by Tara Mackey | Beauty, Blogroll, Green Beauty, Product Reviews
Toning remains one of my favorite beauty rituals, and it’s one of my best kept secrets to achieving glowing skin.
To get the results you want from your toner, you’ve got to know how to use it properly. Here are some natural, organic, cruelty free toners to get you started on your green journey to better skin!
Biodara Immortal Mist
Biodara’s Immortal Mist is named for it’s main compotent, helichrysum. Helichrysum is also known as the “Immortal plant” for it’s ability to regenerate and promote skin growth, as well as reduce inflammation. Helichrysum is one of my favorite healing oils, as it works wonders on my sensitive skin! This particular product also smells amazing! The exquisite Immortal Mist from Biodara is also made with bases of 100% organic aloe juice (my favorite!), rose absolute, organic grapefruit and rose geranium oil. It doesn’t get any more luxe than this mist! I spray it on in the morning, before bed and after I go surfing. It’s constantly traveling with me in my purse and has it’s own little place on my vanity.
Rose Toner
With key ingredients of organic rose, apple, goji berry, gotu kola, bilberry leaf and an organic aloe base, I am head over heels in love with this toner! It instantly revitalizes without smelling harsh, it tones my skin immediately, and even helps to clear up stubborn acne! A must-have for anyone with sensitive or breakout-prone skin.
Witch Hazel
Witch hazel has been popular for a long time, and for many more uses than simply to clarify skin and shrink pores. It also fades redness and blemishes, brightens around the eyes, and is great for applying post-shaving for it’s anti-inflammatory benefits. I use this on my face when I’m combatting a particularly stubborn blemish, and also on my legs after shaving. You can also gargle with this if you feel a sore throat coming on! I love the light, refreshing scent.
Josh Rosebrook Hydrating Accelerator
If you aren’t aware of how much I love Josh Rosebrook, then we’re probably not friends on instagram (that’s ok! We can change that immediately. 😉 ) Josh’s Hydrating Accelerator is one of the things Josh gifted to me when we first met one another. Now that he’s one of my best friends, I can – without any guilt what so ever – emphatically recommend this incredible toner to all my friends and family. But the hydrating accelerator isn’t just a toner!
This product is aloe based and smells delicious (hint of marshmallow) and feels like such a treat every time I get to use it. I never used toner consistently until I found this incredible formula! It feels so refreshing and has an instant plumping, hydrating affect as well as a moisturizing affect that I have never found in a toner before this! I have five bottles of this around my house, but I’ve only run out one or two times in these last few years! This bottle lasts a loooong time, and highlights include: helping oils and moisturizers absorb better and more quickly and it also moisturizes by itself! I’m hooked! Organic aloe water, sunflower, coconut grapeseed and almond oils, herbal infusions of bilberry, skullcap, green tea and st. john’s wort, this is incredibly nourishing, potent and lovely.
Siddha Cell Salt + Flower Essences Youthful Skin
Gosh, I love flower essences, and Siddha is one of my favorite companies that makes safe, alcohol free, extremely potent flower essences for everyone. From your pets to those with muscle soreness to anyone who wants an emotional detox, they’ve got you covered. I adore Siddha’s Youthful Skin formula for toning, brightness and clearing my complex skin.
This formula not only purges toxins, it encourages blood flow, and even regulates hormones! How? Well, this amazing concoction contains incredibly potent herbs that target the causes of aging skin, as well as amazing bases of distilled water, cacao, aloe (are you noticing a trend?), dandelion, jojoba, horsetail, and sycamore. It also boasts flower essences of agrimony (great for use in spells, on skin for inflammation and a variety of skin conditions), chestnut bud (great for vein health), crab apple (an herbal anti-agent) and silicea (called “the best kept secret” for healthy skin and nails.) It’s so helpful on itchy skin! I will spray this on my legs after shaving or on my arms if my psoriasis is acting up, and it relieves it immediately! Also, this bottle is easily transportable and great for travel.
