Makeup and Nail Polish Recommendations

We wholeheartedly recommend the products we list on this page. We have purchased these products for a few years now and continue to be impressed with the quality and companies!

*See disclosures here.

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Here are Erica’s recommendations for nontoxic makeup and less toxic nail polish + remover:

• Makeup – Poofy Organics. This brand has THE cleanest ingredient list we have found for any makeup products. Although Poofy has more than just makeup, our experience is mostly limited to their cosmetics. Erica enjoys their pressed powder, mascara, eyeshadow/eyeliner, bronzer, blush, lipstick, and daily moisturizer. Poofy’s makeup works just as well as traditional makeup, but with MUCH cleaner ingredients! Click here to check out this shop.
  • A makeup company that is a runner-up for Poofy is Toups and Co. Full disclosure: Toups and Co.’s mascara has an ingredient which sometimes causes allergic reactions/sensitivity, but is clean otherwise.

• Chapstick – Earthy Browns. If you have ever read the ingredients for traditional chapstick, you know how nasty it is. Petroleum, alcohols, paraffin… It really is a shame that companies have snuck such toxic ingredients into our personal care products. Now, go check out Earthy Browns‘ lip balms! Beeswax, olive oil, honey, cocoa butter… SO much cleaner and safer. We like to purchase from Earthy Browns (although there are other clean chapstick brands out there) because of the company’s transparency, use of sustainable practices, their high quality ingredients, and they are local to us! If you are not local, orders placed online can be shipped across the US. Click here to check out this shop.

• Makeup Remover – *Branch Basics. Yep, here it is again! Clean your oven, and clean your face! A lot of more natural options for makeup removers work okay for your face but not as great for removing eye makeup (looking at you, mascara!). Or, they leave your face feeling really greasy. Enter: Branch Basics foaming wash. It is the same general concentrate used for cleaning your house, just used at the foaming wash dilution ratio. Erica keeps a bottle of Branch Basics foaming wash in the shower to use as makeup remover and as our son’s shampoo. Easy peasy! Use our link to get $10 off for new customers.
  • A note about oil-cleansing: Some people find oil cleansing (using an oil-based makeup remover/face “wash” or a plain ol’ skin-friendly oil like coconut oil) to be really effective in keeping skin clean and moisturized. If this describes you, do keep in mind that when you rinse off your face, that oil is going down your drain and may cause challenges down the road. If you oil-cleanse in the shower, it is wise to avoid letting the oil run down the length of the tub, as this can cause the surface to become slick. For oil cleansing, Toups and Co. has a lovely Seabuckthrorn Cleansing Oil that I recommend!

• Nail Polish + Remover – Poofy Organics. Nail polish presents a unique challenge, as application means breathing in the ingredients, as well as possible absorption of the ingredients through the nail and surrounding skin. No nail polish can be entirely non-toxic due to the nature of solvents, however, Poofy‘s polish is a much cleaner option. Their polish is free of the major toxins found in conventional polishes, such as formaldehyde and mineral oil. Check out their site to view all the color options available!

If you’re looking for other skin, bath, or shower recommendations, click the link below to head back to our recommendations page.