Aguacate & Co...

I have been really into the skincare line Aguacate & Co. I've tried a wide variety of their products and am consistently pleased. Everything about this brand is straightforward and clean, from their packaging (perfect for men too!), to their philosophy, which is as follows...

"As a company, we strive to be good citizens within our industry, community, and the environment. To that end, we have developed our range of facial skin care products made with organic and natural ingredients cruelty free, and make every effort in our daily operation to reduce, reuse and recycle materials. And that is also why when you shop with us we give back a portion of all sales towards causes in support of the arts, community, and environment."

The soothing facial lotion, rejuvenating eye treatment, and facial cleansers are my favorites. Available online at Aguacate & Co.com.

Happy Mothers Day!

Natural surfaces with clean white lines, a towel warmer, fresh air with amazing light, all basics for an amazing bathing space. Unfortunately I don't remember which blog I pulled this image from but it brings up the point that there is a wealth of interior inspiration on interior and design blogs. Be sure to check out some of the other blogs I link on the right hand side!

I hope everyone had a relaxing Sunday and great Mothers Day. I definitely have my mom to thank for my knowledge and interest in natural beauty and organic lifestyle!

leave skin glowing...

Ren makes a lot of amazing products that leave one with healthy and radiant skin. Surprisingly, I first discovered Ren products while staying in a hotel that was fully stocked with this wonderful brand. I was instantly hooked and have been ever since! My latest favorite from Ren is the Glycolactic Skin Renewal Peel Mask. A gentle fruit acid complex leaves you with exfoliated glowing skin in optimal health. Not suitable for very sensitive skin. Available at Renskincare.com.

An Interview with Lulu Organics creative, Linda Aldredge...

Today's post is a great interview that I think many of you will find very inspiring. Linda Aldredge, founder of Lulu Organics shares with us her creative side, tips for living a healthy life and her motivation behind Lulu Organics. Lulu Organics are the makers of the beautifully packaged Talc-free hair powder.

FB: Can you tell me a little bit about your creative side and that amazing treehouse I saw featured in Domino Magazine?
Linda A.: A little about me... I grew up all over. I've worked as a graphic designer and illustrator for close to 15 years. Most of my inspiration comes from my family and friends. And music. Music is everything to me and I'm a big nerd about it.
I spend a lot of time in upstate New York where I have a treehouse that I built with two friends. It's a tiny, sustainable house that sits 15ft up in a tree. My ideal evening would be a handful of friends, a warm still night upstate, a dinner we cooked over the fire made with only things we grew or bought in town, a bottle of wine and a great tune playing on my makeshift sound system. Simple is best.

FB: What influenced and or inspired you to start Lulu Organics?
Linda A.:It's funny how I came into this venture. Clearly, I was a graphics person by day so the packaging aspect was a no brainer, I've always loved an antiquated boudoir aesthetic. But by night I was starting to get really into herbs and herbal healing. I was raised in a home where holistic and nutritional healing is important. I woke up one day with the notion that I would teach myself how to make every single thing I used in my home [product-wise]. Some things were a disaster [laundry detergent] but most things came out amazing and I was completely hooked. I started to make things for friends as gifts and eventually I decided to sell something. Hence our first product, the hair powder. I love powders—body and hair—and I had never seen a really nice smelling one that didn't have talc—an ingredient I like to avoid—so I thought, why not?

FB: Can you talk a little bit about your philosophy behind your company?
Linda A.: Thus far just simplicity. I don't like things when they get too tricky. I like single notes, I like products that have simple yet healing properties. Ingredients that harken back to a time where things were simpler and we were more connected to all the things we used, grew, ate, etc.

FB: What are a few of your favorite beauty products of choice?
Linda A.: My beauty regiment is really simple as I have one of those complexions that can't tolerate anything. I probably couldn't live with out rose-hip oil, which I apply to fine lines on my skin before bed. And lip balm. And funnily enough—black eyeliner. Try finding that organic! I use the Korres brand currently though I'd like the come up with one of my own.

FB: Do you have any beauty tips or secrets that you are willing to share with flawless beauty readers?
Linda A.: Just one. And it might sound strange. I hate using 'regular' deodorant because of aluminum, anti-perspirants, etc. Buuuut I'm sicilian and I don't, after a long sweaty day, smell like an angelic pile of rose petals. And natural deodorants, while they mean well, don't always work. My friend Marc once shared with me a little tip that to this day totally saves me! If you cut a small sliver of fresh lemon and rub it under the arms, voila! I know it sounds crazy, but seriously... it REALLY works.

