While I will always stay on the hunt for new, inspiring beauty products, I feel such a relief to have found Beautycounter.  I know that I’ve found a brand whom I can trust to deliver some of the safest products available to me and my family.  In case you aren’t familiar with Beautycounter, their mission is to get safe product into everyone’s hands.  And these are high quality products – think Wholefoods meets Chanel.  They are effective, luxurious, and SAFE!

Looking into Beautycounter, I found out just how under-regulated the beauty industry is in the U.S., where a federal law to regulate the ingredients used in personal care products has not been passed since 1938.  There are only 11 ingredients banned in the U.S., while 1400 are banned in Europe.  Companies we have been trusting with our healthy and beauty needs are actually allowed to use known toxins – ingredients that have been linked to cancer, reproductive issues, hormone disruption – in our beauty products without having to disclose them.  Everyday, we put hundreds of chemicals on our bodies without even knowing it!  With 10,000 ingredients commonly used in personal care products, only 10% of them are ever tested on human health.  Frightening facts.

It ends up being us, the consumer, who must take on the responsibility to find safe products in the sea of options available on the market – and it is daunting!  What I love about Beautycounter is that they use a guilty-until-proven-innocent approach with their ingredients and have gone ahead and created a “Never List” of more than 1,500 ingredients they will never use in their products. They also are serious about their testing – making sure they use the best ingredients possible and that these ingredients have safe reactions when combined with one another.  Beautycounter is also serious about trying to get new legislation passed to make our beauty products safer for everyone.  I was so blown away and inspired after seeing a video of Gregg Renfrew, the Founder, that I decided to become a consultant for this pioneering brand.

Here are some of my favorite products:

Top Row: Nourishing Rose Water Mist, Balancing Face Oil, Charcoal Cleaning Bar, Body Oil in Citrus Rosemary

Middle Row: Touchuo Skin Concealer Pen, Dew Skin Tinted Moisturizer, The Rejuvenating Skin Collection, Color Pinch Cream Blusher

Bottom Row: Lengthening Mascara, Lip Sheers, Protect All Over Sunscreen,

If you have any questions about Beautycounter or want to place an order, email me or find me at www.beautycounter.com/lauramitchell 

xxoo

Having long hair in Texas summer heat is both a blessing and a curse.  I’m always looking for new styles to try and ways to get my hair pulled off of my face.  Here are some of my favorites looks for this summer.  I’m especially in love with this first style, the messy half-up bun.  It’s definitely the hair trend of the summer.  See how to do it here.

All of the looks below are perfect after a day at the beach.  Just add salt water.

Feature Image: Harpers Bazaar UK, All Photos via Pinterest

I wish I had perfect skin – the kind my friend has that doesn’t even require washing (truth!).  Unfortunately, I don’t.  Coupled with the fact that motherhood is not exactly kind (hormones! late nights! early mornings! stress! no more retinols!) and every day I only seem to be getting older, it was high time that I get serious about a new skincare regimen.  I also try to stay in the natural department, which greatly narrows the options for great skin products that truly work.

I was especially on the look out for a new face wash and moisturizer and randomly decided to stop by facialist-to-the-stars, Tracie Martyn’s, stand while at ABC Carpet & Home a few weeks ago.   The sales woman tried a few products on my hand and my skin immediately looked brighter and smoother.  I was sold.  Since then I’ve been hooked.  The Purifying Cleanser leaves my face clean, yet never tight (and smells so good!), the moisturizer seems to take away some redness.  The Enzyme Exfoliant, which has a cult following, leaves my skin so smooth and soft and a light glow.  I still haven’t given up on my Tata Harper moisturizer, but Tracie’s products now have a special place on my shelf and in my heart.

*photo via Vanity Fair by Peter Leuders

I love color and I have always loved makeup and it’s ability to transform and finish a look.  While currently, I have about enough time and energy for the same old blush and mascara each day (its the bare minimum I can get away with), I am pretty sure that I need the entire Christopher Kane for Nars collection.  It is the best seasonal color palette I have seen in a very long time – it screams summer and happiness!  And, no one does color pigments like Nars – he just gets them so right.  Lastly, the packaging alone is a reason to buy.  It is so good.

I am especially dying over the 1. ‘Parallel Universe’ Duo Eyeshadow, the 2. ‘Violet Atom’ Illuminating Multiple, and 3.’Glow Pink’ Lip Gloss.  Even though some of the colors look may very intense in their tube, they actually look incredible on and act almost like “neutrals”.  What’s not to love?

*All photos via Nars  and Refinery29