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Last month I posted a blog about Story of Cosmetics. This video has caused big waves, particularly in the US where lobby groups work hard to maintain the toxic status quo. I am please to say the ground swell against toxic ingredients in everyday products is growing. Over 200,ooo people have watched the Story of Cosmetics since its launch on July 21st. What a great response! Not only did people watch but they responded, grateful for raising this issue as a topic for debate.

Stacy Malkan from the The Huffington Post has written an update about why the video was made in the first place. You can read the full article here but to summarise the key reasons she cites are:

1. Cancer Prevention - getting potentially toxic products out of our everyday skin care isn’t just a good idea it is essential. As quoted in Stacy’s article, “The true burden of environmentally induced cancer has been grossly underestimated. With nearly 80,000 chemicals on the market in the United States, many of which are used by millions of Americans in their daily lives and are un- or understudied and largely unregulated, exposure to potential environmental carcinogens is widespread.” These statistics aren’t just isolated to the US. In Australia we face exposure to similar levels of potentially toxic chemicals and with similar regulatory controls (or should I say lack of regulatory control!)
2. Getting carcinogens out of baby shampoo makes good sense – just because it is a tiny amount doesn’t mean it is ok. Babies are tiny and they don’t have the same resistance to toxic chemicals that adults do (and even then, why would you want to expose anyone to toxins). I have spoken to many mothers who say they didn’t care about using organic and natural products until their baby was born. Then it becomes essential.
3. We believe in a better way - as Stacey writes it is possible to have a thriving cosmetics industry and use natural ingredients, or at the very least non-toxic ingredients. However, in order to achieve this, we have to change. And as consumers we have buying power which influences all business, from small to big. The other way to encourage change is through regulation. As Stacey writes, “Manufacturers are slow to embrace change — if they embrace it at all. The only answer is regulation that forces industry to consider the potential health effects of any and all ingredients used. The priority has to be our health.”

It is so heartening to see the impact the Story of Cosmetics is having and indeed the positive influence that can be had using social media. Keep it up I say! Please let me know what you think about this topic.

If you didn’t get to watch the video, here it is again:

If you read glossy magazines you could easily assume that women are terrified of growing old, or maybe I should say, looking old, spending millions on cosmetic procedures such as botox, liposuction and anti-aging treatments. Popular culture would have us believe the older women get, the less attractive and useful they feel. Fortunately, for most women this is all rubbish (thank goodness). Ask most how they feel about aging and most will confess to wanting to look younger but not 21 again. Women will initially say they want to look 5 or 10 years younger but when questioned further, most say they just want to look good for the age they actually are.

Far from hating growing older, research is showing that yes while women may buy anti-aging creams and treatments in order to slow the aging process, most women are actually more positive about their self image as they move from their 20s and 30s and into middle age.

An article I read called “Could aging be good for women?” by Susan Nolen-Hoeksema outlined that women’s lives overall improve with age, not just how they feel about their bodies but their mental health and life satisfaction also improve. Feelings of loneliness, anxiety and depression were less prevalent among women of middle age than younger women. One of the reasons cited for this improvement in mental and emotional health is the development of greater psychological strength with age. Strong friend networks with trusted people was another reason.

The reason I am writing about this is that this October will be my 20 year school reunion (yes I am 37) and upon receiving the invitation I confess my first thought was “OH MY GOD, I HAVE TO LOSE 5 KG IN THE NEXT 3 MONTHS”. Once I stopped laughing at my own thought process, I started to think about the aging process in general. I am in the very fortunate position to have a 21 year old sister who is in the bloom of early womanhood. She is vibrant, gorgeous and, well young which in itself has beauty. But would I want to be 21 again? No way! Do I even want to look 21? No, I actually spent my 20s having to show ID to get into any pub or club so looking my age is ok. Reflecting on the past 20 years since highschool ended I realized that I am really happy with where I am and that my love of good skincare is just about wanting to look the best I can, right now at the age of 37.