La Bella Figura’s Jardin De Fleurs
“ Jardin De Fleurs” means “garden of flowers”. This incredible formulation is technically a hydrosol. Commonly called floral waters, hydrosols are less concentrated and more mellow than essential oils, but they still possess the healing and aromatic properties of aromatherapy. Raw coconut water, jasmine flower, rose, and honeysuckle envelope the senses with just one spray. I love this amazing formula from LBF because it smells absolutely amazing, and it’s jasmine/rose base is incredible for my skin! It also works great as a refresher anywhere on your body, or spritz a few times in your hair for LBF’s signature aroma to follow you around the room. Just wait for the compliments. 🙂
Balanced Guru Organic Purifying Citrus Toner
This toner is for the citrus lovers out there! Citrus and lemon happen to be one of my favorite, most calming scents. Balanced Guru has created an insane toner with subtle floral aromas, a hint of verbena, extracts of witch hazel, nettle, tea tree and eucalyptus, I can’t get enough! This is an amazing toner that makes one feel vibrant and rejuvenated. Thyme, chamomile and arnica prevent bacterial infections, maintain supple skin and even help anxiety, fatigue and depression. I could bathe in this stuff! It also treats inflammation and I spray it on my psoriasis to calm it down. So magical.
I truly hope this selection of the best toners helped you on your green beauty journey!
Do you tone naturally?
I’d love to hear your thoughts and comments!
by Tara Mackey | Beauty, Blogroll, DIY, Green Beauty, Green Makeup, Modeling, My Organic Life, Skincare
Smokey eye is one of the sexiest, most seductive looks that you can do with makeup. However, there’s definitely a craft in striking the fine balance between looking like you’re going out to a bar, and looking like you just got into a bar fight. The trick is picking your colors well and blending properly. Perfecting the smokey eye is not limited to makeup fiends and makeup artists alike, but to anyone with the correct tools and a little know-how. Learn to apply both a classic and dramatic Smokey Eye with these fast and easy steps.
I used all natural, cruelty free and Vegan makeup to create this look and it was so fun to shoot!
How To Achieve This Look:
1. Face Prep is important for a natural, sexy look. Dramatic eyes with a bare face can sometimes be off-putting, so use a highlighter, bronzer or blush, and something on your cheeks and lips as well.
Skin Prep:
RMS Beauty Oil
Christopher Drummond Skin Prep
Face:
Christopher Drummond Duo-Phase Concealer
RMS Beauty “Uncoverup” in 11
RMS Living Lumizer
Vapour Organic Beauty Illusionist Concealer
Christopher Drummond Finale Finishing Powder
Cheeks:
RMS Beauty Lip2Cheek in Rapture
RMS Beauty Buriti Bronzer
Vapour Beauty Bronzer in Spicy
Christopher Drummond Matte Summer Titanium Dioxide Free Blush
Lips:
Osmia Organics Lip Luster
Marie Natie Lip Gloss in Sheer
2. Choose Your Colors
You should choose three shades of each color: a light, creamy color, a medium base color, and a dark smokey color.
I went with a blend of Honeybee Gardens Smokey Eye Shadow Palette, RMS Beauty liquid eyeshadow in Karma and Delizioso Skincare Black Currant Eye Shadow, and then lined my eyes with Delizioso Skincare Black Eye Liner Pencil.
I used the Honeybee Gardens brush as well as some home-made brushes to achieve this look. Green eyes look particularly good with a gray and plum smokey eye, while blue eyes pop with gold or copper and brown eyes go great with shades of navy and gray.
3. Apply Your Highlight Color
Apply the lightest of your 2 – dabbing it on the inside corner of your eyelid on both your upper and lower lids. Sweep it directly under your eyebrows as well, from the beginning to the end of your brows.
4. Apply Your Medium Shade
Apply this to your entire eyelid. Apply it upwards only to the natural crease on your lid, not all the way to the highlighter underneath your brows.
5. Add your Darkest Color
By making a “C” shape from about halfway inwards (from the outside of your face) on the lash line, back up and around to about halfway in on the crease of your eyelid. Start at the upper edge of your lash line and work inwards. You can also do this the “opposite way” on the color spectrum like I did, and have your darkest color closest to your nose.
6. To Add A Dramatic Look
To add some drama to your classic smokey eye, sweep your dark eyeshadow to a point (more of a “<” shape than a “C” shape) towards the end of your eyebrow. Make sure that the darkest point still remains at the outside corner of your lash line.
7. Blend Blend Blend!!
Clean your eyeshadow brush with makeup brush cleaner or face soap/shampoo and water. Dry your brush on a clean towel or rag by sweeping it quickly back and forth across the fabric. Then, use your brush to blend the colors together, starting with the lightest color and working out. For the MOST dramatic look, apply your highlighter color directly under your brow again.
8. Add Your Eyeliner
This is the fun part! You can do a smooth cat-eye look or just line the outside of your lashes!
