We’ve already covered my top five makeup favorites, you can find them HERE, so lefts dig in to skincare! I love that Christy Coleman said it best when she said,

“Your makeup can’t be an A if your skincare is a D”
– Christy Coleman

So is your skincare a D? If so, this post is for you. This post is also for you if you’re looking for easy swaps to safer. I love these products because they work into any regimen, or stand alone for each specific need. Don’t forget, you can always see my beauty favorites on my BEAUTY page on the site HERE.

COUNTER+ CHARCOAL FACE MASK – This mask is life. I loved it long before the existence of maskne, but if you’re still looking for the perfect mask to detox this is it. The Cadillac of all charcoal masks it does the job, but doesn’t strip your skin.
TIP: Mask 10-15 minutes before you shower and wash your mask right off!

COUNTERCONTROL SOS SPOT TREATMENT – Let’s face it, no matter your age everyone can use a spot treatment in their skincare drawer. This little tube packs a big punch! Maskne, extra dairy or sugar, a little extra stress? No matter what pulls our your pesky blemishes this is what you need!

COUNTERTIME ULTRA RENEWAL EYE CREAM – As a mom of a toddler, business owner and girl who when I don’t get sleep – you notice – this is my go to! This amazing little jar is my saving grace! Formulated with our Retinatural Complex this is my all time favorite dark circle correcting, fine line reducing miracle cream! I promise it doesn’t disappoint.

COUNTER+ NO. 3 BALANCING FACIAL OIL – I had no clue that adding a face oil to my skincare routine would be as amazing as it is! I a oily in my t-zone and thought adding oil to oil would be the opposite of what I needed, turns out I was wrong! All three of our face oils are amazing (I truly don’t think you could go wrong), but I am partial to the balancing oil. I add 2-3 drops in my morning moisturizer and it’s as easy as that!

COUNTER+ OVERNIGHT RESURFACING PEEL – Let’s be honest. I have had the peel that wrecked my skin. It left me peeling for days, I felt like my face was burnt and I never wanted to try a “peel” ever again – in my life! Enter this peel. A peel that doesn’t actually peel – that’s right! You get all of the amazing skin resurfacing results (bye, bye dark spots) while you sleep! The morning glow is undeniable and I will never get another “professional peel” in my life!

Have you tried any of these? I would love to know what skincare you can’t live without! To shop any of these visit my direct affiliate link HERE!

It’s my first official “Makeup Monday” on my new blog and since Easter is a few weeks away I thought it would be fun to talk clean beauty and self care for the ladies in your life!

Who says an Easter basket has to be an actual basket? I am a firm believer that if you are going to do a themed gift, you might as well go all in! I love using a fun makeup bag as the base “basket” for these Easter treats below!

Let’s start with the teen or tween in your life that is just getting in to self care. If you know me, you know that clean beauty is the real deal and I am a huge advocate for protecting our skin, even at the youngest of ages. Start with the Beautycounter Counterstart line. It’s the perfect alternative to drugstore options without the harmful ingredients. Keep up with the clean beauty trend and opt for this amazing Bella Hue dry shampoo trio. Two different dry shampoo options with application brush, yes please! Round out the “basket” with some Clean Deo, makeup eraser towel, brush and don’t forget the candy!

Sources: Makeup Bag, Cleanser, Moisturizer, Clean Deo, Dry Shampoo,
Makeup Eraser, Wet Brush, Candy Eggs, Bunny Bites

If that wasn’t fun enough, let’s look at the Easter basket I am hoping for! When Julia Berolzheimer teamed up with Neely and Chloe I knew the collaboration would be amazing – I mean look at this vanity case! The shade of green, the perfect floral. I am in love. Only the best skincare could be in this “basket” so I went for my all time favorite eye cream and supreme cream. Add a facial steamer for a fun twist and face roller to really work that eye cream in. A silk pillowcase set and body glove + dry brush are the perfect pair to complete this fun gift. Of course the bunny never forgets to add a sweet treat and I love this fun truffle set!

Sources: Makeup Bag, Eye Cream, Face Roller, Silk Pillowcase + Eye Mask, Supreme Cream,
Chocolate Truffles, Facial Steamer, Body Dry Brush, Body Glove

Which basket is your favorite? I told you mine! If your bunny brings a fun beauty basket your way this year I would love to see it! Now, let’s have a little fun!

GIVEAWAY!

