For the best results, wet your EcoPouf, apply a quarter sized dollop (more or less if desired) of our Clean Skin, Greener World Creamy Body Wash, and work into the pouf with your hands until it starts to lather.  Your pouf will continue to work into frothy lather while you use it to gently exfoliate your arms, legs, shoulders, etc.  When you’re done, don’t forget to rinse it thoroughly and pop it into the washing machine every couple weeks to make sure it’s squeaky clean.  Then simply let it air dry on a towel or in the tub.

Our first of its kind Eco-Poufs are perfect for any bath routine and good for the environment too.  They’re created from 100% recycled plastic and are recyclable themselves, simply pop off the rope when your pouf is at the end of its life and toss it in with your recycling.   Another great idea for poufs literally at the end of their rope: Upcycle them.  Check out this blog post from Salihan Crafts for two great ways to reuse your bath puff.

So which pouf is right for you?  Check out our five different bath poufs:

EcoPouf Bath Sponge Our bestselling bath sponge was the first of its kind, 100% recycled plastic and recyclable.  It comes in green, orchid, and blue and creates an all over rich lather.  It’s perfect for gentle cleansing for the whole family.

Do the Green Thing brings our attention to a sad issue: the missing glove. Watch the video above about a lonely, single glove looking for his mate. This great video reminds us that even in times of glove loss we can be green. Do the environmentally responsible thing and wear two different gloves that are missing their mates together: help them find glove love again.

What if you don’t have an extra glove to make a pair? What else can we do with our single glove? Here are some cute projects to help you upcycle and give that lonely glove a second life. Why not make a little animal? Etsy.com shares instructions for how to make a chipmunk out of a glove.  He’d make the perfect gift for your favorite little kid or puppy. You can also make a barn themed puppet show from Babble.com or use your extra cotton glove to dust surfaces in your home. Simply wear, swipe for dust, and drop in the washing machine.

Have you lost any gloves this season? What did you do with that one lonely glove?

What’s the best way to eradicate face pigmentation?

First, if you’re dealing with serious facial pigmentation or perpetual redness, check first with your dermatologist.  Redness and face pigmentation can affect anyone and can be an annoying problem.  If you don’t have problems with redness, brown spots, or uneven skin patches, make sure you stay that way by being smart in the sun.  The best offense is a smart defense, wear a sunscreen daily that protects you from harmful UV rays.  Stress, cold winds, and even spicy foods can cause rosacea flare-ups as well.  So make sure you’re aware of what makes your skin unhappy, and adjust accordingly.  Especially in the winter, make sure to bundle up in the wind and shield your face with a scarf.

If you’ve done all you can to prevent redness and brown spots, there are a few things you can try to help reduce their appearance.  According to Real Simple Magazine, more that 15% of women may be perpetually red from either rosacea or irritation.  They suggest using Rodan+Fields Soothe Sensitive Skin Treatment for its anti-inflammatory ingredients and light-diffusing pigments.

For pigmentation, a common skin disorder that results in dark spots on the face or body, you can try creating a daily facial with some fresh cream and lemon.  Simply mix a few drops of fresh lemon juice with some fresh cream and smooth onto your face.  Some other homemade remedies from Numaderm include applying dried orange peels and water, cucumber juice, or adding radishes into your diet.  See all of their suggestions here.  Daily Glow suggests a skin lightener.  If you’re discoloration is fairly recent, try an over-the-counter botanical skin lightener with ingredients like bearberry or coffeeberry extract, which can help fade recent hyperpigmentation.  There are also more intense options like lasers, peels, and retinoid creams to help treat long lasting pigmentation, so ask your dermatologist.

