On tea....

It is very strange, this domination of our intellect by our digestive organs. We cannot work, we cannot think, unless our stomach wills so. It dictates to us our emotions, our passions. After eggs and bacon it says, "Work!" After beefsteak and porter, it says, "Sleep!" After a cup of tea (two spoonfuls for each cup, and don't let it stand for more than three minutes), it says to the brain,
"Now rise, and show your strength. Be eloquent, and deep, and tender; see, with a clear eye, into Nature, and into life: spread your white wings of quivering thought, and soar, a god-like spirit, over the whirling world beneath you, up through long lanes of flaming stars to the gates of eternity!"
~Jerome K. Jerome, Three Men in a Boat

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I was thinking as I woke today that I would like to share more here in this space. With a full plate, endless deadlines, wonderful chaos and dots connecting like you would hardly believe (thank you, thank you, thank you!), my time has become precious...rather... I am learning to realize just how precious it has always been and to appreciate the moments I do take for myself more thoroughly.

I have a new morning ritual.

I have been starting each day with a mug of tea. This simple act alone stops the swirling of the world for a moment, provides the much needed motivation to just sit in silence and begin from neutral rather than pulling myself out of bed and catapulting frantically into my day, attacking to-do lists and endless emails and phone calls and responsibility without thought to what climbing these mountains actually means to me; why I live so big and fast and dispense all my energy with such relentless passion.

I believe there is power in stillness and silence, yet I struggle to embrace either. Wrapped up in my mug of tea, I somehow remember to breathe.

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Now for what you really want to know.
Tea is a real treat for the skin!

The skin’s appearance is determined by its exposure to potentially harmful environmental influences such as sunlight and air pollution, in combination with diet and topical care.

Red, green, white, and black teas from around the world have been used for centuries in various medicinal remedies. There have been a number of encouraging studies of the skin benefits of green tea. Animal studies showed protection from skin cancer. Both animal and human studies have credibly demonstrated that topical green tea formulations reduce sun damage. Green tea appears to exert sun damage protection by quenching free radicals and reducing inflammation rather than by blocking UV rays.

Considering their well-documented antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities, topical green tea polyphenols are likely to slow down the development of some signs of aging. Green tea's gentle but powerful action is of immense relief particularly for those with skin conditions such as psoriasis, rosacea, dandruff,and acne - all of which are exacerbated by inflammation.

The simple how to:
1. Brew yourself a cup of your favorite tea. I highly suggest organic green or white tea for their antioxidant goodness, but chamomile, rose and lavender are favorites of mine and lovely as well, particularly for calming sensitive skin.

2. Sip and think good thoughts. Yes, this is required. :)

3. Remove tea bag (warm, not HOT) and gently swipe over your entire face, neck and decollete for an incredible natural toner. This simple step calms skin, reduces inflammation and general puffiness, soothes tired eyes, balances excess oil and sweeps away any dry skin or flakiness. Did I mention it feels incredible and costs practically pennies?

- If you are feeling particularly in need of an emergency fix, keep a tray of green tea ice cubes in your freezer and slide over your face on especially puffy days when you need serious and fast acting relief.



Remember the tea kettle - it is always up to its neck in hot water, yet it still sings!
~Author Unknown

My website...Practicing Patience...

I absolutely cannot wait until I can send all of you to my actual super great website rather than this blog that I neglect more often than not. It is currently undergoing it's own major makeover and I am hoping with all fingers and toes and elbows crossed that it will be live and active within a month.

In the meantime, please do feel free to contact me directly to schedule a holistic beauty consultation, green makeover, healthy skin treatment, or to answer any questions you may have about services, products, or whatever else you may wish to inquire of me.

If there is anything specific you think would be a good addition to my site once back up and running, I enthusiastically welcome your input and very much look forward to hearing from you.

What's YOUR secret?

I'll admit, I get asked this all of the time.

As an "aspiring to be former" model (on a great big mission to switch to the other side of the camera and give healthy beauty a whole new meaning!), I do not always blend in with the scenery. I worked for years in front of the camera, quite often as just a face, a blank palette for cosmetics and the vision of makeup artists and photographers and art directors and so on.

