Realfoodology - 25: There’s WHAT in my makeup?! With Celeste Thomas
Episode Date: March 10, 2021Celeste Thomas, RN, and holistic skincare expert joins us for another episode to chat all about makeup! We go into the dirty deets of what’s really in your makeup - we’re not just talking about dr...ug store makeup here! Mac, Laura Mercier & Dior for example may have a steep price tag but that price tag means nothing about quality and in fact these makeup brands are putting your health at risk. We tell you what you can do, what brands we love and so much more! Show Links: https://www.thetruespoon.com/https://www.instagram.com/celestethomas/ Eat To Glow Meal Prep ebook https://www.thetruespoon.com/eat-to-glow/meal-prep-ebook/ Acne Skincare Guide https://www.thetruespoon.com/skincare/acne-skincare-guide/ Skin Confident Course https://www.thetruespoon.com/skincare/skin-confident-course/ https://www.thinkdirtyapp.com/https://www.ewg.org/https://www.grove.co/beauty/ https://oseamalibu.com https://juicebeauty.com https://www.honest.com/extreme-length-mascara-and-lash-primer/honest-lengthening-mascara.html https://abbottnyc.com https://sparitual.com Courtney's Favorites: Bonza Pasta Code REALFOOD15 https://www.eatbanza.com
Transcript
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on today's episode of the Real Foodology Podcast. Yeah, it's exactly how it was when you first
discovered that there was an issue. It's still, our country has one of the least amount of
regulations for an industrialized nation in the world. There's no credentials. There's no system
in which a company can be approved. They can have certified organic, right? But most products that
even say organic, it's just maybe one ingredient is organic and But most products that even say organic,
it's just maybe one ingredient is organic and they can plaster that on the label, but there's no
certification classification that is, this is not going to harm your skin.
Hi guys, welcome back to another episode of the Real Foodology podcast. I am Courtney Swan. I'm
an integrative nutritionist and the creator of the blog and food Instagram, Real Foodology podcast. I am Courtney Swan. I'm an integrative nutritionist and the creator of the
blog and food Instagram, Real Foodology. You can find me on Instagram at realfoodology or
at realfoodology.com. While you're there, please sign up for that email list. I don't really send
emails, so don't worry. It's more just so I can get in touch with you when I need to.
So today's episode is with one of my best girlfriends, Celeste Thomas, who also happens to
be an amazing all things skincare and beauty non-toxic specifically expert. She's an RN.
She was actually working as a registered nurse before she got into this whole world of non-toxic
skincare and beauty. And she is just a wealth of information.
If you don't follow her on Instagram, go to her Instagram immediately. It's at Celeste Thomas.
I will also link it in the show notes. She is really great. She is one of those people that
is just constantly pumping out really amazing content with so much value. So I wanted to bring
her back on the podcast. If you've been listening for a while, she,
we have another episode together. We actually have three total, but as I'm recording this, I don't know the order of which of how they're all coming out. So if you listen to this in a
couple of weeks, there will be three podcasts with her. She's amazing. This episode today
is more specifically on beauty on makeup and why you should care, why you should want to use non-toxic
makeup. We talk about really affordable options. If you're concerned about the price point,
it's actually, I feel like everyone thinks that non-toxic skincare and beauty means that it's
going to be really, really expensive, but she gave us some really amazing options that you can find
at Target. They're really affordable, but then also on the same spectrum, if you're listening and you're looking for those really
like nicer, expensive, super high quality stuff, she also has options for that as well. So she has
options for all across the board, no matter what your needs are. And we go into why you should care
about what's in your makeup. And we kind of dive a little bit into what actually is
in your makeup. And then my favorite part about this episode is that she gives us some of her
favorite dupes. This is something that she does on her Instagram where she takes a really popular
makeup or, or skincare. Um, but specifically on this episode, we talk about different makeup
that have cult followings. So there's this Dior lip gloss that she talks about, and I'm going to totally butcher the
name, so I'm not even going to try.
But apparently it has a cult following.
Everyone really loves it.
And what she does is she goes and looks, she researches into all the ingredients of that
one, and then she finds another product that is at least just as good, if not better. And what she's found that most
of the things that she's been finding are actually even better than these really expensive branded
products that have these cult followings. So it's really cool. And they're non-toxic.
And what I love too so much about her is that I can really trust the information that she puts
out there. And I can really trust the brands that she backs because this girl really knows what she's talking about. And she really does her
research. So it's really great because it kind of takes the guessing out for you. And I don't know
about you, but for me, I have a hard time keeping up with all of it. And it's kind of hard to
constantly be going to EWG, the environmental working group website to plug in all of these
different products. So she kind of takes the guesswork out of it and gives me better options for cleaner makeup,
which I love. She's also just really fun. Um, she's one of my best friends here in LA and we
go for hikes all the time. And we were joking today that this conversation is kind of like
just being a fly on the wall or like being on like our back during a hike.
Um, cause we go for hikes all the time. And this is just like another conversation that we have about makeup and it's a really great episode. I'm so excited for you guys to hear it with that.
We're going to get to a question and then we're going to get to the episode
before I get to the question. I just have a little disclaimer. As always, these answers and this podcast are just for educational and informational purposes only.
I am an integrative nutritionist, but I'm not a doctor.
And I don't know you personally.
I don't know what's going on in your body.
So just know that this information on this podcast is not a sub for individual medical or mental health advice.
And it doesn't constitute a provider patient relationship.
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Did you know that most cookware and appliances are made with
forever chemicals? Yes, that means your nonstick pans, your air fryers, your waffle makers, your
blender could possibly have PFAS. And yes, even our beloved crockpots and pressure cookers. I have
actually been talking about this for so long. Back in 2006, my mom came to my dorm room and made me
get rid of all my nonstick pans
because she was concerned about me being exposed to something called Teflon.
