At the end of March, Whole Foods Market announced that their yearly limited edition clean beauty bags were available in stores in limited quantity. They sell for $18 dollars and feature 11 different samples/full size beauty items. I booked it to my local Whole Foods as soon as I heard about it and shockingly, I snagged the very last bag they had!
FYI: Whole Foods quality standards prohibit 75+ ingredients that are commonly found in conventional body care including phthalates, formaldehyde, microbeads, triclosan, oxybenzone, BHT, BHA, aluminum chlorohydrate and many more.
I have reviewed my five favorites from the 2017 beauty bag below:
Andalou Naturals Apricot Probiotic Cleansing Milk:
I was already familiar with this brand and have used and love one of their shampoos. First, this cleanser smells amazing! That was the first bonus as soon as I put it on my skin, like fresh apricots. It is super moisturizing and doesn’t strip the skin at all. If you like the really foamy cleansers, this one is not for you. More of a cleansing lotion, it reminds me of the feeling of Cetaphil if you are familiar, which I used before I realized how bad the ingredients were. Did you know Cetaphil Skin Cleanser scores a 10, the worst possible score for toxicity on the Think Dirty App? It’s full of nasty parabens, and of course is so misleading being advertised as a “gentle” skin cleanser that is dermatologist recommended. This cleansing milk by Andalou is a great natural alternative!
Evan Healthy Wild Carrot Nourishing Eye Balm:
Every time I’ve seen a product for the face in stick form, like sunscreen, blush, bronzer etc. I have steered in the opposite direction. I’ve just never seen or understood the appeal, until this eye balm came into my life! I love love love this stuff! When it comes to under eyes especially, I would have never imagined, but a balm like this is perfect, it glides and hydrates without pulling on the sensitive under eye area. I use this balm on other random dry spots too, like my lips and nose. I had never heard of one of the main ingredients, wild carrot seed oil, but I now know that my skin drinks it up and responds very well to it, nourishing, moisturizing and brightening the area it’s applied to. Other key ingredients are organic sunflower oil, avocado oil, cocoa butter, rosehip and coconut oil. My ride or die under eye care is the coffee bean caffeine eye cream from 100% Pure, but this comes in right at the top with it and I will definitely be purchasing again. I can’t wait to try more products from this brand!
Mineral Fusion Volumizing Mascara in Jet:
I’ve tried a lot of the natural mascaras out there and honestly have had a lot of big fails and flops. This one I have mixed feelings about and here’s why…I love the full bristle brush, it’s awesome and great for creating volume and length. I feel like truly the brush is everything when it comes to mascara. Am I right? This mascara didn’t clump or smudge on me once applied which I also loved and finally it didn’t irritate my eyes which are normally very sensitive… even to more natural products. What I didn’t love? It seemed like after just a couple weeks of using it, the consistency changed a bit and it started to dry out and get a little clumpy on the brush. I know mascara’s shelf life is short in general and I really loved this mascara at first so I may have to give it another shot.
Pacifica Devocean Deeply Devoted Natural Lipstick in Tenderness:
While I always want some kind of color on my lips, I rarely wear lipstick and am more of a lip gloss or tinted balm type of gal. That being said, I really loved the way this lipstick felt on my lips and its beautiful, long lasting color. This color is a perfect rosey nude that is great for anytime wear. Formulated without: Animal ingredients (including carmine, beeswax and lanolin), animal testing, FD&C colors, mineral oil, parabens, phthalates, petroleum, porpylene glycol, SLS, gluten, peanut oil and other ingredients you don’t want on your skin. I am wearing Tenderness in the photo below so you can get an idea of the subtle, but pretty color.
Piece & Co. Beauty Bag:
This bag is gorgeous and unique, so much so that I almost don’t want to use it in fear that something might spill inside and ruin its perfection. I love that the fabrics they use are socially and environmentally responsible. (See picture at top of post) Here’s a bit more about Piece & Co… Piece & Co. is a different kind of textile company. As a social enterprise, Piece & Co. is reimagining the global supply chain while creating high-quality socially and environmentally sustainable fabrics. Piece & Co. enables a network of more than 5,000 artisans in 16 countries to develop their businesses and compete in the global marketplace, impacting over 16,000 dependents worldwide.
From Bolivia to Zambia, Piece & Co. sources material from primarily female-led artisan groups whose traditional textiles are of exceptional quality and beauty. By connecting these artisans with major companies, Piece & Co. strives to create consistent employment for thousands of women and positively impact their children and their communities. Piece & Co. ensures success by investing in the artisan groups through business training, technique development, and raw material sourcing, allowing both the artisans and their production to flourish.
I love clean sample bags like this because I discover new natural brands and products that I may not have come across otherwise. Hope you enjoyed reading about my favorites!
Lots of love and good health,
Tasha, The Non-Toxic Newbie
non-toxic newbie 
Oh wow! There’s so many interesting looking products in there! Especially the cleanser and eye balm! Does the cleanser smell like apricots at all?
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