Clean Beauty: Summer Favorites

During my pregnancy, I made a huge effort to baby-proof my beauty routine by cutting out some controversial ingredients (more on that here). I wasn’t sure if I would keep up a cleaner approach to cosmetics post-pregnancy, but I actually find it just as important to use more natural products since I’m constantly snuggling up to my baby and covering him with kisses (and he’s all about putting everything in his mouth, including my hands, my knee, whatever). Thankfully, it’s getting easier and easier to find high-quality, better-for-you beauty products these days, with sites like Goop stocking clean skin-care and makeup picks and subscription services like Goodebox offering monthly samples. Here are a few new discoveries that I’ve been loving this summer.

John Masters Organics Blood Orange & Vanilla Body Milk: This luxe, lightweight lotion is full of certified organic ingredients and absorbs much faster than most organic moisturizers. It smells just like a creamsicle but without anything artificial—the sweet scent comes from the perfect combo of essential oils.

Coola Sport SPF 35 Citrus Mimosa & Coola Face SPF 30 Matte Tint: I first learned about Coola’s chemical-free sunscreens on Goop. When the authors described the face SPF as both cool and freaky, I knew I had to try it. Unlike the white veil that most mineral-based sunscreens leave behind, this universal tint disappears into your skin almost instantly (it is kind of freaky). The body sunscreen goes on without a trace, too, with the added benefit of smelling like a summer cocktail.

Tarte Amazonian Clay Waterproof Bronzer: Tarte is one of the cleaner lines carried at Sephora—you can count on them for products that are free of parabens and sulfates and never tested on animals. This talc-free bronzer gives a subtle (not sparkly) glow that’s perfect not only for summer but all year-round.

Suntegrity Natural Self Tanner: I received a sample of this tanning lotion in a recent Goodebox and immediately purchased the full-sized version. The long-lasting, non-sticky formula lets you fake a golden tan from—get this—vegetables, plus it’s packed with more good-for-you ingredients like organic oils and antioxidants. The best part? No tell-tale tanner scent! Since I’m pretty fair, I mix a dollop into my body lotion for a lighter tan.

Enjoy your last weeks of summer!

Cleaning Up My Beauty Routine—for Pregnancy and Beyond

There’s a laundry list of things that are off-limits when you’re pregnant. Many of them are pretty well-known—booze, sushi, quadruple-espressos—while others might come as a surprise. Did you know that you’re not supposed to eat deli meat when you’re pregnant? I also learned that you should be just as careful about what you put on your body as what you put in it. Up there with cocktails on the don’t list: retinoids and salicylic acid. There’s also a load of controversial cosmetic ingredients that more and more sources are saying everyone—not just moms-to-be—should avoid. These include parabens, sodium lauryl sulfates and phthalates, just to name a few, and more chemicals that have been linked to cancer and other health problems (what?).

So when I found out I was pregnant, I decided to clean up my beauty routine. The biggest challenge was learning how to decipher an ingredient list, which might as well be in Russian. Thankfully, my brother’s girlfriend studied toxicity in the (largely unregulated) industry for personal-care products and pointed me to some wonderful resources, such as the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep Database, which provides safety ratings for thousands of products. They also have an app so you can easily scan products to see how they stack up. It turned out that almost all of my go-to products, including some that claimed to be dermatologist-recommended, contained not-so-good ingredients. Some even had known carcinogens!

Finding replacements has been a long process, and it’s one that I’ve certainly not completed yet. If you decide to go down this road too, I’ll warn you that it can be overwhelming at first, but here’s a helpful tip: Focus first on swapping out the products that you use most frequently and that cover the most surface area. For example, I use body lotion almost daily—and it covers a lot more ground than eye cream—so finding a new body lotion was first on my list. To keep my sanity in check, my goal is limiting my exposure to the bad stuff instead of aiming for perfection.

After months of trying dozens of sunscreens, lotions and lip balms, here are my favorite better-for-you finds for skin care and makeup so far, which I’ve found to be just as effective as their chemical-packed counterparts.

1. Makeup remover: S.W. Basics Makeup Remover, which has only three ingredients—all plant oils ($14).

2. Cleanser: 100% Pure Organic Lavender Honey Cleanser, a gentle, foamy wash that doesn’t strip your skin ($21). 

3. Exfoliant: Tatcha Rice Enzyme Powder, a geisha-inspired exfoliant that leaves skin super smooth—it’s worth the splurge, especially if you’ve tossed your chemical exfoliants ($65).

