Eco-Chick · The modern girl's guide to living green & fabulous.

Eco Beauty Review: Everyday Minerals Makeup

No Comments

by Stephanie Rogers · 01/09/09

I stumbled across the Everyday Minerals website a year or so ago when looking for alternatives to the MAC pigments I had been using as eye shadow and eyeliner for years. I was surprised to find a wide variety of foundations, concealers, blush, eye shadow, lip gloss and finishing powders at amazing prices with extremely simple ingredient lists. Digging further, I found that all of their products are free of carmine, micronized minerals, dimethicone, fragrance and parabens and are not tested on animals.

Best of all is the fact that you can get a set of free samples in any shades you choose – you just pay the cost of shipping, which isn’t more than a few dollars. I ordered several foundation shades to find the one that was perfect for my skin along with concealer and blush and was so pleased with the results, I’ve been buying from them ever since.

Everyday Minerals foundation is available in a whopping 43 shades divided in color groups: warm, golden, cool, beige, buff and olive. Each shade is available in semi-matte, matte, intensive (which is more opaque) and ‘original glo’, a shimmery finish. I’ve found that matte is best in warm weather and semi-matte ideal in winter for my skin, which tends to be oily.

The blush and eyeshadow lasts virtually forever – even the wee 5ml sample jars. I’ve had one sample jar of blush for a year and I’m not even halfway done with it. As a replacement for the deep, rich, dramatic MAC pigments I had grown so attached to, Everyday Minerals fares surprisingly well – the colors are really beautiful and they stand up well to wear.

Everyday Minerals also sells cosmetic brushes with synthetic hair, bamboo handles and recycled packaging.  All in all, it’s great stuff and I highly recommend it to anyone seeking out more natural options.

Eco Beauty, Product Reviews

Allure Magazine Rates ‘Best of the Best’ Natural Beauty Products

5 Comments

by Stephanie Rogers · 09/29/08

It’s so encouraging to see eco-friendly beauty and fashion appearing more often in mainstream media! Allure Magazine, which has long rated hundreds of products for their annual ‘Best of the Best’ list, now has a category called ‘Natural Selections’ for natural and organic products.

Editor-in-chief Linda Wells told the AP, “This is the first year we’ve had a ‘naturals’ category — and we did it because natural beauty products are both tantalizing and confusing to women.  We picked the products that are truly natural and that perform as well, if not better than, their synthetic counterparts.”

Here’s a partial list of Allure’s ‘best of the best’ choices for natural and organic beauty:

• Aveda Pure Abundance Volumizing Shampoo – $14, 800-328-0849; aveda.com
• Burt’s Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Crème – $6, CVS/Pharmacy, Walgreens, Ulta (ulta.com); burtsbees.com
• Clark’s Botanicals Deep Moisture Mask – $72, Saks Fifth Avenue (saks.com), C.O. Bigelow bigelowchemists.com
• Jane Iredale Circle\Delete Under Eye Concealer – $29, 800-762-1132, (janeiredale.com)

Check out the rest in Allure’s October issue or at Allure.com.

Just as we’ve always said – you can be chic, stylish, put-together and just plain fabulous without harming the earth or subjecting yourself to toxins.  Even beauty product addicts can be green.  It’s getting easier and easier now that more companies are releasing products that contain gentle, sustainably harvested botanical ingredients instead of harsh synthetics.  It’s a great time to be an Eco Chick!

Eco Beauty, magazines, Product Reviews

Eco-Beauty Review: Saaf Organic Complexion Boosting Serum

9 Comments

by Stephanie Rogers · 09/25/08

I started using Saaf Organic Complexion Boosting Serum about two months ago, during the hot late summer months when my skin is normally an oil slick no matter what I do.  In the past I’ve tried all kinds of different products to battle the summer breakouts, from astringents to oil-controlling powders and creams.  Nothing has really worked, but after about a month of using this serum every night, I was surprised to realize that not only was my skin softer and more even, my pores appeared smaller and I hadn’t been walking around with a shiny face every day.

I admit, it’s a bit strange to slather my face in oil every night before going to bed when I’ve always fought against oily skin.  But somehow, this stuff works.  When I wake up, my skin is silky and blemish-free.  Though the directions advise using it twice a day, I skip it in the morning – but I’ve noticed great results nonetheless.

Information about the Organic Complexion Boosting Serum from the Saaf website:

Improves skin-tone & texture for normal/oily skin. Purifying and sebum-regulating botanicals (lemongrass and juniper berry) encourage the disappearance of blemishes, help to balance oily skin, clear breakouts, and improve skin tone and texture. Saaf’s Organic Complexion Boosting Serum is highly absorbent, with purifying, clarifying, cold pressed ingredients. Used regularly, these sebum-regulating ingredients encourage the disappearance of blemishes. And as a beautiful bonus, anti inflammatory Black Seed Oil also helps skin resist the ageing process, natural Vitamin E promotes soft and supple skin, Jojoba imparts a soft velvety quality to the skin and cold pressed Rosehip Seed Oil helps to reduce pigmentation by promoting healthy skin renewal. Expect the skin to present noticeable improvement in both texture and appearance.

Saaf is a European brand created by Dr. Mah Hussain-Gambles, and for a long time it was hard to find in the U.S.  Luckily, online natural & organic beauty shop Beautorium.com is now the exclusive source for Saaf in the States.  Saaf uses natural, organic raw materials that are vegetarian and free of alcohol, GMOs, fragrance, color and synthetic additives.  Saaf products are never tested on animals, and they come in glass bottles with recyclable outer cartons.

