Babies Eat These Sunscreens Up (Hopefully Not Literally)

Posted by:  Jordan

We took our 3 month old baby girl to Puerto Rico for a little vacation last month and I asked the pediatrician if I could use sunscreen on her (I’ve read conflicting views of sunscreen on babies under 6 months).  She said to just make sure I did a test patch on her to be certain there were no allergies.   Of course, I also had to make sure that the ingredients were safe and all-natural. Being the product junkie that I am, I couldn’t be satisfied with just bringing one sunscreen with us on vacation–no, I had to bring three.  All three of these sunscreens are listed on EWG’s Safest Sunscreen list from 2011

First in my bag was my tried-and-true Marie Veronique’s Kid Safe Screen (see my review of that sunscreen here), which I mainly used for myself, but I did use it on my daughter occasionally as well…it just happens to be one of my personal favorites so I didn’t exactly want to share.  Mom of  the year award??

 

I had some leftover Badger Unscented Sunscreen from last summer that I also brought with us.  This one used to be my husband’s favorite until he tried the Marie Veronique sunscreen (again, I was reluctant to share).  This sunscreen was great for covering large portions of my daughter’s body because it was so thick and spreadably creamy, so it was simple to make sure we had all portions of exposed skin covered.  Notice the 2.9 oz size–thank you for thinking of air travelers, Badger!

 

Finally, I bought a travel and diaper-bag friendly sunscreen stick from California Baby, which is so convenient!  The small, lightweight size makes it perfect for keeping in your bag for spontaneous trips to the park, which we’ve been doing a lot this past week since we’ve been blessed with 70 degree days here in NYC.  The trick to this sunscreen is to apply it to your fingers first, and then spread it on your baby’s face, ears, etc; otherwise, if you apply it directly to the skin it can sometimes leave tiny clumps that are hard to blend in.   The stick form is great for baby’s face because when you’re applying sunscreen to a squirmy child they have an annoying tendency to want to turn their head away from the sunscreen blitzkrieg.  The stick makes it less likely for you to accidentally get sunscreen in baby’s eye as you’re trying to pin him or her down.

With this arsenal of safe and effective sunscreens, hopefully I’ll prevent my daughter from having to get her sunspots removed via light-therapy in 30 years, like I recently did.  Curses to you, pre-prom tanning beds.

Dr Hauschka Makeup Palette in Cool Breeze

Posted by:  Jordan

I recently had a much-needed massage at Area Yoga and Spa on Smith Street in Brooklyn, and as I was paying for the treatment, I noticed a 50% off table.  To my delight this beautiful makeup palette from Dr. Hauschka was among the sale goodies!  It retails for $50 but I got it for just $25!! (If you live in Brooklyn, you might call the store to see if they still have them on sale…this was about 3 weeks ago that I bought it.)  Isn’t it fun for Spring?  It also comes in Warm Breeze (more warm-toned colors) but I thought the turquoise just added a punch of color that would look nice in small doses.  I love using the top color (a shimmery champagne color) on my lid and the darker brown in the crease.  The eyeliner that comes with the palette is Aqua so I use that as a liner and then, using a wet eyeliner brush dipped in the turquoise shadow, I trace over the liner, which adds just a bit more of the gorgeous aqua color at the lash line.  You can also use the turquoise shadow as a sheer wash all over the lid, which looks nice with just a charcoal liner and black mascara.  The lip colors are both very neutral and wearable.  My only complaint is that they both have shimmer in them, and I wish one of them was shimmer and one not.  But I do like both of the colors and the texture is creamy and easy to apply with the included brush.

Today I am packing for our annual escape-the-winter-trip to Puerto Rico and this palette is definitely coming along.  The only other makeup I’m bringing is a mascara, my Marie Veronique tinted moisturizer with SPF, and my Vapour Multi-Use blush in” Spark”.  Makes packing a bit easier!

