Archive for the ‘BEAUTY’ Category

So much of the focus in the natural & organic beauty world is on ingredients to avoid. It’s easy to forget that what’s so great about the products we discover that don’t have any of the bad stuff, is that they’re chock full of good stuff! In a new feature called “5 Things Friday”, we’d like to highlight some of that good stuff in 5 points.

Today’s 5 things come from a new line to Spirit Beauty Lounge: Amala.   Amala (ah-mah-la) means “most pure” in Sanskrit, “revered mother” in Tibetan and “love her” in Spanish. This German company seeks out high potency organic plants and custom distills them to ensure they retain their full therapeutic value. By protecting each plant, they’re able to formulate incredibly effective skincare with proven results!

Their 5 key ingredients:

1. Organic Emulsifiers One of the most unique aspects of this line  is their proprietary organic milk emulsifier.  Often the emulsifiers that make lotions and creams  feel so luxurious  can be tainted with impurities.  Instead of making excuses, Amala made promises – and to stick to their commitment to purity, developed their own emulsifier derived from local German organic milk.  The emulsifier is used throughout the Hydrate line.  Note the impossibly creamy, luxe feel of the Hydrating Hand Cream.


2. Blue Lotus Nymphaea caerulea. The entire Purify collection for oily and combination skin is rich in this calming ingredient. Amala’s Blue Lotus is wildcrafted in India and custom distilled by a master distiller there. Blue Lotus acts as an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent, high in amino acids in the purify line.  Our Blue Lotus must-haves are the Purifying Gel Cleanser and Gel Moisturizer which pamper rather than batter breakout prone skin.

3. Jasmine Jasminum Officinale. Certified organic Jasmine is cultivated and custom distilled in Egypt by Amala’s Fair Trade farm partner there. This divine extract helps nourish, moisturize and soften dry skin, while providing antioxidant protection. The unforgettable aroma of Jasmine in the Hydrating Cream Cleanser makes face-washing an intoxicating experience.



4. Cocoa Bean Theobroma Cacao.  Amala’s African cocoa bean is Fair Trade and certified organic. The entire rejuvenating line owes it’s dramatic results to cocoa bean’s  insanely powerful antioxidant properties. Cocoa Bean helps stimulate microcirculation while restoring elasticity and providing protection from free radical age damage.  In fact, in an independent 28 day clinical study, using Amala’s cocoa bean-rich Rejuvenating Serum, 100% of women experienced a significant improvement in the depth of lines and wrinkles!

5. Myrtle Myrtus Communis.  Perfect for use in body treatments, myrtle cleanses and conditions skin while helping to remove impurities.  In just days of using the Detoxifying Body Polish and Body Butter, our rough, bumpy legs and arms were smooth and silky!

Heroes of the 6Ps: 1. Better than conventional: Tata Harper Regenerating Cleanser, 2. 100% Organic: A Perfume Organic White Magik Perfume, 3. No Fillers: Vive Sana Solar to Polar Ultra, 4. Fair Trade growers: Amala Hydrate Treatment Oil, 5. This women-owned business is Green America Approved, a SafeCosmetics Signer, Carbon-Neutral & more: All the Better to Kiss You With Lip Balm, 6. Reusable, Recyclable and Adorable: Nostalgia Organics Ruffles Aromatherapy Balm

We all want to make safe, healthy, responsible choices in everything we purchase right? At the supermarket, you can choose a conventional apple, a locally grown apple, an organic apple, or if you’re lucky, a locally grown organic apple. But buying beauty products can be infinitely more complicated if you don’t happen to be a cosmetic chemist with encyclopedic knowledge of ingredients and sources. I’m often asked by women looking to make more conscientious purchases, for a list of ingredients to avoid or to look for.  Oh how I wish it were that simple!

In fact, I look at more than just ingredients when I make a purchase for Spirit Beauty Lounge. I think about where the product and ingredients are from, how it’s made, who makes it and even more complex issues like sustainability versus biodiversity (they’re not the same thing!) All this thinking and researching and interviewing manufacturers led to my developing a product evaluation system I like to call the “6Ps.”

Some of us tend to take for granted the concept of SYNTHETIC= BAD : NATURAL=GOOD. Well,  just to quickly demonstrate how backward that can be, consider this; what could be wrong with a sustainably grown, nutrient-rich, organic rainforest plant ingredient from a company who “supports” the community where the plant is grown? Well what if in order to “sustainably” grow that organic plant, all of the other plants are clear-cut for thousands of acres, leaving the area’s former inhabitants – from animal to insect to plant and marine life, without a home? Yes, natural can be “bad” too – and that’s just one example.

While I highly regard, often reference and largely agree with the Dirty Thirty, the EWG Skin Deep Database and other lists,  rather than vilify single ingredients  based on their known or suspected toxicity, I’d like  to encourage everyone to ask some of the questions I ask my vendors, of their own beauty product manufacturers. Try the “6Ps”  for just one product and you may quickly understand why I saw the need for a place to shop online, where all of these things had already been considered.

The SBL prerequisites:

• Product packaging is 100% biodegradable, reusable or recyclable – Making landfill is unacceptable.
• Product is not tested on animals.
• Product does not contain animal ingredients. **Some exceptions, e.g. humane organic milk, beeswax.
• Product does not contain any of  THESE ingredients.

