Whether you have a significant other you’re celebrating Valentine’s with or you’re enjoying the day with friends and family, it’s nice to feel and spread the love throughout the day. Different shades of pinks and reds can look beautiful on any skin tone and are a fun and simple way to embrace the day without going overboard.

Sourcing eco-friendly and safe cosmetics isn’t as hard as one might think and with safe cosmetics moving to the forefront of people’s minds; there is a greater demand for a wider range of colors than ever before! Here are some lovely and natural make-up selections in gorgeous shades of pink and red to add to your beauty bag for Valentine’s Day!

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Life coach and internationally acclaimed author Martha Beck holds master’s and Ph.D. degrees in sociology from Harvard University, has several children – including a son down syndrome – and has managed to publish successful nonacademic and academic books and articles on a variety of social science and business topics.

When Beck says that she’s found the secret to maintaining her sanity, my ears perk up. You mean there’s a way to balance life at home, life at work and successfully finish projects on the side while still somehow maintaining true to yourself? In her article “Logging Off The Power of Disconnection,” Beck gives 7 tips for relaxing your psyche and your relationships – making your life as a whole lot calmer, and creating room for being more joyful and loving.

• Hide. Beck hails back to a high school English teacher who tells her that, “every woman needs a cornfield. No matter what’s happening in your life, find yourself a cornfield and hide there whenever you need to.” She lists cars, forests, hotels, bathrooms all as acceptable cornfields – anywhere where you can go for a few moments to breathe by yourself.
• Go primitive. Despite the countless benefits of modern technology, Beck suggests that it can actually become harmful when a person can’t ever escape it. She suggests becoming “downright Amish” – unplugging phones, computers, intercoms, and fax machines. Beck writes, “I know that if I don’t lose touch with some of the people who are trying to reach me, I’ll lose touch with myself. “
• Play favorites. It’s time to make a list. Beck suggests you ask yourself what relationships enrich your life, and which ones deplete you. “Decide now,” Beck writes, “to deliberately limit the time and attention you spend on ‘low yield’ relationships.”
• Get rid of squid. “Squid” is Beck’s term for the perpetually needy friend that rarely gives back. She says to avoid excuses, and simply let them know that they need to go. “There will be lasting hurt feelings,” Beck writes. “Don’t worry. Squid love hurt feelings. They hoard them, trading them in for pity points when they find another victim—er, friend.”
• Be insensitive. It is vital to draw the difference between something that required deep discussion and something that doesn’t. “Instead of connecting with every person’s problems, let yourself feel whether someone really needs your attention,” Beck writes. “The best gift you can give might be a little abruptness.”
• Rehearse escape lines. Beck explains that when we are overextended, and have the least to offer, we are actually the worst at setting boundaries. She suggests rehearsing escape lines to pull out just in the nick of time when someone desperately needy walks up and we just…can’t…get…away…
• Be shallow. Thought this may go against everything your mother taught you, Beck writes that, “Once you know you can swim in the deep end of human connection, it’s fun to splash around in the shallows.” She suggests that making time to laugh about silly youtube videos or jokes is just as important as deep conversation.

Read more of Beck’s thoughts on the power of disconnection.

Image Credit: Woman in the Woods photo via Shutterstock

More on Feelgood Style:

1. Feelgood Quickie: Keeping Up with Designer Rachel Mace
2. Feelgood Quickie: 4 Minute Workout
3. Feelgood Quickie: Sleep More For Your Health

Listen, laugh & learn with the Green Divas (and Green Dude Scott) anytime - Podcast here!

Once again, we had one of our favorite guests, Green Dude Paul Miller, Coordinator for the Town of Morristown Office of Sustainability, in the studio with us. Of course, we carried on quite a bit about the benefits of supporting your local community in terms of food, farms, businesses, charities, etc.

Green Diva Lisa did a mouth-watering segment on why we should eat dark chocolate (fair trade please!) or give it to a special someone we love for Valentine’s Day. Some surprising reasons to consider the healthy attributes of chocolate! Here are just a few of the reasons she talked about:

• Eat about 3 to 4 oz a day (LOVE this idea!)
• It is good for your heart and stimulates your endorphin production
• Chocolate is high in flavonoids which you are the goodies you find in cranberries, apples, onions, tea and red wine
• It can lower blood pressure
• Dark chocolate can lower the bad boy LDL cholesterol by up to 10 percent
• 1/3 of the fat is the same as olive oil
• 1/3 of the fat had a neutral affect
• 1/3 is the not-so-good fat
• Has 300 compounds and healthy biochemicals in each bite
• Eat chocolate with at least 65 percent cocoa in it
• Improves blood flow to the brain and heart (two very sexy organs)
• More on the Green Divas blog post for this podcast . . .