FB: Starting your own company and dealing with the day to day duties takes a lot of energy I'm sure. What do you do to insure your body and mind receives the attention needed to maintain a healthy and creative lifestyle?
Linda A.: I typically heal through food and herbs. If I'm feeling run down I take herbs for vitality and I'll eat really well. If I feel bloated I'll try and incorporate at high percentage of raw into my diet for the day, it also helps the mid-day sluggishness. And if I'm at the top of my game, I'll wake to a morning shake of berries, banana, kale or spinach with udo oil, hemp seed and spirilina. Hormonally, I try to keep the caffeine to a minimum and regulate with vitex [chaste berry]. I find that if my hormones are balanced the rest tends to fall in line.

Where to buy? Online: US www.luluorganicsnyc.com, UK www.puresha.com
Visit luluorganicsnyc.com for a full list of retailers.

Treehouse in upstate New York, via Domino Magazine.

tame your locks...

Another wonderful product from Nature Girl, Groovy Locks Plant Shampoo. Previously I posted about not being able to find fabulous organic shampoos, problem solved thanks to Nature Girl and Cattier! Nature Girl shampoos are available for normal, dry, or oily hair in all natural and organic fragrances from wildcrafted essential oils. I suggest making sure you get the correct one for your hair type otherwise your hair can feel kind of heavy.

Top-to-Toe Guide to Luxe Bathing...

I am very pleased to post an article about "luxe bathing" that I wrote for Chic Today magazine. A fabulous bath is so important, so I was thrilled when I was chosen to write a full article on the topic. Chic Today is an online lifestyle publication which covers topics such as fashion, art, travel and beauty to name a few. To read the article and check out the full current issue, themed Gilded Glory, click here at chictoday.com. There are some other great reads and fun fashion in this issue as well. You can read online or download a free copy, look for the article under the beauty section.

lovely brows...

Threading is a technique that I have used for years as an alternative to waxing or tweezing. Threading is done with an actual spool of sewing thread pulling hair out one follicle at a time therefore leaving you with a beautiful natural looking eyebrows. Waxing can be less forgiving and forms eyebrows that aren't always well suited for your face. Tweezing can be a little tedious and lets face it, somethings are best left to the experts! My favorite eyebrow experts in New York City are the women at Madhu's Eyebrows. They charge 6$ and there is never more than a ten to fifteen minute wait. If you have really sensitive skin don't forget your sunglasses...you may be a little red afterwards.

Mandu's Eyebrows
3 Greenwich Ave
NYC
Mon-Sun 10:30 AM - 8:00 PM

a new take on "disposable"...

Summer is about to set in and smooth legs are yet again the hottest item of the season. Forget the runway trends and go straight for those sexy legs. Preserve Recyclable Razors are the eco must for getting all parts smooth, made from recycled Stonyfield Farms yogurt containers. When finished, these razors retire right into your home recyclables container.

Bee good to your Mama...

The perfect Mother's Day gift set has just buzzed into the Flawless Beauty hive! BeeCeuticals Organics is offering a wonderful Save the Bees gift set filled with 7 of their honeyed products. These products offer a daily dose of honey's amazing properties; anti-inflammatory, antioxidant rich and high amino acid content. Honey is truly golden when it comes to skin health. This carbon neutral company is part of the new wave of responsible businesses to take the lead in showing us a better way to be consumers. BeeCeuticals Organics website states, "We print on recycled paper using vegetable inks, reuse and recycle shipping boxes, and currently use cornstarch packing peanuts and 100% recycled tissue to pack our shipments. We donate a portion of our profits to land preservation projects and to organizations working to help save bees and other pollinators with our SAVE THE BEES campaign." Bee-vo to that!

almost summer...

I thought I'd change things up today and do an inspirational post. Here are some fabulous beauty shoot images from Vogue Beauty Italia. I love the mood in these shots, it reminds me that my favorite season summer, is just around the corner! Not to mention, how cute are all the dresses!? Also, I just had a great weekend upstate New York which reminded me of the scenery and the leisurely attitude in these photos as well...via foto decadent.

Nature Girl promotion...

In celebration of Earth Day, Nature Girl is offering Flawless Beauty readers a 25 percent discount on the entire Nature Girl range. Everything you purchase from www.nature-girl.com comes with the discount. Earth Day special valid from Tuesday April 22 through April 28 at midnight. Just enter ILOVENATURE (capped up) in the discount code box to secure discount. I also just want to add that you may want to take advantage of the offer because a lot of the product does not come cheap!

full of shine...

I've been doing a lot of haircare posts in search of the perfect all natural shampoo. Well, I think I've finally found it! Yogurt shampoo from the French brand Cattier. My hair is soft and full on shine! This shampoo works well for frequent hair washers also. Another fun fact, Cattier is know for making fabulous baby products. Available exclusively in the US on Beautorium.com. For conditioning I used my favorite Dr. Hauschka conditioner, available on Beautorium.com as well. Cattier products are available at Naturalia stores in France.