Quick Fixes and Multi-Taskers: Essentials for a New Mom

Posted by:  Jordan

Apologies for the lack of posts…the end of 2011 has been hectic with a new baby, so not only have I had less time to blog, but I’ve also unfortunately had less time to test out new beauty products.  My daughter is currently napping on my husband’s chest, so I’m taking the gift of a few quiet minutes to updates you guys on a few of my favorite products that I haven’t yet had a chance to report on.

As a new mom, spare time for myself is a luxury.  So any product that is a multi-tasker is a huge plus.  Multi-tasking is what Skin and Bones excels at.  Skin and Bones is a company that sells only two products–a cleanser and a moisturizer–and handy products they are.  The 100% natural and vegan cleanser is a face and body cleanser with just a touch of exfoliating black jojoba beads, so this one product can replace your face cleanser, body cleanser, and exfoliator.  Think of this cleanser as a really glamorous alternative to Dr. Bronner’s.  Note:  Like Dr. Bronner’s, I don’t recommend this product as a shampoo replacement (even though Skin & Bones doesn’t advertise it as a shampoo on their website, I wanted to give it a try for test purposes).  It’s not terrible, and it would do in a pinch, but it left my fine hair too heavy and greasy looking.  However, on the night I tested this cleanser as a shampoo, my husband commented–out of the blue, not knowing I had tested out a new “shampoo”– that my hair looked nice and had a lot of body (I didn’t even know he knew that hair could have “body”).  He doesn’t normally seem to notice things like when I haven’t washed my hair in 3 days, so to have him comment on it said something.  So there you go!  To each his own.

The other Skin and Bones product is their 100% organic all-purpose moisturizing oil.  This oil can be used as a body/face/cuticle/hair moisturizer, a massage oil, an invigorating scalp oil, stretch mark preventer…the list goes on and on.  Really, you can use it on anything that ails you!  The scent of both products is pleasingly unisex and woodsy, so they’re great for the whole family (as long as you’re not against woodsy, spicy scents).  Both of these items are perfect for travel since they replace so many products.  They even sell a TSA-approved travel size of the moisturizer on their website.  For an extra skin-exfoliating boost, just grab a sugar packet from the hotel coffee nook and add it to a handful of the oil to create a perfect travel-friendly exfoliator.

Another product that I’m enjoying in my new-mom beauty routine is a quick 5 minute exfoliating facial mask from Naturopathica.  The Sweet Cherry Brightening Enzyme Peel is a speedy way to brighten and smooth my sleep-deprived skin.  The cherry scent is just like fresh squeezed cherry juice, and nothing like the artificial cherry scent you know from your childhood “red flavored” popsicles.  Thanks to the lactic acid, wine extract, and salicylic acid, after just 5 minutes of having this mask on my skin (something even I can find time to do a couple of times  a week–I like to put it on in the evening while brushing my teeth), my face more resembles my baby’s super-soft skin, and less like my calloused heels.  Though it’s quick-working, it’s super gentle and doesn’t make my sensitive skin red at all.

Hope everyone has a happy new year.  Here’s to a naturally beautiful 2012!

Lanolin Agg Tval – Swedish Eggwhite Facial Soap

Posted by:  Jordan

My mom and I are both suckers for cute packaging, so when we saw this soap at a Scandinavian gift shop in Geneva, IL, we couldn’t resist trying it out.  And isn’t the folksy charm of this soap just too cute not to buy?  Especially when the product promises Old World Nordic beauty results.   This facial soap is made with a vegetable base, rich lanolin and glycerine, egg white powder, and rose water.  I find that the fattiness of the lanolin (lanolin comes from the fat of sheep’s wool, so this soap is not vegan-friendly; however, this product is not tested on animals) and the calming rose water help alleviate the tight feeling that the egg whites impart.

The pore-tightening quality of the egg whites is what makes this soap unique.  I use it once or twice a week as a mini-facial by first removing any makeup, then creating a rich lather and letting the soapy lather sit on your skin for a few minutes–thereby allowing the egg whites to do their thing.  Rinse off with cool water to give your skin a brightening little pick-me-up.

I really love using bar soaps while traveling–no liquids to have to worry about spilling all over your bag, or making sure you abide by the TSA’s 3 oz travel restrictions.