I am so excited to share that I am giving away one Spring in to Self Care Basket! That’s right! Everything you see here (minus the plastic easter eggs 🙂 ) Is up for grabs! A Value of $140+ can be yours! Simply follow the prompts below to receive entries!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway runs until midnight March 25. Winner will be announced and contacted on March 26, 2021. The giveaway is not sponsored by any brands represented and is an independent giveaway by christinafrederick.com. USA and CA residents only. Giveaway is not open to international entries.

I can’t believe the day is here! A day that feels like it has been 12,775 days in the making. I was always raised to believe I could be anything I wanted to be, and I get told often that I sure am a lot of things. 🙂 Now that I own multiple businesses (and know my entrepreneur days are far from over) it became evident that I needed a place on the web to keep my businesses more streamlined.

A place that was more than the site I put together a few years ago. A place that pulled together all of my brands, collaborations, links and thoughts into one place. That place is here! Welcome to the brand new christinafrederick.com!

There are so many things to see like links that take you directly to Christina Leigh Events and The Helpful Host! There are places to shop my favorites and get the best deals from my tried and true brand affiliates.

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My favorite feature might be the “big kahuna” and the massive blog! It filters between weddings, celebrations, workshops, holidays, beauty, motherhood and lifestyle posts! It’s a place for me to share business, my heart and my family. It’s a place I hope you find full of education, tips and tricks and lots of love. You can shop my Beautycounter favorites straight from my new Beauty page, what?! A place that is real, honest and kind. A corner of the internet that will always be like a tiny celebration, complete with confetti, with open arms.

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The shop page is a close second because it’s the best way that I can help you! It’s a place for you to see what’s in my closet, shop my favorite beauty finds and see what I use my Prime account for!

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This tiny (actually monster of a site) would NOT have been possible without Nellie Sparkman. This women is a website mastermind! She built out my three new sites, linked them all together and somehow has me in awe of her ability to not tell me no. She turned my bow sketch into my new watermark, created coding for pages and pages of these sites and tied all of the fonts together and more. I could keep going, but none of my new sites would exist without her.

So here she is in all of her glory! I would love to know, what is your favorite feature?

It’s safe to say I have always loved beauty. I grew up a competitive cheerleader, then entered the world of pageants and was always taught that it is better to be over dressed, opposed to underdressed, any day. I was taught by makeup professionals, former Miss America’s and even my mother who was a certified colorist.

Fast forward to starting a family and when my OB told me to ditch everything in my makeup drawer, shower and in and on my vanity I made some big changes. I learned all about the ugly secrets, like heavy metals, known carcinogens, allergens and hormone disrupters lurking in my moisturizer, eyeshadow palette and my beloved lipgloss. You can read more about that HERE.

So where should you start if you’re switching to clean beauty? How do you find products that are high performing? Start here! I have your back! Would a former dancer, competitive cheerleader and pageant girl steer you wrong? HINT: The answer is no. I wont sacrifice performance or ease of using a product!

CREAMY CONCEALER – Stick with me. I an a mom, but even before that I always had slightly darker under eyes. When Beautycounter reformulated their concealer in 2020 I became the biggest fan. Plus, it’s now in the most amazing tube (not pictured) with amazing application wand! It’s lighter, yet has more coverage. You can use one shade lighter for under your eyes (and eyelids) to help brighten, the shade of your skin tine to help cover pesky blemishes and even a shade darker to help contour! Who knew all of the things you could do with concealer! Under my eyes I am shade “Fair 2.”

FOUNDATION – I could have gone one or two ways here, but every girl needs a great foundation in her vanity and this one is it. I can’t get over how good it covers, but how well it breathes. It truly feels like you have nothing on, but it is buildable. It also has hyaluronic acid and sign me up for helping to plump my skin while I wear my makeup! I am shade “Light 230.”

BROWS – When celebrity makeup artist Christy Colman said that your brows frame your face I had never thought about it that way before. It’s so true! If you have great brows it lifts your eyes, finishes off your look and gives you a great refresh in one step! What I love about this brow gel is that it’s not sticky or clumpy and literally finishes off your brows in one swipe! I love the shade range, and even the clear for those of you with great brows already. I am shade “light.”

LIP GLOSS – Can we talk about the fact that I am a lip gloss connoisseur. Truly. If there is a brand of lip gloss out there I have tried it. All of the drug store, department store, speciality store and samples one can find, I have tried. Enter Beyond Gloss. Y’all! Not only is it smooth and has great color payout the application (new packaging not pictures above) is a game changer. I also love that this gloss has responsibly sourced vanilla from a women owned vanilla field in Madagascar. Talk about doing good with one tube of lip gloss! If you made me pick a favorite shade it would be Magnolia Shimmer… or Clove… or Rosewood.
You can learn more about responsibly sourced vanilla HERE.

