One night five years ago, Larissa Thomson realized something after blindly searching the Internet for non-toxic beauty products: after sifting through thousands of beauty products on the market, she realized there were few educational resources to help her choose products with clean and transparent ingredient lists.25 For Thomson, a fashion editor for years, it was the beginning of a new career in the clean beauty business.

Thomson immersed herself in research and became familiar with the ins and outs of non-toxic beauty, including how common the "dirty dozen" (12 toxic ingredients commonly found in cosmetics) are. As she gained knowledge, friends and family began asking her for suggestions on clean beauty practices. She explains, "I would get emails from friends concerned about propylene glycol (a synthetic additive with moisturizing properties) in their shampoo or looking for nail polish without formaldehyde (a preservative chemical)." By default, Thomson began building a community that listened to her clean beauty advice and saw results (such as a brighter complexion) based on her recommendations.

However, Thomson wanted to offer more than text advice to her newfound community. So in 2016, she began raising funds for ONDA Beauty (opens in new tab), a one-stop store for clean beauty. Now, with three physical stores (in New York City, Sag Harbor, NY, and Sydney, Australia), celebrity supporters including Susan Sarandon, Kate Hudson, and Reese Witherspoon, and Every Mother Counts with Sea Legacy and Christy Turlington Barnes, Inc. The busy entrepreneur, who has ongoing partnerships with nonprofit organizations such as the CBS News, is steadily growing his business with friend and co-founder Naomi Watts. Meanwhile, Thomson is also engaged in motherhood (she has a teenage son). Here, she talks about dressing to the beat of her own drummer, shopping in her own closet, and her current favorite beauty and fashion trends.

I wake up and have a cup of Chemex-brewed coffee with Oatly Barista oat milk and high-quality maple syrup. Then I do my morning facial. As this natural beauty field expands and explodes, I am constantly testing products. First, I wash my face with Wonder Valley's Oil Cleanser (opens in new tab). Then I use Beautycounter's All Bright C Serum (opens in new tab) to nourish and brighten, and Symbiome's The Answer (opens in new tab). I usually finish the routine with Venn's Age-Reversing All-In-One Concentrate (opens in new tab) and a really active face oil. Occasionally I use Gua Sha to help reduce irritation around the eyes and face. After my face routine, I try to move up all of my work at home so that I can check into the ONDA Beauty store around 3pm and stay for a while.

It's casual, throwback, classic, and 70s boho. I like to dress a little creative, but I also really like the classic stuff. I love a nice suit jacket, and in the fall and winter I always have a Stella McCartney and Helmut Lang blazer on hand. I wear those over a Suzie Kondi black jumpsuit and pair them with clogs. I hate wearing heels and rarely wear them. If I'm going for height, I always opt for espadrilles or clogs. I feel like if I don't feel comfortable in them, I don't look great.

I'm obsessed with finding the perfect white tank and tee. If it's cold, I'm all about stripes. I can't stop buying striped sweaters; I love Kule, La Ligne, and Nili Lotan's turtlenecks.

I always wear my Plume Collection moon and star necklace. My husband, Scott, saw that I had been eyeing this necklace for a long time and bought it for me. He and my son bought it for me last Christmas and I cried because it's my moon and stars. The other necklace is from James Colarusso. This was a gift to myself after a particularly hard time I was going through. I walked into 180 The Store in Tribeca and bought it. One of the charms is a deer antler and the other is a heart with a double cross and arrow through it. It symbolizes strength, love, peace, and progress.

I have to admit, I still enjoy shopping in my own closet. I found a bunch of stuff this summer that I hadn't worn in a few years, and I figured it was time to get back into it--I bought a pair of Ulla Johnson pants four years ago that were really cool. People say, 'Where did you get those?' I say, 'My closet. It's always fun to buy something that you know will stand the test of time.

I'm more about expressing my style and not worrying about what other people are doing. As I've gotten older, I've become more comfortable with who I am, the good, the bad, and the ugly, and I've learned to trust my instincts about what I want to wear and what I'm comfortable in.