Assuming all prerequisites are met, I’ll then proceed to evaluate products using my “6Ps”.”  In order of importance (this may be different for you):

Performance The worst P.R. for the green beauty movement is products that don’t work! I especially look for products that perform not only as well as, but better than their conventional counterparts.   They should be effective and a luxurious experience to use in their texture and aroma.

Purity I can’t tell you how many beautiful, organic formulations I’ve seen ruined by a synthetic preservative, fragrance or emulsifier.  Think about “extracts” and ingredients “derived from” natural ingredients.  You need to know how they’re extracted.  Even the harmless sounding “vegetable emulsifying wax” can be tainted with PEGs.  Determining the integrity of the ingredients is the manufacturers job.  If they can’t explain the extraction methods to you, they need to do their homework too.  *Add points here for USDA certified organic products.

Potency There are some lovely, clean, green products out there for very affordable prices.  They may even tout the same natural active ingredients that higher priced products have in them.  The question is; how much of the formulation is active and how much is filler?  I like to see the active ingredients high on the list, not just in small doses toward the bottom.  Also consider this when dosing and using products.  It can be hard to get used to using less product when the product is highly concentrated.  As with purity, potency too can be compromised by improper processing and handling. Natural ingredients have a limited shelf life and can lose potency when exposed to too much heat, air or chemicals. Ask how active ingredients are processed and filtered to preserve potency. Remember, higher potency is a win-win for you and the environment.  Less filler means less waste.

Provenance Bamboo and recycled rubber, plastic and metal products are great but what about when they come from China? The benefit of a product made in China or anywhere other than your home country must outweigh the cost.  Where that line is, is up to you.  I have decided against purchasing many items made overseas when I was unable to verify labor conditions, or when those items could reasonably be made locally or Fair Trade.  That being said, there are some items which the manufacturer had no choice but to make in China, but made sure to visit and audit the factory to ensure responsible practices were in place, which I have deemed acceptable.

Under Provenance is also where I’ll  research factors like preservation of biodiversity.  “Where is it from?” is an easy question to answer for an apple but for a moisturizer, you may need to investigate a dozen sources.   *Add points here for products made and sourced entirely in your home country,** extra bonus points for home state.
Principles The company that manufactures the product  should be independently owned, ethical, charitable, responsible and consistent.   Although I love how many conventional product manufacturers now have added green products to their offerings, I prefer to support only companies who are dedicated to making safe, green, ethical products across the board.

Packaging Sadly, this one is often the deal-breaker.  Of the few products that will make it this far, many will fall short only because of their poor packaging.  It is prerequisite that the packaging be ecofriendly but it’s also important that it be pretty!  Needless to say I am obsessed with all things beautiful inside and OUT.  If a bottle doesn’t look pretty enough to leave out on the vanity or furnish the guest bathroom,  ultimately I’m not going to use it.  Spirit Beauty Lounge is all about attracting women to greener products and in order to attract, they have to look attractive!  *Add points for airless packaging that allows products to be formulated with gentle or no preservatives.

It’s a lot to think about isn’t it?  Not just toxins but sustainability, biodiversity, human rights, animal rights and of course, YOU and your enjoyment and enhancement of beauty!  Well that’s exactly what I thought every time someone asked me how to decide what to avoid or look for.  The Dirty Thirty is a great place to start but please, don’t stop there.  It’s a full-time job figuring this all out and if you’re even trying, I commend you.  Don’t get discouraged by or be afraid of all of the (often conflicting) information out there.  Every time you think of even one of the “6Ps” before making a purchase, you’re being a conscious consumer and that is a step in the right direction.

This Makeup Monday, our Customer Service and product specialist extraordinaire Mariah decided to try a new look for summer.  These juicy colors made her eyes pop and skin glow and didn’t melt off her face in the sweltering NYC heat.

On Face: Vapour Organic Beauty Status Instant Skin Perfector 902, Nvey Eco Erase Concealer in Medium and  Vapour Organic Beauty Atmosphere Luminous Foundation in 110
On Cheeks: Revolution Organics Freedom Glow Beauty Balm in Blushed
On Eyes: RMS Beauty Cream Eye Shadow in Solar with Nvey Eco Organic Mascara in Black
On Lips: We mixed Revolution Organics Freedom Glow Beauty Balm in Blushed
with Nvey Eco Lipstick in 355

It seemed almost a sin to put makeup on our pregnant and positively-glowing  friend Quisha when she walked in but nonetheless, as a performer, Quisha had trouble finding the line between stage makeup and real-life makeup, and often ended up wearing no makeup at all, for fear of wearing too much.  Eco-beauty expert and Makeup Artist Jessa Blades of Blades Natural Beauty showed us that with the right application, even vibrant color can look real-life beautiful in the light of day.

What she used:

On Face: Nvey Eco Moisturizing Liquid Foundation in 511
On Eyes: Alima Pure Eyeshadow in Tigereye and Aubergine with Nvey Eco Organic Mascara in Black
On Lips: Nvey Eco Lip Lustre in Coco Honey