Feelgood Style

I used to think the smell of roses was something my grandmother might like but certainly wouldn’t pass the test of my modern girl olfactory senses. How wrong could I be! If you’ve ever plunged your nose into a fresh, powdery rose bloom on a warm day, you’ll know what I’m talking about. The new Double Rose Rejuvenating Cream from The Organic Pharmacy uses over 95% organic ingredients (most of which are cold-pressed), one of which is pure Persian Damask Rose. The smell is sheer bliss. A unique extract grown at 2,000 feet in the central region of Iran, the harvesting involves the entire village, who come together in May during the Rose harvest to pick the delicate flowers at dawn when moisture content is at its peak. Read the rest of this entry »

A fresh new take on the military look is having a very strong moment, as seen on the runways of Paris, Milan, and New York this season. However, Burning Torch has been doing gorgeous recycled military surplus for years now. The white jacket above is made from surplus “snow camo.” It’s from their Spring 2010 collection in stores soon. I think it would look fabulous with the Killspencer bags we featured last month.

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Odds are, wherever you happen to be this week, you’re cold. Personally, I had the good fortune of ringing in the New Year in Fargo, North Dakota. Yes, I’m serious. And yes, it was cold, the kind of cold that freezes your lips in place so that conversations can only take place indoors after a cup of scalding hot coffee. It’s also the kind of cold that wreaks havoc on your skin. After only one day in Fargo, running from car to store to car to mom’s front door, I had nasty little red patches on the corners of my eyes where tears appear in a desperate attempt to protect the eyeballs from turning into snowballs. I also had a little beard of white flakey skin under the corners of my mouth. Not sure what causes that, and don’t much care as long as I can make it go away.

Anyway, many years of experience battling godforsaken winters in Fargo, Minneapolis, Vermont and Maine have taught me nothing if not how to heal remarkably dry, chapped skin, and to prevent it from happening again. Fortunately, the best products I have found to combat the cold fall handily into the Natural & Organic Skin Care category. Read the rest of this entry »

When considering whether to wade into the experimental waters of eco-friendlier makeup and skin care, consequently taking on the hassle and expense that always accompany such decisions, you’ll likely find yourself creating a mental list of pros and cons. To complicate matters, misinformation in the beauty industry abounds on both sides of the fence, making it hard for a glamour-lovin’ gal to know what to do. From…ahem…creative uses of the word “organic,” to beauty writers poo-pooing the idea that anything could be toxic enough to warrant ditching semi-permanent lipstick, it’s no surprise many would-be green beauty consumers are confused and conflicted.

To help you sort it all out, I have outlined and, I hope, dispelled three common green beauty myths. Read the rest of this entry »

Stella McCartney has long been a champion of vegan craftsmanship and high style. This holiday season, her keen eye for fashion and passion for socially conscious clothing have found their way into GapKids and BabyGap with an adorable line that has some adults asking if it’s okay to wear kids’ clothing.

According to a recent post at the LA Times Blog, the line has done so well that the designer will debut another collection this spring for the youth brands. A lifelong vegetarian, none of McCartney’s designs incorporate any leather or fur.

Yesterday I heard a series of interviews with Americans about their holiday gift plans. Responses included phrases like “Wal-Mart,” “Gift Cards,” and “one big gift instead of 10 small ones.” Clearly, families everywhere are rethinking their gift-giving traditions. My own family has had The Talk about how this year we’ll have to reign in the spending; some relatives will have to forgo gifts altogether. Always, the discussion is heavy with sadness, resignation, even guilt.

If you’re in the same boat, there’s no need to be glum, chum! Instead of filling your brain with which big-box store is offering the best sale on crap you’re not even sure Aunt Deloris will like, use that cerebral space to get creative this season! I promise you, this year has the potential to be not only the most affordable, but also the most enjoyable one yet. How? By deciding as a family (or office group, book club, etc) on an eco-friendly/budget-friendly/helping people-friendly theme. Let me explain by throwing out a few examples: Read the rest of this entry »

I’m a self-confessed organic glamazon (in fact, that’s my blogging alias) and I looooove all things beauty, but I’m also a trained makeup artist who has used practically every cosmetic brand you can think of over the years, organic & not. As a discerning makeup user I’m extremely picky about quality, efficacy and application, so it was with a wary kind of excitement that I tried the new Organic Glam makeup collection from The Organic Pharmacy. The glossy black packaging is indeed glam (though I can’t help be a little disappointed that it isn’t more environmentally sensitive), and the makeup… let’s just say ‘impressive’ is a word that springs to mind. Read the rest of this entry »

Cyber Monday is the new big thing in retail bargain shopping and a day you don’t want to miss.  In participation with this post-Black-Friday event, Nimli is practically giving away silk scarves just to earn you as a new customer.  Don’t worry, just because they’re only $1 doesn’t mean they are unethical.  The scarves are actually

Fair Trade and made with genuine silk…but Nimli is eating the cost of them in an attempt to win you over as a new eco-customer.  Who can pass a deal like that up?

Visit Nimli on Monday, November 30th to snatch up your $1 scarves and any other eco-holiday gifts you happen to fall in love with. Read the rest of this entry »

Last week, I had my wallet stolen for the second time in two months. This most recent wallet was a really cute one from Vy & Elle (at left), but now it’s gone, and I’ve decided that it’s just too depressing to purchase the same one again. Instead, I’m viewing this as an opportunity to do a comprehensive search for another fabulous eco-friendlier wallet; pretending, if you will, that this is just part of my job, rather than a huge hassle on top of all of the other hassles that come with having one’s wallet stolen.

After spending hours narrowing down my choices to 6 very cute, very functional options, I thought I would turn the decision part over to you. Below, in alphabetical order, are the finalists. If you find them all thoroughly underwhelming, please post any recommendations and I will certainly take a look! Who knows - by my calculations, I’m due for another pickpocketing event in early January, so I’ll need some good ideas for the next one, too. Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s the problem: 80,000 tons of flexible plastic packaging are manufactured each year in Indonesia and for every one ton of manufacturing, there’s thirty tons of waste. The average timespan of a single-use drink container packaged in flexible plastic is only 4 seconds. Because there are no safe disposal methods for flexible plastic, it may accumulate and then sit in a landfill forever. And because there are no traditional recycling techniques for this type of plastic it has little resale market value. Rather than allow this flexible plastic to become potential toxic waste by clogging landfills and waterways, The XSProject Foundation acquires the plastic from trash pickers before it piles up in toxic landfills. Read the rest of this entry »