David Babaii for wildaid...

Here's the promised follow up post for the haircare line Kate Hudson is working on with her hairdresser David Babaii. They have combined their passion for nature and beauty to create David Babaii for Wildaid, an innovative brand of haircare products and styling tools, with a percentage of the revenue from the line being donated to the global wildlife conservation organization, WildAid.

get face-mask fabulous...

I love this I Am Plant Oatmeal Face Mask from Nature Girl. Perfect for normal to dry skin. It feels great on the face and left my skin soft and hydrated to the touch. The nutrient-rich exfoliating mask is made with nourishing oatmeal, wildcrafted ginseng extract to give the skin a boost, oils of jojoba seed, sweet almond and sesame seed and organic damascena rose water. If you are unfamiliar with Nature Girl, they have great products using ingredients that are all natural and organically grown. They have fun packaging in bold colors and donate a percentage of their sales to projects that benefit and improve the lives of women and the environment.

earth-friendly beauty...

I finally gave EcoTools a try, the much blogged about, environmentally friendly make-up brushes and bath accessories. The brushes are made from bamboo, with out animal hair and they also offer a recycled bath sponge which works great! With an affordable price range of $1.99-$10.99 everything is definitely worth trying. Click here for more info.

a holistic medicine cabinet...

Vital Juice Daily made a post that I thought was informative and an easy read covering holistic medicine options. With allergy season looming, this may be a post you want to check out. Also there are suggestions for additions you could add to your first aid kit and alternatives for combating stress headaches. Click here to read the full article.

time for a mask...

As you may know by now I am a huge fan of honey for the skin. I think mainly because I am a fan of glowing, dewy skin and I feel that when I try a honey mask I am left with glowing supple skin. This rose oil and honey face mask is via the blog homemade beauty recipes....

Sweet almond oil, which is light and easily absorbed, softens and nourishes skin. Honey a natural humectant, moisturizes, leaving tired skin incredibly smooth.

• 2 T honey
• 2 T sweet almond oil
• 5 drops essential oil of rose
• 1 drop vitamin E oil

Mix together. Massage onto clean face and neck with fingertips. Relax for 15 minutes, then rinse off with lukewarm water. Gently pat dry to reveal a fresh, soft complexion.

a real promotional treat...

Rich Hippie fans are in for a real treat! Introducing the new perfume Shambala, containing a blend of organic Indian Jasmine petals, French and Croatian Lavender Bud, Madagascan Ylang Ylang with Bulgarian, Tunisian and Moroccan Rose Petals. Perfect for all the upcoming warm spring days. Take 20 percent off your entire order when you buy from www.rich-hippie.com. There are a ton of scents to chose from! Enter the code RICHHIPPIE at checkout by Friday Arpil 11, 2008.

for those days of "unwash"...

I am a huge fan of only washing your hair only once a week. The natural oils condition the hair and there is less wear and tear in general. I also have very dark hair and wear it up a lot so oil production does not interfere with my hairstyles. A lot of people find washing their hair only once or twice a week daunting because of their hair type or the way oil weighs hair down. This is where organic hair powder by Lulu Organics steps in. Sprinkle a small amount at the roots and rub in, perfect for those days of "unwash". Lightly scented with essential oils and no talc included!

a little Sunday inspriation...

Photo by Annika Vannerus/Getty

I have been very busy lately so there were a lack of posts this week, I was debating whether or not to do another inspiration post so soon but decided to go ahead because I receive such great feedback from everyone when I do them! So, I take that as you want to see more...
I came across the above photo online, I'm not sure whose bathroom this is, but it's amazing, wrap around open air windows! And is that fruit on the trees outside, lol. I also like the basket on the floor placement for towels.

a trip to the Beautorium...

Beautorium is a new online store selling organic and natural beauty products. Started by experienced beauty executives, Beautorium has a great philosophy and wonderful brand selection criteria. They stock some of my favorite product ranges from Saaf, Juice Beauty and Dr. Hauschka. The site is well organized, allowing you to shop by beauty issue, brand or product category. An added bonus...for all purchases over $75 you'll receive a fair-trade burlap sac to carry all your goodies in!

a little Sunday inspriation...

There's something about this bathroom that feels so cozy. Maybe the hue of neutrals or the towel warmer. This image is from one of my favorite interior books, Home Is Where the Heart Is, by Ilse Crawford. Ilse is an amazing interior designer, her website showcases projects that are truly inspirational.