So I have decided that rather than try to lose 5 kg before my highschool reunion, instead I will buy myself a fantastic outfit and enjoy how good I look just as I am. I would love to hear how you feel about the aging process and if you are happy with where you are at right now.

P.S.  I do actually have a few secret skin products up my sleeve to help me look fabulous on the night! The La Mav Line Perfector is my top pick for any big event. The Rhizobian Gum helps to smooth out skin and provides a good base for foundation. Minerelle Foundations give excellent long lasting cover that doesn’t smudge or kiss off and Hemp Organics Ruby Lipstick, being a drier formulation, is quite stay-fast. Just a little help for a fun evening!

Baaaahhh! This winter has been a shocker for me with regard to red skin. While mostly OK during the day, at night in heated rooms (it doesn’t help that I practically sit on the heater) my skin flares up and goes bright red across the cheeks and nose. When I say bright red, I am talking Rudolf here, it almost glows in the dark! Not an issue at all during summer, my tendency to Rosacea has come back with a vengeance. There are a few triggers I have worked out make the flare ups worse:

• red wine – yes in my case even one glass
• heating, particularly vented air
• high necked jumpers
• no air flow in a room
• hot drinks (weirdly coffee is ok but tea not so!)
• high stress

Even though it is annoying, I am not surprised by this recent flare up. I haven’t been looking after myself. Correction – I always look after my skin by using excellent quality organic skincare, so that’s not what I mean. Specifically I haven’t been looking after my internal and mental wellbeing.  There are things I know clear up my flushing and it is about time I gave myself a little TLC. So here is a list of things that I haven’t been doing but that I am going to do from now on:

• Go back on zinc, grapeseed and resveratrol supplements (Metagenics Oxidant Protection or Blackmore’s Grapeseed are good choices). These nutrients all support skin integrity and capillary health. I haven’t been taking any supplements recently and while my diet is good, during stressful times, it is good to boost up your nutrient levels. This is even more true with skin issues as the body channels nutrients go to the essential organs first (heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, brain) and lastly the skin.
• 

  Yoga reduces my stress & helps with circulation

  Start yoga classes again. I have poor circulation generally and so while my face is burning my hands are freezing. I think it helps to improve circulation generally. For me yoga and walking help. I haven’t been going to yoga and as well as having cold hands, I have been quite stressed. One session of yoga a week was enough to keep me calm (well more calm anyway!).

• Have shorter, warm showers instead of long, hot showers. Whoops!
• Use mineral make up instead of liquid. I had been using a liquid makeup which makes it harder for my skin to breathe. I notice that my skin is less likely to flush when I wear mineral makeup. Mineral makeup also provides better cover.
• Leave the windows open. My Dad lives in Auckland (where it is very cold) and he laughs and asks me if the windows are still open when I complain about the cold. I like to have a bit of air flow as I tend to overheat in stuffy rooms.
  

  Stress worsens my rosacea flare ups

• Use Centella Gel. Centella (Gotu kola) is a herb that when used topically helps to strengthen the blood vessels and reduce vascular hypersensitivity.
• Throw out all my skivvies!
• Take some B vitamins to help support my nervous system
• And finally, get back onto the Lemon Detox Drink. I admit that I find it hard to drink in winter so my solution is to mix in a touch of hot water just before I drink it to take the edge off.

That’s my plan. Well actually I started on Monday and so far this week, no bad flushing incidents so I think I am onto a good thing! If you are prone to flushed or rosacea flare ups, tell us what works for you. I know I would love to know and I am sure others will benefit from the tips as well!

Have you ever read the label on one of the Dr Bronner’s Soaps? It is “out there” for so many reasons – every square centimeter of the label is covered with what seems like a quasi-religious messages. However, despite the fact that it sounds a little off-beat, the underlying message is one of love and unity. As Dr Bronner writes, we are “all one or all none”. This from a master soap maker that was put in a mental asylum, escaped to California and started a company that is now one of the most significant in the organic cosmetic industry. His life story is one of almost unenviable passion and is so interesting that documentary maker Sara Lamm has made a film called “Dr Bronner’s Magic Soapbox“  which has been described as “making you feel tingly all over” (if you have used Dr Bronner’s Peppermint Liquid Soap you will understand this reference – refreshing indeed!!!).

