Whole Foods has challenged me to swap out up to five everyday conventional products for beauty products sold at Whole Foods Market, and I was eager to accept! I couldn't wait to dive into the rows of product in their Whole Body department and see if I could find any new holy grail products. I also learned a bit about Whole Foods' high standards with regards to all body care products that are carried in their stores--particularly that there is no animal testing, and that all of their products use high-quality and safe ingredients..
Fragrance
I own lots of traditional perfumes, but I've always been drawn to Pacifica roller-ball perfumes ($12.00)--I just hadn't ever actually purchased it until now! Part of the problem was because they have so many delicious smelling fragrances that I found it hard to decide which one to try. In the end, it came down to Brazilian Mango Grapefruit, and Tuscan Blood Orange, which are somewhat similar with a sweet, juicy, citrus aroma. I ended up picking Tuscan Blood Orange, in the rollerball size so I could keep it in my purse (it's also available as a spray bottle, a body butter, a solid perfume, a diffuser, a candle, body wash, and lotion wipes). I love it. It's affordable, long lasting, and convenient.
Facial Cleanser
While Whole Foods does carry a very similar cleanser to my current cleanser, I wanted to try something new. I've tried a LOT of cleansers, especially lately since my skin seems to be in panic mode (acne, dry flaky patches, oily skin, sensitivity, etc). Nothing seems to really calm my skin down 100%. I do like Cetaphil as it seems to do a decent job of keeping my skin troubles at bay, but I wanted a cleanser that did more. There are SO MANY options at Whole Foods for skincare products--its honestly a little overwhelming. I purchased the derma e Evenly Radiant Brightening Cleanser with Vitamin C ($14.00). WOW. I was blown away by how much this did for my skin in just a few days. My skin is looking more balanced and has calmed down quite a bit and I do feel that it looks clearer and brighter. This cleanser is fantastic. While it is more expensive than my current cleanser, I don't have to use as much product, and it's so much better for my skin!
Makeup-Removing Wipes
This was the one product in the challenge that I didn't love. I love Pacifica but the Pacifica Purify Coconut Water Cleansing Wipes ($6.00) weren't very good. One towelette wasn't quite enough to remove my makeup, and after using it, my skin seemed to sting a little. The Pacifica cleansing wipes do smell nice, and aren't that different in price, but I just didn't find them to be effective.
Shaving Soap
Here's a secret: I hate traditional shaving cream. I usually use locally made handcrafted bar soaps, and men's razors. I've tried a LOT of different shaving creams, and they don't give me as close of a shave as bar soap does, and I don't usually care for the fragrance. A friend talked me into trying a shaving cream that's new to the market, but I didn't really care for it either. I was excited to see a large bottle of Alaffia Authentic African Black Soap in Tangerine Citrus scent ($7.00) that said that it could be used for shaving as well as shampooing and as a hand/body wash. The idea of a multipurpose product definitely appealed to me! The scent is fantastic, it's not drying, it doesn't sting my legs or make them itchy the way some shaving products do, and it's affordable. I'm very excited to have found this!
Dry Shampoo
Dry Shampoo is a must in my life. I've done plenty of damage to my hair from chemically straightening it, to bleaching it, to heat styling it, and I like my hair to be low maintenance. Throwing a little dry shampoo on your hair is a great way to extend your hairstyle for one more day. Giovanni's Powder Power Dry Shampoo ($10.00) is a great pick--I particularly love that it's actually fragrance free and won't clash with any perfume or other hair products I'm using. While aerosol spray dry shampoos can sometimes be easier to use because it applies the product evenly, using a bottle with a small tip can be really great because it gives you the option to apply the dry shampoo closer down into the roots. As with any dry shampoo, you have to be careful not to overdo it as it can make hair look ashy, particularly dark hair (it would be great if Giovanni made a tinted version!), but this formula seems to be pretty forgiving even if you use a heavy hand.
Hand Soap
While hand soap isn't really thought of as a "beauty product" in the traditional sense, I would definitely say it's an important part of my health and beauty routine--it's very important to have clean hands, and it's one of the few beauty products that you're guaranteed to need to use several times a day, every single day! While my Coctails & Confetti hand soap doesn't contain triclosan, the company that makes it also makes a line of antibacterial hand soaps that DO contain triclosan. I definitely think it's important to avoid buying products with triclosan, but I also wanted my hand soap to smell good. Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day Hand Soap in Lemon Verbena ($4.00) is affordable, smells fantastic, and is triclosan-free (as well as free of any other antibacterial compounds)!
I enjoyed doing this challenge SO MUCH. The Whole Body department had a lot of fantastic products at a variety of price points. Between the products that I purchased for this challenge, and the products that were in the Hello Beauty bag, I'm pretty hooked. I love how easy they make shopping, because their standards are so high for every single product stocked on their shelves. I definitely see myself shopping in the Whole Body department again very soon!
I enjoyed doing this challenge SO MUCH. The Whole Body department had a lot of fantastic products at a variety of price points. Between the products that I purchased for this challenge, and the products that were in the Hello Beauty bag, I'm pretty hooked. I love how easy they make shopping, because their standards are so high for every single product stocked on their shelves. I definitely see myself shopping in the Whole Body department again very soon!