The summer travel season is just around the corner – Memorial Day Weekend starts May 25^th, then come weddings, family vacations, and girlfriend getaways.  With all that flying around the country, how do you stay looking your best?  Soap & Glory founder Marcia Kilgore shares three tips with Allure Magazine for getting off the plane looking effortless and gorgeous.

Refresh Your Skin
“The most important thing you can do is moisturize.  Moisture reflects light, so you don’t see imperfections as much” Kilgore says.  She suggests using a rich cream like Soap & Glory’s Make Yourself Youthful.  Make sure you drink lots of water to stay hydrated and skip the booze, which can make your skin even more dehydrated.  Buy a giant bottle of water in the airport, or fill up a roll-able one and tote it on board with you.

Choose Wisely
“I wear makeup on the plane, but I focus on skin, lips, and cheeks.  Eye makeup can smear and flake.  I wear foundation but no powder, because it can be drying,” she says.  Try a foundation that has a water base like Cover Girl’s Aqua Smothers or opt for a tinted moisturizer, or BB cream.   To keep your cheeks looking colorful, layer a gel or cream blush like Maybelline’s Bouncy Blush underneath a powder one for lasting color.  For lips, use a tinted balm and top with a gloss.  We like Organic Wear by Physicians Formula 100% Natural Origin Superfruit Lip Gloss.

Finish Right
“Before we land, I apply some concealer under my eyes, touch up my blush and lipstick, and get out of that horribly lit bathroom as fast as possible” Kilgore says.  We know carry on space is precious, but make sure to pack a few makeup brushes with you for touch ups.  Our new Touch Up Set doesn’t take up much space and has all the tools you’d need for basic makeup emergencies and post flight touch ups.  Another option?  The Alicia Silverstone Brush Set & Bag, it holds five mini brushes, perfect for the plane and has room to slip in some blush, mascara, and stick of concealer.  One last tip from Kilgore, “Then I wear sunglasses – instant camouflage.”  We like these chic, inexpensive ones from Target.

Follow this tips, and you’ll get off the plane looking as good as you did before boarding.  Don’t forget a magazine or juicy book for a little R&R!  Have a good flight!

Whether you wash your delicates in an expansive, decorated laundry room or a tiny apartment closet, chances are your routine could use a little greening.  According to SuperGreenMe.com,  “One American family uses 16,000 gallons of water a year in their washer.  With just over 80 million washers installed in the US alone, that is 1,280,000,000,000 gallons of water.”  Crazy, right?  It’s no wonder lots of laundry rooms need a makeover!

Being green in the laundry room is easier than you think.  TheNest.com gives you three easy steps to get your laundry routine on the way to green today, tomorrow, and by the end of the year.

Today: Set the thermometer on your washer to cold when doing your laundry. There’s one exception: bedding. It is necessary to use hot water for bedding in order to kill dust mites.

This Month: Switch to a concentrated laundry detergent. Since it has less water in it, it’s lighter to ship, which is easier on the environment.

This Year: Replace your washer and dryer with an Energy Star model. They use less water and cost less to run (which means lower utility bills for you).

Switching to cold water and concentrated detergent is easier than you think!  Plus your colors won’t run and your grocery bags will be much lighter without those needless pounds from lugging traditional detergent home.  Need a little retail inspiration?  Try Seventh Generation’s new concentrated formula that comes in a totally compostable bottle or Method Home Laundry Detergent.  It comes in tiny to large sizes and even sells inexpensive refill bags as well as dryer sheets and fabric softener, all with good for you ingredients.  While you’re greening, why not ditch the dryer sheets all together in favor of a Bounce Dryer Bar.  Opt for the Bounce Free version, which means no perfumes or unnecessary extras, plus no more sheets in landfills!  Other easy steps to take?  Make sure you’re only washing full loads or adjust the water load size on your machine if you only need to wash a few things.  Make these small changes, and we bet you won’t even notice a difference – but the planet will!

It is easy to go green!  Have you made a green change to your laundry room or another room in your house?  Leave a comment and tell us all about it!

If you spend your day at your desk, you’ll agree that having a secret stash of beauty products is essential.  From last minute meetings to after work drinks, the modern woman needs the ability to look fabulous and freshen up in an instant.  So we support your decision to dump out that desk drawer and make it your beauty zone. What should you keep stashed in your desk?  Here are the experts’ ideas.

Marie Claire provides an extensive list that includes almost everything you’ll need for head to toe maintenance.

• Lip Gloss
• Nail Clippers
• Cling/Anti-Static Spray
• Lint Roller
• Tweezers
• Desk Mirror
• Nail Polish
• Hand Sanitizer
• Lotion
• Floss Picks

We completely agree, but we’d also suggest you keep a stash of Pony Tail Holders and/or Bobbi Pins if you have long hair or are growing out your bangs, a travel sized deodorant, and a few makeup essentials for mid-day touch ups.  If you’re the type that likes going straight from work to cocktail hour or meeting up with friends for dinner, you may want more tools at your disposal.  We like our Alicia Silverstone Brush & Bag Set, the 6 Piece Brush Set, or the new Touch Up Set.  Don’t need that many brushes?  Just stash the multi-purpose Retractable Kabuki Brush in your drawer – its cover protects the bristles from miscellaneous office junk, so your brush stays nice, longer.

