Dr. Alkaitis Organic Oxygen Day and Night Crèmes

Post-Oscars and an evening studded with luminous celebrities, I thought it the perfect time to finally review Dr. Alkaitis Skin Care. Dr. Alkaitis is a physical chemist, molecular biologist, ethnopharmacologist (researcher of healing through plants) and a pharmacognosist (researcher of plants' medicinal properties) who has worked with four Noble Laureates.

He's also the founder of one of the best organic skin care lines in the world. Supermodels Gisele Bündchen, Karolina Kurkova and Angela Lindvall use his products as do numerous other celebrities who can't say so because they're under contract with large, cosmetics companies. You think vegan-eating, earth mama Gwyneth Paltrow really uses Estée Lauder skin care? Please. She likely has a bathroom full of high-end organic lines, including Dr. Alkaitis.

I instantly loved his Organic Day and Night Crèmes. No other moisturizer has absorbed so quickly or made my skin feel so fresh.

Pretty factor: Dr. Alkaitis products contain 100% biologically active plants with a base of soothing organic aloe vera gel instead of water. The Organic Day and Night creams have a light, whipped texture and absorb into the skin in seconds. Virgin, cold-pressed shea butter moisturizes, an organic herbal complex repairs, and antioxidant vitamins A, B, C and E fight aging.

Eco factor: Made of 100% organic ingredients from plants grown in-house. No chemicals, synthetics, trans-fats, genetically modified organisms, or animal testing

To buy: $53 and $54 at alkaitis.com

NEW Juice Beauty USDA Organic Facial Moisture Concentrate Review

There’s nothing better on a freshly exfoliated face than a really effective moisturizer, especially in January. I have normal to oily skin, so I’m hesitant to try oil-based products (even though they can actually reduce sebum production). But also, I’m afraid they'll take forever to absorb, making it a nightmare to apply my mineral foundation in the morning.

Still, I was excited to try the new USDA Organic Facial Moisture Concentrate from Juice Beauty. It didn't disappoint. It absorbed easily into my skin and I was astounded by how smooth and velvety it left my face—not at all greasy, even at midday.
Pretty Factor: This serum hydrates and plumps with fatty acids from organic plant oils, including evening primrose and borage seed. It regenerates skin tissue with cranberry, grape seed and carrot seed extracts plus helichrysum essential oil. As it warms in your hands you get a strong whiff of olive oil (one of the main ingredients), but as you apply the product to your face, you're left with the soothing aroma of geranium essential oil....

Tip: Use on slightly damp skin and warm in your palms before applying.
Eco factor: Juice Beauty's new USDA-certified organic collection contains over 95% organically produced ingredients and meets the National Organic Program's strict guidelines. No parabens, synthetic fragrances, petroleum derivatives, artificial dyes, harsh sulfates, or phthalates. Juice Beauty's facilities are solar-powered, their containers are made from recycled content, and they get many of their organic ingredients from small farmers.

To Buy: $36 at Sephora, Whole Foods and juicebeauty.com

—Jen from Skin Rhythm

Soothing Winter Skin and Rosacea: Evan Healy Blue Face Kit

For a while, I've wanted to write a post about the best regime for rosacea, the skin condition characterized by a flushed, ruddy face with visible blood vessels, bumps and/or pimples. (Bill Clinton is a celebrity example.) I don't have it, but a recent move to Chicago, which might as well be Antarctica during the winter—quickly prompted me to research non-comedogenic, moisturizing skin soothers. The recommendation: Evan Healy's Blue Face Kit.

The kit includes Evan Healy's gorgeous Blue Lavender Cleansing Milk, Rosehip Treatment Facial Oil, and Blue Chamomile Day Moisturizer. They contain steam-distilled blue chamomile and lavender essential oils to impressively calm redness and help regenerate damaged tissue and broken capillary veins (and smell exactly like freshly plucked chamomile and lavender flowers).

Ideal for: People with rosacea or ruddy, wind-burned or irritated skin.

Eco factor: Evan Healy products are beautifully pure—they don't contain a single synthetic ingredient, including parabens, petrochemicals, propylene glycol, filler/thickeners, sulfates, or fake colors and fragrances.

To buy: $27.95 for the kit at Whole Foods and evanhealy.com

NEW Jane Iredale Dream Tint SPF 15

It's finally happened. I've been hoping for a while that it would. About six months ago, I posted a comment on Jane Iredale's blog telling her how much I like her line (it's the crème de la crème of mineral makeup) and how I'd love for her to develop a tinted moisturizer with sunscreen. Well, she has.

Dream Tint SPF 15—which has a lovely, mousse-like texture—comes in five gorgeous shades plus a peach brightener (for pigmentation problems), lilac brightener (for sallow complexions) and a warm bronzer (for a sun-kissed glow).