Needless to say, my SKIN has been a full time project for years. It has always been imperative that I be in the best condition possible or risk not having food on the table that month. In an industry as fickle as fashion, this was not vanity - it was survival in the career path I was skipping along.

When asked about my personal regimen now, it is often paired with "well, you're a Model -of course your skin is perfect!" or "Genetics, right? I'm sure you've always had great skin", etc. etc. etc.

Let me tell you something.

I work at it.

Hard.

It has most certainly gotten easier over the years as I've learned to be healthier inside which is reflected outside, to eat properly, get off artificial hormones (birth control, animal products), lead an active physical life, practice self love (I am a glorious and glowing woman!) and other hippy-dippy things, and entirely switched over my personal care items and cosmetics to the squeakiest side of clean.

It takes all of this. No compromises. You have to tell yourself that you are worth it and then follow through with what exactly that means.

I have not always been a model, or even considered beautiful in the traditional sense. I was an awkward kid like most I've found in this industry - Shy, introverted, socially inept, too smart for my own good and dancing clumsily to the beat of my own drum. In junior high I was the really uncool girl the popular guys would date as a joke to be funny. Oh yes, hilarious times.

And then at eighteen my family history of seriously awesome skin conditions decided to show me I was part of the crew - psoriasis, eczema, dermatitis, mysterious rashes, blisters, scaling, itching, bleeding madness. I had always had little patches that hinted I too would have this battle to fight, but in 2001 all hell broke loose and I was covered literally head to toe with a hot, burning, itching, scaly rash that resembled red camouflage over nearly ever inch of my body.

In grocery store lines small children would point at my exposed alien arms and ask their mothers what was wrong with me. I would hide my deteriorating face and try not to cry because the salt would sting in my open wounds.

Doctors and dermatologists and expensive visits with specialists yielded no results and no answers. Finally, through a long process of blood and allergy tests (and rounds of antibiotics and steroids in high doses that provided immediate relief followed by a far greater return to an even worse reaction) and living practically in a bubble for a while as I learned through elimination, I discovered that the vast majority of my issues (beyond genetic predisposition) were largely environmental.

I was allergic to my life and the state of our planet. I had just moved to Los Angeles (from super green Minnesota) where my body was experiencing shock over the high levels of pollution and contaminants in the air, catapulting my immune system into a frenzy and sending my skin into a state of hypersensitivity where I was forced to become very aware of how all the little things in my world were contributing to my state of unwell - my cosmetics, cleaning supplies, shampoos and soaps and lotions and toothpaste, food I was eating, the paints I used when teaching my art class... Everything was making me sick, and giving due credit to vanity, making me feel and look far from pretty.

Over the next several years I switched out one product at a time, altering my lifestyle and slowly healing with each step along the way. Two years into the process, my once spiderweb patterned skin was unrecognizable. I still had red patches around my nose and mouth, occasional spots and flaking on my hands and tiny scars that whispered my secret... but I no longer looked or felt foreign in my own skin.

I started modeling as a celebration and as a way to move back into my body, to make peace with my skin and my outlook on my own appearance.

Now, fully healed and ripe with passion on this subject, I am on a mission to share what I know. What could be easily viewed externally on my skin is happening inside of yours. Just because you cannot always see it, does not mean it is not there. Direct links between an elevated risk of cancer, Alzheimer's disease, allergies, asthma, and so on and so on have been shown time and again with the use of standard cosmetics and beauty care items. This is no joke. It is no small thing. This is a terribly important subject that can no longer be ignored.

DO YOU WANT TO KNOW MY SECRET?

HERE IT IS:

IF SOMETHING CANNOT GO IN YOUR BODY, IT CANNOT GO ON IT.
IF YOU CANNOT EAT IT, YOUR SKIN SHOULDN'T EITHER.

PERIOD.