Teflon is a coating that is used on nonstick pans and a lot of these appliances that I
just named.
So I've avoided Teflon, nonstick, PFA coated appliances, pots and pans, you name it, for
a very long time.
And the only option for a very long time was just stainless steel pots and pans you name it for a very long time and the only option for the for a very
long time was just stainless steel pots and pans so I was really excited when a company like our
place came out because they started creating really beautiful cookware and appliances that
are like pieces of art every appliance that I have from our place I legit want to store it on the
counter and I'm the type of person that
does not want anything on my counter because I like it to look really just clean and minimal.
But I'm so obsessed with all the our place products that I have so many of them displayed
on my counter because they are legit pieces of art. Our place is a mission driven and female
founded brand that makes beautiful kitchen products that are healthy and sustainable.
Other products are made without PFAS, which are the forever chemicals, and also made without PTFE, which is Teflon.
If a company is not outwardly stating
that they don't use these chemicals,
then if they are using nonstick coating on their appliances,
they are absolutely using forever chemicals.
And there's been increasing global scrutiny
for their impact on the environment and our health.
And recognizing this impact,
the EU plans to prohibit PFAS by 2025. Our place has always been PFAS free and they offer durable toxin-free ceramic
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iron that I'm loving as well. And I more recently replaced all of the bowls and plates in my kitchen
because I really needed an upgrade. My other ones were so old. So I got some from our place and they
are so beautiful. The ceramics are beautiful. The colors are old. So I got some from our place and they are so beautiful. The
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If you want to try any of the products from our place, go to from our place.com and enter my code
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foodology. Our place offers a 100 day trial with free shipping and returns. All right. So today's question comes from Amber and she asked, how do you prevent maskne? This
is a huge one. And I'm so happy that I have Celeste here to help me answer this.
Huge one. Everyone needs to know. I mean, I've even had a little bit of maskne. When you think
about it, just having something covering your skin and you're sweating, you're maybe wearing
makeup under there. Who doesn't have a breakout in those areas now? I mean, everyone I know is just having something covering your skin and you're sweating, you're maybe wearing makeup
under there. Who doesn't have a breakout in those areas now? I mean, everyone I know is suffering
from this. So I have two folds kind of ways to help. Number one is willing to think about what
kind of mask you're wearing. So natural fibers that are breathable, cotton that you can wash,
silk. I have a silk ones from Amazon that are great. You can throw in the washer,
but that's going to allow the mask to breathe so your skin can get some air and it's
just not trapped in a polyester vessel that's really toxic and irritating and scratching your
skin. Makes sense. So good mask. And then the second one is I really suggest not wearing makeup
under your skin if you're going to wear your mask all day. Say you're an essential worker or you're
someone that has to wear your mask all day. I just wouldn't wear makeup
underneath there because you're just adding that layer of potential inflammation, irritation,
clogging pores. So that also getting a barrier cream. Oh, that's smart. Really essential. There's
a brand. There's many brands that have barrier creams, but one that I love is from a brand called January Labs.
It's their Moisture Renew Cream, and it acts as a barrier to protect your skin from the
mask.
So it's still breathable, but it's a hydration and moisture step to prevent the mask from
irritating your skin, which will in turn prevent maskne.
That's great.
Also, I have another one I want to add on.
Change your mask every day.
Oh, yeah.
You know, so you're not getting all that bacteria and dirt and everything on there.
I mean, I went, I can't even remember the brand right now.
I'll link it.
But my favorite ones were like three for $12.
So you can get like a pile of them.
I think I have like 12 masks or something that I just change out every day.
I change them like I change my underwear, you know, wash them, keep them clean.
And I think that will also help a lot too.
Yes. Today on Courtney's favorites, I am here to introduce you to my favorite makeup company,
Ilya. This is so fitting for this episode with Celeste because I know Celeste shares the love
and obsession with Ilya like I do. They are non-toxic and truly guys, basically the only
makeup brand that I use now. And I'm not joking. I use
everything. I'm going to list a few of my favorites, but Truly every single thing that I
use makeup wise on my face, except for concealer is all from Ilia. And I want to name a couple of
my favorites in case you guys want to order them. So the first one is the super
serum skin tint. It has an SPF of 40 and it's super moisturizing, has a really light tint. And
so I wear this every single day as my sunscreen. It's really light. You can put it on heavier if
you want more coverage, but I put it on pretty light for during the day. And then their liquid
light serum highlighter
is truly my favorite highlighter I've ever used. It's so beautiful, gorgeous. And then
I use their multi-stick a lot. You can use it on your lips. I like to use it on my cheeks.
It's kind of the like perfect little blush. And I use the color at last when I need more
coverage. So when I'm going out at night, for example, which
doesn't happen often these days, but the true skin serum foundation is my absolute favorite.
Again, similar to their skin tint, you can put it on heavier if you want more coverage,
or you can do a pretty light if you don't need a lot of coverage. And then last but not least, their liquid powder chromatic eye tints are incredible.
So they go on liquid and then they dry within seconds.
And if you're like me and you get a lot of creasing in your eyelids, you're going to
want to get these because creasing is gone when you use these eyeshadows.
I'm going to name a couple of my favorites.
Let's see. Mythic, Gleam, and Glaze are my three favorite eyeshadows. And actually,
if you guys use the link in the show notes, you will get a little bit of a discount. So make sure
that you use that link and try using code real foodology.
It's not live all the time.
Periodically, they make it live for me.
