It dawned upon me last night as I was going through my Thursday night ritual that I seriously love the changes I’ve made in my routine since I made the effort to go into green-er products. This realization was important because when I first began my discovery into green beauty, I didn’t have exactly high hopes or an expectation that I would stick with it. Unlike many in the green beauty community, I didn’t fully come into this for health reasons, I was just searching for the best products that could still fulfill my desire for beautiful, luxurious products. I carefully gravitated to the few luxury green lines available yet still relied upon the old non-green favorites I had grown accustomed to from department stores. I just felt green products at the time never felt ‘complete’. Now it’s different. I no longer feel I’m making a sacrifice. When using these green products now, I don’t believe I am giving up performance or a cool factor at all thanks to the emergence of these extremely luxurious and polished green lines that emphasize green ingredients but also manage to be very exciting.
Whether it’s Tatcha‘s signature indigo line of eye catching products that adhere to a reverence toward the Geisha tradition, or Aurelia‘s injection of their signature British posh-ness that adds sophistication and class, or Yuli‘s edgy and modern under-the-radar cult line that shuns every expectation we’ve come to expect of a green brand – there is no denying the green movement is having a moment, parlaying a once niche category into a relevant forward thinking and legitimate option in the beauty market that extends outside of the green bubble.
Throughout my journey, I’ve discovered that I didn’t become an advocate of a “green movement” as much as I became a fan of better products. Aurelia’s Miracle Cleanser offers a worthy alternative to Eve Lom’s signature cleansing balm, but is made without mineral oil or any parabens, while still offering a luxuriously fluffly cold cream texture using higher quality (organic in many cases) ingredients for a lower price. Aurelia’s branding means it can sit among the best top shelves of ladies who lunch. Yuli’s Pure Mask is a water activate powder that is 100% active without any preservatives, yet contains a roster of prime ingredients that are usually found in small doses in similarly priced masks, such as biophotonic matcha, roses, rooibos extract and goji berries. And did I mention their line is chiral? That’s right, gone are the days where going green meant giving up science or that edgy cool factor. And Tatcha’s products are just so polished and well made, I almost feel sorry for people who think La Mer is the epitome of a luxury beauty experience (anyone who has unboxed a Tatcha product knows exactly what I mean).
It’s true that there are new green brands popping up every week. I’ve made the conscious effort to write about and promote the ones that I think have quality and substance for the long haul, who offer something unique and interesting outside of the rather incestuous and repetitive circle commonly found in green beauty. These products that I rave about are all ones I personally use that I feel are not only the best green products out there, but the best products on the market that can compete with established luxury brands and beat them. The level of care and polish, sophisticated science (in this case I believe it takes MORE science for these brands to create these wonderful products and maintain green ingredients i.e. Yuli Halcyon, Tatcha Sheet Mask, Aurelia Eye Duo), and seriously high quality ingredients is without a doubt in my mind the best thing for skin. Simply put, green beauty has evolved to the point where it does not need a asterisk, we no longer need to expect to give up a good texture, beautiful fragrance, and amazing performance in the name of clean ingredients. We CAN have it all.
A great post and oh so very true! I absolutely adore Aurelia particularly, they really do show up all of the other brands they get compared to.
Mayah x
They’re so well done and polished!
This is a great post, and I relate to your views on green beauty; I wasn’t really afraid of any particular ingredients, I just was disappointed by some mainstream “luxury” brands and wanted products that are well made and live up to their hype.
Thank you for sharing! I love hearing that! It seems so many green beauties attribute their switch to some health hazard that weakened them, but I believe there are so many more of us who just want ‘well made’ products that live up to their hype!
When I became interested in green products my friend said “Even if you use the best green products, they are still just the best green products. Not the best products.” I was concerned that she was right and I would not be using the best products I could be using, but only the best that green beauty had to offer! After almost a year on green products I can say that I definitely agree with your post! The products are strong and effective… sometimes too strong!
Unfortunately, since switching over last July my skin looks worse than it did on traditional products! It is red, uneven, dehydrated and irritated a lot of the time, but I’m not giving up just yet! The right combo is out there and I will find it! I hope anyone else who is having a hard time getting the right green routine will stick in there too!
Oh no!! Stick in there, the first 1-2 months my skin always had 2-3 break outs but then it shifted to giving me the best skin possible. I think part of it is that you have to use products that are suitable for you. This is why I don’t buy into the entire balms and honey thing that A LOT of green beauties rave about, and I also don’t use products that contain coconut oil or potentially irritating essential oils. I think it’s best if you single out products that you react to and then look for common ingredients to figure out what works and what doesn’t work for you.
Lovely post. I totally agree with you; I do not feel I have to compromise. While I cannot get tatcha in the EU, I totally adore yuli’s toners, serums, mask, body oil (though I wish halcyon would be less stripping). The other brands I would add to the list are kahina and antonia burrell (her toner and moisturiser are fantastic; have you tried them?).
Hi Lara, just curious – does Tatcha ship to the EU? What is the perception of Tatcha over there? I’m wondering because even in the US, brands like Tatcha and Sunday Riley are mainly known for being exclusive to one space which I feel is good for a new brand but also limits access. I have not tried Antonia Burrell for that similar reason because I think only 2 retailers in the US carry her line.
Hello there! Another British nin toxid green brand to check out is http://www.sopureskincare.co.uk