Cargo Plant Love Botanical lipstick

Image from sephora.com

Stila may have set the standard for recyclable packaging, but Cargo just kicked it up a notch with its Plant Love Botanical lipstick. The lipstick tubes are made out of corn (produced in great abundance due to heavy government subsidies that it is described as "the welfare queen of crops" by a farmer in Michael Pollan's Omnivore's Dilemma) and the outer carton will yield a bouquet of flowers when planted in soil as it is embedded with real flower seeds! Many of the colours are supposedly developed with celebrities, which I'm sceptical about since celebrities do very little even when they headline fragrances, but the line-up does include two of the coolest TV actresses ever, Mariksa Hargitay and Sarah Chalke.

Cargo cosmetics are available for purchase at Sephora in the U.S., Rescu Beauty Bar and selected David Jones stores in Australia.

Nvey Eco Cosmetics

Image from sephora.com

Nvey Eco (pronounced Na-Vey) hails from Australia and is one of the first commercial organic makeup brands to hit the U.S. Environmentally-conscious but time-pressed professional women will be relieved to know that the Nvey Eco products are packaged like regular toxic makeup and includes items like organic mascara and eyeshadow, which means they are just as easy to use on the go. Put away the mortar and pestle, ladies! The ingredients that are causing much worry like parabens, sodium laurel sulphate, talc and synthetic preservatives are absent from the line, which also abstains from animal testing and using ingredients from genetically-modified crops. The price of a clean conscience ranges from US$24 for the organic lip lustre to US$61 for a 5-pan eyeshadow palette.

Nvey makeup can be purchased from their website as well as Sephora and Holistic Beauty.

Jojoba of all trades.

You're looking at my new eye makeup remover and oil cleanser. Unlike other plant-derived oils, jojoba (pronounced ho-HOH-ba) oil is actually polyunsaturated liquid wax obtained from the seed of the jojoba shrub. As jojoba oil is chemically similar to human sebum, it is a popular ingredient in skin care products and is a non-comedogenic alternative to facial moisturizers.

Jojoba has been used Native Americans for hundreds of years to treat cuts and burns and as hair restoraratives. And so can the yuppies and the trust-fund hippies, thanks to the proliferation of organic health and beauty stores throughout cities. I bought this 4oz. bottle at Trader Joe's for USD6.00, but it's just as easily purchased online.

Five uses for your humble, politically-correct (vegan, cruelty free, economical) bottle of jojoba oil.

1. As pre-cleanser. Wet your hands and face before applying 4-5 drops of jojoba oil to your face. Massage the oil into your face for a couple of minutes and remove the oil with a warm , wet washcloth or by rinsing with water. Follow with a gentle cleanser of choice.

2. As eye makeup remover. Saturate a cotton pad with several drops of jojoba oil. Press the cotton pad against your eyes and gently swipe downwards towards the end of your lashes. It should remove everything, including waterproof mascara. As an added plus, the oil acts as a lash conditioner.

3. As facial moisturizer. Gently massage 2-3 drops into your damp face after cleansing. Jojoba oil will sit on your skin for a while as it takes some time to absorb. You may combine a jojoba oil with regular moisturizer or with drop of tea-tree oil. Although jojoba oil is non-comedogenic and mimics human sebum, results will vary. Follow up your jojoba oil moisturizer with a zit cream if you're worried, and just stop using it if it seems to exacerbate the situation. There is no such thing as a panacea for your skin woes.

4. As hair conditioner and detangler. Dab a little onto the ends of freshly shampooed hair before blowdrying and styling. You can also apply jojoba oil to your hair (ends or scalp, depending on your hair type) before proceeding to shampoo and condition as usual.

5. As body moisturizer. Massage jojoba oil into your legs and elbows, or combine a couple of drops with your favourite body lotion. A word of caution if you're planning to try it as a shaving oil -- the residue will accumulate and gunk up your razor.

To learn more about jojoba oil, click here.

Earth Day 2008.

The Blue Marble, taken by the Apollo 17 crew

Happy Earth Day, my lovelies! Isn't she a beauty at 4.5 billion years old? We humans have walked the earth for only 200,000 years, and look at the damage we've done. As a beauty junkie, I've generated more than my fair share of waste and I'm sure manufacturing plants of my favourite products have pumped tonnes of toxic chemicals into the environment. I have been thinking hard about reducing my beauty carbon footprint and easing into "organic" skincare. Although researchers have assured us that our regular beauty products will hardly harm us even with long term use, I would prefer to purchase from a company that actively tries to minimize its impact on the environment. This would rule out many Procter and Gamble products as many of their factories are located in China. Procter and Gamble products are highly affordable and effective, however, so while it would be impractical to abandon them at once, we could phase out certain products and make a gradual transition to sustainable beauty practices in the long run.

For the rest of the week, I will be blogging about products and practices for that beauty junkies with a budding environmental conscience can incorporate into their daily routine. If you are already doing so, please feel free to share your experience with us by sending us an e-mail to theglossifieds [at] gmail [dot] com. We'd love to hear from you!