subscribe to beauty counter blog via RSSRahua, Another Beauty Secret From The Amazon Revealed
November 23, 2009 1:01 pm
It’s hardly news that the Amazon rain forest is something of a treasure trove of beauty-enhancing ingredients; the super-antioxidant power of the açai berry made its way into everything from face creams to smoothies a few years back. But as more and more foraged comestibles from the region are billed as skin and hair saviors, I’ve become more and more skeptical. It’s often hard to tell what’s legit and what’s just a marketing ploy to capitalize on a burgeoning trend. That’s why I was pleasantly surprised when stylist Fabian Lliguin introduced me to Rahua. In the late nineties, Lliguin and his wife sourced the nut of the same name from the Quechua-Shuar tribe in Ecuador, where its restorative oils have been used for centuries to foster long, thick lustrous hair. After procuring it in limited quantities for years, the couple recently made a self-sustaining arrangement with members of the tribe, which ensures that all harvesting and extraction methods are done in an earth-friendly manner. The resulting product range includes a Shampoo, Conditioner, Finishing Treatment, and an Elixir—all of which are formulated with the pure oil and other natural ingredients for an 100 percent organic, 100 percent vegan collection that’s paraben- and sulfate-free to boot. The oil’s small molecular structure means that it bonds to the hair shaft and repairs damage rather than merely coating it. My short, asymmetrical bob was bouncier and glossier than ever when Lliguin invited me to test-drive the Finishing Treatment on a recent trip to his Cocoon Salon on the Upper East Side. I also managed to garner a “Did anyone ever tell you that you look like Selma Blair?” comment later that night, which made me an even bigger proponent of the line.
tags: Fabian Lliguin, Hair, Rahua, Selma Blair
Au Naturel Color Correction For Winter Skin
November 20, 2009 4:01 pm
With November more than half over, we’ve officially entered our blotchy period. The coveted tan we managed to procure from a few weekends at the Jersey shore this summer is completely gone, and in its place is patchy pigmentation and an overall pallid aura (our olive complexion tends to turn a shade of neutral green when deprived of the sun). It’s around this time every year that we turn to tinted moisturizer for its tone-unifying and skin-quenching powers. Ever conscious of the risks of photo-aging (yes, we beach but we’re extremely diligent about sunscreen application), we also look for products with a high SPF level. As such, Marie-Véronique Organic’s Crème de Soleil Tinted SPF 30 has been fitting the bill nicely lately. It contains zinc oxide, the only known agent that protects against the complete UVA/UVB spectrum—as well as essential fatty acids like emu and sea buckthorn oils to provide additional moisturizing and antiaging benefits. The universally flattering fluid goes on matte, unlike a lot of other SPF moisturizers, which have an oiliness to them that we actually kind of like. But pearl powder provides a slight all-day sheen, which is a nice way to get the glow we’re after without the greasiness. The Berkeley-based line will undergo a major packaging overhaul come January, but for the time being, the tried-and-true organic formulas are available in their original apothecary style jars here.
tags: Cr�me de Soleil Tinted SPF 30, Marie-V�ronique Organics, Skincare
Can A Lip Balm Heal Your Winter Blues?
November 11, 2009 5:55 pm
For the homeopathy-inclined, Dr. Edward Bach’s Rescue Remedy is considered a savior, helping to minimize stress and anxiety with just a few simple drops placed on the back of the tongue. The brand’s new all-natural Balm claims to do the same thing for stressed lips and cuticles, eliminating roughness and preventing cracking while also fostering a certain level of calm. Formulated with a blend of the floral healing agents in the original elixir—including Star of Bethlehem extracts to ease agitation and cherry plum extracts to allay “irrational thoughts”—the topical salve also features crab apple extracts, which operate as a cleansing essence. A base of sunflower seed oil, beeswax, calendula flower oil and vitamin E provide a heavy dose of moisture. The little clear pot has definitely been helpful in soothing our increasingly parched pout as the weather vacillates between fall and winter. But our nerves are still kind of shot; no amount of lip balm can relieve the anxiety of knowing that six straight months of cold darkness will soon consume New York City. Luckily, there’s always light therapy.
