Good news!  Angelina has an answer to that one too.  In this photo, you’ll notice that Angelina is devoid of any leather, but she is utilizing one style trick that can easily be transferred to the leather look.  This is her at the Academy Awards, can you pinpoint her secret weapon?

Read more of this story »

PHOTO BY PR PHOTOS

This season, if you’re going to try Angelina’s signature leather look, only in an eco-conscious kind of way, like we covered in Part I, you have got to pair it with the right pieces. A boyish $5 tee, like the one Angelina is wearing from her more rebellious days, is NOT going to do it. If you want to crash and burn in leather, the fastest way to do it is by teaming it up with grungy accents that make the entire look just plain gaudy. Doing this ensures a drab, ultra masculine get-up that is anything but flattering. The key to pulling off an edgy leather-anchored ensemble is to balance it with feminine tones and cuts.

Read more of this story »

PHOTO BY PR PHOTOs (Angelina Jolie in sexy black leather mini dress at Inglorious Bastards premiere) If there is one fall/winter garment Angelina Jolie knows how to work, it’s leather. In fact, aside from her lips, it’s probably the most well-known feature on her body.  And there is no doubt that, for fall 2009, leather is in. Unfortunately, the material stirs up about as much controversy as some of the larger-than-life celebrities that wear it. If you’re vegan, an animal rights activist, or just plain socially-conscious, leather is a material you’ve learned to live without…until now. Eco-fashion has finally caught up to demand and there are now ethical options for leather and leather-like clothing and accessories. In this 3-part series, I’ll give you the scoop on:

1.where to find ethical leather options
2.how to avoid looking gaudy in leather (no chaps for this lady!)
3.the #1 hottest, must-have leather piece that will pull any look together

Let’s start with exploring more ethical sources for leather…

Read more of this story »

When veteran celebrity makeup artist Christy Coleman decided to toss her top of the line makeup kit and use nothing but natural cosmetics on her clientele, she had no idea what would happen next. It was a risk, to be sure, showing up without the typical high-end makeup brands here clientele were used to. Furthermore, she had no book to peddle, no Makeup by Christy Coleman line to sell; she was doing this solely because she believed shunning the toxic chemicals in commercial cosmetics was the right thing to do.

But quietly swapping out her professional kit seemed insufficient, and thus Coleman created ChristyColeman.com to educate everyday consumers about the best natural and organic makeup and skin care products on the market.

Still, it wasn’t enough. She was consistently achieving gorgeous, high-fashion looks with nothing but natural products (click here to see her “natural portfolio”), something her peers thought was impossible. She knew she could make a bigger impact on the mainstream industry. So ChristyColeman.com underwent an extreme makeover.

Read more of this story »

Nominees included Janie Bryant, Costume Designer, Mad Men; Jo Katsaras, Emmy nominated Costume Designer for The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency; as well as Kim Martinez and Jennifer Kamrath, Emmy nominated Costume Designer and Supervisor, respectively, for The Librarian: Curse of the Judas Chalice.

Pictures courtesy Paige Donner

Read more of this story »

There’s more to bringing the beauty industry and green scientists together, all at one table, then might first meet the eye. By the time I presented our panel of beauty experts, moderated by Rachelle Carson Begley, last weekend in my Greening Hollywood: Guild by Guild seminar and workshop, I had learned a lot. I had learned more than just that Tarte has come out with a game-changing mascara called Lights, Camera, Lashes! and that O.P.I. had removed all three of the most harmful chemicals in their nail polish, and that Suki Pure has re-defined how to be profitable and committed to pure ingredients in the cosmetic industry.

Read more of this story »

Paige Donner, Founder of Greening Hollywood and EcoPreneur Salon; and Janine Johnson, Founder of GreenWave Enterprises Host EcoPreneur Salon at Marrakesh House, Culver City, May ‘09.

Paine, owner of Marrakesh House used Shellie Collier, noted LEED AP, as his green building consultant.

