Oil · Eco-Chick

Browsing all posts tagged with oil

Jane’s Flower Oil: Handmixed Loveliness for What Ails You from the Owner of Grace Heaven Salon

Jane Webb runs the supergreen hair salon Grace Heaven in the East Village of Manhattan (or by appointment in LA), and I see her regularly to keep my crazy-curly tresses red and glowing. She uses only the most natural and toxin-free colors and hair products, and she’s extremely serious about that – her salon is a no greenwashing zone.

Jane has twice now gifted me with some of her unbelievable handcrafted oils. I took the first batch with me on my around-the-world travels, and it steadied and centered me when I was feeling (sometimes literally) adrift. I use the newest version on my whole body after my once-a-week super scrubdown, while my body is still warm and damp, and I use just a bit on my hair almost every day, to keep it in check and to tame my frizzies and ends. It is my very favorite beauty product of them all (well, that and my mascara!).

Jane says of her most recent blend:

Every batch is different and I choose the scents based on what resonates for me at the time. Lately I have been loving sandalwood recently and I like ambrette, neroli, rose, frankincense, lavender, sage, jasmine, helichrysum, geranium. I am always trying different purveyors and like any crop it depends on season, growing conditions, how it is extracted; these are all super critical issues.
I don’t always use [an oil] because it smells good. Sometimes the benefits of a certain element are so important that it must be included. I am not trying to be a perfumer but it comes with the territory and you never know what the end result is until you combine everything. What will top out, what will be laying in the background.
But once you become accustomed to the lushness, the true luxury of essential oils you will never be enchanted by a man made chemical based perfume again. What I love about it is the subtle but powerful way that it works on the emotions and the body. It is the life blood of a plant- truly the healing medicine of the planet.

Jane makes small batches of 15-20 bottles at a time, and she can tailor the oil to deal with certain issues. If you are interested in this incredibly healing (and wonderfully moisturizing) oil, Jane can be reached through her shop Grace Heaven salon, which is on 3rd between A and B, or at 212.253.5490.

all natural, body care, oil, skin

Ani Phyo’s Healthfully Decadent Raw Coconut Kream Recipe

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by Starre Vartan · 02/02/11

Dessert has always been my favorite part of any meal (though I do love apps!) and while I’ve managed to tame my sweet tooth in the last few years, I’ve by no means eliminated it. (By tame I mean I can get my sweet-happys from maple syrup, honey, and desserts made with fruit and less sugar.) Frankly, I’d rather carry around an extra five pounds than skip desserts, in all their toothsome glory. But I try to concoct or uncover desserts that are healthy as well as tasty. Just because it’s dessert doesn’t mean that it has to be a nutrition wasteland!

So stumbling upon Ani Phyo’s wonderful raw dessert cookbook (with 85 recipes!) was a coup. As you may already know, raw foods retain all sorts of wonderful enzymes, vitamins and minerals, plus are less ‘predigested’ (I know it’s a bit gross, but that’s basically what cooking is; partial digestion of food before you eat it). That means your body has to work a bit harder to digest, which makes you feel full longer and is actually really good for your gut. All of which means you get more nutrition and eat less when you go raw. While I’m not a raw foodist by any means, I’m going on my 19th year of vegetarianism and love the way whole foods that are minimally processed taste and make me feel. And the more I’ve read about the benefits of raw, the more I try to incorporate it into my diet.
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art, book, car, chocolate, Coconut Oil, cookbook, cooking, dessert, desserts, eating, epa, farm, filter, Food, fruit, health, healthy, Milk, natural, New York, ny, oil, raw, raw food, recipe, recipes, soda, sugar, Tea, vegan, vegetarian, vitamins, waste, water, Winter

Eco-Chic Decor from Bacchus-Inspired Aesthetics

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by Starre Vartan · 09/13/09

Guest post by Shireen Quodosi

What comes more easily in this economy than an assortment of empty wine bottles after you’ve just thrown a smashing get-together? With the preference being on sourcing cheap entertaining ideas, most people now see staying at home with a good meal and great wine as a viable alternative to spending money on restaurants and clubs.

Wine Bottle Ideas:

There are a number of ways to reuse wine bottles. Among the more common ideas are reusing them as water pitchers, votive vases, torches, and flower bed liners. However, there are dozens of other smart options that are rarely explored.

Rewined Recycled Glassware – Get uniquely hued wine bottle glassware made from orphaned bottles left behind at local restaurants and bars.

Water Feeders – On a very hot day or when you’re away, fill the bottles of water and stick them into the pot or soil near your plant. The water will slowly percolate from the bottle and into the soil.