Our feature interview was with Carol Westinghouse, President of Informed Green Solutions. She’s very busy helping schools and other public and commercial facilities transition to a clean, green indoor environment. She’s helped make a difference in her own home state of Vermont, in getting legislation passed that will mandate certain standards for the kinds of products used inside schools for cleaning and other potentially harmful chemical applications.

Sleeping Naked is Green segment: Shovel Your Own Snow & Use Sand Instead of Salt

Tips for eco-friendly shoveling and de-icing:

SHOVELING

• If you HAVE to use a snow blower, there are electric ones that are a little bit easier on the ozone layer.
• Employ neighborhood kids!
• Take the opportunity to get some exercise (but be cautious if you are out of shape or experience any symptoms of cardiac distress)
• Get out early and often to keep on top of it during a big storm
• More on the Green Divas blog post for this podcast . . .

ICE

Avoid rock salt or Sodium Chloride

• Salt can leach heavy metals and carry them into soil and water supplies
• Salt builds up in the soil like fertilizer
• Salt run off from sidewalks and streets can increase salinity in local bodies of water, causing long-term damage
• Salt residue can inhibit plants from absorbing necessary nutrients and water
• More on the Green Divas blog post for this podcast . . .

For a LOT more ideas on this topic, please listen to this week’s 5-min segment on Eco-Friendly Snow & Ice Removal.

We also announced the winner of last week’s Eco Friendly Printer KNOW YOUR GREEN Quiz - Kirby Pellegrin, who won a $50 Gift Certificate to the Eco Friendly Printer! Please go to our Facebook page and find this week’s quiz and play to win!

As always, please visit our website for LOTS of relevant links & resources from the show - Green Divas website.

Hope you’ll listen to this broadcast!

Listen to the show here!

More on Feelgood Style:

1. Chocolate Bliss Bath and Body Products from Coco-Zen
2. In Search of Eco-friendly Snow Boots? The Answer is Simple.
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Last week we looked at how to make your own deodorant, and today I wanted to keep the DIY beauty inspiration going with this recipe for homemade body lotion!

Store-bought creams and lotions are often full of mystery ingredients, and if you want to buy something more natural, the price tag can be on the high side. Plus, store-bought lotions come in single-use, disposable containers. Boo on that! Instead of hitting the big box store for something that you don’t totally feel good about, try whipping up your own all natural vanilla body lotion instead.

This video from gorgeously green shows you how easy it is to make body lotion yourself. If you can’t find the ingredients for this at your local natural foods store or co-op, we have many of them in our brand new Feelgood Style Shop’s DIY Beauty Supplies section!

Do any of you guys make your own cosmetics? I’d love to hear what you’re whipping up in the comments!

More on Feelgood Style:

1. Best Organic Body Butter & Lotion
2. Skin MD Natural Face, Hand and Body Shielding Lotion
3. Alaffia’s Everyday Shea Moisturizing Body Lotion

You know that I love buying handmade, and I love it even more when I find an indie designer who uses eco-friendly materials to create things that are beautiful and functional. That’s Conscious Clothing to a tee!

I had a few articles from Conscious Clothing on my holiday wishlist, and I was super thrilled when I got this awesome tunic-length hoodie in sage green. It’s super comfortable and quickly becoming one of my favorite pieces of clothing. Paired with leggins and comfy ballet flats, and you feel like you’re ready to head out in comfort and in style!

Rose, the owner, makes each garment to order using organic fabrics. Making each piece custom slows down her turnaround time, but that also means less waste, because she isn’t left with a bunch of unsold garments. Her usual turnaround is 2-3 weeks, but that can be longer over holidays.

To check out Conscious Clothing‘s full line of clothing and intimates, head on over to the Etsy shop!

More on Feelgood Style:

1. Fashion and Earth: Everyday Eco-Style for the Earth Conscious Woman
2. GapKids and babyGap Get Socially Conscious with Stella McCartney
3. Thrift Couture by Conscious Fashionistas in San Francisco

When it comes to nontoxic skin care, Primavera is the cream of the crop.  High-quality, super-effective, pleasant-to-use products.  You can practically feel the purity when you use them.

Well, Primavera does not stop with making fabulous organic skin care.  No, this company is also fair trade and carbon-neutral. 

