Green Options

Are you an aspiring model? Do you know one? Want to be a green model? Enter Project Green Search! www.projectgreensearch.com. Project Green Search is looking for the next green “it girl”:  The woman who wants to take a stand, get noticed, and align her career endeavors with her personal beliefs, to be an advocate for the environment, animal welfare, fair trade, and human rights.  She’s a model, spokesperson, host, brand ambassador and all around green model citizen, for progressive, sustainable, ethical companies, from fashion & beauty to cars & computers.  Are you the one? Entry for the 2009 competition period will be open until Sunday, October 11^th, 2009. Starting Monday, October 12^th, the general public will be able to view entrants online and vote for their favorite ten candidates.  All search contestants will be required to donate a minimum 10 hours volunteer time to an environmental non-profit of their choice.

Clary Sage Organics has been having blast this year! We loved their Spring offers and now for Summer the CSO team encourages us to: “Delight in spa and health treatments such as chair massage, rolfing, reflexology and more while shopping the wonderful assortment of organic clothing and taking part in our raffle.”

If you are interested in these special treats, please read on for details…

The girls spoke and Victoria’s Secret listened! Who among us hasn’t lusted after some of the sexy underpinnings I regularly drool over at Victoria’s Secret? Well now there’s another collection for you to covet, and holy moly, wait for it… it’s both organic & vegan!! PINK BODY is a unique and bold new move for this conventional retailer and they get a big gold star for paying attention to [...]

Looking to pass a little love along to your best friend, sister or co-worker this Valentine’s Day?  Alima has a perfect plan – send a collection of certified natural Alima Pure samples to a friend (for free)! For the next week when you place your order, just leave a note in the comments box with your friend’s name and address. They’ll send her three free samples of Alima colors chosen just for the occasion, along with a gorgeous card wishing her a Happy Valentine’s Day. If you like, let them know whether she’d prefer their light collection, or deep collection (both are quite wearable, so you can’t go wrong).

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:

Terri Bly lists the best natural lipstick on the market, according to celebrity makeup artist Christy Coleman.

I recently watched a video on Ecostiletto featuring Rachel Sarnoff & Josie Maran dishing on this mascara - in fact, not just chatting about its accolades but actually giving it the onion test. That’s right… the onion test. Translation: taking an everyday onion and chopping it with your eyes wide open. Unless you’re wearing safety goggles or have your eyes shut, this will usually produce streaming tears in the most hardened among us. The conventional mascara was a washout. Josie Maran’s mascara… not a smidge of mascara anywhere except on her lashes!

Recently featured on MSNBC, model and student of art & cosmetology, Spirit Demerson has long been concerned about the environment and interested in beauty.  She used to concoct her own natural fragrances, lotions & scrubs in her kitchen and she’s been the “go-to” beauty girl in her circle of friends, family & colleagues for years.  Frusterated about having to send them in a dozen different directions, she decided to open up shop online.  After years of research (and obsession) her dream of opening her very own “beauty lounge” came to fruition last month. 

If you recall I recently wrote about the emergence of a phenomenal number of organic & natural beauty products - 800 last year alone to be exact. That figure in and of itself is pretty impressive but more compelling for me is the way the formulation landscape is changing… dramatically. Gone are the days and the mindset of conventional wisdom dictating that if you use natural or organic skincare you’re selling yourself short somehow in the anti-aging stakes. If you didn’t already see it coming, consider yourself now informed. With all the revolutionary discoveries being made in green chemistry and an increasingly complex understanding of how to impact the very structure of skin, we’re entering a new era of…..

I’ve been a fan of California Baby products for quite some time. That said, I’m always on the lookout for other options as well. It doesn’t hurt to have a little variety in ones life!

We’ve recently stumbled upon Little Twig, a natural body & bath care line.

Kiss My Face was actually the first natural beauty company I ever tried.  It is a company I have known and trusted for twenty years, so I was excited to see they had introduced a kids collection. These products are free of artificial colors, fragrances, parabens, and SLS.  They are not tested on animals and contain natural ingredients such as tea tree oil, aloe, nettles, and burdock root. Each product features an endangered species, so children can learn about animals while they practice good hygiene habits.

My family has tested out seven of the nine new Kiss My Face Kids Collection.  The following product reviews combine my daughter’s and my own perspectives:

• Kiss My Face Kids Shampoo & Bodywash:  This product is very sudsy, which kids enjoy, and the bottle makes it very easy for children to use themselves promoting their independence.  My son, who has very sensitive skin, is able to tolerate this product, and my daughter was the one who discovered you squeeze the bottle to get the soap out.