Natural · Eco-Chick

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Spring’s Strong Brow, Naturally

I’m a big brow fan; they frame the eyes, and add dimension to the face (they’re also great for keeping sweat out of your eyes!). I have naturally thick eyebrows, and keep them fairly thick – and since thick brows are a Spring trend, I may just grow them out even more (less plucking, more time outside!).

“Big brows are more raw and youthful than perfect ones,” Pat McGrath told T: The NYTimes Style Magazine. “…anyone can wear a stronger brow. But the level of strength should be adjusted to suit your face,” McGrath, who styled model’s brows for Stella McCartney and Versace.

And like all beauty products, using natural versions is a simple way to keep healthy. Here’s a healthy brow toolkit :

Nvey Eco Brow Comb and Brush: A good brow brush gives you control and lends tidiness to an unplucked eyebrow. I swear by mine, and it’s all I use to make sure my brows look cool, not tangled. “This revolutionary brush uses soft, cruelty-free synthetic fibers for the brush and has a compostable handle.”

Eyebrow Pencil: McGrath recommends filling in spaces and ‘thickening’ thinner brows with a matching pencil for those with naturally less bushy brows. This one by Earth’s beauty contains only “jojoba oil, castor oil, candellila wax, pigments (depends on the color, most are a blend of iron oxides and mica, some only mica) and vitamin E.”

See more from T: The New York Times Style Magazine here.
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Beauty, brows, cosmetics, eyebrows, face, how to, makeup, natural, nontoxic, Spring runway

Heroines for the Planet: Model and Skincare Chef May Lindstrom

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by Lindsay E. Brown · 02/19/12

Photo by Larry White

May Lindstrom is a self-professed explorer, skin chef and conscious epicurean. Her deep connection to the earth seeps into every facet of her work as a successful model, green makeup artist, painter and now, entrepreneur. May’s new, artisanal skincare line, May Lindstrom Skin, is a collection of the purest concoctions imaginable, personally crafted using only ingredients that are organic, bio-dynamic, wild crafted, cruelty free, vegan, sustainable and conscious. Since each bottle is formulated, hand-blended and filled by May in her private studio, she controls precisely what goes into her products, avoiding harmful chemicals, outsourcing and labs that are commonly used and abused in most beauty and skincare products.

I had the pleasure of catching up with May recently. She shared how wildly passionate she is about her new line, where she sources her ingredients from, how her modeling career took off, and what she loves most about her job.

Lindsay: Congratulations on your skincare line! What inspired its creation?

May: Thank you so much, Lindsay. It has been the most incredible journey introducing this line into the world. I started formulating as a little girl, mashing plants and mud together and coming up with special “potions” for all my friends. I took playing in mud puddles very seriously! As I got older, the process evolved and I grew fascinated with the history of beauty rituals, the coming together of women to celebrate themselves and indulge in their own self care, the sharing and passing on of recipes and traditions from one generation to the next across continents and social divisions.
My own skin has also been a constant motivator. I am highly sensitive to several of the chemicals common in everyday cosmetics and beauty products and am fighting a never ending battle with these influences to my complexion. As a consumer, I have yearned for something nourishing and luxurious, deeply indulgent and beautifully packaged without sacrifice to purity and potency. As a formulator, it only made sense for me to make it myself. What a fun challenge this has been!

Photo Credit: Courtney Dailey

Beauty, cosmetics, health, makeup, may lindstrom, natural, skin, women

Lead-Free Lipstick: Why You Should Nix Maybelline and L’Oreal, Plus Healthy Alternatives

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by Lindsay E. Brown · 02/16/12

Most of us pull a lipstick tube from our bag and freshen up several times a day, year round. Before we walk out the door in the morning, after lunch, before a meeting, or a hot date, even while driving, we seem to be forever applying. Even if we’re going for a natural look with minimal make-up, a touch of color on our lips makes our faces appear lively, and we feel more pulled together.

Here’s the conundrum: Your favorite lipstick could be poisoning you.

A recent study by the Food and Drug Administration found that over 400 shades of popular lipstick on the market contain trace amounts of lead. Five lipsticks made by L’Oreal and Maybelline ranked among the top 10 worst offenders. Two Cover Girl and two NARS lipsticks landed in the top 10 as well. I strongly urge you to have a look at the list (scroll down the page to “Exapanded Survey”) if you’re a lipstick lover.

This story isn’t a new one, since reports about lipsticks containing lead date back to the 1990s. In 2007, the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics tested 33 red lipsticks and found that two-thirds of them contained lead — and that one-third had levels above what the FDA allows in candy.

But the FDA asserts that comparing lipstick to lead isn’t quite fair.

“It is not scientifically valid to equate the risk to consumers presented by lead levels in candy, a product intended for ingestion, with that associated with lead levels in lipstick, a product intended for topical use and ingested in much smaller quantities than candy,” the FDA said in its online comments.

The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics disagrees. Per a statement made by the campaign, “Lead builds in the body over time, and lead-containing lipstick applied several times a day, every day, can add up to significant exposure levels.”

