Kirsten Kjaer

Organic color makeup still sort of has a crunchy reputation. (Think nondescript packaging and weird-smelling ingredients.) Luckily, more and more companies and beauty entrepreneurs are offering increasingly luxe organic lines. And Kirsten Kjaer, creator of Kjaer Weis cosmetics, just significantly upped the ante. Kirsten is a Danish-born, New York based makeup artist with almost 20 years of experience in the industry. Kirsten saw a lot of bad skin while doing makeup for models--rashes, break-outs, eye irritation--and she started getting complaints that certain products were causing “allergic” reactions. After about seven years in development, Kjaer Weis is the fruit of what is obviously a labor of love. Passionately dedicated to creating a green product, Kirsten’s line is made in Italy and is 95% organic, earning her the CCPB organic certification (which is quite a big deal if you’re an organic brand--organic standards are very high in Europe).