Update (8/28/2019): After my post yesterday, Codex Beauty actually reached out to me to tell me to stay tuned for news about becoming a certified clean beauty brand, and so I hung tight. And guess what? They released this press release today announcing that their BIA skincare line has been EWG Verified and added to EcoCert’s registry. A double congrats to this exciting up-and-coming brand and also our skin!

Last week, I attended the Indie Beauty Expo in NYC, and once again, it introduced me to some incredibly exciting brands doing cool things in the beauty and skincare space.

There were hundreds of exhibitors and brands at the expo in New York this year, and I got to sample some of the goods present. It’s been exactly a week since I tried out the products, and here are the ones I’m really excited about.

Knours. Your Only Cleanser ($25)

When I found out this Knours. cleanser was a makeup remover + cleanser in one, I was pretty skeptical. In my past experience, products that do double duty in cleansing tend to not be great at either job. However, this cleanser really blew me away.

You start by rubbing this all over your face dry. Your Only Cleanser contains olive, jojoba seeds, chamomile flowers, and geranium leaf oils that melt off makeup. Then, when you add water, the cleanser suds up like a regular face wash and actually rinses away clean. Unbelievably, there’s not oily residue left on your face afterwards, but your skin is hydrated by all the oil extracts. Plus, it’s EWG verified and CLEAN (which you know I love).

You might be wondering, like a lot of shoddier makeup removers, are you left with unsightly raccoon eyes, though? The answer is no. It really cleans. I wore waterproof mascara, and this makeup remover/cleanser managed to strip even that off of my lashes, albeit doing that required more product than normal and more rubbing than I would do on a day-to-day basis. Regular mascara would come off much more easily.

I can totally see this 2-in-1 product being an amazing travel staple, since it would downsize your toiletry bag. When I’m through with the sample provided, I’m re-upping immediately.

BEIGIC Regenerating Oil ($52)

Given my adult acne, I’m usually not a fan of facial oils (even though they’re hydrating and acne-prone skin is generally dehydrated, blah, blah, blah). Look, I know what everyone says, but honestly, my skin hates most products. Anytime I try something new, I can usually expect a breakout within a day or two. Plus, I deeply dislike the feeling of a cloying oil on my face when I’m trying to sleep or put on makeup.

So, adding Beigic’s Regenerating Oil to this list was a pleasant surprise for sure. Beigic is a new skincare brand out of Korea, but their Regenerating Oil has already been an Allure Editor’s Pick in March 2019. The oil is entirely clean, formulated with vitamin E, almond, and rosehip oils for healing scars and green coffee bean oil for tightening the skin.

The consistency of the oil is dry, light, and it absorbs quickly. Just three to four drops morning and night is enough for my whole face, and I apply it by rubbing it into my palms and then pressing it all over my face.

Sugar Me Smooth Body Sugar ($23)

The other day, I called a certain sugaring establishment to see schedule an appointment for a body sugaring session. The cost was pretty meteoric, knowing that a technician had to do the work. Then, I went to the expo and met the founder of Sugar Me Smooth, and decided to try my own hand at the task. And honestly, I’ll probably never shell out $60 for a one-time sugaring again.

It’s surprisingly not difficult at all to do yourself though there is kind of a learning curve, and they even include a video tutorial that goes over the process in detail.

This is another clean beauty product, as the only ingredients are sucrose, lemon juice, water, fructose, and olive oil. The difference between the body and facial/bikini products is the facial/bikini product contains licorice root, which helps address hyperpigmentation.

P/Y/T No BS Eyeshadow Palette ($32)

P/y/t is a makeup brand that I’ve seen around at clean beauty stores, like Credo Beauty, for some time now, but haven’t really delved into. I regret that it took me so long now.

The No BS Palette is aptly named. While “BS” here means “bad stuff” (because it’s compliant with the stricter EU cosmetics restrictions), the palette also contains no bullshit eyeshadow colors. I would use every one. And while there are many genius things about this palette, I am seriously enamored with the fact they recognized your base shadow color always runs out first, and thus, they more than doubled the amount you usually get. Additionally, the palette has two modes: natural and glam (I gave it those names myself. You like?)

The natural side is all cool-toned, matte nudes that create the most gorgeous “is that makeup or just my beautifully contoured eye?” effect. For the longest time recently, I’ve been wearing a lot of oranges and reds in my shadow, but the look just doesn’t pair well with a bright red lip — and I’ve been really in love with a red lip recently. This nude range is absolutely perfect with a bold lip.

I haven’t actually gotten to use the glittery side of the palette yet, but I’m certainly excited to. They seem quite pigmented, so it’ll be fun to experiment.

My one critique though is while I use every color in the nude range, I’m a sucker for a pop of highlight in my inner corners and along my brow bone. Since this palette doesn’t have a good shade for that, I’ve had to supplement from other palettes.

Browluxe Precision Brow Pencil ($19)

If you’re been on the market for an eyebrow pencil, stop. Just stop right now. This one is THE ONE. My brows have long been a pain for me. I got them microbladed last year, but with my very oil skin type, the pigment has already faded quite a bit. And sadly, that means that my search for the perfect brow product has resumed once again.