For the past 25 years the German Primavera Life has been dedicated to creating pure, plant-based skin care and partnering with independent fair trade growers around the world.  And last year they opened their new innovative, carbon-neutral headquarters.

Primavera Life is “Germany’s first administrative and production facility of its size to systematically use sustainable building practices, while also considering feng shui and energy flows to foster productivity.  When all sustainability initiatives are in full swing, the entire facility is set-up to be carbon neutral.”

Cool, huh?

The entire Primavera range is certified as natural and organic by NaTrue, a stringent certifying body of organic and natural cosmetics.  Primavera products use the highest percentage of certified organic ingredients available, are never tested on animals, and packed in enviro-friendly packaging.

Primavera skin care consists of three product lines; Moisturizing, Revitalizing and Balancing.  I sampled the Sage Grape Seed Gel Cleanser from the Balancing line, and Neroli Cassis Protective Lotion from the Moisturizing line.  The Gel Cleanser is very light and not at all irritating, even on my sensitive skin.  The Protective Lotion is lightly hydrating and leaves skin soft and smooth as a baby’s bottom.

The range also includes Body Care (body wash, body lotion and body oils), Wellness mists made with essential oils, and Air Sprays and essential oil blends for Home.

[Image:  Primavera Life.com]

More on Feelgood Style:

1. New Uses for the Good Old Avocado
2. Organic Cosmetics On a Budget
3. Best Organic Body Butter & Lotion

Answering reader questions is one of my favorite things about this job, but sometimes I have to do the asking.  I am currently reading The Beauty Detox Solution by celeb nutritionist Kimberly Snyder.  In the book Kimberly lays down the deets on a mostly raw food diet that she feels uses the least amount of energy to digest resulting in better health, more energy, and a more beautiful and youthful appearance.

While there are certain aspects of the plan that I won’t do (colonics!), I have been eating a lot more raw fruits and veg, avoiding meat and using her food pairings suggestions.  I am not yet finished reading the book , but the main idea is to eat mainly raw fruits and veg throughout the day, and save the heavier stuff for your evening meal.  This way you give your body all night to process these foods.  It is way more in-depth than I make it sound here, with the order in which you eat foods and what types of foods you eat being highly important.  I will do a total book review once I have finished reading.

So, I do feel much lighter and have more energy when eating this way. My main issue is that you have to eat so much when eating raw foods.  Fruits and veggies may fill you up, but they do not last as long and I find myself needing more every couple of hours.  Not the most convenient lifestyle.

Here is my question to you:

Do you eat a raw food diet, and if so, do you eat this way all of the time? Some of the time?  Any tips, tricks or advice you’d like to share would be appreciated!

[Woman with vegetables image via Shutterstock]

More on Feelgood Style:

1. Do You Like it Raw? Purely Delicious Magazine Offers Easy Raw Food Advice
2. Newsflash :: Supermodel, Actress & Raw Food Enthusiast Carol Alt To Launch “Beyond Natural And Organic” Certified Raw™ Skin & Body Care Line
3. Study: Thinking You’re Fat Makes You Fat – Eat Drink Better

Winter is probably the harshest time for your skin, so sometimes it’s good to revisit some great natural skincare tips and tricks to keep you radiant all throughout the season. This infographic, via Visual.ly, highlights some great tips for keeping your skin in tip-top shape.  Here are some more skin tips that are wonderful and effective all year round!

• To create a simple at-home exfoliator you can always add baking soda to your face wash. It gives a nice scrub while not being too harsh on even the gentlest of skin.
• Even though it’s tempting to take a hot shower to warm you up, the heat from the water will only serve to dehydrate your skin more. Always keep your shower and face washing temperature on the cooler side.
• A great way to lock in moisture all day, or night, is to slather on a moisturizer right after you hop out of the shower but before you fully dry off.
• Don’t forget your lips! Cracked and flaky lips are another winter annoyance, but you don’t have to suffer with them. After you brush your teeth, take your toothbrush and gently rub your lips in tiny circles. Then apply a lip balm and your lips are saved.

Do you have any other tips to keep your skin hydrated and refreshed all through the winter months? Do you have any go-to methods or favorite products that you like to use? I would love to hear your methods for maintaining glowing skin year round! Feel free to leave any comments, questions, or links.

