A fantastic, purifying and paraben free clay mask by Pixi Beauty!

One of the best face masks I have tried to date - Pixi Skintreats Glow Mud Mask:

Pixi Skintreats Glow Mud Mask, in the tube and applied on the face

Pixi’s ‘Skintreats’ skincare line is fast becoming a favorite among Pixi users and skincare fanatics. The brand’s recently-released skincare products that contain actual mud (Diatomaceous Earth, that is!) are already a hit! That’s probably because diatomaceous earth is known to help detoxify, cleanse and revitalize our skin. Pixi’s Glow Mud Mask, featured and pictured here today, is packed with diatomaceous earth, kaolin clay, sea silt, aloe vera, jojoba oil and hop extract, to name a few of the skin-revitalizing ingredients in this mask’s paraben-free formula.

But do these ingredients work together effectively to truly revitalize the skin? The answer is a definitive YES! This clay mask, applied for 15 minutes to the face, leaves skin’s texture visibly improved - immediately! Redness from blemishes or irritations is reduced, the skin feels smoother, and the complexion is clearer. The seemingly magical effectiveness of clay on the skin is certainly demonstrated in this facial mask, which is perhaps why Pixi calls this product their “signature 15-minute facial”! And, to add to the high rating of this face mask, this product also does not dry out the skin, as some purifying face masks can do.

Pixi's Glow Mud Mask comes in a one-ounce tube and is available on the Pixi website and at Target. Pixi, launched over 10 years ago by makeup artist Petra Strand, is a company that formulates its products using responsible, less toxic ingredients, and is always cruelty free and paraben free. 

#pixibeauty

Try a short cut to a mud mask treatment - Pixi's Skintreats Glow Mud Cleanser!

Pixi by Petra Skintreats Glow Mud Cleanser: an excellent facial cleanser that feels like you're getting an awesome 1-minute mud mask treatment:

Pixi by Petra Skintreats Glow Mud Cleanser: an excellent facial cleanser that feels like you're getting an awesome 1-minute mud mask treatment!

Craving a mud mask facial, but don’t really feel like spending the time? Pixi by Petra, a paraben free and cruelty free brand, has released a quick-fix mud mask facial via their newly released Skintreats Glow Mud Cleanser. This is a daily facial cleanser that draws out impurities and exfoliates the skin. The texture of this cleanser feels just like a mud or clay mask, and after cleansing with this product, the face really feels like it’s had a mud mask on for 20 minutes. In fact, the formula of this face wash includes diatomaceous earth (that most mud masks also have added into the ingredients), which is known to aid in detoxifying, cleansing, and revitalizing the skin.

Pixi’s purifying Glow Mud Cleanser also contains 5% glycolic acid, which exfoliates the skin and clears up blocked pores. Although this formula includes ingredients that would be effective for all skin types, it would particularly be an excellent cleanser to try for anyone with acne-prone skin.

Glow Mud Cleanser comes in a generous 4.57 ounce tube, so the tube will last for a while in your bathroom! This fantastic cleanser and all other Pixi products are available on the Pixi website and at Target. Pixi is a brand that uses responsible ingredients, and is cruelty free and paraben free. Stay tuned to this blog for more articles and reviews on green and less toxic beauty and household products!

If you can't get enough of apple pie try this A La Maison bar soap!

A La Maison de Provence 'Honey Crisp Apple' French milled soap - amazing natural soap that smells delicious!

A La Maison 'Honey Crisp Apple' soap: like washing your hands in apple pie - without the stickiness of course!!

A La Maison de Provence 'Honey Crisp Apple' French milled soap is like a delicious sweet-smelling apple pie in a soap bar! And the best part about the yummy smell is that it is derived from essential oils, without the use of artificial fragrance! The soap is made with the simple ingredients of plant oils, glycerin, clay and essential oils, prepared together in the traditional French milled style, resulting in an extremely long-lasting and easy-lathering bar. The incredibly moisturizing formula is free of sodium lauryl sulfates, parabens, and phthalates. This soap is also biodegradable and cruelty free.

A La Maison is a natural brand that prides itself on using traditional Marseillaise French milled techniques, dating back to 1828, in order to produce their bar soap. The company produces a nice selection of various soap products, including liquid soap, bar soap, and bath / shower gels. All of A La Maison’s products are featured in many delectable and interesting scents, making it difficult to choose just one! Check out the A La Maison website to see what else this natural brand offers.

If you love good quality personal care and beauty products, and are on the lookout for effective natural brands, follow this blog! Reviews and articles are posted about less toxic product options that are definitely worth checking out – all made by wonderful brands that make quality products, without nasty additives!

