Essential Oils · Eco-Chick

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Eco Chick Giveaway: Win a Set of RubyBlaise Essentials Aromatherapy Mists

UPDATE: Thanks for participating, everyone! The winner is – Nicole Galland!

Scent can be so powerful, changing our moods and awakening memories – but sometimes it can be dangerous too, namely when it’s coming from a toxic blend of chemicals vaguely labeled as “fragrance”. Essential oils make it easy to avoid the bad stuff and get even more benefits than simply pleasing scents – promoting skin healing and even killing germs. It’s a no-brainer to ditch the synthetic perfumes and room sprays and switch to healthy products like RubyBlaise Essentials aromatherapy mists.

Learn more and enter the giveaway More »

essential oils, giveaway, Natural Beauty, perfume, scents

A Natural Solution for Gorgeous Summer Skin: Stop Ingrown Hairs!

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by Starre Vartan · 07/22/09

Do you get ingrown hairs from shaving and waxing? I definitely do, and it sucks. It’s not pretty, and even worse for me, it tends to scar my fair skin, leaving a mark long after the ingrown hair is gone. Like may things in life, getting rid of ingrowns is all about prevention. Shopha’s Ingrown Relief Lotion is specifically made to exfoliate top layers of dead skin (which is what traps hairs to become ingrown in the first place.

And the stuff doesn’t contain nasty toxic chems: it’s free of parabens, color and artificial fragrance (basically it’s glycolic acid and a bunch of natural oils), and it’s safe for face, bikini, legs, and underarms.

For daily use: use immediately after shaving to moisturize the skin while soothing irritation and razor burn; begin using 48 hours after waxing/sugaring to prevent and treat ingrown hairs. I’ve been using it for a few days now and no new ingrown hairs! Pretty sweet. And if you’d like to try it, we’ve got a coupon for you!

Deets:
# $5.00 off the purchase of Shobha® Ingrown Relief Lotion on www.myshobha.com
# valid for online purchases only.
# one redemption per customer.
# offer expires at 12am EST 8/1/09.
# Eco Chick reader’s exclusive code is 0709IRL519
# retail value: $22.00; promotion price with coupon code: $17.00

essential oils, nontoxic, Skin Care

Top 5 Fave Natural Beauty Products for Winter

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by Stephanie Rogers · 01/23/09

fave-winter-products

During the winter, I use more products than at any other time of year out of pure necessity. In order to avoid dry, scaly skin and lips, I do a lot of scrubbing and moisturizing. This winter, I became even more of a purist (or what some may call a control freak) than ever in terms of the ingredients of the products I’m using – I wanted them all to be super simple, healthy and natural. These 5 products didn’t just live up to my expectations, they were so great I just had to spread the word about them.

Vintage Body Spa Ginger Cardamom Cream Body Bar – This ultra-moisturizing body butter smells absolutely heavenly and it was the only thing that has managed to keep the soles of my feet soft and smooth. Cocoa butter, shea butter, mango butter, jojoba oil, and sweet almond oil lightly scented with clove, cardamom, ginger, cinnamon, orange and mint.

Mountain Rose Herbs Restorative Skin Oil – For the rest of my body, especially my hands, elbows and legs, this moisturizing and healing skin oil has kept dryness and that unpleasant itchy, tight feeling at bay. Organic calendula oil, rosehip seed oil, vitamin E and a blend of essential oils including Neroli and Helichrysium.

Aubrey Organics Blue Green Algae Rescue Conditioning Mask – Finally, a vegan protein treatment for hair that really works. Aubrey Organics combines blue-green algae and red algae extract with coconut, shea butter, aloe, and lavender water in a deep hair treatment that keeps my hair glossy and healthy looking despite harsh winds and drying indoor heat.

Josie Maran Lipstick in Rumi Joon – This might just be the ultimate flattering nude lipstick shade for practically every skin tone. It’s also ultra-moisturizing, long lasting and free of toxic ingredients, petrochemicals, parabens and artificial fragrances. The tube is recyclable, too.

DIY Brown Sugar Body Scrub – This exfoliating and moisturizing body scrub is so decadent yet incredibly easy to make with stuff you’ve probably already got in your pantry. I scoop about 4 tablespoons of coconut oil into a microwaveable container, nuke it just until it softens and mix in ¼ cup of brown sugar, 1 tablespoon of honey and ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract. You could literally eat it (and I can attest that it tastes fantastic) and the brown sugar helps to gently buff away scaly skin.

bath, Beauty, beauty products, Calendula, car, Coconut Oil, cosmetics, DIY, Eco-Chick, essential oils, Hair, health, Josie Maran, Lavender, Moisturizer, mom, Natural Beauty, nude, oil, oils, Organic, rum, skin, spa, sugar, Tea, vegan, vintage, water

Green Gifts for All the Lovable Weirdoes in Your Life

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by Starre Vartan · 12/07/07

You know those lists of gifts everyone has now? They’re killing me. So I had to make my own because my friends and family are a motley bunch, and the usual stuff (even the usual green stuff) isn’t going to cut it. Plus, they have high expectations because I am an Eco Chick! Sheesh! Well here goes what I’m going to give some of my favorite folks (yes, all of these are actual people in my life!) this year:
For The Discerning Partyer

Who doesn’t love vodka? There are some great ones out there that are organic and/or sustainable. Check out my reviews of 360 vodka and Reyka, which are both good bets. I’ve also enjoyed Square One at more than a couple of green events I’ve attended in the last year. It’s delicious and made from 100% organic rye. If your local liquor store doesn’t carry it, ask them to stock it, or check here.