“Lead is a proven neurotoxin that can cause learning, language and behavioral problems. Pregnant women are particularly vulnerable to lead exposure, because lead easily crosses the placenta and enters the fetal brain where it can interfere with normal development,” said Sean Palfrey, M.D., a professor of pediatrics and public health at Boston University and the medical director of Boston’s Lead Poisoning Prevention Program. Most health experts agree that there is no safe level of lead exposure for human beings, even as the FDA does allow for small amounts in our food and doesn’t regulate it in beauty products, even those, like lipstick, that are ingested.

The accumulation of toxins, such as lead in the body, is also known as bioaccumulation, something we’ve talked about many times here on Eco Chick.

This all begs the question: Is wearing potentially toxic lipstick worth the risk? Here are better alternatives for your lips (just in case you decide to throw away that long-lasting, lead lipstick of yours.) I’ve spoken to each of these companies personally to ensure that they are lead-free.

Jane Iredale’s PureMoist LipColours

Gabriel Cosmetics’ ZuZu Luxe Lipstick

all natural, Beauty, cosmetics, lipstick, natural

Suds Up With These Healthy Soaps!

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by Lindsay E. Brown · 02/09/12

I’ve romanticized the idea of making my own all-natural soaps for a while now, even giving them out as gifts, but the problem is that I can’t seem to find the time to do it! Making our own cleansing products after work probably isn’t going to happen for most of us.

But you can’t just grab just any old soap off the shelf either. The majority of the soaps and body washes you see perusing the personal care isles don’t seem to give a hoot about your health. They’re laced with synthetic lathering agents, artificial colors, and harsh chemicals which bioaccumlate in our bodies. The chemicals get stored in our fat, and when there is enough accumulations of toxins in the body, illness can occur.

Our skin is the largest organ of the body, and it’s both porous and absorbent. What we’re sudsing ourselves up with every day matters. What we put on our body, is as import as what we put in it.

When I was little girl, my Mother would encourage me to wash up while having fun in the bathtub by telling me to make myself into a soapy snowman. I know, it sounds strange but, it’s a fond memory. Now you can lather up and have some fun, even make yourself into a soapy snowgirl if you wish, with these healthy soaps that will leave you feeling so fresh and so clean.

Wembe’s Cleansing Blend for body, face and hands. My favorite is the mango (above), but you can choose from several different blends.

I wash my face with Dr. Bronner’s Tea Tree Liquid Soap. (Just three drops will do the trick!)
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Beauty, beauty products, cleanser, healthy, natural, nontoxic, Organic, soap

Love Natural Scents? Anjolie Ayurveda Soothes Body and Spirit with Homegrown Herbs

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by Kimberly Jordan Allen · 01/05/12

Being a scent-addict with a penchant for organic, natural products is not always easy to indulge. These days, however, as companies jump on the anti-synthetics bandwagon, we are seeing more body products that are sustainably crafted. One of the lines I have come to love is Anjolie Ayurveda. Founded by the mother-daughter team, Meryl and Cary Gabeler, Anjolie truly uses all-natural ingredients. A lot of pseudo-natural brands are claiming to be holistic but are using synthetics for fragrance. Ethically sourced plant-based scents are harder to come by but Anjolie proudly protects our bodies and the environment in their cultivation of ecologically sound botanical ingredients that infuse their line of soaps and body oils.

The Gabelers applied a life-long passion for Ayurveda to their formulas when they decided to create their line of body products. Having suffered with eczema, allergies, and skin sensitivities as a child, Meryl applied her mother, Carey’s knowledge of Ayurveda and traditional healing modalities to create skin remedies for sensitive skin. Combining therapeutic herbs with cold-pressed essential oils provides healing body products that leaves skin feeling nourished.

Anjolie has a ten-acre garden and nursery in the foothills of the Himalayan Mountains (yes, please!) where they are growing roses, herbs, and tropical plants for use in their products. They support local farmers in India, sourcing raw materials directly from them in order to increase the direct income for their suppliers. Anjolie provides education for their employees and their employee’s families as well as supporting female work initiatives and grants for women entrepreneurs. Anjolie was recently awarded the Eileen Fisher Women’s Business Grant for small businesses in 2011.

We were very honored and excited to win! We are actually selling the soaps in Green Eileen, a new Eileen Fisher concept store, selling recycled clothing, with 100% of the proceeds going to Eileen Fisher’s Community Foundation.
Our efforts bring a positive contribution by empowering local people, educating their children and giving them an instrument of income that imparts a feeling of self-respect, dignity, and purpose in their lives.

These folks are doing it right! Highly recommended – try the spice soap for a warm, musky winter treat. Also, the Saffron Body Oil is absolutely amazing, especially this time of year. A warm but light sandalwood fragrance penetrates, leaving you feeling soft and hydrated. It is one of my go-to body oils during these dry months.

anjolie, anjolie organics, aromatherapy, eileen fisher, fragrance, herbs, natural