“Magnetic” Mask & Summery Scents: New Releases from Herbivore Botanicals

Herbivore Botanicals mask

Ladies (and possibly gent: Dad, are you reading?), may I present to you my latest haul from my beloved Herbivore Botanicals?

I fell in love with this brand’s simple and striking design and now that I’ve been using their facial serum (check out my review) for the past three months, I can vouch for the quality, purity and simplicity of their all-natural ingredients, too. When I recently saw that Herbivore Botanicals had restocked its shop with some new products, ranging from exotically scented body oils to a blue tinted facial serum (blue!) my credit card practically jumped out of my wallet. I don’t treat myself to an overabundance of things, but these well-designed products double as countertop decor, so it’s a deal, y’all.

The products I picked, their Luminous Body Oil in Neroli Blossom and their Activate Deep Pore Cleanse Mask, both introduced me to new ingredients I’ve never used or applied to my body/face – and so far, I’m loving the results!

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5 Ways to Beat Breakouts, Naturally

Natural Acne Remedies

My complexion and I are officially frenemies.

I give it nothin’ but love: all-natural treatments and masks a-plenty, clean make-up and green juices. But my skin is rebellious. Ungrateful! It will break out with a vengeance, on occasion.

Lucky for me, the enlightened, glorious green beauty community came to my rescue recently when I turned to Twitter for help. Within just a few hours, I received a slew of helpful recommendations for warding off my breakout using natural remedies (thank you, guys!). I’ve been employing these tactics for two weeks with amazing results.

So, behold, five recommendations from the green beauty community to ward off acne…for real. (!)

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Skincando is Doin’ It Right: For our Makeup Bags & Our Troops

Fact: the green beauty realm is home to some serious change makers, who are applying the ethos behind natural products (sustainable, healthy, etc.) to solve real world problems. From companies who support the local communities where they harvest ingredients to those who stand up against animal testing, the vast majority of the green bath, body and skincare products we know and love are championing sustainable business and giving back. Just another reason the green beauty community is unique. And just another reason to LOVE it, and feel great about it.

Skincando Combat Ready

Case in point: Skincando. When Sara from Skincando reached out to us about reviewing her samples, we were pretty psyched – not only because of her all-natural lip balms, creams and anti-aging products, but also because her brand is mission-driven, donating Skincando’s Combat-Ready line of products to troops overseas since 2005 through Operation Sand Flea. Skincando’s Combat-Ready products are powerful, designed to soothe skin irritated by extreme conditions. And we think it’s pretty inspiring and excellent that Skincando is so dedicated to bringing helpful, natural products to troops overseas. Check it out!

The good news for natural product enthusiasts is that between Skincando’s two lines (Combat-Ready and Luxe), we found some products that we love as much as Skincando’s commitment to doin’ good. Read on!

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Soap Makin’ with Old Town Suds: Plus, Giveaway & Discount!

Old Town Suds Natural Soap

As a natural product junkie, I’m curious about what goes into my beauty, bath and skincare purchases, all the way from ingredient sourcing/origins to process and packaging.

So, naturally, (had to, sorry) I jumped at the chance to attend a soap making class led by the Owner and “Chief Sudsologist” behind a local, natural soapmaking company that I know, use and love: Old Town Suds. I’m excited to share my soap making experience here on Unsullied, and Old Town Suds was generous enough to offer a freakin’ fabulous giveaway of their products, plus a discount code to use on their classes, beautiful soaps, and other beauty and skincare essentials. Read on for all of the sudsy goodness!

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Going Green Tag

Going Green Tag

Tags, tags, tags: they’re a way for bloggers to pose questions to one another & get to know each other. And this is our first!

This “Going Green” tag was started by Rachel of All Natural Aspirations: it came our way via Ashley Rose of Damedrose (thanks for tagging us!) and we are finally getting around to writing it up. I mean…I’d talk about all-natural products & lifestyle choices all day if I could…so this is going to be fun.

1. What started it all off for you?
It started with buildings, for me: I work in the green building industry, and that opened my eyes to the myriad connections between the materials that we use to build our homes/offices/furniture and human health. From the paints we use to color our walls (you know that “new paint” smell? Yeah, that ain’t good for you!) to the glue that holds our cheap particle board bookcase together, there are unwanted nasties all over our homes that we’re bringing in, breathing in, and that may be causing some adverse health effects.

It’s scary stuff, but luckily there are healthy/greener alternatives available. I eventually began applying the same type of thinking to my beauty and skincare regime. And…here we are!

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Spring Dreamin’: Sunscreen Supplies

Healthy mineral sunscreen

It’s MARCH!

Even though my city is currently frozen over, in just a few weeks time, we’ll all be defrosting among spring blossoms and day drinking craft beer under sunny skies. Which means it’s time to restock your sunscreen cabinet (…and probably get a pedicure).

I’m just going to come out and say it: I’m a glutton for sun. Being outdoors in spring and summer time feels so natural and joyful to me. Plus, I love my vitamin D. Say what you will about Gwyneth, but I kind of love when she said:

I try to get at least 15 minutes of sun a day. We’re human beings and the sun is the sun.

