Welcome to the crossroads of where “what’s currently trending in clean beauty” and “what I personally am crushing on” collide. AKA? This Organic Girl’s Quarterly Faves.

Quarterly faves are updated at the end of March, June, and September along with my big “Best of” post at the end of the year. I thought “Quarterly Faves” would be a nice way to highlight some exceptional products throughout the year.

But not only that, I will do my best to include special offers too! Be sure to come back each quarter for a refresh on what’s hot + TOG exclusives.

• April 2021 Quarterly Faves

Clean Beauty Trends

Right now gua sha, probiotic skincare, multi-purpose cleansers, shelf-stable Vitamin C and formulas specific to fall are trending. It’s impossible to try it all but I come pretty close – LOL. My hope is this feature helps you narrow down your choices and ultimately find some new ride or dies. Let’s get started…

The Breakdown

1. 5YINA’s GRACE AUTUMN BEAUTY OIL, 30ml | $145

My latest obsession. GRACE is designed to be used specifically during this time of year. At the end of the summer when hyperpigmentation is radiant in all its glory, GRACE swoops in to help heal sun damage, improve elasticity and strengthen the skin. This oil serum is powered by reparative Chinese medicinal plants, fatty acids, and skin-healing phytonutrients like rishi and chrysanthemum for example.

Rishi is an ancient super-mushroom rich in antioxidant and anti-allergenic properties to promote immunity, vitality and regeneration of the skin. Also known as the plant of immortality. And chrysanthemum has lutein and flavonoids that help to repair oxidative damage, rejuvenate skin and brighten complexion.

This medium-weight oil smells wonderfully sweet and woodsy and leaves my skin supple, radiant and glowing. It’s pretty much perfect. I’ve been using this both day and night and I just can’t get enough.

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2. ILIA’S LIMITLESS LASH MASCARA, 0.27 oz | $28

Let me start by saying, SOOO many good mascaras have launched lately and it’s getting tougher and tougher to choose a fave. BUT, my current front runner is ILIA’s new LIMITLESS LASH MASCARA. It lengthens and adds volume like a champ but what really makes it stand out is the separation and a lot of it is due to their patented wand.

ILIA tested over 100 mascara wands before they landed on their patented dual-sided brush. Use the shorter side to deliver product and create volume while the longer side lifts, lengthens and SEPARATES.

Two coats is my personal jam. Stays all day. Comes off easily with an oil cleanser. Read my full review on the mascara and ILIA Beauty’s products here.

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3. HENNE LUXURY LIP TINT in BARE, 5 ML | $21

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I’ve had this dark horse nude for years now and every year I fall in love with it more and more every season. Finding the right nude can be tough. It’s pinpointing that happy place where the nude is strong enough to stand up on its own (we are looking for a nude, not a balm) yet complimentary enough where it doesn’t wash you out.

This one hits both marks while moisturizing, conditioning and nourishing lips too. It also happens to be 88% organic.

This barely-there-flush-of-a-nude is so pretty, I’m obsessed.

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4. LEAHLANI’S HONEY LOVE, 3.99 oz | $52

I love honey masks and this treatment blends honey masking with exfoliation. Can you say, I’ll have my cake and I’ll eat it too?!

With a base of organic Hawaiian raw honey to cleanse the skin, dissolve bacteria, brighten, even complexion and fade age spots, Honey Love is already ahead of the game. But then you add in smoothed Corundum Crystals to manually exfoliate, antioxidant-rich wildcrafted Maqui Berry to fight free radical damage and reduce inflammation as well as organic Hibiscus Flower to firm, lift, speed cellular renewal, strengthen elasticity and moisturize…and I mean is there anything more a girl can ask for?!

I use this a couple times a week and it leaves my skin feeling fresh, clean and glowing.

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5. PLENI NATURALS ENZYME CLEANSING OIL, 3.38 oz | $48

I’m a sucker for a good cleansing oil. It’s by far the one type of product I go through the fastest. Pleni Naturals’ Enzyme Cleansing Oil takes it to the next level and actually exfoliates too.

You can use this as your daily cleanser and revel in knowing you are getting that added benefit of exfoliation via papaya enzyme.

OR, I personally LOVE double cleansing with this then using it as a mask. So I will do a first-round to take off any makeup or grime and remove with a warm cloth. THEN I go back in and apply, leaving this oil on as a mask for 10 minutes and then rinse off revealing a glowing, radiant and fresh complexion.

A couple other things I want to highlight about this formula. It’s also MADE SAFE Certified which is America’s first nontoxic certification ensuring the products we use on our bodies are made with safe ingredients not known or suspected to harm human health.

And it’s also essential oil free boasting a beautiful vanilla scent via Vanilla Planifolia Fruit Extract.

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6. WILDLING GUA SHA STONES

Wait, you said you wanted a holistic version of Botox? Look no further than the Wildling Gua Sha stone.

Check out this before and after photo. Can you see the difference in my face?

The before is on the left and the after is on the right. Can you see my dark circles are less pronounced, my fine lines are minimized and there is less inflammation on the bridge of my nose and basically my entire face? That’s the power of gua sha.

