Our founder's top 10 green beauty products and tips for using them

Lise’s Picks

Hi, my name is Lise and I’m the founder and owner of well&belle natural beauty.
One of the most frequent questions people ask me is “what are your favourite beauty products you carry at well&belle?"
Wow, that’s a tough one…

It’s a bit like picking your favourite child (not that that’s a problem for me—I only have one, lol). Since I personally select and test all the products we sell at well&belle, I really do love them all.

People often tell me that I have great skin, and there are some products that I use more than others, so in this article, I describe my top 10 picks and how to use them. 

Here's the thing with top-whatever lists though; everyone is different, and I'll always encourage you to find what you love and make it your own. 

If you’re looking for recommendations for your specific needs, drop us a line at info@well-belle.com and we’d be more than happy to respond to your questions.
So, here we go, my top 10 green beauty products: 

 

10. Inkling Scents Perfume, Pulse

Have you ever been close to someone wearing perfume and gotten a headache from it? I sure have! (If you’ve ever wondered why those perfumes give you headaches, check out this article for some additional info.)

With Inkling Scents, there is a lot less risk of a headache, because these little beauties are made with essential oils and naturally derived perfume oils. And they smell amazing! 

With natural perfumes, you may want to re-apply after several hours, but that’s not a problem with the mini roll-ons.

I love Pulse because it’s a perfect mix of sweet and floral, which is my favourite combination. Of course, perfume is such a personal thing, but Inkling Scents has so many varieties that you’re bound to find one you love. If there’s one in particular you’d like to try out, let us know and we can send a little sample with your next order.

9. Spela 9-Free Nail Polish in GOAT grey

There is a reason that this nail polish shade is called GOAT (Greatest of All Time)! To me, this is the perfect shade of grey nail polish; not too dark, not too light and perfect with any outfit.

The bonus is that Spela’s nail polish is 9-Free, which means that it’s free of the nine most toxic ingredients found in conventional nail polish.

Apparently I have oily nails (who knew that was a thing?!) so nail polish doesn’t tend to last on my nails, but with Spela’s nail polish, it lasts about a week (even longer if I use Pure Anada's base coat and top coat).

I don’t always paint my nails, but when I do,  I usually apply polish on Sunday nights while chilling with my family, so then I’m good to go until the following weekend. 

8. Moon Boost Lash & Brow Enhancing Serum: 

This lash and brow serum has me blown away! I've been using for a couple of years now and have seen a major difference in the length of my lashes and my brows are really filling out too!

If you're like me and seriously over-plucked your brows in the 90s, this'll help them come back (be patient, grasshopper, they'll be back). 

Use the serum nightly before bed for at least 6 weeks to see full results, then keep going as needed to maintain. Or, in the case of over-plucked eyebrows, keep going for a while longer until you see results. 

It's a fantastic product and many of our customers have told us they love it too.  

7. Lily Lolo Big Lash Mascara

If you’ve ever tried finding natural mascara that works and stays on all day, you know what a challenge that can be. I love Lily Lolo’s Big Lash mascara because it gives my lashes the perfect amount of length and volume, and it lasts all day.

Plus, it has a cool hourglass brush that lets you cover all the parts of your lashes.
I also love the new Athr Beauty Big Bang Mascara, but Big Lash still edges it out for me just a tiny bit. 

6. Lily Lolo Lip Gloss in Whisper

Lily Lolo lip gloss is so popular with our customers, we sometimes have a hard time keeping it in stock (well, at least pre-pandemic). 

Although I love them all, my current favourite is Whisper. It’s a light, sheer pink and is perfect to wear any time.

I’m a huge fan of this lip gloss because it’s not sticky, the shades are gorgeous, and it has a slight chocolatey taste. What more can you ask for in a lip gloss?

5. WORLD Hair and Skin's Repair Deep Conditioner

Anyone who knows me knows that I have thick, naturally curly hair that tends to be quite dry. Maybe because I straighten and curl it more often than not...

Anyway, this conditioner is one of the best I've ever tried. It softens my coarse, dry hair and moisturizes it to minimize damage when I straighten it, and to help the curls look better when I wear it curly.

The WORLD line is made in Canada, unscented, and great quality. Even with all the great products they have, to me, this is a superstar. 

I don't think this conditioner would be ideal for thin, fine hair, but if you have natural curls/waves, or thick or coarse hair, I think you'll love it. 

4. Pure Anada's Organic Shea Hand Cream

I tell anyone who'll listen that this is the best hand cream ever made. I realize that that's a big claim, but this is a seriously good hand cream; it's not oily, it absorbs really fast, and it does the job really, really well. 

And the lovely scents it comes in makes also makes it the ultimate gift for anyone who uses hand cream.

I use this hand cream every night before bed, after applying Pure Anada's cuticle oil.  

