3 Free Natural Beauty Smartphone Apps

For the most part, the natural beauty world is pretty low-tech. But I’ve been keeping an eye out for some share-worthy smartphone apps, and today I have three to share! Do you have a go-to smartphone app for natural and organic beauty? —Aleigh

O&N Collective

In addition to a bunch of other features (like an in-app store that’s supposed to launch soon), this brand new app’s Toxins List tool offers a pretty comprehensive list of ingredients to avoid in both personal care products and household products. Overwhelmed by trying to keep track of the icky ingredients you want to stay away from? Just break out your smartphone and check the Toxins List. You’ll find common uses for each ingredient and their related concerns—making it much easier for you to decide on the spot if a product contains ingredients you can live with, or if you should leave it on the shelf. Available for iPhone or Android.

Organic Spa Skin Guide

The app from Organic Spa magazine, this Skin Guide offers a massive list of natural and organic cosmetics companies. It hasn’t been updated for 2012, but it’s still a great way to discover new natural and organic companies and their product lines. You can also mark your favorites for easy reference. This one seems to only be available for iPhone.

Organic Beauty

If you’re a DIYer, snap up this app for tons of skincare recipes, and even a few health remedies, like a headache fix with ginger juice—straight from your smartphone. Recipes are easy to share via email, Facebook, and Twitter. Download for iPhone.

This post was shared May 17, 2012 under Baby, Body, Hair, Makeup, Men, Skin, tagged , , , and has 1 comment

Spot This • Sport That

SPOT this Ballerina Pink Tieks ($165)…

…SPORT that Pink Fetish Mineral Eyeshadow from Inika ($25)

—Aleigh

(Images via Tieks and Inika)

This post was shared May 14, 2012 under Makeup, tagged and has no comments

Beauty Obsession: Balancing Facial Serum

Facial oil is one of my absolute favorite natural beauty discoveries. I have combination skin, and I used to (mistakenly) think that meant I should avoid all products that contain oil. Not so.

Here’s the truth. Facial oils are typically pure plant oil blends, and sink deep into your skin. That means you can see the impact quickly. They’re also good for all skin types, even oily or combination skin. (I promise, promise, promise.) Even models say so!

So. I’m a fan of facial oils, and when Mira at Co-op 108 asked if I’d be interested in testing out one of their natural and organic facial serums*, I snuck a peek at the ingredients list and sent her an emphatic, “Yes, please!”

You guys, I’m so glad I did. My skin is absolutely loving this stuff.

What I tried: Balancing Facial Serum from Co-Op 108, $26.60. It’s a lightweight serum that promises to help clear pores, while firming, smoothing, and maintaining a healthy complexion—best for combination and oily skin types.

First impressions: The ingredients list? Love. Hazelnut, grapeseed, jojoba, evening primrose, and carrot seed, oils, plus essential oils of cypress, lavender, lemongrass, lemon, and rosemary. That’s it. Plus, it feels pretty amazing as it sinks into my skin.

What caught me by surprise: This is going to sound strange, but hear me out. This serum smells (pleasantly) like Fruit Loops. Enough so, in fact, that when I asked my husband to smell my hands after I applied it the first time, he immediately said the same thing. I assume that’s the lemon and lemongrass in the serum. Honestly? I kind of love that about it.

Bonus: Sometimes when I’m stressed (deadlines aren’t easy on my skin!), I get a patch of psoriasis on my face, just in front of my right ear. The only thing that seems to calm it is a soothing facial oil, and the Co-op 108 serum has been healing it extra fast. (Side note: if you have psoriasis, you should absolutely try a facial oil.)

Do you use facial oils? If not, what’s keeping you from trying them? —Aleigh

*Disclosure: This sample was sent to me for review, but I only write about the products that I think are truly worthy of being shared with you. View my full disclosure here.


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This post was shared May 10, 2012 under Skin, tagged , , , , and has no comments

Link Love…Monday?

Did you get a good look at the supermoon this weekend? I checked it out, but…am I the only person who felt like it just looked like a regular full moon? Either way, I missed you guys last week (work and deadlines sometimes have to come first, I’m afraid)—but I had already compiled a whole list of links to share, so I decided to to a Link Love Monday instead. Enjoy!

What are you reading+enjoying this week?

—Aleigh

(Image via Kydynt2099)

This post was shared May 7, 2012 under Skin, tagged , and has no comments

YQA: Styling products for baby-fine hair

Another month, another Your Questions Answered post! (The first YQA post, back in March, answered your questions about laser hair removal.) Here’s the request, from Katie:

i’m looking for some sort of tonic, gel, etc. to put on before blow drying. my hair is baby fine (but there is a LOT of it), slightly wavy and i live in really warm and damp climate. if i don’t use something to smooth it and provide a bit of hold it turns into a weird mass of frizzy, limp, yet somehow frighteningly bushy, hair. i would really appreciate any suggestions!

Tricky, tricky. Baby-fine hair, lots of it, plus a warm and damp climate. Here are two product suggestions for you, Katie.

First: Yarok Feed Your Roots ($18), a leave-in conditioner spray. It has lots of great ingredients like organic evening primrose and jojoba oils, but it’s a light enough formula to offer a bit of light smoothing and hold without weighing down your fine hair. It was created to protect your hair heat damage, and is meant to be used pre-blow dry.

Second: Innersense Sweet Spirit Leave-In Conditioner ($20). This is a good product for using with your hair dryer or for those days when you’d rather air dry. It’ll smooth your hair and give a little control, and it can be used on dry hair, too. Plus it has some yummy ingredients like Tamanu oil (an oil that Polynesian women have been using for many years), and a touch of honey for volume and manageability.

If you haven’t already tried it, I also recommend Julie’s apple cider vinegar hair rinse technique. The ACV will help clarify your hair without stripping it of moisture (and make it shiny). Plus, it should help with the frizz and limpness.

Do you have a question about natural or organic beauty? Ask in the comments or email me directly: aleigh AT indigoandcanary dot com.

—Aleigh

(Image via Horia Varlan)

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This post was shared May 1, 2012 under Hair, tagged , , and has 2 comments