NATURAL COSMETIC BLOG

Wearing false lashes is a fun way to make your eyes stand out and command attention in a dramatic way. But putting them on can be quite a tricky process. Check out this video by one of my favorite makeup bloggers as she shows you an easy way to get those lashes to stick and look great.

http://www.organiccosmeticsonline.com

As you come on this organic journey with me, and over time learn the ingredients found in regular cosmetics versus organic, it's interesting to note that the cosmetic industry thrives with virtually no regulation. The FDA lets them parade about, including whatever ingredients they wish in your deodorant, shampoo, and makeup. So that means that there were no pre-market testing or health studies conducted before the products were placed on the shelves.

The nonprofit Environmental Working Group aims to bring public awareness to these issues. One way they have done this is by discovering that ingredients deemed by the US government as known carcinogens are in 1 out of 120 personal care products. This means that 1 in every 13 women is exposed carcinogenic materials every single day through the use of these products.

Those are horrifying statistics. That is why it is so very important to be an informed consumer and know what is in your products!!

Exfoliating your skin is an important step in your skin care routine that is often the most overlooked in the process. It's important to exfoliate because your skin develops new skin cells every 2-4 weeks, and then the dead skin cells on top will need to slough off in order to allow the newer skin cells to flourish and breathe. If this process is done perfectly, you will have a constant rotation of new skin cells always on the top layer of your skin, providing you with a young and heathly complexion.

However most of the time, these dead skin cells do not get sloughed off and end up clogging your pores and inhibiting the new skin cells from doing their job. Avoid this nastiness by exfoliating once a week to keep your skin healthy.

How to exfoliate:

Dampen your skin
Put some of the exfoliating cream on your fingertips, and gently massage your face in small, circular motions
Rinse skin thoroughly
Follow with a moisturizer

You can see it's quite simple! Here's a great exfoliating product full of sandalwood and grapefruit seed extract to soothe your skin.

One of the major causes of our skin looking aged and weary is the loss of collagen in our face. When our cells aren't functioning properly, they lose their ability to regenerate collagen, and therefore our skin suffers because of it.

Antioxidant Facial Oil Mukti is a really great product to reverse those signs of aging. The oils are nourishing and increases your skin's elasticity because of ingredients like pomegranate and evening primrose. With its moisture retention properties, it can be a great tool for fighting wrinkles and maintaining a supple and fresh appearance.

To use, apply in the evening after cleansing and toning. Squeeze a few drops onto your fingertips and gently press into your face and neck. Also great to use for facial massages and to remove eye makeup. It's best to use at night because of the lavender and sandalwood oils, which will calm your skin and relax your muscles.

Let me know how you like this product if you decide to try it out! I'm especially interested in the eye makeup remover part, as I can never seem to fully remove my waterproof mascara.

I recently spoke on our other blog of organic packaging and how it goes hand in hand with organic products.

Well check out this company: Megaplast. They have recently engineered a new kind of dispenser specifically for organic products. Their Self-Sealing Actuator System “protects products from impurities and contamination through a membrane in the pump’s orifice that automatically seals once the formula has been dispensed. This prevents the product from coming into contact with oxygen, thereby reducing contamination, discoloration and product dry-out, and ultimately, increasing shelf life and effectiveness.”

Since organics have a short shelf-life anyway, this is great news for us!

Synthetic fragrances can have up to 200 ingredients, just contained in that one label. There is no way to know what exactly they are either, since by law the manufacturer does not have to specify.

However this seemingly innocent word can cause a host of problems physically: vomiting, dizziness, nausea and skin irritations to name a few. These petrochemicals have also been known to trigger asthma.

This can turn into a huge problem if you work in an enclosed office space with multiple women who wear synthetic fragrances. Often the only way to remedy the situation is to step outside for some fresh air. If you find yourself in this situation, discuss with your colleagues the option of switching to essential oils as a fragrance staple.

A common complaint among women is dealing with puffy eyes after not getting enough rest. There are many ways to alleviate this problem with cosmetics, but I bet you never thought about using something from your root vegetable bowl. Next time, try a potato! Not kidding. Just slice up a raw spud and put it on your eyelids for an instant puffiness reduction.

Maybe you have swollen feet? Get a box of dehydrated mashed potatoes and make according to the directions on the box. Add warm water and soak your feet! The potatos will pull the puffiness out of your feet and soften your skin on top of that. Who says you have to buy expensive products to look good??

You may never look at a potato the same way again...

Sometimes we just have days where we are low on energy and every single task seems to take everything we've got. It's during moments like this that it's important to have solutions at your fingertips that will perk you up and get a smile on your face.

