ecofabulous

Preety Cheeky

We know that beauty comes from within. But that doesn’t seem to stop blemishes from popping up right before big date nights and important meetings. And call us shallow, but when you’ve woken up on the wrong side of bed and there’s no beauty radiating from inside, a little makeup goes a long way. For a natural look, stock up on fresh finish mineral cream makeup from sukicolor. Made without synthetic materials, the line is comprised of ingredients purchased from ethical, fair trade and small business sources. The glass packaging cuts down on harmful plastics, and the paper packaging is recycled stock printed with vegetable ink. And, as sukicolor shows, sometimes beauty comes from within the makeup — just take a look at the pure cream stain for lips and cheeks, made with 100 percent natural crushed mineral pigments. Pretty nice!

Smells Like Clean Spirit

Patyka is an Ecofabulous favorite, but only recently did we sniff out their alluring perfumes. The company grows and extracts all of its own materials, which are certified organic by Ecocert, an independent review board accredited by the European Union and the US Ministry of Agriculture. The scents are free of toxins like silicone, petroleum, PEG, sulfates, parabens, phenoxyethanol and other synthetic materials. Intoxicating ingredients include extracts from flowers, citrus fruits, leaves, spices, cereals and resin. For a refined scent, dab a little Chypre on your pulse points. The combination of geranium and ylang ylang is deliciously sophisticated. And with Patyka’s fair trade policy, everyone is sure to "Love" it!

Brush With Greatness

Now that you’ve made the switch to eco-friendly makeup (if you still need suggestions, check our beauty category), replace your makeup brushes with ecoTOOLS. Featuring bamboo handles, taklon bristles (a synthetic filament), and ferrule constructed from recycled aluminum cans, the brushes are fantastically cheap. The powder brush is only $7.99, while the eye shadow brush will only set you back $3.99. The line has also joined forces with 1% For the Planet so that one percent of ecoTOOLS’ annual sales will be donated toward eco-initiatives. These are available at many drug stores like Walgreens, Duane Reade, or Ulta, so even if you aren't a regular Whole Foods shopper, you can get tools that are as good for the planet as they are for your skin. They come in recyclable/reusable packaging printed with plant-based ink.

A Totally Beautiful Sweepstakes

Help TotalBeauty give consumers the greatest green knowledge on your favorite (or not so favorite) beauty products by reviewing them on their site... and enter for a chance to win the new 2008 Saturn Vue Hybrid fully-loaded with green and organic products at the same time. Every time you write a review, you'll be entered for daily prizes as well as a Vue to the grand prize. This is the perfect opportunity to get women thinking about how to truly achieve natural beauty. To be a part of the Totally Green Sweepstakes and share your eco-beauty lore, click here.
 

Are your Lips Ecocentric?

The TED swag bag was super stellar this year with lots of eco gifts, but Pangea's Ecocentric Lipcare was the most useful item of them all. On average, each woman packs on around 11 pounds of lipcare a year (think about how much of that ends up being ingested!). Pangea creates the softest lips without the use of petrochemicals, parabens, GMOs or other synthetic or potentially harmful ingredients you wouldn't dream of kissing. Instead these luxurious sticks are chock-full of vitamins, nutrients and essential fatty acids that moisturize lips beautifully, organically and naturally. I'm partial to the Egyptian Fennel with Grapefruit & Sweet Orange, fresh with a touch of sweetness.

If You Are Dyeing to Try a New Shade...

Hairstylist Susan Henry is the owner of Shades Salon in the heart of Beverly Hills. Besides boasting a staff of great stylists, the salon is eco-friendly (yes, in Beverly Hills). What makes the salon most unique is Susan Henry's all-natural, 100% ammonia-free, permanent color process. Susan developed the color after suffering from numerous health problems due to years of working with ammonia-based dyes. It took some imagination and many hours of experimenting in her kitchen sink, but from there, Shades Natural Color was born. No worries if you can't make it to SoCal, you can order the products online. And there's no need to brave the hair coloring process on your own at home (if you are anything like me, you will end up with purple locks) - just take the color to your stylist and have them apply it.

Strange Invisible Perfumes

Ditch your synthetic scents and sniff out a perfume concocted by Alexandra Balahoutis, the founder of Strange Invisible Perfumes. Since 2000, Balahoutis and Strange Invisible Perfumes have been creating botanical perfumes from essences that are organic, wild-crafted, pesticide-free or biodynamically cultivated. The company distills its own essences in efforts to achieve a pure scent and the perfumes are even set in a base of 100 percent organic grape alcohol. And the refillable, glamorous packaging is reminiscent of those that adorned the nightstands of the heroines, made famous, on the silver screen.

Mod Skin

One of our ecofab researchers is a die-hard Mod.Skin Labs convert. This unisex line of skincare provides a sleek, no frills way to exfoliate, hydrate and nourish. Encased in glass, Mod.Skin utilizes organic ingredients to get the job done. Blue Green Algae, Rosemary, Lotus Extract and Roman Chamomile with amino acids, vitamins, minerals, chlorophyll and other trace elements come together to create unique blends like the Samurai Scrub and Chilean Lip Panache, all without the use of parabens or synthetic detergents, dyes and fragrances. By eliminating toxins and superfluous packaging, by being certifiably animal cruelty-free and by pledging to plant a tree through their "Project (Re) Tree" for every product purchased, Mod.Skin captured our attention. After using the collection, they've become a mainstay for this glowing girl.

Aveda Re-Cap

When you toss your empty bottles into the recycling bin you feel like you are doing your part, right? Unfortunately, plastic caps can’t be processed along with the rest of the bottle. So, often times, recycling plants just slice off the caps and throw them in the trash. To cut down on the amount of plastic bottle caps that wind up in landfills, oceans and the stomachs of animals, Aveda is collecting the culprits to do a little recycling of their own. The beauty company will use the plastic to make new caps for its Clove Shampoo bottles, which will hit shelves in time for Aveda’s 30th anniversary in September. Stop by an Aveda store (click here for locations) from now through May 10th and drop off your caps. If you hand over 25 or more, you’ll score a free sample from Aveda. Stuck in the middle of nowhere? Mail your caps to Aveda Re-Cap Program, ACA Waste Services, 40 EADS St., Babylon, NY 11704.

Buddha Has the Power to Banish

Though we don't expect a balm to banish all signs of PMS (and I'm not admitting to ever falling victim to it), this one from Buddha Nose uses organic and wild-crafted essential oils (in particular: clary sage, rose, geranium, ginger root and black pepper) that can be rubbed onto the belly to promote hormone balance and circulation. In addition, the Girl Balm uses unrefined beeswax (vegans beware), organic hemp seed oil and jojoba to soothe and soften the skin. For surprising relief on those days (even if it only comes from the seductive, recyclable packaging), the Girl Balm is the bomb!