In a world where sustainability has become a necessity and the words like “clean” and “cruelty free” have become overused, finding a brand that lives up to its promises has become a challenge. I am always searching for skincare and makeup products that are true to their word, being both cruelty free and sustainable, is something that has become very important to me.

In 2015, longtime friends Natalie Mackey and Nate Newman founded Winky Lux. Their original goal was to bring fun to everyday beauty rituals, introducing products like flower and glitter filled lip balms that were both beautiful and functional. Since then, Winky Lux has expanded to be sold in many stores including Target and Ulta and is constantly striving for new levels of sustainability. 

With help from rePurpose Global, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping companies become plastic neutral, meaning for every amount of plastic used there is an equal amount of plastic being recycled, Winky Lux has proven its commitment to becoming a clean and cruelty free beauty line as well as actively working to become sustainable by becoming plastic neutral.  

Here are some of the brand’s most popular products. Click on the product title to purchase each product on the Winky Lux website. 

White Tea Tinted Moisturizer SPF 30 

The reason I love this product so much is because it’s both a tinted moisturizer and a sunscreen, with SPF 30 that is perfect for the summer. The moisturizer has a slight tint that blends well into the skin providing a lightweight finish, leaving the skin feeling both beautiful and hydrated. The creamy textured moisturizer contains nourishing ingredients such as white tea extracts, pomegranates and vitamin E to give your skin a beautiful healthy glow. The moisturizer is available in a wide range of diverse colors to fit every skin tone. 

Peeper Perfect Under-Eye Concealer 

This viral under eye concealer lives up to the hype. Packed with super ingredients like collagen, hyaluronic acid, glycerin and vitamin E, this concealer does more than cover, it’ll help reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles and helps to cover dark under-eye circles.

Amethyst Balm

Not only is this lip balm beautiful, but it’s also vegan. The balm is unique in many ways, but in particular because it uses your PH to transform your lips into the beautiful shade of pink with a slight shimmer that is uniquely perfect to each and every person. It’s also made with ceramides that helps to provide lasting hydration. 

Detail Oriented Mascara

The Detail Oriented Mascara is by far one of my favorite Winky Lux products. The name speaks for itself. The micro-spoolie catches all your lashing from corner to corner, ensuring detail delivering volume, length and definition for your lashes. The best part of this product is that it helps comb through all of your lashes preventing clumping that can happen with many other mascaras.

Uni-Brow Universal Shade Eyebrow Pencil 

No more spending hours in the makeup aisle trying to find the perfect shade to match your eyebrows. Like its name this universal brow pencil is designed to blend with almost every brow shade. The firm pencil provides perfect precision that gives you total control over your brows. For lighter shades, use a light pressure and for darker shades use a heavier pressure to cater to your needs. Say goodbye to frustrating time-consuming applications and create a flawless brow in minutes for any occasion.

SHOOT LEADS Lena Wu, LeVana Wu / MODELS LeVana Wu, Averie Ison, Abitha Vinoyi / PHOTOGRAPHY Lena Wu 

Sustainability is one of the most talked about topics right now, but it is especially relevant in the fashion industry and has become the forefront in consumer’s decisions in buying fashion. One of the hottest topics right now in the handbag market is the idea of trading in animal leathers for vegan leathers, which are cruelty free and more sustainable for the planet.

In the past few years, many brands have jumped on the bandwagon, greenwashing their products to fulfill the growing pressure from consumers. One up-and-coming brand, Aubrey Jai, breaks the mold of what vegan leather bags can be. Aubrey Jai uses bold shapes and colors to convey their love for animals, the planet and that being fashionable can also be sustainable.

The bags we carry say a lot about who we are to others, whether our style is maximalist and bold or minimalist and simple, but in today’s world they also tell others what we value.

Aubrey Jai’s goal from the start was to build an ethos that would make their daughter (the namesake of their brand) proud and build a legacy and a bag that can be passed down to the next generation.

Meet the Bags

The designer’s daughter’s drawings inspire their current collections of unique, boldly shaped handbags. Aubrey Jai’s bags are meant to stand out and make a statement, whether out running errands or enjoying drinks with friends, an Aubrey Jai bag will always stand out in a crowd.

The mini bowling bag, the Oh!Bag, is the perfect companion to follow you throughout your day with plenty of room to carry your daily essentials such as your wallet, phone, and keys. The fun “O” cutout keeps the bag fun and makes it a bold statement. The Oh!Bag is available in two color options, red and orange or black and pink. It also comes with a crossbody bag so you have options on how you want to wear it.

The fun, playful, drawstring, pyramid shape and bold patterns of the Gold Spinarela will surely make you stand out while also having enough room to hold all your essentials while out on the town. The bag is roomy enough to carry all of your essentials such as a small wallet, keys and phone and it comes with a crossbody strap so you can decide how to wear your bag.

The best part of both bags is that they are made from vegan leather crafted from a small business. It’s a win, win, win in all directions of being cruelty free, sustainable, and supporting a small business while being bold and fashionable.

Prices range from $75-$350 USD  Discover more on https://www.aubreyjaicollection.com/

SHOOT LEADS LeVana Wu, Lena Wu / MODELS LeVana Wu, Lily Polete / PHOTOGRAPHY Lena Wu