Ah, yes! Spring, you’ve finally decided to unfurl your long-awaited blanket of beauty before us. The birds are singing. The sun is shining. The rains are raining and teasing the crocuses up from their slumber. The buds are budding and the greens are greening. The temperatures are warming. And all I want to do is soak up some Vitamin D until I’m fresh faced and have that proverbial spring in my step that I’ve been longing for all winter.

This really is the perfect time of year to update our makeup routines. Nature is reminding us to get back to the earth, to choose what is good for us from her natural bounty, and to use only that which will have us looking {and feeling} our healthiest. So, in my continued journey toward going totally green, clean and non-toxic with my makeup routine, today I’m sharing my favourite products for cheeks. I think you’ll love them as much as I do!

If you’re like me, you have more than one look for your cheeks. I tend to vacillate between two different trends – Fresh Faced {subtle and clean} and Bronzed {contoured, bronzed and glowing} . Here are my top picks for clean, non-toxic products to help you accomplish these two trends with a truly healthy glow!

FRESH FACED:

1. Vapour Organic | Aura Multi-Use Stain in Crave – This colour may look outrageous on screen, but on skin it’s nothing short of gorgeous. It gives that perfect “full of fresh air and sunshine” look with a translucency that could be mistaken for your own natural colour. The clear peachy-coral is extremely subtle with a light touch, and the texture of this product is both moisturizing and buildable, allowing you to decide how subtle or dramatic you’d like it to be. Because it is a stain, it makes an INCREDIBLE lipstick as well, and it lasts a lot longer than most natural lipsticks I’ve tried. I love using this lightly on cheeks and more dramatically on lips {it deepens into more of an orangey-red on my lips when I apply it generously}. Add a bit of concealer and some mascara and I’m fresh-faced and ready to go!

2. RMS Beauty | Lip2Cheek in Smile – This colour is slightly brighter than the Vapour Multi-Use Stain, but equally as subtle and buildable. It is also incredibly moisturizing due to the coconut oil base, leaving a gorgeous, dewy finish that lasts all day long. As the product name suggests, it is also a multi-use wonder and one of my favourite “fresh and bright” lip looks, working like a lipstick mixed with a good lip balm. I choose this one on days when I need to look a bit brighter and more youthful, and it blends beautifully with the Living Luminizer on the top of my cheek bones.

THE ULTIMATE ILLUMINATOR:

I don’t know about you, but I have tried so many different illuminators over the years that I feel a bit like Goldilocks. Some are too sparkly with visible “glitter” particles that might suit a tweenager, but not me. Some are too dry {most of the powder ones, in fact} and actually highlight my wrinkles rather than giving me that youthful glow I’m after. But RMS Beauty’s Living Luminizer? Well, this one is just right. In fact, it is so right that it is on every beauty mag’s must-have list from here to kingdom come. I once again have the lovely ladies at Saffron Rouge to thank for sending me a small sample of this glowing wonder. The texture is incredibly creamy and – again, thanks to the coconut oil – it simply melts into the skin. There is not a hint of visible “glitter” particle to be found, and yet it gives the look of having just had an incredible facial, a great night’s sleep and some fresh air by the sea all at once. I also use this on lids, on the inside corner of eyes, and just below my brows depending on the look I’m after. This product takes up the whole category by itself, and it fills it up quite nicely, thank you very much!

BRONZED BEAUTY:

1. Vapour Organic | Solar Translucent Bronzer in Mirage – I must confess that I have not tried this product yet, but if the texture is anything like the luxuriousness of the Mult-Use Stain and their INCREDIBLE foundation, I’m in. This is 100% on my wish-list for summer.

2. A pleasant surprise! Remember the gorgeous Alima Pure shadows I introduced you to with the post on Eyes? Well, the duo of Chai and Brown Sugar over a peachy base of Mohair makes for a gorgeous bronzed glow! A little goes a long way using these mineral shadows on your cheeks, so use great brushes like Alima’s #15 Flat Brush {for contour} and their #23 Kitten Brush {for apples, highlights and blending}.

And with that I wish you contour and highlight, freshness and glow, and a makeup bag filled with gorgeous products that will have you putting your best {and healthiest} face forward!

xo
s.