Last year I went full hippy dippy and started to make all of my own skin care. In fact, if you have taken my free skin care course, you’ll have received my tried and true DIY formula for a hydrating facial cleanser! I was making everything, from the cleanser to toner, to masks, lip balm, deodorant – you name it! I even built a full-on video course for those who also wanted to take the plunge into the world of DIY beauty.

While I wasn’t about to start making my own makeup, as products ran out, instead of me heading back to the drugstore, I sourced cleaner, safer options and started to swap out my products one-by-one.

Then, earlier this year, life threw me some curveballs – some welcome, some challenging, and some that stole my energy right out from under me. And as I was battling my way back to feeling like my happy, determined self, all of my products were dwindling away, and I had zero drive to bust out my water bath and scales to start making and replenishing my stock.

By the end of May, it had been weeks of scraping the bottoms of jars, getting what I could from the dregs of my concealer, and resorting to just washing my face with water.

My skin was starting to feel as dull as my light had been shining.

And because the universe works in a magical and mysterious way, a colleague and friend reached out to me and told me about an awesome opportunity to try some cruelty-free, safer, and clean products, by a company called Beautycounter. #divinetiming

Now, I’m the kind of gal who researches the shit out of everything. I already had one eye on Beautycounter for about 2 years and was seeing how other people were loving the products – both the skin care and the makeup.

Plus, the company itself is built on three pillars I can totally stand behind – creating safer, high-performing products; education about why avoiding harmful ingredients in products is super important for health; and advocacy for changing laws around how the beauty industry is regulated.

I’m sure you can relate, but as a woman who has struggled with adult acne for well over a decade, I have come to understand the importance of using safer, clean cosmetics and skin care, so that I don’t disrupt my hormones and throw my skin completely out of whack!

Since I was literally out of all of my products, my skin was screaming for some love, and Beautycounter perfectly aligned with my values of using safe ingredients, I figured – why the hell not!

So I joined Beautycounter and became a consultant.

I went a little crazy and ordered a TON of product right from the get-go. I figured I would try a bunch of different products so that I could confidently and honestly recommend what products work well for acne-prone skin.

I have to say, it’s been a couple of weeks of me using the products every day, and there are some real gems that have stood out in the bunch. Out of the gate, these are the real winners that I’ve fallen completely in love with:

But what I’ve come to discover that I love MOST of all, is using really nice products for my morning and nighttime routine. It makes the experience feel so much more luxurious, and I’m more likely to do it when I wake up at 12 am after falling asleep watching Netflix on the couch.

Whether you have acne-prone skin, rosacea, eczema, or mature skin, if you’re using a product that you’re just not 100% sure about, or are using it just because you’ve used it forever, and are curious about making a simple swap to a safer alternative,  I’d love to help you find a product that will work for you – leave a comment below!