And so try using that and you'll get a certain percentage off of your order.
Also, one more thing that I want to add to my Courtney's favorites today.
I've talked about them before, but Coco kind.
And I know Celeste also uses them a lot as well.
So I figured it was super fitting
for today's episode. They are conscious skincare. Everything is very, very clean and non-toxic. I
love everything. There's lotions, serums, their sunscreen is one of my favorites. I love their
moisturizers, their cleansers, the rose, um, the rose spray is absolutely amazing. And I sprayed
on my face almost every single day.
I literally have it sitting on my coffee table in my living room because it's so gorgeous.
And then it reminds me to spray my face with it every day.
So make sure that you use, I don't have a code for Coco kind either, but if you use
the link in the show notes, it will give you 10% off for new customers.
So go to Coco kind.com.
Welcome back Celeste. Sorry, my dear friend Celeste Tom is back on for another episode.
If you have not listened to our other podcasts with her, please check them out.
Welcome back Celeste. Thanks. So good to be back, my love.
And it's so good to connect with you guys again. We have lots to talk about, lots to discuss. We're fired up. We are impassioned. We're going to just tell you the real fucking truth about
what's happening in this system, right? We want to take down the system of beauty and skincare.
We want to revamp the whole thing.
We sure do. We want you to know what is up and what you're purchasing and what you're putting
on your face. Yes. And half the time, the stuff that you're spending a lot of money on that's
really expensive is actually not super high quality. You're paying more for the packaging
and the brand than you are about the quality. It's called the pink tax. And this is something we all need to be aware of and thinking about women are taxed because they think we're
susceptible to just buying whatever we're going to spend more money. So our razors, everything for
women is more expensive. Beauty is another one of those things that's so overpriced just because of
packaging and marketing. That's what it's all about, but it really shouldn't be about the
function for you and like the quality and what it's doing to your system. Yes. Oh my God. It makes me so
mad. We're already mad. If you couldn't tell, we're like, all right, we're going to use that
anger and passion to make real moves with that. And hopefully we'll start as we have more of
these conversations and more people wake up, hopefully we will start to change that, you know,
and even just you listening right now and educating yourself and then knowing what is in your products,
that's changing a lot. Yeah. So let's get into it. Um, so what, what started me down the path
of getting into non-toxic skincare, beauty, you name it, was that I learned that there's
no regulation on the ingredients and skincare and beauty products. Can we talk about that? Yeah, it's exactly how it was when you first discovered that there was an issue.
It's still our country has one of the least amount of regulations for an industrialized
nation in the world.
There's no credentials.
There's no system in which a company can be approved.
They can have certified organic, right?
But most products that even say
organic, it's just maybe one ingredient is organic and they can plaster that on the label, but there's
no certification classification that is, this is not going to harm your skin. This is not
bioaccumulative. This doesn't have any irritants or potential carcinogens. There's nothing like
that. They have that in Japan. They have that in Europe. There's different regulations they have that they require to even be sold in their
country. And in America, we are the wild west baby, which is good and bad, but it's bad because
it's a free market society where we care more about the entrepreneurs and the business owners
than we do about the consumers, which is such a problem in the skincare and beauty space.
Absolutely. Especially when you look at some of the ingredients that are in these products,
and then you link them to all sorts of crazy diseases, cancer, hormonal imbalances.
So the main ones like you brought up that I find when I'm researching products are
potential carcinogens. And I'm sorry, but if something is a proven carcinogen in an animal
study, I'm an animal. Hello, hand up, animal. So no thanks. Irritation, which I mean, it depends
on the severity of the sensitivity of your skin, but why would you buy something to put on your
eyeball that's going to irritate it and cause redness? It's not going to look good. It's
counterproductive. Completely. Then there's a ton of endocrine
disruptors in the beauty space and products, which is such a problem. Especially we talk
about all the infertility rates. We talk about women who want to protect their fertility and
they're putting products on their face every single day, unknowingly that are endocrine
disruptors. And then we're expected to have, you know, not painful periods. And we're expected to
be fertile until we're 37. And we're expected to this and that. And you know, it's not realistic
with all the things in our world that are endocrine disruptors.
Right. And isn't it so ironic because now we're seeing more than ever, um, women with hormonal
imbalances, infertility issues, and then we're the ones that are getting marketed all this crap
that is probably leading to those hormonal imbalances and infertility. Completely. It's really wild.
A huge issue. Then there's a very common ingredient in products called phthalates,
which is liver, kidney, and lung causes liver, kidney, and lung damage. We also have to think
about the bioaccumulation factor. We are applying certain things. If you don't know you're applying
something every day to your skin, that's bioaccumulative. Who has tested whether or not, what are the long-term
impacts? What company is spending millions of dollars to test bioaccumulation in women from
their products? Name one. Cause I doubt there's any. There's none. Oh, that makes me so mad too.
It's so maddening. I mean, women's health is, we're done such a disservice and no one is
testing. No one cares. No one is researching. And it really takes us doing our own homework
in order to find out what's in our products. Do you want to hear the biggest discovery of
our time for promoting healthy aging? Of course you do, because all of us are concerned about
aging. There is a class of ingredients called senolytics that were discovered less than 10 years ago,
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enhancing your physical prime. Now, when I'm talking about aging here, I'm not just talking
about on a superficial level, wrinkles and saggy skin. I'm talking about energy, joint pain, your ability to show up for your life,
cognitive function. I'm talking about the real effects of cellular aging on the body and what
it does to our body as we age. Now, as we age, everyone accumulates something called senescent
cells in their body. They cause symptoms of aging, such as aches and discomfort, slow workout
recoveries, sluggish mental and physical energy associated with that middle age feeling. They're also known as zombie
cells. They're old and worn out and not serving a useful function for our health anymore, but they
are taking up space and nutrients from our healthy cells. Much like pruning the yellowing and dead
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Qualia senolytic is an amazing product that helps to remove these senescent cells. And if you want
to hear more about the product and more about these senescent cells that affect aging, go back
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Thanks to Neurohacker for sponsoring today's episode.