Below is the official trailer from the documentary:

View all of Dr Bronner’s products

Badger Sleep Balm is a delicious remedy for nighttime blues and a perfect accompaniment for late night tossing & turning. I use it as a lip balm which means I then breath in the essential oils and drop off to sleep – having said that I can sleep through a rock concert so no great challenge for me however, many of our Vitale customers have reported back that this stuff really works. It is particularly good for kids and babies. This is such a simple yet effective remedy and this vblog shows how it is made – elegant simplicity!

Check out this product or all Badger Balms

Goth-like, dark & brooding or plain sexy? Love it or hate it, black nail polish is here to stay. Come the onset of cooler months and darker nail colours emerge as a season trend. Personally I struggle with liking this trend. So by way of challenging myself and maybe celebrating winter, I have taken on the darker shade of nail and while I may not quite go the full black, I am going to go a dark plum or purple. Gosh – if I mix this with green eyeshadow threat from my last blog I will look just a treat!

Winners of the 2010 Natural Health & Beauty Awards for “best nail lacquer”, Zoya have some dramatic darker shades – from deep black, to midnight blue to dark magentas. Choose your darker shade of nail:

Raven can be best described as: Intense satiny black with a very subtle silver shimmer.

Mikka can be best described as: Wintery deep wine purple with very fine, frosty silver shimmer.The silver shimmer lightens and adds interest to the vampy nail trend.

Indigo can be best described as: A dark indigo blue shimmer with a pinch of holographic microglitter.

I love wearing lipstick and am definitely a red lipstick girl. For me red lips are associated with glamor and elegance so the allure of a new red lipstick is always high on my agenda. This season I am in luck. The trend has moved away from beige (which makes me look like I am about to throw up) and pale pink (anemia anyone?) to bold reds and I for one am excited.

Red lips are actually quite a traditional look stemming from the 1920′s when

shades of red were the only shade available. Fortunately by the 20′s lipstick was a sign of female empowerment rather than a sign of being a fast woman as it was previously seen!

The thing about wearing red lipstick is that it tends to stand out so wearing red lipstick is a state of mind. Wear it with confidence whatever the shade or style.

A few red lip trends and tips:

1. Go for gloss – glossy shiny lips with a hint of colour rather than a bold statement of red.

2. Choose a sheer red – I have a sheer red lipstick that gives the idea of red lips

without the intense rich colour of a matte lipstick.

3. Blot back the colour – for a softer red look, apply a matte lipstick and blot back with a tissue.

4. Choose the correct shade of red for your skin tone. I have a blue skin undertone and so only wear blue-reds. If you have a yellow skin undertone, you can choose from the ocher reds as well.

5. Reapply during the day – I tend to arrive at work with lovely red lips and by mid-morning I have eaten most of it off (I snack frequently!). To maintain your elegant red lipped look, reapply after eating, drinking or kissing!

6. As to the above point, if you are going to eat off the lipstick you are wearing, make sure you choose natural products. Apparently women can eat up to 2kg of lipstick in their lifetime (I have yet to verify this fact however, I can only imagine how much I have eaten since I started wearing lipstick…certainly a goodly amount) and there is still the lingering risk of conventional red lipsticks containing lead (read more about this here).

Back in the bad old days (!) when I used conventional skincare and makeup I had about 20 different shades of red (told you I was obsessed). Unfortunately or maybe fortunately, a good natural or organic red is harder to find…but I have still managed to come up with half a dozen or so!