More on Feelgood Style:

1. Feelgood Quickie: Fitness Facts
2. Feelgood Quickie: A Truly Natural Anti Aging Giveaway
3. Feelgood Quickie: True Natural Cosmetics

“To me anything that evokes my inner spirit is what inspires me – nature, animals, compassion, empathy and life,” Jes said. “I truly believe the reason my work has been so successful it’s because its infused with my passion for life.”

A California resident, much of Jes’ work is born out of the nature that surrounds her at her Sun Horse Ranch, and the herd of rescued animals that live there with her. While some of her jewelry directly reflects her surroundings – such as the Sun Horse Cuff, others reflect her beliefs, and the message she would like wearers to receive with it.

Some of them are more obvious, with actual writing etched into them with messages such as “Intuition – Courage to Listen to You,” “Protect,” “Grow Strong and Wise” or “Love Life.” Others are more understated, and speak through their design -  her Tiger Stripe Ring, for instance, symbolizes bravery. Each of her pieces, in their unique way, are designed to encourage creativity, and a commitment to preserving the earth through it. Jes said she believes that part of her work as an artist is to spread compassion and bring awareness to practices that are detrimental to the earth.

Jes’ passion for life, and the preservation of it through eco-friendly practices, is not only a factor in her design, but also in the materials she uses, and her creative process. She seeks to preserve the environment through using conflict-free diamonds, reclaimed metal, leather and organic and recycled materials.

Beyond that, she donates to organizations like Heal the Ocean, Earthwatch, Global Fund for Women, Save Japan Dolphins and Sea Shepherd, among others. Most recently, her Jewelry With a Purpose Line is donating 20-100% of proceeds to the Natural Resources Defense Council.

“When you love something unconditionally, it is natural to want to do anything in your power to protect it,” Jes said. “Implementing ethical practice in business requires a lot of research, attention to detail, and in many cases extra expense – but I wouldn’t have it any other way. I get to stand behind (and in front of) a company that brings more beauty into the world, while helping eliminate what is not so beautiful.”

Shop Jes MaHarry designs.

Image Credit: Jes MaHarry Jewelry. Used with Permission.

More on Feelgood Style:

1. Raven + Lily: A Fusion of Compassion and Design
2. Can Your Jewelry Save the Earth? Ours Can! Part III
3. Low Fat: Russian Eco-Fashion Label Raises Awareness

lil Green Dude Mason & Green Diva Momma Carly

Listen, laugh & learn with the Green Divas (and Green Dude Scott) anytime - Podcast here!

For just two of us in the studio this week, we managed to jam in a lot of information about a variety of topics! We did a fun product review segment that included a few health & beauty products for green divas, then we had a couple of green baby product reviews from one of our favorite green diva momma’s. Green Dude Wayne contributed a little testosterone to the show by calling in and doing a review of some men’s natural hair care products from Every Man Jack.

GREEN DIVA (& Dude) PRODUCT REVIEWS

• G2 Organics - We love everything about G2 Organics products that we’ve tried, but this week are waxing poetic about their Breath of Fresh Air; Herbal Inhalation for cold and allergy sufferers. It comes in a glass jar and is full of herbs that when inhaled clear the air ways. GD Meg, used it for last week’s cold and it really helped!
• Blissoma - Like G2, there are a lot of beloved products in this brand. Today we talked about the Antioxidant Sprayable Lotion - for moisturizing. We like that it is non-oily.

• The Natural Dentist - They sent us several products to try, so we had a chance to pick the flavors that we liked in toothpaste and mouthwashes, but GD Meg used their sore throat spray last week and it worked GREAT.
• Omyst - Awesome herbal first aid spray, that came in handy AFTER the show, when GD Meg sliced open her finger feeding Green Diva Spooky (kitty) on the cat food container lid – OUCH! Spray worked great.

The Sleeping Naked is Green segment: Buy Renewable Energy – This of course, is a huge topic, but we managed to get a lot into 5 minutes!  Listen to learn some great reasons to buy renewable energy and a few easy ways to do it! 5-min segment on Buying Renewable Energy.

We also announced the winner of last week’s Eco Friendly Printer KNOW YOUR GREEN Quiz - Marie DeVenezia, who won a $50 Gift Certificate to the Eco Friendly Printer! Please go to our facebook page and find this week’s quiz and play to win!

As always, please visit our website for LOTS of relevant links & resources from the show - Green Divas website.

Hope you’ll listen to this broadcast!

Listen to the show here!

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1. Nature Of Beauty Launches Intelligent Nutrients Today :: Plus Product Reviews, Interview, Free Shipping + Exclusive Coupon Code
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