Earth Day 2012: My Top 10 Favorite Better For You Beauty Products
Happy Earth Day Rave Fans! I just love Earth Month and all that it represents: Making conscious choices that are better for you and better for the environment, such a simple and important message. Every year in honor of Earth Day, I curate a selection of fabulous beauty products that I consider to be greener, eco, more natural, cleaner and all around better for you. And I must say that this year, I noticed that this category is burgeoning with so many wonderful products which made it very hard to choose only 10! I continue to be impressed by the selection of eco chic brands with amazing green products that work beautifully. I am becoming more and more of a convert all the time, because why not use products that are better for you when you have the choice!
Without further adieu, I present to you my Top 10 Favorite Better For You Products of 2012:
1) One Love Organics Skin Savior Waterless Beauty Balm ($68)
One Love Organics is a beautifully handcrafted line that embrace’s the motto of simplicity and that you can achieve more with less when it comes to beauty. Skin Savior Balm is made out of pure, cold-pressed plant oils and extracts that break down dirt and makeup and clear out your pores without stripping your skin of its natural protective layer. This is one of those FAB one-product-does-it-all balms (which I LOVE!) You can use it as a cleanser, moisturizer, conditioner, skin smoother/dry patch healer, massage balm and so much more. I adore this product! It smells like a yummy orange creamsicle, it cleans my skin beautifully and I especially love it on my chapped lips, dry nose and cracked heels. This is a new must have for me!
2) Suki Skincare Exfoliate Foaming Cleanser ($32.95)
Suki Skincare is a fabulous results driven beauty brand dedicated to delivering clinically proven natural solutions. Suki’s products are made out of hand-selected raw materials and proprietary botanic concentrates that are blended with high percentages of scientifically-advanced cosmeceutical actives in 100% natural bases. The Exfoliating Cleanser is a deep cleansing complexion rejuvenator that contains a gentle alpha hydroxy acid (natural sugar), non-GMO rice flour & lemongrass to resurface & smooth, unclogs pores, and exfoliate dead cells. This is another swoon worthy product that I can’t get enough of! It smells like a fresh lemon, it has a delightfully refreshing foaming and exfoliating action and it leaves my skin feeling like buttah = LOVE!
3) Sprout Skincare Cream ($32)
Sprout Skincare is a 100% all-natural line made out of the purest high quality ingredients that are either certified organic, Fair Trade, or sourced from small family farms. Every product in the line is made from scratch, in small bathes with only absolutely essential ingredients. In fact, every Sprout product has only 5 (clean) ingredients or less, love that! The Cream is Sprout’s hero product, made out of wild-harvested shea butter that they get from a Fair Trade women’s cooperative in Ghana. To that luscious cream, they add some organic extra-virgin coconut oil and organic extra-virgin olive oil and that’s it! This is a wonderfully rich cream that doesn’t clog your pores, and I love how it babies, nurtures and heals my dry skin and calms it down post treatment. This Cream is a GEM!
4) Antho Lullaby for Dry Skin Organic Face Serum ($16.95)
Antho is another eco fab line that I recently discovered that is dedicated to using 99% USDA certified organic, premium all natural, vegan PETA approved ingredients. The Lullaby for Dry Skin Face Serum contains ten different superstar organic oils, including rare Moroccan Argan & Macadamia oils and luxurious virgin organic oils. This divine serum quickly soaks into your skin and immediately restores lost moisture, delivers rich antioxidants, and rejuvenates dry, dull skin. This serum smells heavenly and I love it under my make-up because it gives my skin a lovely radiant sheen.
5) Juice Beauty SPF 30 Tinted Mineral Moisturizer ($29)
Juice Beauty’s is dedicated to sourcing the purest, most effective sustainable and organic ingredients on the West Coast with over 80% of their products being manufactured using California’s sun/solar power (which is particularly appealing to this SoCal girl.) Juice Beauty uses also uses a 100% certified organic juice base (made from over 30 different juices) in all of their products. This wonderful tinted moisturizer blends a chemical-free SPF 30, mineral pigments and nutrient-rich white grape, aloe and pomegranate juices for a radiant, even-toned complexion. I really like the fresh herbal scent, the sheer coverage and how vibrant and refreshed it makes my skin look. This is the perfect eco fab BB cream for your favorite Greenista!
Sponsored Post: What Living Beautifully Means To Me
As many of you know, April is Earth Month and in honor of this important consciousness raising celebration, EcoTools asked me to share with my readers what Living Beautifully means to me and I was more than delighted to participate in such a worthwhile writing opportunity. However, before I share my thoughts on what living beautifully means to me, I wanted to tell you a little bit more about the EcoTools brand.
And not only are their products green, but what impressed me even more was that EcoTools donates 1% of their annual sales to 1% For The Planet, an alliance of businesses committed to leveraging their resources to create a healthier planet. Love that!
