Beauty. It is individual, it is subjective – to place, culture, influences, the individual. We all perceive different things as being beautiful; our opinions – shaped by our surroundings, what we read, look at. All these influence our perception. Women often feel a certain pressure to concur with societal standards, promoted through the world of social media, fashion and especially advertisement. To me beauty and individuality are synonymous- beauty can lie in our biggest insecurities, flaws but also best features. They make me, me. And you, you.

Approximately one year ago I made the decision to completely live off a plant based diet and not jump between being vegan or not anymore. With this decision I developed an increasing awareness of what I put INTO my body. What kind of foods I consume, how my body reacts to them, what changes I need to make to my diet and lifestyle. It is fascinating how impactful our diet is; not only to ensure we are at our healthiest possible in terms of diseases, but also how energetic we feel. Ensuring the inside of your body is healthy and clean ultimately effects your “looks“ on the outside. Because, as commonly known, true beauty lies within. Double entendre right there.

With that increasing consciousness of what goes INTO my body, I eventually started to look at what I put ONTO my body, ranging from shampoo, body wash, facial soaps, creams to make up. The skin is our biggest organ, so I believe that what I put onto it will eventually also end up inside. Thus, I began a quest, searching for some of the best green make up brands and their products, always keeping my concerns in mind to “enhance“ my exterior beauty. It was astonishing how many make up brands there were I have never heard of, usually always staying on top of the game when it came to new make up releases. The issue is: magazines and advertisements concentrate on the “normal“ products more, as there is a higher demand for them. However, now, slowly but surely the green beauty products find their way into the mainstream as well.

I was looking for natural and predominantly vegan products, such as: mascara, concealer and a foundation/ BB cream. On my journey I discovered a heap of amazing brands offering much more than what one might imagine green make up brands offer. Yes, they have heard of contour and highlight, translucent setting powder and and and…As a first I only purchased a mascara, concealer, foundation and BB cream, as I still have a contour palette and highlighter from non-green brands and also do not want to waste it and throw it away. However, I was never SO amazed by any make up products, since all of these were the first to satisfy my needs and expectations. Let me give you the walk through:

As a foundation I picked the ilia vivid foundation. Reading the description made me exclaim some oh’s and ah’s! I have very dry and sensitive skin, which is why I always look for moisturizing products that leave a rather dewy than matte finish. This foundation is said to have „medium to full coverage and leaves a natural radiance to the skin“, due to many amazing natural ingredients like coconut, rosehip and cranberry seed oils. I was utterly amazed by this foundation the first time I put it on my skin was moisturized, it had a natural glow to it and covered everything I wanted if I was going for a more full-faced look. The ONLY thing I do not like as much is that after it has dried it feels a bit tacky on the skin, but other than that I am in love.

For those days when I feel lazy or do not want to wear a heavier make up, I turn to my juice beauty stem cellular cc cream. This saves me the step of putting on an SPF and moisturizer. Like the vivid foundation it leaves the skin very moisturized and also glowing, however only has minimal coverage, which I personally prefer for a daily use.

To conceal the dark circles under my eyes, which never seem to fade (my sister, however says they will eventually fade by improving my kindey’s ability to filter toxins out of my body through the power of a raw vegan diet & fruits), I use the rms beauty “un” cover-up. This is the first concealer I have ever owned that satisfies all my needs. Finding the perfect concealer has been somewhat of an ordeal. Either they were moisturizing and did not cover enough or they covered it all and were not moisturizing or even oxidized and changed color over the course of the day. The rms concealer, however, does all of the above all at once. The list of ingredients is very minimal and promising, with a ton of amazing oils and extracts to nourish the skin in such a sensitive area and make the eyes look fresh and awake.

If I had to choose one make up product it would definitely be mascara. I love how it makes your eyes look bigger and awake. The nudestix mascara lengthens and nourishes the lashes, leaving no clumps and the lashes remain soft after applying. I have re-purchased this mascara already, since I am very pleased with the results and therefore do not feel the need to look any further. My sister has previously purchased the ilia mascara, which did not coat the lashes as much as the nudestix and therefore created a very soft and natural look, which can also be really nice for hot summer days.

All these products are rather on the high end side of the spectrum and price-wise are probably in the same range as MAC and some of the fashion brand make up products. However, I feel as though these products last much longer. I have been using the concealer for three or four months now and there is still plenty of product in it. Thus far I only had to re purchase the mascara, because as I mentioned I love mascara.

Even though make up is fun and great, there truly is nothing better than having a bare face, where you can rub your eyes at any time, cry at the movies and splash some water on your skin when it is hot. I am a make up enthusiast, but also like to step out without it on some days. It really depends on the mood and what I am up to. If you want to enjoy some make up some day, I can only recommend to turn the other way and browse through the wide selection of green make up products there are!  They are fun and do not do any harm to anyone.

This is not a sponsored post. All the products are available on Niche Beauty,a great beauty online shop for everything natural and green! 

Shot by Sarah Johanna