My 5-Minute Makeup Routine

I've never been one to wear or own a huge amount of makeup. This is because I have no idea what I am doing when it comes to putting it on, so shopping for makeup is completely out of my comfort zone. I also prefer to look like I'm not wearing a lot of makeup as I have this thing where I think everyone is staring at me if I AM wearing makeup. I know, I have issues!

That being said, I do like making my skin look more even toned, and making my eyes pop and not look so tired #momlife. Before I discovered Beautycounter, I hadn't bought new makeup in years. Actually, I can tell you exactly when I bought new make-up - it was a few months after Sully was born and I had a whole bunch of Shoppers Optimum points to redeem. I made my mom go with me, and I had a quick makeover done and then I went home with all new makeup. Some of it I barely used, but a few pieces became part of my daily routine. Anyway, clearly I've been due for new makeup!

As I started to become more and more aware of what I was putting onto my body, I knew I needed to make better choices when it came to my makeup. When you think about which products are sitting on your skin for the most amount of time, makeup is right up there at the top of the list. And unfortunately, most makeup out there isn't tested for heavy metals as it's not required. Enter Beautycounter: when I first ordered makeup from them, I started with the Tint Skin (foundation) and mascara. It wasn't long before I added in blush, bronzer, an eyebrow pencil, and lip gloss. Of course, most days I just wear the tint skin and mascara, and if I'm staying home, just a little bit of mascara. But I love that I know just have a handful of safe, high-performing makeup products for when I do need them.

Yesterday, Beautycounter revealed their 5-Minute Face, which will give you effortless beauty with just 6 products (for a stinkin' deal I must add!). I've never really timed how long it takes me to put my makeup on so yesterday I thought I would and I can say it takes even less, as long as no little humans are interrupting you.

Here's my before and after. I took the photo in the same light and didn't edit it at all. I know the difference isn't that drastic in the photos, I have a lot of freckles in the summer which I don't try to cover up, and to be honest, for a few months now, I have been having the best skin ever (no breakouts, not a lot of red patches, no dryness). But I love how I look just a little more even skin-toned, and how my eyes pop.

Here are the products used to create your 5-Minute Face:

1. Tint Skin Hydrating Foundation (I'm wearing porcelain)
2. Touchup Skin Concealer Pen
3. Eyebrow Pencil (I'm wearing light)
4. Mascara (I'm wearing volumizing)
5. Blush (I'm wearing Bloom/Tulip)
6. Lip Gloss (I'm wearing Bare Shimmer)

It's that easy! I adore Beautycounter's Tint Skin because it's moisturizing and it provides coverage without looking like I slathered foundation all over my face. It blends SO well. You can build additional coverage by layering if needed. The concealer pen is awesome for brightening up the area under your eyes and covering up any blemishes. (I didn't include one in the photos because I don't actually own one yet. Yet!).

Two new mascara's were also revealed yesterday: a reformulated lengthening mascara as well as a volumizing one (it's amazing!). I'm wearing the volumizing one in the after photo. I'm not a huge lip gloss wearer because I'm always kissing boo-boo's around here, but my favourite is Bare Shimmer which provides just a hint of colour and feels so nice when it's on.

And that's it. All you need is five minutes and you will feel refreshed and way more pulled together. It's pretty much impossible that my hair, outfit, and makeup are all done on the same day, and while just-washed hair always makes me feel the most pulled together, a little bit of makeup definitely makes me feel like I have my sh*t together. And 5 minutes to pull it off is so doable! Maybe you like rummaging through a makeup bag or drawer, but I prefer a more streamlined approach. Too many choices gives me anxiety and I then start to doubt my makeup application abilities.

So my friends, I say this with pure love for you and your skin, but there is no better time than now to breakup with your makeup. No one's perfect, but when we know better we do better. Even just making small changes gradually will make a difference! I'd love to chat safer beauty if you have any questions! :)


Tell me: what's your current makeup routine look like?



*affiliate links have not been used, but I am a consultant with Beautycounter, so should you purchase something under my account, I would receive a commission. Your support is greatly appreciated!

