#sw basics

This is my first time hearing about the brand! I looked into it for you.

It seems like a nice brand, but you have to understand what you’re getting. i think the short ingredients lists make it easy for you to do so. It can be a double edged sword; The products are easy to understand. However, a lack of preservatives can lead to bacterial growth in the product. Also, they don’t have any fancy beneficial ingredients or ingredients to soothe the skin (especially in the case of their toner/exfoliants).

Like, for their cream: do you want to apply coconut oil, olive oil, and shea butter to your face? Some may, some may not.

For their makeup remover, do you want to remove your eye makeup with straight oil? Many people would dislike that, especially near the eyes. However, on the rest of the face, it’s similar to the oil cleansing method (which i don’t recommend a product like this for).

Their toner; do you want to to put a combo of witch hazel, ACV, and essential oils on your face? That could be very irritating to someone with sensitive skin. However, it could be a fine exfoliant for those with thick skin.

MY SKINCARE SQUAD: these 6 products are my tried and true skincare besties. Some I use daily, others are in my rotation.

TONER: Thayers makes the BEST alcohol-free toner. Cucumber is my favorite among the scents because it’s soothing and gentle enough to remove residual eye makeup.

EXFOLIATING PADS: The First Aid Beauty radiance pads is the only chemical exfoliant gentle enough for my sensitive skin. It helps keep acne at bay without drying or irritating my skin. They’re suitable for every day but I use it twice a week.

SERUM: 100% Pure is one of my favorite brands and their Brightening Serum is hydrating, helps lighten hyperpigmentation AND sits well under makeup.

MOISTURIZER: S.W. Basics, the fabulously un-basic skincare line, hit it out of the park with their 3-ingredient multipurpose Cream. I use it as an eye cream, lip balm, facial and body hydrator.

OIL: the oil serum by S.W. Basics is what I reach for on days my skin doesn’t need much hydration. I also use a drop to help blend thicker foundations.

SPOT TREATMENT: Sibu Beauty’s Seabuckthorn Seed Oil is a miracle product that’s saved my skin from years of acne. I’ll never be without it.

S.W. Basics…where do I begin? Effective, quality, luxurious are a few adjectives that come to mind. This is a no-frills, cruelty-free company whose skincare products contain 5 ingredients or less. It’s free of cheap fillers, harmful chemicals and the extra bullshit that doesn’t do your skin any favors.

The $29 Oil Serum is the first product I bought, which is conveniently carried at Target. I was very impressed and have been hooked since. I use a few drops in the morning. It absorbs well into my skin & doesn’t interfere with my makeup application. I also use it as a daytime eye serum. (Note: the website says to avoid the eye area, but I’m a skincare rebel.) 😆

S.W.’s Cream is a multipurpose skincare queen. It’s my nighttime moisturizer, face cream, lip balm & I occasionally use it on my body. I won this cream from the brand via their Instagram giveaway a couple months ago & despite daily use, I have plenty left. In the unbearable SoCal summer, I’ll likely switch to the Oil Serum.

I had seen S.W. Basics browsing the aisles of Target but never inspected further until my friend suggested their Oil Serum.

Five years ago, if you had asked me to rub olive oil on my face and leave it on I would have been horrified. As someone who possessed freakishly sensitive skin – for example, after plucking my eyebrows, I would develop whiteheads the next day – the thought of applying oil directly to it was simply incomprehensible. Wouldn’t my skin freak out? Wouldn’t I break out more? Olive oil was for salads, not my face, dammit!

Boy, was I wrong. Now that I’m older and wiser (and, incidentally, clearer-skinned), I’ve come to understand that oils are amazing for your skin. Aside from the fact that they are crazy hydrating, they’re loaded in antioxidants and nutrients, plus possess an array of neat properties that can actually help prevent and treat skin ailments like acne.

