What if women could achieve that eternally sought-after “natural” look with cosmetics that are natural, too?

Thanks to the release of ILIA Beauty’s fall line, women will have access to products that make achieving that effortless look easier—and better for your skin—than ever. 

Originally from Lions Bay, Sasha Plavsic first launched ILIA with just one product: a natural lip conditioner available in six shades. Since that day in 2011, she’s expanded her line of good-for-your-face cosmetics to include foundation, lipstick, eye shadow, and a host of unique products that do double duty, like the multi-stick, which acts as a blush and lip tint, or the illuminator, which can function as an eye shadow and an under-eye brightener.

The best part of ILIA’s products is that each are made with a minimum of 70 to 80 percent organic ingredients, while all are guaranteed to be made with 99 to 100 percent natural components. Coconut, sesame, castor, and rose hip oil are just a few ingredients used in ILIA products that actually “feed” the skin while you’re wearing them.

Drugstore brands often contain synthetic and chemical setting agents that strip the skin of its moisture and clog pores, but ILIA uses a natural setting agent, a gum resin called mastic, which is derived from trees on the Greek island of Chios. Unlike its synthetic counterparts, mastic cools as it sets atop the skin, assisting the moisturizing ingredients in ILIA products to be absorbed into the skin.

At the release of the new fall line—three new neutral-toned foundation shades, three fresh lipstick shades, three soft-bristle Taklon brushes, and our personal favourite, a translucent soft focus finishing powder—we talked to Plavsic about her do’s and don’ts when it comes to natural makeup.

Find out what we learned from Plavsic below. Get your hands on ILIA products online, or at BeautyMark (1268 Pacific Boulevard) in Yaletown.

What products do you never leave the house without?

"I love our tinted lip conditioner in Arabian Nights. It was one of our first six colous, and it's usually our number-two seller. For me, that's a go-to. Also, I love having access to a really bright, bold lip, like Wild Child—I’m really big on red lipsticks. I’d also grab Polkdots and Moonbeams, our illuminator, touch up around the eyes throughout the day. Our new translucent soft focus finishing powder too, for that perfect finish.”

What have you noticed about your own skin since using natural makeup?

“I’ve definitely noticed that my skin has much more moisture. I felt before like the things that I was just putting on the surface of my skin weren’t made to be absorbed, and they were stripping my skin of all of its moisture. It would look okay when I had it on, but as soon as I took it off, my skin would look terrible. Even with our illuminators, they are made with oils that are good for your skin, so they help to hydrate that under-eye area."

What should people who are new to natural makeup know about how it reacts with the skin when compared to drugstore brands?

"The 'payoff' is generally not as strong as conventional makeup, which means you can build it—you have control over how strong that look is based on how much product you apply. It also takes longer to set, so patience is key. Your skin will reap the benefits, and feel better at the end of the day, as opposed to feeling like you need to get the product off your skin."

What are some important steps when it comes to blending ILIA foundation?

“Because it’s natural, it does take time to set—usually between five and 10 minutes. Having patience to see what the actual finish will be like is really important. People use lots of different methods to blend, and we couldn’t get that finish that we wanted quickly enough, so we developed our own Kabuki-style brush. I dot the product on the face like war paint, and then blend it out using the brush. That helps to give even, seamless coverage, and the brush helps to buff it into the pores so it doesn’t just sit on the surface of the skin.”

What can we expect next from ILIA?

“We are redoing our SPF, and we are overhauling our complexion products. We are also going to have some pressed powder eye shadows for the holidays, in a quad, which is new. They blend really nicely with our cream eye shadows. We are doing a hydration stick too, but you’ll have to wait until 2017.”