You can buy this adorable Swedish facial soap at various gift shops or online at Amazon for about $5-$6 a bar, which is a great deal considering it will last you months if you only use it a couple of times a week.  Makes for a great hostess gift/stocking stuffer, or just a treat for yourself!  It’s amazing how happy a $5 adorably packaged box of soap sitting on my bathroom sink can make me!

Update 3/9/12:  Thanks to a sleuthy reader who has been trying to find this soap, it has been discovered that there is something fishy going on.  You can’t find the original formulation of this soap–by the Victoria Company– in stores anywhere!  I did notice that a seller on Amazon has a 6-bar box for sale, but who knows how many they have in stock since there seems to be a nationwide (worldwide?) shortage.  If  you find the imposter soap by the Kala company that looks to be nearly identical in packaging, be forewarned that it’s not the original formula;  I hear the new version is quite drying, but I haven’t personally tried it.  The photo below is what the new soap looks like; if you’re trying to find the original formula that I fell in love with last summer, this isn’t it.  There is a lawsuit currently in progress filed by the Victoria company against Kala, so hopefully our original eggwhite soap formula will return to us soon!

Marie Veronique Organics

Posted by:  Jordan

Photo courtesy of Fig+Sage: read their comprehensive review of MVO by clicking on photo!

You’re going to hate me after I tell you about my latest skincare obsession.  Well, I hope you’ll thank me too, because I think you’ll end up loving these products as much as I do.  But if you’re anything like me, you’ll want to go out and immediately buy every incredible product that Marie Veronique Organics makes!  Thus, the hate me part of the equation comes when you see your credit card bill.

With humble beginnings in her Bay Area kitchen, Marie Veronique Nadeau, a former chemistry teacher, started this all-natural skincare company in 2003 as a holistic and eco-friendly way to focus on aging gracefully.  Her company sincerely focuses on ways to not only help consumers make an educated decision (see the Glossary of Ingredients which explains each ingredient they use, or the News & Research page to learn more), but they also donate 10% of their proceeds to the Acumen Fund, an organization that works to create opportunities for women and children in third world countries.  Emily and I just love companies like this–an intelligent, go-getter type of woman who started her own business that helps others look and feel their best, while simultaneously helping our environment and those less fortunate than us.  See, now don’t you just want to buy everything from this company?  If you’re not yet convinced, let me just rave about the best part–their products!!

We were generously sent samples of three products to test out:

Kid Safe Screen

A water-resistant SPF 25+ sunscreen made with no harmful chemicals or nanoparticles.  If Sun Putty was my favorite sunscreen last year, this is the winner for this year!  It goes on smoothly and evenly and protected me from a VERY hot and sunny day out at Rockaway Beach in NY yesterday.  A 2.7 ounce bottle (travel friendly size–thank you, MVO!) sells for $19, which is competitive with other natural sunscreens on the market.  Plus, EWG’s Skin Deep gives it a safety ranking of just 1, which is great!  As a sidenote, EWG loves Marie Veronique Organics as much as I do–they recently included all three of these sun-protection products in their Top 25 Sunscreens this year!

Anti-Aging Day Serum

We’ve all heard the importance of a serum in our skin-care regimen and this one is fantastic.  It has a slightly cinnamon-y scent and immediately tightens your skin upon contact, without drying it.  I was worried at first that the tightening sensation was because it was sucking all the remaining moisture out my skin, but that’s not at all the case!  In one word this serum with SPF 20 is perfection.  You can use it alone on rainy days or days when you’ll be indoors most of the day–it leaves a great matte finish.  On very sunny days or when you plan to be outside for an extended amount of time, it’s advised to use this product in conjunction with the Moisturizing Face Screen.

Update/Correction: My original post was misinforming–I mistakenly gave you the link to the Anti-Wrinkle Serum, thinking that it was the same thing as the Anti-Aging Day Serum.  It’s not!!  I have corrected the link to take you to the correct product, which is now called Everyday Sheer Coverage (it used to be called the Anti-Aging Day Serum).  Confusion abound!  But the good news is that the Everyday Sheer Coverage is only $50 for 2 oz, not $140/ounce like the super luxe Anti-Wrinkle Serum.

