super cool osmia organics...like rockstar cool. yeah, like that.

Sarah Villafranco, creator and founder of Osmia Organics...gorg or what?

I tweet back and forth with a lot of green beauty goddesses who run their own companies, but I have to say, Sarah Villafranco of Osmia Organics is pretty damn cool.  The kind of cool where you wish she lived in NYC so you could yap green with her and watch her create all of her awesome skincare products.  I mean, this woman even discusses the recyclability of each of her products here.  I wanted all of you to get an idea of who Sarah is as a person, so I asked her a few questions which follow my review.  

DETOX EXFOLIATING MASK  Dare I say it's the best mask I've ever used?  Yes, I dare.  Please don't think this mask is for oily skin because it's got the word "Detox" in its name.  I have skin that can easily become dehydrated and I found this to not only clear my skin and make it bright and fresh-looking, but also leave it hydrated.  It comes in a bottle along with a little ceramic mixing bowl and spatula (love).  I find myself reaching for this whenever my skin is looking a little dull and clogged.  This is a favorite.
Key Ingredients:  Purifying clay, raw cacao, manuka honey and activated bamboo charcoal. $50

FACIAL CALIBRATION SERUM  This serum is pure, the consistency is light and not at all thick.  This serum is designed to help skin become more even and smooth and assists in regulating sebum production. It's a serum is for all skin types, but I love the fact that it will calm down skin that's acting up...something that happens often with women and our hormones!  $50
Key ingredients:  Olive squalene, kukui oil, powdered acai and organic black seed oil.

LIP LUSTER  I'm a sucker for a lip gloss or lipstick, so when I had read that Osmia's gloss that gets its color from beet root, well I just HAD to know about this company.  The scent is a subtle vanilla and I would say the color is like you were eating some blackberries.  You can make it as deep or light as you wish, depending on how much you apply.  I loved the consistency of this - not too thick, not sticky.  $15  Key ingredients: Beet root, Castor bean oil.

FOREST BODY OIL First off, this body oil comes in several scents, I just tested Forest.  One thing that strikes me about Osmia is that many of their products have an Earthy scent...creating scents in Colorado will probably inspire that!  This scent smells exactly like a bunch of evergreen trees in a forest.  It's bold and rich, but softens when on the skin.  This oil gave me that glow that celebrities have on their legs when they cross them on Dave Letterman. You know what I mean...just a pretty glisten, not oily.  It absorbed quick and was wonderful to wear.  I would love to try the Flower oil one day! $20
Key ingredients:  Ambrette seed oil, evergreen oils.

MY Q  & A WITH SARAH:

What new products are you working on now...if they’re not Top Secret, of course!  They are SO top secret, but I'll tell you anyway.  I'm working on a vitamin C lifting serum and a beautifully simple, organic exfoliant, both of which are pretty divine. 

What do you have in your makeup bag?   I have an eyelash curler and tweezers, my two most important items (I'm 40 now - I get whiskers).  I have our Luster lip gloss, RMS Beauty Living Luminizer, and some Chantecaille eyeliner.  The next on my list to try is Kjaer Weis mascara. 

What green beauty industry women would you love to sit around and talk shop with?  I'd love to chat with Rose-Marie Swift, Gwyneth (does she count?), Mandy Aftel (smart and funny), and pretty much every green beauty blogger out there - you guys keep it real, keep our egos in check, and seem to find as much joy doing what you love as I do!  When should we do it?

Name three adjectives to describe yourself.  Go.  Motivated.  Fun.  Alive. 

Intelligent Nutrients Gives Good Lip & Hair!

INTELLIGENT NUTRIENTS LIP DELIVERY ANTIOXIDANT GLOSSES

Intelligent Nutrients is the latest health and beauty line by Horst Rechelbacher, the founder of Aveda.  I own many of their products, but want to chat about my favorites today:

Organic Perfect Hold Hairspray When I first became interested in changing all of my skincare and haircare products to natural/organic, there were a few items I thought were going to be a bit challenging to change.  Because I'm a performer, hairspray was one of them, but I managed to stumble upon Intelligent Nutrients' spray pretty quickly and that was that.  I don't use this every day, but when I do need hold, I reach for this baby.  The sprayer does get clogged often, but if you run it under some warm water, you should be good to go. 

Organic Volumizing Spray This is the best natural volumizing spray that I've used so far and I've used quite a lot of them.  It's not sticky, doesn't smell funny and it works.  I just get out of the shower, comb my hair out, lift up my hair and give it a few sprays.  I highly recommend this if you're looking for some extra bounce.

Organic Lip Delivery Antioxidant Gloss This is my latest love.  I was kindly sent Purple Maize by Nubo Nau (awesome natural/organic online shop for all things gorgeous) and later got myself some Pink Hibiscus.  These glosses smell and taste FANTASTIC!  I'm not kidding.  It's like you wiped your lips with some wonderful fruit.  It's not a super glossy look, but I can honestly say that I really haven't had to re-apply this gloss too often.  I don't want to say it's a stain, but it definitely leaves it's color behind when the initial gloss wears off.  From their site:

Looks good, tastes good, and good for you. Intelligent Nutrients® Lip Delivery Antioxidant Gloss is abundant in vibrant antioxidants found in fruits and vegetables like cranberries, blueberries and purple corn. Nutrient-dense oils of acai, rosehip and black cumin—along with Intellimune and soothing, antioxidant-rich waxes and butters—aid in fighting the visible signs of aging. Brush on any of our certified organic flavor blends, and you’ll enjoy a refreshing balance of sweet and tart.

