Its safe to say most of us are cluching our wallets tighter these days and for those of us who refuse to compromise quality and purity in our beauty products despite these economic times, there is hope!  Follow one or all of these tips below to avoid falling victim to cheap and toxic beauty buys in the name of saving a buck.  

1). Open Your Cupboard

Keep it simple and affordable by getting back to the basics.  Know exactly what you’re putting on your skin and you’ll save some dough in the process:

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Lately I’ve noticed there have been questions as to why Madonna has been gracing the cover of green articles this season. The recent Elle article online left me searching for more answers about her new documentary and I soon discovered the reason she is gracing a magazine cover holding up a globe is because Madonna has recently produced and narrated the new film “I Am Because We Are.” This groundbreaking superstar-lead film is a documentary about AIDS orphans in Malawi. The new movie will be screened in its entirety at Cannes 2008. More

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According to Nielsen ratings, however, the three-hour special on NBC only received 2.7 million viewers and was the least-watched U.S. program on Saturday night. A total of 19 million people watched at least 6 minutes on NBC, CNBC, Telemundo, Sundance Channel, Bravo, MSNBC, and Universal HD. The event also occurred during the July 4th weekend, when most people usually aren't watching TV.

There has been skepticism about the event and its performers as it required many artists to fly to the events, some in private jets, and could have created more CO2 as a result of the concert. Al Gore has defended the cause as a start of a 3-5 year program with a message that reached out to 2 billion people across the world. While some celebrities such as Sting and Cameron Diaz take active participation in helping with the efforts, others may not. Madonna and Black Eyed Peas both performed new songs that they wrote for the event. The goal is that with the help of the celebrities, more people will be aware of the issues and even the celebrities that attended and performed at Live Earth learned a lot about the issues. Whether or not, the concert really made a difference is really hard to judge. What are your thoughts?

Sources:
Newsday.com
Foxnews.com

Sure I may feel ill the second I've finished, but whether you're hung-over after a night of organic red wine, or simply want the toy in the Happy Meal – a little McyD’s never hurt.

They must put some crazy chemicals in their buns, even Angelina Jolie has trouble passing one up. At her Marie Claire photo shoot Angelina was served a luscious organic orgy of a meal, in respect for her environmental awareness – and she didn’t touch it. She sent her assistant across the street for a Big Mac. With all respect to our green ways, I suppose we can give her a break. I oddly respect her for that.

Live Earth ticket prices were released on Ticketmaster, prices range from a mere $53 to an astounding $348, for what appears to be the biggest-party-ever held this July 7th.

"Live Earth will use the global reach of music to engage people on a mass scale to combat our climate crisis. Live Earth will bring together more than 150 of the world's top musicians for 24-hours of music from 7 concerts across all 7 continents. Live Earth will bring together an audience of more than 2 billion at the concerts and through television, radio, film, and the Internet…led by Vice President Al Gore. Kevin Wall, Worldwide Executive Producer of Live 8, is producing Live Earth."

Check out the list rocking out in London:

BEASTIE BOYS, BLACK EYED PEAS, BLOC PARTY, CORINNE BAILEY RAE, DAMIEN RICE, DAVID GRAY, DURAN DURAN, FOO FIGHTERS, GENESIS, JAMES BLUNT, JOHN LEGEND, KEANE, MADONNA, PAOLO NUTINI, RAZORLIGHT, RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS, SNOW PATROL.

Queen Elizabeth II is ordering an environmental, first-ever audit of carbon emissions from her three official residences. According to the article: Green measures already taken by the palace include converting all vehicles of state used by the Queen - plus a London taxi driven by her husband Prince Philip - to run on LPG (liquefied petroleum gas). However, this is the first time an official environmental audit has taken place. The results will not be made public.

Orlando Bloom is featured on the cover of Elle's May “green issue” and he had some very refreshing things to say in his interview, aside from women and films. On speaking of his environmental activism, Bloom humbly replies, “I’m really not an expert on environmental matters,” Bloom says. “But I’m very passionate about the environment. And the more I learn about it, the more I realize that there are little things that everyone can do.’ For example, this week governor Arnold Schwarzenegger suggests we bring sexy into Green. "We have to make it mainstream. We have to make it sexy. We have to make it attractive so that everyone wants to participate," I think we all can do that.

"I love taking public transportation when I can and being with people because that's what I do, that's my job. When actors become famous, they become more solitary. But when you start losing touch with people, you lose touch with life." That my friends, is a wonderful statement from celebrity Hilary Swank, and after the devastating flop of The Reaping, she will be hopping on the bus in no time.

That’s cruel, I know, but she’s actually a pretty sweet girl. Swank was pulled over in Malibu this week on the PCH (anyone who has driven on that beautiful span of roadway knows its hard not accelerate). However, Swank got out of the ticket, not because of her celebrity status or a peak of busting cleavage (come on ladies, you’ve done it), but because she was a Good Samaritan. Apparently, the cop saw Swank help a lady with her groceries earlier that day (that lady happened to be the judge of Malibu). Well done, Hilary, well done.

Ecorazzi picked up an inspiring story on Martin Sheen; check out this picture.

Martin Sheen “crossed the line” yesterday when he and 39 other protesters traveled onto a Nevada Nuclear Testing Site near Las Vegas. The group was rallying for nuclear disarmament and peace. Nevada sheriff’s deputies were quick to hand out citations for the trespassing and held the group; including Sheen, for an undisclosed amount of time. Reports say there were 75-150 people present for the protest.

You have to check out this article from the green-friendly site LIME.com. They surveyed readers on ‘celebrities known for their support of healthy, green, and wellness causes, and about those in the public eye who've garnered headlines for their less than healthy lifestyles’:

Oprah is the "Queen of Healthy Living," as she tops the list (at 47%) on the question of which celebs have most helped Americans re-evaluate their own views on the importance of living a healthier and more balanced lifestyle. Lance Armstrong comes in at a healthy second with 37%, and Ozzy Osbourne (8%) and Tyra Banks (8%) are tied at the bottom of the list.

Sadly, 81% feel Britney Spears is the most in need of a life change. Is shaving your head, entering and exiting rehab, stalking your ex husband and swimming in a dream like state of reality really qualifications for this – because than I really need to evaluate my life. And after all — Halle Berry is shaving off her hair, joining the trend for her upcoming movie ‘Nappy Ever After’.

Oh and Madonna uses environmentally-friendly cloth diapers on her babies. I don’t know, I get it, I understand it… I just don’t know how that works. How do you clean them? I think that’s too far. We need biodegradable diapers. Or diapers that disintegrate instantly after usage occurs. Something like that – let’s all work on that for Madonna's sake.