2016 was a banner year for natural and organic beauty.  With so many amazing brands and products to choose from, we naturally-minded organic beauties are no longer limited to choosing from insanely overpriced celebrity brands or crafted in someone’s basement hippie brands (not that we’re not obsessed with many of those).  Now we don’t have to sacrifice selection, effectiveness or budget to stock up our bathrooms and makeup bags with beautiful products that work wonders on our skin, hair and bodies, without harming your health or the environment.

Below are some of our favorite new (or new to us) products from the last year, all of which follow our strict criteria of natural beauty.

Omiana Natural Mineral Makeup

This has been one of our top used and talked about beauty brands this year (check out the full review here).  Omiana (formerly Epic Mineral Beauty) recently relaunched with a new name, new branding, and tons of new products, none of which disappoint.  If you’re looking for a one-stop natural makeup brands with great products across the board (face, eyes, lips) then this is your brand. All products are cruelty-free, most are vegan, and free of talc, carmine, and nanoparticles.  And they have products that are titanium dioxide-free, mica-free, and boron-free for the pickiest of us!  Though all the products are great, my personal faves are the mascaras (all titanium dioxide and mica-free), particularly the Black Strong Hold Mascara; the Redness Concealer Cream (so creamy, so good at covering up imperfections and red spots!); and the Pure Mineral Blush/Lip Color (an awesome makeup multitasker).

100% Pure Cosmetics

Thinking about products we keep coming back to all year round, 100% Pure (aka Purity Cosmetics) consistently tops the list.  All the beautiful skincare products are natural, cruelty-free, 100% toxin-free, and mostly organic.  They are some of the most effective natural skincare products I’ve ever used, and the best part is, the line is really affordable!  I’ve been using the Acai Berry Antioxidants + Vitamins Anti-Aging Serum, the Red Wine Resveratrol Scrub + Mask, the Coffee Bean Caffeine Eye Cream, and the Ginseng Collagen Boost Sheet Masks for months, and find myself going back to order more again and again (which is saying a lot, since I have drawers full of amazing products to test and review).  These four products have kept my skin looking youthful, rested, healthy, and glowing no matter what life threw at me this year.  And then there’s their line of organic baby products!  We’ve been obsessed with the Extra Gentle Baby Wash, which was amazing when little M got a spell of super dry skin in the fall.. This was the only product that didn’t dry out her delicate skin! I can’t wait to try the rest of the products in the collection.  100% is one of those awesome organic beauty brands that keeps standing out in the market, and that keeps making best-of lists across the natural beauty world, especially this year!

They have an awesome year-end sale going on right now, with many products up to 60% off!  Go stock up!

Enessa Skincare

Though this brand has been around for over 25 years, it’s one of those small, boutique brands you don’t necessarily read about all the time… So I’m thrilled that I discovered them this year!  Enessa products are super clean, natural, and fresh — they feel like you’re truly harnessing the power of nature to heal and treat your skin. I tried a trio of products that were all amazingly nourishing for dryness-prone skin and seemed to do great things to fend off signs of aging.  The Lavender Balancing Cleanser is one of those rare, non-oil based face washes that I’ll actually use (since the rest strip my skin of moisture) — it cleanses and detoxes skin while boosting collagen production and improving circulation, which are KEY for keeping skin youthful.  I follow that with the Moringa Replenish Elixir, featuring a new (to me) super ingredient (Moringa seed), which is extra high in antioxidants and vitamins (I foresee that it’ll start popping up in more products in the coming year) — this luscious serum is hydrating, glow-inducing, and leaves skin feeling silky smooth. At night I finished my routine with the Iris Leaf Cell Repair cream, which uses state of the art plant cell technology to seriously repair and hydrate skin, for some major anti-aging action.  These products are thoughtfully crafted for potency and skin health, with wonderful ingredients that feel oh so luxe.

Essential Smooth Serum

Ok, this isn’t so much a whole brand as it is a single product that I am totally obsessed with.  Essential Smooth Serum is a blend of potent anti-aging essential oils (frankincense, lavender, chamomile, and rose), which are my go-to’s for beautiful ageless skin, and nourishing plant oils (neroli and rosehip) which come together to form an amazing serum that leaves skin so glowy and gorgeous, it’s a shame to cover it with makeup or bb cream!  The serum has a golden hue to it, which gives skin a healthy, dewy, sun-kissed look while doing some heavy lifting by way of slowing the signs of aging, clearing skin, healing scars, detoxifying, and deeply hydrating.  It’s everything you want in a serum!  And it’s on Amazon Prime, so you can get it in two days, with free shipping ; )  You’re welcome.

JK Naturals Teen

JK Naturals is an awesome brand which really shines in the family skincare department. Founder Kathryn Holdforth created her first product (Pregnant Belly Butter) after the birth of her baby, and has been adding to the beautiful product line as the needs of her family expanded.  Making great use of essential oils and organic ingredients, there are so many wonderful products in the line to choose from, but a real standout is the Teen Skincare line, which is a great way to bring powerful natural products into the lives of the teens in your life!  But I have to admit that I’ve been using these products myself with a great deal of enthusiasm.  The Teen Deodorant works better than most of the natural adult deodorants I’ve used (it comes in scents for him and her); the oil-based Teen Face Cleanser is exactly what acne prone teenagers need to clear up and prevent breakouts (and I’ve been enjoying those benefits as well … I use it every day!); and the Teen Germ Away Spray is an awesome natural alternative to the alcohol and chemical based hand sanitizers out there — it’s made with many of the essential oils in Thieves Oil, so not only does it kill germs, but it also promotes stronger immunity and staves off illness!  There are a ton of other products in the teen skincare collection, but these three are essentials not just for teens, but for any health conscious family.  Look for my full reviews of this collection and many other JK Naturals products in the new year!

Kindred Skincare Co.

Kindred Skincare Co. is a line of beautiful, organic oil skincare products I reviewed earlier this year that I keep recommending to readers and clients alike.  I’ve written about the benefits of using oils for skincare about a million times on this blog (I’ve gone so far as to name oils as my top secret for perfect skin), and this line of oils is one of the best I’ve ever used.  The Cleanse Core kit has an oil cleanse, and a nighttime and morning oil serum that are all jam packed with skin-perfecting and nourishing ingredients that come together to form the best routine for clearing, hydrating, treating, and protecting skin.  If you want one all-natural, simple, organic skincare line to solve all your skin woes, no matter what they are, then this is it.  Plus, the packaging is gorgeous, and the oils smell just heavenly!