Here’s Why You Should Replace Your Makeup Routine With Clean Beauty Products
ILIA Beauty founder Sasha Plavsic answers all your questions about clean cosmetics.
Inspecting the list of ingredients that goes into your makeup products probably doesn’t feel as enticing as appreciating the packaging of the products themselves, but it is truly essential. It is precisely because of this urge to learn more about the safety of color cosmetics that has helped Sasha Plavsic build her own beauty brand, ILIA.
Boasting a robust collection of clean and effective makeup ranging from foundations to lipsticks, ILIA is all about creating luxury products with a balanced recipie of natural ingredients and safe synethetics — because, as you’ll learn from the interview below, that not every botanical ingredient is good for the skin, nor is every synthetic harmful.
Continue reading for Plasvic’s answers to all the questions our readers have submitted about clean beauty.
For more expert tips on safe makeup products, make sure to follow HYPEBAE Beauty on Instagram.
Teresa Lam/HYPEBAE
What initially prompted you to create a clean beauty brand?
At the time clean didn’t exist, but I couldn’t find a brand that was transparent in ingredients and decided to set a project for myself and see if I could re-create a tinted lip balm I’d been using for several years into a nourishing product with botanicals ingredients and safe synthetics. And so the story began.
Why is it important for someone to replace their makeup routine with natural cosmetics products?
I am actually a believer in the 80/20 rule, and if you can find products that work as well or better than something that may have questionable ingredients, it’s easy to make the switch. Clean color is about bringing awareness to your makeup products and empowering you to make choices that you feel good about. The products should be just as beautiful in assortment, safe to use and more importantly, they need to work.
ILIA True Skin Serum Foundation, available for $54 USD online
ILIA Soft Focus Finishing Powder, available for $34 USD online
What is the typical shelf life of all-natural makeup products? For how long can you use them if they don’t contain preservatives?
Our products are not all natural. We believe not every natural ingredient is good for the skin nor is every synthetic bad, it usually takes a combination of both to get an outstanding product that performs. All items that contain water need a preservative and there are safe options available. We believe in preserving products as it is important for the stability and safety of the product. For shelf life, two years is the standard.
Does the fact that the products are made with natural ingredients affect their overall quality?
It will depend on the product, but I have learned over the years that you usually need a hybrid of natural and synthetic to achieve better wear, application, pigmentation. It’s really important for people to know that synthetics are not bad. In the end, all the ingredients in cosmetics whether they are classified as natural or not are chemicals, and that in both the natural and synthetic form there are some that should be avoided for the skin.
ILIA Color Block High Impact Lipstick, available for $26 USD online
ILIA Soft Cream Lip Crayon, available for $24 USD online
ILIA Lip Conditioner, available for $26 USD online
ILIA Lip Exfoliator, available for $26 USD online
For those who have allergy-prone skin, how should they approach natural makeup products?
Stay away from items that use fragrance, and be weary of essential oils, some of them are good and others can aggravate. Other items would be natural ingredients such as coconut oil, or oils that are more comedogenic as these can cause breakouts. We are formulating with this in mind to ensure skin is cared for and balanced.
What’s the best way to learn about whether a beauty brand is truly all-natural?
Again, all-natural doesn’t exist and if it does, the shelf life is very low and the product may not be stable. Perhaps if there is one ingredient, or a few ingredients and no water present you can create an amazing all-natural product. But using those words these days is dicey as when it comes to the science side of claiming all-natural it’s not necessarily true.
ILIA Illuminator, available for $34 USD online
ILIA Multi-Stick, available for $34 USD online
ILIA is currently stocked at Nordstrom Presentation at Space NK. What made you decide to partner with the retailers?
Space NK carries beautiful prestige brands that offer a curated experience. Nordstrom in our eyes is the leading department store at the moment and very forward thinking with outstanding customer service. The pairing together is magical.