Pretty factor: Lightweight shea butter, jojoba seed oil, and sunflower seed oil moisturize and give a fresh, dewy look without slight greasiness. Dimethicone (a main ingredient in face primers) fills in fine lines and large pores, creating a smooth, flawless canvas. White tea and titanium dioxide protect against free radical and sun damage, respectively.

Ideal for: all skin types, truly.

Eco factor: No talc, parabens, phthalates, bismuth oxychloride, or chemical dyes or fragrance. Jane Iredale recently instated a Green Team to help environmentalize the company and is building a new LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) office building!

To buy: $36 at janeiredaledirect.com and skinbotanica.com

The Best Lightweight Organic Moisturizers for Summer

As I started to write this post, I saw this news story about chemical sunscreens' harmful effect on aquatic life. What this means for you: Look for sunscreen and SPF moisturizers with zinc oxide and/or titanium dioxide!

Zinc oxide and titanium dioxoide are physical, as opposed to chemical, sunscreens and are gentler on skin—and, apparently, the planet. Even better: zinc oxide and titanium dioxide offer both UVA and UVB protection.

After researching lightweight natural moisturizers with sunscreen, I've come to my top two: Kimberly Sayer Ultra Light Facial Moisturizer SPF 25 and Juice Beauty Green Apple Moisturizer SPF 15.

Kimberly Sayer Ultra Light Facial Moisturizer SPF 25 ($32) goes on so smoothly and sinks right in.  It contains glycerin and shea butter—which beautifully moisturize without clogging your pores—plus antioxidant vitamins A, C and E and soothing aloe.

Juice Beauty Green Apple Moisturizer SPF 15 ($38) has an uplifting, citrus aroma that's perfect for summer—it contains organic lemon juice to lightly exfoliate and brighten. (After a few weeks, your skin will glow like Cate Blanchett's.) Its nutrient-rich lineup includes organic aloe and green tea extract plus rosehip seed, evening primrose and jojoba oils. Despite the plant oils, this also quickly absorbs and leaves no white cast.

Aveda Green Science Firming Skincare Review

Aveda has launched a new anti-aging, firming skincare line called Green Science that could easily go head-to-head with any "high-tech" department store brand. The line is composed of a firming face and eye cream, a lifting serum, and intensive line-minimizers packaged in cool, tiny tubes. According to the press release, clinical results show a 41% more lifted appearance and a 37% reduction in the appearance of lines and wrinkles.
Pretty factor: After water, the main ingredients in all four products are rosemary leaf extract and spike moss. Rosemary is a potent antioxidant that's also thought to stimulate blood circulation.  Spike moss helps rebuild the skin's barrier while glucosamine, organic argan oil, and peptides renew and plump the skin.

I've been using the Lifting Serum for 2 weeks and love how it tingles on application and gives my face a healthy, rosy flush. 

Ideal for: normal, dry and mature skin

Eco factor: Aveda has been dedicated to environmental responsibility long before "green" entered the public vernacular and every other celebrity drove a Prius. Its manufacturing facility in Minnesota is powered entirely by wind energy, and its cosmetics contain organic, sustainably sourced, fair trade ingredients. Products come in 80 to 100% post-consumer recycled cartons. . No parabens, phathlates, petro ingredients, or animal testing.

To buy: $45 to $85 at Aveda concept salons and spas nationwide

Perianne Skin care: Fall/Winter line

I'm giddy about this new line—it combines two of my favorite things: beauty products and seasonal food! Perianne Skin care, the brainchild of a Brooklyn-based woman named Cora Michael, is inspired by the changing seasons and their effects on the skin.

There are two lines: Fall/Winter, composed of a milky cleanser, gentle toner and a rich face cream, and Spring/Summer, composed of a foaming cleanser, more purifying toner and a light facial lotion. Women with dry or mature skin can use the Fall/Winter line year-round and those with exceptionally oily or acneic skin can use the Spring/Summer line year-round. Or, of course, you can combine items. Creamy cleansers aren't cleansing enough for my oily skin, but I've been using the Fall/Winter toner and rich face cream with MyChelle's White Cranberry Cleanser and have had impressively softer, more supple skin.

Pretty factor: Perianne Skin Care products are loaded with herbs, essential oils, botanical extracts, including amazing-smelling seasonal ingredients. For example, the Fall/Winter line contains pumpkin seed oil (rich in skin-plumping omega-3 and -6 fatty acids), cranberry seed oil (high in vitamin A, which promotes cellular turnover), and fennel essential oil (reduces inflammation and detoxifies).

Eco factor: Organic ingredients and no parabens, petrochemicals, harsh surfactants (sodium lauryl/laureth sulfate), or synthetic colors and fragrances.

To buy: $20 for the cleanser and toner and $40 for the cream at perianneskincare.com

Juice Organics Brightening Moisturizer

If you're thinking that this packaging looks a heckuva lot like Juice Beauty's, you're right. Juice Organics is the drugstore version of Juice Beauty, the certified organic skincare line sold at Sephora. There's minimal difference between the two brands' ingredients—and JO's prices are half of JB's.

