Paraben Free Skin Care

As I do my online browsing every day, I've been coming across news about Parabens, a very popular cosmetic preservative. It's not good news I can tell you. And, I have alot of products with parabens in them. There's other chemicals too that can be found in almost everything we use.

Here's a paragraph taken directly from the FAQs at The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics:

"Parabens are a group of compounds widely used as anti-microbial preservatives in food, pharmaceutical and cosmetics products, including underarm deodorants. Parabens are absorbed through intact skin and from the gastrointestinal tract and blood. U.K. researchers found measurable concentrations of six different parabens in 20 human breast tumors. The study highlights the need for more research on the potential link between products containing parabens and increased breast cancer risk.
Many companies, including Compact signers, have begun phasing out parabens from their lines by marking their products as “paraben-free.” Parabens are commonly listed on product ingredient labels as methylparaben, propylparaben, ethylparaben and butylparaben."

I even looked at my toddler's baby lotion (from Huggies) and yes there are parabens in the baby lotion. That just made me feel ill.
I know that for years I've been using all kinds of stuff with these chemicals in them. Sometimes it's unavoidable and I'm just going to have to accept that they are in there. Sounds bad I know, but there's not much else I can do. There are some products I can buy that are paraben free but others that aren't.

And, of course, you're thinking...doesn't the government do something about this? What about the FDA? The FDA, I found out, does not regulate the cosmetics industry. Beside, this is the same FDA who knew about the contaminated spinach farms and the contaminated Peter Pan Peanutbutter plant for YEARS before people got sick and died.

But, I digress. I have found many many wonderful products, made by Indie etailers that are Paraben free!!! I'm going to focus on two online stores that are fast becoming two of my favorite places to shop....
Flour City Bakery at www.flourcitybakery.com
Aloha Coconut at www.alohacoconut.com

Here's what Karley at Flour City Bakery says about Parabens and her commitment to her customers:
"I have made a commitment to sell products that are free of sulfates, parabens, any unnatural preservatives, and any other potentially harmful chemical agents....Flour City Bakery has agreed to sign the Compact for Safe Cosmetics. I am awaiting the approval process, which should be complete by the end of the month. No major companies including the major US lines will sign this, because it could result in a loss of sales dollars.As you know, Flour City Bakery is actively involved in donating to charitable causes funding cancer research. To maintain my personal integrity as well as my business mission, I refuse to sell products that contain any of these ingredients found on the Safe Cosmetics website. " (FYI: you can click on this Post's title and it will take you to the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics website.)

Karley makes everything herself and her products range from soaps, lotions, baby bath products, facial care and wax tarts.

Aloha Coconut is really becoming one of my favorite online stores. I love Jennifer's Monoi de Tahiti oil (see my archived post on that "miracle product") and have been using her lotions and her new 3-in-one body wash. And, the scents are really really good!!

Here's what Jennifer says about her paraben free site:
"Philosophy: High Quality Ingredients - Exceptional Customer Service.

The Concept: Natural Paraben Free products with a fun tropical flair!

The Story:
"After turning over countless bottles of my store bought lotions and shampoos - I started wondering what exactly was I putting on my skin?
I started researching all the ingredients at www.ewg.org in the
"Skin Deep" section. I also read dozens of articles mentioning the estrogenic effects of Parabens on the body and a possible link between Parabens and Breast Cancer. I decided to create a fun tropical "Paraben Free" Haven where you know everything you buy has been thoroughly researched and tested. I truly care about my customers. I would never sell anything that I wouldn't feel comfortable using for myself, my friends or family. I want you to feel beautiful inside and out!"

So there you go, two wonderful online stores that are Indie Etailers and committed to making chemical free products. I have personally used products from both of these women and have developed some loyalties such as the Monoi de Tahiti from Aloha Coconut and Flour City Bakery's eye care products.

If you know of any online store that is "paraben free" let me know so I can take a look and add them to the blog. If I find any more sites I will definitely let you know.

Welcome Scents of Yourself!

I want to welcome my newest advertiser: Scents of Yourself!

Scents of Yourself is a woman owned business run by April Cline. Here's what you need to know about Scents of Yourself right from April's site:
"My mission is to empower women through the use of Positive Affirmations used on the products that I sell. All fragrances are light, clean, fresh. I don't like heavy fragrances - so I'm certainly not going to sell any. All sales are final, however, if you are unhappy with your purchase, please contact me and let's see if we can work something out so that you are happy. "

She has all kinds of wonderful products from Bath and Body and Fragrance to wonderfully Inspirational gifts. So please visit April and Scents of Yourself by either clicking on the Title of this post or by clicking on the banner in my Shop Shop Shop section.

From A to "Z", New Jewelry Designs from Z Creations

As I continue this journey of online shopping, I am continuously amazed at these jewelry "artists". I'm not going to call them "designers" because in my view they are designers they are artists!

I used to find myself going ohh and ahh over the stuff at Kay Jewelry or even at JC Penneys. Now I'm bored when I look at the weekly ads and the jewelry the big stores sell. There's just no pizzazz. It all looks dull and boring to me after I've been perusing all these handcrafted jewelry sites.

The latest jewelry site I found is Z Creations. The site is really new so I'm assuming there's going to be alot more designs and pieces soon (there's alot of images coming soon, so that's why I say that). As soon as the page loaded up, I found my favorite piece...

...this beautiful necklace made of lampwork beads and Swarovski Crystals. Yes, all that is Swarovski crystals in this wonderful topaz color accented with the turquoise crystals and the lampwork beads. The rest is made with Sterling Silver. This piece sells on the site for $165. I know it seems high, but it's all Swarovski crystals. The design is so simple yet oozes with elegance.

And, thankfully, she has matching earrings to go with this work of art. The earrings sell for $40 and you can get them as you see them here or with clips for those without pierced ears. Nice to have the option (I have pierced myself but it's good to have options!). Here you get a better view of those fabulous Lampwork beads. They all go so well

together.

One of the other pieces I fell in love with (if only my husband would read my blog, sigh) is this piece made with Freshwater Pearls and Swarovski crystals. The pearls have a tinge of purple to them and for some reason it provides a stunning contrast to the blue and copper colored crystals. This piece sells for $155.

Valerie, the artist behind Z Creations, was also featured in a magazine article in Direct Magazine. Here's a link to it so you can learn a little bit more about the artist behind these beautiful pieces.
http://directmag.com/directtips/marketing_jewelry_online/

Once again, there are so many wonderful and talented artists out there, all you have to do is look. You'll find jewelry designs you will never find at the mall. Get yourself some art to wear!