beauty product

D:tox System

admin — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 09:01:00 +0000

Half a million women in the world die every year from breast cancer. One in eight American women will be diagnosed with some form of breast cancer in her lifetime. Judging from these startling statistics, it’s not difficult to see why corporations that cater to women have begun creating lines of products that support the fight against this disease. Altruism gives you a leg up on the competition.

While Giovanni Organic Body Care’s D:tox System of purifying body care products won’t prevent you from getting breast cancer directly, a portion of the sales of the products involved in this three-step system is donated by the company to the National Breast Cancer Foundation, an organization that funds cancer prevention research.

The D:tox System has three ingredients: Body Wash/Body Bar, Body Scrub, and Body Lotion. If the trio is used properly, the promised results are to provide “a complete purification regimen for mind, body, and soul—and completely touch-worthy skin every day.” With such lofty ambitions, I’m sure you’re wondering what exactly goes into the D:tox System.

The Body Wash/Body Bar uses charcoal and volcanic ash to clean oils and dirt from pores while replenishing your skin’s nutrition with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants from purifying acai and goji berry extracts. The Body Scrub is made of similar ingredients, and does what most scrubs do: it exfoliates to polish away surface grime and bacteria. The Body Lotion is the final part of this equation. Once the skin is fully clean, it needs a little moisture to maintain a smooth softness and healthy glow.

I did a dietary detox once a few years ago. A woman at my local health food co-op explained the process to me: replace food with a mixture of juices for five days. Instead of feeling physically renewed, I ended up with a terrible migraine brought on by caffeine withdrawal, but I stuck it out before reverting back to my old eating habits. I’m not sure the D:tox System resulted in the purification of my mind or soul, but it did the trick for my body. It also allowed me to continue my copious coffee consumption—and, really, that's the most important part.

Written by: Mandy Van Deven, September 14th 2009

SPF 30 Mineral Sheer Moisturizer

admin — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 17:39:00 +0000

By Juice Beauty

Everyone has been telling me to increase my consumption and application of, and general proximity to, antioxidants for quite some time, now. A science enthusiast, but minimally educated in the field, it was worth perusal. Of course, I had always thought of oxygen—clean pure air, number eight on the periodic table, part of water—as good. Apparently not. At the cellular level, it can cause the metabolic processes to get funky (that's a technical scientific term) and cause irregularities that may contribute to cancer and disease. Antioxidants mitigate this decay. So eat your fruits and veggies—particularly those containing vitamins A, C, and E.

Vitamins A and C can be found in cantaloupes, oranges, peaches, watermelon, and tomatoes. Lemon, limes, and grapes are good for C, straight up. Like vitamin C, vitamin E plays a significant role as an antioxidant, thereby protecting body tissue from the damage of oxidation. E is important in the formation of red blood cells and the use of vitamin K. Many women also use it to help minimize the appearance of wrinkles, and mothers use it to help heal minor wounds without scarring, as it is valued for its ability to soothe and heal broken or stressed skin tissue. Blackberries seem to be a three-fer, having all three of these Vs, as do kiwis. Bananas are high potassium and contain vitamins C and E. Apples are an excellent source of soluble fiber and vitamins C and E.

Juice Beauty products contain actual juice—apple, grape, and pomegranate—so you can slurp your antioxidants in a smoothie or slather them on your skin. Apparently human skin will absorb sixty-four percent of a substance placed upon it. Vegetable and mineral substances must metabolize differently, or else this theory of application seems specious. Could you avoid kwashiorkor by massaging yourself with a flank steak? Unlikely. But I once heard stories of a Swiss moisturizer with tiger placenta extract. Ick.

If you'd rather use a fruity, non-pigmented moisturizer, Juice Beauty SPF 30 Mineral Sheer moisturizer applies as a light and refreshing layer in a skin-care regimen. This moisturizer, in addition to their gels, cleansers, creams, serums, and masks, will be available at Target beginning this month.

