Hey there, Bare Beauties.  I’m heading out of town again, (I’m actually writing this in the air) and this time I’ll be going to the Indie Beauty Expo in Los Angeles.  I’m so excited to be speaking on a panel with some amazing Green Beauty Girl Bosses on Wednesday.  We will be discussing why Indie Beauty is taking over the market.  If you’re a green-beauty-organic-living enthusiast, you are probably like “well, duh, of course it’s taking over”.  But, wait, let’s discuss this a bit.  Mind if I practice my panel discussion on you?

How did I become a self-taught Green Beauty expert, anyway?  Most of you know about my journey to Clean, Green beauty.  Short story: my curiosity and frustration led me to seek answers and better options.  Long version: four years ago, I was living a generally healthy lifestyle.  I bought mostly organic food, I exercised regularly and I’d been seeing a naturopathic doctor (Sherri Jacobs) for about a year.  Back then, I figured that was enough to maintain “good” health.  But, I had this strange, ongoing, seemingly incurable eye infection, (it wasn’t an infection; it was inflammation + an allergic reaction) and then, I had a miscarriage that traumatized me.  My OBGYN (whom I love and still see) recommended Clomid for my lack of a menstrual cycle.  That set something off inside of me.  I became determined to do everything in my power within reason to truly take control of my own health.  (I’m not saying that I wouldn’t seek out certain pharmaceuticals or procedures if it came down to that; I just wasn’t ready.)  I went back to my naturopath, and she recommended I try her toxin and food elimination cleanse (very similar to The Clean Program).  Dr. Sherri schooled me on everything from teflon to water filters to common food allergies and sensitivities to personal care products and textiles.  I chucked my frying pans, I bought the whole-house water filter, I only bought Organic, I sought out an acupuncturist.  But, wait – personal care products?  I use a lot of those.  Every day.  And they contain hormone mimicking and disrupting chemicals?  Out they f—ing go.  I fell down an informational rabbit hole, and I was pissed.  And, soon Bare Beauty was born.  And 10.5 months after that, (yes, seriously) Annabel was born.  A few years ago, she was the goal.  Now, she is my constant motivation and inspiration.

Do I advocate for my readership to select Indie Beauty over mass beauty brands?  You bet I do.  Many times, the founders of independent, Green beauty brands are women with a similar story to mine, or even cancer survivors.  They, too, fell down the rabbit hole, and because they have love and respect for themselves and others, they want to be part of the change; they want to create safer options.  These people are not third generation beauty industry heirs, or corporate scions with a board of advisors to answer to.  They are very real people with real involvement in the production process, who pour their hearts and souls into their mission.  They actually care about the end consumer of their products; instead of spending money on slick ad campaigns and flashy packaging and cutting corners on ingredients, every dollar goes into creating an effective, safe formula.  Independent brand founders tend to live consciously; they tend to want to help people instead of just sell something.

What most excites me about Indie Beauty Brands?  Well, obviously, I get pretty darn excited, don’t I?  Indie Beauty brands usually go to work with karma in the forefront of their minds and view the industry as a community.  Because of this common attitude, the people working in Green Beauty and Indie Beauty tend to be more accessible to bloggers like me, and even to the consumer.  I think they actually want to be, they choose to be, because they want to help people.  And, what’s more exciting than an accessible beauty brand founder?  A kind one.  I must say that 99% of the people I’ve encountered in this industry prove to be absolutely lovely human beings.  Isn’t that awesome?  The other big thing that excites me about Green, Indie Beauty is the Nerd Factor.  This isn’t a trend; it’s a movement.  It’s freaking cool to be a nerd again.  It’s cool to be informed, to know what ingredients are in your stuff and to be your own advocate,  just like it’s cool to drink organic cold-pressed juice.  (That’s not the strongest analogy, I know.)  And, you know that we nerds have to stick together, so all of a sudden, there’s this camaraderie, this community of COOL nerds.  It’s kind of my dream come true.

That’s all for now.  I’m probably too excited, but I’m going to try to get some sleep on this plane.

If you’re interested in going to the Indie Beauty Expo in LA, please grab a ticket (use coupon code SHOPINDIE) and join us.  We will be speaking at 4:15 on Wednesday at The Shrine.  I hope to see you there!

…..