This is really exciting. Organifi now has kid stuff. They just released two kid products. One
is called Easy Greens, and it's a refreshing green apple juice where kids will never know
that it's packed with veggies. And the other one is called Protect. It's a delicious wild berry
punch like the Kool-Aid that we used to have as a kid, but without any sugar. This is really exciting. And
if you've listened to the podcast for a while, you know that I'm a huge fan of Organifi and most
specifically because every single product that they make is glyphosate residue free. So you know
that you're going to be able to give these powders to your kids and know that they will be able to
consume them safely without any glyphosate in it. So let's break down each one.
The Easy Greens is a nourishing and delicious blend of superfoods and veggies
that provides essential nutrients, probiotics, and digestive enzymes
to bring balance to kids' growing bodies without fillers, additives, or junk.
It helps to fill in nutritional gaps, aids in growth and development,
supports digestive health, has a rich micronutrient profile,
and includes digestive enzymes.
This would be a
great way to sneak in greens for your little one without them actually knowing that it's healthy
for them. And the second one, which is the wild berry punch similar to Kool-Aid, is called Protect,
and it is to support your child's daily immune health with food-derived nutrients that work to
strengthen their body's first line of defense. I know just through girlfriends of mine that have
children that when your kids are going to school, going to daycare, they're coming home sick a lot
more often just because they're getting exposed to different kids and different viruses when
they're out in the world playing with kids. So this would be a great way to help to support your
little one's immune health. It's organic and it's also made with real whole food ingredients. It has
a delicious berry taste and it's low sugar and it's gentle enough for kids to take every single day.
And I really love the ingredients in this one.
It's orange and acerol cherry,
which is a powerful source of vitamin C and antioxidants.
Astragalus, elderberry and propolis.
These are all really great for overall immune health.
If you wanna try the products that I talked about today
or any of the Organifi products,
go to Organifi.com slash realfoodology and use code
realfoodology for 20% off. Again, that's Organifi. It's O-R-G-A-N-I-F-I.com slash realfoodology.
So, I mean, why is this happening? Like, why aren't we able to, why is this happening? Like,
why don't we have this information? Why don't we
have someone that's regulating this? Because it, you know, there's another thing you keep talking
about bioaccumulation and to, to kind of like piggyback on that, the other issues. And on top
of, so we have all these products that are accumulating in our body and then we don't even
know what the effects are of the different ones, you know, as they're combining. Exactly. Yeah. So what's that about too? I mean,
what's the archaic patriarchal system? What's the impact of that on women? I mean, it's America.
It's still a good old boys club. It's lobbyists. It's politics. It's capitalism. It's all the
things in our country that make it great, but it also makes it terrible for us as consumers.
Yeah. And really in every single system, food system,
I mean, it's all the same thing. Yeah. You can kind of copy and paste it to pretty much every
industry in this country. It's really, really sad. And women are suffering. Women are suffering.
Men suffer too, but I just feel like there's so many injustices for women when it comes to
healthcare and the beauty industry is a huge one.
Absolutely. And like, you know, we've said like all of these products are mostly targeted and advertised to women specifically, you know, we're taught from a very young age that we quote unquote
need all of the, all of these different products. So then by the time, you know, we're 20,
we have this whole arsenal of things that we have been told that we need, you know, and it's the lotions and the face creams and all this stuff. And we do need it. But at the same
time, no one is teaching us about what's actually in any of these products. And we're not being
taught about, like you said, the bio community accumulation, and then the combining of all of
those. Think about a woman. So if you're listening this, when I finally connected the dots to this,
I was like, my mind was blown because I'd never thought about it like this before.
It's one thing if you're using like one scented lotion and that's it. And that's your exposure
for the day. I would still argue that the fragrance in there, you don't want to be exposed
to it at all, but let's just say there's that one. There's not a woman that's just using one
product. It's the lotion that you put
on. And then the perfume, it's the body wash that you use, the shampoo, the face cream that you're
using, your face wash. Like think about, I mean, lip gloss. I mean, after doing the research.
Oh my God. I mean, I'm not even done. I'm only, I'm, I'm at eight right now. And I probably list
another 10 products that women use every single day. Think about the impact of that
accumulation over time. It's so sad. And when you were talking about the evolution of women
from young age buying products, it really sparked something that I want to talk about.
A huge issue in our country is that we're a culture of makeup. And when you have makeup,
that's really poor quality. It's clogging pores, it's irritating skin. Women's skin is getting progressively worse by using these products. They need more makeup to
cover all the imperfections and their skin can't breathe. They're putting toxic crap all over it.
And when you, I mean, I did a Tik TOK recently where it allowed people to ask me skincare
questions and the amount of heartbreaking images sent to me by 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 year old
women. And they're just covering it up with layers of concealer that has silicone, which is blocking
the skin that has phthalates. It has irritants. And it's like, Oh, it's a horrific cycle. It's a
snowball effect that is so incredibly negative where they'd be better off if they weren't using
anything because of the quality of products that they're buying. They have no idea is ruining their skin. I know it's just
making it worse. And then it's not so ironic. It just makes me sick. And then I think about too,
their, their young bodies and their endocrine systems and their prime of their like, you know,
puberty and hormone hormones and all of that. And then they're being exposed to all these
phylates. So you say phylates, phylates, okay, et cetera, that are only going to cause more hormonal issues, more
endocrine issues.