I live by this. From my toothpaste to my mascara to my foot scrub, I only use earth and plant based products and ingredients that contribute to my well being rather than take from it. There are soooooo many good options available. There is simply no excuse to not make this transition.

I am absolutely amazed how many of my clients would buy organic fruits and vegetables, drink filtered water, work out in organic cotton yoga gear and then suds up with Sodium Laurel Sulfate, slather on paraben drenched expensive face creams and lacquer themselves in lead and mercury laden carcinogenic cosmetics. Seriously, you KNOW better. You do. So why the excuse when it comes to your beauty routine?

Please please please, I beg of you to take a closer look at why you continue to turn a blind eye to this. This is not ten years ago. There are safe cleaning products. There is a whole world of well formulated and decidedly non granola cosmetics. There are indulgent bath products with heavenly aromas and beautiful packaging. And as demand increases, the revolution rises and our options get better and better and better.

I have been researching products for years, testing and challenging and making demands with my dollar. I am still learning, each and every day. I make new discoveries about new companies, new brands, new innovative people coming up with truly delectable healthy beauty items on a constant basis. I got so excited about this whole process, I've even started formulating my own line of bath and beauty goodness (which I simply cannot wait to unveil sooooon)!

I was told recently that I light up when I talk about what it means to me to be a holistic beauty consultant and green makeup artist and eco potion mixing entrepreneur and overall natural beauty junkie on a happy healthy joy mission. (Phew. Big sentence!)

I was told I glow.

Passion fills me. I'm excited. I care. I'm invested in you and just as importantly, I am invested in myself.

Maybe that's my secret.

May it be yours too.

With all the love and gooey goodness in the word,

May

Humbled....

The last couple weeks have been amazing, I have been meeting the most incredible people, so many inspired souls on missions of their own... so many striving towards expanded personal growth, honoring their own health and beauty, deepening their connection to their planet and all those who live upon it.
I am not the most social creature. I can be shy around new people, of which many are entering my life right now in this place of growth. I am quiet by nature, unless I have something real to say and then I can be quite fierce and direct. The social networking part of business always presents a challenge to me.
I believe in what I am doing, am confident in my skills and the importance of the journey I am on. But talking to people about it... explaining just WHY this is so necessary, why change is vital, why healthy beauty as I wish it encompasses so much more than looking pretty for a night out. What gives me the authority to educate on these things? What credentials do I have that allow me the ability to charge fees for my time and services? Because this is such a passion, I struggle with the business part of things, with the technical side of relating all of this into concise words and plans and a bottom line.
A woman in full support of me asked the other day, what can I tell my clients about you? How can I explain what makes you different? Another asked, where were you trained? I feel the need right now to be open.
To the first, I wrote the following in an email.

The truth is that there is no standard for this. I am exploring a territory that is fairly new, at least to the mainstream and certainly to the entertainment industry. I had to create my own standard, my own set of rules. I utilize the SkinDeep Database regularly to keep ingredients in check and to establish some kind of set guideline so as to not let things slide or get lax when I find products I love that are ALMOST clean enough to use and endorse. Research has become a regular part of my everyday. I am the first to admit that I know just a sliver of what there is to know. I am not a chemist. I do not have a formal eduction on these subjects. I am not licensed or certified or regulated because there is no standard for what I do. There is no guideline that says where to go from here for me. This is a new venture. What I know, I know because I researched it on my own, with other people who know more than I do, by reading, by talking to others, by trial and error, by having lived and worked as a model and in the beauty industry for the last decade. I was a standard makeup artist years ago. I know this world thoroughly in the practical sense. I do struggle with words, with having the facts to state to make information palatable and retain-able when I am speaking on this subject. This is far from the easy part for me. I fumble all the time when questioned. There are so many in this community that are incredibly well versed and know far more than I do in the technical sense. I welcome their questions and their intensity. I do get intimidated, but it drives me as well to continue to learn. I am a makeup artist. My roots are deeply green. I have passion that drives me. This is something I care about intensely. Time will provide credibility for me, time to establish more information and a deeper understanding of it so I can communicate it with ease, time to establish a clientele as invested as I am, time to re-build a book that stands on it's own even without the tag of green, time to line up the business with the heart and bring it to a successful place where I can prosper as a business woman as well as a caring partner in the search for a healthier way of approaching beauty.
There is a very large hill to climb in front of me but I embrace the challenge.
I very much welcome your input. It is people like you, like the others I have been meeting lately, all coming together that make scaling mountains possible for all of us.