tags: Dr. Edward Bach, Rescue Balm, Rescue Remedy, Skincare
There’s No “I” in Eufora, But There Should Be
November 9, 2009 12:31 pm
Full disclosure: My natural-beauty habits usually begin and end with skincare. It’s not that I’m not conscious of the shampoos and hair styling products I use, I just tend to make more of an effort to stick to organic ingredients in my face and body products. When it comes to hair, it’s all about performance, but I’d go green if all-natural formulas could deliver the shiny, tousled look I like. Enter Eufora, a line of cleansing, conditioning, styling, and finishing products that uses certified organic aloe vera gel instead of water to provide cellular healing, renewal, and growth to the hair and scalp. Hairstylist Don Bewley founded the professional product range in 1997 and gave it a makeover earlier this year. Due to some aforementioned flakiness, I gave Eufora’s Pure Cleanse—a gentle, non-sulfate shampoo for scalp “issues”—a whirl, and followed up with a few drops of Pure Polish for shine and frizz-fighting. But my favorite product turned out to be Pieceworks; when I applied it to my dry hair, it provided the separated definition I strive for with a pliable hold. Click here to find a salon that carries the line near you.
tags: Don Bewley, Eufora, Hair
Liz Earle’s Beauty Of The Month Club
November 6, 2009 3:18 pm
Is there a natural beauty junkie on your shopping list? Consider Liz Earle. The cult-favorite botanically active line from the U.K. has cooked up a clever skincare subscription of sorts, where you get one bottle of its best-selling eucalyptus, chamomile, and cocoa butter Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser—plus two pure muslin cloths—once a month for the entire year. The cream formula penetrates deeply to remove daily grime without drying you out and doubles as an effective makeup remover. At $294, the 12-piece deal works out to about $24 per bottle. In addition to including all shipping, handling, and packaging, it’s likely to bump you up to “great gift giver” status.
tags: Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser, Liz Earle, Skincare
Melvita, Now Shipping To The U.S. of A.
November 4, 2009 1:07 pm
For the green-leaning types out there who, like us, enjoy buying a few keepsake beauty items from foreign apothecaries if only to utter those five magical words—”you can’t get it here”—when friends inquire about their origin, some news. France’s popular organic line Melvita has just become available stateside online, with plans for a San Francisco flagship in the works for January 2010. Founded in 1983 by biologist and beekeeper Bernard Chevilliat, the line began with its now famous hexagonal soap, and slowly branched out into shampoos, cleansing milks, moisturizing creams, floral waters, and plant oils. As one of the first companies in the world to get ECOCERT’s seal of approval, it uses 95 percent naturally derived ingredients with no parabens, paraffin, synthetic fragrances, or colors. Yes, the exclusivity factor is gone now that you don’t need to purchase a plane ticket to partake in its pomegranate oil and mango butter-enriched Extraordinary Day Cream, but having a now more accessible way to soothe skin sans synthetic ingredients isn’t a bad thing.
tags: Bernard Chevilliat, Melvita, Skincare
The End Of Winter Skin
October 29, 2009 4:42 pm
We’re happy to report that our war with seasonal skin disorder is over. Beauty Counter 1, dry unattractive facial issues, 0. We’d like to give a few shout-outs to those products that have helped us claim this victory: Josie Maran Argan Oil, Prescriptives Comfort Cream—we couldn’t have done it without you. But a special thanks goes to Aveda’s new Green Science Perfecting Cleanser. A few weeks ago, we realized that the real culprit in what, at the time, was a losing battle with the encroaching winter weather was the oil-fighting scrub that had kept us acne-free all summer long. In search of something gentler, we found this geranium, grapefruit, and bergamot-scented cleansing milk in our coffers and gave it a go. A recent addition to the brand’s Green Science line, which uses powerful plant actives to target skin aging, the creamy formula is packed with organic nopal cactus to stimulate collagen synthesis and a naturally derived salicylic acid from wintergreen oil that assists in exfoliation. What really won us over, though, were the effects of a healthy dose of fatty-acid rich murumuru butter and a specialized, sugar-based cleansing agent derived from sugar cane, sugar beets, and palm that effectively rid our skin of dirt and grime without stripping it of its natural oils. Even as we washed the latherless film off of our face for the first time, it felt as though we were adding moisture, not taking it away. To the victor go the spoils.
