The Search For My Holy Grail Foundation is Over - Sappho Cosmetics

This is the second part of "natural beauty" weekend here (because of the holiday, no one is eating particularly low cal around here though we're doing our Meat Free Monday as always.)

I've switched over to all organic skin care, using  products from several lines, my favorite being "Simply Birgit" and "Frangipani" (incredible serum), both hand crafted in Indiana, and female run companies. (links to both on the right sidebar under "products I use in my home").

In makeup though, I'd not found an organic eyeshadow or foundation I particularly liked. The various mineral ones I tried were either too dry, where they flaked into my eyes, or had an unnatural sparkly sheen to them. But I was determined to stick to an organic line.

I have incredibly sensitive facial skin that breaks out at the drop of a hat. The only foundation I found that offered good, natural coverage in a tone light enough for my "Casper the Friendly Ghost" complexion without the most common sunscreen ingredient (which I can't wear) was a Chanel one that was $72. I don't want to pay $72 for an organic foundation, I'm certainly not paying $72 for a NON-organic one. Seriously - finding a good really light color in foundation is not easy, even the lightest ones are too dark, too pink or too yellow. To get a shade that worked I had to sacrifice either moderate price or a natural look.

I finally found my Holy Grail foundation, and even better - their blush and eyeshadow rocks.

• Sappho Cosmetics

Sappho is a female owned and operated (JoAnn Fowler, an Emmy-Nominated professional makeup artist) company located in Canada has one of the best organic cosmetic  lines I've tried (and I've tried a bunch).  Edited from their website:

(The foundation) is made of the purest of natural minerals suspended in base of aloe juice and organic jojoba oil . Preserved with an all natural system and incorporating  essential oils , these vegan foundations provide  flawless coverage without a heavy look or feel.  

This is one of the few foundations that provides a luminous smoothness to my skin without making it LOOK like I'm wearing foundation and the smell and feel is heavenly from the essential oils. After age 50  (mumble, mumble) you need a lighter foundation that won't settle into fine lines, but you also want a little youthful freshness (not too shiny, not too matte).  This was perfect. The container is small, but this  foundation formula literally only takes a pump or two to cover my whole face.

I also bought a blush and the eye shadows, also mineral and have since reordered, including their brushes, I'm that pleased with the product and service.

They come in little disks that you can mix and match with their reusable containers, less waste in the environment and very sleek and small in a purse.

The green "Beckitt" shade is just lovely a pale (or buildable) sheer color, perfect for Spring and Summer with just the slightest hint of sheen to it.  I also got the "Chloe" shade which can be used with a thin moist brush for a long lasting eyeliner.  The blush shown is "Emma's blush" which is also a mineral formulation with argon oil, providing for a natural, long lasting finish.

I know I can find cheaper products elsewhere but once I understood how chemicals in our skin care and cosmetics end up in our bodies, I made the switch.

The skin on our face and head has absorption capabilities that far outreach any other part of the body. What we put on our body can make it's way into our bloodstream. Conventional cosmetics are full of synthetic chemicals which may be far more harmful than anybody ever imagined and the evidence is starting to mount. Sappho's website has a glossary and information page about some of the risks associated with long term use of many of the products found in mass produced cosmetics. Having a doctorate in one of the forensic fields, I have taken more organic chemistry that should be allowed by law.  This stuff is NOT good in our bodies and we're fooling ourselves to think that by applying it to our skin, it's just sitting there on the surface.

I want only ingredients found in nature.  When they are crafted with care for their customers AND the planet, it shows.