COOLA SPF 30 Matte Finish Cucumber for Face

Hey everyone, finally the sun is coming out and brightening our environment with its rich goodies. I was recently introduced, by a lovely friend, to her favorite mineral moisturizer that also protects you from the sun (how awesome is that). It has everything that we all need in a daily SPF.

Naturally enhanced chemical free sunblock with a silky matte finish.
Plus, COOLA uses a proprietary method to maximize the effectiveness of their suncare products. The updated formula features two active ingredients—titanium and zinc dioxide—suspended in a moisturizing base to ensure a smooth, even application. Age-reversing antioxidants like evening primrose extract and borage seed oil deflect free radicals, while naturally water-resistant plankton makes the formula extra-durable.

How to Use:  Smooth on a thin coat all over your face. Follow with makeup, or wear alone. (I find it also evens out my skin tone)

Get it now here.

Product Review: Arcona Magic White Ice Lotion and Eye Dew

By Siobhan O’Connor for NoMoreDirtyLooks.com

You know how you know it’s love? You get just a little taste and you want more. You find ways to work the object of your affection into conversations that have nothing (nothing!) to do with the topic at hand. Your thoughts kind of loop.

A few weeks ago, my latest order from NuboNau showed up. The new Ilia mascara, that RMS Un-Powder—and a ton of free samples, as usual. Huh! Arcona, I thought. I’ve never tried Arcona.

What kind of clean-beauty blogger am I that I’ve never tried Arcona? To be honest, I was a little scared of the line. Years ago, someone told me it was very “active,” and my skin doesn’t like “active.” My skin likes “soothing,” “calming,” and “hydrating.” But the little sample of Magic White Ice was calling to me. Also, while I’d never tried it, Arcona’s Eye Dew is easily the most tantalizingly named product under the sun. So I’d had that one on my mind for a minute, too.

About a week earlier, I’d done a TV thing for work* and the makeup artist commented on how dry my skin was. She was nice about it—as nice as a person can be when they are telling you your skin is super-dry under insanely bright lights—but I was kind of embarrassed.

I needed some help, and I was hopeful that this little tube would perform, well, magic on my skin.

After two weeks of twice daily use, the verdict is in: Hydrated, calmed, soothed. Hooray!

And the Eye Dew? It lives up to the name. I feel good about the ingredient lists, filled with botanical anti-agers and moisturizers, with lots of antioxidants. I like that the lotion has tea tree and witch hazel, preventing spots, but doesn’t dry me out. And the Eye Dew. I don’t have any words for the Eye Dew. The name says it all.

When I ran out of the samples, I bought full sizes. And like anything you learn to love, I already have a hard time remembering life (OK, my skin) without it.

Have you ever tried Arcona? Any other skin or eye serums you’re loving?

Keep reading…

Paraben update: New research on beauty’s most problematic preservatives

By Well+Good NYC

“Parabens,” the term for a group of preservatives used in mainstream beauty products, wasn’t always a dirty word.

In 2004, Dr. Philippa Darbre, a research scientist at the University of Reading in the UK, published a small but pioneering study that showed high concentrations of parabens in human breast tumors.

Women everywhere flipped over their moisturizers to read the list of ingredients.

“That first paper shocked people because it was the first time intact parabens had ever been measured in the human body,” says Dr. Darbre. And while the study did not show that the chemicals cause cancer, it sounded a serious alarm.

Why? Parabens, which prevent bacteria from growing in beauty and personal-care products, are able to mimic or interfere with estrogen in the body, and exposure to estrogen is one of the primary influences on the development of breast cancer.

Since then, several studies have detected and reported parabens in human urine and tissue. In response, many beauty companies have eliminated them from ingredient lists, though they’re still used in many mainstream products.

Now, Dr. Darbre has published two new studies that shed even more light on the ways parabens enter our bodies and how they affect our health.

Here’s what you need to know about the latest research (and before refilling your beauty bag):

1. Parabens are getting into your body. In March, Dr. Darbre and her team published the results of a study that replicated the original study done in 2004, with a much larger sample size. They looked at the concentration of five parabens in breast tumor tissue. One or more types were found in 99 percent of the tissue samples, and all five were measurable in 60 percent of the samples. “The take-home message was that we validated the earlier study with a much more substantial study. Parabens are getting into the breast, and they’re getting in in significant amounts,” she explains.

