NEW Aveda Enbrightenment™ Line

Aveda just launched a potently natural skincare line called Enbrightenment™ aimed at evening skin tone and reducing hyperpigmentation without hydroquinone.

I've been using the Enbrightenment cleanser, toner, serum and lotion.  (The thick mask and cream contain too many potentially pore-clogging emollients and thickeners for my comfort.)  In just two weeks, I've noticed an impressive evening of tone and a boost in luminosity.

The line is suited for every age and skin type: older women with sun spots, pregnant women with melasma, younger gals with post-acne hyperpigmentation.

Pretty factor: Enbrightenment's star ingredients are not one, but two, forms of stable vitamin C and mulberry extract, a natural melanin-inhibitor.  Every Enbrightenment™ product also contains antioxidant grape seed and rosemary extracts plus redness-reducing aloe.

My favorite product is the pearlescent, moussy Brightening Cleanser.  Being a rinse-off product, it won't lighten your skin much.  But it does silkily remove all makeup and dead skin cells thanks to gentle surfactants, organic aloe, and salicylic acid.

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

To buy: $35 to $52 at aveda.com and Aveda concept salons and spas nationwide

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.

Suki Exfoliate Foaming Cleanser

I recently bought Suki's Exfoliate Foaming Cleanser due to its rave reviews on Makeup.com—where it's 5-star rated and the No. 1-selling skin care product on the entire site. But I didn't buy confidently: Exfoliate Foaming Cleanser contains saponified olive oil (soap), and soap is often drying.

But not this cleanser. Like many reviewers, it left my face surprisingly soft and fresh-looking, and the pores on my nose were visibly smaller.  In the two weeks I've used this cleanser-scrub, my skin has been smoother, more even-toned and blemish-free. Here's why:

Pretty factor: Suki products are 100% natural—there isn't one synthetic ingredient in them. As a result, there is a decreased risk of irritation/reaction.  Rice flour and cane sugar, a natural alpha hydroxy acid, gently remove dead skin cells and increase cellular turnover to reduce zits, fine lines and acne scars.  Fresh herbs like soothing chamomile and pure, steam-distilled essential oils help to rejuvenate and heal the skin.

The cleanser comes in solid form.  To get it to foam up nicely, rub a quarter-size amount between your palms with a little warm water. Then gently massage it onto your face.  It's smells like fresh-squeezed lemonade and will leave your bathroom reminiscent of an organic juice bar!

Eco factor: Suki products are packaged in eco-friendly materials like recycled stock, vegetable ink and glass (never plastic). Suki supports fair trade, organic and biodynamic processing and local suppliers. Suki is also a member of numerous organizations including the Organic Consumer's Association, Breast Cancer Action and the Coalition for Consumer Information on Cosmetics for Responsible Medicine. All products are free of these these ingredients. No animal testing.

To buy: $24.50 at Whole Foods and sukipure.com

Ingredients

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

JASON Super-C Cleanser™ Gentle Facial Wash

When I decided to "green" my beauty, like my lifestyle, a few months ago, my first purchase was JASON's Super-C Gentle Face Wash. Its ingredients were nearly identical to Ole Henriksen's On the Go Cleanser, a best-selling wash when I worked at Sephora—but JASON's was half the price.

Pretty factor: Gentle surfactants—no drying sulfates—remove makeup and grime without stripping the skin. A 10% vitamin C concentration perks up skin and orange essential oil lends an amazing, fresh-sliced oranges scent, making it a perfect a.m. cleanser for those with combo, oily or acne-prone skin.

Eco factor: No parabens, petroleum, animal ingredients or animal testing

To buy: $10 at drugstore.com and Whole Foods