Green Options

This past weekend Planet Botanicals new products were seen in celebrity swag bags at DPA’s Pre-Emmy 2008 Style Lounge Retreat at the Luxe Hotel in LA.  This week, you can find their new ECOCERT-certified organic and sustainably sourced skincare collection making their debut at Henri Bendel in New York.  Media, retailers and consumers are invited to the exclusive one-week trunk show to meet founder Michele Gilfoil, learn about the new certification and sample Planet Botanicals’ unique product line featuring luxurious organic body oils and balms made with Baobab Oil, rare East African Shea Butter from Uganda, Marula, Kalahari Melon and Moringa oils.  The entire product line is certified organic and natural by ECOCERT and features rare plant oils and artisan-distilled aromatic flower extracts from Africa and around the world.

Yes to Carrots introduces a body care line that includes shampoo, body wash, ultra luxe moisturizers and even FIrst USDA certified lip balms widely available at your local drugstore. Using materials only sourced from Organic farmers, Yes to Carrots use natural ingredients like Carrots rich in beta carotene and Dead Sea mud and minerals. Their products are rich and creamy; unlike many organic beauty products that smells herbally and a bit crunchy granola. At first, I was a bit taken back at its unherbal like scent; but soon enjoyed it smooth creaminess that borders on luxurious. C Through the Dry Spell Body Butter is incredibly moisturizing even to my very very dry almost arid skin.

Two notably unsuited words to be found in the same product title, but this line of natural fake tan products from Lavera is not your average fake tan. Having spent more than my fair share of time exposed to UVA & UVB over the years (and doing my part to hold up the share price of coconut oil companies in the process), I decided years ago that’s enough! Not normally comfortable with being referred to as engaging in fake anything, this is one instance where I’m actually proud of the fact. Understanding more about the dangers of sun exposure and not being able to deny any longer that this can actually kill you, while being unwilling to be pasty white for the rest of my life, it became a mission to find the best natural fake tan. Here it is … a sunless tanning solution for all you savvy girls who are no longer sun worshippers, but don’t want to give up looking like you went to Ibiza for the long weekend!

Futurenatural is the ultimate modern-cool-stylish beauty emporium. Hailed as the new ‘Sephora’ for the savvy organic and natural set, they represent everything from cult classics to boutique lines. The product selection is perfectly edited, beautifully curated and most are thoughtfully designed to consider the environment. I’m excited because they’ve just unveiled some exciting new additions to their line-up including Baby Bear Shop (the gorgeous go-to organic brand for mama’s & babies), 100% Pure Fruit Pigment Lip Gloss (a cult fave), Yes (the first and only certified organic personal lubricant), Shobha (hair removal based on ancient indian rituals) Jimmyjane Porcelain Massage Stones, Suki Skincare-To-Go (now in handy travel or trial sizes) and more.

It’s well known how excited I get when I come across super cool design combined with products that work, and messaging that’s not just hype. Enter my latest obsession!

Face Boutique was created by some savvy, hip London girls who went searching for skincare specifically for young skin with issues, and surprise surprise … they couldn’t find any. At least none that met their mandate for a great aesthetic, divine smell, formulations that worked better than anything else out there, and most importantly contained nothing harmful. Three years in the making with a group of highly qualified experts and voila! Face Boutique was born.

Check out some of the BEST Labor Day Weekend Sales going on right now…

Eco-Fashion Steals:

Equita: 50% off regularly priced merchandise through 8/31 with promo code MUDANZA.

Beklina: up to 50% off sale

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This is probably a little too much information but as a girl who has no cleavage and has always secretly envied well-endowed ladies, when I first heard about Perfect Cleavage I thought I’d died and gone to heaven! However, before you get too excited this is not one of those “we’ll increase your bust size from a 34a to a 34c in 4wks” kinda creams. Sorry girls, if you want that kind of miracle it’s off to boob job land for you. However, if you love what you have and just want to keep your decollete looking gorgeous, this might be the answer. The skin on our neck and chest area is almost as delicate as our faces and is particularly prone to sun damage, however it’s one realm that’s often neglected in our beauty routines.

Have I mentioned I’m a lip balm addict??? Yes, I do confess.  I have more lip balms than I can count on two hands, but you won’t find me recommending every lip product on the planet. Because frankly, I do have my standards.  They must not be greasy, disappear in a few minutes or be filled to the brim (or at all) with any petrochem nasties, artificial color or flavor. 

But this is not a balm or gloss, it’s a lip conditioner perfect when in need of a little (or a lot) on-the-go pampering!  When you’re in a suit or a cocktail dress, do you really want to be seen pulling out your ninety-nine cents tube of (hopefully not petroletum filled) lip balm? I didn’t think so.  Why?

Usually very skeptical about so called miracle creams that promise the world and deliver a back-water in the middle of nowhere, the Shrink To Fit cream from Mama Mio actually lives up to it’s rep. Now before I wax rhapsody about this cream a reality check is in order. Don’t think you can skip the gym, become a couch potato and think this will miraculously deliver you from the loss of tone and gaining of weight you’ll get. What you can expect from this sink-in-quick serum is a formula that’s packed with radically effective ingredients to help reduce the appearance of cellulite, restore elasticity, reduce water retention and sponginess, and increase firmness. How you ask?

Raffaele Ruberto founded Mod.Skin Labs, LLC in 2006. Two years is not long ago, yet seemingly perfect timing for a rather new awareness of conventional personal care product hazards. After all, the certification journey of organic foods was a battle in itself. The debate over whether skin care formulations could hold shelf-life with organic and natural ingredients followed.

I was talking to one of the leading ladies in “green” spas, Sara or Sara Elizabeth Skincare in San Diego, a couple of weeks ago when she let me in on a little secret…one of my FAVORITE skincare products (you know, the ones that you want to be blissfully ignorant about if they aren’t good for you) is actually more amazing than I ever knew.

In fact, she is guessing that these raw botanical products are the wave of the future for eco-conscious estheticians.