For a quick fix, look to your makeup: you’ll want to start with a makeup primer.  Primers come in different colors for different problems.  A green shade primer helps neutralize redness while an apricot colored primer can make darkened skin appear lighter.  Primers also help your makeup glide on more smoothly and can provide extra coverage against the sun.  A few primers to try: Smart Shade Perfect & Correct by Almay, Clean Slate Face Primer by Tarte bursting with fruit and plant derived extracts, or Physician’s Formula Talc-Free Mineral Correcting Primer.  For foundation you’ll want to opt for a liquid foundation or a mineral foundation.  Avoid powder formulas and try to stick with foundations that contain non-irritating ingredients like fragrance free and hypo-allergenic formulas.  If you only have a few trouble spots, you can opt for spot treatment with a concealer.  Start slowly and apply a thick, opaque concealer to your small, problem spots, and top with a dusting of loose mineral powder.  As with any makeup, one size does not fit all, so you’ll have to do a little experimenting to see what works for you.

Did any of these ideas work for you?  Do you have a burning beauty question you’d like us to answer?  Leave a comment and let us know!

Photo Credit: Natural Holistic Health 

With Valentine’s Day around the corner, there’s no better reason to start integrating costume jewelry into your everyday, special occasion, or gift-giving wardrobe.  Shows like Mad Men and Downton Abbey have made vintage chic again; and you can channel that look with retro jewelry!  Not only is wearing vintage or heirloom jewelry from your family a great way to honor loved ones, it also allows you to go green in a completely chic way.   According to Eco-Chick there is currently enough gold mined on Earth for jewelry makers to have all  the supplies they need for the next 20 years, according to one estimate.  There’s no need to contribute more gold mining when you can give an old piece new life.

If you need new jewelry, for yourself or for a gift, and you don’t have a jewelry box full of family heirlooms you can still think vintage.  Shop antique stores, estate sales, yard sales, and specialty shops first.  There were lots of gorgeous pieces made in the 1920s to 1980s, and often, those pieces are constructed better than the inexpensive, trendy jewelry of today.  We spoke with Beth Blanton of The Vintage Brides about how to find your own gorgeous vintage gems.  “There are lots of people out there that specialize in vintage jewelry. It’s very important that you know what you are buying.”  She suggests inspecting pieces closely before purchasing.  You want to avoid purchasing pieces that have cloudy stones, rust, tarnish, or are missing components.   Some brands of high quality jewelry to look for?  Weiss, Bogoff, Sarah Conventry, Trifari, and Ora.  Another thing to keep in mind?  Real Simple Magazine says “when in doubt, go with the best imposters: You’ll have the most luck with reproductions of turquoise, coral, abalone shell, black jet, and silver-tone metal.  Weigh your options: Jewelry that is heavier hangs better.”

Once you have your vintage jewelry, how do you wear it?  Beth suggests wearing brooches with your wool coats, sweaters, pashminas, or even as an accent on a wedding dress or bridal bouquet.  “Grandmother’s pearls would look fantastic with a little black dress or worn with a suit for work. “  Or “just adding some glitz worn with a pair of jeans and a nice top is simply fashionista in my book!”

So go ahead and bust out that vintage jewelry!  It’s a great way to live beautifully.  You’ll look chic and feel good for saving the planet.  What’s your favorite piece of vintage jewelry?

Photos from: The Vintage Brides on Etsy

Red or pink lips are a must on Valentine’s Day.  Make sure your pout is extra poppy with Tarte’s natural LipSurgence Lip Tint (3) in Charmed light pink or Lust red.  Top off your lips with a gloss for an extra layer of shimmer.  Try Pink Tulle from Bobbi Brown to bring out your inner ballerina (8).  We literally heart Physician’s Formula Happy Booster Glow and Mood Boosting Blush (5).  It’s hard not to feel happy and romantic when swirling your blush brush over these cute hearts.  For your eyes, pink is perfect.  We love that gorgeous eye from Temptalia (6) that you can create with the light and dark pinks in your makeup case, or try the Dance Party trio by Cover Girl (9).  If you prefer your eyes in neutral colors, punch up your look with a simple swipe of red eyeliner with the MAC Chromagraphic Pencil (7).