What Beautycounter Means to Me

We live in a world where pretty much everything we could want is available at our fingertips. There's a grocery store on every corner, box stores full of disposable fashion, makeup and beauty products, in every quadrant of the city. In fact, you don't even have to leave the comfort of your home, as everything is available online with a few clicks and a credit card. What I've started to notice about this conveniency is that it can result in a lot of mindless purchases, choosing the product off the shelf that has the best advertising, best price, best smell, or it's the only one available. This in turn creates overflowing toiletry drawers, crammed junk drawers and the feeling of needing to declutter way too often.

Then Emmy was born. And I was reminded again of the fact that I'm not just responsible for myself, but I'm also responsible for two tiny humans. A new baby, with brand new skin, really made me reevaluate the products I was purchasing: were the "natural" products actually natural? Were the ingredients listed ones I was comfortable slathering all over their precious skin? Was that cartoon character, "hypoallergenic and gentle" bubble bath safe? Could I do better? And then I started thinking...why am I only concerned about what I'm putting on my children's skin? Why am I not questioning the products in my bathroom?

Recently, as my 34th birthday approached, I started to reevaluate the kind of life I wanted to live and the kind of life I wanted to model for my impressionable children. I used to pride myself in cooking healthful, clean meals, avoiding processed snacks, questioning the beauty products I was putting onto my body, cleaning with nontoxic cleaners, and purchasing quality items over quantity. But somewhere in the past year or so, I have lost my way. I am far from perfect, and with a toddler and a baby at home, my home is also far from perfect. I am not a minimalist, nor will I ever be one, but I do desire simplicity where I can find it, and luxury where I can afford it.

Around this time, I started to notice Beautycounter products popping up on my social media, and then also around this time, I happened to connect with a woman on Instagram who was already involved with Beautycounter. Dawn ever so gently provided me with some information on the company while also giving me some samples of their products. After doing a lot of research and trying some of the products, I was not only hooked, I was inspired.

You see, Beautycounter is more than just a line of luxurious and toxin-free beauty products. It's a lifestyle. It's a movement. It's an opportunity to change the beauty product market. The more research I did, and the more I educated myself about the products I was currently using (some that I assumed were safe because of good marketing), the more horrified I became. There are currently more than 80,000 chemicals on the market today, and only 500 of them have been prohibited for use in the cosmetic industry in Canada. The US has only banned 30 to date, but the EU is far ahead of the game, with more than 1300 chemicals banned in personal care products. Beautycounter is a company devoted to progress. They have created a Never List - a list that includes over 1500 questionable or harmful ingredients that they will never use in their products.

Beautycounter wants to make the world a healthier and safer place, and so do I. To me, it's more than just purchasing their products. It's about educating yourself and the loved ones around you. Start reading the labels on your beauty products, familiarize yourself with some of the big no-no ingredients (BHA, BHT, EDTA, Parabens - methyl-, isobutyl-, propyl- etc., Phthalates, Retinol - vitamin A, SLS & SLES, Fragrance - a term that can include any combination of up to 3000+ chemical ingredients) just to name a few.

Our skin is our largest organ. How can we care about what we eat, about how often we workout, ensure we take our vitamins, if we're just going to slather chemicals all over our bodies? It takes less than 30 seconds for our bodies to absorb the chemicals in our beauty products into our blood streams. I cannot help but think about the impact this has to be having on our bodies. Don't we deserve better? Don't you deserve better? Don't our children deserve better? If I can care about what I'm putting on my children's skin, I should care about what I'm putting on my skin.

So, if you're still reading this, to make a long story short, I joined Beautycounter as a consultant because I want to be part of the change and I want to share it with everyone I know and love. Do I think you need to own every single product of theirs? Of course not. There is plenty of room to continue to support the small, local shops that are also contributing to this movement by making safe, and clean beauty products. My wish is to educate, to get my friends and family reading the labels on their beauty products just as much as the labels on their food. To vote with their dollars by making better choices as we move forward. To be more mindful in what we not only put in our bodies, but by what we put on it. To choose safe, quality beauty products over quantity.

Beautycounter has become a part of my daily life now, so you will see it pop up here and there. If you want to learn more, I would love to talk with you. Send me an email, or find me on Instagram. But most of all, I want you to remember that your body is worth it.

