Romy Raves

In case you haven’t noticed, summer is in full swing, the days are longer and hotter, fruits and veggies are gorgeous, clothes are skimpier and we are all more self conscious about how we look. So the timing couldn’t be better for me to test out the RITUAL CLEANSE, a 100% organic raw juice cleanse designed with special formulations that allow you to workout while cleansing.

I was more than delighted to have the opportunity to try out the three day Seasonal Reset Cleanse along with one day of Shred juices added on to my cleanse. The Reset Cleanse consists of six fresh pressed pure vegetable, fruit, and nut juices that deliver superior nutrition and Shred is pre and post workout juices specifically formulated so that you can still workout at your regular intensity level while you are on the cleanse.

The Seasonal Reset Cleanse consists of six freshly pressed 100% organic juices that you drink throughout the day for maximum energy and nutrient absorption. With the Seasonal Cleanse, one of the juices is formulated with a blend that captures the best produce of the season.

Each day of my three day cleanse started with warm water and a squeeze of lemon juice to kick start my system, followed by a refreshing green veggie and fruit juice (Kale, cucumbers, celery, green apples etc), then the seasonal juice (mine was watermelon, strawberries & young coconut water), then another green juice with slightly different fruits and veggies, then the lemon, cayenne, agave drink, followed by a third and final green juice and the last drink of the day was a cashew nut milk. 

The two add-on Shred Juices added a unique twist to this cleanse. These inpsired juices are designed to fuel intense workouts and repair your body post workout while still cleansing. The Pre-Workout Shred juice contained lots of high frutose juices like beets, carrots, pears, celery and apples to give you a boost of energy to fuel and sustain your workout. The Post-Workout Shred Recovery juice consisted of almonds, water, agave, vanilla and cinnamon, the perfect protein and tasty flavors for proper muscle recovery.

Today is Earth Day 2011, a day to celebrate and appreciate our beautiful earth and make a conscious effort to be cleaner, greener and good to our planet. This year’s theme is A Billion Acts of Green, personal, organizational and corporate pledges focused on living and acting sustainably and measurably reducing our carbon footprint.  The goal is to register one billion green actions in advance of the Earth Summit in Rio in 2012. How wonderful is that? It shows how all of our small efforts can make a big difference!  

I was recently chosen as a Brand Ambassador for Aveeno and part of my commitment to Aveeno in accepting this role, was to share their various green initiatives, programs and products with my readers.  I am excited to tell you about a wonderful program that Aveeno just launched called BE AN ACTIVE NATURAL which emphasizes how taking small steps towards living greener and more sustainable lives can make a BIG difference. Aveeno believes that ’Beautiful Change Starts with a Single Step’ and I just love the idea that my small individual efforts can make our planet a more beautiful place.

I love the fun statement making pop-up forest that Aveeno created in the middle of Times Square to kick off this campaign, what do you think?

So the whole Be An Active Natural program is all about encouraging people like us to make small changes that positively impact the environment. At the Brand Ambassador launch event in February, I made a pledge to Aveeno that I was going to make a conscious effort to shop locally and support local farmers and businesses. To me, this means shopping at local farmers markets and locally owned stores whenever possible as well as making an effort to discover local beauty brands and SoCal made products that I can share with you. What kind of small changes are you willing to make in honor of Earth Day?

To encourage you to continue to make greener choices throughout the year, Aveeno has partnered with Recyclebank and created a Be An Active Natural Monthly Pledge on Aveeno’s Facebook Page. Basically, you can visit this page monthly and sign-up for various green pledges, share it with your community and earn different levels of points (depending on how green you wanna be) that you can redeem for awards on Recyclebank.com for product samples, coupons, discounts and eco-friendly goodies. 

So Green Goddess, Whatcha waiting for?? It’s Earth Day, Go Get your Green On and pledge to make a difference HERE.  

Happy Holidays Beauty Mavens and Fashionistas! I am totally in the festive mood, how about you? So in the spirit of the season, today kicks off the first in a series of Rave Worthy Holiday Gift Guides for 2010. Over the next couple weeks, I will be sharing a selection of fun, inspired, and unique holiday gift ideas that I have recently discovered and found to be ‘Rave’ worthy. I hope you find them helpful and hope you discover some new and different!

Today’s gift guide is focused on all things GREEN, eco, better for you and better for the environment. These are inspired suggestions for that Green Goddess in your life, you know the type: only eats organic, checks every label for toxins, recycles, composts, has solar power at her house etc. So, if these attributes sound familiar, these gifts might be just what you have been looking for!