My favorite natural red is Lavera 20 which is a burgundy red with a blue base. It

is oh-so-bright so I usually wear it when I am going out. A great day time red is Lavera 18 which is called light berry but with a definite red look and feel about it. For a dramatic, not-to-be-ignored red, try Minerelle Marie. This red is not for the faint-hearted!

For those with yellow undertoned skin, Lavera 27 is the true red of choice. Gorgeous and intense, wear it with confidence!

If you prefer tints or gloss, try Ere Perez Life Lip Bar (the merest hint of glossy red) or EcoTints Plus Red for a stronger but still a sheer look. Another brand that has a few good shades of sheer red is Hemp Organics.

PS apart from red, the other shade of lipstick I wear are plum and dark pink – I pretty much go for strong, bright colours. When it comes to lipstick, subtlety is not my forte!

Hi dear readers…I feel like I am going to confession because I haven’t blogged in over 2 weeks!! Oh dear. Moving on, I am back, I am refreshed and I have LOTS of freckles from being at the beach for two weeks. Despite slathering myself in lots of sunscreen daily and wearing a rash shirt in the water I have a tan…kind of. I am now off-white with lots of freckles instead of just white. I am pretty pleased really as I went to the beach every day and didn’t get sunburnt once!

Now that I am back into the swing of things, I have lots of new topics to write and video blog about which you will see over the coming months. But before I get started on skin care issues I thought I would share an inspirational blog I read with you. This blog is from another skin guru called Sarah Stacey, the author of the UK Green Beauty Bible and reminds me that true beauty comes from within. Sarah writes “Health Notes” in a British Tabloid and this is an excerpt from her column which I hope you enjoy:

Health Notes, December 27th 2009, by Sarah Stacey

000000;">How to be happy
Some ten years ago, I was asked to interview Richard Carlson, the American author of You Can Be Happy No Matter What.  To be honest, I was less than enthusiastic at the thought of talking to yet another personal development guru.  But the man and his books turned out to be wonderful – practical, perceptive and inspiring.  One key piece of advice he gave was ‘treasure yourself, you’re precious’ .  That’s such a difficult thing for most of us to do, but valuing yourself is the key to valuing others and creating good and enduring relationships. So my wish for you for 2010 is that you all start to treasure yourselves.  To set you on the path, here are some of Richard’s guidelines for living well. Very sadly, Richard died in 2006 but he leaves a legacy of truly life-enhancing books which I hope you will investigate.

000000;">Live in the present: many people spend much of their lives regretting what’s gone and worrying about what’s to come.  (And remember the word ‘resentment’ literally means ‘re-feeling’.)  When you find yourself doing this, simply bring your attention back to the millisecond that you’re living right now.  Your body and mind will unite and that brings an instant feeling of peace.  Living in the present also allows you to be wholly with the people you’re with and/or what you’re doing so that you can make the very most of it.  That’s also something that others really notice and appreciate.

000000;">Don’t try to change others: accept that you can only change yourself.

000000;">Think happy: your happiness levels may seem to go up and down with circumstances and of course that’s true to some extent.  But the biggest factor that dictates how you feel is your thoughts.  It’s not the outside world that produce our thoughts, it’s ourselves – and the way we think about someone or something totally influences how we feel. Tell yourself that you’ll have a happy day and you will – even if there’s a mountain of problems in your path.  Think optimistically about recovering from illness and research shows you will do better.  The trick is to recognise negative thoughts but not let them overwhelm your life: when they occur, look for a more positive way of seeing things – of changing your thought pattern.  You might be feeling low one day and think ‘I’ll never finish this project’ or ‘ this relationship will never work out’.  If this ‘thought attack’ goes on, it may spiral out of control and you’ll probably give up – or at least waste time and energy worrying.  Start thinking ‘I know I can do this’ -  and ‘there is no reason why this relationship should not work well for both of us’ – and you stand a good chance.

