch the skin, plus they cover the most surface area. Crunchi is about as "crunchy" as it gets. SO IMPRESSED with their ingredients and also their blacklisted ingredients - check em out here. 100% of their products are also vegan or vegetarian, and cruelty free and most are gluten free. This has not made me break out, and makes my skin super soft for foundation application.

Jouer Anti-Blemish Mattifying Primer - this is perfect for oily skin or summer time. IF YOU HAVE ACNE, this is your friend. It actually treats acne with salicylic acid and simultaneously fights future breakouts. It also does NOT contain dimethicone, which gives products their slip factor, but is a known pore clogger and is unfortunately in almost every. single. thing. NOTE: must apply to moisturized/exfoliated skin or it'll attach to dry patches.

Erin's Faces Eye Primer. Oh. my. gosh. This is a contender for my favorite find of the YEAR! I'm one of those people who HAS to use eye primer or my makeup melts right off. I used to be loyal to Urban Decay, but besides being super toxic, it started making my eyes look kind of crusty. But I never thought I'd find a natural primer that held up. SIKE! This one won't dry out your skin, keeps makeup in place, and it's rated next to nothing on the Think Dirty App. That's like 1000 wins in one product.

Foundations.

Crunchi Beautifully Flawless Foundation. My one true love of green beauty. This stuff is bomb. Took me TWO YEARS of searching. And I love that you can order a sample card of all the shades so you can make sure to get the right one, since you have to buy online. Great coverage (use their brush or a dense foundation brush and stipple it on), feels super light, and holds up very well even to oily skin. FIVE STARS.

Beauty Counter Tint Skin. This is a winter foundation only for oily skin girls, mmk? It's also one of the cleanest foundations out there! And no SPF - yay! I was very skeptical about this since it seems like it's not a "real" foundation but more of a BB cream. Well, after watching YouTube reviews until my eyes got blurry, I decided to go for it. It is definitely light coverage if you just rub it on with your fingers -great for a quick fix. But if you use a stippling brush it is certainly medium to quasi-full coverage. It's a hydrating foundation as well, and so I use the Jouer mattifying primer under.

Eye Shadow - Silk naturals are very pigmented, long wearing, and suuuuuper cheap. Their products are loose, mineral style, however, so just know that. If you're not a fan of that, you'll not enjoy these. You can also use water to make them into gel liners.

Eye Liner - Man. Eyeliner was almost as tough as mascara. The best one I’ve found as far as staying power and pigmentation is this felt tip liner from Erin’s Faces.

After having such success, I tried the gel pot eyeliner and it is one of the best I've ever used. Goes on smooth, stays forever. Also, the owner is lovely and your purchases are suppprting an awesome ladyboss.

Brows. Brows were TRICKY. I did a bunch of research and I had come to the conclusion I HAD to try Plume Nourish + Define Brow Pomade. And literally a day after I put it on my Christmas list, they reached out to me and wanted to send me some of their stuff to try. #serendipity

Besides completely stellar packaging (aren't we all suckers), this company makes super crunchy, high quality products. They are cruelty free, vegan, and 100% natural. WHAT I LOVE most is that their brow products contain antioxidants and moisture rich nutrients to condition and nourish the hair as it fills in. Also comes with the sculpting brush below.

And you know all those lash growth products out there? Well, they have a non-toxic version you might want to try! I've been using their Lash + Brow Enhancing Serum and it is BOMB. It's formulated by a cosmetic chemist to promote longevity and fullness of lash/brow follicles. My eyebrows are kinda sparse and my lashes could use some volume— after a bottle, I noticed a HUGE difference!

Concealer. RMS Beauty "Un" Cover-Up concealer is awesome! This is an important category, since under eye skin is sooooo delicate and thin - you don't want chemicals there! It's non drying. Doesn't crease. Covers beautifully. Blends great. They also have a cream highlighter.

Highlighter. I've been using the Bare Minerals Stroke of Light to brighten. And if you really want that all to stay put, set it with a plain silica powder -- I love the Jane Iredale Amazing Matte Loose Powder.

Powder. As just mentioned, the Jane Iredale Amazing Matte Loose Powder is incredible. I set my foundation with it, then after concealing and highlighting my under eye area I use this brush below and pat some over it to set. It blurs everything, doesn't look cakey and gives a great glow! I really like most Jane Iredale products I've tried - and a really great company with high standards!

Lips. Bite Beauty lip products - ALL OF THEM. As clean as you can get, even pigmented and flavored by fruit. I have their lip primer (amazing for prepping dry lips and extending staying power), Agave Lip Mask (a great exfoliating and conditioning mask), Amuse Bouche lipstick, and lip glosses. LOVE EM!