Wine Bottle Chandeliers – In addition to the popular row lighting and pendant lighting, Pottery Barn put together an interesting chandelier with wine bottles strung around it. Even though four dozen other people will likely have the same statement piece, at least you know it’s a unique sustainable element in your home. Plus it catches the light beautifully during the day and especially at sunset.

cape, car, cocktails, decor, design, farm, Hollywood, Home, Lighting, liquor, local, Lush, oil, Organic, recycle, recycled, reference, restaurant, reuse, style, sustainability, sustainable, Tea, water, Water Bottle, Wine, wood

Eco Chic Weekly 8/29/09

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by Amanda Quraishi · 08/29/09

Eco Chic Weekly compiles the best of the best in green fashion and beauty blogging each week. Please feel free to copy and use this post on your blog with a link back to Fashion, Evolved.

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Learn how to make ethical fashion choices and upcycle your existing wardrobe this week on Green Girls Global.
Check out the Eco Fashion World interview with Maroussia Rebecq, founder of the Andrea Crews Collective.
Eco-Chick has rounded up some Eco Fashion News from around the web!
The Eco Diva goes local with Etsy.com!
Learn about Bangladesh Garment Factories Going Fair Trade at Ethical Style!
Check out Curatorial’s Limited Edition Collection featured on Feelgood Style.
Green Grechen discusses the impacts of milk silk.
Want to see some of the best organic fashion on sale today? Green Lashes and Fashion has a round up!
8 Ways to Get the Closest Eco Shave for Men and Women–on Greenopia!
Inhabitat is featuring the very drool-worthy Noon Solar Bags.
Modern Hippie Mag has a question about hair oil in their Ask the Beauty Chick column.
Are You a Green Beauty? Take the Quiz on Planet Green!
Upcycled bags are better the second time around…so says The Alternative Consumer!
Join in the Vintage Jewelry Obsession this Fall at The Green Girls.
The Thrifty Chicks are Standing Naked in a Thrift Store.
Treehugger dishes on the 7 Common Cosmetics Ingredients You Need to Avoid!
Fashion, Evolved interviews Jaszy McAllister creator of ethical, beautiful Jaszy’s Jewelry.

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Crude, the Film, Shows Real Price of America's Oil Addiction (Hint: It's Not Just the Environment)

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by Kimberly Jordan Allen · 08/10/09

Crude is the story of a community of 30,000 tribal members in the Amazonian jungle of Ecuador who hold a corporation to bear for its crimes against their land, their livelihood, and most importantly, their lives. The film follows the intricacies of what has been called the “Amazon Chernobyl.”

The indigenous population claims that Chevron, the parent company to the former Texaco, spent thirty years contaminating the air, land, and water of an area the size of Rhode Island which is now called the “death zone.” Cancer, leukemia, and birth defects are among some of the effects of Big Oil. The film was shot and edited over a period of three years, with Berlinger and the crew sacrificing their own safety by facing both environmental (toxic fumes, disease, searing equatorial heat) and man-made dangers (shooting near the Colombian border where drug runners and FARC rebels are very active) to capture a story they felt must be shared with the rest of the world.

Berlinger’s cinematic sensibility paints a picture that captures the lush vitality of the Amazon, the horrendous atrocities endured by the tribespeople, and the complicated path that social justice must traverse, all the while avoiding cliche and stereotypes. Amazon Watch and the Rainforest Foundation have both been instrumental in bringing the Ecuadorian devastation to the public eye.

Trudie Styler, Sting’s wife, and noted activist, appears in the film to lend celebrity to the cause. Repeatedly referring to the Amazon as “the lungs of the earth,” Styler and others point to the far more serious nature of the toxicity than mere dollars can assuage. If Ecuador is in trouble, we are ALL in trouble. If tribe members cannot fish or swim, that affects us directly. Transnationals can no longer act in a vacuum of backyard antics.

Vanity Fair featured an article in the 2007 Green Issue on the case in Ecuador, and attorney Pablo Fajardo, who passionately represents the plaintiffs. In one scene in the film, Fajardo notes that he is not intimidated by the high powered legal team because he has truth on his side, which makes his work that much easier. He doesn’t have to work diligently to create lies about what is happening.

Without sensationalizing the health effects of the toxic swamp left in the Ecuadorian jungle, Berlinger simply allows the water to tell the tale. The water, the rivers, the streams, and pools appear fresh from a distance as children play, women wash, and people drink. Once approached, the rainbow sheen of petrol catches the light and the scent of gasoline sends heads reeling. The ground is soft sludge as the pollutants work their way through the soil and into the Earth. One of the Texaco/Chevron representatives claims: “this is not contamination, this is industrial exploitation that your government permitted.” Amazing. This film must be seen.

In order for this film to have a chance of being seen by the rest of the country, it must nearly sell-out in NY, LA and SF, so tell your friends, blog about it, spread the word…go see this film. Because the film doesn’t have huge marketing dollars, it’s up to people like you and me to spread the word online.

Here are some important screening dates: for locations click here
-NYC: September 9-22
-L.A.: September 18-24
-S.F.: September 25-October 1
-D.C.: October 23-29