Now, do your brows (no small task for me!), lashes, cheeks, add some finishing powder and you’re done!
My suggestions for those of you who’d like to go the all-natural, Vegan, cruelty free route can be found below.
Lashes:
Urban Decay in Darling
Brows:
Anastasia Beverly Hills Clear Brow Gel
Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Pro Palette
Anastasia Beverly Hills Matte Highlighter
Home Made Brushes
Do you have a Natural Smokey Eye up your sleeve?
Love & Light
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by Tara Mackey | Beauty, Blogroll, Green Beauty, My Organic Life, Product Reviews, Skincare
Moisturizer keeps your skin looking and feeling soft and supple. If your skin gets dehydrated, dry, it looks dull and wrinkles appear, you may be lacking in this crucial skin care step. You may see flakiness, and your makeup will not go on evenly.
You should use moisturizer no matter what your skin type is, be it dry, oily, combo or normal.
It’s best to get a moisturizer with SPF to help protect from the external environment, but some moisturizers, like those with cocoa and shea butter, have natural sun protection. Here are my 6 current favorite organic and all natural moisturizers:
1. Naturopathica Lavender Protective Moisturizer SPF 17
If it’s lavender, I’ve gotta have it! This Protective Moisturizer from Naturopathica (see my last review on this great brand here!) is absolutely amazing. The active ingredient of this wonderful formula, Micronized Zinc Oxide, contains tiny reflective particles to protect the skin from the sun’s damaging rays without leaving a “chalky” appearance. I tried this for my birthday weekend, since I spent a lot of time hiking and doing outdoorsy things, and it smells amazing, lasts all day and really works! No burn at all, and the perfect amount of freckles showed up a few days later! 🙂 I recommend this to anyone looking for a great skin saver!
2. Aquarian Bath Raw Unrefined Shea Butter
As a mixed girl, I especially love my Raw Shea Butter, as it’s great for kinky flyaways, stretch marks, sunburns, cuts, scrapes, bruises and sun protection! It also makes a wonderful moisturizer! It’s rich, creamy, smells wonderful, works for absolutely everything and is great for a long, dry day at the beach to get yourself all lathered up and back to life! My hair and lips also love this as a moisturizer! I apply some before bed and wake up with luscious lips and strands! 🙂
3. Delizioso Skincare Crisp Vanilla Body Cream
Vanilla is one of my favorite scents, and this luxurious, 100% natural body cream is made with aloe juice and rose hydrosol instead of water. It’s totally free of synthetic preservatives, additives, and components, and perfect for skin hydration. It absorbs quickly, smells great and I’m impressed with how long it lasts. I use this on my hands, wrists and arms a lot when I get dry skin, and it works wonders!
4. Busy Bee Lavender Vanilla Body Lotion
This all natural, home made lotion is made with healthy oils and butters, and is great for daily use on the body and face! I use after bathing or any time my skin needs a boost of moisture. It leaves my skin soft and silky. They’ve combined my two favorite scents – Lavender and Vanilla – which makes it difficult not to shove this bottle under the nose of everyone in the room! I adore this lotion for my legs, which are especially dry, elbows, hands and belly!
( Check out my last review on Busy Bee’s Jojoba Oil Here )
5. Sheaterra White Chocolate Moisturizing Body Cream
Speaking of products I can’t stop shoving under people’s noses, this Sheaterra Organics White Chocolate Moisturizer (99.7% natural, if that’s high enough for you) smells good enough to eat! This moisturizer is very rich, super creamy and kinda thick, so it’s definitely one for your body, hands, feet, and super dry areas. But seriously… I don’t think I’ve ever opened and smelled a product this much ever before in my life. It lasts a long time and I seriously adore it. I’ll probably have to stock up on this for winter!
6. Busy Bee All Natural Grapefruit Body Butter
Wanna feel like you’re rubbing a delicious grapefruit all over your less-than-hydrated body? Here’s your answer! A thicker, richer body moisturizer, it’s made with Shea Butter, Cocoa Butter, Jojoba Oil, Grapefruit Essential Oil, Natural Vitamin E Oil, and free of preservatives with no colors added. It smells absolutely divine, it’s rich, “bubbly” and it truly does the trick for dry patches and problem areas!
Happy Moisturizing!
Thank you very much.
