The Replacements

Well....after putting off this investment for 1.5 years, I finally took the plunge...and replaced my make-up. You're all aware that over the last 2 years I have gradually attempted to switch out many (but not all) of my personal care products and other products to healthier alternatives. This has meant spending many hours looking at what's available, screening all sorts of items in the database, weighing the pros and cons of local versus even more trusted sources, debating on the necessity of even needing to use half this stuff, and wondering how I was going to afford to invest in all the new products that I "needed" to replace.

While I definitely use more personal care products/make-up than necessary, I do like to believe that I am more of a minimalist in this regard than some in my age category. And over the last year, I've completely fallen in love with some great personal care products, most of which are from Burts Bees:
-Super Shiny Grapefruit & Sugar Beet Shampoo and Conditioner
-Burts Bees Beeswax Lip Balm & Lip Glosses
-Garden Carrot Complexion Soap
-Trader Joes Oatmeal Body Bar Soap

I never use shaving cream and still use the Recycline recyclable razor with replaceable cartridges. Some personal care products that I have not replaced yet are my daily face lotion and I still use on occasion mainstream body lotion (although the unscented variety (SAFER!!!) and with a medium rating for health effects). (On a side note, I'm pretty dang impressed that my boyfriend has readily jumped on my hippy/healthy bandwagon and replaced some of his own stuff with safer alternatives too...)

So yesterday was the day when I finally bit the bullet and plopped down the major cash in order to hopefully reduce more of my body's chemical burden. I'm finding this to be especially more important the more I move into potential child producing years, as I'd really like to diminish the chemical burden that my own body carries, especially when I know how that burden is likely to be passed on to any biological child that I may have one day.

While it was fun trying out new make-up, I definitely made sure to just stick with the basics. The woman at Camellia Pure Beauty was pretty fun and definitely didn't try to pressure me into anything extra. And I have to say...I'm quite impressed with the coverage and wear of what I ended up purchasing. If you can see them in the picture, there's a black eyeliner, 2 eyeshadows, mineral powder & bronzer, a concealer stick, a highlight stick, and then black mascara (vegetable based btw). Three items are from the local mineral make-up company Alima that I have mentioned before. Oh and the lip gloss is from before...and is Burts Bees.

I have to admit I felt a little guilty chucking my oldies into the trash knowing that I am polluting the landfill with chemicals and non-recyclable plastic containers, but I also feel better knowing that I'm hopefully putting my health (and that of any potential biological children) to the forefront. I just wish the price would drop to make these items even more accessible to the general population, and that awareness would increase on these topics too. Sometimes those preventative efforts can feel like a major investment, but at least it's an investment in a better future.