S.W. Basics Oil Serum

Before I dive into why oils are fantastic, let’s first address the phrase “oil-free.” Once heralded by marketers, “oil-free” is a designation that was born from the use of mineral oil in skincare products. Created from petroleum (aka the byproduct of gasoline), mineral oil is an inexpensive, totally nutrient-devoid ingredient that helps the skin retain moisture. In doing so, however, it can clog your pores and, subsequently, cause breakouts. Once beauty marketers realized this, they began creating “oil-free” products, thus assuaging the concerns of consumers over the shitty oil they were using. Enlightening information, right?

So, when I say oils, I mean 100% natural (preferably organic) plant-based oils. These guys are your friends for a multitude of reasons. For one, they’re incredibly hydrating thanks to the fact that they’re rich in essential fatty acids. These substances are incredible emollients, moisturizing the skin unlike any skincare ingredient I’ve ever used before, plus – unlike mineral oil – are loaded with antioxidants. This is good news because they can help do things like accelerate cell turnover, fight free radicals, reduce inflammation, and heal scars. In short, they’re skin wunderkinds.

S.W. Basics Lemongrass Body Oil 

What’s more, oils can actually help treat acne. Here’s why: Breakouts are often the result of an overproduction of oil, which then leads to clogged pores. Given that many carrier oils – particularly jojoba oil – have a strikingly similar chemical composition to the skin’s natural oil barrier, the sebum, they can help balance out oil production by “tricking” the skin into thinking it has produced a sufficient amount of oil. Moreover, studies have shown that skin that’s acneic is often deficient in linoleic acid, a fatty acid found in high percentages in oils like grape seed oil, rosehip seed oil, and safflower oil.

We recently shared this  recipe with our friends over at Target and we figured we should post it here, too! 

Many conventional toothpastes are loaded with questionable ingredients (artificial flavors, sweeteners, and colorants), come in wasteful packaging, and are produced using energy-sucking methods. This DIY all-natural toothpaste is not only more effective than its non-natural counterpart, it's fun to make, great for the environment, and more affordable, too!

2 Tbsp baking soda

2 Tbsp coconut oil

20 drops peppermint oil

1 tsp sea salt (optional)

Get Scrubbing This Summer @johnmastersnyc, @swbasicsofbk, @splurgeskincare

Even people like me who are usually low maintenance when it comes to body care like the weekly scrub down, because there’s only so much your shower gel or bar soap can do to maintain soft, supple skin. In general, I prefer sugar and coffee based scrubs over salt because the latter leaves my skin too raw. I have a couple of body scrubs in my current rotation and would love to share the results…

Our skin can not get enough to drink right now. If you are in the same boat, then click click this link. 

S.W. Basics of Brooklyn has a combo deal through the end of the day of their cult cream + body scrub for only $32. !! Both the cream and body scrub are made with 3 wholesome ingredients (nothing more). Your skin will love you.

                     Plus it's Friday, you deserve a treat. :)

Xo, Cult

Meet the Creator: S.W. Basics of Brooklyn

What does truly all-natural skincare mean? At S.W. Basics of Brooklyn, it means 5 (or fewer) pure, nourishing ingredients—each one carefully selected and sourced by co-founders Adina Grigore and Adam Poor. It all started when Adina couldn't find anything on the market that didn't irritate her ultra-sensitive skin: "I started to realize that the more ingredients something had in it, the more likely I was to have a negative reaction—even if they were supposedly all-natural," she says. "The formulas were originally just meant to be a solution for my skin, but it turned out that the products were so effective that we wanted to share them with others." The tiny team, which includes only one other member, makes everything by hand in Brooklyn. Their product line includes cleansers, toner, moisturizer (which they call "cream"), makeup remover, and lip balms in delicious scents, including peppermint, cocoa, citrus, and cinnamon. Most importantly, every item lists every ingredient right on the front label. "You can put the products on your skin and each one is exactly what it says it is...and it's going to do exactly what it says it does, which is generally to clean, calm, and moisturize," explains Adina.