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Jurlique is spearheading the effort to know more and use more in its’ natural and efficacious skincare.  As the viper is studied by doctors to lower blood pressure, botanicals are studied for their effect on the skin.  For over 20 years herbs and flowers have been tended to with an eye on keeping the earth nutrient rich to grow hardy, healthy plants.

I was invited to an exciting webinar last week to hear from the CEO of Jurlique,Eli Halliwell himself.  Under his direction, Jurlique is the number-one selling skincare in Australia.  Part of that success has been the beautiful Jurlique look, while at the Total Beauty Launch at the Space NK last year, few of us had any experience with the brand, but all the ladies commented on the lovely packaging.   I know because I was camped out in front of the Jurlique shelf!

Packaging aside, the thing that sets Jurlique apart is the commitment to going beyond the buzz of organic.  Keeping watch on the cycle of the farms from which the herbs and flowers come from and working with the earth cycles to create a balanced eco-system.  Biodynamic farming also takes into account the companion plants as it is an unexplained phenomena why some plants do better when in the presence of others.  In controlling the ingredient source, Jurlique can provide a product that is natural and effective.

More on the Biodynamic Beauty Company in Part Two…

Win a trip to see Biodynamic Farming First Hand

It’s all really quite fascinating, isn’t it? Jurlique is offering a chance to WIN a visit  to one of their Biodynamic farms in South Australia.  Tell them about the renewal efforts in your life and let me know if you’re a lucky winner!  I love the Welcome message from Eli Halliwell.

Soon I will post pictures of my Rose Garden, I’ve been tending it gingerly waiting for my rose crop to reward me with the slightest reciprocity for my hours of attention.  It takes a lot to grow roses, they are prone to lots of leaf diseases and infestations, not to mention little ones that want to make mommy a bouquet and cut down to the root with a sweet smile.

Weather it’s bugs or kids there are lots of things that can go wrong with a rose garden.  That’s why I was astounded to find out that the creams I’ve been slathering on use only Damask rose oil — it takes 60,000 roses to make a single ounce of Damask rose oil!! 

Berwick Balancing Day Cream is luxurious but it’s also necessary luxe because it has more than 300 organic compounds and is tolerated by all skin types.  Berwick provides Natural Beauty with  a scent (rose-y of course) and texture that could command a much higher price tag. 

I did not take it along on my trip making my homecoming that much better.  Everything’s coming up roses at Berwick with pore minimizing and even skin tone with a light-weight, hydrating formula.  It’s a great first step in the morning to prep your face for makeup or alone for a dressed down day.  Want one more especially noteworthy fact?  the first ingredient in all Berwick products is rose water.  You’ve GOT to give this line a try.

How are you celebrating Earth Day?  I love the way corporations are celebrating and bringing awareness to Earth Day, even companies that encourage us to be green-er by searching for info online versus buying books, magazines, etc… are keeping it green.  Did you see Google’s homepage, cute, Yahoo is is all over the recycling end and youtube has a planet earth. 

If you find yourself with a few extra minutes this Earth Day, consider taking an action important to all beauty junkies.  50,000 sigs are being compiled to pressure Congress to force companies to list their ingredients and to stop the “trade secrets” excuse to put dangerous chemicals in the products we use.  The petition is on Cosmetics Database along with lots of other great(and a wee bit scary)  info.

Celebrate Earth Day with a Free sample of Physician’s Formula Organic Wear Bronzer!  1000 of you will be lucky winners but you’ve got to be quick.  Starts 4/22/2008 at NOON est!  100% Cruelty free makeup.

For more Earth Day fun review it on Total Beauty and WIN BIG!

8 Simple Steps to an Earth-Friendly Life

Gorgeously Green is a beauty book to encourage you to make one simple change, that’s all it takes to make a difference!  If you make two it’s even better.  Sophie Uliano gives you 8 steps to work towards an earth-friendly life.  Personally, I want to have a sustainable life with style, I’ve always paired denim with diamonds, it’s so much more interesting than being totally glam all the time.  Sophie admits that she was much more concerned about her compact than she ever was in compost but she’s learned that she can do both and be gorgeous and green at the same time!

Rest Assured Beauty-full Readers

I used to think it was all about wearing hemp and eating organic tofu.  I thought I would have to turn into one of those zealous do-gooders with unshaven armpits.  Trust me, this is not what the Gorgeously Green program is about.  Far from it.  We are going to be busting out in bright and wonderful colors.  We’re going to be painting our nails and our lips and wearing the latest, hippest fashions.  (p. 7)

I must admit this thought crossed my mind, I have a girlfriend who calls some of the women in our community “crunchy granola” because they are so health-full and natural that they reject the beauty-full.  There is something in this book for every woman, if you’re looking for DIY beauty recipes, or all natural ways to bring up baby all from a woman who is living it. 

There are also Gorgeously Green recipes for cookies and stew with the promise of more on the website (you’ll need the super secret password provided in the book to get to those). 

Gorgeously Green Available NOW @ Overstock for $10.95

Mentioned in Gorgeously Green is Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth” a MUST see DVD if you haven’t already.

Lash Out against cosmetics companies

Some people around me have told me in the past not to lash out, but I just couldn’t help myself in this case. NO, I didn’t snap, it’s just that I’ve been in my little rut of mascaras, I tried something last month, but what can I say, sometimes new information comes out and you just have to act on it.  For the past few days I’ve been using a new mascara that gives me pretty long lashes effectively AND safe!

Pure Soul Mascara creates luscious lashes that are soft and flexible, no rock hard lashes here!  The application is very light, perfect for every day use but at the same time this is not your everyday mineral cosmetics line. I learned that from the super-cute afterglow vegan kabuki brush I use every day - it’s holding up beautifully by the way.

Back to the Pure Soul Mascara, I even went without taking it off to sleep with no problem.  It didn’t irritate my contact lensed eyes at all.  No smudges on my face or pillow and absolutely no clumps.  A pure joy to wear and I’m even happier to report a company that cares about women’s health.  I used to blindly trust that what is out on the market has been tested and deemed safe but that is def NOT the case.

Organic cosmetics are all the rage right now, there are a lot of choices out there, but like everything else - you get what you pay for.  As a prestige brand, afterglow not only chooses the most natural and safe cosmetics available, they carefully select the source of those ingredients.  Certified Organic Ingredients are used whenever possible. 

Check your makeUP bags please…

Have you ever thought about the chemicals that are in your cosmetics?  are they safe, any side effects, we’ve all heard the loooong disclaimers on the medications advertised on tv, but that is not true with cosmetics.  Just some pretty women modeling the product with very little actual information about the manufacturing process or chemicals used to make the cosmetics.  I for one don’t want them to get away with that anymore, I love that afterglow lists out the ingredients used to make each product!  Speaking of ingredients…

If you’ve got your make up bag handy, does your current mascara contain Thimerosal?  If so it is a mercury-containing organic compound that has been banned around the world but NOT in the US!! Minnesota is the only state so far to ban intentionally added mercury in cosmetics.  “Mercury does cause neurological damage to people even in tiny quantities” said Sen. John Marty.  So check your cosmetics labels, and be sure to replace with something that is safe like pure soul.

Visit afterglow cosmetics  for the best all natural cosmetics, get pretty with safe cosmetics.  Pure Soul Mascara is available in two shades, mink (brown) and onyx (black).  Get glow-ing!

afterglow cosmetics are:

gluten-free, alcohol-free, paraben-free, synthetic dye-free, perfume-free, mercury-free, petrochemical-free, phthalate-free, mineral oil-free, and tar-free!