CHEEKS – I’m going off image again and talking cream blush. Keep reading! Don’t knock it until you have tried it. There is no way I ever thought I would be a cream blush fan, but can I tell you why I will always have the option in my possession? It’s extremely easy to apply, a teeny tiny bit goes a long way and it’s multi use! You can use it on your cheeks, lips and eyelids! It doesn’t melt away and it’s not sticky. Have I sold you yet? If you grabbed one makeup item to start with this is my pick. I love “Caramel” for every day and “Hibiscus” for a pop of pink!

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Questions? Comments? I would love to help you find your shade and chat makeup any day! Have you tried Beautycounter? I would love to hear your experience below!

Yes, I said that correct. I can’t un-know what I now know.

By no means does that mean that I know everything, but what I am slowly starting to open my ears and eyes to is decades of our nation growing, but not following along with laws and regulations.

I never thought I would be a “crunchy” mom.

It’s a huge responsibility to raise a little one and when I learned that our bodies absorb 60% of what we put on it – did you know your skin is your largest organ – directly into your blood stream it gets you thinking.

So why should I put harmful things on him, or myself when I cuddle him as much as I can, if I can avoid it.

Here are just a few things that I can’t un-know:

1. Did you know the word “fragrance” or “perfume” is an umbrella for over 4,000 ingredients?* This means that any company can put ANYTHING in to a product and label it as “Fragrance” – the kicker is they can keep said ingredients secret because that umbrella allows for “proprietary information” to be housed under it.
   One of the MANY ingredients that can be used includes methylene chloride – a known carcinogen, and banned by our own FDA in the late 1980s, but no regulation exists due to the fragrance umbrella term. What do you think about added “fragrance” now?
2. Did you know that the FDA hasn’t passed a law governing the health and beauty industry since 1938. That bill is also only 2.5 pages long… I know for a fact there’s not enough in those 2.5 pages to keep up with the industry today.
3. Did you know there are more than 80,000 chemicals on the market today. Many of them do not have any safety data – most specifically those used in the health and beauty industry.
4. The kicker, and maybe worse of all. Did you know that the FDA does not have the authority to remove harmful ingredients from the products that we put on our bodies and the bodies of our babies. Even if they found out what ingredients were hidden in products they couldn’t do anything about it!
5. How about the fact that the European Union bans close to 1,400 chemicals in the product formulas of personal care products, plus regulates the levels of another 250 products. Canada has banned close to 600 and the United States has banned thirty – three zero – from the products we absorb in to our blood stream day after day.

There is more, much more, but to me these are the biggies. The lack of regulation is the root of the problem and something that I am committed to helping change.

This is the biggest reason I believe in Beautycounter. We are a company founded on a mission, we don’t have a mission just because it’s cool. We believe in education first before producing products. However, I am 100% confident in the products we produce because not only are they well performing, but they are safe.

Beautycounter has prohibited the use of more than 1,800
questionable and harmful chemicals in our products.

The Never List is our list of ingredients that you will never find in our products. I have the coolest story about our process to confirm this, but will have to save that for another post. 🙂

In addition to creating standards for ourselves Beautycounter is being recognized industry wide. We are proud to have been recently re-certified as a B Corporation with a score of 95—our highest rating ever and a 14-point jump from two years ago.

The B stands for Benefit, and it means that, unlike the traditional corporate structure, we consider people, the planet, and profits equally. We use the power of business to help solve social and environmental problems by voluntarily meeting rigorous standards of transparency, accountability, and performance. Becoming a Certified B Corporation is a difficult accomplishment, and we did it right from the very beginning.

To be certified as a B Corporation, a brand must meet high standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency. We are pleased to participate in this growing community of more than 2,000 Certified B Corps from 50 countries and over 130 industries working together toward one unifying goal:

to redefine success in business.

I could talk all day about the amazing things that Beautycounter is doing for the industry, but for now what can I help with? Are you ready to switch over your beauty products in your home? Are you curious about how to get involved with our movement and mission? What questions can I answer for you? I am here to help, educate and cheer as we join together to change one law at a time.

Sources:
Fragrance
Beauty Industry
B Corporation
Beautycounter