I was so excited to be able to interview celebrity makeup artist, Rose Marie Swift. Rosemary is a big shot in the industry, having created the “look” for many advertising campaigns including Victoria’s Secret and Gap. She has made up (like they really need it!) some of the world’s most beautiful faces including Gisele Bunchen, Miranda Kerr, Celine Dion, Paloma Picasso, Isabel Rossalini, Milla Jovovich, and many others. A few years ago, Rose Marie found that she had serious health issues resulting from heavy metal poisoning, and thus her journey towards clean & green cosmetics began. Read the rest of this entry »

I just love this Holeco kit for little tweens and teens. It’s vital that young girls start out by taking care of themselves with non-toxic products. With this pink and pretty kit, they can still have all the fun of lip glosses, nail polishes and body balms etc, but without the horrendous chemicals, which are in most products which target teens.

These beautiful Arghand soaps, which are hand-shaped by the women in this Afghan Co-op, to resemble polished river stones, are quite unique. Made with fresh pomegranates, each soap comes wrapped in a sheet of the local daily newspaper! These soaps would make a rare and memorable gift for just about anybody – plus you get to support this wonderful cooperative. Do take time to read the story.

I’m obsessed with finding the perfect non-toxic foundation which performs as well as any high-end department store brand. I have tried them all – the good, the bad and the just plain ugly.

Finding the perfect green foundation is a top priority because there’s seems little point in going to the effort to make or buy non-toxic moisturizers and serums etc, if you’re going to plaster a toxic layer of makeup on top. A base also covers a pretty large area of your skin and most of us wear it almost every day. A lot of women, however, try one eco-friendly brand that doesn’t go on as well as their favorite brand and they get totally put off the whole idea of green makeup. So if you’ve had a bad experience, don’t despair as there are a couple of fantastic choices. Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve done a few book signings recently and have met some of the most inspiring women. At nearly every signing I do, there’s at least one mom with an angelic little baby all wrapped up in a sling. I get a warm shiver up my spine, as I know that these cool moms who are passionate about the whole green thing, will give the most incredible gift to their kids. I’ve noticed, however, that a few of you are a little hesitant about diving in to make your own skin care products, because it seems expensive and and a bit complicated – what with the bottles and funnels that you need. Let me attempt to make this really simple for you, Read the rest of this entry »

I am in love with these bamboo cleansing cloths. They’ve provided a solution for a long-standing problem: what is the greenest and most effective way to remove makeup and moisturize when I’m on the road? When I use cleanser and facecloths, it seems so wasteful to just use the facecloth once -yet after removing a face of makeup, you really need to toss it in the laundry. Cotton or kleenex just aren’t an option for me – to enter stage right, Kaia Cleansing Cloths!

They feel like cashmere, are infused with honey and essential oils, and are totally biodegradable. I’m sold and don’t think I’ll be travelling without a handy pack of these ever again.

Alright ladies, there been a big hoopla going on about sunscreens, fired up in part by the Environmental Working Group’s latest 2010 report. So to keep it real simple, here’s what you need to know and which sunscreens are my favorites: The first concern and where many leading brands were outed in the “Hall of Shame”, was the exaggerated SPF claims that are blazoned across the tube/bottle of many sunscreens. It’s actually pretty shameful that many brands which are targeted at moms for little babies, are really not very safe. If you see any SPF over 40, you should be extremely suspect. If you see, which you may, a 100 SPF, run a mile as it’s total nonsense. Most sunscreens can only really guarantee a sun protection factor of 30. More important that you find a safe/non-toxic sunscreen with a simple SPF 30. Read the rest of this entry »

When I was in Utah at the Casual Blogger’s Conference, I found out about Basa Body Products. Here’s what I love about them – they are not only free of all the chemical nasties, but they’re made from pure virgin coconut oil  – I slather the stuff all over my skin, it’s in my homemade potions and I eat it! Try topping a bowl of oatmeal with fresh berries and a tsp of virgin coconut oil (it’s gotta be virgin). Anyway, the Chocolate Lover’s soap collection that you see in the photo is beyond anything you’ve ever tried. You literally want to bite a chunk out of the bar. My daughter and I have fought over the chocolate mint one and guess who won? So to transform a run-of-the-mill shower into a tantalizing adventure – grab a Basa Bar, or if you want to knock the socks off a loved one – helllloooo -FATHER’S DAY!!!

Our culture is obsessed with anti-aging everything and in so many ways this is sad. When I was studying anthropology, I was fascinated by cultures who revere their elders – where each year you grow older, you’re considered to be more valuable because of the wisdom you’ve gathered on your journey. In these kind of cultures, there’s no such thing as a retirement home because the elderly are kept close at hand, where they can be doted on. They are pro-aging!  As I started writing this piece on an organic anti-aging regimen, I stopped dead in my tracks to consider that the women who I most admire in my life, who literally hold a torch up for me – my mentors and spiritual advisers – women who have got what I want, are not chronologically young. All of these women are in their late 70’s. None of them have had any cosmetic surgery, all of them take care of themselves beautifully with natural products, but the absolute gorgeousness that emanates from all 3 women is that they are all happy, joyous and free in spirit. Read the rest of this entry »

If you happened to watch sixty minutes this past sunday, you will have seen the story about the dangers of phthalates, a subject that’s been a pet peeve of mine for quite sometime. They talked about the possible dangers of phthlates in regular consumer products and that pregnant women should beware, as phthlates could cause abnormalities in male babies. The data, however, is inconclusive, so naturally the plastics industry stepped in quick as lightening to say that all these phthalate-containing consumer products are perfectly safe. As a green girl, I take the precautionary principle: I won’t use anything until it’s proven to be Read the rest of this entry »