Redhanded Eco Bags are fashionable, high quality, green, vegan, sweatshop free handbags and computer bags. I love these inspired whimsical bags because they are cruelty free, fun, and eye catching. Plus, the company is run by a warm and passionate husband and wife team who really care about the environment, but do not want to compromise fashion or style. They were kind enough to send me some of their bags to enjoy this summer and I have been loving the Zinnia Petite clutch purse. I especially love it in black, adore the fun floral liner and have noticed that this purse is so well made that it still looks brand new! And they just came out with the most FAB CowPad computer bag that I am totally coveting, so fun and definitely a show stopper! And Romy Raves followers get 20% off all RHB from now until 12/31 with the code blogbuyer.Envirosax are beautifully designed, chic, inexpensive and compact re-useable shopping bags. They are durable, hold up to 44lbs, fully washable, the colors won’t fade, and water-resistant. These are super fashionable, artistic and fun, and don’t look like your typical reusable bag. I just adore the bags in their Graphic Series especially the Bloom Collection. 

Scotch Naturals Nail Polish is a safe, chemical free, eco-chic alternative to conventional solvent-based nail polish. It is made of a revolutionary water-based formula that nourishes and conditions nails, delivering long lasting, salon-quality color. I just discovered this polish brand last week and was so blown away by it, that I just had to include it in my eco holiday gift guide. The colors are hip and fun, it doesn’t smell, you don’t need a basecoat or topcoat and it dries almost instantly with a glossy finish (I did my nails before bed  last night and this morning they were shiny and smudge free-unheard of!) I think the Green Goddess in your life is going to love the Scotch Cocktail Trio which includes your choice of 3 colors, their special gentle remover and a buffer. I am wearing Ceasefire (a khaki green with yellow undertones) right now and LOVE IT! Romy Raves readers get 15% off any individual bottles of nail polish or free upgraded shipping on the Cocktail Trio with the code RAVES15.Organic to Green Is a lovely locally based company, run by a Green Goddess named Rianna. All of her body and skincare products are handmade out of the finest certified organic and natural ingredients, and when available, packaged in recycled glass bottles. She also donates a percentage of her annual profit to Greenpeace International-that’s a whole lotta Green Love! Checkout the delightful assortment of organic gift sets HERE.

Nissan LEAF As an added bonus and in the name of all things GREEN, I thought I would include a video I recently did at the LA Auto Show on behalf of Nissan, sharing my impressions of the 2011 Nissan LEAF. It’s the Ultimate Green Car because it’s 100% electric and the majority of the interior is made out of recycled water bottles-so cool! Check it out:

Disclosure: I was given samples of all the above products, but did not make any promises to include them in my gift guides–but I when I love something I always want to RAVE about it and share it with you. I was also paid by Nissan to host this video, but the opinions are totally my own, and I was not paid to promote it.

I have always been drawn to Eminence Organic Skin Care products because they are made of all natural, good for you ingredients and especially because these products really tantalize my senses. Eminence’s products are colorful and grab my attention visually, but it is their amazing smells (which are all natural) that win me over every time.

These products contain the highest possible levels of all-natural fresh organically grown herbs, fruits and vegetables which are hand-picked and hand-mixed with pure waters drawn from a thermal hot spring lake containing minerals and trace elements found nowhere else on earth. Eminence products are handmade in Hungary, not mass produced, without any heating or hydrogenating processes. So they are beautifully made in addition to making a difference in your skin.  And I have a few new favorite products in the line, which I would love to share with you.

I am absolutely in LOVE with the Tropical Vanilla Sun Cream SPF 32! Why you ask? It smells deelish (kinda like berry vanilla), has a very appealing high level of SPF and most importantly it offers an amazing level of contiuous hydration and moisture for my winter parched skin. It has shea butter which is calming and emollient; zinc oxide which is an anti-inflammatory and blocks UV rays; and vanilla which is soothing and improves circulation. My skin is really adoring this product and I find myself turning to it over my other moisturizers with SPF because it gives my skin a supple and luminous glow.

I am also really enjoying the yummy berries and cream smell and gentle exfoliation of the Blueberry Soy Exfoliating Cleanser. It contatins blueberry juice which tightens pores and is high in antioxidants and phyto-nutrients; pineapple extract which is an enzyme that dissolves proteins; grape extract which fights free-radicals, detoxifies and helps to prevent pigmentation; soy milk which is rich in isoflavones and vitamin B; and a proprietary blend of vitamins and enzymes to combat free radicals. Doesn’t it sound good enough to eat? I just love how this product appeals to my foodie self as well.

IMO, Eminence has some of the best, yummiest and most effective facial masques in the skincare market. And the new Raspberry Pore Refining Masque is no expection. OMG, this masque smells like a combo of raspberry jam and cassis–love that! And then I put this yummy edible concotion on my face and it hydrates, freshens, rejuvenates and tightens all at the same time–I likie! This masque also contains more good for you ingredients like: raspberry juice which tightens pores and fights free radicals; honey which is moisturizing and nourishing; blueberry juice which also tightens pores and is high in antioxidants; blackberry juice which tightens pores and is high in vitamins B, C, K, and Omega-3;  and the same proprietary blend of vitamins and enzymes to combat free radicals.

To partake in this wonderful feast for the senses, you can buy your Eminence Organic Skin Care Products HERE. What are your favorite organic skincare products? Do Tell!