Moisturizing Face Screen, SPF 30

Behold my favorite product I’ve tried from MVO!  This stuff is like the glamour girl version of my former favorite tinted moisturizer with sunscreen from 100% Pure (which, don’t get me wrong, I still love my 100% Pure but it just can’t compare with the end results from this product from MVO!)  It evens out my skin tone, immediately makes my pores smaller and my skin firmer, and creates a nearly flawless look by blending in imperfections and discolorations.  It also gives my complexion a nice glowy look (not to be mistaken with shiny because it’s not at all a shiny, oily finish).  I can’t rave enough about how much better my skin looks after applying this miracle product to my face in the mornings!  This ultra lightweight (perfect for summer!) moisturizing sunscreen comes in three tints to choose from: No Tint, Light, and Medium.  Apparently for the fairest of the fair the No Tint is recommended since it has a yellow tint that evens out any redness without adding any color.  I’ve been using the Light Tint which blends perfectly for my skin.  Emily has been trying out the Medium Tint which works for her slightly tanner skin with olive undertones.  However, I tested out the Medium Tint to see how much different it was from the Light and it blended perfectly on my skin as well.  I think the colors are just so universally flattering that you can’t make a wrong choice!  Thankfully the price of this product won’t send you into sticker shock: $40 for 2 ounces.  One tip on how to apply this moisturizer: apply a few drops to your fingertips and then gently press the liquid into your skin, rather than rubbing it in.  I’ve found that this technique helps it spread evenly while not using an excessive amount of product.

So, where to start with all these products?  I’m personally wanting to buy the Anti-Aging Travel Kit  which allows you to try a cleanser of your choice, the anti-aging mist, the anti-aging oil (which I’ve read is addictive!), and the Moisturizing Face Screen in your choice of the 3 tints.  All of 4 products in a handy travel/sample sizes for $51 should help you decide which products you want to invest in full-size versions of.

Or, if you’re already sold on my review of the Moisturizing Face Screen and know that you’d like to buy the full-size version of that, we’ve got a special Product Junkies Rehab exclusive deal for you, which lasts until 7/31/11! Receive a free 1/4 oz Anti-Aging Oil+ (a $20 value!) with the purchase of the Moisturizing Face Screen using code MVOJunkies at checkout.  See, maybe you’ll love me, after all!

We all have our neuroses

Posted by: Jordan

 

My top phobias in order of least anxiety-inducing to most terrifying:

#3: Waiting for my baggage to come down the baggage carousel and fearing that all 180 people around me will see all of my underwear spilling out of an open pocket of the luggage, and then, being too embarrassed to scoop it all up off the carousel, I just watch it go round and round.

#2: Overflowing toilets.

#1: Like 98% of all New Yorkers – bed bugs.

Thanks to my completely unoriginal phobia of these fang-y pests, at least once a month I’ll wake up having a horrible nightmare about having bed bugs, and often I’ll have a scalp scratched raw from subconsciously scratching myself in my horrible nightmare.  This recurring nightmare was made even more real to my subconscious this past week when we were in Puerto Rico.  In addition to the abundant sunshine, they also have an abundance of mosquitos, or some similar insect that leaves me with itchy bug bites.  Because of these pesky bites I woke up from my bed bug nightmare itching very real bug bites all over my body (thankfully, not from bed bugs).

As soon as I got home I reached for the yet-to-be-tested sample of Anti-Itch Formula from Neem Tree Farms.  I had received a sample of this soothing oil from the company’s owner after she related to my post about my first experience with the exceptionally stinky neem oil.  She sent me a couple samples of her products along with the promise that they smelled much better!  And she’s right!!  The Anti-Itch Formula mostly smells of lemongrass and lavender, and only faintly of neem (I think because my nose is now trained to sniff out straight neem, it’s easily detectable for me, but for a “neem virgin”, I don’t think you’d detect it at all in the Anti-Itch Formula).  Immediately after applying the oil, my mosquito bites stopped itching and became less inflamed and red.  I have a feeling this oil will be a staple in our house this summer!