Once your face is all dolled up, don’t forget to include your nails!  Try a bright, fuchsia pink like Helena from the eco-friendly line Julep (4) or a sweet champagne, if you’re feeling neutral, from Megan Miller at Anthropologie (2).  For a finishing touch?  What better to top off your look than a pair of heart shaped earrings?  We love clear crystal earrings that go with everything (1)!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

5 Green Things in 5 Minutes or Less:
At Home:  Unplug your appliances.  We know that some plugs are buried and impossible to put on a power strip, so don’t worry about those.  Channel your effort into remembering to keep your countertop appliances unplugged.  Pick one room to start with, like the bathroom.  Keep those curling irons and hair dryers unplugged.  You save energy and keep your counters clear.

In the Yard:  Adjust the schedule on your sprinkler so you’re watering your lawn in the early morning or late evening, that way water won’t evaporate as much.

At Work: Eating out occasionally is fine, but for days when you bring your own lunch, invest in a chic lunch bag or container or just keep some bamboo silverware at your desk like To-Go Ware’s Bamboo Utensil Set.

Out Shopping:  Take a few extra seconds to look at the labels of what you’re purchasing.  Try switching to a new brand that is cruelty free or one that gives back to environmental causes like 1% for the Planet.

Gift Giving:  Make any gift you give instantly eco-friendly by wrapping it in the pages of old magazines or newspapers.  Or make the wrapping part of the gift.  Instead of wrapping that candle and pashmina in paper, use the scarf to wrap the candle!  Check out this cool video tutorial.

What are your favorite ways to go green in five minutes of less?

Photos from: 1% for the Planet, Little Green Blog, To-Go Ware, Alpine Sprinklers, Go Green and Friendly

You ask, we answer!  We recently asked some of our Facebook fans for their beauty and makeup questions, and we’re here to answer them!  Last week we helped Belle with her mineral makeup brushes.  This week our question comes from Casey:

What’s a good, environmentally friendly makeup or remedy that covers under eye circles?

Suffering through 6 am wakeup calls, a puppy that won’t sleep, or just staying up late with friends can leave the delicate skin under your eyes feeling puffy and full of dark circles.  Even eating too much salt or drinking alcohol can cause your eyes to retain water.  For puffy eyes try eating potassium rich foods to help balance the electrolytes in the body according to nutritionist Kimberley Snyder.  She recommends eating bananas, asparagus, celery, and drinking lots of water.  If you already have some puffiness you want to get rid of, try soaking a facial sponge in a facial mist containing rosewater or aloe-vera (packs anti-inflammatory power) and leave on your eyes for five minutes.   Skip the concealer, says celebrity makeup artist Molly R. Stern, anything brightening will accentuate the bags, instead sweep a matte eye shadow a shade darker than your skin on your eye lids and under bottom lashes.

For under eye circles, the approach is a little different.  The best method is sleep!  A few good nights of sleep will banish those dark colors, but in the meantime, try this trick makeup artist Emily Kate Warren gave to Marie Claire Magazine: “Mix a brightening cream or highlighter that’s the same color as your skin tone with your foundation or concealer.  Lightly dab on the mixture, let set for 20 seconds, and then set it with a light dusting of powder.”  Of course you’ll want to use makeup tools to avoid pulling the skin so invest in a good concealer brush with extra soft bristles.  We’re partial to ours, of course.  You can also swipe some bronzer all over your face to draw the attention away from tired eyes.

Here are our suggestions for eco-friendly cover-up makeup:
Tarte Dark Circle Defense
Organic Wear Origin Tinted Moisturizer
100% Pure Fruit Pigmented Brightening Concealer
Organic Wear Origin Bronzer
Tarte Inner Rim Brightener

Do you have a burning beauty question?  Leave us a comment, send us a tweet, or write on our wall and let us know!

