US Beauty Haul – Detox Market, Credo Beauty, Sephora & Ulta

I was very excited to go on a very well earned holiday recently to visit California, starting in San Francisco with a quick stop off in Yosemite before driving down the coast into LA and finishing off in Palm Springs. However it wasn’t just the scenery and culture that I was so eager to seek, I also was super excited to visit all the US beauty shops as well!!! So before I set off I sat down and made a list of all the shops I desperately wanted to visit while I was there (alongside a secondary list of all the products I wanted to try that I can’t find in UK, or simply because lots of them are much cheaper in the US). So by the end of my roadtrip I walked away with quite a ‘few’ beauty products which I thought I would share with you. Unsurprisingly with my obsession, and this blog, I went a little bit crazy and ended up with a lot more than I had originally planned but it’s not everyday that I go to the US so I took the opportunity whilst it was there! As a preemptive warning though I will say now that I haven’t tried any of these products yet so this is in no way a review or recommendation of these products, I’ll get to those over the upcoming weeks.

Credo Beauty

I bought a product from this green beauty heaven in San Francisco but I infuriatingly forgot it in the hotel on the day we left. It was the Red Clay Mask from Fig + Yarrow. If you visit San Francisco definitely go and find this boutique as it’s really lovely and situated in a pretty street full of nice restaurant and coffee places, called Fillmore.  

Ulta

Ulta is a chain in the US and so I visited a few on my travels and there were some great deals to be found! Pacifica – Half of the Pacifica range was on sale so I was happy to find the Jasmine IRIS Oil control Primer as it’s Silicone free. I have wanted to try it for ages and for a such good price I couldn’t resist. Lets hope that my makeup will now survive the onslaught of the hot summers days with this primer. I also bought the Moisturize + Energize serum wipes which is a surprise for me as I’m not a big fan of wipes but I thought they could be useful in summer when I don’t wear any makeup as they are supposed to give instant hydration and leave skin refreshed. Let’s see how it goes.

The Detox Market

Another little slice of green beauty heaven but this time in Los angeles, they sell so many natural organic beauty brands you will want to buy it all.

Kahina – I read a lot of articles about this brand online regarding the fact that they provide economic activity for the Berber women in Morocco who do the work of extracting Argan oil. A percentage of profits from the sale of the Fair Trade Argan Oil is donated to programs that help the women and their families, which is amazing. All their products are argan oil based and I’m a huge fan of this oil! I wanted to try their milky Facial Cleanser which is a combination of aloe vera, argan oil and papaya enzymes. It smells really nice and according to some reviews that I read it’s supposed to be lush!

Josh Rosebrook – This is a brand I have had my eyes on for quite a while because all their ingredient lists for their products seem pretty amazing however I had big reservations because of the price tag. I had put the brand on my list as an optional extra but once I was in the shop I just couldn’t resist. I was hesitating between 2 masks, the Active Enzyme Exfoliator and the Cacao Antioxidant. I’m sure you have read reviews or heard people talking about the Cacao mask (which apparently is amazing) and I’m huge fan of exfoliator masks in general as they work wonders on my skin, I always have great result. Finally I caved in and I ended up taking both as I just couldn’t make a decision, quelle surprise! For anyone who doesn’t know Josh Rosebrook and his brand he is a hairdresser in Los Angeles so I had to get some hair products. I grabbed the Nourish Shampoo and Conditioner which are both recommended for dry hair.

May Lindstrom – I was meant to get The Problem Solver Masque but as I had already bought the 2 masks from Josh Rosebrook I thought it would be a bit too much so I decided to try out The Jasmine Garden as the smell sold me instantly on this product, it’s like you are diving into a sea of flowers, it smells soooo good!

Agent Nateur – I have been on the hunt for a natural deodorant in stick form for a while and this particular one, the N°3 déodorant was on the top of my list for ages. I’m so happy that this is finally mine (Yes I’m kind of fed up with pot format)!! I have tried the Smiths and the Lone already which I’m happy with, see my review here. The texture of this one seems much smoother than the other ones and I love the packaging it’s so chic and minimalist, exactly what I like!

Odacité –  I have tried a couple of serums previously from this brand and I really like them (I have done a review here) so I really wanted to see what else they offer and what better than a Discovery Kit to get an idea! I took the one for combination skin and it includes 7 products; one cleanser, two facial sponges, one toner, one moisturizer, one night serum, an exfoliant and an eye cream.

100% Pure

I hadn’t heard about this brand before but when I was looking for food in the Del Amo Shopping center I spotted a big sign saying “100% pure natural and organic ingredients”. Obviously, to the dismay of my boyfriend, I stopped straight away as with my passion for green beauty I had to go and have a look!! I am really glad that I did as they stock a wide range of skincare and makeup. I checked a few of the ingredients on a couple of products and they all seemed really good so now I was really interested. However as I had already bought a lot of products I decided that I definitely needed to slow down a bit as my wallet was screaming at me! I wrangled my way down to just 2 of their sheet masks; Bright Eyes (a mix of organic aloe vera, matcha green tea, cucumber, vitamin C…) and Caffeine Mask (coffee, aloe vera, hyaluronic acid…). The ingredients were so good, they were inexpensive, looked great and with the added incentive of 20% off I just couldn’t resist this little additional purchase!!

Urban Outfitters

I went into Outfitters specifically to check the Herbivore beauty products after seeing everyone on instagram talking about this brand I had to give it a go! They didn’t have many items in the store so I only picked up the Rose Hibiscus because I loved the ingredients list. It’s a mix of coconut water, witch hazel, aloe vera, rose water and hibiscus flower extract and it smells divine so it was patently obvious that this product was going to end up in my basket! Then I noticed some really pretty packaging from a brand called My Mane Care that I had never heard about so why not give it a little test. I did think to myself though that this Hydrating Hair Mask wasn’t the best purchase I have ever made as to be honest I could have make this product myself as it’s such an easy ingredient list. Sometimes I am such a sucker for pretty packaging. ^^

Sephora

It’s been such a long time that haven’t been in a Sephora!! When are they going to open in UK??!! I love sephora, especially the ones in the US they offer so many more products than the Sephora in France!! My newest addiction in life is sheet masks, it’s not that I just found out about them but they are my go to when I feel lazy, tired and my skin needs a boost! There were huge shelves full of sheet masks and so many choices that I started by eliminating the brands I knew would be full of nasties and then I checked the ingredients list from the brands I didn’t know. I ended up with these 2 masks from Karuna (again this is another brand I have never heard about, sorry^^) – the Clarifying Face Mask which supposedly controls excess oil and clarifies clogged skin by deep cleaning pores. I also got the Renewal Eye Mask to reduce the appearance of puffiness.

Target

I was surprised to see an aisle full of natural beauty products in Target, they sell Andalou Naturals (I reviewed one of their great shampoo here), Pacifica, Aubrey Organics and loads more. I didn’t expect that as in the UK most supermarkets don’t sell hardly any green beauty. I was so happy when I saw they were selling a big selection of the Burt’s Bees 100% natural lipstick as I have never tried anything from this brand except their lip balm. So what better occasion to select a few to try, so I bought 3; Fushia Flood 512, Lily Lake 530 and Sunset Cruise 523. They are all quite pinky/coraly colors and exactly what I like wearing during summer and they are really moisturizing just like the lip balms and have a smooth, satin finish.

I will report back of course and do a full review of these products as soon as I have tested them all so keep your eye out as I will start reporting soon! Have you tried any of these products?