Move over C.O. Bigelow Mentha Lip Shine! You've been blown out of the water (or, rather, off the shelves) by a new product on the market: Green by Nature™ Lip Glazes.
Like you, these glosses also contain pure peppermint oil to freshen breath and lightly plump the pout. But unlike you, they additionally contain real fruit oil for a uniquely yummy taste, are free of petroleum, and are loaded with 95% natural ingredients. Did I mention that they cost about 3 bucks less?
Pretty factor: I've tried a lot of glosses, but these are by far the best bang for your buck. To start, they contain expensive rosehip seed oil, which is rich in vitamin A and able to promote collagen production. Other top ingredients include shea butter, pistachio oil, avocado oil, and aloe leaf extract—which offer superb moisturization.
Eco factor: No parabens, petroleum, mineral oil, propylene glycol, or synthetic color and fragrance. The company is a member of 1% for the Planet, an alliance of businesses that give at least one percent of their annual sales to environmental organizations.
September 22, 2008
NEW Target-Sold Line: Green by Nature™ Lip Glazes
September 11, 2008
Kiss My Face Lemon Verbana Organic Shower Gel & Body Scrub
Most beauty editors have products that they'll easily plunk down big bucks for (usually shampoo and skincare) and those that they'll—shock—slip into the drugstore to get. Shower gels and scrubs fall into this latter category for me. I'm not going to spend two meals' worth of money on them when no one has ever said, "Wow, you have such smooth, sexy kneecaps!"
Besides, I excitedly snatched up Nude's $52 Moisturising Body Polish at a beauty sale at work a couple months ago only to discover that it had the cohesiveness of a dry muffin. When I tried to smooth it on my arms, chunks came flying off. I have a hard time remembering my name and location most mornings; I don't need to bump into shower walls, picking up chunks of "damn $52 body scrub" (that is now sitting by itself in a corner of my shower, like a kid in timeout).
Last week, a co-worker who runs a blog called Beauty Maverick gave me Kiss My Face's Lemon Verbana Organic Shower Gel & Body Scrub. And it's perfect. Here's why:
Pretty factor: This two-in-one cleanser/scrub contains mild surfactants to clean without stripping, jojoba spheres to exfoliate without harshness, and aloe and chamomile to soothe. Real lemon extract, orange flower and lemongrass waters give a subtle, energizing scent that's perfect for morning.
Eco factor: It contains organic botanicals and no parabens, synthetic colors, or phenoxyethanol (a preservative commonly found in lesser-priced natural products that can be drying). No animal testing either.
September 4, 2008
The Republican National Convention and "Drill, Baby, Drill!"
This post is 24 hours late, but I have a full-time job in addition to Eco*Pretty and can't keep quiet on this one topic, so it'll have to be better late than never. I know this is a touchy discussion and that I risk offending some readers. But journalists aren't—and shouldn't be—a people to go quietly into the night.
Wednesday night's Republican National Convention made me want to drink gin out of the cat dish, as my favorite writer, Anne Lamott, would say. The pugnacious Giuliani-Palin combination and their crowds had me slumped over on the couch, not knowing whether to pray or make a cold compress.
Republicans confound me. (And I say this as a political moderate and practicing Christian.) I have a hard time understanding a people with such jolly, cherubic faces and frequent invocations of God who can hurl insults with a ferocity that would make the devil blush. Obviously, mud-slinging comes from both political parties. But comparing the speeches of the two conventions, negativities from the Democrats seemed more like rational critiques instead of mean-spirited attacks. Palin's put-down of Obama's "community organizing" on Chicago's South Side was particularly low. She clearly knows nothing about the neighborhood, which is exponentially more tough, diverse and populous than Wasilla and Juneau combined.
But more than any other moment during the evening's unsubstantial pit bull fest, I was appalled at all the signs and chanting of "Drill, baby, drill! Drill, baby, drill! Drill, baby, drill!" I felt as sad as I did at the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington D.C., watching the black and white footage of Nazi rallies before a dumb, cheering crowd that knows not what it supports.
Maybe I'm reading the wrong articles, but every news report I've come across about drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) has said that 1) it won't lower gas prices and 2) the oil from the area would last us a pathetically short time. Not to mention, of course, that it would destroy wildlife. Remember 1989's awful Exxon Valdez oil spill? I was only a fifth-grader when it happened, but I can still see the images of lifeless, oil-soaked birds and otters.
Drilling in the ANWR would be like pouring vinegar on a limb that needs to be amputated; a quick fix but not even that. We need to rapidly work to end not only foreign oil dependence but dependence on oil period. More time, energy, and money should be spent researching and developing cleaner, lasting sources of energy. This just seems like common sense.
September 1, 2008
NEW Origins Organics Totally Pure Deodorant
For me, and maybe for many of you, finding a natural deodorant that works has ranked just below finding the fountain of youth. I had nice results with Kiss My Face's Liquid Rock, but its ho-hum scent left me desiring more.
Origins knew better. It packed its new Totally Pure Deodorant with odor-neutralizing, bacteria-killing essential oils. It left my underarms smelling blissfully like one of their boutiques for several hours during a hot, active trip to Boston this past weekend. My friend used it as well and was similarly impressed. Like every natural deo' I've used, I do have to re-apply once during the day. But this one's irresistible scent and spray form (no white streaks on shirts!) place it above the others.
Pretty factor: The woodsy, masculine smell of organic clove and ylang ylang, combined with the more feminine-scented lavender and palmorosa essential oils create an alluring, unisex scent that works for both men and women. White willow bark exfoliates underarms and keeps pores clean.
Eco factor: Organic ingredients; no aluminum, parabens, petrochemicals, or synthetic colors and fragrances
Posts