If one of your New Year’s Resolutions was to eat healthy or save money, try bringing your own lunch to work of school.  Making your own delicious meal at home the night before not only guarantees you get to eat what you want (no more questionable casserole) but will also help you from making bad decisions in the lunch line – nutritionally and financially.

Of course, to make lunchtime fabulous, you’ll need a lunchbox that inspires you.  Choose something, bright, colorful, quirky, or subtle and simple.  Whatever you choose, make sure it’s reusable.  An eco-friendly lunch container shows the earth you care, plus the higher quality materials they are often made with help keep your food fresher.  Now that you’re ready to upgrade your lunch routine, you need to pick a pretty lunchbox.  Lucky for you, there are lots of options.  We’re calling it brown bag chic!

Here are our five favorite fun and functional lunch toting options:

1.  Go Vintage.  Dig your old school lunch box out of storage in your parents’ house or find one at a local thrift store.  There are some beautiful and well made lunchboxes from lunchtimes past, like this pretty Miss America one from 1972 we found on Etsy.

2. A Mobile Feast If you love a full lunch with different courses, try a three tiered carrier.  This gorgeous one from Gaiam, created with stainless steel, it’s non-leaching, dishwasher safe, and extra shiny!

3. Glamorous Takeout This pretty piece from black+blum is designed to give you all the luxuries of a take out container.  Designed to sit upright in your bag or crowded office fridge and comes complete with its own fork, so you’ll never be without one again!

4.  Piping Hot For the lover of soups and steamy pastas, the classic Thermos brand has a lightweight, stylish  10 oz jar that keeps food hot for up to five hours.

5. Simple and Stylish.  If you’re the simple type or like to keep everything in its own compartment, reusable sandwich bags from Lunchskins are the way to go.  They come in tons of fun colors and patterns.  You’ll never need a plastic bag again.

How do you carry your lunch to the office?

The answer: The Kabuki Brush is the best choice for applying a mineral makeup foundation.   Mineral makeup needs to be applied differently than traditional liquid makeup.  The short, squat style Kabuki brush is created with a super soft, dense collection of bristles, which are optimal for sweeping on the right amount of coverage.  Try our Bamboo Kabuki Brush or our Conceal Kabuki from our Beautiful Expressions Kabuki Set.  The tighter the brush is packed, the fuller the coverage you will receive.  Dip your brush into your mineral foundation then gently tap the side of the brush against the lid or the side of your sink to tap off the excess.  Use a gentle, circular motion to apply the foundation.

For touch ups on the go, make sure you have a Retractable Kabuki Brush in your bag to avoid damaged bristles.  In a pinch, you could also use a powder brush, but the Kabuki Brush is your ideal choice.

Have a makeup or beauty question?  Leave a comment and let us know what you want to learn more about!

You’ve probably seen lots of products created from bamboo, including our fabulous makeup brushes.  Bamboo has become a very trendy, eco-chic material in the past few years.  But why do eco-friendly companies love bamboo so much?  The answer is simple: Bamboo is a sustainable, quickly renewable resource.

Bamboo is an alternative to other hard woods and is used in almost every industry.  Using bamboo means companies don’t have to cut down trees and rainforests to create beautiful products as bamboo grows incredibly fast (bamboo reaches maturity in 3-5 years instead of the 30-40 it takes traditional trees to mature).  Some species of bamboo can grow up to four feet in one day!  Plus, a single grove of bamboo releases 35% more oxygen than a similar sized grove of trees.  And when you’re done with the bamboo product, it will decompose into a reusable, nutrient rich soil.

There are even more reasons to love bamboo, and bring it into your home!  It produces more oxygen than some plants and is even considered to bring good luck.   That’s why bamboo is so fabulous!  So next time you pick up your EcoTools bamboo handled brush, you should feel good about doing your part to save the planet!  Look beautiful, live beautifully.

Resources:  Bambooki and Gaiam

Photo from: Gaiam