For the Obsessive-Compulsive Worried Mom’s Kids

Oompa toys are classy and so very adorable so they will fit in with “grown-up” decor from modern to antique. Blocks and playsets are made from wood, not plastic, a healthier, more eco-friendly (and less tacky) choice. Besides the wooden toys, there are super-mod sustainable easels and organic stuffed animals. So cute I kinda want some of these playthings!

For the Essentialist Dad

My Dad’s been a minimalist for years, eschewing anything that isn’t utilitarian; you know, he’s one of those people who’s living room looks a bit like an art gallery with barely a chotchke in sight. He’s also a surfer and loves the ocean as much as I love the mountains, so this year I’m going to give him a Starfish from Oceana, which is an organization that works to protect marine ecosystems. Of course I’m not buying a real starfish, but a symbolic one, which comes with a cute cookie cutter in the shape of a starfish (there are 15 other animals you can buy, each with it’s own cutter). A sugar cookie recipe is included from celebrity chef Warren Brown of eco-friendly bakery CakeLove in DC.

For the Ex Who’s Still a Good Friend

A laptop case from Act2Greensmart is a great gift for someone that deserves a something they can really use. This one is the only one I’ve found that’s 100% recycled as its made from recycled plastic bottles.

For the Vegan Chef

They’ll love you forever if you show up with some vegan marshmellow (technically ricemellow) or hot chocolate mix, both of which are hard-to-find items when you’re totally a totally animal-free eater.

For the Back-to-the-Lander

The Self-Sufficiency Handbook is a comprehensive, illustrated, and detailed new book that gets into the nitty gritty details of how to live an off-the-grid lifestyle. Topics include water collection and storage, soil care, sections on geothermal, wind and solar power, toilet systems, stoves, chicken- and beekeeping and more. Fun reading even if your idea of getting back to nature is sipping a soy latte at the corner cafe al fresco.

For the Design Whore

The Green Glass Company makes this gorgeous, gorgeous glassware, all by recycling wine bottles!

With the machinery Bobby and Kobus custom engineered and built (only one of its kind in the world), The Green Glass Company added a ‘twist’ to its original goblet design. Producing two separate drinking glasses from one bottle without any waste glass was the challenge. The result was separating the bottle into two pieces, creating a tumbler from the bottom portion of the bottle and a goblet from the top portion of the bottle.

For the Green Tech-head

The Hymini is just so damn cool. This little device (it’s about the size of my hand) converts either solar power or wind power into stored charge that you can then connect to your iPod or cell phone for instant energy. Use the wind-converter while you’re riding your bike, on a boat, or just out the window on a breezy day. Use the little solar panel when it’s….sunny! Either way, in about an hour you’ll get enough for two hours of playback on a device. The energy can be stored for about two weeks, so you can collect free energy now and use it whenever. You can also stick it into the wall to grab a charge from conventional power sources. The Hymini has a cool little LED light and it’s cute too!

For the Spa Junkie

There’s a lot of great eco-friendly bath stuff out there. I should know as it’s one of my jobs to keep up on this stuff. But when you’re talking luxury, and you also want some seriously sustainable suds, Maile Kauai makes quite the impressive combo. Most ingredients are organic, and essential oils are wild harvested (meaning they are culled from uncultivated lands without overharvesting). In a handmade box you’ll get (to give) a whole home-spa set including a soy candle, Body Lather, Mango Butter Bun and Body Cream. Choose your Hawaiian-inspired aromatherapy with options of Pikake, Plumeria, Gardenia or Coconut Vanilla.

Animals, Baby, bath, Beauty, book, car, corn, decor, design, eating, Eco-Chick, Energy, epa, essential oils, Events, farm, Fashion, fish, garden, Green Gifts, Handmade, health, Home, junk, kids, liquor, local, mom, oil, oils, Organic, party, plastic, plastic bottles, recipe, recycle, recycled, Recycling, reviews, soy, spa, style, sugar, sustainable, Target, vegan, waste, water, wind power, Wine, wood

vedaPURE

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by Kimberly Jordan Allen · 01/11/07

Dr. Natalie Geary, a Manhattan pediatrician, developed a line of natural products for people who want to avoid many substances in current body products such as parabens, artificial fragrance, petroleum, animal ingredients, steroids, preservatives, and artificial colorings. Originally motivated by parents who were looking for healthier alternatives to Vaseline or traditional Butt Paste, Dr. Geary formulated the vedaBABY line which has since expanded to vedaMAMA and vedaDUDE. Natural and ayurvedic practices, combined with her seasoned pediatric knowledge, infuse Dr. Geary’s creams, scrubs, and butters with gentle and soothing recipes for healthy skin and all-around wellness. Using organic botanicals such as cocoa butter, avocado, organic jojoba, organic neem, and fragrant essential oils, makes these formulations feel incredible on the skin.

This is a luxurious line, compared to some less expensive brands, but a little goes a long way. There are very few products available that actually use completely natural ingredients in entirety. Even at some of my favorite health food stores, products that claim to be organic use parabens or preservatives. With this line, everything is pure. Some of my favorites are: vedaMAMA body butter which has lavender, orange and mango, vedaBABY calm moisturizing cream that contains organic coconut and aloe, and vedaBABY baby butt diaper balm which uses calendula, vitamin E and organic rose hip oil to keep babe’s butt from being irritated.