Written by: Erika Mikkalo, August 19th 2009

Atlantic Blue Eyeshadow

admin — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 16:49:00 +0000

By Zana Cosmetics

The number of newly unemployed in the United States now equals the size of three cities. I visualize them on a map: Obsoletopolis in the Midwestern Rustbelt, Techbustfield out west, and Down Size to the east. Each would have a flag with a light pink field. Therefore, it seems somewhat timely to discover that the supplied eyeshadow offers not only an alluringly ambiguous shade of midnight blue, but a sales opportunity: starter kits for would-be representatives are advertised at the site with two sizes available.

There are plenty of reasons to avoid industrial cosmetics, even though poisoning oneself in the name of beauty is a long-standing tradition: Elizabethan cosmetics included concoctions of lead and mercury. Contemporary make-up is also chock-full-of-toxins, including known carcinogens. Zana Cosmetics offers U.S.-manufactured all-natural products, apparently “extra-pigmented,” non-animal-tested, paraben and fragrance free and mineral-based. “Our formulas are created with vitamins and antioxidants to be extra gentle to the skin.” Yes, I read The Beauty Myth, but personally view the choice to wear make-up as rather low on the scale of pressing social concerns. Cixous would suggest a more nuanced interpretation of the relations of aesthetics, pleasure and power.

Years ago, one (gay, male) acquaintance shared the following “joke”: “Why do women wear make-up and perfume? Because they look ugly and smell bad.” It was reported that John McCain heaped similar insults on his wife in front of journalists during the campaign. Charming. Once again, women can't win. If you don't wear make-up, you are neglecting yourself and your civic feminine duty—or revealing your innate hideousness. If you do, it is evidence of inadequacy. Also, it's telling and inevitable that the consumerist culture generates products and perceived needs: more toiletries for men are now available. The eyeshadow applies smoothly and wears for an acceptable duration. I'll smear some above my own baby-blues and go perch in a public place to let you know how it works.

Written by: Erika Mikkalo, April 22nd 2009

Azure Sanita Professional Clogs / LUSH Foot Products

admin — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 17:06:00 +0000

By LUSH, Sanita Clogs

R.I.P. Fizz, 1995—2009

Yes, I hate being a stereotype-come-to-life, but I have been medically prohibited from wearing anything other than very healthy shoes. At least I do not own many cats. Nor do I own any reptiles, or other exotic pets. Actually, I am on bereavement leave regarding the loss of my dog, an extraordinary shelter Greyhound-Doberman mutt, Fizz.

The dog left the planet on Monday, March 23, at 5:15 p.m. People have been very kind: at the clinic, one man looked at the empty lead, and looked at my tear-streaked face, and looked at the empty lead, and looked at my tear-streaked face, and looked away, not saying a word. It was a nice surprise to find some Sanita clogs to cheer me up. If Fizz was here, I'd try them on and say, “Walkies!” and he'd at least wag his tail slightly, no longer capable of locomotion, and try to stand, however feebly. I did the right thing.

Sanita clogs are made in Denmark, and apparently were first hewn by Christen Andersen, who distributed them by bicycle. How wholesome. They have been handcrafted in Europe since 1907. It makes me glad that these particular shoes are bright blue, and that I can wear them to fun events in Chicago such as female Elvis impersonator performances. Apparently "Old Shep" was Elvis's favorite song. There is a 24-Hour Church of Elvis in Portland, Oregon, where I had a childhood dog named Shep. Sanita does not have 100-Dalmatians hide shoes, but "wild" zebra-patterned clogs are available.

Not only can I attempt to attain "Happy Feet" with fun, sturdy, fashionable shoes, I can also doctor my feet with some delectably "spicy," almost dessert-like products: LUSH makes Fair Trade mint foot lotion and a spearmint-seasoned body butter. Slathering Running To The Embassy on after the pink foot mask, my toes became fragrant, and my calluses, no longer an embarrassment reminiscent of the Kalahari—or perhaps a Mississippi field during a drought. Between the solid, well-engineered, forward-propelling shoes and comforting ungents, I could spend all day traipsing around Graceland. Self-care is for all: comfortable feet are universally appreciated—no one wants their dogs to bark.