Love & Light
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An Exclusive Look Into … THE WAKE UP EP!
by Tara Mackey | Beauty, Blogroll, DIY, Green Beauty, Hair, Skincare
Any of you who know me know that I’m completely obsessed with all things DIY Beauty. If it’s cheaper, easier, and can be found in the grocery aisle – I’ve tried it! I am constantly on the hunt for Do-It-Yourself beauty tips and tricks that are 100% natural, easy, and way cheaper than the store-brought equivalent. Using one parts apple cider vinegar and water as a natural facial toner? Check. Lemon juice as an acne-fighting facial mask? Check. Manuka Honey for pretty much… everything? Check!
But I’ve found a new way to golden skin and happy hair! It’s the Jojoba Oil ( only $3!) from The Busy Bee Store over on Etsy – an all natural and organic skin-care go-to for all your natural skin and haircare needs!
Legend has it that the Native Americans used jojoba oil for a variety of purposes, ranging from hair conditioners, to skin lubricants to even making coffee-like beverages!
Though this botanical liquid extract is commonly referred to as “oil,” jojoba oil is technically a liquid wax ester that is very similar to the properties of human skin oil (sebum).
Translation: putting jojoba oil on your face, especially if you are prone to oily to combination skin, means that you can “trick” your human skin into producing less oil, thus reducing your face’s shiny appearance without extra layers of make-up that can further aggravate your sensitive skin.
In addition to helping your face with oil control, jojoba oil can also be used for your hair and the rest of the body!
What is it good for? Pretty much everything. You can use jojoba oil for the following skin and hair care needs:
- Massage oil
- Dried Cuticle Treatment
- A Shaving Prepper
- After-sun moisturizer
- Stretch mark treatment
- Sebum substitute
- As a way to remove hair product residue
- Cleanser
- Treating acne and cold sores
- Scalp and hair moisturizer
- Hair detangler
The zinc, B-vitamins, silica and copper in jojoba oil help the skin on your face stay supple and healthy.
One of my favorite ways to use it is as a Jojoba & Avocado Face Mask.
- I combine one half ripe Avocado with a teaspoon of the Jojoba Oil.
- Apply over the Face and Neck. Let sit for 10 mins.
- Wash it off with warm water!
Super easy & I’m really happy to share this organic skincare & haircare love with you!
I’ll let Michelle Phan tell you what to do with Jojoba Oil & your hair…. 😉
Thank you very much.
Love & Light
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An Exclusive Look Into … THE WAKE UP EP!
by Tara Mackey | Around the World, Beauty, Blogroll, My Organic Life, My Photography
So, last week while out with a girl friend, I got the absolute BEST question ever, which was, ” What do you use on your skin?”
To be honest, those questions make me really happy, because my relationship with my skin has it’s ups and downs. But, when I AM having a particularly good day/week/month, and someone is kind enough to point it out, I really love to share what got me there, since I know so many of us suffer in one way or another.
And I have to admit, this time: I’m in LOVE.
In finding One Love Organics, I think my hunt for the perfect Organic Skincare line is OVER. I cannot say enough about this line – it’s totally pure, gentle and smells absolutely amazing. I have NEVER loved a line of products this much before. I also hear from the BlogWorld that OLO is perfect for travel-problem skin, which I definitely have (9 hours on a plane or switching from pure water to hard water will do that to ya).
I liked their mission, the fact that they focus on quality ingredients and ethics, as well as using advanced methods for creating a really fantastic product.
I have been using the Brand New Day exfoliator as a scrub as well as a Masque, and it’s cleared my skin up, unclogged pores, and left me glowing and smelling fantastic all day! I also totally adore this packaging!
Brand New Day ($39) comes in powder form, but mixing it with just a small amount of water creates a fantastic Scrub or Masque that you can leave on for 15 minutes, run a bath, relax, and wash away!
OLO was also kind enough to send me the Easy Does It Foaming Cleanser ($29). I can’t say enough about how amazing this is for sensitive, dry or combination skin! I have no idea how I ever lived without it! It removes every single trace of makeup after a long day of shooting, is perfect for cleansing my face after I do Yoga or go for a run, and has held breakouts at bay. It can also be used as a shampoo. I’d go so far as to say that this is the best cleanser I have ever used.
If you want to test out these amazing products but are hesitant, One Love Organics has introduced their “A Little Love, The Essentials Sample Pack” for only $4 and FREE SHIPPING!
*I did recieve these products as a gift, but all opinions are 100% my own. I enjoy reviewing products and sharing it with my readers in the hopes of helping you make an informed decision about your skincare! 🙂
Love & Light
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