Thursday, August 21, 2008

GREEN BEAUTY: Natural, alternative nail color!





If you read my last post on giving yourself a natural manicure and pedicure at home, well check out this latest post on some of the natural nail color!
PeaceKeeper Nail Paint is a vegan line of nail polishes for which all profits, after taxes, are used to support women's health advocacy and human rights issues. All PeaceKeeper beauty products fund projects such as breast and reproductive cancer research, osteoporosis research, clinical depression research, domestic violence prevention, gender equality advocacy, infanticide prevention, and rape prevention.

My favorite PeaceKeeper Nail Paint, (which I purchased at Whole Foods and I paint my toes with it) is "Paint Me Grateful". It is a rich purple color, one I liken to the hue of grapes, and it's absolutely divine. I enjoy supporting PeaceKeeper because their proceeds go toward health and human rights issues that are truly important in our world. Visit their website for more information.


No Miss Nail Polish does NOT contain: Formaldehyde * Toluene * Dibutyl-Pthalate or Camphor. Cosmetic Colors, come from earth. No Miss Nail Polish NEW and IMPROVED ingredients are: Nitrocellulose-a fiber used for viscosity. Ethylacetate, N. Butyl Acetate, Isopropyl Alcohol-solvents used to dissolve Nitrocellulose. also may contain: Mica, made from sand, cosmetic titanium dioxide, (white),cosmetic iron oxide blue, (indian paint pot grey/blue), iron oxides, earth born colors made from rocks, zinc oxide, from the earth, used to promote drying and to deflect harmful UV rays from the sun.

No Miss Nail Polish colors are absolutely beautiful. I first started using their nail color back in 1998. My first bottle (which I totally used up, it was my favorite) was a bluish silver nail color and I wore it with everything! I bought my first bottle at Wild Oats in St. Louis (my hometown). Most recently, I've been sporting the sassy hot pink No Miss Nail Polish "Wakulla Watermelon" which I purchased from Whole Foods. This is a great summer color for your toes, it really pops with sandals! Visit their website for more information.

HONEYBEE GARDENS , Honeybee Garden Waterbased Nail Color is an alternative to solvent-based nail enamel. The water-based polish is odor-free, and:


· Non-toxic: no toluene, xylene, formaldehyde, dibutyl phthalate
· No FD&C colors; only natural mineral pigments
· Water-based, not solvent-based like traditional polish


I have not personally tried Honeybee Gardens Nail Color, but I see that the colors are beautiful and this product does not contact many of the harmful chemicals we have come to know in other mainstream nail color brands. I will certainly order one of their nail color products in the near future and see how I like it! Visit their website for more information.

Yours in a sea of green,
DuEwa Frazier

GREEN BEAUTY: Give yourself a natural at home manicure and pedicure!





I'm a gal who loves to make sure my hands and feet are pampered, naturally pampered that is. I occasionally go for a professional mani/pedi, but I also know how to take great care of my hands and feet on my own. And I buy the tools and beauty products that serve me in this way. Pampering your hands and feet shows you care about yourself and when you choose not pay someone else to do it, you save money! Beautifying your hands and feet is also an ancient ritual practiced by women of many cultures. From drugstores to specialty boutiques and healthfood stores, you can find many of the tools you need, to give yourself a fresh manicure and pedicure right at home. And if you're striving to give your hand and footcare a "green makeover", well that's even better!


Natural Pedicure


I live in New York City and sometimes walking the long, city streets can be hard on your feet, especially if you're not wearing the most comfortable shoes each day. Most women want to show off their beautiful toes and wear the most fashionable sandals during the summer, and for this, your feet must be prepared! So let's start off with a natural at home pedicure to wake up those tired feet and put that "pep in your step"! Here's what you need to get started:


Tools:
Gather a small/medium size pan, a loofah, a pumic stone, a towel, bath and body gel, lotion/cream or body oil, a facial or body scrub, a nail file, toe nail clippers, nail polish remover, flip flops, cotton balls, and favorite nail polish. NOTE: Top and base coat polish is optional.



Step 1
Using cotton balls, take off your old nail polish, using natural nail polish remover or other nail polish remover.