000000;">Don’t live in the problem, live in the solution: we become accustomed to thinking, talking and living with what’s wrong.  If we think about solutions, we start thinking positive.  When you’re facing a sticky situation of any kind, confront it and work out what would make you feel better.  Emotional situations are usually much more difficult than practical ones but focussing on the healthy parts of a relationship gives you a constructive perspective to start from.

000000;">Be grateful: appreciating all the good things, big and small, colours your whole being.  (It’s also been shown to boost your immune system.)000000;">

Understand your moods: up, down, up, down – our mood levels swing like a seesaw. Just when it seems as though life is going smoothly, bam!  Our mood level drops and everything seems rocky again.  Sometimes everything seems hopeless, then our mood lifts and everything’s sunshine again. For some people, these shifts are slight; for others, extreme. They vary for all sorts of reasons including hormones, tiredness, hunger, the weather and of course how relationships are going.  When you’re in a high mood, life looks good, you have perspective, relationships flow, communication is easy.  In a low mood, life seems hard, people are out to get you, you take things personally.  Most people have their most serious discussions when their mood is low – and that’s one of the core problems in relationships.  So don’t react or make decisions until the low mood passes.  Just keep putting one foot in front of another – and don’t get hungry, angry, lonely or tired.

000000;">Connect with other people from your heart first, head second. Be open and straightforward and truthful.  Appreciate what others do and feel.  They need the same thing as you – love.  Be sure the people in your life know that they are lovable and loved.

Much of this information comes from a book by Richard Carlson: You Can Be Happy No Matter What

I was walking at the beach this morning and thinking about the year in review…what a big one it has been for me, both personally and for Vitale Natural as a whole. Of course there are ups and downs, but I am pleased to say more ups that downs by a long shot.

Firstly I would like to share a few personal highlights:

• We adopted our dog Edmond after 2 years of fostering. A cruelty
  

  Monty & Ed at the beach (Ed is the black poodle)

  case, we started caring for Edmond at 4 months but couldn’t officially adopt him until the RSPCA won the court case against his previous owner. Finally in November we  adopted him from the wonderful people at the RSPCA. If I have never mentioned this before (I am sure I have!) I adore my two dogs.

• A book I contributed to was published in October. “Fast Living, Slow Ageing” is a collaboration of 50 doctors, scientists and specialist that addresses how to be optimally fit and healthy at any age. As an editor I can assuredly say that there is so much good information available but it is a big job bringing it together in an easy to read way…glad it is finally published!
• You-tube videos – yes despite being a nutrition lecturer for 6 years and talking in front of lots of people, the idea of being on a video blog did not sit well with me. Like anything though, once I overcame my fears, it was easy. I would still like to be a bit more polished…but you are getting the real me! Next year, I have lots more planned!

Some Vitale highlights:

• This blog…it started in March and it has been lots of fun to build it up, research topics and receive your comments.
  

  My holiday red

  Please let me know what you want to find out about as I am happy to do topic requests

• New products – I love new products and this year we have added heaps to the website and in-store. It is so exciting coming across a product that I have been searching for (non-toxic nail polish) or trying to find a natural alternative to (the natural eyelash enhancer took me 18 months to find!) or that is new to the market (La Mav – finally a fantastic Australian cosmeceutical range).
• Working with Karen & Roechelle my business partners. We bring out the best in each other…most of the time!
• My skin – I think I have found the right combination of skin care and dietary habits that suits my skin – no dairy, lots of vegies, limited red meat and of course the good stuff (red wine & chocolate) in moderation.

And I am just so excited about 2010. Looking forward we have some super exciting things coming up (well I think so anyway!):

• The Green Beauty Review – to be launched in March, this is a new review site that will have the best of the best reviews, information, articles and it is all about natural & organic skin care. More on this next year.
• Our new centre – we are opening in Bulimba. The new centre will be less about skin care and more about wellness and eco-living.
• Getting back to some exercise – oh yes, it is time!

I am sure I could think of lots more but I will hand it over to you. Please let me know your highlights of 2009 and what you are looking forward to in 2010. And please have a great New Years!