Organic Makeup Girl

Co-washing. What an unattractive name for a pleasant process! To put it simply, co-washing is washing your hair with conditioner. Typical shampoos contain chemicals that are harmful to your scalp and overall health. Approximately 60% of what you put on your skin (scalp, etc.) is absorbed by your body. When you shampoo, you are exposing yourself to chemicals. Most shampoos contain elements like petrochemicals, parabens, sulfates, artificial colors and fragrances.

Why do you put yourself at risk for health issues and other unfavorable outcomes by using shampoo? Well, I like to think that it is because you have been conditioned (hah, no pun intended) to think that you NEED shampoo to make your hair clean. False! The lather that your shampoo creates is not solely responsible for cleaning your hair. You actually help the cleansing process along by massaging your scalp and rubbing your hair between your fingers. So when you replace your shampoo with a conditioner, preferably an organic one, you will be making a great choice.

So the concept is simple and it is likely something that you will be able to experience for free. Start off co-washing by swearing off shampoo, at least give it a week or so. Use your current conditioner in the shower to wash your hair. Make sure you use the conditioner in the same way that you would a shampoo – massage it around your scalp and rinse it well. Follow up with more of the same conditioner. Let the product sit for a few minutes while you do whatever else you must while you are in the shower. Rinse with cool water and enjoy!

I love co-washing. I think you will too!

xo Katie

p.s. Renpure conditioners work really well with co-washing. : )

(5/5)

Renpure organics shampoo and conditioner was an impromptu purchase at Harmon’s recently. I am trying to reduce my dependence on shampoos and conditioners that are laden with parabens, sulfates and harmful chemicals. A series of bright bottles caught my eye and I was delighted to see organic in the title of the brand! I popped open the top – sometimes these products can smell too earthy for me – but I was pleasantly surprised & impressed with the summery, fruity scent. I purchased three bottles (they were thankfully on sale!). I use A LOT of conditioner, about 2x as much shampoo I use – so I purchased two conditioners and one shampoo.

The moisturizing shampoo had a catchy tagline – “my pretty hair is parched.” So I bought this & the matching conditioner. Both products are fabulous. The shampoo is moisturizing but does not leave any type of unwanted sheen/oil on the hair. I use it every other day. Additionally, it smells awesome! It is definitely a great pick for the summer. I have incredibly tangly hair and this conditioner does a good (not great) job of detangling but in the defense of Renpure Organics, I have yet to find a great, organic, detangling conditioner.

I also purchased body & shine “i love my hair” conditioner which seems to be VERY similar to the moisturizing conditioner. I truly notice little difference – both work well, smell great and leave the hair soft & .:sigh:. nourished.  : )

Check out this brand if you happen to come across it! Otherwise, check out their website: http://www.renpure.com/. Their section on chemical exposure is of particular interest to me & it might be informative and useful for you as well!

xo Katie

I was presently surprised by elf (eyes lips face) cosmetics. It was in Target that I first encountered this brand. The products seemed appealing because of the strikingly low cost. A lipgloss for $3.00? An eyeliner for $1.00? I picked up one of the products and peered at the packaging. It was sleek, black & simple. I decided to purchase several items, including:

Minty lip gloss in Nashville (5/5)

This gloss is long-lasting and incredibly minty! It is great on its own or over a nude lipstick. A nude lip works best with a bold look elsewhere on the face. For example, pair smokey eyes with nude lips and nude cheeks for a sultry, sexy look.

Blush in Tickled Pink (4/5)

This blush reminds me of MAC’s mineralized blush in Love Thing. Use Tickled Pink to create a matte look on your cheeks. Matte blushes are versatile because you can pair them with shimmery or matte eyes and lips. Additionally, the compact comes with a mirror which makes application on the go simple & carefree.

Contouring Blush & Bronzing Powder in Blushed/Bronzed (5/5)

This compact is excellent for traveling. The colors are both matte and will flatter many skin types & hues. The e.l.f. bronzer is similar to my favorite bronzer, which is Physician’s Formula SPF 20 Solar Power Bronzer ($12).