Amen, sista, as long as we’re safe about it and (ideally) protecting ourselves 365 days a year, rain or shine. You can bet that I slather on sunscreen like an Olympic volleyball player. Bring on the zinc oxide! 

So, how do you select an adequate, effective sunscreen for body and face that’s as natural as possible?

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New Favorites: Splurge Skincare

Splurge Skincare

Splurge: for us, that usually means getting the chicken quesadilla AND the Nachos Bel Grande from Taco Bell. (Also, who ate my pie? I don’t remember eating this pie.)

When Christine and Kara from Boston-based Splurge Skincare reached out to us about sampling products from their natural line of scrubs and lip “buttahs,” they gave us a chance to redefine the word. Their philosophy?

People shouldn’t wait for a special occasion to treat themselves well, it should be something they do everyday.

Amen. Both teachers, Christine and Kara used their free time to research and test out the best possible formulations for their products. The result? Even though this splurge isn’t smothered in nacho cheese or baked into grandma’s graham cracker crust, it is decadent and indulgent. It’s a skincare and lip treatment unlike anything we’ve ever tried (truly). Let’s get into it…!

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Hand-crafted goodness: Natural E

Natural E facial serum

Hey: put down that manufactured moisturizer! Give your factory-made face wash a break.

While some of my favorite natural beauty brands are big fish, there’s no denying the “warm fuzzy” feeling brought on by using small-batch, natural, handcrafted skincare products. For the past few weeks, I’ve been getting my fix from Natural E.

After I “favorited” some of her products on Etsy, Elaine from New York City-based Natural E reached out to me and asked if I’d like to sample and review a few of them. Yes, please!

One browse through Elaine’s Etsy page gives you an idea of the amount of care, precision and thoughtfulness she puts into curating the natural and often organic ingredients that make up her products: locally-sourced honey (transported by the beekeeper himself – in full beekeeping garb – through Manhattan), scents inspired by an old-time-y apothecary in the West Village…the list goes on. All of the rich scents, textures and colors of Elaine’s products, from the amber liquid in her face serum to the soothing, herbal aroma of her cleansing grains, bring a character and personal touch that is hard to find in more mainstream products. Plus, Elaine seriously knows her stuff. She’s been experimenting with and studying holistic and natural beauty since she was a teenager. She gets major brownie points from us for being an early adopter…it took us nearly 30 years to get even a basic grasp of things!

I’ve enjoyed using all of Elaine’s gentle and effective products, and some of them have become new staples for me (her lip balms, face serum and scrub…so good!). In fact, the one-two punch of using Natural E’s cleansing grains followed by the face serum helped me bounce back from a yucky break-out (!), which was an unexpected and much welcomed outcome.

Read on for the full experience and get your warm fuzzy on.

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Pink Hues by ILIA for Valentine’s Day

ILIA Karma Chameleon and I Put a Spell on You

For me, Valentine’s Day conjures images of chalky conversation hearts and drugstore greeting cards…but above all, THE COLOR PINK.

That’s why I thought it fitting to share two of my recent pink purchases with you: lip and cheek colors from ILIA.

These were my first purchases from ILIA, which is pretty much THE brand for highly pigmented, all-natural lipsticks. True to the brand’s mission and description, I’m pretty sure I could secretly swap out anybody’s lipstick or cream blush with the ILIA, all-natural alternative without them realizing. They may be natural, but they perform just like the high-end, more hazardous products you’d find at any department store beauty counter.

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Sister Scoop: A Tale of Two (All-Natural) Masks

S.W. Basics Hibiscus Mask

KATHRYNE: S.W. BASICS HIBISCUS MASK
We are no strangers to the awesome-ness of the S.W. Basics brand. And this Christmas, Jennifer spoiled me with the S.W Basics Hibiscus Mask as one of my lovely, all-natural presents ($22 for 2.5 ounces). Now, outside of doing a random mask that I might get as a free sample when ordering other goods, I don’t really do masks. I am a washer, a toner, a moisturizer, but not really a “mask” girl. The reason being: I spent the majority of my teen years absolutely destroying my skin with benzoyl peroxide and salicylic acid in layers over layers in an effort to make my pimples disappear and my oily skin go away. Masks have the connotation of being “tightening” and “drying” to me. Now that I am older, I really only like to put moisture back IN my skin, not take it away. I embrace it! Hence, why I generally don’t buy masks for myself. But this turned out to be a really sweet surprise!

With direct-trade hibiscus, french green clay and lavender powder, the mask arrives as a powder. You mix one teaspoon of the mask powder with one teaspoon of water, yogurt or honey. Mix and apply, and you will look SOOO funny! My fiancé said it looked like I just got done murdering someone – the mask, when applied, is BRIGHT red! As S.W. Basics encourages, take hilarious pictures of yourself with your hair up, in pajamas, on your couch with pizza! (Or salad. Salad.)

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