They've got so, so many products in this line and it really does appear that everything is super high quality.  I really recommend giving this line a try.

MarieNatie Lip Gloss - Super Hydrating, Pretty & Natural

MARIE NATIE GLOSSES IN AMERICAN BEAUTY, PINK LADY, 
TAHITIAN SUNSET, NEARLY WILD & APRIL IN PARIS

As I've said many, many times, I'm big into lip glosses and lipstick.  Making the switch to natural lip gloss was tough in the beginning because I struggled to find companies that were making cool colors with clean ingredients.  So, I was really excited when I was sent new lip glosses to try out by MarieNatie All Natural Cosmetics.  

First thing I loved?  What their lip glosses are formulated without:
Parabens, Sulfates, Synthetic Fragrances, Synthetic Dyes, Petro-Chemicals and Phthalates

Second thing I loved?  Their ingredients:  
Jojoba oil, jojoba gel, pomegranate oil, sunflower oil, grapefruit seed oil, candelilla wax, carnauba wax, vitamin E, vitamin E acetate, mica and essential oil.

Okay, the moment of truth.  I gave the gloss a shot.  I wore American Beauty (first gloss on left) for the entire day.  First off, I love that it's not sticky at all.  It goes so smooth that it actually feels more like a hydrating treatment than a lip gloss.  I would definitely say that this gloss could give any of those chemical-laden ones a good run for their money...and win.   The color is a sheer-ish ruby.  The reason I say "sheer-ish" is because it does have pigment, but it's not a thick glob of color.  It's so pretty and hydrating, I really love it.  I would say that you'll have to re-apply this during the day, but for me, I have no problem doing that, especially since it's got such a pretty gloss to it.   It feels so nice on the lips, you're going to want to keep re-applying, anyway....trust me.

I also wore Cotton Candy, a true sheer shimmer gloss, over my lipstick at one of my recent concerts.  It kept its shine, felt fantastic and didn't have any strange effect on the lipstick underneath (big plus since sometimes gloss gets tacky or dries out lipstick).  I think this color would be  excellent for beach days and for girls who just like that simple shimmer on the lip.

So, if you're in the market for trying out a new clean gloss, I say definitely give these glosses a whirl.  I look forward to trying out some of their other colors!   $18

I'm A Lip Gloss Girl: Zuzu & UltraPure Cosmetics

I'm always on the search for a gorgeous, natural lip gloss.  If I find a company that's making a pink one, I'm on it like a cockroach on a banana peel at midnight.  Here's a few lip glosses that I find myself reaching for all of the time:

ZuZu Luxe  I really love this gloss.  I wear the color Cosmpolitan, which is a pretty pink.  This gloss is formulated with conditioning plant ingredients and it has an SPF 8.  There's no strange smell and the consistency is perfect - not sticky or gummy. It goes on smooth and comes in 12 colors.  The ingredients are listed on their site.   $18.15

UltraPure Cosmetics Omega-Brilliance Lip Gloss This lip gloss is vegan, soy-free, gluten-free and dye-free!  I have this gloss in Malibu Pink and I love it.  The consistency is excellent - smooth, great coverage, non-drying and it isn't sticky.  It comes in 10 colors and I highly recommend it. $18.95  From their website: 

Omega-Brilliance Lip Gloss:  chock full of Omega-3's! These essential fatty acids assist the skin with water retention and tissue regeneration, while increasing elasticity and diminishing fine lines!  It offers incredible glossiness and super saturated color!    A more healthful approach to beauty than petroleum-based glosses, and exponentially better than exposing oneself to dyes or lakes, which have been shown in some studies to be neurotoxic.

Organic/natural makeup is so good now, there's very few products that can't be replaced.  I say give these ones a try.  I love 'em!


*I purchased these products myself & all opinions are my own.  Take that!

RMS Beauty's Sublime Lip Shine - My Holy Grail Found!

Rose-Marie Swift, can we be best friends?

Oh.  My.  Word.  I love RMS Beauty!  

Last night as I was heading out to dinner, my husband came in from work saying, "You have a package."  With my fingers crossed, I ran over hoping it was my brand spankin' new Sublime Lip Shine...and it was!

Well, I tore that thing open so fast and ran that gorgeous pink over my hand (I already had Bloom on my lips) and let me tell you, for a girl that loves a pink lip, it is now my Holy Grail.  It's, in a word, SUBLIME! With its great pigment, cool blue undertones, amazing RMS Lip Shine consistency, it's just so pretty and perfect for Spring/Summer!

Lipsticks and lip glosses have always been my favorite makeup item and pink is always my go-to color.  But for some reason, I find that many natural/organic makeup lines put a lot of focus on browns, reds and dusty nudes/naturals.  If they do a pink, it's usually a frosty Valley of the Dolls tacky pink and I politely decline.  But this shade is perfect - modern and fun.

So, if you're looking for a gorgeous, pink with a little kick, I say get your Sublime on.  I own all of the RMS Lip Shines and wear them all the time.  Moment has a brownish tint, Bloom is an earthy pink and Sublime goes fuschia.  

Have fun and let me know if you love it!

*I purchased this product myself and all opinions are my own!