Eco Beauty, Product Reviews, Skin Care

Top 5 Fave Natural Beauty Products of the Summer

9 Comments

by Stephanie Rogers · 08/05/08

Though I haven’t gotten to take any fabulous exotic vacations this summer, I have had lots of fun experimenting with more natural and organic beauty products than ever before. I’ve tried a lot of different hair products, deodorants, sunscreens and cosmetics in the last few months, and at the peak of summer I can say I definitely have a few favorites. These 5 fab beauty products never leave my summer bag – they’re my ‘holy grail’ products for this hot, sweaty season and I’ll definitely be enjoying them until the changing weather incites the need for different products.

Nvey Eco Lip Gloss – I hate lip gloss. It’s sticky, and when the wind blows, your hair gets stuck in it- not pretty. But, in Nvey Eco lip gloss I’ve found what I thought didn’t exist: a light, moisturizing, non-stick lip gloss that provides a pretty shimmer and is certified organic.

Kiss My Face Liquid Rock Deodorant – For years, I searched for the perfect natural deodorant that could stand up to the rigors of summer weather, especially since my home has no a/c. Where others failed spectacularly, Kiss My Face Liquid Rock Deodorant came to the rescue. It lasts all day (sometimes even into the next!), doesn’t leave a filmy residue and comes in a fragrance free version.

Lavera SPF 40 Neutral Sunblock – I’m naturally pale, and I sunburn very easily, so my sunscreen really has its work cut out for it – especially since I expect it to be natural and safe. I love that Lavera’s mineral sunblock comes in SPF 40, is certified vegan, and has no perfumes, colorings or preservatives. It’s got a creamy texture, and blends in well despite being a mineral (physical) sunblock.

Everyday Minerals Everyday Bronzer – The entire line of products at Everyday Minerals is great quality at surprisingly low prices, and the Everyday Bronzer is no exception. It gives my pale skin just a hint of color – perfect for faking that bronzed goddess look without risking my health or resorting to gross chemical-laden sunless tanners.

John Masters Organics Sea Mist Salt Spray with Lavender – My hair is generally pretty limp, and in the summer it’s downright sad. This spray wakes it up, so I can look like I spent the day at the beach even though I was really typing at a laptop in my office. It doesn’t dry it out too much – just provides some body.

Eco Beauty, Product Reviews

Eco-Beauty Cage Match: Nvey Eco vs. Ecco Bella Lipstick

No Comments

by Stephanie Rogers · 06/17/08

Welcome to round two of Eco Chick’s new feature, the Eco-Beauty Cage Match. Each month I will try out two beauty products and pit them against each other to see how they perform. I’ll be evaluating the ingredients, the manufacturer’s claims, the smell and texture and how well the product works. I’m choosing products that are marketed to consumers as ‘natural’, ‘organic’ or ‘eco-friendly’.

Last time, I compared oil-free moisturizers. This week, it’s lipstick. When it comes to finding a good natural lipstick, you want the purest possible ingredients while also getting a pleasant smell and texture, long-lasting color and complimentary shades. I put two lipsticks to the test, from brands Nvey Eco and Ecco Bella. Check out how they compared!

Ecco Bella FlowerColor Lipstick

Retail Price: $14.95

Ecco Bella says: A lipstick that thinks it’s a lip balm. The cleanest, safest, prettiest lipstick for those who love lipstick. A simple healthy formula of vegetable waxes, oils, and mineral pigments that go on creamy and don’t feather. Like a lip balm, Ecco Bella lipsticks moisturize without flaking or chapping. FD&C dye free, petroleum-free.

Ingredients: All of Ecco Bella’s ingredients are safe and natural. See the list here.

Smell & Texture: No particular smell is noticeable, and the texture is smooth and creamy. It does, as claimed, feel like a lip balm in that it’s very moisturizing, but it is a bit heavier than a typical lip balm. The color I chose (Peach Rose) is a bit darker than it looks in the swatch on the website, but such are the perils of ordering cosmetics online.

Performance: It kept my lips feeling smooth and soft for about an hour after applying, and after that it started to feel a bit sticky. It lasted about as long as you can expect a non long-wearing lipstick to last.

Nvey Eco Organic Lipstick

Retail Price: $28.00

Nvey Eco says: ECO Lipstick delivers vibrant and natural colour compostions. Soothing Safflower, Beeswax, Vitamin E and organic Castor Oil provide antioxidant and nourishing properties for soft and smooth lips.

Ingredients: Like the Ecco Bella lipstick, all of the ingredients in this lipstick are safe and natural – no worries about ingesting nasty stuff commonly found in conventional lipsticks like BHA and artificial fragrance. See the full list here.

Smell & Texture: There’s a very faint, pleasant orange blossom-like smell to it. The texture is light, smooth and very creamy. You can barely tell it’s there. The shade I chose, #360, has a soft shimmer, is very flattering to my pale-skinned-redhead coloring, and looks very similar to the swatch found online.

Performance: This lipstick really does perform like a lip balm, with a very moisturizing feel – no chalkiness, stickiness, or heavy coating sort of effect. It’s sheer, but still lasts as long as you can reasonably expect a non long-wearing lipstick to last.

AND THE WINNER IS… Nvey Eco! I’m really excited about this company. All of their products have a short list of ingredients that are very safe, pure and natural – plus, they’re organic. They have very high standards for their products and they stick to them (you can read them all here). The price tag is a bit hard to swallow (I never thought I’d pay so much for a single lipstick!) but for performance, looks and ingredients, you really can’t beat Nvey Eco. I can’t wait to try more of their products – I need new mascara and eyeliner!

Nvey Eco products are now available for purchase at Sephora (online only).

Ecco Bella was pretty close competition, though. I may have to try a few more of their products as well!

Beauty, Ecco Bella, Eco Beauty Cage Match, Nvey Eco, Product Reviews