2. Yup, your skin is letting them in. The parabens identified in the study were primarily intact, meaning they’ve bypassed the liver. What does this mean? You’re not getting them from your food, they’re being absorbed through your skin.

Keep reading for more here…

Do You Use Products That Contain Silicone?

By Siobhan O’Connor for NoMoreDirtyLooks.com

When I first met Horst Rechelbacher, founder of Aveda and, more recently (thank goodness), Intelligent Nutrients, we spent a lot of time talking about silicone. Silicone, most of you probably know, is widely used in personal care products across the spectrum—from the relatively clean to your standard-issue drugstore brands. It’s especially useful in makeup, primer, sunscreen  and tinted moisturizer because it gives products a slippery sit-on-skin feeling that allows for even spreading, no rubbing, and produces a nice surface on top of which you can go ahead and make your face.

It’s also in a lot on conditioners and leave-ins, because it sits on the shaft of your hair and can take the guesswork (and manual labor) out of smoothing unruly manes, especially when it’s humid out. My experience is that repeated use of silicone on my hair makes it look like complete and utter garbage. My experience with my skin has not been quite the same.

As a refresher, most of the people I have spoken with who swear against it do so for one of a number of reasons. Because it’s occlusive (that means it sits on the surface of the skin and blocks moisture from escaping—but also blocks other things from going in); because it might be comedogenic (the research is equivocal on this one); and because it “doesn’t break down in nature,” says Rechelbacher (and others). On the other hand, dimethicone’s molecule weight makes it impossible, I believe, to migrate past the top layer of your skin—which is where it’s designed to sit, anyway. That’s how it “works.” But our research is ongoing at this point.

I know natural-beady diehards who swear by it and diehards who would, well, die before they used a product that contains it. We were in the latter camp. Now, we’re rethinking our position—but the jury’s still out.

No More Dirty Looks has historically said no to all silicone. It wasn’t on the list of our dirty 20-or-so in the book, mainly because the research we were able to find about its toxicity was unconvincing. At the same time, we can appreciate that many ingredients don’t have nearly enough scientific data published about their safety, and we definitely skew more toward “when in doubt, don’t.”

But then something happened.

Keep reading…

Tammy Fender’s skin-care line contains an ingredient so secret it’s not even on the label

By Well+Good NYC

Lots of beauty products tout a secret ingredient. (Whether the Nightingale droppings of the ’90s or the apple stem cells of the moment.) And in that respect facialist Tammy Fender’s range is no different.

What’s the magic in her holistic skin-care line? Divine consciousness.

The West Palm Beach practitioner’s line is finally making its New York City debut at ABC Home’s Apothecary. Fender’s might be the first range of botanical cleansers, toners, treatment serums, peels, and body oils aimed squarely at improving your soul. The jury’s still out on whether cynical New Yorkers will embrace her ray of bioenergetic sunshine.

Call it the power of positive intention (or a bottled version of The Secret), Fender infuses her products with her sweet, personable spirit (I mean, look at the photo of this woman—you’d never know she tended Donald Trump’s skin) and adds “life force” of plants. No hair of newt needed.

For Fender, an ingredient purist and polymath of botany, aromatherapy, and chemistry, the concept of “pure living energy” comes from working with whole organic plants, pure herbal infusions, and therapeutic grade essential oils instead of chemicals.

It’s these “active, highly vibrational ingredients” that she says can be “immediately absorbed and permeate on a cellular level to enhance the way the skin functions, resulting in vibrant healthy skin.” It’s a philosophy the facialist shares in part with biodynamic skin-care brands, like Dr. Hauschka and Jurlique.

But while these brands focus on the farming practices, the emphasis for Fender’s small-batch line is the healing intention of the formulator. (Her mantra: don’t think about war or the economy when mixing ingredients.)

Keep reading…

Why a good moisturizer isn’t enough for great skin

By Well+Good NYC

Moisturizers get all the marquee billing, especially come fall when back-to-beauty ads punctuate every repeat episode of the Real Housewives of New Jersey. But if you’re not using a good exfoliant, you’re throwing your money away—and missing a key skin-rejuvenating opportunity. Just ask any NYC facialist, who would almost never skip the skin-sloughing step during a spa treatment. Why?

A good scrub can whisk away visible blackheads and help keep pores open and clean. Great example: Christine Chin Resurface Exfoliating Scrub ($28, http://www.christinechin.com), which uses micro-aluminum particles to scrub away dead skin, leaving a blackhead-free T-zone and a much-desired baby-bottom softness. Chin’s facials are probably the city’s fiercest.