Paige Donner’s Greening Hollywood presented the EcoPreneur Salon with co-host Janine Johnson, founder of non-profit Greenwave Enterprises. “We recognize that global progress is unstoppable, what makes us different are our wholistic solutions vs. simply green solutions. Our solutions are green, sustainable, forward-thinking, and ever-changing,” states Johnson who is now touring with band Crystal Method.   Johnson’s day job is working for environmentally sustainable property developer Kalia Living whose eco-communities are centered in Costa Rica.

Read more of this story »

Timothy Martin, founder of the Izo Cleanze an all-natural juice cleanse, walked me through a 5-day juice cleanse or “fast” and offered some coaching along the way, which is documented here in our Moveable Juice Feast conversation.  Another option is Charisma Cuisine whose Victoria Wieszkowiak offers a 3-day juice fast which includes daily doses of fresh coconut juice, full of electrolytes.  Anyone who loves organic fruits and vegetables needs to stay up on two bills floating through Congress right now: H.R. 875 and especially H.R. 759.  Read up on them HERE.

For Springtime Regeneration and Renewal, nothing tops Raw Juice!

Read more of this story »

In Februrary 2009 mokugift started to see traffic coming from Elle magazine France.  This piqued our interest and decided to find the article.  It turns out that Marion Cotillard mentioned mokugift as one of her favorite sites along with L’alliance pour la planete.  We aren’t very familiar with the entertainment world, so we had to look up this name.  We were pleasantly surprised to find out that Marion won the best actress Oscar in for her role in 2007’s La Vie En Rose (remake).

Read more of this story »

Moments after sitting down in Rose Marie Swift’s very hip Manhattan loft, she surveyed my face, declared my blush was in need of an update, deftly pulled out one of her new lip2cheek stains, and within seconds I was sporting a healthy, rosy glow that looked natural and, if I do say so myself, quite lovely. By the time I left 60 delightful minutes later, Ms. Swift had given my eyes and lips similar transformations, and I strutted through Union Square looking and feeling like I had just received a makeover by one of America’s top makeup artists.

When the products arrived at my shop in St. Paul, however, I stared at them a bit helplessly and wondered just how I, a mere clinical-pschologist-turned-business-owner, could possibly recreate that same look with these cream-based blushes and shadows that were so different from the pressed powder variety I had used my whole life.

So I called Jessa Blades, a Manhattan-based makeup artist who worked alongside Rose Marie during Fashion Week and uses only natural cosmetics on her clientele (you can read all about Jessa here). She graciously offered some invaluable tips for getting the most out of rms beauty’s truly stunning color collection.

Read more of this story »

These hoteliers have given it some considerable thought and arrived at their  modern philosophy that, even though you’re a traveler, even though you’re away from home, you needn’t sacrifice your sense of well being nor suffer a disruption in your wellness regime.

“The owners of the hotel have me here as a liaison to help people remember how to take care of themselves,” Amber McMahon, Casa Del Mar’s Wellness Director, informs me.  She adds that the Sea Spa fully integrates the mind, body, spirit approach to wellness and services catering to all of these wellness needs are offered in their spa menu.

Read more of this story »

“The simple truth is that many beauty products are advertised as natural or organic when their ingredients are far from it. Many companies produce these “so-called” natural or organic  products by adding a few herbal extracts to a synthetic soup of polymers (plastics), silicones, petroleum (and its derivatives), artificial fragrances and colors, and other potentially harmful substances. They then market the product by focusing on the few clean ingredients, while disregarding the rest, hoping the consumer will do the same. The public is becoming more aware of this unethical marketing strategy (often called “greenwashing”), but unfortunately the practice is still widespread.” - Kirsten Binder, Saffronrouge.com

Last week, while in New York City, I purchased Josie Maran’s Earth Day Essentials kit. I had heard so much about her line from various friends and makeup artists - not to mention numerous beauty magazine and blogs - that I wanted to experience what everyone was raving about.

While sitting in the subway train, I glanced over the ingredients of the lip gloss, intending to give that one a whirl right away. But what to my wondering eyes should appear, but POLYBUTENE as the first ingredient on the list. I’m certainly no chemist; I don’t even make my own skin care products at home (yet). Nonetheless, I had read enough to be nearly certain that polybutene was a member of the petrochemical family. I put the gloss back in my bag until I could do a little more research. To put it mildly, what I found was much worse than I anticipated. 

