Beat Your Face, Save the Environment

Saving the environment is more than just reducing waste and limiting energy use- though applying those two things to your daily life wouldn't be the end of the world. A great way to give our environment a little helping hand can simply be using all-natural products, whether those products be food, shampoo, or even perfume. So for this week's blog, I thought I'd cater to the female readers (or male, I don't judge) and talk about the many eco-friendly and natural makeup options that are out there on the market. Trying out new makeup brands is not only exciting, but also simple; its a small change that comes at no cost to the consumer.

1) Mineral Fusion
This brand makes everything from eye shadow, to lip pencils, to nail polish and beyond. Not only are these products cheap, but they're also a really good quality! Plus, for all you animal rights activists out there, Mineral Fusion is 100% vegan and opposes animal testing. But aside from all these advantages, the company is also putting forth a strong effort to save the environment. According to One Green Planet, Mineral Fusion products are made completely from natural minerals (as the name would suggest), like zinc and copper, which reduce your exposure to the toxins in artificial colors. These toxins are then also less likely to show up in landfills and other soil. In addition to this perk, Mineral Fusion factories are also powered mostly through wind turbines, which limit the burning of fossil fuels and promote cleaner, less-polluted air. All ink on the packaging is made from soybeans, reducing the company's use of petroleum and making all boxes extremely easy to recycle. And last but not least, the packaging itself is made from 100% recycled paper. Supporting this brand will encourage more makeup companies to follow some of these same guidelines.

an eye shadow palette by Mineral Fusion

*photo courtesy of beautyinfo*

2) Alima Pure

Much like Mineral Fusion, this company strongly opposes carbon emission. But what's unique about Alima Pure products is their partnership with carbonfund.org. This website promotes education on climate change and highlights the preventative steps we all can take to fight it. By collaborating with carbonfund.org, Alima Pure designates their products as carbon neutral, which tells consumers the company is attempting to reduce their carbon footprint. The makeup brand is also considered a B Corporation, which means, according to One Green Planet, the company is actively working to help the environment. 1% of Alima Pure's gross annual revenue is donated to various grassroots organizations and environmental groups, which demonstrates the company's advocacy for a clean planet. Not to mention the products themselves are super high quality- if you're ever having trouble finding a good skin-color match in foundation, Alima Pure is definitely your solution.

some of the many foundation colors available through Alima Pure

*photo courtesy of Alima Pure*

3) Chantecaille

I'm not gonna lie, even after reading the name of this brand many, many times, I still have no idea how to pronounce it. Regardless, the company does a lot of cool stuff for our wonderful environment and deserves some recognition for that. One of the things I like about Chantecaille is their focus on saving the Coral Reefs. The National Ocean Service says coral bleaching has become a huge, global problem; many coral reefs are intensely diverse ecosystems and are home to thousands of different organisms. As humans continue to disturb the reefs and water temperatures continue to increase, the coral is dying and those organisms are left without a home. According to One Green Planet, Chantecaille is combatting coral bleaching by donating large portions of their revenue to many different coral reef organizations. In fact, for each eye shadow palette that is named after an animal (Le Tigre, Sea Turtle palette, etc), a donation is made to an organization that benefits that featured animal. Who knew saving the turtles and looking fierce at the same time could be so easy? Lastly, Chantecaille has started a new initiative promoting the recycling of eye shadow and blush packaging. To reduce waste production, the company's eye shadow and blush bottles will now be refillable, meaning you only have to buy the shade color each time you run out, not the whole package.

some lovely Chantecaille eye shadow

*photo courtesy of bellashoot*

So the next time you feel like trying some new makeup brands, give one of these bad boys a try. They are top-notch quality, not too expensive, and very environmentally-focused. What more could a girl ask for?