Nourishing My Body With Coconut Oil

I always try to be mindful of what products I'm putting onto my body. I know there's always room for improvement, and I'm definitely not perfect, but when I'm pregnant, nourishing my body and skin with natural, chemical-free products is extremely important to me. I'm no longer only taking care of myself, I also have an unborn child I have to think about as well. So when Skinny & Co. Coconut Oil offered to send me some of their 100% raw, alkaline coconut oil products to test out, it seemed like fate. I was in need of something to help moisturize my body, especially my ever-expanding belly, that was not only safe, but also natural.

Their products all contain five ingredients or less, are non-toxic, and edible. Each oil is made in small batches, and the company is family owned and run, and Skinny & Co. sources 100% of their coconut oil from their own factory, and they hand pick all of their pesticide free coconuts from the jungles of Vietnam. Luke and Matt, the brothers behind Skinny & Co have a pretty inspiring story on how a childhood diagnosis led to a lifestyle of holistic living and later on, travel adventures, which opened their eyes to healthy foods around the world. You can read their story HERE.

I'll be honest, I have never used coconut oil for anything other than cooking and oil pulling. I'm well aware that coconut oil can also be used for many other things, I just had never gotten around to utilizing it in other ways. I also wanted to really give these products a chance before reviewing them, so please note that I've now been using the following products from Skinny & Co. every single day for over a month.

In my sample box, I received:

• Body Butter (coconut oil/organic almond oil/essential oils)
• Sugar Scrub (coconut oil/organic coconut sugar/vanilla bean)
• Coconut Oil (100% raw, alkaline coconut)
• Facial Oil (coconut oil/roman chamomile extract/lavender extract/essential oils)
• Oil Pulling (100 % raw, alkaline coconut infused with refreshing peppermint)

I'm a sucker for great packaging so I was delighted when I opened my box. I love the little glass jars, and the helpful cards included to remind you what to use each on. There was even a card included on uses for 'Mommy & Baby'. I never would have thought to use the plain coconut oil as nipple cream during breastfeeding or for a diaper rash. When I was nursing Sully, I would have used this all the time, so I am saving some for when the new baby comes!

I think one of my biggest misconceptions when it comes to using coconut oil on my body is that it's going to be super greasy, but over the past month, I didn't find that at all. There are definitely lotions and creams out there that are way worse for that. I do find that my face is naturally oily enough during pregnancy that I don't need to moisturize it too much, so I used a pea drop size of the facial oil or coconut oil at bedtime after cleansing my face. I am no monogamist when it comes to washing my face though - I like to jump around from different techniques and products (a rotation of Norwex cloths, face wash and disposable wipes - I know, I know - I never said I was perfect!). But, one thing I did do routinely was use the facial oil to remove my eye makeup. You guys - how have I never done this before?! I just applied a small amount of the oil over my eyelids and wiped with a cloth! No burning or itching and it removes mascara so well! 

I keep the sugar scrub jar in the shower and I use it for shaving my legs and my armpits. It smells heavenly and makes shaving so pleasant. Usually, after I shave my legs (without coconut oil), they are tight and it burns when I applied any type of moisturizer. Not with coconut oil though. Sometimes I applied nothing after shaving with the sugar scrub, and other times I applied the body butter, and my legs are so much happier, and smoother! And when I'm not in the mood to shave my legs (which is more often than not lately since bending down to do so while pregnant isn't fun or easy), I just use the  sugar scrub as an exfoliator. 

Hands down though, my favourite product of the bunch is the body butter. I use it every single day, usually twice, on my belly, chest and hips and it alleviates any itchiness and tightness I feel in those areas as my body continues to grow. Plus, it smells wonderful thanks to the addition of the essential oils, but it's not overpowering at all. I also love that a little coconut oil goes a long way so the jars have lasted me well over a month now. 

If you're interested in trying out any of Skinny & Co.'s products (they have many other products not included in this post as well!), you can use code SKINNYCO15 to receive 15% off your order! I think the pedicure kit would make an awesome Christmas gift or stocking stuff! 

*I received the above product in exchange for this post, but as always, all opinions and reviews expressed are my own. Thank you for supporting the companies that continue to make this hobby of mine possible! 

Do you use coconut oil for uses other than cooking?

What's your favourite way to use coconut oil?