tags: Argan oil, Aveda, Green Science Perfecting Cleanser, Josie Maran, Prescriptives Comfort Cream, Skincare
Kiehl’s Supports Planet 2.0
September 24, 2009 2:09 pm
To some, David de Rothschild might register as a bit of an eccentric. He is the founder of Adventure Ecology, an organization that coordinates expeditions to environmentally challenged parts of the world in order to make learning about sustainability fun (”edutainment,” if you will). De Rothschild’s latest scheme involves sailing from San Francisco to Sydney on a boat made of reclaimed bottles and self-reinforcing PET plastic to pioneer innovation in intelligent design principles using discarded waste—and, you know, for some good stories. But to Kiehl’s he is a man with a vision. Fresh off the launch of its 100 percent natural origin Acai Damage-Repairing Skincare Collection—the brand’s own exercise in minimal environmental impact and maximum reuse—the famed East Village apothecary has signed on to sponsor the maiden voyage of the Plastiki, as de Rothschild’s vessel is called, and to supply him and his crew with some new products to field-test along the journey. They’ll be packing Kiehl’s as-yet-unreleased biodegradable Cross Terrain All-In-One Refueling Wash, which cleanses and conditions both hair and body and can even be used for an on-the-go shave, and its Cross Terrain UV Skin Protector with SPF 50, a broad-spectrum UVA/UVB sunscreen with a waxy base for maximum protection in extreme conditions. Kiehl’s will also be sending along some of its popular Ultra Facial Cream as well for some creature comforts on the high seas. De Rothschild’s 60-foot catamaran, which is still undergoing construction, is set to push off in a few months and word on the street is that an on-deck podcast is in the works, so you may be able to have some secondhand edutainment of your own. Stay tuned.
tags: Acai Damage-Repairing Skincare Collection, Adventure Ecology, Cross Terrain All-In-One Refueling Wash, Cross Terrain UV Skin Protector, David de Rothschild, Kiehl's Since 1851, Skincare, Ultra Facial Cream
Wholearth Beauty: New Advancements In Eco Chic
September 3, 2009 12:49 pm
Green lifestyle consultant Danny Seo is what you might call a prodigy. He started the environmental activism group Earth 2000 at the ripe old age of 12 and had penned his own autobiography about his quest for greener legislation before he turned 20. An accomplished author and frequent TV talk show guest, Seo recently turned his attention to the personal care industry, hoping to bring his vision and expertise in sustainability to the masses via that great vehicle of social change, the beauty industry. “It’s the new green luxury,” Seo says of Wholearth, his USDA-certified organic product line that includes a body wash, body lotion, body soufflé, bamboo body scrub, body mist/room spray, and a perfume in three scents. The idea behind the range is to use the best food-grade ingredients and apply a hand-crafted mentality to each product, “like a Birkin bag made by one artisan,” Seo analogizes. The collection had a soft launch at Anthropologie last April in conjunction with Earth Day, but its full-service Web site went live this week, featuring his post-consumer recycled bottles spray-painted black to create a UV filter for a better shelf life. Seo has even figured out a way around the synthetic preservative issue that eludes other naturopathic entrepreneurs. A Korean-American, he utilized his experience with the potent enzyme in kimchi, the nearly non-perishable pickled cabbage delicacy, to make his skin salves last longer, sans synthetic add-ons. Like we said, prodigy.
tags: Anthropologie, Danny Seo, Fragrance, Skincare, Wholearth Beauty
Vegan Beauty Takes Natural To The Max
August 25, 2009 5:06 pm
After reading in this morning’s Daily Mail that vegan inmates in the U.K. have won the right to have ethically sourced, animal byproduct-free cosmetics in jail—including nail polish, lip balm, and cellulite oil—we have vegan cosmetics on the brain. Those who prefer the extreme end of eating and dressing all naturally typically have the same guidelines for their cosmetics as well. This means that the usual no-nos, like petrochemicals, parabens, and sodium lauryl phosphates, are out, as is anything that comes from any living thing that walks, flies, or swims. According to a recent article in the L.A. Times, this prohibits beeswax (which is often used in lip balms and mascaras), milk (found in soaps), collagen (a skin strengthener derived from cows), carmine (a colorant that comes from beetle shells), and even the animal hairs that are used in applicator brushes. Instead, herbal extracts and essential oils fulfill all cleansing, moisturizing, and fragrance objectives; iron oxides and other minerals typically serve pigment duty; and sea algae and marigold extracts are popular choices for all your antiaging needs. While orange-jumpsuit wearers across the pond have only been given clearance to shop at cruelty-free beauty retailers like Honesty Cosmetics and Lavera, those of you who are not incarcerated should feel free to branch out: Beauty Without Cruelty, Zuzu Luxe, and Ecco Bella all offer good vegan skincare and makeup options and Urban Decay is reportedly working to put purple paw prints on the packaging of all of its vegan items for easier identification.
tags: Beauty Without Cruelty, Ecco Bella, Honesty Cosmetics, Lavera, Makeup, Urban Decay, Zuzu Luxe
