Let’s say you’re new to the whole eco-friendlier beauty thing. You finished reading Not Just A Pretty Face, and are motivated to chuck your leaded lipstick, plasticized foundation and petroleum-packed moisture cream with plans to replace them all with gorgeously green glamour.

And then you start shopping, and quickly get overwhelmed. Where to start? What to buy? How to prioritize? How to make it happen while still having enough money to eat?

As with pretty much everything I do, my approach to greening my beauty kit was fairly melodramatic; in short, I spent outrageous amounts of money replacing everything all at once. I do not necessarily endorse this strategy, and neither does my credit card statement, so if you are saner than I am and want to pace yourself as you green your makeup bag, here are a few tips to help you prioritize your purchases:

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I like to think I’m not the only woman who kept an eye and ear on constant alert for the various Bonus Time events at the cosmetic department of Macy’s (and Nordstrom’s, Bloomingdale’s, you get the idea). Like a July mosquito to the bug zapper, I was drawn in each and every time to the big sign displaying the funky little cosmetic bag next to little tubes of lipstick and other novelties. It didn’t matter that I already had 42 bags containing half-used eye makeup remover from previous Bonus Time affairs; if it was happening, I immediately felt compelled to participate.

So it’s really no surprise that I created one for The Nature of Beauty. As they say, once an addict….But I wanted to make this one a bit more meaningful, to give me and you a legitimate excuse to get excited about this particular Bonus Time.

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I love “best of beauty” awards. For years, I saved every issue of InStyle’s Best Beauty Buys, relying on their picks to guide me through the overwhelming selection of pretty shiny things at Sephora. Now that the big mags have added green beauty awards, I scoop those up without hesitation, but am always disappointed at the choices. While each winner is certainly more natural than its mainstream counterpart, it often contains far more synthetics than I’m comfortable with. So what is an eco-girl to do when she wants to find the best chem-free cosmetics?

She contacts a bunch of natural beauty experts and creates Feelgood Style’s first annual Emerald Awards.

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I have a confession to make: For the last 6 months, I was wearing mascara that I didn’t actually sell on my website or in my store. Although I had used all of them, and really liked several, I came across a natural mascara from France a while back that simply blew the others out of the water. I couldn’t go back; thus, when people would ask me which mascara I recommended, I had to a) give them my #2 and #3 choices whilst pretending I knew of nothing better (because the odds of there being a spa carrying the brand in your area were exceedingly slim, so why torture you); b) mumble something about wearing a natural mascara that I would be selling some day, or c) quickly change the subject.

No longer must I select from 3 unhappy options when asked about the best natural mascara. I bring you Couleur Caramel’s natural, eco-cert certified, how-long-oh-lord-how-long-have-I-waited-for-this mascara.

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