And if you have no idea what I’m talking about, let me fill you in. Gua Sha is a face massage using a specific stone with an emphasis on lymphatic drainage. Wildling co-founder Britta says, “Gua sha offers an intensified re-patterning of habits in muscles and tissue, helping to remove metabolic waste, environmental pollution, and chemicals that may have entered into the body through conventional beauty products, tap water, or overuse of plastic.”

The results ARE INSTANT and it’s pretty much a holistic version of Botox which Harpers covers in this 8 page spread. Britta Plug launched Wildling Beauty with plant alchemist Jill Munson and acupuncturist and herbalist Gianna De La Torre with the intention of helping women access the benefits of gua sha at home.

Follow along with Wildling on IG for gua sha tutorials and more. There is a learning curve here so if you invest in a stone, spend some time learning how to use it too.

This is also a great opportunity to try their new Aura body stone!

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7. AYUNA’S VELO, 50 ml | $122

Ever wish you had a product that does it all? Well, say hello to VELO. VELO is a next-level moisturizer that: 

• Helps balance and calm skin via added probiotics
• Helps to visibility diminish signs of environmental damage from pollution via Marshmallow
• Helps keep skin looking plump and toned vai Antioxidant-rich Vitamin E and argan oil
• Helps protect against light via Titanium Dioxide and Zinc Oxide
• It’s also lightly tinted to help it blend in without leaving any white cast 
• Leaves skin glowing and radiant with a suggestively dewy finish 

Some people may be able to wear this alone as their moisturizer. I have skin that’s a little on the drier side so I tend to wear this over my face oil.

I mean, give me a formula that moisturizes AND protects AND nourishes AND balances the skin and I’m all over it!

*One application tip I want to offer is to allow this formula to warm-up in the palm of your hand before applying. Ayuna says this is part of what helps it transform from an oil-in-water formula to water-in-oil formula. This creates a phase inversion that will help prevent pilling issues. 

Now through 9/28: Receive VELO as a FREE gift with any Ayuna purchase of $125 or more with code YESVELO at Beauty Heroes

So, no need to add Velo to cart. Just spend $125, enter the code and it will be included at checkout! You will see that the code has been applied.

ALSO! Spend $200 at Beauty Heroes and get 5 FREE GIFTS including Velo, their Love More Encore Gift with a $147 value featuring 4 full-size products from Graydon, Honua, Innersense and Fitglow AND their regular September Wabi Sabi Love More Gift. No code needed for additional gifts, these will automatically be added.

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8. ANTONYM’S EYE PENCIL NOIR, $19

I’ve never really had an opportunity to showcase ANTONYM’S EYE PENCIL in NOIR in all it’s glory but the time has finally come. I’ve been using this eye pencil for years now and I love it for so many reasons. 

First, it’s soft enough that it easily delivers beautiful color payoff without any pulling or skipping. And it’s pigmented enough to give you a deep, dark, black liner look. You can wear it super sharp and tightlined or you can let the pencil go a little dull tipped for a wider transfer. 

But the total bonus on this pencil is that it comes with a sharpener attached on the opposite end. YES! Oh, and it also happens to be ECOCERT Certified too.

If you are looking for a great eye pencil, this is it! Comes in 6 shades.

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9. LAUREL SUN BODY OIL, 3.3 fl oz | $90

LAUREL’S SUN BODY OIL is perfect for fall because it’s sole charge is to not only prevent but repair sun damage. 

Get this. Every single ingredient chosen for this blend has been clinically studied or used historically for its ability to assist in preventing UV-induced oxidative damage or their ability to repair damage after too much sun exposure. 

Not only that, I love how this oil soaks right in and leaves my skin feeling nourished and supple. Plus I just love knowing that it is working to repair past as well as prevent any future sun damage.

Made with 18 beneficial active ingredients, good for all skin types and 100% whole-plant organic. Grab it here!

There is no special offer for this product but I am still including it because I’m obsessed!

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10. FREE + TRUE’S BRIGHT SIDE VITAMIN C SERUM, 1 fl | $72

You know what I’m about to say…I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again; Everyone needs to incorporate a good Vitamin C in their skincare routine!

Not only is Vitamin C fantastic at evening skin tone and treating hyperpigmentation via it’s skin-lightening properties, it also promotes collagen synthesis, is anti-inflammatory and protects against UV light (1). 

There have been several beautiful new Vitamin C serums released in 2020, the latest being FREE + TRUE’S Bright Side. 

Bright Side is formulated with not one but two stable forms of Vitamin C via Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate known to penetrate skin all the way to the dermis and Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate, a glow-worthy water-soluble Vitamin C. But it doesn’t stop there, it also delivers anti-breakout Vitamin B3 via Niacinamides, Bearberry to treat dark spots, Amma Extract for additional collagen support and more!

This water-based pomegranate juice-based formula pumps out a vibrant yellow presenting a delicate scent of citrus. Use this during the day (or night) under your moisturizer for that ultimate glow!

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What clean beauty trends are you currently loving?

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REFERENCES:

1. Janeš, D. and Kočevar Glavač, N. (Ed). (2018) Modern Cosmetics Ingredients of Natural Origin, A Scientific View. Velenje: Širimo dobro besedo, d.o.o.