It's really sickening.
I know.
It's so, so sad.
It's so sad.
So for someone listening that's like, okay, whoa, I'm a little bit overwhelmed.
Where do I even start?
And are there other options?
Like now that I'm, I'm understanding
that there's no sort of regulation and that everything I'm using probably has a lot of
crap in it. Where do I even begin? So the first thing to do is really realize that labels are
not your friend when it comes to skincare and beauty. And there's a term called greenwashing
where companies use words like clean and they use the color green,
they use wood, they do flowers on it, natural. That means nothing at all. Even the word non-toxic,
which I love to use, means nothing because there's no regulation. I love to use it because
it's the only way I can really explain to people my no harm philosophy about skin,
skincare and beauty. So my philosophy is I want to use products
that are more beneficial than harmful to my skin. Right. And really that's the only way I can
classify it. So when it comes to labels, you cannot trust anything. So anything you see anywhere,
just it's okay. Let it go. It might say something on the label, but really it's trusted sources
and you need to utilize your trusted sources. I mean, the environment, environmental working group, EWG, they have a skin deep
database where you can look up products, which are great. I will say they don't have every product.
So you have to go in and any products you have currently, you have to input every single
ingredient into that database. And it takes time. It takes time. And you know, it's, it sounds really daunting right now, but as someone who
has been doing this for a long time, now you, you find your products that you love,
you replace everything over time. I didn't do it overnight. I, I used up all the products that I
had and I slowly started replacing new things. So don't feel like you have to like drop a grand and
you know, dump everything out and just start out fresh. Just start, you know,
little by little finding new products that you love. Celeste, um, we'll drop all this at the
end, but she's a great resource for finding really good alternatives, which we're also
going to talk about. Um, there's also, I was just pulling out my phone cause I was trying to
remember. There's another, there's an app. Yes. Yeah. So think dirty app is also good. They have
a lot of stuff. I will say there's still a lot of, you know, digging you have to do and you have to put in the ingredients and
that's okay. Yeah. But it's doing that with the products you already have. And then moving forward
is trying to finding trustee sources like me and Courtney, also finding brands that you trust.
Yeah. You know, I have tons of brands that I know that they're high quality, non-toxic,
clean, beneficial before I even look at the ingredients because I know that their standards are high.
Also places like Credo Beauty, the detox market.
These are places you can shop that have vetted each product very, very diligently.
And so anything they sell is going to be good for your skin.
Yeah.
There's also a new one called, I think it's Roven Beauty.
We'll link all of these too, but they're in connection with Grove Collaborative. And if you're on a budget and looking for more budget-friendly
stuff, they're a great place to go shopping because they have a lot of really budget-friendly
brands. That's awesome. Also Target Shoppers, Honest Beauty, Jessica Albus brand. They have
great beauty products. I love their makeup. Me too. It's really good. Yeah. I haven't really
found anything that I was like, meh, like it's all really good. I'm like, okay. Yeah. It's still my favorite. Oh yeah. And I found this other brand Ilya beauty.
They're a little bit more on the expensive side, but if you can afford it, I mean, hands down,
literally my favorite makeup I've ever tried. It's really good. I use it too. Oh my God. It's
so good. It's really crazy. Like I like it better than some of the like toxic stuff I was using
before, like the max and all that kind of crap, you know? I can't believe that I used to use Mac.
Me too. I mean, it makes me sick. It's crazy. They test on animals, which is another thing
that we need to kind of touch on. I mean, that's more ethical stuff, but I'm really not into any
brands that feel the need to test on animals. It's horrible. And MAC, I mean, their pigmentation, a lot of the toxins in their crazy pigments.
I mean, you can't get that sewage sign,
that green like caution color and an eyeshadow
without some toxic crap.
Let's be real.
Like, you know, some of those colors,
like that's never been found in nature.
And there's something in there that's not indigo from like crushed violets or anything like that.
No, it's like that color was like the sewage that the Ninja Turtles were hanging out in.
Oh, completely.
But I will tell everyone listening, if you're fearful that you're going to have to shop at Whole Foods and get stuff that's non-functional,
there is high-functioning beauty brands, the two we just talked about.
You don't have to sacrifice. I do dupes every week for products and I usually do a dupe based on something that I used to use. So I know the formulation, like you want a plumping
lip gloss that actually works and feels tingly and plumpy and glossy and has long wear and has
good shades. We can find it for you now. It's not, you don't have to pick and choose. And honestly, the worst category in my opinion is, is the Sephora brands because they of course are not
regulated, but the quality in which the product is like the price point, they charge you so much
for how poor quality the item is. I mean, just the branding, the marketing, getting in Sephora, it's so enormously costly for these brands. So they're literally giving you like
the worst quality products. It's such a high premium. And Sephora is trying to change that
because people like me and people who are way more powerful than me are calling them out.
So they're offering green at Sephora, which if you're only going to shop at Sephora,
those are much better options. I haven't been at all of them, but it's a good place to start. Yeah. It's a great place
to start, but it's like women are, they're getting sold a bag of goods. They're being
charged so much for such crap that's harming their skin. Well, exactly. And that's what makes
me so mad about it is, you know, I have friends that, and look, I want to say this before I say
anything else. If you're listening and you use some of these products that we're like shitting on right now,
I don't, the last thing I want is anyone to feel like ashamed or that we're shaming you or that
we're like above you because we use these different products. Like that is not at all.
We're just so passionate about it because we feel like as women, we've been duped for so long
into thinking that we're getting these high quality things when we're paying a lot of money.