A chemical exfoliant (or peel) dissolves dead skin cells as a way to remedy dryness, uneven skin tone, and a rough texture—in the time it takes to wash your face. Great example: Susan Ciminelli Algae Deep Cleanse ($65, http://www.susanciminelli.com), laced with a sinus-clearing scent of peppermint and papaya enzymes that brighten skin tone almost immediately. It’s also great for red, bumpy acne, as opposed to scrubs that can inflame it. Ask Cimminelli, whose chakra-balancing facials are meant to calm your mind and your skin.

Keep reading…

Dark circles? Natural concealers that work and how to use them

By Well+Good NYC

Yves St. Laurent Touche Eclat has been touted as a magic wand for dark under-eye circles. But its not-at-all-natural formulation disqualifies it for natural types. So what’s the solution for those of us whose windows to the soul are showing the pains of sleepless nights and possibly a genetic predisposition to dark circles?

First, acceptance of reality, says Brooklyn natural makeup artist Jessa Blades. “We think it’s possible not to have under-eye circles. But often they’re a shadow from your brow bone. You might want to be a little open to the fact dark circles are not going to go away completely.” (Even if you watch your salt intake and sleep.)

Natural makeup artist Jessa Blades

The second challenge: Finding a natural concealer that covers enough—or covers without looking cakey. And third, we just don’t know how to use concealers properly, says Blades, who’s witnessed many a cake-icing technique on that thin under-eye skin.

So how can you effectively cover dark circles? Read on for seven mind-blowing tips from Blades—and our top picks for natural products that work:

1. Hydrate the eye area
Is your finger or brush dragging on dry skin? The skin around the eyes is thinner and has fewer oil glands than the rest of the face. So you may need to hydrate the area first with something creamy first, then smooth on your concealer.
Solution: Weleda Pomegranate Firming Eye Cream, $33, www.usa.weleda.com, or Organic Pharmacy Honey & Jasmine Mask, $65.95, www.theorganicpharmacy.com

2. If concealer is too drying, use a creamy foundation
Often concealer is too thick or cakey like corrective makeup. So use a creamy foundation that feels more like a second skin, and yet provides some coverage, says Blades. You should love the way it lies on the skin.
Solution: NVEY ECO Organic Cream Deluxe Foundation, $43–$60, www.econveybeauty.com

RMS Beauty Un-Cover Up

3. Use concealer under a tinted moisturizer
This creates a barely-there makeup look that conceals a few flaws then illuminates your skin, if your tinted moisturizer uses mica, a mineral with light-reflecting properties.
Solution: RMS Beauty Un-Cover Up, $36, www.spiritbeautylounge.com or Lavera Natural Concealer, $19, www.lavera.com

Keep reading for 4 more here…

Want supple skin? Strike with oil

By Well+Good NYC

One of the best pieces of skin-care advice I ever gotwas also one of the most counterintuitive: Slick my skin with oils. Not just my body. My face. That is, if I wanted to age like Dorian Gray (or just protect my skin from losing its natural luster).

I took some convincing, so I understand why, when I say I’m now an oil-slathering convert, and use oils twice a day under my moisturizer, it often provokes a violent head-shaking reaction. But before you say, “No way, I will break out!” Check to see if you’re not already using one. Your skin-care brand may have just called it a “serum” because you’d never buy it otherwise.

I get that my fanaticism flies in the face of what conservative dermatologists and Neutrogena commercials advise. But here’s some of the reasoning that’s made me an oil addict culled from dozens of interviews with chemists, facialists, aromatherapists, and formulators.

• The smaller oil molecule (I’m talking jojoba seed, grapeseed, rosehip seed, apricot kernal, black currant seed, and more) can penetrate into the skin and nourish it. Creams can’t.
• The skin likes oil because it resembles its cell structure; so it lets it in.
• Oils help protect the skin from water loss and feed it hydrating, firming nutrients like essential fatty acids, gamma linoleic acid, and vitamin E that help boost elasticity.
• Using pure face oils spares you from chemical emulsifiers that many face creams and lotions need to keep the oils from separating with the water.

Facial oils often come in apothecary-style packaging

So how come we’re so convinced that face time with oil will cause our skin to freak out?

It’s likely most of us are still drinking the Clean & Clear Kool-aid. Maybe teenagers don’t need the extra oils, but your adult skin does thanks to three dozen years on the planet + sun exposure + free radical damage + accumulation of cocktails.

