Living eco-consciously and other fun stuff!
Category : Beauty
I’m in LOVE with the Lip Glaze from 100% Pure! I have no idea why I haven’t tried it before. It feels more like a chapstick than lipstick but has fantastic color and because it has that slightly waxy chapstick feel it seems to stick longer than a liptstick. Not to mention it feels super moisturizing! It’s perfect for me! They’re $15 and I’ll definitely be ordering more colors!
Last night my friend and I went to EcoStiletto’s Green Girls Night Out in Chicago. I’ve been to similar events and have learned that you need to be there early, waiting by the door for the mad rush when the doors open. I prepared myself by looking at the photos from the event in other cities and found they were doing manicures, which from past experience meant we needed to make a bee-line for that table and sign up immediately upon arrival. Shockingly there was no line at the door when we arrived at 5:40 about 10 minutes later someone told us we could go in. We didn’t rush to the manicure table but still managed to secure spots at 6:30 so we grabbed a cocktail and made our rounds to the stations – which again to my surprise there was no waiting to get to the front of the table. Our first stop at the front entrance was for an Envirosax tote and a perfume from Agape & Zoe Naturals. Next up was the Tom’s of Maine table where we scored a travel sized toothpaste and floss – my friend got a full sized tube of their strawberry, fluoride-free children’s toothpaste for her baby. Across the room we saw the Nicobella chocolates and I was hoping they’d have a vegan option – much to my surprise they were all vegan! The pumpkin spice was amazing and super creamy (not always common with vegan chocolates due to the high content of cacao and no butter or milk) and the walnut flax was almost as good – only because I didn’t think it was as creamy but the flavors were great and you could actually taste the different notes of walnut and flax in it. Paula thought the walnut flax was creamier than the pumpkin spice so maybe in the end it just different among batches. Regardless, the chocolates were delicious and I would definitely purchase them. I was really looking forward to the Elemis table. I first discovered Elemis in the spa while on a cruise my senior year of college and then found it again that summer when I spent a month in England for my cousin’s wedding. The spa at the gym I joined there had it – of course – it was made in England! Since then I come across it now and then and even got some Elemis goodies from my Aunt at my wedding shower last year – she loves the products as well! I was most surprised to find that Nordstrom carries it now!
Next up were our manicures. I have read so much about Scotch Naturals nail polish and have been dying to try it myself. In theory it’s a fabulous product and I want to love it. It’s vegan, water based and insanely natural – no chemicals (way better than Zoya – which I LOVE). Head2Toe a mobile spa service did the manicures. The ladies were wonderful but having not used the product before they were only just learning how to apply it. According to the Scotch website you have to follow the directions to a T in order to have good results. I’m pretty sure they did, but the results still weren’t great. The polish is slightly streaky and does not have clean lines around the edges as conventional polish does – maybe being water based it bleeds? Not really sure but I walked away thinking they looked messy. I also had lots of stray polish around my nail beds which of course washed off when I got home, but it just didn’t impress me at first. Scotch also takes FOREVER to dry! It takes about an hour before you can even feel comfortable carefully touching anything and supposedly 6-7 hours to officially cure. When I first heard 6-7 hours I though who the heck has time for this? In the end, within 2 hours they seem pretty indestructible to me so it wasn’t that bad after all. That being said, 13 hours after the polish was applied they look like my Zoya polish looks after a full week of wear. They were worn at the edges by the time I got up this morning and after my shower I had a big chip on one of them. I’m going to hold out and see how much longer I can keep this on before I have to take it off. I’ll get back to you with a post on that.
We tried to hold out until the drawing for the diamond earrings at 8pm but at 7:40 we finally left. We were bored and freezing in the heavily air-conditioned room.
Oh – I don’t want to forget to mention my one complaint of the night. For being an eco-friendly event there were no vegan food options and only one vegetarian option! Shocking! The bruschetta had cheese and then there were crab cakes, chicken salad on bread and beef skewers (a real eco-sin!). I know not everyone is vegan – perhaps I was the only vegan there, but I would imagine there were at least a few vegetarians there and all they could eat was bruschetta! Since there was such a small crowd the woman serving the appetizers was houding us every 5 minutes with a new tray of stuff that I couldn’t eat. Jonathan Safran Foer recently said in an interview posted on The Ecologist, that environmentalists who eat meat have a blind spot, not to get preachy, but this is something I’ve had an issue with for quite some time. That being said, I was pretty disappointed to see 3/4 of the options at this event meat based.
Category : Beauty
Check out what is Currently In My Cosmetic Bag!
I rarely spend time posting negative feedback here but I’m just shocked at my bad experience with Tarte Cosmetics. Last week I ordered 3 new vegan cosmetics from them. They arrived Wednesday and as I pulled my three items out of the box I realized that they had given me the concealer and 2 eyelid primers instead of one and then the eyelash stain I’d wanted. Thursday I went online and filled out their customer service form explaining the issue and asking them what they’d like to do. On Friday – 24 hours later – I hadn’t gotten a response so I started calling the phone number on their website and kept getting a recording with no option to leave a message so I went back to the website and filled out the online form again. Monday rolled around and I STILL hadn’t heard back. I remembered that the telephone recording suggested sending them an email so I decided to call back and get that email address so I could try that route. Boy was I surprised when I called the same number I’d been calling (that I got off their website) and I heard: “the verizon wireless customer you’re trying to reach is unavailable”!!!! Crazy!!! At this point I called my credit card company and disputed the charges.