Like, I think like the Mac thing, it makes me so mad because I would spend
so much money on these products. Or like what I was starting to say was, you know, I have
girlfriends that swear by like Dior stuff and Chanel makeup. And you think about how much money
people are spending on that and the low quality that you're getting in these products. It infuriates
me because we're getting duped. Yeah. And that's the thing. That's're getting in these products, it infuriates me because we're
getting duped. Yeah. And that's the thing. That's what we're here for. We want to teach you,
educate you, empower you, empower you. And then if you want to use your door because that's your
favorite, great. But at least, you know, yes, that's the thing. It's all informed choice.
Exactly. At the end of the day, like you do you and we will fully support you in any way because
supporting women, we are fucking here for it.
We love it.
But we just want you to be informed so you can make a decision.
Completely.
And, you know, after doing these dupes for, you know, almost all of quarantine now, there
are so many good products out there that will substitute it and are more affordable.
So why not give that a try?
You run out of your Dior.
I did
a dupe for Courtney and I's favorite lip gloss, the PYT Plumping Gloss. The Dior one's almost
$40. The PYT one's $18. Same ounce size, great quality. You get a great effect and it's completely
natural, non-toxic and it works. It works. I love it. It's pretty much the only lip gloss I use now.
Yeah. That's great. I mean, we both, I have it right now. Link below, but we just want, we just want you to be empowered to
make the best decision for your future, for your life, for your family, for your finances,
all those things, because makeup, it gets into your eyes. It gets into your mouth. Like it's so,
I mean, it's crazy how susceptible
we are when we're putting those things directly on our face and wearing it all day long. Oh yeah.
It seeps through our pores. People don't realize like by the end of the day, you know, when you
get home and you pretty much like your, it feels like your makeup has dissolved into your face.
It has, it seeps into your pores, goes into your bloodstream completely. So you're not just putting
it on your face and then washing it off at night with, without getting exposed to it at all. You know, it's. Yeah. And the other thing that I just kind
of want to touch on, cause I haven't touched on this yet, but it's, it's important. So I should
have said this when you're, we were starting and you're asking me about what the regulations are.
So there was this in 1967, there was this fair packaging and labeling act instilled the United
States. And what it allowed companies to do is have what's called trade secrets. So they could hide a certain amount of their formulation
under the term fragrance or flavor, right? So that means that the company can withhold that
information, not tell us, not put it on the label even what that product is. And instead they put
it under the term fragrance or flavor. So this Dior perfume,
good example, the Dior Maximizer Lip Plumper, it has fragrance as an ingredient in the lip gloss.
So that means that they're hiding something in there. Maybe they want it to smell good.
Maybe that's it. Or maybe there's some aspects of the formulations better if it has this
ingredient that's a known toxin that people are starting to recognize so they can hide it under the term fragrance. So that's the reason why
fragrance is bad in beauty. It's not because fragrance is inherently bad because it's not.
There are essential oils. There are transparent brands that have fragrance where they tell you
where it comes from and it's not toxic. Yes. That's a really thing, important thing to note.
And if you want to learn more about this, you can listen to my episode with branch basics, but fragrances are really tricky because, um, if we're just talking
about essential oils and the company, if they are, here's the thing, guys, if the company is
proud of their ingredients, they will proudly label every single thing that's in there and
they won't try to hide it under certain things. So when you see, for example, if, if it's like
a lavender scented thing, and then you look on the back, if it's lavender essential oil or like, you know, pure lavender extract or whatever they want to
call it, if that extent, then, you know, it's good. But if it says lavender fragrance, chances
are it's probably some form of synthetic fragrance and, or like you said, a combination of ingredients
that they don't want to state. And that's a problem because these fragrances are
carcinogenic. They can cause him hormonal and you know, endocrine disruption, all the worst things.
Just let your mind go there because they're hiding it for a reason. Yep. And if it says,
yeah, like lavender Esther or like a weird poly of lavender, look that up. Chemicals
aren't necessarily bad, but there are bad chemicals.
Exactly. Great point.
Just this practicing and labeling act has still been around. No one has changed it. Really,
I will say most of the dupes I do, fragrance is the reason why it's a red flag. That means it's a three bell alarm red flag because we have no idea what's in it.
Yeah. That's scary. And that's scary.
It's really scary. And that should also make you mad. It makes me mad. We're obviously mad.
This whole episode, we're just like, I'm like, I'm gonna need a glass of wine after this.
But it should make you mad too, because ultimately what that company is telling you is that they don't really care about your health enough to clean up their ingredients and they don't want you to know what's in it.
They want to hide things from you. And you know why? Why? Because it's way cheaper to use shit
ingredients and things that they've like used for, you know, however many years since the sixties
that work, you know, emollients or phthalates, which help bind and also give shelf stability.
So they're trying to make money. They
don't care about you. They just care about the bottom line and that's all. Yeah, it's true.
They want that product to last longer on the shelf so that they can sell more.
And yeah. And you know, another thing too, I will say this cause I like to point this out.
I don't believe that any of these companies set out inherently to do bad things, but what's
happening is that now
that we know that these are bad for us, the thing that makes them horrible is that they're not doing
anything to change it. So I think it started out with good intention, but now as the studies have
come out, the science has come out and that there's no sort of regulation on it. These
companies are not being forced to change and they don't want to, because like you said,
they're, they care about their money. And most of these companies are all owned by the same conglomerates. And if any of you listening
have ever worked a corporate job, you know it's impossible to get anything accomplished because
the checks and balances and chain of command and who you're answering to. So who's surprised?
I mean, I'm not.
I'm not at all.
