Founder of Blades Natural Beauty, Jessa Blades is a natural makeup artist who works on photo shoots and fashion shows, helps brides looks their best on their big day and provides natural beauty consultation to a variety of clientele in New York City. Last month she worked with celebrity makeup artist, Rose-Marie Swift at Fashion Week and is featured this month in Glamour magazine’s 70th anniversary issue along with 69 other female eco-achievers. She also works with Teens Turning Green and Project Green Prom.
She believes we don’t have to sacrifice health for beauty and is intimately in-the-know about products that perform, yet won’t pollute our bodies. “People are outraged when it comes to animal testing for cosmetics and I’m against it, but what about human testing? Companies have been testing their products on women for years!!”
I recently spoke with Jessa and we talked all things natural/organic beauty. We discussed conventional vs. natural/organic products in terms of performance, what greenwashing means in terms of beauty products and we both agree that a “green” beauty product should indicate what’s inside, not just a recycled/recycleable container (which by the way, is a big problem and presents even more confusion for consumers). She also shared some of her all-time favorite products as well as her top picks for Spring….
Jessa’s Must-Have Natural Beauty Buys For Spring:
1). Mod Skin Labs Samurai Scrub: With things like indoor heating and cold winds, winter leaves skin dehydrated. Exfoliation is so important. This scrub will slough off dry winter skin with its nice exfoliating action and leaves skin hydrated, not stripped of moisture. ($30)
2). 100% Pure Peach Pigmented Brightening Concealer: This is a great concealer and is the natural alternative to the YSL Touche Eclat concealer pen. It’s in an easy-to-apply (and sanitary) pen and is great to cover up spots. ($21)
3). Dr. Haushka Translucent Bronze Concentrate: When this first comes out of the pump you’ll think its much too dark, but I rub a bit together with my fingers and dab directly onto cheeks to give a sun-touched look. You can also mix this with a moisturizer to thin it out a bit or use one of my other favorite products, Dr. Haushka Toned Day Cream which will give nice all-over sheer color. ($40)
4). 100% Pure Cranberry Glow Lip & Cheek Tint: This looks really dark in the package, but its very sheer when applied and provides the right amount of rosy flush to cheeks. Glide over lips instead of gloss or lipstick. Throw it in your bag and re-apply as necessary. ($15)
5). RMS Beauty Living Luminizer: I love this product! It melts easily into skin and provides instant illumination. I apply this on cheekbones, on eyelids (if I’m doing a really neutral look), under the brow, on the bridge of the nose, in the tear duct area to really light up the eyes or in special circumstances when my clients haven’t had enough sleep, I’ll mix this with RMS Beauty Un-cover concealer and apply under eyes to really wake them up. ($38)
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