This was not my first order from Tarte Cosmetics but it will be my last. I love that they have a decent number of vegan products that are actually all really great but there is no way I’ll ever give them my business again. What a disappointment and how unprofessional of them! I’m just so surprised that I had this odd experience. I could see it more if they were a tiny company but they can’t be that small – their products are sold in big stores – Ulta for example!
Obviously I won’t buy their stuff again but I am loving their eyelid primer – it works really well!
Category : Beauty
I’ve been using Josie Maran’s new Argan Matchmaker Serum Foundation for a good week now and I’m loving it! It really is amazing how naturally it blends with your skin. When I worked for Estee Lauder we had a tinted moisturizer that did this but other than that I haven’t come across a product like this. I ordered the light medium and I’m curious how far into summer this will take me once I get some color. I LOVE how moisturizing this is! It definitely has a lot of argan in it which is fabulous during the dry winter, but again I’m curious if it’ll be too dewey/greasy in the summer. I shall see. Coverage wise, it’s perfect for me – smooth and light. You can add a powder over top to add a bit more coverage and to make a more matte finish if that’s what you prefer.
oh – and it also smells good – not that that matters at all, but I do like the smell
Category : Beauty
I love Josie Maran Cosmetics so when I got this newsletter from Fab Fit Fun I figured I’d share it with you….
What new product are you in love with?
I really love my new Argan Matchmaker Serum Foundation. It goes on white, but turns into your perfect shade as you blend it into your skin. It’s magic!
What is your favorite new beauty trend?
Winged eye liner. With my new Magic Marker Argan Liquid Liner you can achieve the glamorous look by applying a thin line along the inner lash line, and building the line thicker as you extend it outside the outer corner of the lash line. Instant drama!
What 2011 runway look got you excited?
Bold, bright lips! I loved seeing bright coral, plum, and red lips. My new shade, Tango, is a vibrant pink and will look great this spring.
If you could only take one product on a trip what would it be (and Brad Pitt is not considered a product)?
Argan Oil! I use it as my daily moisturizer, but it’s a great multi-tasker and can be used as a quick fix for split ends, dry cuticles, and even as a healing treatment for acne, eczema and psoriasis.
What celeb do you think always looks flawless and why?
Amy Adams always looks so fresh faced and natural. Her natural beauty shines through on and off the red carpet. Also, Adams used JM Cosmetics to create her glowing Oscar look
Category : Beauty
I was reading a recent edition of OK Magazine and saw this blurb on blue eyeliner being back in. Well, I’ve been using it for a long time. Blue really complements brown eyes – makes them pop. If you get the right blue it will barely be noticible from afar but up close you’ll like the softness of the blue for day time in comparison to stark black. I snapped a quick photo of the article with my blue Lavera Eyeliner. This eyeliner is a great choice – goes on smooth and wears well. It isn’t fully vegan as it does contain beeswax but sometimes I forget to check for that when I’m purchasing cosmetics. I recently noticed it contains palm oil, which concerned me as the production of palm oil is frequently connected to a great deal of de-forestation (we love our rainforests and hate to see them dwindling!) and thus the following animals becoming endangered species as their habitat has been taken away from them…Sumatran Tiger, Orangutans, Asian Elephant and Sumatran Rhinoceros. So…I started to feel guilty, but after a little research I found that there ARE SUSTAINABLE sources of palm oil AND that is precisely what Lavera uses! YEAH!!! This is the email response I got from Rebecca at Lavera …
Category : Beauty
I’m in love with my new Juicy Pink Grapefruit Lip Gloss from 100% Pure! It’s fantastic! I’m a huge fan of putting vitamin E on my lips – it’s a great clear gloss with lots of shine and intense moisture. 100% Pure pretty much took vitamin E and added fruit pigments to make awesome colored glossed that feel amazing – not super thick and sticky like many glosses. This stuff is the perfect in between from sheer to sticky – I love the consistency! It comes in lots of great colors/flavors. As of now I’ve only tried this one but I’m excited to try others in the future.
From 100% Pure…
100% Natural lip glosses made with 83% Vitamin E from organic rice bran and beautiful colors from fruit pigments. Vitamin E is a powerful anti-aging antioxidant that drenches your lips with moisture and deeply softens.
And as always with their products – I LOVE that I can read the label and understand EVERY INGREDIENT!!!!
Category : Beauty
I’m loving my new 100% Pure Fruit Pigmented Mascara!
I must admit that the first time I used it I wasn’t as crazy about it. I couldn’t get it to go on thick – I wanted to plump up my lashes not just make them darker. I kept coating but ended up with a very natural look. The next day I I noticed a significant difference in how it applied – I was liking it much more! Not sure why it changed so much but maybe after the tube got a little air it became the right consistency. Now I’m a huge fan of this stuff! I absolutely love how it smells – odd right?! It smells like berries – YUM! I’ve also been very happy with how well it wears – lasts and doesn’t give me raccoon eyes
It’s natural, vegetarian and if you read the ingredients, you’ll actually know what they are!!
Category : Beauty, International
In light of the ongoing Humanitarian disaster in Haiti, Josie Maran Cosmetics will donate half of all the sales made at JosieMaranCosmetics.com from now to the end of January to the American Red Cross.
