A CLEAN SITE YOU CAN TRUST
You wouldn’t know by looking at her glowing complexion today, but Marguerite Gray Buer once suffered from chronic acne. Her search for natural products that didn’t irritate her sensitive skin led Buer to launch Urban Pearl Collective, an online “clean beauty, self-care and wellness sanctuary.” There are about two dozen ingredients, or “nasties,” that Buer doesn’t allow in the products she sells, including chemical sunscreens, coal tar, formaldehyde, hydroquinone, lead, mercury, nanoparticles and synthetic fragrance. Those restrictions have led Buer to uncover emerging brands and products that you won’t find at other clean beauty e-tailers. They include body, hair and face oils by Prim Botanicals ($44 to $60), Meow Meow Tweet’s deodorant sticks, zero-waste eye shadow palettes by Aether Beauty ($58) and gorgeous biodegradable yoga mats from Apeiron ($97 with carrying sling). urbanpearlcollective.com
CBD STANDOUT
We’ve long been fans of Alana Mitchell, a San Clemente esthetician-turned-skin care entrepreneur. Her new Full Spectrum Hemp Collection makes us even more devoted. Each of the half-dozen products – facial rejuvenation oil, retinol oil, a hyaluronic acid moisturizer and one with vitamin C, eye cream and cleanser – is made with CBD and other active hemp plant compounds, including the essential oils known as terpenes. Transporting these ingredients is MCT oil, or medium-chain triglycerides, an effective way to deliver the anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant benefits of cannabinoids, while contributing its own skin-beautifying fatty acids and antibacterial properties. Individual products are $38 to $50. The collection of all six is $153.50.
BUSTING BEAUTY CLUTTER
There are an infinite number of options for organizing your spices, but a paltry few smart solutions for corralling your makeup. One of the best we’ve come across is Boxy Girl, a system of stackable, customizable Lucite. Created in 2015 by Hannah Serimian, the line started with a single four-stack organizer ($124). It has since expanded to include modules for lipstick, brushes and palettes ($36 to $65). With a footprint of less than a square foot and drawers that pull out for easy access, Boxy Girl conserves precious vanity space while keeping everything in clear sight. boxygirl.com
UPCYCLING COFFEE GROUNDS
Like most of us, Lucy Cervino and Precious Drew drank a lot of coffee in college. Unlike the rest of us, they not only recognized the thousands of pounds of leftover coffee grounds that every coffee shop had to dispose of, they decided to do something about the waste. Their startup, Perk: The Natural Beauty Lab, uses coffee grounds from The Lost Bean in Costa Mesa (not far from where Lucy grew up) and Clemens Perk, the student-run coffee shop on the campus of their alma mater, College of Saint Benedict in St. Joseph, Minnesota, to create their exfoliating Perk Up Coffee Scrub ($20). Blended with coconut, tea tree and lavender oils, the scrub is gentle enough to use on face and body. Next up: Expanding their line of sustainable beauty products and partnerships in Orange County. perkbeautylab.com