Green Options

Terri Bly, green beauty maven and president of The Nature of Beauty, offers some suggestions for prioritizing purchases when switching from commercial to non-toxic beauty products.

It’s not all about the skin and hair, we have to keep those pearly whites in top form as well.  But, as you have probably noticed, it is difficult to find toothpaste in your favorite super market or drugstore aisles that are not full of unwanted ingredients – like added fluoride, whiteners, Sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) and chemical preservatives.  Not only are these ingredients unnecessary, they are harmful to your health.

Saffron Rouge has lovely eye beauty offers like these Dr.Hauschka eco eyeshadows. “Highlight, define and enhance the natural beauty of your eyes with these nurturing shadows…Perfect for even extremely sensitive skin, the natural formula is made with smooth Silk and talc powder for even coverage and Anthyllis and Black Tea extracts to nurture delicate skin. ”

Dr.Hauschka has now replaced their eye shadow duo sets with nine individual colors that can be matched and mixed.

Ready for a skin smoothing, luxuriously scented treat for warm weather skin?  Then it must be Suzanne aux bains Nourishing Body Millk ($30).  Lightly scented with Chamomile, Lavender and Incense essential oils, this creamy-dreamy body lotion is a sweet little indulgence for the skin.

The first time I used Suzanne aux bains Nourishing Body Milk I really didn’t put much thought into it, until later that is.  I  received a sample sachet and quickly applied some of the lotion to my arms and shoulders on the way out the door.  Later, as I was getting ready for bed, I couldn’t help but notice how soft and smooth my arms were, and had to think back to even remember what I had put on them.  Well, needless to say, I purchased a tube the very next day.

In drier winter months a body cream or butter provides us with a thicker, richer form of hydration for the skin.  In warmer seasons we need to switch to something lighter and more regenerative.  Suzanne aux bains uses Jojoba oil for deeply penetrating hydration and Lavender honey to gently exfoliate the skin.

Pictured above is a collage I made inspired by the site Saffron Rouge shopping muse and her Luxury Body Bar picks from Living Nature in New Zealand. These beautiful and luxurious handcrafted soaps are blended with natural New Zealand ingredients to leave skin cleansed, refreshed and revitalized. Three unique, lightly scented bars blend organic olive, palm and coconut oils to delicately nurture and replenish skin:

• The Nourishing Body Bar softens skin with Kowhai flowers.
• The Purifying Body Bar refreshes skin with Manuka honey.
• The Invigorating Body Bar energizes skin with Harakeke (New Zealand flax) seeds.

The issue of lead in lipsticks hit the headlines last year after the Campaign For Safe Cosmetics (CSC) published research claiming that many popular lipsticks contain unacceptably high levels of the poisonous metal. Responding to these concerns, Democratic politician Carole Migden introducted a bill requiring lipstick producers in California to prove that their products had been tested and only naturally occuring, unavoidable traces had been found.

The bill has been shot down by Attorney General, Edmund Brown, who concluded that concentrations would have to reach 5ppm (parts per million) to be considered dangerous, and the maximum traces found in the CSC testing were 0.65ppm. The bill that Senator Migden brought forward suggested the minimum allowable should be 0.002ppm (which is far below the traces found in all the lipsticks tested by CSC). So where does that leave us? Nowhere.