Two Waterproof Eyeliner Pens – Coffee & Black (3/5)

The felt tip on these eyeliner pens makes it simple to create a winged or double-winged eye look. There is a downfall to these products, however, once applied, the product tends to travel. Skip using it on your waterline and you can easily avoid the problem!

I spent less than $15 and received all of these e.l.f. products. That is impressive! To put it in perspective, I could buy one MAC lip glass or five e.l.f. products! I will be purchasing different e.l.f. products and also repurchasing some of the products I own (especially the minty lip gloss in Nashville – it is the perfect nude lip color). Visit http://www.eyeslipsface.com/. (Fyi: There is a promotion going on right now on the website – make a $25 purchase and receive a free mineral starter kit! Enter this code: EGEDCQ for the promotion. It is going on until May 15th!)

-Katie x0

(4.5/5)

Amazinggg hair product!

Let me prelude this review with this: I have been on the lookout for a great beach spray since John Frieda discontinued Beach Blonde Ocean Waves Sea Spray. I have no idea why this product was discontinued but it was really upsetting! Many of my friends felt the same way!

I came across David Babaii’s Bohemian Beach Spray when I was purchasing some conditioner. A sticker on the product initially caught my eye, it read: “2009 InStyle Best Beauty Buys.” So I thought hmm, maybe this product could be promising? When I realized it was a beach spray I immediately picked it up and unscrewed the cap…it smelled like coconuts and mango, so tropical and summery! So I bought it and used it as soon as I got in the car… amazing!

Some other product highlights include: cruelty free. sulfate free. paraben free.&  petrochemical free.

The cost is about $9.99 and ten percent of profits are donated to WildAid, a wildlife conservation, which is awesome!

Get this stuff, if not now, definitely in the summer. I prefer to wear it and pretend its summer but that’s just me. Oh & one more thing – this product gives your hair a great tropical scent (so skipping perfume is an option if you are in a rush or if you are trying to reduce your exposure to chemicals!)

-Katie x0

(1/5)

I have had this lip balm for a couple of months now but unfortunately it is not a product that I would recommend purchasing.

Since there are more cons with this product, I am going to start off with them:

-This balm does not seem to moisturize

-Does not stay on the lips long, it wears off quickly and easily

-The product seems to separate in the tube

-The cooling sensation is incredibly mild and almost unnoticeable

-The tube is small~you only get .25 oz of product

-The tube is not aesthetically pleasing – it is rather plain and ugly, I would not want to be seen applying this stuff! (I guess appearance is highly subjective though…)

To be fair, I must state the pros:

-USDA organic ingredients

-The lips appear fuller and glossy when one is wearing the balm which gives the lips a cool appearance

So like I said, I have had this product for a couple of months. I have tried repeatedly to embrace it but this product is not something that I would repurchase or advise anyone to purchase.  Overall, Blistex Natural Cooling Comfort Lip Balm is nothing special. Do not be dismayed though, there are plenty of other organic lip balms out there! :)

x0 Katie

happy new year everyone! <3 2010 is awesome.

new year = new makeup! so of course i hit up sephora for some goodies! :)

i bought 2 sephorabrand pure palettes & a sephora brand colorbox.

ive been using the colorbox daily since i purchased it last week… its fun!!

pros: small enough to fit in your bag – inexpensive ($24 on sephora.com) – versatile – long-lasting, pigmented colors – cute – sparkly – contains mini applicators  & a mirror – perfect for travel

cons- difficult to open -relatively  small amounts of each product (but it IS only $24 dollars…) -nothing too special about the packaging – not exactly natural/organic (sometimes i make exceptions…)

conclusion: buy it, it is cheap & fun to use, the products will not go to waste! :)

The Little Black of Style by Nina Garcia is a great gift for any lover of style, fashion, and/or shopping.

This book offers great style tips & ideas. It is interesting, practical, and well-written.

I own a couple of Garcia’s books, including The Little Black Book of Style and The One Hundred (which is also fabulous!).

