I don’t know if you’ve heard of a little thing called BeautyCounter, but I was recently pulled into its orbit. Their mission is to get safer beauty products to everyone. I can say “mission” with a straight face because they’re a certified B corp, and they don’t just sell products, they also lobby for stricter regulations. What does “safer” even mean? The EU has banned or restricted over 1,400 chemicals from personal use products. The US has banned or restricted less than 100 (go figure). BeautyCounter has over 1,800 harmful or questionable chemicals on their “never” list.
Quarantine and mask mandates mean that makeup is essentially pointless (although I wear it sometimes anyway?), but you know what this is a great time for? Building Better Skincare Habits!!! I’ve been using BeautyCounter products for a couple of weeks, and I’m starting to notice a difference. I mentioned selling products, so… Hi, I sell BeautyCounter now! I’m doing this because I like the products, I like the mission, and I LOVE talking about beauty and skin care. And obvi if I can make money while doing that, then hooray! Here are my honest reviews of all the products I’ve used so far:
Counter+ All Bright C Serum
Last week I was on a Houseparty chat with a couple of friends and they commented on how radiant my skin looks. At that point I couldn’t say for sure it was because of this serum, but I’ve been using it for a couple of weeks now and I do think it’s reducing dark spots and adding luminosity. It’s nice to know that others see a difference too! There’s one spot in particular I’ve been keeping an eye on – a dark spot left behind by a recent zit. I feel like the serum is making a dent, but I want to give it a month before I make a full judgement.
Counter+ No. 1 Brightening Facial Oil
I’ve been using this face oil at night (and the above serum in the morning) and I think it’s helped contribute to my alleged radiance. A friend gave me this one and at first I wasn’t sure about putting oil on my face in the summer. It’s super light, but it basically acts as an overnight face mask. I’m very happy with it! This oil also comes in “plumping” and “balancing” too.
Countermatch Adaptive Moisture Lotion
You might already know that my winter skincare routine is on lock, but I’ve still been trying to find something for the rest of the year, especially in the summer when my face sweats at least once a day, every day. I really like this moisturizer. It’s light, but impactful. And a little goes a long way – if I do two pumps I have too much.
Color Intense Lipstick
This one was really a lark. I did not expect to love it, but I do. In my experience, “clean beauty” means less pigment and less staying power. This lipstick has both. Plus, when a lipstick only comes in 6 shades I’m pretty sure none of them will work for me; I have this in “little black dress” and it’s literally the perfect nude pink shade for me. Plus, it’s surprisingly pigmented! I wore it the other day meeting a friend for an iced tea in a park, and although a bunch of it rubbed off on my mask (and on the drink itself), there was still enough left to be visible on my lips. It’s also just the right amount of satin finish to make it look like my lips are plump and moisturized, without being glossy.
Volumizing mascara
This was another experiment. Mascara is one of my favorite things to wear, and it’s another product that I don’t usually trust clean beauty brands to get right. Here’s the deal: this is not as intense as my #1 ride or die, Too Faced’s Better Than Sex mascara, or my new favorite from Huda Beauty. But it’s stronger than Clinique, Laura Mercier, etc. It is effective, and because it’s “clean” I don’t feel like I’m poisoning my eyes if I fall asleep before taking it off.
Instant eye makeup remover
I love this because you don’t have to rinse it off. I like wearing eyeliner and mascara but I hate washing my face at the end of the day (more on that another time), so I like that I could literally lay in bed, wipe my eyes and then fall asleep. It has occurred to me that if you don’t put harmful chemicals near your eyes you won’t need to rinse them out!
Countersun Mineral Sunscreen Mist
I’ve sworn by Supergoop sunscreen products for the past few years (love their sunscreen serum), and now I’m comparing their spray-on sunscreens. This goes on white, which is helpful to see where it’s going, and I can confirm that it did indeed become invisible on my dark skin. Also this smells really nice!
Countermatch Adaptive Body Moisturizer
Between washing my hands non-stop because of COVID, and washing my hands every time I’m out with the chickens (oh did I mention I have 9 chickens now?), my hands are alwayssssss dry. Always. My trusty drugstore lotion stopped being effective, so in a moment of “I’ll try anything” I bought this body moisturizer for my hands. It’s better than what I was using, but it’s not as full-on as I would have hoped. If I did it again, I would just spend the extra few dollars and get the melting body balm.
Body Oil in Citrus Rosemary
A friend gave me this one as well. Left to my own devices I would not think to buy body oil. But I like it! It’s very light, and I layer it under the above body moisturizer. Other BeautyCounter people say it can double as a mosquito repellant, but I can neither confirm nor deny.
So there you have it – my BeautyCounter basics. If you have questions about BeautyCounter, want samples, or just want to talk beauty/skincare or other non-trivial trivial things, hit me up!
What's your opinion?