Grateful.

I have the greatest job in the world.
This is what I was thinking the other day, perched on the edge of photographer Ward Robinson's rooftop studio overlooking Los Angeles, the most incredible gold sunset wrapping it's warmth all around me....
Our outrageously beautiful model with the fullest lips I have ever seen wanders over to me, points out the fact that me laying in the sun on the side of the building like this would be just dandy... if there wasn't a drop inches away to several stories down with no rail to hold me in. Oh yes. I remind myself that I'm not really a bird... and prayed that any earthquakes hold off for at least the next fifteen minutes and basked there until the sun dipped below the palm tree speckled horizon.
What I am loving most about my job right now is that I created it. I took a passion and made a profession. For years, I have heard over and over and over that I could not be successful as a makeup artist and still offer healthy, natural beauty... that 'green' products have not reached a certain quality level or there would not be a demand for a service that challenged the ordinary or that eco friendly could not exist outside of a crunchy granola girl package or bla bla bla bla bla... It is simply not true. I am having fun disproving these theories.
Tomorrow I am shooting the cover of "A Distinctive Style", a green magazine who's subtitle is Awareness/Art/Inspiration. Our model is Rachel Avalon, 2009 winner of Project Green Search, a campaign aimed at inspiring people to align their careers with their environmental, social and humanitarian ethics, serving as a platform to connect mission driven people with sustainable businesses and organizations in the modeling, spokesperson, design, fashion, entertainment and arts arenas. And most appropriate to photograph this job is of course my dear friend and eco enthusiast Courtney Dailey who is in the slow and thorough process of greening her downtown studio.
I could not be more thrilled to be where I am right now. I am watching my green world prosper. I am creating my own universe of collaborators who care, who are kind to our planet, who embrace a healthier path towards glorious green beauty.
I have the greatest job in the world.

My new favorite way to wake up...

A few weeks ago I added something very simple to my beauty arsenal.
Baking Soda.
As a scrub.
For my FACE.
Really, it couldn't be simpler. For years, I've kept a box in the refrigerator to absorb smells, another under the sink as a natural cleaning aid. On the very rare occasion I get around to baking, soda is of course a necessary staple. I can't even claim this is a new discovery in my beauty routine as I have added this ingredient to a number of homemade scrubs, soaks, etc.... but it never really occurred to me to use this on it's own. It turns out, this is my new favorite way to wake up.
Step one. Roll out of bed and make your way to the bathroom.
Two. Splash cool water onto your face, waking up your cells and stirring your circulation.
Three. Sprinkle a couple teaspoons of baking soda into the palm of your wet hand, adding drops of water as necessary to form a smooth paste. (You can also add baking soda straight to your regular facial cleanser or a creamy lotion in place of the water though I adore the simplicity of this alone.)
Four. Smooth over your skin, gently massaging in small circles and avoiding your delicate eye area. Take your time and enjoy the process.
Five. Rinse completely with cool to lukewarm water.
Six. Pat dry and follow with your favorite "green" moisturizer.

This is the perfect scrub for a number of reasons. It is cheap, effective, natural... the perfect degree of exfoliation - not too rough, but gets the job done.

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A few other great ways to use baking soda in your eco beauty routine:

Hair Care:
Add a tablespoon to your shampoo and wash as usual. Rubbing this concoction into your scalp helps to remove traces of styling product residue, environmental pollution, dirt and oil.

Body or foot soak:
Add half a cup or more to a bath before you hop in to to relax. The baking soda neutralizes acids on the skin and gently washes away the grime of your day. A few tablespoons to a foot soak provides odor protection and relaxation and prepares your toes for a massage or pedicure.

