The Great Switch
I wanted to take this week's post to announce my partnership with BEAUTYCOUNTER! As many of you know, I don't consider myself a beauty guru, but a good skincare routine has always been on the to-do list especially as I approach my 30s.
So, I am taking a moment to share my relationship and history with beauty, skincare, and makeup on the blog. I always want to be upfront and share the entirety of my experiences with you guys. I'll be sharing why I switched and what I am hoping to accomplish with this mini side gig. This one lengthier than usual, but I wanted to share it all. So here goes!
My Chaotic History With Beauty
Growing up, I wasn't allowed to experiment with makeup. My mom was never one to wear it and my father was always saying no to any inkling of me mentioning makeup. I never got that trying on your mom's lipstick stuff and my parents always told me to take pride in the natural, God-given beauty that was given to me.
In high school, I'd save every penny and then sneak a Loreal or Maybelline foundation + mascara through the door. I was terrible at color matching and it showed because every time I'd put it on, I'd get a little lecture about how pale it made me look. My mom warned constantly that cosmetics would age my face and it ruin my skin. My dad would chime in saying that I was already beautiful and that God made me perfect and you cannot enhance perfection. I really didn't need it they said, but my pimply skin was screaming otherwise.
My college days were no different, except the lectures became less frequent and it became more of a sigh from my father when he noticed that I was wearing makeup. I was never a full face of make up kinda gal, but if he noticed I had some on, he made sure I knew that he disapproved.
After I got married, my husband said he didn't mind makeup, but he also wasn't a fan of pops of color either which was fine because, with my inexperience, I wasn't going to get courageous now. But with a green light from my guy, I signed up for all kinds of subscription boxes (read about what I tried here) and I bought a ton of products on my search of what works for me! Drug store brands, high-end brands, and products that were exclusive to Sephora and Ulta, I tried a lot of things. It was great for two years until it wasn't.
My face was always breaking out from products no matter how hard I scrubbed them off at night. I bought all kinds of cleansers and removing wipes + towels. No matter what I was doing, it didn't help. Nothing was truly amazing -- it was good for a while, but then the breakouts and cystic acne would pop up. To add to the pimples, my eyes were constantly stinging from eye shadows and mascara I was using. When it came to skincare, my face would either be too oily or too dry and no treatment was really helping. My pores got so large that I felt like any wider and people would start to fall into the black holes they were creating -- kind of dramatic, but it was a horror story. I hated looking in the mirror. I was over it and that made me stop trying to find the right products. I would just use makeup I had on special occasions and then brace for the aftermath of breakouts and super irritable skin.
The Switch
One day, I was peeping Instagram stories and a good friend of mine was sharing her journey with BEAUTYCOUNTER. She was gushing about how they are trying to pave a way on Capitol Hill for more regulations on the ingredient list of cosmetics. I was impressed with the information she was sharing but moved along because I was over makeup at this point. Each day, this friend would share what Beauty Counter did for her, and I engaged with the content because I am always pro-supporting people in their side hustles.
Then came the day when she asked if she could send me some samples and if I'm going to be 100% honest, I almost said no. I really was disappointed with skincare products and I wasn't wanting to try anything else, but this friend had always been supportive of me and my endeavors, so I felt like I couldn't say no.
So, in came the samples and I avoided them for a week. One night, I decided on a whim that it was time to try it (just in case she was gonna ask me about how I like them). To my surprise, I actually really liked the cleanser she sent me and the moisturizer left my face feeling really soft and moisturized instead of the usual weird drying, but oily feel the other products gave me.
Each sample lasted for 4 days and when they were done, I was actually sad about it. I was seeing an improvement in my breakout and in the texture of my skin, so I went to my friend and started asking questions. I basically bombarded her with all kinds of questions over a span of several days. I even asked if there was something that BEAUTYCOUNTER offered that she would not recommend and y'all she straight up told me there was. It was that moment when I knew she wasn't just selling and promoting BEAUTYCOUNTER for the perks, it really was a brand that she loved and wanted to share that with others.
So I ordered some full-sized products and after seeing the results for myself, I decided to sign up as a "consultant."
The Partnership / Consultant Gig | updated 12/4/21
So, first off, I hate the word consultant because it makes me cringe. I am not and probably will never be a beauty guru. I am a semi-crunchy mom and I want to invest in good CLEAN skincare. Signing up for BEAUTYCOUNTER was primarily for the discount, but as I use these products, I am seeing how good they actually are which makes me want to encourage others to make the switch too! It's too good not to share. So, I like to look at this as another long term collaboration and partnership because essentially, that's what it really is.
BEAUTYCOUNTER has a great rewards program called Band of Beauty that gives you 10% of your total purchase back to your account for future orders as well as 10% off every product + free shipping on orders of $100 or more. I love that there are no minimums, autoships, or pressures to buy or sell their products. The only catch is that it's $29 to sign up, buuuuuuut wait, don't let that be a turn off because if you spend $50+ you get a free gift that values more than the initial sign up fee.
Annnnnnnd, if you do end up spending $100 or more when you sign up for Band of Beauty and choose me as your consultant during check out, I'll reimburse you that $29 sign up fee as a way to say, hey, thanks for giving clean beauty a chance!
Sooooo, yah! I made the switch and hope you will too. In the meantime, I'll be sharing more about the products, how to use them, what I love, what I don't, and why it's worth every penny here on the blog and on Instagram. I hope you follow along and then, one day, try it out for yourself.
I'm here for you if:
◪ you have any questions
◪ you want to chat about the switch
◪ you are curious about the products + want to sample some
◪ you want to jump in & sign up for the rewards program
◪ you want to learn more about being a "consultant"
basically, anything you need, I'm your gal, so don't be afraid to reach out, email or slide in the DMs.
12/2021 -- an update
I am no longer a consultant as of December 2021. After a year of being a consultant, I decided that it wasn't for me -- I am still a Band of Beauty member, but ditched the repping gig.
What they don't tell you when you sign up is that they expect you make them at least $1200 every six months. I made the quota the first term, but the second term, I fell short. They stripped me of my status as a consultant which is fine, but to become a consultant I would have to pay the fee again + buy another starter kit.
so, it's a rip off if you're not constantly trying to sell the products and doing a good job of it. The discount was really nice, but if you're not gonna hustle, I'd just save your money and not buy into the consultant realm of things.