I also tried out the Neem Bark Toothpowder, which I really loved.  Thank god, it tastes nothing like neem; rather it tastes like a winter dessert full of cinnamon and cloves.  It’s kind of fun to use too–you just dip your toothbrush loaded with toothpaste into the powder to get a light coating on top of your toothpaste.

Thank you, Neem Tree Farms, for showing me that neem oil can be beneficial, while not making me stink like a garlicky everything bagel!

Zakia’s Morocco: Multi-tasking Argan Oil Wonders

Posted by:  Jordan

What is it about multi-tasking products that make me and Emily fall to our knees in praise?  It certainly isn’t because we want to streamline our products…what fun would our lives be without our beloved plethora of new products to discover and fall in love with?  Rather, it’s more like “well, if I were stranded on a deserted island, I could pretty much rely on just this one product to do everything.”  Or take traveling, for instance, when you’re limited to one little Ziploc baggie full of precious 3 oz liquids.  That’s when our multi-taskers really shine!  Emily and I agree that one our favorite multi-taskers recently has been an unassuming bottle of Argan Oil we received from Zakia’s Morocco.  I know we’ve been praising Argan Oil for a while now, but this is pure, simple Argan Oil–no fancy essential oils or other exotic ingredients added in.  And it’s simply wonderful!  I love to use it as my nightly makeup remover (massage a small amount over your face, giving your tense muscles a relaxing one-minute massage, and then tissue off), followed by a foaming cleanser.  It really gets my face extra clean without stripping it of moisture.  And because it’s my go-to multi-tasking product these days, I not only remove my makeup with it, but it obviously also makes for an unbeatable facial moisturizer after cleansing.  It’s absolutely perfect when traveling–two products in one 1.69 oz bottle (four really, if you also use it as a body moisturizer and a leave-in hair conditioner, which I do!)  If you’re a frequent traveler, I definitely recommend a bottle of this high-quality Argan Oil as your multi-tasker.

Speaking of 2-in-1 products, Zakia’s also makes an incredible Black Soap that doubles as the best natural shave gel I’ve found.  This soap, made from an olive oil and vitamin E base with Argan Oil, is just about the coolest texture I’ve ever seen in a soap.  It’s like a firm jelly which lathers up.  So much fun to dig your fingertips into!  The suggested method in using this soap is described on Zakia’s website:

First: Make sure your bath or shower is hot and as steamy as possible.  It is important for your skin to be already warm, moist and humid for best results.  Apply to your face and body in small circular movements.  Leave the soap for between five and ten minutes so that the Black Soap may assist in unclogging your skin’s pores and starting the cleansing process.  Rinse thoroughly.

Second: For extraordinary smoothing results follow the Black Soap wash with a thorough exfoliation using the Moroccan exfoliating glove or “Kessa” .  Rub energetically in a vertical motion (not circular) in order to remove all the dead cells.  You will see the dead skin peel away.  Rinse off and you will be amazed and delighted with the result. Smooth, silky and radiant.

Third: After drying, and for the perfect complement to the Black Soap treatment continue with a massage using Zakia’s pure Argan Oil or one of our special facial oils. Your skin will never be as silky and luminous.

I tried this out and, while I got a bit cold standing around in the shower for 5 minutes waiting for the soap to unclog my pores, it did make my skin extremely soft afterwards!  But I’ve found my favorite method is to wash my hair, giving my skin time to open its pores in the steam, then turn the water off and apply the jelly-like black soap with my hands.  While you’re waiting for the soap to detoxify and do all of its little tricks, use the lather on your legs to shave.  When you’re done shaving grab an exfoliating sponge (wet with warm water first) and massage your soapy body.  The results of all this work are worth it.  Not a daily ritual by any means, but as a once a week mini-spa experience, it’s fabulous!