It's just, it's frustrating because you know, we got to change
it, but we change it by educating. So now like now that you're informed, then you can start
making better choices and we put money back into the pockets of the brands that are doing good
things. So let's talk about that. You've, you've mentioned them a couple of times. I really want
you to tell us some of your favorite dupes. So Celeste has
talked about this a little bit, but she has this series on her Instagram and her Tik TOK where she
calls out really popular items. So for example, that was it a Mac lip gloss that you said?
It was the Dior lip maximizer plumping gloss. I mean, that's how out of touch I am. I'm like,
I've never even heard of it. Yeah. I have to like, I have to research and look up like top
plumping gloss. And I'm like, Oh yeah, they sell that at Sephora. This is what everyone's buying.
Okay.
Everyone loves it.
Yeah.
I'm like, I forgot.
But yeah.
So she basically takes those cult favorites and she gives you a better non-toxic option
that works maybe not even as good, but even better as them, which is really cool.
So let's talk about some of them.
So there's the PYT and also, sorry, really fast.
We will link all of these. So if you're listening and you're driving, don't worry. You can find them on the show.
One of my absolute favorites is so crazy. It's the, so La Mer, the La Mer cream, it's $330 or
$350. And that is such crap. It's such crap. And the ingredients, they do have some interesting
preservatives that I wouldn't say are non-toxic. I would never use the product because it's not super clean, but it does what
they call, they call their C mineral broth, right? It's like an algae formulation, which is going to
hydrate and moisturize the skin. There's a beautiful brand called Osea. I love them, which
is amazing. And they also do almost all of their products with algae and they have an atmosphere protection
cream that is under $50 that has very similar ingredients when I broke it down and function
to the La Mer cream. Oh, that's cool. Okay. So I actually have that cream, but I kind of,
I'm realizing right now, I forgot that I had it. What would you recommend that people use it for?
Is that like a night thing or you put it on the morning for makeup?
The nice thing is you can use it a.m. and p.m. as a moisturizing step.
And it's great for all skin types.
If you have dry skin, also if you're acne prone, it's really safe.
But what it's doing is it has antioxidants to help protect your skin from sun,
the elements, everything like that.
It's kind of like what it's known for.
Plus just giving you that juicy hydration that you would find in the La Mer. Oh, which we love and talk about an amazing price point under
$50 versus 300. Yeah. Right. Use up that La Mer guys and then get the Osea. Yeah. Osea. Osea.
I think it's Osea. I think I've seen it spelled phonetically. Osea. Yeah. Okay. That sounds,
yeah, that sounds right. So that one is a favorite. Another one that I've really enjoyed lately is
the Laura Mercier setting powder. Oh, that's a favorite. It was shockingly terrible. It was like
nine out of 10 dirty on think 30 or eight out of 10 dirty. It has talc in it, which is a known
carcinogen and you're inhaling it when you put it on your face with a big powder brush.
Wow.
And talc is the one that was in Johnson & Johnson's baby powder, right?
That they linked directly to cancer.
So that one, and instead the Juice Beauty translucent powder is at least $10 cheaper for the same amount.
It has the exact same function.
It's a very light, great setting powder. I use it every day, like under my eyes to set my concealer
so I don't get little lines. And that was such a great one. I really, really love that one.
I'm going to buy that. Get that. I'm getting influenced. Yeah. Right. I mean, so many good things. Oh, another one that I love. If you pretty much are into any full lash, like long, thick lash, I do a lot of Dior dupes
because Dior is just, they have a lot of cult following products. Yeah, they do. So their Dior
show mascara, which is volume and length. I love to dupe with the honest beauty mascara.
Oh, nice. I haven't tried that one. It's better than Ilia.
Is it? Because I was just going to say Ilia is my favorite. Yeah, that one's good. But the Honest
is more of a bold lash versus Ilia is more of like a natural lash. Okay. I love a bold lash.
Yeah. Your lashes are popping. So the Honest one is great because it has a primer end and then the
mascara ends. You get just these really voluminous lashes and you can get it at Target.
You can prime it.
It's really affordable.
That's amazing.
Everyone, go get it.
See, I love this because you can still go to Target.
You can still get your stuff online on like Amazon and most of the time cheaper.
Have you found that most of the natural and non-toxic skincare,
sorry, well, skincare included, but the specifically the makeup, is it usually cheaper?
It depends. If we're talking about like the Dior's Chanel's Lancome's of the world,
it usually is. Yeah. If we're talking about that, what do you call it? It's like department store.
Okay. Yeah. It's usually comparable or less, but I will say there's a few non-toxic brands like
Westman Atelier and there's a few more high-end ones that are popping up that are a little more
expensive, but as a whole in the category, not drugstore cheap, but cheaper than a lot of the
Sephora and or department store brands. That's amazing. That's crazy. Another reason why
you should switch. Like, you know, I know. Cause if we're already spending the money.
Yeah. I mean that, and then I'll just finish with one more that is really great. So I know we talked
a lot about fragrance and how fragrance is bad. Yes. The ingredient fragrance is bad, but that
doesn't mean we can't have fragrances like perfume because there are fragrances that have, like we said, really great ingredients, really ethically sourced essential
oils and different things. I'm not really well versed in the making of fragrances. I don't know
what other compounds they usually use, but there are brands that are transparent and offer high
quality fragrance. One that I absolutely love is a dupe for Le Labo Santal, which I used to use. Oh, I love Le Labo. I'm not going to lie.
I love it too. And I wanted to love them after doing this research, but I went on their website
and they are the least transparent brand I've ever seen. They don't share any ingredient details.