Mouth cleansing and refreshing:
Sprinkle baking soda in your palm. Dip your wet toothbrush to cover and simply brush your teeth. Use this back to basics method to keep teeth clean, white and healthy. Swishing with a teaspoon of soda in half a glass of water neutralizes odors and leaves your mouth perfectly prepped for puckering up. :)


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Please do a patch test if you have sensitive skin. This is an exfoliant so be gentle with yourself. If you have inflamed acne, dissolve a teaspoon of baking soda in a cup of water and do a rinse rather than scrub. Your skin is delicate. Do what feels good.

Food for thought...

The average woman eats 4 to 9 pounds of lipstick
in her lifetime, that’s somewhere between 481 and 1083 tubes.


A study conducted back in 2004 found that 28% of lipsticks contained cancer-causing chemicals. Modern lipsticks are formulated from upwards of 10,000 chemicals, 89% of which have never been tested for human safety.
Additionally, those who use lipstick for 3 days increase their risk of developing lupus by 40%.

Lead in lipstick? Turns out, the ur­ban legend is true. In October 2007, the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics tested 33 popular brands of lipsticks at an independent lab for lead content. The results: 61 percent of lipsticks contained lead, with levels ranging up to 0.65 parts per million.
Lead-contaminated brands included L'Oreal, Cover Girl and even a $24 tube of Dior Addict. In 2009, FDA released a follow-up study that found lead in all samples of lipstick it tested, at levels ranging from 0.09 to 3.06 ppm – levels four times higher than the levels found in the CSC study.

No Safe Dose
The recent science indicates there is no safe level of lead exposure. “Lead builds up in the body over time and lead-containing lipstick applied several times a day, every day, can add up to significant exposure levels. The latest studies show there is no safe level of lead exposure,” according to Mark Mitchell, M.D., MPH, president of the Connecticut Coalition for Environmental Justice.
“Lead is a proven neurotoxin that can cause learning, language and behavioral problems such as lowered IQ, reduced school performance and increased aggression. Pregnant women and young children are particularly vulnerable to lead exposure, because lead easily crosses the placenta and enters the fetal brain where it can interfere with normal development,” according to Dr. Sean Palfrey, a professor of pediatrics and public health at Boston University and the medical director of Boston's Lead Poisoning Prevention Program.
“Since recent science suggests that there is truly no safe lead exposure for children and pregnant women, it is disturbing that manufacturers are allowed to continue to sell lead-containing lipsticks."
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states: “No safe blood lead level has been identified.” The agency suggests avoiding all sources of lead exposure, including lead-containing cosmetics. (Read CDC's lead exposure prevention tips.)

Status Update
The FDA released a follow-up study in 2009 that found much higher levels of lead in lipstick than reported by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics in 2007. A state bill to ban lead from lipstick passed the California Senate in 2008, but died after a massive industry lobby effort.

What You Can Do
Because lead is a contaminant not listed on lipstick ingredient labels, it's next to impossible for consumers to avoid. But don't let that dissuade you from doing something:

• E-mail, call or write to the companies that make your favorite lipstick shades and tell them that lead-free products are important to you.
• Send friends and family an e-card letting them know about this issue.
• Sign our petition for safe cosmetics.

More Information Report: "A Poison Kiss: The Problem of Lead in Lipstick"

Science: Lead and other heavy metals

FAQs: Lead in lipstick

Laws: The FDA response to lead in lipstick

Press release: FDA Study: Lead Levels in Lipstick Much Higher than Previously Reported (Sept. 1, 2009)

Press release: FDA fails to protect public: Remains silent about lead in lipstick (Feb. 9, 2009)

Press release: Beauty industry lobbies to keep lead in lipstick (June 26, 2008)

Press release: New product tests find lead in lipstick (Oct. 11, 2007)

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This article courtesy of www.safecosmetics.org, an incredibly informative site. Check it out!
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Fun fact: Do you know what happens when inspectors nab lead-filled and unsafe products that don't meet European standards? They are sent for resale in the US! Perfectly legal.