And Fizz was not "nothing but a hound dog."

Written by: Erika Mikkalo, April 9th 2009

Cocoa Butter Body Cream: Vanilla Mocha

admin — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 23:58:00 +0000

By Alaffia

I love my organs! My kidneys are awesome. As bad as I have been to my liver, it has never let me down. My heart is a hard-working love machine. Although, I must say, my absolute favorite organ has to be my skin, and the best part is that I have lots of it!

My skin has been so good to me, I am certainly grateful that, even after years of long baby oil tanning sessions, it still appears mildly even-colored, and I haven’t attained that proverbial fried-pork-rind look. Still, something tells me that I should start taking better care of it, and that something is my brain, the organ that keeps the others alive, so I probably should listen.

As much as I like slathering my epidermis in an artificially perfumed mixture of aluminum starch octenylsuccinate, dimethiconol, threonine, and propylparaben, it might finally be time for me to start being able to pronounce whatever it is that is going into my still not-so-enlarged pores. And that’s why I’m really excited about Alaffia's Vanilla Mocha-scented Cocoa Butter Body Cream. With a little more than cocoa, shea butter, and vanilla extract, Alaffia has made a magical frosting that leaves my skin soft, not greasy, and smelling so much like a birthday cake that I am afraid to stay in a yoga pose for too long for fear that my classmates will take a bite out of me.

Alaffia is a Fair Trade co-op based partly in Olympia, WA, and partly in Togo, Africa (hometown of founder Olowo-n’djo Tchala). Togo provides the most basic of Alaffia's ingredients: shea butter. The West African members of the cooperative benefit by applying their knowledge of traditionally handcrafting the shea butter to make a fair wage, and since shea trees grow wild and are a renewable resource, it is also ecologically safe for their community. I also think it is important to mention that ten percent of all sales go directly to community enhancement projects in both West Africa and the state of Washington.

Besides the body cream, Alaffia creates lotions, soaps, shampoos, conditioners, and other products—all of which are available on their website at alaffia.com. Now, if someone can come up with a better product-benefit combination of having eco-friendly, soft legs and raising AIDS awareness while providing medical and school supplies to African communities, please let me know!

Written by: Laura Koffler, March 19th 2009

Salt

admin — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 10:46:00 +0000

By Solay Wellness

I had no idea that there was so much you could do with salt. I perceived it as a cooking standard; something for foot soaks, a symbol of hospitality—a traditional Russian welcome is the presentation of salt and bread—there's the well used phrase “salt of the earth,” salt in wounds, sowing the earth with salt; there is a structure made of salt (a hotel in Bolivia) and it's also the title of an acclaimed novel by Earl Lovelace, one of the few books that my long-standing women's book group did not finish at all; usually, at least half the attendees have actually read the book in its entirety. At least I didn’t select Salt and the academic who did admitted that she didn’t finish it. (Our current selection is a biography of Victoria Woodhull. Fun.)

The salt products available at Solay Wellness bring NaCl into service for every aspect of being: salt lamps, salt jewelry, cooking salt, dog cookies, plant food, pillows, shampoo, face masks, and tooth powder. Apparently Hippocrates advocated salt inhalation, and instead of boiling seawater, a pipe for salt-breathing is offered. While I did not have the opportunity to test the negative ion flow that the lamps purport to offer, the cleanser and mud masks are definitely superior. My pores shrank and glowed after a minimal period under the dense olive clay.

The green tea and salt shampoo suds most exuberantly, and rinses well, without a sticky after-coat. As for the cooking salt, my hypertension dictates that I avoid it entirely, and I will pass it along to the chef at the Elevate Difference test kitchens, code name 'Cookie'. Or should it be 'Salty'? Something to consider as I take a long soak in a salt bath—the copy of the Lovelace book has been located. On my 'to read' list along with Jean Toomer's Cane. Maybe that means I need to get a sugar scrub.