I also spent some time exploring the EcoTools Living Beautifully Community which is a place for visitors to stop by and share stories, tips, anecdotes, videos or photos that inspire them to live more beautifully everyday. It was heartwarming to read the special stories and see the pictures of families and places that inspire. I even joined in the fun and shared a photo of the gorgeous blue ocean on a remote beach and wrote about how being near the ocean and nature inspires me to live more beautifully. And throughout the month of April, I encourage you to share your own Living Beautiful inspirations on the Eco Tools Living Beautiful Community Wall HERE for your chance to win fabulous Eco Tools prizes just for commenting! And rumor has it, they are giving way one those coveted kabuki brush sets 
Love at First Sight: My Instant New Favorite Beauty Products
With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, and on the heels of a fabulous overnight staycation this past weekend with my hubby, I’ve got love on my mind. You know how it is, like a magnet or energetic force, you are instantly drawn to someone or something without explanation, it just ‘happens’. Well I know it is a bit of a stretch, but for a life long beauty junkie like me, this energetic pull happens to me with beauty products, and every once in a while I try a product that just instantly knocks my socks off! Kinda like being hit with cupid’s arrow, but towards a product, not a person. Strange, I know, but it’s honestly how I feel. Well, lately I have come across some fabulous new products that I was instantly smitten with and now I am dying to share them with you. Hope you love them as much as I do!
Four Truffles Argan Moisturizing Balm ($26)
OMG this magnificent balm is truly “The Balm”! I literally got this product a few days ago and I am obsessed with it and can’t stop using it! This is a luxurious multi-purpose ultra hydrating balm packed with argan oil and all it’s nutrients and antioxidants that soften, hydrate, and repair your skin. It also contains a lovely Bulgarian Lavender Oil, an ancient herb that has been used for ages to relax the body and heal skin. And there’s more goodness: this product is organic, made in the USA with indigenous ingredients, its eco-centric, made by women4women and comes in a hand carved wooden jar. It smells divine, feels yummy on my dry skin, instantly moisturizes and heals like a champ. I LOVE LOVE LOVE it!
Kate Somerville DermalQuench Liquid Lift ($95) will be available March 2012 www.skinhealthexperts.com
This is a ground breaking new product that brings Kate Somerville’s most sought after celeb skin transforming treatment into your home! Liquid Lift has a unique foam dispensed delivery system that instantly infuses your skin with three powerful ingredients KS calls advanced HydraFill™ Complex which work together to increase volume, significantly smooth skin, boost radiance and dramatically reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Liquid Lift infuses your skin with a much-needed boost of oxygen to increase volume and deliver a plumping effect that dramatically diminishes the look of expression lines and furrows. I actually have had the FAB professional DermalQuench treatment at the KS Clinic in LA, and I am equally as ‘wowed’ by the similar, and much more affordable results of this at home oxygen treatment. I adore how it instantly plumps, hydrates and makes my skin look more radiant, and after just a couple of weeks of use, my skin feels more supple, moist and it looks smoother.
3LAB Perfect BB SPF 40/PA+++ ($95)
I just adore BB creams because they deliver instant results and are super easy to use, and 3LAB’s version is luxurious and FAB! This BB Cream is infused with 3LAB’s signature bio-engineered growth hormone and apple stem cell technology, which noticeably firms and lifts the skin, regenerates new skin cells, brightens, moisturizes, and protects your skin with a potent SPF. It also contains a wonderful combination of anti-oxidants, vitamins and botanicals that help improve your skin tone and alleviate irritation. My skin just drinks this cream up, I love that it comes in three shades (I’m medium), and it instantly hides imperfections and makes my skin look smooth and flawless.
Benefit Watt’s Up ($30)
IMO Benefit is the Queen of fab, fun, kitschy, inspired makeup products that really work (like my beloved Erase Paste.) Well, Watt’s Up is my latest addiction, it’s a great soft focus highlighter that instantly brightens and lightens your face and gives you the perfect luminous glow. It is a stick cream-to–powder champagne sheer highlighter on one side and a blending sponge on the other,and together this gives your skin a velvety glow. I am having such fun manipulating the light on my face with this product and really like how it adds the perfect instant sheen to my skin, which makes it look fresher and younger. Fab!
Oribe Dry Texturizing Spray ($39)
I have to admit, I have not been thrilled with my hair lately, it’s been dry, flat and lifeless, so I decided to cut like 5-6 inches off, much better and healthier. In light of this change, I am trying new products to add volume and texture, and I am having alot of fun with Oribe’s Texturizing Spray. It’s a wonderful alternative to dry shampoo and it’s giving my hair fullness, movement and a sexy glam look. Basically, this is an invisible dry hair spray that offers incredible volume and a sexy texture. It contains patented polymers that absorb oil at the roots which allows you to milk that fab blowdry for days. It’s easy to use and it gives the perfect amount of va-va-voom to your hair.
Dr Dennis Gross Active Vitamin D Serum Oil ($65)
Leave it to the pioneering Dr. Dennis Gross to notice that his patients were experiencing Vitamin D deficiencies because they were being hyper-diligent about protecting their skin from the sun, so Dr. Gross set out to develop the first skincare serum-oil that would provide sufficient levels of Vitamin D to skin through topical application. Traditionally, Vitamin D needs sun exposure to activate it, but this innovative new formulation contains an already active form of Vitamin D that does not require sunlight to work. This serum-oil replenishes hydration, boosts elasticity, smooths fine lines and wrinkles, enhances radiance and luminosity, and corrects the appearance of hyperpigmentation. I just love the idea of giving our skin it’s much needed Vitamin D, and I love how this product nourishes my dry skin and how it has added noticeable suppleness in such a short time.