Read more of this story »

TerraCycle

Soyeon is a classical concert pianist, with an impressive Julliard, Carnegie Hall performance history who may be the first to bring the eco-cause into the world of classical music. In her effort to bring classical music and environmental awareness together, she turned to husband and garbage-to-gold entrepreneur Tom Szaky, CEO of TerraCycle to help design the new CD cover for Reinvented. As it turns out, he had just come home with a sample of new composite board made from - yup, you guessed it - tossed out Frito Lay bags!

They thus created the first garbage-inspired, Frito-Lay CD cover. I have one and you can even see the name Frito on one of the tiny shreds!

The music is beautiful, but the real inspiration is the marriage (pun intended) of eco-clever re-use of garbage and musical artistry.

If there were a contest for eco-power-couple of the next generation, I would vote for these two.

One year ago, after watching her father lose his battle with Lou Gehrig’s disease and her 35-year-old friend receive a diagnosis of breast cancer for the third time, Christy decided it was time to make a change. Since early on in her career, she suspected the chemicals in the high-end makeup she used on her clients were potentially harmful; she had stopped wearing the stuff years ago. So she emptied her makeup kit and started over, this time filling it with nothing but natural cosmetics. If she was going to remain in the only career she had ever known or wanted, she could no longer use products containing the chemicals she suspected may have killed her father, or possibly contributed to the cancer haunting her friend.

Read more of this story »

I do just love trying a new (to me, I realize Nude has been around for a while) line of nontoxic skin care and the customer service at Nude was speedy and courteous.  My samples were sent out right away and I had them in my hot little hands no more than a few days after my initial contact.

Three products arrived for review; Miracle Mask, Age Defence Moisturiser and Replenishing Night Oil.  The Miracle Mask warned those of us with sensitive skin that it was not suitable for our type.  Being the skin care guinea pig that I so willingly am, and after a quick inspection of the ingredients label for any common triggers, I gave it a whirl anyway but avoided the five minute leave-on directions and went for a mere one minute, maybe.  Designed to brighten and smooth skin, the mask contains natural AHAs and I noticed the scent of fruit acids right away.  My skin did look rosy afterward, as if I had exfoliated with a mild scrub.

Read more of this story »

With several different products to choose from, including those for body and Classic Lavere, you are sure to find the perfect items to satisfy your particular skin care needs.  All Lavere anti-aging products are designed to soothe and strengthen the skin and contain cell stimulating and collagen production increasing ingredients, like chicory root extract, algae, and biodynes.

The products I tried are from the Intensive skin care line for dry and sensitive skin types.  I will say that Lavere products have always been a favorite and these are no exception.

Read more of this story »

Founder of Blades Natural Beauty, Jessa Blades is a natural makeup artist who works on photo shoots and fashion shows, helps brides looks their best on their big day and provides natural beauty consultation to a variety of clientele in New York City.  Last month she worked with celebrity makeup artist, Rose-Marie Swift at Fashion Week and is featured this month in Glamour magazine’s 70^th anniversary issue along with 69 other female eco-achievers.  She also works with Teens Turning Green and Project Green Prom. 

She believes we don’t have to sacrifice health for beauty and is intimately in-the-know about products that perform, yet won’t pollute our bodies.  “People are outraged when it comes to animal testing for cosmetics and I’m against it, but what about human testing?  Companies have been testing their products on women for years!!” 

Read more of this story »

But does the rocker know about the importance of safety in cosmetics?  He has been spotted of late wearing a healthy dose of the black stuff on the covers of Rolling Stone, SPIN, Q Magazine and at the Grammys and the Brits. 

Well, Bono, if you have yet to discover the health benefits of using nontoxic makeup and skin care, let me point you in the right direction.

Read more of this story »

This time, I woke up to read news about how today is the first day of Prince Charles’s South American environmental-themed tour. First country up: Chile. Among his activities he will participate in a round table discussion about global warming and also will attend a kick-off event for an energy efficiency campaign, all while along the side of conservation-credible Chilean President Michelle Bachelet. But the fun doesn’t end there.

Read more of this story »