Written by: Erika Mikkalo, March 14th 2009

Green Apple Soap

admin — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 16:36:00 +0000

By Kreated by Karina

Green Apple Soap comes in a plain package with information about the product and the maker, Karina. There are no logos, and you won’t find any fillers or chemicals in the soap either. The little, translucent green soap bar has a very pleasant smell to it. When it’s wet, it smells a bit stronger than dry (or so I’ve noticed), and as an interesting aside, when the light shines through the wet bar, it’s nice to look at. It almost looks like candy and is smooth to the touch.

Beyond aesthetics, I decided to put the bar through the complete bath test. Green Apple lathers up nice and leaves a faint after smell. I even washed my face with it, which was like any other glycerin soap. As with any other cleanser, I applied a moisturizer bar to the face afterward.

The main test was to see how it would hold up to lathering for a quick pit-leg shave. Fortunately, there was enough hair hanging around for the task. Green Apple got the job done. I look forward to buying more Green Apple Soap from Kreated by Karina, along with trying out some of the lip balm.

Written by: Nicolette Westfall, June 8th 2008

Chai Tea Party Sugared Frosting Scrub

admin — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 19:19:00 +0000

By Bobe

http://www.bevperdue.com/ stands for "beyond ordinary bath essentials"—fitting as this product is quite extraordinary and, after trying it, has become an essential addition.

The Sugared Frosting Scrub's chai smell is so natural that it would be impossible to tell the difference between it and the real thing, the thick sugar grains melted on my face and body and I came out of the bath glowing and fragrant. (In my dream last night, I actually spread some of it on my husband’s slice of high fiber toast… or was that his breakfast?)

Besides being the best scrub ever, this product (and the whole line) is a responsible consumer's dream (yippee!). Marlese Sears, creator, offers customized bath and body products that are made, without any ingredients that are animal tested, at the time the order is placed, which reduces waste, and also provides the freshest merchandise.

Proving that beauty penetrates beyond dermal tissue, Bobe donates five percent of monthly retail sales to a different charity—from the African Children's Choir to the Schizophrenia Society of Saskatchewan.

I now love my Bobe product, and it’s equally exciting to find a company with impeccable quality and ethics. I will shamelessly spend my money there.

Written by: Laura Koffler, December 7th 2007

Complexion Bar

admin — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 13:28:00 +0000

By The Soap Factory

I stumbled upon The Soap Factory in Longview, WA while exploring the downtown area nearly seven years ago. I fell in love with the shop and its products instantly, and have continued to order them online after leaving the job in Longview.

The Soap Factory's Complexion Bar is a tried and true favorite of mine. While it's not cheap ($6.99), the four-ounce bar lasts a long, long time. (I just bought a new one, having purchased the previous bar in 2006.) With real avocado fruit, carrot juice, shea butter and a host of essential oils, it smells good enough to eat. Because The Soap Factory uses authentic ingredients, you don't have to worry about your skin drying out or developing allergies.

It has been a pleasure to see owner Dawn Gregg expand her business, which she started in her home in 1998. She opened her store in 2000 as the sole proprietress, and has since expanded into the retail space next door and added several employees. Along with the complexion bar, I recommend her other soaps and lotions as well.

Written by: M.L. Madison, August 24th 2007

Coochy Rash-Free Shave Cream

admin — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 23:33:00 +0000

By Pure Romance

I was immediately drawn to the shave cream from Pure Romance that promised a rash-free shaving experience. The bottle was well packaged and pretty in pink, the Pear Berry scent was sensational and the product lathered well. After reading the product’s background, not only does Pure Romance recommend this product for use on the personal area, it also doubles as a gentle hair conditioner.

The Coochy Rash-Free Shave Cream guarantees a bump-free shaving experience. While rejoicing that I had received a two-for-one product, I began shaving. Unfortunately, it did not provide me with the rash-free and non-irritating shave that was promised. My suggestion for using the Coochy Rash-Free Shave Cream is to leave the top open and let the Pear Berry smell fill your home; or do as the directions suggest and use the product as a gentle hair conditioner.

