Beautycounter: Nourishing Cream Cleanser + Nourishing Night Face Cream

Hi everyone and happy Friday! As the week is winding down I'm happy to announce that amongst my most recent press events with ModCloth and Social Butterfly Magazine, I also had the chance to collaborate with a start-up company by the name of Beautycounter.

When I first received notice that Beautycounter was interested in collaborating with me, I was emailed by one of their consultants, Carley. Though I had heard of the company before I wasn't incredibly familiar with their brand so I took to Google to investigate. After reading loads of reviews, their mission statement, as well as how they select their ingredients, I was thrilled to have the opportunity to work with them!

I'm sure my US readers who are makeup and beauty junkies have came across this California-based company, who stepped into the industry in 2013. But for my readers who are a bit unfamiliar, here's what Beautycounter is all about:

Safer Beauty

As explained in their mission statement, one of Beautycounter's main concerns when making their products is to be sure the beauty products they deliver are safe. Unfortunately in today's market there are over 80,000 chemicals and many of them do not have any safety information. Which in my opinion, leaves the FDA to blame due to the fact the only thing they regulate in cosmetics are the color additives. Meaning they are still allowing companies to use chemicals in their products that are known to be extremely harmful. And to make matters worse think about this: in the past two decades the European Union has banned more than 1,300 chemicals in the use of beauty products where the United States has partially banned 11. (That's right, I'm not sure if I'm more bothered by the "partially" or the fact that only 11 have been [partially] banned.)

Knowing this information, Beautycounter's founder Gregg Renfrew decided it was definitely time for a change. So back in 2013 she started the company, which has been devoted to progress ever since. To further make Beautycounter stand out, they actually have a "Never List" which lists ingredients you will never find in their products. If you want to learn more about the ingredient selection process, click here. And if you want more background information as to why Beautycounter is so unique and why they are so devoted to their process, you should check out this video.

My Beautycounter Experience

Of course after chatting with Carley and learning all these wonderful things about Beautycounter I wanted to try it for myself! So Carley was kind enough to send me two complimentary full size products to try and to review. As the title of my article would lead you to believe, those two products are the Nourishing Cream Cleanser as well as the Nourishing Night Face Cream.

At first, I was a bit leery to try a new facial cleanser due to the fact I have sensitive skin and my Clarisonic cleanser has worked for me for two years now, but I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. The Nourishing Cream Cleanser lathered nicely and is very light, it also easily washed off and didn't leave my face feeling as though there was any excess cleanser left behind. It also left my face feeling fresh and was much less harsh on my skin than my Clarisonic cleanser, even when used with my Mia 2 cleansing brush.

I also feel that this cleanser has actually worked wonders for my skin. In the week I have been using it my skin has felt softer, appeared more vibrant, and has had significantly less redness even with the change in the weather. (Normally around this time of year when the 'Burgh starts to get cold, I tend to get a very windburned face from bustling around the city.) Bottom line? I can guarantee you that I will be switching to this cleanser and ditching my Gentle Hydro.

The next product I tried from Beautycounter was the Nourishing Night Face Cream. As I'm sure you've assumed this is a night time moisturizer. When first trying this I was expecting it to be very heavy and oily like the overnight moisturizers I've tried in the past. However, much to my surprise this moisturizer is just as light and airy as the cleanser. I was very happy with the results too, this moisturizer made my skin feel so lush and smooth, and is definitely another product I will be adding to my beauty routine.

Final Thoughts

In closing I would like to say I would definitely recommend Beautycounter's products for anyone looking for a great skin care line or makeup that only uses 100% safe chemicals in their products. And as for me? You can bet I will continuing to use (and reorder!) these products as a part of my everyday beauty routine, and will be checking out the rest of Beautycounter's Face Collection.

Have you ever tried Beautycounter? What are some of your favorite products? Tell me about them in the comments below or tweet me them at @StarkRavingChic!

Xx, Bree