4. Toner: 100% Pure Organic Rose Hydrosol Facial Mist, which smells like a rose garden without any artificial fragrances ($15).

5. Serum: Juice Beauty Antioxidant Serum, an incredibly lightweight wrinkle-reducer that layers easily under moisturizer or makeup ($45).

6. Eye cream: Dr. Hauschka Daily Hydrating Eye Cream, a super-hydrating cream with botanical wrinkle-minimizers ($52).

7. Spot treatment: MyChelle Dermaceuticals Clear Skin Spot Treatment, a sulphur-based formula that clears blemishes quickly without over-drying ($16).

8. Moisturizer: 100% Pure Red Wine Resveratrol Nourishing Cream, which contains as much resveratrol as 30,000 glasses of red wine, making it a safe way to load up on the anti-ager when wine is off the table ($38).

9. Face oil: Josie Maran Argan Oil, which has nothing but this natural, nourishing oil that can also be used to moisturize hair and nails ($48).

10. Face sunscreen: MyChelle Dermaceuticals Sun Shield SPF 28, a chemical-free sunscreen that blocks rays with a translucent form of zinc oxide—no telltale white sheen here ($20).

11. Body lotion: Nourish Organic Body Lotion in Almond Vanilla, a naturally sweet-scented moisturizer that has the USDA’s stamp of organic approval ($12).

12. Body sunscreen: Juice Beauty SPF 30 Sport Moisturizer, a chemical-free, water-resistant sunscreen that goes on white at first but absorbs quickly and easily ($16).

13. Tinted moisturizer: Josie Maran Argan Tinted Moisturizer with SPF 30, a multi-tasking tint with pretty coverage, natural sunscreen and moisturizing argan oil ($38).

14. Concealer: Josie Maran Argan Creamy Concealer Crayon, which makes covering up dark circles and blemishes as easy as coloring ($20).

15. Highlighter: RMS Beauty Living Luminizer, an oil-infused illuminator that gives skin a dewy, model-worthy glow (also available at J. Crew) ($38).

16. Eyeliner: Tarte Amazonian Clay Waterproof Liner, a last-all-day liner that comes in seven smooth, clay-based shades (I’m loving Moonstone Brown) ($19).

17. Lip balm: Kari Gran Lip Whip in Naked, a food-grade gloss that’s good enough to eat (because apparently we swallow pounds of this stuff a year) with two flavors, peppermint and cinnamon-pimenta berry ($15).

A few more things: I also signed up for a monthly subscription to GoodeBox—think Birchbox but with all clean products—which has been a great way to discover and sample everything from organic eye shadow to non-toxic nail polish. Animal lovers will also be happy to know that most natural lines are cruelty-free (yay!), making this process even more worth the effort. To learn more about cleaning up your beauty cabinet, I recommend reading a recent interview on Goop with the co-founder of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics.

I’ve also discovered some better-for-you body washes, hair products and even a natural deodorant that really works (promise!), but I’ll save that for another post. In the meantime, I’ll continue researching and trying out healthier beauty swaps. Do you have any clean products that you love? I’d love to hear all about them!

5 Summer Beauty Favorites

Nothing says summer to me like beach hair and a tan. But gone are the days when I’d put the top down on my Cabrio convertible, round up my best girl friends, and head to Santa Cruz with nothing but our bikinis and a bottle of Hawaiian Tropic tanning oil. That practice stopped sometime after college, when we traded lazy beach days for careers and tanning oil for anti-aging sunscreen. But even though I now spend most days landlocked at a desk and wear SPF year-round, I still want bronze skin and windblown waves come summer. Thankfully, there are plenty of products that’ll recreate that fresh-from-the-beach look, without a day of playing hooky. Here are five of my favorites.

1. Bumble & bumble Surf Spray. It’s no secret that this salt-infused spray is beloved by beauty editors, stylists and anyone who’s after beachy waves. It gives your hair the kind of windswept texture and matte finish that usually only come from a dip in the ocean.

2. Alterna Cleanse Extend Dry Shampoo. Another way to get beach-babe hair is to forgo washing it. This dry shampoo goes on sheer and smells like a vacation-ready mix of mango and coconut. If you’re like me and go through dry shampoos pretty quickly, this is a great one to rotate in for summer.