Written by: Tiffany Winbush, June 5th 2007

Black Sculpture Lash Mascara

admin — Tue, 22 May 2007 23:20:00 +0000

By Bésame Cosmetics

The Black Sculpture Lash Mascara made by Bésame Cosmetics arrives in an impressive display of packaging. The box is decorated with imprinted gold foil flowers, which match the exquisite gold tube adorned with floral scrolls full of high end mascara. The packaging itself would make this mascara an excellent gift to give or to receive.

The mascara wand has a medium thickness of bristles, which will work for most any type of lashes. The mascara itself creates thick, dark lashes. I have blonde eyelashes so mascara makes a huge difference in my look. I put on this mascara and was happy with the results. Unfortunately this mascara doesn’t last all night. It’s good for maybe four to six hours if you are extremely careful. After that it will smudge no matter how careful you are not to tear up or touch your eyes.

While the mascara looks great on, the fact that it doesn’t stay in place well causes me to have a less than favorable opinion of this product. Granted I have a tendency to have trouble finding mascara that will not smudge. So perhaps for those that generally don’t have smudging issues would be delighted with this makeup. Overall, I’d recommend the Bésame Cosmetics’ Black Sculpture Lash Mascara, but with a warning of smudging potential.

Written by: Sarah Eve Nichols-Fulghum, May 22nd 2007

Shea Butter Gift Set

admin — Mon, 21 May 2007 18:22:00 +0000

By Prairieland Herbs

Packaged in a cute bag, this little gift set arrived smelling great! After a long week at work, a few hours pampering were needed, and this set delivered a great scent and relaxation. Better than the scent is the feeling of soft and smooth skin that comes after a bath using the Botanical Bath Salts, a product that left this woman feeling great. Best of all, this is an all-natural product made from homegrown herbs and natural oils—no preservatives, synthetics or byproducts.

A spa experience in a bag, I started out running my bath with the Botanical Bath Salts. The tiny beads melt quickly into the water, leaving a relaxing bath that ended only when the water grew cold! The Patchouli and Orange Soap left a clean aroma on my body. It has a slightly gritty feel, exfoliating as it cleans and refreshes. The smell of this soap outweighs any that I have purchased in the past, each time I enter my bathroom I can vaguely smell patchouli, and I am loving it! Also of note, these products did not leave a ring around my tub!

I ended my experience by applying the Lavender Body Balm and, after a deep sigh, found myself ready to fall asleep relaxed and smelling great! The balm is thick and powerful, which left me feeling a bit greasy, but put moisture in my skin that was needed after a harsh winter in the Northeast.

The mother and daughter team that have dreamed up these wonderful products is to be commended. They have created a product that is useful, natural and feminine without compromising quality. They have reasonable prices and fast shipping! I highly recommend visiting their site today and finding out more about these great products—and more!

Written by: Angie Dobson, May 21st 2007

Plum Sculpture Lash Mascara

admin — Sat, 12 May 2007 11:14:00 +0000

By Bésame Cosmetics

The mission statement of Bésame Cosmetics is “Effortless Beauty and Elegant Style,” and upon opening my package of plum colored Sculpture Lash Mascara, which was my first experience with the company, the packaging alone delivers on their intent.

Sculpture Lash Mascara is their latest product, and it comes in two shades, plum and black. The etched, gold case is eye catching and would add elegant style to even the most fashionable of make-up bags. As for effortless? Over the course of a few weeks, I was able to have a fairly good cry, take some very sweaty classes at the gym and walk in the pouring rain all without any streaking, and very few pauses to reapply.

Bésame is a young, Los Angeles-based company that is going global at a rapid rate. Unfortunately, one detail they seem to have overlooked was putting enough preservatives into their mascara formula. After only two weeks of use, just opening the tube of mascara allowed an extremely unpleasant odor to emanate, and I certainly would not apply it to my lashes. Most of their other products have experienced great reviews, and perhaps the recipe just needs a bit of tweaking, but at $25 a tube, the alterations are necessary. They say the average shelf life of mascara is four months; I would have liked at least one month in order to become a repeat customer.

Written by: Anna Utevsky, May 12th 2007