They won't tell you what's in their product. They may highlight one thing when you go into
the store. They're like, it's this rose. If you were non-toxic,
you would tell us. Yeah. You're not telling us anything. So I can't trust you. Plus who owns
that brand now? I would be very interested to know. I'm sure they were bought. I would not
be surprised if they were bought out by someone big. I'm surprised that it's not public information.
It might be. Yeah. We should look it up, but I wouldn't be surprised if they
were bought out too. Yeah. So I found this brand called Abbott NYC and they are amazing. They're
all conscious and ethically sourced. High quality ingredients are all unisex sense. So if you love
that sandalwood kind of vibe of Santal, I found a direct dupe for it. And they give back at least,
I think three, three to 5%. I think it depends, but I'm not sure exactly the percentage, but they
give back to a national park. That's kind of inspired. The fragrance was inspired by with
every purchase. That's so cool. And it's recyclable, like everything. It smells delicious.
It has staying power. It's like, why would you spend? Plus it's way cheaper. Cental is so expensive. This one's like half the price.
Oh my God. Again, it's at that price point. It's really, yeah, that's frustrating. I have
another question for you. Is there a nail polish that you found that you like? A brand?
Yes. I actually just did this dupe this week. And so you called it out and I'm wearing it. And I will say. Oh, it's so pretty. So I've been using, I had one nail that kind of
chipped because it was the one I messed up. You know, the one nail you mess up right when you
paint it. There's always one. No. But I've had this on for four days now. And when you paint
your own nails, I mean, four days of a polish is pretty damn good. That's good. Looks really good.
Wish you guys could see it. They look beautiful.
And this brand of polish is called Spa Ritual.
Okay.
And the thing about it is OPI and Essie are what they call three free.
So they're free of the three most toxic ingredients.
This polish is 12 free.
Wow.
That's a huge difference.
Free of the 12 most toxic ingredients. So you're left with actually
like clean ingredients. Plus they have 60 shades. You can get it on Amazon. It's not expensive.
60 shades. That's amazing. See, that's the thing. Like when you start making the switches,
you're not going to be deprived of colors and shades and options. It's just pivoting and finding
new brands that you love,
you know, cause there's definitely a ton of options out there. There's also another thing
I wanted to say for, let's say there's women listening that are like my mom's age that have
been using the La Mer's or whatever it is for years. And they love the high end and they want
the really beautiful branded stuff. And, um, cause you know, let's be real. I even love an aesthetic.
I want something that will be beautiful on my countertop. I just want to reiterate,
and you're better at talking about this. I'll let you take this over, but I want to reiterate that
this doesn't mean that you're buying like brands from whole foods and you're going to hide
everything in this, you know, in the skincare cabinet, there's a beautiful high quality,
wonderful options. Stunning. I mean, one, I really want to highlight one brand, St. Jane Beauty.
Oh, they're branding.
It's so chic.
I mean, it's monochrome, you know, white packaging boxes.
And it has a gold emblem on it.
And then they have a black bottle that's so beautiful.
I've even like refilled their body serum pump with other body
oil because I'm like, this is the chicest bottle, but they're catching up. They're catching up with
the formulations. They're catching up with the aesthetic. There is a non-toxic version of what
you're using that is just as beautiful. And if your mom's bougie like that, go on to Credo,
see what her vibe is, buy her something for Christmas. She'll love it.
Yeah. That's a great idea. I love that. Oh, this has been so fun. I feel like I could talk about
this forever. We're like, oh my God, guess what? Oh, we need to tell everyone about this. This is
so messed up. So thank you for listening to our rant. This is our Ted talk. We hope you enjoy.
But really, it was, it was just really nice to be able to share these frustrations because I have a feeling you're going to be just as frustrated as we are.
Yeah, I know. But that was such a good point. I feel like this was
everyone listening as is like a fly on the wall for our hikes.
Celeste and I do these hikes a couple of days a week and we are just, I mean, these are kind of
what our conversations are that we're having on our hikes. So it's nice to tune, let you tune in,
you know? Yes, it was so nice. And obviously, you know, if there's products that you want me to do,
I always take requests. Those are my favorite ones to do. So just DM me what dupes you want.
I love to do the research and test things. And I have such a privilege to be able to reach out to brands because I do this and I have proof that people
really find value in them. They'll send me stuff to test to make sure it's worth your money. So
then you don't have to waste your money looking for dupes. I love that so much. Well, for everyone
listening, where can they find you so that they can send you their dupes? Yeah, you can find me
at Celeste Thomas on Instagram, at Celeste Thomas on TikTok, Celeste Thomas on YouTube, all the places.
Yeah, and we'll link all those as well.
And she just came out with a meal prep guide, which is really bomb.
Some really amazing recipes.
So definitely check that out on her website.
Yes, if you're looking, if you're over cooking and trying to figure out every single meal
in this quarantine pandemic, like all of us are, I created this resource to help you just achieve
your skincare goals, save money, save time, and just feel good. So I did meal prep ebook course,
very easy, very affordable. You'll love it. Yeah. You'll love it. Well, thanks so much for coming
on. Thanks for having me. I feel like just, just two girls hanging out. Yeah. We should just bring
mics with us on our hikes. Drake would love that. The sound quality.
Oh, thanks girl.
This is a resident media production produced by Drake Peterson and mixed by Chris McCone. The song is by Georgie. As always, please don't forget to rate and review the podcast.
It really helps me in this show a lot.
See you next week. Bye. I know. Cause I always see him, see him, checking me out. All it takes to know is to kiss him.
And make me dance, dance, like this guy.
So if he doesn't like me, at least I know I got my hand.
All this time, I won't be wasted anymore.
He won't be the choice to fight me.
All this time, I won't be wasted anymore. Bye. Thank you. Bye. you you you