Not only will your skin look and feel beautiful, but you can also feel good about using Zakia’s products, socially and environmentally; they make a true concerted effort to preserve the Argan Trees’ ancient natural forests while empowering local women by employing them at fair wages.  Zakia’s has several other products which I’m certain are just as lovely, but we haven’t yet tried–Jasmine Clay Mask, I’m looking at you!

Green Beauty Shopping in Europe

Posted by:  Jordan

I just got back from a wonderful anniversary trip to Italy and London–I still can’t believe that the trip that we had been looking forward to for so long is already over!  But I did bring back some green beauty souvenirs that I wanted to post about.

Our trip began on the Ligurian coast of Italy, in a very small town called Tellaro on the Bay of Poets.  Such a beautiful coastline–I can’t recommend it enough if you’re wanting to do an Italian Riviera trip that’s a bit off the beaten path.  From the very beginning I was anxious to see what kinds of European natural beauty treats I would discover, and I pre-warned my husband that we would be stopping in every possible pharmacy and/or beauty store.  Good sport that he is, I got started on my mission from Day 1 of arriving at our destination.  Sadly, I left our 4 days on the coast empty-handed!  No interesting natural beauty products to be found at all.

Village of Tellaro in Italy

So, on we went to Tuscany where I hoped that the agricultural focus would lead me to more of a selection in the world of natural beauty.  I did have a bit more luck there.  In the town of Montalcino I went into a pharmacy and saw Weleda Rosemary Shampoo, which I had never seen before because it is not sold in the U.S. market (we only have the Calendula baby shampoo/body wash).  I left the pharmacy excited about my discovery, but without the shampoo, thinking I would be able to pick it up at another pharmacy later in the trip since we were spending 6 days in Tuscany.  Several days went by and I didn’t run across the shampoo again.  So I made my extremely good sport of a husband drive 45 minutes back to Montalcino so I could buy the shampoo!  After buying and using the fresh-smelling shampoo I realized that Sodium Laureth Sulfate is listed in the ingredient list.  If you’re trying to be more green with your beauty choices, it is typically suggested to try to avoid sulfates, as they are potential toxins and skin irritants.  So, I’m not wowed by this particular discovery.  The only other natural beauty product purchased in Tuscany were some nice bar soaps scented with lavender, rosemary, and honey.  I picked up the rosemary one as a gag gift for Emily because it was a New Moon soap (yes, as in the Twilight saga movie).  See, we were staying in Montepulciano where the town was just thrilled to be chosen as the filming site for New Moon.  So everything from olive oil to tee shirts to natural soaps was emblazoned with tourist-friendly New Moon logos!

We spent our last 2 days of our 2 week European vacation in London.  Now here is a natural beauty junkie’s dream town!!  (Although my new Danish friend, Line, who I met in Tuscany–Hi if you’re reading Line!–told me that if I’m interested in natural beauty, I really need to make a shopping trip to Copenhagen.  Done!  Next trip idea solved.)  For 2 days I dragged my husband around various neighborhoods in London where I learned that some natural beauty stores were located.  But it took us forever to get to those destinations because I kept getting sidetracked by tons of health food stores, homeopathic spas, and pharmacies selling natural skincare and cosmetics, such as The Organic Pharmacy (which I found out has store location in LA–lucky west coasters!).  At one of the local health food stores they had an extensive Weleda section with several products not sold in the U.S.!  And, miracle of all miracles (especially in London), they were MUCH cheaper than in the U.S.!!!  So of course I stocked up.  I bought a Weleda Rosemary & Ginger Shampoo and Conditioner (sulfate free in this version!) as well as my favorite new purchase, the Weleda Aknedoron Cleanser and Purifying Lotion.  These products are intended for “problem skin”, which of course my fickle skin can be a bit troublesome at times, so I had to have this in my unending quest to replace my formerly addictive Proactiv.  I haven’t been using it long, but I’m really liking it so far!  It has sulfur in it, which Emily loves in “problem skin” products.