Aromatherapy is renowned for many things, and being used as an energy booster is just one of the many great things it offers. There are 6 scents noted for their energizing effects:

• Lemon/Orange - uplifting and mood-elevating
• Peppermint - mental stimulant
• Balsam Pine - vitality promoting
• Rosemary - invigorating
• Thyme - refreshing

A good way to make use of these scents is to place some drops of oil on a light bulb, and as the bulb burns the oil will release its scent. You can also boil a pot of water filled with thyme and rosemary, and your house will be filled with an upbeat energy. Also, purchase peppermint scented candles and burn when you are feeling sluggish.

It's much better for your body if you reach for an herb or essential oil than a cup of coffee to wake up your senses! Live well and be well my friends. 

My skin is really dry. Like, absurdly dry. I have to apply body and face moisturizer every single day in order to avoid that flaky, ashy look that is so embarrassing. I live in the southern part of Texas, and if I even go so much as 4 hours north, my skin drains of moisture and I get itchy. You know when your skin is dry and it feels like you have a thousand bugs crawling all over you? Yeah, that is water being sapped from your body. Not a pleasant feeling.

So I'm always on the lookout for a heavy duty moisturizer that WON'T sit on my skin like an oily blanket. You know the types: they claim to have oodles of hydrating benefits but they never absorb! So you're left with this shiny, oily film that doesn't seep in to your skin and proceeds to rub off on to anything you touch, from clothes to your just washed bed sheets. Annoying.

In browsing around for some creams that are the antithesis of what I stated above, I happened upon Ceramide Recovery. It's full of essential oils which hydrate the skin and bonus, firm the skin as well. So after repeated use you will end up with smoother, firmer skin. It's packed with Vitamin E which is an important skin nutrient, and Vitamin C for that free radical fighting power. And it's specially made for extra dry skin. A dream come true!

What are some of your favorite dry skin moisturizers?

Don't have dry skin? Click here for other products.

Let's talk deodorant. If you have been a "member" of the organic world for some time now, then I'm sure you are privy to the harmful effects of aluminum in anti-perspirant. This nasty metal has been linked to breast cancer and lymphoma in women. Considering the area of application and the frequency, this doesn't really come as a surprise to me. The purpose of an anti-perspirant is exactly that: to prevent you from perspiring. So what that means is that harmful toxins in your body normally eliminated via sweat no longer get eliminated. So the toxins stay in your body. Not a great thought.

But there is another option! You can choose natural deodorant, which will allow you to perspire, but masks the less than rosy scent while you do so. Using natural deodorant means you stay away from harmful chemicals, and it is also easier on those of you with sensitive skin or skin allergies. Click here to find a good list of organic products.

Last week I gave a brief tutorial on using the right colors to bring out your green eyes. Now watch this great video on enhancing your natural emerald greenies. Although she talks about various companies that have chemicals in their makeup we still think there is value in watching this video but hope that you would choose organic mineral makeup available on this site.

And find the colors you need to achieve this look here.

Enjoy!

So, you have eyes like rich emeralds and want to play them up even more? No problem. All you need is the right color combination to make them even more fierce.

The best colors for enhancing green eyes are purple, coppery browns, gold and chocolate. The best choices in color can be found here in our Loose Powder Eye Shadow Earths Beauty line. Purple is on the opposite side of the spectrum wheel from green which is why they are such complimentary colors.

The first step is to cover your entire lid with a muted brown as a base. Then smudge a vibrant lilac or amethyst colored purple along your lid but not going above the crease. Take you your coppery brown or chocolate color (depending on how dramatic you want the look to be) and use that color to fill your crease. Be sure to not layer over the purple shadow however as it is key to making your green eyes pop. Blend any harsh lines so that you have a smooth, pulled together look. 

With your eye liner brush, dip it into a deep plum color and line the lower half of your lashes with this color. Finish off with mascara and admire your bold green eyes!

Let's face it - one of the best parts about being a woman is the makeup. With the proper tools at hand, we can experiment, play, disguise or seduce. Our options are endless! No color off limits, no shade too dark. And what better way to experiment than with the wide array of organic eye shadow colors we have on our site. Come explore, and coax your inner wild side out for once. Pick a color that makes you a bit edgy, a bit unsure. From Bright Blue, to Charcoal to Plum, you are bound to find a color that gives you an extra pop of sassiness.

Don't forget to check here for other natural makeup options!

Thought you might enjoy watching a video from an impartial person who uses some of our products and hear what she has to say about Earth's Beauty products. We can tell you how great they are but it's nice to hear it from a person that critics cosmetic all the time on YouTube. Organic cosmetics are all the rage now. It's imperative to reduce the toxins you are putting on your face and body. It's important - you're important.
 