In her book, she talks about bathhouse basics, here are a few questions shes suggests you ask yourself when setting up your bathing space...all great things to consider...

• If you don't have a bathroom window, is it possible to add one?
• Can you have a water softener installed?
• Can you incorporate tactile surfaces such as wood, stone, handmade ceramics?
• Is there space for a towel-warming rail?
• How much storage do you need to keep the room uncluttered?

a fun read...

Being that Flawless Beauty features beauty products, solutions and quick fixes, it seemed fitting to share Trace with all of you, a magazine celebrating "true beauty". Always one of my favorite magazines, Trace does a great job of representing the talents and beauty of people from all over the world. Also, the very talented Marc Baptiste shot a lot of the spreads, he has an amazing ability to capture striking shots of women, showing their beauty inside and out. You actually can download the whole magazine on the Trace website here.

keep clean with citrus...

Last month I posted about Pattern, the new product line offering cleansers in refreshingly new scents suitable for hair, face or body. I've tried the citrus moisturizing body wash and was pleased. This all natural wash is great as a shower gel. The scent was faint, not too overpowering. The best part? The consistency works great for doubling as a shave gel! Available online at Pattern.

Korres in Soho...

I was walking through Soho the other day when I noticed a new Korres store! I then learned on their website that they actually opened in October. The design is very modern and clean, their first US store as well! For those of you not familiar with Korres, they are a Greek company from Athens, making great natural products in exotic scents with well designed packaging. A lot of their products are available at Sephora, but now you can buy directly from them, if your in New York. One of my favorite lotions they offer is the guava body butter.

products with great fruity ingredients...

I came across this wonderful company from Hawaii, Bubble Shack. They use fair trade Shea Butter for the lotions, organic ingredients, and because of the high content of aloe vera this makes for a great after-sun lotion. The scent is wonderful, rich and natural.

I previously mentioned the new line by Tarte cosmetics featuring products loaded with their special blend, t5 super fruit complex. Featuring Acai, the super berry from Brazil. Pictured above is the natural cheek stain in Full Blossom. Presevative-free, paraban free, mineral-oil free and phthalate free. Available now at Sephora.

Another deliciously scented creme is the Mangosteen body lotion from Fresh. High in antioxidants and made with Shea Butter, a wonderful blend for dry skin right after those winter baths!

a gift of green...

Search for the cause, a website dedicated to investigating how exposures in our daily lives increase the risk of cancer, offers a green beauty kit full of fabulous all natural beauty products. The website is great reading. It touches on many topics of importance, with their main purpose being,

• Investigate how exposures in our daily lives increase the risk of cancer
• Reduce harmful environmental conditions
• Educate communities on healthy lifestyle choices

Here are just a few of the items from the green beauty kit available online here...

• Jurlique Lavender Hand Creme
• Lafe's Natural Hemp Deodorant
• John Masters Organics Intensive Hair Conditioner
• Organic Apoteke Rejuvenating Eye Cream
  

a little Sunday inspiration...

The perfect example of why no one should be afraid of checkerboard floors and chandeliers in the bathroom! The natural lighting looks great in here as well and how cute is the window shape?

expert skincare advice on pores...

Dr. Mah Hussain-Gambles Ph.D, the natural skincare specialist who created the aforementioned and remarkable skin care range Saaf, has much to offer the generally beauty industry disillusioned:

Primarily, a gentler, evidence-based approach to skin care that transcends outrageous beauty marketing claims and emphasizes instead what has consistently worked over her fifteen plus years of research and treating people homeopathically.

Here Dr. Mah offers us some clear insight about pores!

According to Dr. Mah there are four main factors affecting the size and overall appearance of your pores:

1. GENETICS- those with oily thicker skin tend to have larger looking pores and those with drier skin likely have pores that are hardly noticeable.

2. DIET- a diet rich in oily and fatty food promotes over production of sebum.

3. AGING- as we age, our pores appear larger due to a build up of dead cells around the pore. As collagen breaks down and production of collagen slows, the supportive structures surrounding cells looks stretched.

4. SUN DAMAGE- sun damage is linked with enlarged pores by thickening the rim of the cells around individual pores thereby creating an enlarged appearance.

A REMEDY? Dr. Mah urges us to keep skin exfoliated, the pores clear, and to remember gently does it-- using a soft Muslin cloth rather than harsh dermabrasion to exfoliate since irregular exfoliant granules will actually damage skin with long term use. Finally, she reminds us to reduce sun damage by ALWAYS using a sunscreen and make sure to be adequately hydrated so as to avoid 'compensatory' over production of oil.

spa day in Miami at Agua...

Pool which is amazing and only available to guests of the hotel.

Interior of spa (although I don't remember it being q