Sparkle and Shine: Green Beauty for Drag Queens & Makeup Fiends

Whether you like to go full mermaid-style glitter or prefer a natural-looking glow, shimmery mineral-based beauty products are a fun way to celebrate the onset of warmer weather. Natural beauty brands like Josie Maran, Ilia and Everyday Minerals use non-toxic, naturally sourced mica minerals to add luminosity to eyeshadow, tinted moisturizer, body lotion and more. Here are six ways to incorporate it into your spring beauty routine.

Josie Maran Argan Illuminizer

This shimmery tinted moisturizer from Josie Maran is super light and subtle, with a hint of bronze color to enhance your summer glow. You won’t look like a disco queen, you’ll just look dewy and healthy. If that’s the level of shimmer you’re going for, check it out – it’s free of parabens, sulfates, synthetic fragrances, phthalates, GMOs and triclosan and includes argan oil, which is like a miracle balm for the skin.

Ilia Beauty Illuminator

Get your shimmer right where you want it – cheekbones, brow bones, clavicles and decolletage – with Ilia’s illuminator stick. Formulated with organic ingredients like cocoa butter and rose hip oil, this highlighter is available in a ‘moonbeam’ white and a warmer sun-kissed shade. Just swipe it on and blend.

Alima Pure Luminous Shimmer Powder

Here’s where the fun really starts: shimmer powders can be brushed onto your skin, or mixed with your favorite body oil, lotion or sunscreen. When you make your own custom shimmer lotion, you have control over just how much sparkle gets into the bottle. Alima Pure offers shimmer powders in a variety of shades from a pale beige-pink to a deep copper shimmer. It’s free of bismuth and nanoparticles, and won’t clog pores.

Bold Shimmer Eye Pigments

Get bold with highly pigmented, shimmery eye shadows in a range of colors from Everyday Minerals, W3LL PEOPLE and LimeCrime. Everyday Minerals shades range from neutrals and pastels to somewhat more dramatic hues; W3LL PEOPLE offers highly pigmented mineral shadow in two dark shades, Midnight Twinkle and Matte Eggplant Twinkle. These are loose mineral pigment powders that can be mixed with water to make eyeliner, or added to lotion if you’re so inclined. From LimeCrime comes a palette called ‘Aquataenia’ which features five bright pearlescent shades in a deluxe purple tin; while the ingredients here aren’t totally perfect, they’re vegan and cruelty-free.

Top image: LimeCrime.com