As we destroy our natural ozone we will need to be more aware of how the sun affects our skin and health. There has been great concern by day care centers, schools and others groups who are responsible for child safety. They have been the thrust of the need to use sunscreen in an effort to protect the children and avoid law suits. Even to the point that they have told parents in no uncertain terms that they would be looked upon as irresponsible parents if they do not apply and supply sunscreen for their child each and every day.

I agree, but only in principle. I am not pointing a finger at the day care providers for they can only work within the regulations and the parent’s wishes. My daughter and I have had many children in our daycare and after school programs that we encouraged to apply sunscreen (often using the daycare’s sunscreen) so that we were compliant and didn’t have sunburned children. The problem is that although you must protect the child from getting sun burned, the means for accomplishing that can be as harmful as the suns rays. Dare I say most sunscreens contain toxic chemicals? It would be a shock if you thought you are doing the right thing for everyone involved and then found out years later you had not been properly informed and found the toxins where effecting peoples health. You may be wondering how your good intentions could have gone so wrong. How was this was allowed to happen?

The Environmental Working Group’s Executive Director, Richard Wiles, issued the following statement:
“FDA’s been dragging its feet on sunscreen safety standards for more than 30 years. Meanwhile, most Americans are not adequately protected: A recent EWG study found that 85% of sunscreens we tested do not offer enough protection from UV rays, are made with potentially harmful ingredients, or have not been tested for safety. We applaud Sen. Dodd, but Congress shouldn’t have to force FDA to do its job.” I want to support the companies that have gone the extra mile to give us products that were good for us from the beginning. Companies that produce a superior sunscreen without waiting for law suits or consumer pressure to take chemicals out of the products. They knew that additives were not benefiting our health. Statistics state that 3 of 5 brand-name sunscreens either don’t protect skin from sun damage or contain hazardous chemicals — or both.

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) are constantly testing and lobbying for accountability in product creation. They have a great website that shows all sunscreen products tested (1,625 of them) and you can find out how your sunscreen scores. Many products I thought were safe are shown to be harmful. The one that really surprised me with a bad score was baby sunscreen called Huggies Little Swimmers. Get informed and take charge of your purchasing power while improving your health at the same time.

Who knew?

Several natural skin care companies knew, Environmental Working Group knew, and even the companies that put the toxins in their sunscreen knew. It’s hard not to trust Huggies or L’Oreal just a little when they say you are safe and protected. Who doesn’t want to hear that? Marketing corporation with large budgets are not given lie detector tests when they create ads and labels. Corporate America is not covering your back.

How do I know that these companies have some understanding of the toxic side effects of their products? Because they are now modifying their formulas in an effort to secure their hold on market shares. They will modify the sunscreen just enough so they can put “natural” or “new improved” on the labels in the hope that you will continue to use the brands you have trusted for years. But awareness is rising and we just won’t buy the products that are not safe with blind confidence like we did in the past. Your dollars do talk and our power lies in the fact that we can decide who to support.

I will give a vote of support and confidence to people with awareness and ability to create beneficial products for me and the environment. The time to act is now and we are primed to redirect our attention toward our health and that of the planet. Organic products are a future we can all live with.

It is no surprise that the cosmetic industry is a 344 million dollar a year industry. They are pushing every button they can to convince you that you need to use their products or you won't be sexy and lovable. What a bunch of garbage - but we are listening and we are buying. I heard an ad the other day that was so convincing that it made me doubt (only for a half a second) my current knowledge and awareness around skin care.

They are out to get you hooked on their products to reduce your wrinkles and save your marriage. I know I sound cynical but for heaven sake they are not giving us the whole truth about the chemicals and their detrimental effect on our bodies. Sure your skin may look just a tad more alive but in the long run... and at what price? I have noticed over the years that it is not always the effectiveness of the product but the fact that you have decided to direct more energy toward your face and skin. Cleaning and toning every night and using organic quality moisturizers (AM) and (PM) twice a day really does help your skin. I only use organic creams and toners so I know that I am not putting a increasing the work load that my skin is already processing to element unwanted chemicals. I have done a lot of research on cosmetics and the ingredients that are used and it just makes my skin crawl to think what our medical care situation will be after 20 years of toxic poising from these companies. Do you remember Noxema in the 60's so fresh and invigorating? They took it off the market because it had an effect on hormones (they say). Well I am here to tell you that the amount of very young girls now wearing makeup are definitely having their hormones disturbed and this could reduce their chance of having children.

As a Natural Health Consultant I am bios with a capital B and I don't hide that fact but my opinions are not dollar driven and I am concerned about the hormones imbalances, the cancer, the autoimmune diseases that are gaining ground through our aging population.

What do you think?