Not convinced it’s time to update your skin-care operating system? What if we told you your skin won’t break out?

Keep reading…

Vitamin D Foods

By VIBRANT BEAUTY

Vitamin D is a fat-soluble nutrition can be obtained from a wide variety of sources like food, sunlight and vitamin supplements. Our body can produce its own vitamin D if exposed directly to the sun. Once the ultraviolet rays from the sun touch the skin, it initiates it to produce vitamin D for the body to use. There is no overdose of vitamin D from the sun since thebody regulates the vitamin D it produces in such a way that the body will generate just enough of what is needed. If a person does not get enough sunshine then other measures must be pursued such as eating more vitamin D foods.

What does vitamin D do? The benefits of vitamin D on the body are numerous. It benefits the overall health of the different organs of the body from the bones to skin. It also has beneficial effects on the emotional state of a person. Vitamin deficiency, more specifically vitamin D deficient people are more prone to depression especially as they grow older. Vitamin D also has beneficial effects on the bones of a person. It helps in the absorption of calcium in the intestine therefore maintaining a balance of calcium in the bones. Lack of vitamin D can hinder the proper absorption of calcium. It is therefore recommended that vitamin D be taken in sufficient amounts alongside calcium supplements for proper absorption.

There are numerous diseases that can be prevented by ample amounts of vitamin D. Among the ailments that can be prevented are osteoporosis, depression, rickets and certain kinds of cancers like breast cancer, colon cancer, ovarian cancer and prostate cancer.

Exposure to direct sunlight is essential to get ample amounts of vitamin D into our system. But there are good sources of vitamin D in our diet. The recommended dietary reference intake of vitamin D assuming that a person has little or no exposure to sunlight and all are from food sources is about  600 IU/day for people one to seventy years of age.

The best source of vitamin D perhaps that can be obtained from food sources is pure cod liver oil. One tablespoon of cod liver oil contains about 1,360 IU already. This is more than the recommended dietary reference intake.

Fatty fishes like salmon, sardines and tuna are good sources of vitamin D. Salmon is a good source of vitamin D. About 3.5 ounces of salmon contains 340 IU of vitamin D. Three and a half ounces of tuna and mackerel on the other hand contain about 235 IU and 345 IU respectively.

Exploring Manuka Honey Benefits

By VIBRANT BEAUTY

Honey, that wondrous miracle product of nature and nature’s little helper, the bees. Its numerous uses and benefits are well-known throughout the decades. An ancient Greek physician dubbed honey as “good for all rotten and hollow ulcers.” Today we still use it for its healing properties. So what makes the recently popular Manuka honey special when there are numerous benefits already that can be obtained from any ordinary honey? What sets Manuka honey apart?

Taking a quick look at the background of Manuka honey will probably already set it apart from the rest. It is not just any ordinary honey, but a special honey that is made from the nectars obtained from Manuka bushes in New Zealand. Manuka bushes are uncultured and are known to have antibacterial effects.All honeys have antibacterial effects because they discharge hydrogen peroxide that can eliminate bacteria. But the manuka honey aside from releasing hydrogen peroxide also releases more antibacterial compounds that are non-peroxide.

Manuka honey, because of its antimicrobial properties can help treat a wide array of diseases. It is well-known for curing stomach ulcers. This is done by inhibiting the growth of helicobacter pylori or H. pylori, the bacteria that causes ulcers and dyspepsia. Other ordinary honeys do not exhibit the same result in fighting against H. pylori.Taking a teaspoon one hour before meals and one at bedtime will provide beneficial results. Another bacteria that can be eliminated using Manuka honey is the bacteria that causes sore throat. It shows that propolis or the antibiotic substance in honey is the substance that is most effective against bacteria. .

There are several Manuka honey benefits for various skin disorders like ulcers, boils, cracked skin and wounds. Its antimicrobial properties can diffuse into the skin which in effect kills even germs buried deep within.  It is effective in cleaning wounds which makes healing faster. It also lessens scarring because it aids in the cell formation that will ultimately avoids scar to appear. It also has anti-inflammatory qualities that will prevent swelling.

There are however various grades of Manuka honey to test its effectiveness against ailments. TradeNZ and Honey Research Unit established a classification of antibacterial qualities of honey. UMF or Unique Manuka Factor is created to rate the antibacterial activity. UMF registered trademarks are the ones considered to have therapeutic benefits. UMF strength of 10 or more is the grade ideal for healing.