One of the special destinations on my London list was in Covent Gardens, Neal’s Yard Remedies.  They had several locations in London, but I’m so glad we went to this one because Covent Gardens was one of my favorite neighborhoods we visited.  Look at how cute this is: Neal’s Yard is an enchanting little store filled with homeopathic remedies, teas, and a dizzying array of their own line of skincare.  I bought a natural lavender sunscreen, which I’ll review in a separate post after I’ve had a chance to use it more.  I took this picture of the decal on the front door of the store.  Love their philosophy!

Around the corner from Neal’s Yard Remedies is this little gem of a cheese store, which has nothing to do with natural beauty unless you think cheese makes you beautiful, in which case I love you and you need to come live with me!  Other than my natural beauty store, I’d love to own a cheese shop just like this one.

Not only did we have an incredible, relaxing, well-fed vacation in Italy and London, but it also turned out to be a great green beauty shopping trip for me.  Though our 2 days in London provided me with a lot more goodies, I think maybe if I were in bigger cities in Italy I might have had more luck in my natural product search.  Has anyone else had a summer trip that provided them with some great international or lesser known green beauty products?  Please share your experiences so Emily and I know where, other than Copenhagen, to go next!

Revolution Organics All-Over Body Balm

Posted by:  Jordan

I’ve been using this organic do-it-all balm stick since January, and I have to tell you, my lips survived this winter in better shape than they’ve ever been during a cold, dry spell.  I use it each morning and night after brushing my teeth, and the great thing about using it as a lip balm is that the stick is so wide, that you’re simultaneously moisturizing the area around your lips, which also tends to get dry in the winter.  It’s an absolute requisite before I get in bed each night!  When I wake up in the morning, no more parched, cracked winter lips.

But the cool thing about this balm is that it’s a multitasking product.  The label says there’s 22+ uses, and I started intensely thinking what those 22+ might be.  Thanks to Google, I now can sleep at night knowing some of the other uses, aside from an awesome lip balm:

• Relieving chapped lips
• Taming unruly eyebrows
• Nourishing dry cuticles
• Soothing dry spots
• Fighting free radicals
• Calming skin irritations
• Softening lines
• Preventing stretch marks
• Conditioning dry hands
• Feeding parched nails
• Smoothing flyaways
• Sealing in skin moisture
• Combating flaking skin
• Conditioning hair
• Priming skin for makeup

I also read in a review somewhere to try it as a body moisturizer for travel purposes.  That might work in a pinch, but there’s something that just grosses me out just a little when I think of rubbing the tube of balm all over my body, and then using it as a lip balm.

At $27.95 it’s pretty expensive, but i think this one stick will probably last me at least 5 years!  So in the end it’s not that expensive when you consider the cost per use, as well as all the wonderfully moisturizing organic ingredients they use.  The company, Revolution Organics, is quite admirable too.  It was started by two women, Melissa and Alexandra, who wanted to make their lives and beauty products healthier.  I always love supporting companies that were started by women who were frustrated with their lack of a certain beauty product they wanted!

WHY ARE REVOLUTION ORGANICS PRODUCTS SO ‘REVOLUTIONARY’?

We believe that what you put in a product is just as important as what you leave out. That is why we chose only certified organic plant-based ingredients that meet the rigorous standards of the USDA to ensure the integrity and purity of our products. Each ingredient is carefully selected for their skin benefiting properties and all of our formulations combine highly concentrated blends of nourishing organic butters, oils, herbs and certified organic perfume blends to create our beautiful formulations.

The true ‘revolutionary’ thing about our products is that they are all multi-tasking. They do more so you can use less. Besides making healthy choices, we were aware of the fact that many of our customers, like us, were concerned about reducing their consumption, even their beauty consumption. Having products that can be used many different ways, on many different areas of the body, isn’t necessarily a ‘revolutionary’ idea, but we were surprised that no one else was doing it!