3. Dr. Alkaitis Organic Soothing Gel

This soothing gel is the holy grail of skincare products and I use it every single day. I don’t travel without it either. (It also comes in a handy travel size.)

Because my skin is on the sensitive side and tends to get red pretty easily, I love the soothing properties of this gel. I also love how gentle it is. It’s also an amazing moisturizer if your skin tends to get oily.

My husband uses this gel on his eczema, a friend uses it on his sensitive skin, and another friend uses it as a moisturizer. Teens can use it on acne-prone skin. Also works great on breakouts, sunburns, and rashes.

It’s a seriously great product and I’ve never encountered anything similar!

 2. Āthr Beauty eyeshadow palettes

I love each of the Athr (formerly Āether) Beauty palettes equally and use at least one of them pretty much every day. These stunning palettes are also great for travel, because they allow you to minimize the number of products in your luggage, while maximizing the number of looks you can create. Each one includes darker shades that I love to use as an eyeliner (with a bit of water and a liner brush) that lasts all day.  

Here’s a description of these three perfect palettes: 
First, there was the Rose Quartz Crystal Gemstone palette. It’s the one that started it all. Perfect neutral shades, with a mix of shimmer and matte.
Plus, if you really want to minimize the number of products in your makeup bag when you travel, the pinks can be used as blush and the white as highlighter.

Then came the Crystal Grid Gemstone Palette. This palette has stunning jewel-tone shimmery and metallic shades for when you're feeling a little saucy.

Finally, the most recent Summer Solstice Palette shines as bright as the sun itself on the solstice. It has lovely warm shades with a lot of golden undertones that can be worn at any time of the year.

If you want to try Athr Beauty's eyeshadow without committing to 10 or 12 shades, I also highly recommend Athr's new quads in Citrine or Rose Quartz and singles. 

1. Living Libations Best Skin Ever

What can I say other than this oil just might help you get, well, the best skin ever! I use Best Skin Ever every single day. I tend to use all of the BSEs that we carry, depending on how my skin is feeling, but Seabuckthorn is my go-to, and is the most versatile. It's been in dozens of magazines, praised by celebrities, you name it. And with good reason. It's my number one, "ride or die" product that I can't live without. 

If you’ve never tried oil cleansing, the idea may seem a bit strange to you, but hear me out.

Using an oil cleanser will leave your skin moisturized, soft, and yes, clean.

Here’s how to do it: 

Gently rub the oil into your skin using circular motions.

Then, wet a face cloth with nice warm water (verging on hot), and leave it over your face for a moment to create a steaming effect. This will help to pull out dirt and oil from your skin.

Ah… enjoy your one-minute spa experience…
Use your face cloth to wipe off the oil. Notice how nice your skin feels.

If your skin is on the drier side, you’re good to go, or you may want to add a moisturizer if you live in an especially dry climate.

If you’re prone to oilier skin or breakouts, you may want to cleanse a second time with a cream or foaming cleanser to really make sure that no oils are left behind. This might not be necessary, so give it a day or two to see.

The nice thing about Living Libations' Best Skin Ever is that you can mix them to personalize your skincare depending on how your skin is feeling that day. 

Honourable mention:

Even though they didn’t make it to my Top-10 list, here are some amazing products that deserve some recognition:

Because I love the entire line: Vapour Beauty

I couldn't choose a single Vapour Beauty product for my top 10. Why? Because I love every single product they make. When Vapour makes a product that's not spectacular, they change or discontinue it. That's how dedicated they are to quality. If I had to pick, I would say the Multi Stick, the lip balm, the highlight stick, the bronzing powder, the lipstick, the foundations, the brushes... See the problem? I use pretty much the entire line on a regular basis, and I love it all. Vapour's quality and luxury is unparalleled. 

Taos Aer Deodorant:

Who likes to be smelly? Certainly not me. Natural deodorants are such a personal thing that it's hard to make a recommendation. It really depends on your own body's chemistry. For me, Taos Aer deodorant works really great and enough other people I know use it that I feel confident making a recommendation. I love the Lavender Myrrh because I like floral scents, but I would recommend any of them. 

The deodorant is a gel that dries to a powder, but do let it dry before getting dressed. If you've applied a bit too much, rub it in with your (clean!) fingers. Remember that this is a very concentrated formula, so go easy with it. 

That's it. 

Well, there you have it. There are a lot of other products that I love and use, and I'm bringing in new products all the time, so the list continuously evolves.

What it comes down to is that I test everything we carry and if I don't think it's good, I don't add it to our stock. We may not like the same things, you and I, but I've carefully selected every single thing, so you're bound to find something you can't live without.

Questions about our Top 10 or any other of our green and clean beauty products? Contact us at info{at}well-belle.com 

CLICK HERE to shop all items mentioned in this article (be aware that it's way more than 10...)