Of course if you amass lots of beauty tools and fast fix items at work, you’ll need a place to stash them.  The Alicia Silverstone Train Case is perfect for the big beauty stash while the Pencil Case or Cosmetic Bag, also by Alicia, are great for smaller selections.

Products shown above: Physician’s Formula Bamboo Wear, Tweezerman Go Green Mini Tweezer, Animal Print Bobbies,  Bath & Body Works Sanitizing Hand Gel and EcoTools of course!

Did we miss anything?  What do you keep in your desk drawer for beauty emergencies?

Photo from Makeup by Ren Ren

It’s wedding season!  Planning a wedding?  Getting married is one of the biggest, most lavish parties you’ll ever throw and certainly a monumental life event!  Unfortunately, weddings can also be an un-Earth friendly affair.  So what’s the Earth loving, eco-bride to do?  Go green when you can.  Here are some of the easiest ways to be eco-friendly when planning your big walk down the aisle.

The Dress
If your style is more Downton Abbey than downtown or you’re more of a Mad Men style girl than a sleek, modern bride – consider shopping vintage for your wedding dress.  With so many styles and silhouettes to choose from, selecting a vintage gown insures you’ll find a style that suits you and is totally unique.  Not crazy about hunting for an older gown?  Check out your mom’s closet…or even your Mother-in-Law’s or Grandmother.  Most women save their wedding dresses in hopes their daughters will want to wear it.  Don’t rule it out just because you’re not a fan of the style.  A great seamstress or budding fashion design student can work wonders on an old wedding dress.  Have it restyled into something that’s perfect for you.  Plus, selecting or repurposing a vintage frock is one of the greenest things you can do – it’s living beautifully meets recycle, reduce, reuse.

Check out this great article on Etsy.com for more reasons to chose vintage: Why Choose a Vintage Wedding Dress.

Photo from Concetta’s Closet on Etsy

The Invitations
Green stationary has come leaps and bounds in the past few years.  You can now get gorgeous eco-friendly invitations printed on recycled paper with soy-based inks.  Ask your stationer about their recycled invitation options or check out online sites like Minted.com.  You can also save paper (and stamp money) by using postcard response RSVP cards instead of a card and envelope.  Consider creating a wedding website with Weebly for information like hotels, directions, and gift registries instead of printing inserts for the invitations.

Photo from Minted.com

The Accessories
Wedding accessories like something old, new, borrowed, and blue are easy to go green with!  Borrowed from a friend is easy, as is something old.  Consider wearing jewelry from a relative or friend’s previous wedding or fabulous jewelry collection.  Or have custom jewelry made from vintage pieces.  Jewelry designers like PenelliBelle and Monsieur Pamplemousse specialize in updating vintage pieces into new designs.  Take grandma’s broken pearls or an old brooch and have it created into a new necklace.  Don’t forget veils and headpieces too – wear a friend’s old veil (borrowed AND old) or have a veil from a vintage shop cut into a better shape for you by your seamstress.

Photo from PenelliBelle

The Makeup
Opt for vegan, cruelty free, and natural based makeup products when you can that can easily go into your normal makeup collection after the big day.  There’s no need to buy special wedding only makeup.  Pick fabulous colors you’ll wear after your wedding day.  Try brands like Tarte Cosmetics, Physician’s Formula, or Alicia Silverstone’s new line for Juice.  And of course, you’ll want to use eco-friendly makeup brushes…like EcoTools!  Our 6 Piece Brush Set has all the essentials you’ll need for touch ups before, during, and after.  Don’t forget to tote your make essentials to your bridal suite in style with a roomy train case – we love our EcoTools by Alicia Silverstone Train Case or look for a cool, vintage on on Ebay.

Of course there are tons of other Earth-Friendly ideas – like donating to charity instead of handing out favors, buying in-season flowers, serving food from restaurants that source from local farms, etc.  Are you getting married this year?  How will you be incorporating eco-friendly details into your wedding day?

Cinco de Mayo is the perfect time to indulge in bright makeup!  In April, we showed you how to create runway inspired bright makeup looks for everyday, now take those tips and run with them for your 5^th of May celebration.  Check out these margarita colors and poppy palettes for makeup inspiration.  Make sure your makeup looks as pretty and peppy as your margarita this Saturday!

Products Shown Above:
OPI Strawberry Margarita, Tarte Amazonian Clay 12 Hour Blush in Amused Bright Pink, Almay Intense I-Color trio for Greens, MAC CrèmeSheen Glass in Star Quality, NYX Cosmetics Jumbo Eye Pencil in Lime.

Photos from: Tahona Grille, Downtown Printwear, Warm Vanilla Sugar, Makeup Style Ideas, 2B Belle