Juice Beauty: Organics to Clear Skin Kit

Posted by: Jordan

At first I was afraid,
I was petrified,
Kept thinking I could never live without you by my side,
But then I spent so many nights just thinking how you did me wrong
And I grew stong
And I learned how to get along

 
I’m fairly certain that Ms. Gaynor was referring to a lost love, but in recent weeks this song has got me thinking about my own lost love: Proactiv.  I was lucky enough to be mostly clear-skinned all through my otherwise ugly duckling teen years, but when I hit 25 my hormones decided that occasionally they’d like to make up for some lost time.  My friend Lora discovered Proactiv, and when I went to her with my skin woes, she shared her secret with me.  Bonding over our mutual drug of choice, we became fiends together.  When she decided to go natural with her beauty routine during pregnancy, and thus gave up our beloved Proactiv for nearly a year, I emailed my condolences, but was thinking to myself “another reason to put off that whole baby thing for a while longer”, and offered to take her Proactiv off her hands for her so that the precious creams wouldn’t go to waste.  When she was able to return to her old blemish-zapping routine, we rejoiced together. 

But now that I’ve decided to go natural with my beauty routine, the Proactiv had to go.  For good.  I hadn’t used it every day for years, but I’d keep it around for emergencies.  Lora, good friend that she is, took her first step along with me by permanently throwing out her chemical-heavy Proactiv.  For the first month of my completely natural skincare regimen, my face glowed and I thought to myself, “why did I rely on that junk as such a crutch??”  And then came the revolt.  Forehead and chin sprouts abound!  I kept waiting for the glow to come back, but all that came back were more red bumps.  Over a glass of wine at an organic restaurant on the Upper West side, I complained to Emily about what was going on with my face.  She suggested I try Juice Beauty’s Organics to Clear Skin Kit.  She said it was a great way to sample several of the products in their line, and she’d had great results with the blemish clearing serum.  The next day, I marched straight over to the Union Square Sephora during lunch time and couldn’t wait to try out the entire set!

 

 

Three weeks later, I’m a huge fan!  My face is nearly completely free of both blemishes and the drying that usually accompanies zit-zapping products.  I love everything in this set, including the bonus soft bamboo headband.  But I have to say, my most favorite product in this trial/travel sized kit is the Green Apple Peel mask.  You use it once a week, and I’ve found myself anxiously waiting for Thursday evening to arrive so I can use the mask again!  I read a few reviews on Sephora’s website that a few people were confused by the terminology, so let me clear that up for our readers.  Don’t think of this mask as one of those old-school masks that you literally peel off your face (anything that painful is obviously going to cause some irritation.)  You rinse this mask off.  The word peel is used in the sense of a chemical peel.  The fruit acids literally eat away at the dead skin, thereby exfoliating your face…you yourself do not peel the mask off.  The first time I used this mask, I put it on way too thick and my face turned bright red within minutes.  It went away after about 20 minutes, but it was a scary moment for a while there.  Coincidentally, when I was at Whole Foods during lunch a couple weeks ago with my friend Jamie, I was telling her about my one-week results so far with these great products and how much I especially loved the mask.  Like a guardian angel, a bubbly, glowing-skinned girl strolled up to us and asked if we needed help with any Juice Beauty products–she was the rep!!!  So I told her how much I was loving the results of the Green Apple Peel mask, and asked if she had any samples for Jamie to try out.  Precious-gift-from-above that she was, she opened a new container and scooped a few spoonfuls into a jar for Jamie to try.  And now Jamie is addicted too, and we both find ourselves getting ridiculously excited to our weekly peel!  But one tip to remember when using this mask, as stressed by the baby-faced Juice Beauty rep: do NOT put the mask on very thick.  Just a thin layer will do the trick.  In fact, the thicker you put it on, the more red and tingly your skin might temporarily get.  But the results will not be any better by piling it on. 

Yesterday I received this email from Lora:

it’s a [darn] good thing I threw out my proactiv because sistah.. I’m tellin ya.. I would have slathered that sh*t up on my zit full face like it was the day after lint and I had given up chocolate.

See, I told you we get a bit worked up about our breakouts.  In repayment to her blemish-fighting wisdom from our not-so-natural days, I told her to go try out this natural blemish-fighting kit and see if she likes it as much as I do.  It’s not an instant miracle like Proactiv was, but it also doesn’t contain carcinogens.  I think it’s a good trade-off, myself.