Perfect black eye liner for an awesome Halloween look: A smoldering, paraben-free, ultra smooth eyeliner by Tarte: skinny smolderEYES™ black liner

With Halloween around the corner, I am sharing a review on a wonderful black eye liner that went through the harrowing test of a full-day outdoor opera performance (photo below is a production still) - and the liner performed beautifully! Check out Tarte's skinny smolderEYES™ Amazonian clay waterproof liner in "Onyx": 

A smoldering, ultra smooth eyeliner by Tarte: skinny smolderEYES™ Amazonian clay waterproof liner in "Onyx"

A truly awesome test for a particular cosmetic’s effectiveness is to put it through a real-life performance test – literally. The photo above, features a raccoon-eye look obtained solely by using Tarte’s Amazonian clay eye liner in “Onyx”, worn outdoors in Los Angeles heat and sun for an outdoor opera performance, requiring consistent wear for 8 hours straight. Now, if that isn’t the best kind of test for a makeup product, I don’t know what is! Tarte’s Amazonian clay skinny smolderEYES™ black liner performed amazingly well; the liner’s waterproof formula allowed for incredibly smooth application and very easy smudging, to help achieve the graduated shading effect. And, after letting the liner settle for several minutes, the formula sets beautifully for a full day’s wear, maintaining the intensity of the onyx black shade for a full 8 hours.

Now, I am in no way suggesting an everyday look as pictured above – unless of course that’s your thing! This was stage makeup for me, but I absolutely loved the way this eye liner applied so smoothly – so effortlessly, without roughly pulling on the sensitive skin around the eyes. It’s definitely my go-to liner – hands down the best eye liner I have ever used - and also comes in several beautiful shades, from vibrant to neutral. Most importantly, this liner by Tarte is vegan, and free of parabens, mineral oil, phthalates, sodium lauryl sulfates, synthetic fragrances and gluten. Tarte is one of the few green beauty brands currently available at Sephora that formulates products made from mostly natural and safe ingredients. Check out Tarte’s website to see what other awesome and effective makeup products this brand offers.

#tartecosmetics #blackeyeliner #eyeliner #natural #parabenfree #tarte #greenbeauty

Make your lips glossy with a natural product - try Burt's Bees!

A wonderful winter shade of paraben-free lip gloss by Burt's Bees: 'Starry Night' - a deep plummy-brown with a gentle shimmer!

 Burt's Bees lip gloss in 'Starry Night'

When it comes to natural beauty brands, Burt's Bees holds a special place in my heart. It was the first natural brand I tried, and I have always liked all the Burt's Bees products I've used, from their lip balm, to their lip shimmers, to their body lotions - all effective, free of toxic ingredients, and very economically priced! Burt's Bees is a wonderful company to start with if you are new to paraben free and toxin free cosmetics. The company offers a wide array of products made from natural ingredients and they’ve been around for a long time, having maintained an amazing reputation throughout the company’s existence.

Pictured is Burt’s Bees lip gloss in the shade “Starry Night”. This shade is a perfect winter and fall color: a deep plummy brown with wine undertones, and a gentle shimmer. It’s actually quite vampy when applied in two solid strokes on each lip, but can also be used as a buildable color. When lightly blotted on the lips, the shade can also be used to appear like a berry stained look. This sultry shade would be especially nice on darker skin tones! So, not only is this lip gloss shade versatile, the formula also provides a thick barrier against cold and moisturizes your lips. Free of parabens and other nasty additives, Burt’s Bees lip gloss is definitely one to try out for your green beauty lip product collection!

#burtsbees #lipstick #lipgloss #parabenfree #naturalcosmetics #greenbeauty




Photo to the right: Burt's Bees lip gloss in 'Starry Night' in full daylight.

Healthier alternative cleaning solutions by Seventh Generation

Seventh Generation safe and toxin free cleaning products featured today are a surface cleaner and a dish washer detergent:

Ever wonder about the negative effects of your skin and lungs absorbing the harsh chemicals present in most household cleaning products? Sure, we can wear plastic gloves to protect our hands, but we've all done the quick spot check without gloves, allowing our hands to soak in the cleaning product; and, not to mention, that during the cleaning process, cleaning products get sprayed into the air and inevitably over our bodies and into our lungs in small quantities. One way to limit exposure to harsh chemicals whilst keeping our homes clean, is to use brands that are greener, easier on the environment, more natural and do not contain carcinogenic ingredients.

Today's spotlight is on Seventh Generation, a company that exemplifies everything this blog is about. Seventh Generation products are plant-based, toxin free, environmentally safe, and they are also extremely effective! Pictured above are two such wonderful products, a surface cleaner and a dishwasher detergent, both just as effective at cleaning our homes and dishes, as other popular cleaning brands that are toxic to touch and breathe. The scents of Seventh Generation products are also naturally-derived, so by using these cleaners, one has the added benefit of avoiding artificial fragrance ingredients!

Besides household cleaning products, Seventh Generation also produces a wide array of personal care products, toilet paper, and paper towels (made from recycled paper). Be sure to visit this wonderful brand’s website for more information about the company's products. Also, check out Seventh Generation next time you're in a store's cleaning product isle, and be sure to support companies like Seventh Generation, that put the environment and future generations first, over profit.