With Earth Day on the way, it’s a good time to pay attention to products you use every day, how they are made and their effect on your body.
Three local eco-conscious independent beauty company owners making such things as shampoo, hand cream, lip balm and even cosmetics like eyeliner and concealer include Amanda Hume, Kimberly Heathman and Kathryn Murray Dickinson.
“Natural and organic beauty products are becoming more and more popular, especially when people start to research what the ingredients are that go into the products they are using,” says Hume, owner of Highland-based organic beauty boutique Vert Beauty.
“People are sick and tired of being sick and tired,” adds Dickinson, founder of Aillea Beauty in Larimer Square. Using natural products is one of the first and most direct steps to reclaiming our wellness, and I think Colorado and Denver is at the forefront of that movement.”
Here, we take a look at some natural beauty advocates.
AILLEA
Who: Kathryn Murray Dickinson, founder of Aillea beauty boutique and former VP of marketing and sales for a beauty brand in New York.
The line: A collection of eco-friendly and organic beauty brands free of sulfates, parabens and petrochemicals, and none were tested on animals.
Where it started: “My passion for clean beauty didn’t start until I had my own health problems 9 years ago,” says Dickinson. “I was getting very sick, and the doctors didn’t know why. I finally discovered I had food allergies. One day in the shower, I started reading the ingredients in my shampoo and was floored at the garbage I was putting on and in my body. I looked around my bathroom and decided to get rid of everything bad and replace it with something that works as well or better. I realized that there was a huge need for a store like Aillea where people could shop all of the brands.”
Skin-care standouts: Among the boutique’s top products are Ilia Vivid Foundation with healing botanicals including green tea and rosemary extracts to calm and revitalize the skin; Indie Lee Squalane facial oil made with pure, olive-derived squalane oil to help boost cell regeneration; and Suki exfoliating foaming facial cleanser to combat fine lines and wrinkles.
1408 Larimer St., Ste. 102, Denver, 303-997-6209, aillea.com
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