I’ve tried a lot of the best-known brow products on the market, but I found they were all lacking in one aspect or another: longevity, versatility, animal-testing, etc. What really impressed by about this product, which was created by a brow specialist and microblading expert, is that it. doesn’t. budge. Like really, it doesn’t move. I applied some on my hand, and tried to rub it off, and couldn’t. That’s when I knew I’d found my product.

However, there are other boons about the Precision Brow Pencil. It’s incredibly thin and tapered on one side, so you can draw individual hairs for a fluffy look. The shape also makes it good for shading. Additionally, it goes on light, but is buildable, so you’re not at risk of having blocky brows. Also, since it’s a wind-up top, you never need to sharpen it, and it comes with a spoolie on the other end. Plus, the packaging is just attractive.

Finally, I also appreciate that the company doesn’t take a one size fits all approach to their products. Rather than simply categorizing their pencils by hair color, they group their eight hues by the shade of your undertone — that’s whether you’re cool skin-toned, neutral, or warm-toned. You can figure out what you are by looking at the veins in your wrists. Blue veins are cool, green veins are warm, and in-between is neutral. I’m distinctly warm, so they suggested Walnut for me. This is another product I’ll be purchasing when my sample runs out.

Beautiac Brush Head Subscription ($16.50 to $20)

One of the most annoying aspects of being a makeup lover is cleaning my brushes. After a thorough cleaning, my brushes are usually out of commission for 16 to 24-hours or so while I wait for them to dry, so I really have to time my cleanings on days when I know my brushes won’t be needed.

However, Beautiac takes the guesswork out of it, since it has interchangeable heads. The concept behind this company was born when the founder was traveling and found that her dirty makeup brushes were making her break out. Hence, Beautiac is actually a brush head subscription, so that you’re always being sent clean, new brush heads each month. All you need is a universal handle, which you get in your first order.

In case you’re worried about waste, every Beautiac brush head is fully recyclable. They work with TerraCycle to ensure that each brush head is responsibly sorted and recycled.

The packages range between $16.50 to $20 a month. Currently, they only offer the three facial brush replacements, but they assured me that eye makeup brushes are rolling out soon. While I haven’t purchased a package myself, I find the idea super cool, and their synthetic brushes are actually extremely soft and high quality.

Spoil Me Beautiful Lip Gloss in Billions ($20)

Now that it seems the matte lipstick fad is starting to dissipate, it looks like lip glosses are once again picking up steam. I never thought I would see the day where I found a flattering lip gloss that wasn’t just clean, but also not sticky. Those were the words that really drew me to this indie beauty brand that specializes in just one product.

Born in the kitchen of its founder, Spoil Me Beautiful now boasts of 10 colors in their main collection, plus more forthcoming in their limited edition collection. Under the recommendation of the founder, I decided to try the color Billions. It looks a lot more of a brick/sand color in the tube, but actually goes on sheer but warm. And it really did keep its promise: it’s really a non-sticky lip gloss.

It’s also clean. It contains a variety of organic oils and butters that are super emollient, like coconut, castor, and cocoa bean butter.

Codex Beauty Bia Skin Superfood ($50)

While I can’t say that Codex is a clean beauty brand, their site claims that all of the preservatives used in their products are plant-based. According to Codex’s About Page, their products are “entirely organic, free of harmful chemical compounds, and rigorously tested according to biotechnology practices.” Whether that qualifies as EWG certified or not, the verdict is out.

What I can say, however, is that their Skin Superfood moisturizer is delicious. The moisturizer can be used on face, hands, and body, I’ve been using it on my hands. Sure, $50 is kind of pricey for something that I’m using as a hand cream, but like I said, it’s also good for face and body. Plus, it’s a good sized tube (75 ml/2.5 fl. oz.).

My personal pet peeve about certain hand creams is the way it gunks up your skin so much so that I feel like I need to wash my hands just for them to feel clean again. (I’m an obsessive hand washer.)

The Skin Superfood, however, is super absorbent and disappears easily into the skin. Just a few minutes later, I forget that I even applied anything. I’m just left with hydrated hands.

Blume Meltdown Acne Treatment ($30)

I’m currently using retinoids to treat my acne, but I found that the Blume Meltdown was a soothing complement to my current regimen. It’s packed with a lot of calming ingredients that combat inflammation, scarring, and bacteria, like Blue Tansy, rosehip oil, and Tamanu. Plus it’s also a clean, wholly organic product.

Sure, the bottle isn’t big, but you don’t need a lot. Just using one or two drops. I noticed that when I apply it to my blemishes at night, I can see a slight reduction in the swelling the next day.

This little product also has pages and pages of reviews, in case you’re interested in taking a look. Of course, a week isn’t really long enough to know whether or not I’ll be permanently adding the Meltdown to my daily regimen, but I can say, it’s a promising start.

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(Featured photo: Kimberly Wang )

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