Tips to save the environment and $$$ without sacrificing your beauty game

Save money,

And the planet.

Disclaimer: Some links in this post are affiliate links, which means I’ll earn a small commission if you choose to purchase through the link. I have not been asked by these brands to review their products, and all opinions are my own. Thanks for supporting me! <3

Hello friends.

Today's post is, I believe, at the heart of what Lightweight Luxury is about. Through these product recommendations, I will attempt to up your beauty game, save the planet, and save you some money. Bold claims, I know. But I think we’re up to the challenge. Let’s get into it.

Microfiber makeup REmover Cloths

Some of you may have heard of the Face Halo, a "just add water!" makeup removing product that's been floating around the internet of late, which claims to be more effective, environmentally friendly, and ultimately cost-effective than the traditional makeup removing wipe. The idea sounded so utterly ludicrous to me that I completely ignored it until I saw Jackie Aina remove all of her makeup with it in this video. Intrigued, I clicked over to the Face Halo's website to find...that they charged $22 for three tiny circles. After perusing the site a bit more I found that the product is made of microfiber, so of course, I took to Amazon to find an alternative. This one comes with two larger cloths for $11, and after testing them out, I'm a convert. I'm able to remove my entire face of makeup, mascara, eyeliner and all, with just this product. And there is ZERO residue left on my face. When I wear makeup, I typically go for the double cleansing method, where I remove my makeup with one product and then go in with one of my usual facial cleansers to rinse off any residue. But with this product, my face feels so clean afterward that I don't feel like I have to double cleanse? I still do, but I don't feel like I have to. Somehow the cloth completely removes all of the makeup without rubbing it back onto my face. And to top it off, because all I’m using is water, it doesn’t irritate my exceptionally sensitive eyes. If you're wondering if you can use a microfiber cloth you have at home, give it a try, but not all cloths are created equal (for this purpose). I've found that some don't wash as well and begin to shed onto the skin. With this product, I find that I can use one cloth a couple of times, toss it into the wash with the rest of my clothes, and it's good as new. No more bottles of makeup remover, cotton pads, and packages of wipes to be tossed into the trash, and when you buy it once you should be set for years. Buy it here.

lavender nail polish remover

I think we can all agree that removing nail polish is a pretty consistently hideous experience. I have many memories of removing my nail polish, closing the bathroom door (as my dad cannot abide the pungent chemical odor which, without fail, extends at least a twenty-foot radius), and my mom subsequently popping in to remind me to air out the room to avoid suffocating myself. It's one of those acts during which I wonder, "am I slowly killing myself and the environment by doing this?" every time I engage in it. I would suggest that you conduct your own research to answer that question. The conclusion I came to after completing my own was...pretty much? Either way, the noxious fumes and my dry, parched hands after use were excuse enough for me to seek out an alternative.

Finally a solution

Enter Karma Naturals' "Nail Polish Remover with Soybean Oil and Lavender." It's nontoxic, vegan, and cruelty-free. It also comes in an unscented version, and a wipe version for travel. You can buy a 4oz bottle on Amazon for $11.39. "But Catherine," you may be asking, "how does this save me money when I could buy a larger bottle of normal polish remover for half that price?" Well my frugal friend, let me tell you. This product, which has zero toxic fumes, a delightful and light lavender scent, and even mildly hydrates hands and nails, is WAY more effective than a typical nail polish remover. Before I wrote this post, I used it to remove the polish on all ten of my toes with a small amount applied to just one cotton-pad. Would that pad have kept going strong had I been wearing polish on my hands? Probably. My only complaint is that my bottle was unbelievably difficult to open when I first received it. It took me an embarrassingly long period of time to do it, a length of time which I will not be disclosing to you. Eventually, I found a rubber-band thin enough to fit over the small cap and give me traction to open the thing, and all was right with the world. Besides that tiny issue, I cannot recommend this product enough. Thank you Karma Naturals for your gift to the world. I will be using it until I die.

Reusable Sheet Masks

The sheet-mask craze has hit the U.S., and where I once felt compelled to buy fifty sheet-masks on a trip to Korea, now Garnier sells them at your local Walgreens. In recent years, however, I've taken a step back from the sheet-mask. Mostly because I've become more selective about the ingredients I allow onto my skin, but also because I want to break the cycle of spending money on small things that I immediately throw away. When I think about it, sheet-masks are a lot of packaging for such a small amount of liquid. However, I do still like the idea of forcing my skincare to sink into my skin by not allowing it to evaporate off of it (and also of terrifying the people around me with the mask). This reusable silicone sheet mask offers a pretty excellent solution. Just apply a generous amount of a serum or mask you already own to your face, place the mask on top of it for as long as your product requires, and wash the mask when you've finished. Check it out here.

Safety Razors

Hair removal is yet another process that causes irritation, in many senses of the word, for people of all genders. Shaving for women is a particularly frustrating process. Women are expected to be hairless from the nose down, and yet somehow shaving products marketed towards us are all-around unsatisfactory? My skin is particularly sensitive when it comes to hair removal, and I find constantly buying and throwing out razors to be expensive and wasteful. Yet another Insta-famous brand you may have seen around the interwebs which claims to have found the solution is Oui shave. I had coincidentally switched over to a safety razor a few months before I started seeing their ads, so the beautiful rose-gold razor images caught my eye. But once again...I don't think I can recommend this product. $75 for a razor? For those of you who aren't familiar with safety razors, they're an older style of shaving in which a very sharp single razor-blade is the only component that needs to be replaced. Because the safety razor should last for many years, $75 isn't such a huge deal (theoretically). But the price is still difficult to wrap my mind around, especially since I bought my longer-handled (better for shaving legs) razor on Amazon for half the price, and I've seen others sold for even less. In addition, Oui Shave charges $11 for a ten-pack of razor-blades, where you can buy one hundred blades on Amazon for less. Save your money people.

Safety razors do take some getting used to. Because the blade is quite sharp and the razor-handle is weighted, it requires no pressure from your hand to achieve an ultra-close shave. The "safety" feature of the razor also means that you need to hold the blade at the correct angle for it to work. I was especially worried about cutting myself at first but surprisingly found myself able to jump in without issue. I found that it took me a couple of tries to achieve the kind of buttery-soft smooth skin associated with this product, but once I made it there was no turning back. Here's a video I found useful when I was learning how to use these blades.

In my opinion, there are only two downsides to using a safety razor. I find that it takes me much longer to shave because it takes a minute to build up the lather of the shave soap, and I'm a lot slower and more careful when gliding the razor across my skin. On the other hand, I do find that taking my time with shaving makes the act more of a luxurious act of self-care than an odious task, which I enjoy. I also love the delightfully light and herbal scent of my shave soap so much I occasionally will shave just to smell it. The second downside is that unless you're planning on checking a bag, you can't bring your razor onto a plane. So I would suggest keeping your old razor to use for travel if you choose to make the switch.

I'm considering writing a post on hair removal more generally, but I'm not sure how interesting or TMI it might be, so please vote in the poll below to let me know what you think! Please also leave any questions you may have or suggestions for posts you'd like to see down in the comments as well. Hope this was helpful, and see you next time!