This book is also a great conversation starter-if you are having a girls night or a party, you might find people picking it up to flip through it! :)

Recently, I have seen The Little Black Book of Style at stores (other than bookstores) like Anthropologie and Aerie.

You can buy the book right here on my website through Amazon.com, just click on the tab “Shop Katie’s Picks” above.

I would recommend this book for any woman or man interested in style!!! This could be a stocking stuffer or a small gift for someone special.

Check back tomorrow to see what the gift guide entry #3 will be!

(1/5)

My hands are always really dry during the fall and winter so I make sure that I always have a hand moisturizer in my bag. When I was at Wegman’s, I picked up a bright orange tube of Kiss My Face hand alert.

The certified organic hand cream contains: rosemary & mint extracts, spf 8, & 2% AHA

After a few weeks of using this product, I have decided that I would not re-purchase it. Some of the downfalls of this cream include:

-scent: I love peppermint but the level of scent in this product is overpowering

-price: too expensive for amount of cream that you get (3 ounces)

-appearance: it leaves a white sheen on your hands, even if you rub it in well, which is unpleasant

-purpose: it is supposed to exfoliate and moisturize hands and it does not do a great job of either

If you are considering this product, skip it!

The hunt for an awesome, organic hand cream continues…

What do you use? Comment below! : )

Prior to my organic/natural makeup obsession, my cheap (drugstore) blush standby was Covergirl Cheekers blush. I experimented with most of the Cheekers blushes but Coral Rose was always a staple for me. After doing a bit of research on the safety of the Covergirl blush, I was shocked to find that it received a horrible rating on  http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com.

According to the Cosmetic Database, this blush is considered to have a high health hazard risk. Another website, http://www.goodguide.com, revealed that the Covergirl blush contained ingredients that were on their list of carcinogens. It seems that many of the ingredients in the Covergirl makeup were potential instigators of both long and short term health hazards.

Although I had used this product for years and it was inexpensive, I decided that I had two options: 1. Stop using all makeup (which was impossible because I love it!, I love applying makeup on me, my sisters, my friends, etc. & I love buying it & I love organizing my collection…) OR 2. Find healthier options that will not force me to compromise my health. Obviously, I picked #2!

My research on healthier makeup options led me to Ecco Bella, a brand that provides natural and organic beauty solutions. I found a blush that was incredibly similar to what I had. Ecco Bella Flowercolor Blush is an awesome, healthier makeup option. It was a bit difficult to locate, however, definitely worth it. I bought the Flowercolor Blush in the color Peach Rose (sounds almost exaclty like the Covergirl one! & it is…). The makeup is made from natural pigments, which are powerful producers of color.

Ecco Bella Flowercolor Blush: (4.5/5.0)

-no talc

-no fragrances (which is wonderful!! Some of the natural & organic makeup products have an unpleasant odor! That is NOT the case with this blush, it is completely odorless, which is refreshing & healthy!)

-no additives

-infused with sweet almond oil, vitamin E, &  green tea

-is GREEN because the packaging is minimal : ) (*I bought the Ecco Bella paperback duo – a magnetic case that holds up to two individual blushes!)

-can be used as an eye shadow as well

-goes on easily & looks great all day

-very reasonable in terms of price! A little bit of this blush goes a long way…

-most importantly, it is a healthier option!

Check out how your makeup products scored on the websites I provided above. I hope you will be encouraged to choose healthy beauty products & pass the knowledge on to others! Natural & organic products are definitely the best option. : )

-Katie

This is going to be a mini post! I just went to Sephora and purchased the Tarte Treasure Chest. It was $52.00 but has a retail value of $686 dollars! I have not used it yet but I am really excited about this palette. It contains 16 shimmer eyeshadows, 16 matte shadows, 16 lipglosses, bronzer, luminizer, 4 blushes. The palette comes in an adorable case with a metallic lid adorned with jewels.

The makeup contains NO parabens, petro-chemicals, phthalates, preservatives, glycol, gluten, talc or GMOs. It is also cruelty free and natural.

This palette is an amazing deal! I cannot wait to try out this product~I will let you know how I use it & if I would recommend it.

-Katie