A week in favorites

Hello, my name is Vanessa and I'm a hoarder, namely a beauty hoarder.  I've been slowly switching from mainstream cosmetics and skincare to natural options for about half a year now but while I may be new to the green side, I've been obsessed with beauty products for far longer.  I'm the type of girl who obsessively searches for reviews of products before deciding to buy any and a certain trend I've noticed is the lack of opinions on some great greener products.  It is for that main purpose that I've decided to start The Clean Curator.  I hope that CC will be a great source of information for people who are interested in hard-to-find reviews on great, safer products.  I'll be posting more detailed reviews on my favorite brands and items in later posts but I decided to start things off with a classic overview of my favorites for the week!



BEAUTY

Beauty counter Tint Skin Complexion Coverage- I bit the bullet and bought this a few months ago because I saw a great youtube video from Beautycounter's team on this particular tinted moisturizer.  I never thought I would be a tinted moisturizer type of girl purely because I've struggled with hormonal acne for over half a decade now.  I was banking on the fact that they mentioned that this product had build able coverage- and let me just tell you, it does.  I am in the shade Linen, and for reference, I am a B20 in Chanel Perfection Lumiere and Shell in Hourglass Immaculate Foundation.  It blends like a dream and I've found that I reach for this everyday when prepping my face for the day.  A more detailed review and swatches will be up soon!

100% Pure Healthy Skin Foundation Powder- This powder is so finely milled!  It literally feels weightless when I sweep it on and while it does not provide very much coverage when worn alone, it is a great setting powder.  The packaging is both gorgeous and light.  It is a perfectly compact powder that you can take on the go.  It does not give off a powdery look and perfectly blends into your skin especially when worn with a liquid foundation underneath.  I am in the color Creme but I may be able to use White Peach in warmer months.

Tarte Gifted Amazonian Clay Mascara- I received this as a part of my 500 point gift from Sephora a month ago.  I've been using it ever since and it does an amazing job with separation and lengthening.  I was afraid that it may not give me enough volume as I usually purchase volume boosting mascaras but I am happy to say that this layers beautifully and does offer both length and volume.  There is no crispy lash feeling or fall out in the form of flakes with this mascara.  It is a much better deal to buy two of the smaller versions versus one of the larger versions as you get more product that way and the mascara remains fresher.  

BEAUTY: EMPTIES

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder-  I have the powder in Diffused light.  Before I continue, I'd like to mention that I did try the ever popular Dim Light, but I found it to be too pink-toned for my fair-light skin tone.  This is definitely the stuff of dreams.  The powder can be used to highlight but what I generally used it for was setting my entire face (perhaps that caused me to finish the powder more quickly).  It brightens up my complexion without making me look too shiny and just diffuses many imperfections in my skin tone.  

BODY:

Pai Comfrey & Calendula Calming Body Lotion-  I love Pai.  If I had to choose my favorite organic skincare line at this moment, it would undoubtedly be Pai.  Although their products do break the bank a bit, I believe in the quality of their products.  Over Black Friday, I purchased their Oily/combination starter kit as well as this body cream and their infamous Rosehip oil.  I find this product works much better for my skin during the winter months as it may be a bit rich for the summertime.  However rich it may be, it also dissolves fairly quickly to reveal smooth and supple skin.  I've been using it on my dishydrotic eczema and it has helped soothe the itching.  I will be doing a full review of all of the Pai products I own in the next post.

RANDOM:

Tory Burch Stacked Envelope Crossbody-  I've been meaning to get a small phone-cash-credit cards purse for a while now.  I found this at an outlet at the end of the year sales and just couldn't pass it up.  It's been so convenient to run errands with or to go out with and I can see myself using this consistently for years to come.  I endearingly call it my Baby Tory.  The color also goes with everything (though I can't vouch for that too much considering my wardrobe is made up of mostly monochromes).

That's all for now, but I'll be back with full reviews of the products mentioned!

Yours,

Vanessa