Step 2
Use a small/medium size plastic pan, like a washpan that you can fill up with warm water. Fill the pan with warm water and a natural, scented bath and body gel like Avalon Organics Lavendar Bath and Body Gel. Use enough soap to create suds. You can also add your favorite essential oil to the warm water, such as: rose, geranium, peppermint, ylang ylang, or orange.


Step 3
As you soak your feet, use a strong, scented scrub such as Queen Helene Mint Scrub and a loofah to slough off the dead skin on the top and bottom of your feet. Rub vigorously for a few minutes. The rubbing and the water will clean your feet well and remove the dead skin. Also take your pumice stone to rub any hardened dead skin on your toes and any scaly, dead skin on your heels. This is the removal of all of those unsightly layers of skin on your feet. Rub vigorously and continuously until every part of your feet feel smooth and soft. Clip any hangnails, and even out your toenails using a toenail clipper. When your feet look just about "shiny and new", take them out of the pain.


Step 4
Dry your feet with a towel. Lovingly massage your feet with a refreshing lotion/cream such as Burt's Bees Peppermint Lotion. Or if you love scented body oil, try massaging your feet and conditioning them with Aura Glow oil in Coconut or another favorite scent. Once your feet have been moisturized, now it's time to file.


Step 5
Use a nail file to shape your toe nails in a round or square shape, whichever is most flattering to you.


Step 6
Slip into your favorite flip flops and prepare to paint your toes.


Step 7
Paint your toes in a fabulous, eye popping color. Some nail color lines I suggest are: (a few of which have less harmful ingredients than most mainstream nail color lines) No Miss Nail Polish, Peace - Keeper Nail Paint, and Sinful Nail Color. Put on two coats for more lasting color.


Step 8
Rest and let air dry!


Natural Manicure
Writing, washing dishes, cleaning your home and all of the other duties that require strong and capable hands, can leave your hands and nails dry and lackluster. Why not give yourself a manicure, at home to pamper yourself. Of course, it's quite similar to the process for a pedicure, but here are the tools you will need:


Tools
A small bowl, a towel, nail polish remover, bath/body gel, nail file, nail buffer, nail clipper, nail cuticle stick and remover, antiseptic, lotion/cream or oil, favorite nail polish. Note: Top coat and base coat are optional.


Step 1
Use natural or other nail polish remover to take off your last coat of polish

Step 2
Fill up your small bowl with warm water. Add a bath/body gel soap such as Avalon Organics Lemon Bath and Body Gel to the water, enough to suds.

Step 3
Soak hands for a few minutes. In between soaking, use your cuticle stick to push back the skin from around your nail cuticle. Use your cuticle remover to take off any hangnails or other jagged skin from around your nails.
Step 4
Rinse your hands with wam water at your kitchen or bathroom soon. Dry your hands.
Step 5
Apply Carol's Daughter Lemon Cuticle Oil or other oil, lotion/cream to your hands and massage each hand.

Step 6
Use your nail file and nail clipper to shape the nails and even out any nail edges. Use your nail buffer to smooth out the surface of the nails.

Step 7
Now that your nails are just almost "so fresh and so clean", polish them using your favorite color.

Step 8
Relax and let air dry!
For more information on healthy nails, visit dermatologist, Dr. Susan Taylor's website!

Yours in a sea of green,

DuEwa Frazier



GREEN REVIEW: Taiwo Soaps 2-1 Conditioner






Every now and then we break the routine of using our tried and true bath/body and beauty products. I love to incorporate new products into my daily beauty regimen! This post will be the start of my "Green Review", my reviews of green products that I feel you may enjoy! Yetunde of Taiwo Soaps, a natural body products company, sent me one of her scrumptious products. And I've been using it with much glee! Taiwo Soaps 2 - in - 1 Silky Body Wash and Conditioning Shampoo (enriched with Cocoa & Shea Butters) is a light and refreshing, liquid soap that doesn't leave any residue on your skin. I love the Pear Glace fragrance and you don't need to use alot of the soap in the 4oz bottle I received, to work up a lather and get clean.
The ingredients for this fragrant body treat are:
  • distilled water
  • saponified coconut and corn oil
  • cocoa butter
  • shea butter
  • and borax ( a natural mineral)

The soap itself is a light golden color and the bottle is recyclable which I love! What more can I say!

Visit Taiwo Soaps to find out more about the natural body products they offer, and tell Yetunde I recommended it!



Yours in a sea of green,
DuEwa Frazier