Best of Beauty

a tight edit of the best: hair, makeup, skincare, body care, and more

If there’s one thing I know, it’s beauty. Particularly clean. I was on the founding team of Saie, have worked with and on countless beauty brands, and advise some of your favorite beauty founders.

I’ve been passionate about beauty for as long as I can remember and clean piqued my interest well over a decade ago when I overhauled my beauty routine with crunchy granola brands from Whole Foods in an effort to detox what was in, on, and around my body. The pickings then were slim but now? Westman, Merit, Victoria Beckham, oh my! Not only is the packaging as chic as we ever could want as consumers but the formulations and innovations don’t ask us to compromise on performance. The growth in the category has catapulted countless brands into the zeitgeist and I have loved being part of it as both an avid beauty consumer on the quest for the best and a brand builder.

When it comes to this list, my bar is high. As a mom of three focused on conserving my skin while pressed for time, I need my products to be effective, efficient, and all-around pleasing (the way they feel, the way they sit on my vanity, etc.). With that said, here’s a tight edit of what’s earned my shelf space, including the few not-so-clean products I just can’t quit. To keep this edit tight, I tried to focus on one product per category. However, there are so many other amazing products I use and love that didn’t make this cut. There’s only one gold medalist, you know?

FOR A GLOW

• Tan glow: Liquid Super Loaded Tinted Highlight in Peau de Soleil

• Sheer glow: Saie Super Glowy Gel in Starglow

• In a jar: RMS Luminizer

• Stick: Merit Day Glow Highlighting Balm

FOUNDATION

• Liquid: ReEvolve Radiance Locking Primer with RMS ReEvolve Natural Finish Liquid Foundation topped with UnPowder

• Stick: Westman Atelier Vital Skin Foundation Stick

• Just can’t quit: Charlotte Tilbury Flawless Filter

CONCEALER

• Medium to full coverage: Westman Atelier Vital Skincare Concelear

• Medium coverage: Tower28 Swipe Serum Concelaer

• Just can’t quit: Armani Beauty's Luminous Silk Hydrating & Brightening Concealer

MASCARA

• Iris & Romeo mascara 

EYELASH CURLER

• Surrat (best, best, best!)

EYE SHADOW & LINER

• Buildable cream to powder: Merit Solo Shadow

• Eye shadow sticks: Victoria Beckham Eyeshadow Sticks

• Eye polish & lid tints: RMS Eye Polish and Jillian Dempsey Lid Tints

• Eyeliner: Victoria Beckham Satin Kajal Liner

BROWS

• KOSAS BrowPop

• Just can’t quit: Estée Lauder The Brow Multi-Tasker

• Brow gel: KOSAS Airbrow

BLUSH

• Powder: KOSAS Blush Is Life

• Balm: Tower28 Beach Please

• Just can’t quit: Clé de Peau Beauté cream blush

BRONZER

• Powder: Westman Atelier Beauty Butter Bronzer

• Cream: Saie Sun Melt

LIPSTICK & GLOSS

• Lipstick: Merit, The Satins and The Mattes

• Gloss: Tower 28 ShineOn Lip Jelly

LIP LINER

• Tower 28 OneLiner® Lip Liner

• Just can’t quit: Persona in Almond (fantastic nude)

LIP BALM & MASK

• Balm: Evolve Hydrating Lip Balm

• Mask: Henné Organics Lip Mask

SKINCARE

• Splurge anti-aging powerhouse duo: Instafacial® Emulsion Retinopro Growth Factor Night Cream and Instafacial® Plasma Bioactive Growth Factor Serum

• At-home facial experience: May Lindstrom everything

• Clean retinol: True Botanicals Phyto-Retinol Vitamin A Booster

• High potent serum: Tata Harper Elixir Vitae

EYE MASK

• NakedBeauty MD™ Damask Rose Revitalizing Gold-Infused Hydrogel Eye Masks

FACE WASH

• Exfoliating: Linné Botanicals Purify

• Oil cleanser: MARA Chia + Moringa Algae Enzyme Cleansing Oil

FACE OILS FOR SENSITIVE SKIN

• For something gentle: RMS Kakadu Beauty Oil

• For breakouts: True Botanicals Clear Pure Radiance

MOISTURIZER

• Gentle: RMS Kakadu Luxe Cream

• Anti-aging: True Botanicals Extreme Cream or Tata Harper Crème Riche Night cream

DEVICES

• Ice roller: Doré

• Microcurrent: ZIIP Halo & NuFace Trinity

• Led face mask: Dr. Dennis Gross DRx SpectraLite™ FaceWare Pro

• Gua Sha: Wildling

BODYCARE

• Dry brush: goop’s G.Tox Ultimate Dry Brush

• Exfoliant: SIDIA The Body Exfoliant

• Bar soap: Dr Bronner's

• Body oil: OSEA Undaria Algae Body Oil

• Body serum: SIDIA Spray Body Serum

• Body stone: Kate McCleod

• Body balm: OAK Essentails Moisture Rich Body Balm

• Body lotion: OAK Essentials Luminous Body Lotion

• Luxurious body cream: Le Prunier Plumbody™ Body Créme

DEODORANT

• Stick: evolvetogether

• Roll-on: KOSAS AHA Serum

HAIR:

• Shampoo: RŌZ Foundation

• Conditioner: RŌZ Foundation

• Texturizing mousse: Crown Affair Texturizing Air Dry Mousse

• For your ends: Sam McKnight Happy Endings

• Styling oil: RŌZ Santa Lucia Styling Oil

• Root spray: RŌZ Root Lift Spray with eco aerosol (this with the Airwrap…bouncy and voluminous!)

• At-home blowout: Dyson Airwrap

• Curling iron: T3

• Brush: The Brush by Crown Affair

SPF

• SPF that doubles as skincare: Plumscreen® Broad Spectrum SPF (20% off sitewide)

• Tinted moisturizer: RMS SunCoverup Super Tint Broad Spectrum SPF 50 Sunscreen or SunnyDays™ Tinted SPF 30 for super sensitive skin

• Tint and glow (a one-and-done): Kosas Dreambeam

• For the body: Protekt Natural Mineral Sunscreen Spray SPF 50

FOOT CARE

• Scrub: Dermasuri Callus Remover Foot Scrub

SELF TANNER

• Body: Salty Face Tanning Foam

• Face drops: Lux Unfiltered N°12 Bronzing Face Drops

What are your holy grails?