beauty Archives - Her Modern Kitchen

Summertime beauty and skincare favorites I’m loving right now.

I’ve really dove into skincare during quarantine and found a few new-to-me favorites. Since I’m always curious about other people’s skincare, I thought I’d share mine. Let me know if any of my favorites have made your list too.

Brazilian Bum Bum Cream has been all the rage on the beauty blogs I read so when the Sephora birthday gift happened to be Bum Bum cream, I was beyond excited. And instantly loved it. The smell reminds me of a beachy summer vacation. It’s coconutty, sweet, and smells delicious. IDK if it works to tighten skin while moisturizing but I caved and bought a full-size because it smells and feels glorious on my skin.

Versed Dew Point Moisturizing Gel is a great light-weight summertime moisturizer. I love the gel formula because it doesn’t feel greasy under my makeup but still leaves my face feeling hydrated. I use this as my daytime moisturizer. The price is right too at just $14 and it’s lasted 4-months!

Honesty Beauty Oil is something I use every evening. It took me a while to warm up to oils but I really like it. This one has a light, pleasant smell and I like the way it moisturizes my face right before bed. After regularly using the oil, I found my skin feels more hydrated in the morning when I wake up.

Tip: Oil should always be the last thing you apply to your skin (day or night) unless of course you’re using sunscreen then put the sunscreen on last.

Ole Hendricksen Cold Plunge Mask has been a summertime staple. It’s a cooling clay mask that reduces pore size and controls oil. It’s perfect after a day in the sun and makes me feel extra fancy anytime I wear it. Plus the color makes it fun. I use this twice a week after exfoliating.

Tula Rose Glow & Get It Brightening & Cooling Eye Balm perks up my eyes each morning. It has some shimmer in it along with a cooling effect and a burst of caffeine to make sure I look extra perky on those early morning Zoom calls. It’s easy to apply too, just run it along your eye bags and Boom! You’re bright and ready to get it.

Tip: Did you know you should apply skincare products from your hairline to your bra line? Because when you’re 80, you don’t want to have a youthful-looking face with saggy neck and decolletage, do you? Make sure you cover all of it so you age flawlessly 😉

Peter Thomas Roth Cucumber De-Tox Hydra-Gel Eye Patches pair well with the Cold Plunge Mask or before using the Tula Rose Eye Balm. I keep these in the fridge for an extra cooling effect and pop them on in the morning while drinking coffee. They have cucumber and caffeine in them to help de-puff eyes and reduce dark circles.

Tip: You can find these eye patches at Walmart online for $28 compared to $52 at Ulta, Sephora, or Amazon. Save some money!

Cocokind Vitamin C Serum is something that took me a while to start using regularly but once I did, I noticed my skin looked brighter, fresher. Vitamin C helps even out your skin and is said to help with aging (wrinkles!). I like the Cocokind serum because it’s not too pricey and seems to actually work.

Got any beauty or skincare favorites you’re loving? I’d love to know about them. Tell me in the comments!

This year I’ve been making the switch over to cleaner beauty products. While I’ve tried quite a few that were flops, I’ve found others that I truly love.

There’s a clean beauty movement making its way through the skincare and makeup market, and with so many new products hitting the stores with claims of clean, paraben-free, non-gmo, and organic, it can be confusing to weed through them all and find the best.

Clean Beauty Ratings

If you’re new to clean beauty, EWG’s Skin Deep & the Think Dirty app are great resources for beginning to understand the ingredients in the world of beauty and skincare. EWG is great if you’re on a computer and can build your own reports if the product you’re looking into isn’t already in their database. I like to use Think Dirty for on-the-fly reviews while browsing products at stores — though their product list is more limited than EWG’s so it’s a hit or miss at times.

When I look for skincare products, I search for those with an EWG score of 3 or below. And for Think Dirty, I’m usually looking for a score of 4 or below. Of course, there are always exceptions to that rule depending on the ingredient causing a score to increase and with that, I use my own judgment based on how I feel about the ingredient. You should do the same. Here’s a great article on skincare ingredients.

Today I’m sharing four clean skincare products I love and have seen improved skin health while using them.

Over the past year I’ve been trying lots of clean beauty products. Specifically looking for skincare and makeup with quality ratings from EWG’s Skin Deep and Think Dirty that are affordable, easily accessible to stock up on, and haven proven results when using them. While I now have quite a few clean beauty products I like, the four I’m sharing today are my most frequently used.

Heritage Store Rosewater & Glycerin

EWG Score: 0 // Think Dirty Score: 0 // eco-friendly, vegan, cruelty-free, paraben-free

I use the Heritage Rosewater a toner after washing my face. I love it because the smell is light, the ingredients are simple and it’s just plain refreshing. It’s moderately priced and can easily be picked up on , Thrive Market or Whole Foods. Even <3M likes me to mist his face with it after a hot day. It’s especially refreshing after flying.

Acure Brilliantly Bright Facial Scrub

EWG Score: 2 // Think Dirty Score: 3 // vegan, sulfate-free, paraben-free, cruelty-free, mineral oil-free, petrolatum-free

I love this scrub! And the fact that it’s green makes me love it even more. Acure facial scrub is made with French green clay and sea kelp. The grit in the scrub is gently but effective which means I can use it 2-3 times a week without feeling like I’m over exfoliating my skin. It’s also easy to stock up on, you can find it at Target, Whole Foods, and on Amazon.

Andalou Naturals Ultra Sheer Daily Defense Facial Lotion

EWG Score: 2 // Think Dirty Score: n/a // organic, non-GMO, gluten-free, vegan, sustainable, fair trade, cruelty-free

Moisturizer is all about personal preference. I prefer something that is light, non-greasy and contains SPF. I found to meet all of these requirements and it wears well under makeup, though I wish the SPF were a bit higher as it’s only at 18 SPF. However, this moisturizer smells well and it’s a huge bottle for the price. Find it at Whole Foods, Ulta, Amazon and Thrive Market.

Olehenriksen Banana Bright Eye Cream

EWG Score: 4 // Think Dirty Score: n/a // paraben-free, sulfate-free, phthalates-free

Yes, I know. A score of 4 is outside my preferred range but as I said, you have to use some discretion when choosing products and determine which ingredients are important to you. And for me, I’m fine with this rating and ingredients that cause it to go about my preferred EWG 3 score.

Eye cream as part of my skincare regimen is a new addition. I never used one but two times in a row, while getting a makeup touchup post-haircut at Jackson Ruiz, the makeup artist commented on my eyes and asked if I used an eye cream. After the second time, I decided to look into one and came across Olehenriksen’s Banana Bright Cream (no, it does not contain or smell like bananas, it’s named that for its pale yellow color).

This eye cream has a long list of accolades and lots of studies with proven results. And I too can attest to those results as I’ve seen a decrease in puffiness and dark circles since using the cream over the past 3 months.

Olehenriksen’s eye cream is moderately priced ($38) compared to other eye creams on the market, and after using it for 3 months I still have more than half a jar left. The cream has great coverage and you only need a tiny bit each use. I like to use it day and night and during the day, it works well as a lid primer before applying eyeshadow. Find it a Sephora and on Amazon.

Do you have any clean beauty products you love? Share them below! What other sites or tools do you use to check the quality of your skincare products?