I've been using Juice Organics's Brightening Cleanser for several weeks and it works. My face is two shades lighter. Seriously. If you have to pick between the cleanser and the moisturizer, though, go with the moisturizer. Because it stays on longer, it'll be more effective.

Pretty factor: Know how you can use lemon juice and hot water to get rid of scum and mineral deposits in the kitchen or bath? Well, it does a similar job on the face. Juice Organics products contain organic lemon juice, whose natural hydroxy acids exfoliate, detoxify pores, and help fade age spots and red marks from acne. Malic acid from apple juice and glycolic acid from sugar cane additionally exfoliate. Aloe leaf juice alleviates any redness that might result from the acids and honey moisturizes. The moisturizer is also loaded with antioxidants including green tea, coenzyme Q10, and alpha-lipoic acid.

Ideal for: All skin types

Eco factor: Juice Organics products are made with 100% certified organic ingredients. No parabens, synthetic fragrances, petroleum derivatives, artificial dyes, harsh sulfates, or phthalates. Juice Organics has a strict no animal testing policy and contains vegetarian ingredients.

To buy: $9.99 for the cleanser, $14.99 for the moisturizer; at Ulta stores, Ulta.com and juiceorganics.com

Ingredients: cleanser moisturizer

Clark's Botanicals Skin Lightening Kojic Cream

It's Fashion Week here in New York, which means parties upon parties. After reading about Clark's Botanicals in a recent issue of Vogue, I wanted to check out the brand. I got lucky when an editor-friend invited me to a PR party for Clark's last night.

The event was co-sponsored by the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation (actor-party boy Wilmer Valderrama was there for some reason). This month, a percentage of sales from Clark's Skin Lightening Kojic Cream will go the CDRF. To learn why, read this short article on CB's tragedy-turned-blessing origins.

Pretty factor: Unlike hydroquinone, a chemical skin bleacher that's banned in Europe and most of Asia because it's absorbed into the blood stream and causes mutations in lab animals, kojic acid safely and naturally lightens the skin. Derived from a fungus, it inhibits the production of melanin as effectively as hydroquinone, and you don't have to stop using it after 2 months (as you do with hydroquinone).

Ideal for: Anyone with pigmentation problems, e.g. sunspots/liverspots or red marks left over from zits.

Eco factor: No parabens, phthalates, petroleum or mineral oil.

To buy: $85 at clarksbotanicals.com

Ren Matte Balancing Fluid Review

If only they would've had Ren's Matte Balancing Fluid when I was in high school—my face wouldn't have looked like the government should drill for oil on it instead of in the Middle East! This ultra-clean moisturizer provides a light, matte finish and makes my oily skin miraculously less shiny throughout the day.

Pretty factor: Instead of plain H2O, its main ingredient is lavender flower water, which inhibits bacteria, normalizes sebum production and gives a delicate, lovely scent. Flavonoids in mayblossom and salicilin in willow bark extract (where we get salicylic acid) reduce pore size, normalize oil production and provide anti-microbial protection. Japanese konjac root disperses sebum away from the T-zone to drier areas, while blue cypress oil and chamomile calm redness.

Ideal for: combination skin. It contains cetearyl alcohol, a mildly comedogenic ingredient that could be problematic for acneic skin.

Eco factor: No petrochemicals, sulfates, parabens, phthalates, synthetic fragrance or colors, T.E.A., D.E.A., propylene glycol, silicones, PEGS, animal ingredients or animal testing. U.K.-based Ren donates 2.5% of its profits to environmental organizations.

To buy: $45 at Sephora stores and sephora.com

Ingredients

Aveda Inner Light Tinted Moisture SPF 15 Review

If you can't be bothered with the moisturizer-then-makeup process in the a.m. or you find mineral powders drying (me: both of the above), hit up a tinted moisturizer. I'm loving Aveda Inner Light Tinted Moisture SPF 15 , which gives excellent, luminous coverage.

Pretty factor: Mica, malachite and tourmeline gemstone create a flaws-reducing "soft focus," while jojoba gives dewy hydration. Lavender extract provides astringent and anti-bacterial properties, and Japanese knotweed—which contains the potent antioxidant resveratrol (also found in the skin of red grapes and in red wine)—prevents aging.

Eco factor: Aveda has been dedicated to environmental responsibility long before "green" entered the public vernacular and every other celebrity drove a Prius. Its manufacturing facility in Minnesota is powered entirely by wind energy, and its cosmetics contain organic, sustainably sourced, fair trade ingredients. The tinted moisturizer, like many Aveda goods, comes in a 100% post-consumer recycled carton. No phathlates, petro ingredients, or animal testing.

To buy: $25 at aveda.com and Aveda salons and spas nationwide