Hi there! Did you guys have a nice long weekend? We had such a great weekend kicking it around Watertown/Boston. As much as it would’ve been nice to have one more Cape weekend before Italy, it was also really nice to not have to pack up and head anywhere!

Today, though, I’m talking about new-to-me beauty products that I’ve had a chance to try out over the past few weeks. Have you heard of Beatuycounter? If not, it is a personal beauty company with a mission to make safer and more effective skincare and cosmetic products for women and children. Did you know that  in the United States there have only been 11 products banned and a law has not been passed regulating skincare or cosmetics since 1938?! This means that there are lots of products on the market right now with less than ideal ingredients in them. So, when the founder and CEO, Gregg Renfrew, learned of this she started her mission to create safe and effective products. Beautycounter has created a “never” list with over 1,500 ingredients that will never be allowed in any products sold. Amazing, right?

side note: I REALLY wanted one of these adorable makeup bags!

After Melissa, reached out to me and gave me a glimpse into this product line, I agreed to check out some of the products. For as much as I care about what goes IN my body (meaning, buying organically, etc.), I’m embarrassed to admit that I don’t really think twice about what goes ON my body. I tend to use “whatever is around” in terms of face, body and hair products, but after using some of the Beautycounter products for a few weeks, I’ve seen what a difference it makes to use good quality products. Everything lathered well and felt really light and fresh. While Melissa sent me a lot of different products to try, I have to admit that I only used a handful of them due to the fact that I just don’t care to spend a lot of time on my skincare routine. I wash my face and use a moisturizer…. that’s about it! But, even though I only tried a few I’ll share all of the with you so you can see what they have to offer.

Shower Products: Shampoo, conditioner, body wash, lotion and body butter

These were probably my favorite products, which is funny considering they weren’t even facial products! The shampoo is made with pure plant botanicals and it lathered SO well and felt like it was really stripping the mousse and other products from my hair, leaving it feeling nice and clean. The conditioner also worked well to get my gnarly curls loosened up (I am in major need of a hair cut!), probably because of the marula and mongongo oils. Although I’m not a big body wash person (yes, I still use soap- don’t judge!), I did love the way this body wash made my skin feel- even RM was a big fan. And lastly, the lotion and body butter were amazing- there’s something so great about putting on a nice, rich lotion after you get out of the shower, #amiright?! Everything had a similar fruity smell, too.

Face Care: washes & lotions

I also really enjoyed trying out the face washes and lotions. My only complaints were that there was no SPF in the lotion (they only have SPF in their tinted moisturizer, which I think is strange) and the face washes didn’t take off my mascara very well at all, even though it’s washable.  I didn’t try the face mist or eye cream, but I’ve heard they work really well. Even though the creams didn’t have SPF, I thought they were great because they were lightweight and didn’t leave me feeling oily. Instead, because of the coconut oil and aloe in them they left me feeling perfectly moisturized. I loved the packaging, too, because one pump gave you exactly the right amount of cream.

Rejuvenating Collection

I didn’t try anything in this line, mostly because if I wanted to see if anything had positive effects, I needed to stick to just a few of the products. This line is also geared towards mature skin and is great for those who want to fight the signs of aging…. I suppose I should’ve tried these, though, because I don’t think it’s ever too early to start that fight! Here’s what Melissa shared with me regarding these products:

Various other products

This was another fun bag of goodies, although we only used the sunscreen and lip balm. If I was into spending more time on my facial care routine, I definitely would’ve tried the face oils and charcoal mask and I think that in the winter a tinted moisturizer would be awesome! If you are into a more elaborate skin care routine, the face oils can be applied directly to your face or mixed with your daily moisturizer to add extra moisture to your skin, which I imagine would be really great in the dry winter months.

All in all, I really enjoyed trying out these products and being introduced to a “new and improved” beauty product line. If you’re interested in learning more, please feel free to reach out to Melissa (beautycounter.melissac@gmail.com)- she can certainly provide more details than I have in this post! Also, if you buy any products from her site and mention Burpees to Bubbly, you can get a FREE GIFT with your purchase! Pretty nice little perk if you ask me!

Now I want to hear from you: What do you use for your daily skincare products? Do you have a strict skincare routine or are you more relaxed about it? Have you started with “age defying” products? Have you heard of or tried Beatuycounter?

Disclaimer: I was not paid to write this post nor was I provided with these products to keep. Melissa let me try them out and I’m sharing my honest opinion of them.