girl talk thursday :: beauty secrets

I feel like I should have all these beauty secrets, having worked in the capital B Beauty Industry. Alas, I was the enviro girl for the Aveda headquarters. I mostly wore Birks while my peers wore stilettos. I traipsed through the rain forests of Peru and the organic fields of lavender in Bulgaria scouting raw ingredients while my well-coiffed colleagues stocked salons and spas with the finished products.

Indeed, I was an un-made-up wash-n-go girl who made the mistake, once, of dying my own hair with a store-bought box. Never again. My colleagues were aghast that I'd attempt a non-professional hair coloring (the chemicals! the damage!) and quickly remedied the situation that had become my strawberry sunburst hair.

A decade of working side-by-side with the pretty people in the pretty-making industry ultimately took its toll (for the better, I will admit) on my beauty regimen (and fashion sense).  I saw the difference a good haircut and a little product made in my hair.  I even learned to cocktail product.  I learned the importance of exfoliating.  I learned how to apply makeup in a way that didn't make me feel ho-riffic.  And then I bought my first pair of Louboutins.  The slope is slippery, my friends.

Yep, I'm hooked.  I love trying new products. LOVE.  Especially those with a good eco-story.  I write about eco pretty finds all the time at What She Really Wants.

For (my first ever) Girl Talk Thursday, here are two of my insider beauty secrets:

1) Don't use too much product.  The old refrain "lather, rinse, repeat" just might be the bad advice born of a marketer trying to get people to use and buy more product.  In some cases -- Aveda products especially -- too much is a bad thing.  When you buy high quality products (which I'd recommend) you're using higher quality ingredients. Highly potent essential oils (like those used in Aveda products) can, at best, be overpowering and at worst, damaging in too-large quantities. A little dab really will do you.  Aveda pays close attention to its dispensers and only pumps the needed amount of product. Not all beauty manufacturers do the same.  Learn to pump small.

2) Simplify.  (See also: Argan oil.) As a new mom, I'm lucky if I can pull a brush through my hair, much less complete a multi-step beauty routine.  Perhaps this is why I am so so so in love with multi-tasking Argan oil.  You can use it on your skin, your hair, and your cuticles. It smooths in easily to quench dry skin and is great for dry, split ended-hair and winter-weary cuticles. I'm not as in love with the aroma as some people are but I'm told the de-odorized version is less friendly to the environment (chemical process) and the autonomy of the Berber women's cooperatives in Morocco who have (otherwise) been empowered by the boom in Argan oil's popularity. Only in recent years have scientists confirmed what Berber women in Morocco have known about this natural beauty elixir for ages: Argan oil is loaded, unusually so, with vitamin E, antioxidants, and omega 6's.  The New York Times referred to Argan oil as "liquid gold."  Indeed, in addition to anti-aging properties, it also fights acne, cancer, and deforestation.  (Talk about multi-tasking!)





I didn't realize while I was writing it but when I checked Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop prompts for the week, the first one was all about getting a good piece (or two?) of advice.  Did I mention I appreciate multi-tasking anything?



Photo credits:
Vanessa Bruno via Black*Eiffel
Women's cooperative hand processing Argan Oil by John Mather