3. EltaMD UV Daily Broad-Spectrum SPF 40. I recently swapped my Skinceuticals SPF for this EltaMD formula because I wanted a daily sunscreen with a bit more moisture, and this one came recommended by my dermatologist and my friend who’s an aesthetician. Thanks to the addition of hyaluronic acid, it’s hydrating but lightweight and has a tint that borders on bronze, which is just what I need to fake a sun-kissed look.

4. St. Tropez Everyday Gradual Tan for Body. My beauty-writer friend first introduced me to St. Tropez self-tanner, and I was thrilled to learn that they make a gradual version. With my pale skin, there’s less margin for error (read: streaks) with tanners that build a glow slowly. This one dries quickly and is a step up from the drugstore varieties—and much better-smelling, too.

5. Colorescience Sunforgettable SPF 50. For those summer days when I am in the sun, I always pack this SPF powder. Because we all know that we’re supposed to reapply sunscreen throughout the day (right?), but who wants to mess up their makeup midday with another layer of sunscreen? This mineral version, complete with a handy brush, is perfect for sunscreen touch-ups.

Have a beautiful summer!

DIY: How to Make Rose Water

Spring has certainly sprung in the Bay Area, and our rose garden is in full bloom. A friend had the brilliant idea that I should make rose water, which has long been used as a facial toner, among other things (more on that later). I once adored the now-discontinued rose-water toner made by Kiehl’s, so I loved the idea of creating my own floral face freshener. Plus, Refinery29 just called rose the “unofficial skin-care ingredient of spring 2014.” The flower has been praised for its anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory, and anti-aging properties, not to mention its sweet scent.

I consulted at least ten different sites for instructions, combining tips and tricks from all of them. Here are the steps I took to make this multitasking water by distilling rose petals with steam. Don’t worry, it’s easier than it sounds.

Gather enough roses to yield about ten cups of petals. Our roses are kind of colossal, so I only needed five. Tips: Be sure to use organically grown blooms to avoid pesticides, and choose the most fragrant of the bunch. The more fragrant your roses, the more fragrant your water will be.

Pluck the petals and rinse with cool water.

Next, you’ll set up your own still. You’ll need a large pot with a lid, a heat-safe bowl that fits inside the pot, and something to elevate the bowl. A few sites suggested using a brick to elevate the bowl. Since I don’t keep spare bricks around the house, I used two glass nesting bowls, placing the smaller nesting bowl in the center of the pot and the larger bowl on top, making sure that the top bowl still fits within the pot. Place the petals in the pot around the elevated bowl setup and add just enough filtered water to cover the petals. The top of the elevated bowl should be at least a couple inches above the water-covered petals.

Then create a little science experiment on your stove. Bring the water to a bowl, reduce it to a simmer, cover the pot with the lid upside-down, and place ice on top of the lid. When steam hits the cold, inverted lid, it condenses and drips into the elevated bowl, leaving you with pure rose water. Let the bowl collect this water for two hours. As the ice melts, carefully spoon away the ice water to be discarded (be sure not to spill any into the bowl or pot) and continue to add more ice.

After two hours, remove the bowl with distilled rose water. I ended up with about one-and-a-half cups of delightfully fragrant water and poured it into a few bottles, including a spray bottle. After washing your face, apply with a cotton ball, or if you’re using a spray bottle, mist your face throughout the day. Another tip: Store in the fridge for freshness.

In addition to being an excellent facial toner, rose water can also be used to create some sweet things in the kitchen. It’s a common ingredient in many desserts (think baklava and Turkish Delight) and as I also learned, pairs extremely well with gin. That’s right—I’ve also been using my rose water to shake up some new cocktails, and this cardamon-rose concoction is amazing. For more edible ideas, the New York Times suggests putting a drop or two in a glass of lemonade or adding a splash to a bowl of freshly sliced fruit, and as soon as figs are in season, I plan to whip up this fresh fig and rose smoothie. A bottle of this water would also make a lovely gift (hello, Mother’s Day!). I think that’s more than enough reasons to stop and steam the roses—sorry, couldn’t resist.

P.S. If you’d like more info on making your own rose water, here are the sites that I found most helpful: Care2, Organic Authority, and The Local Rose.

A Celeb Hair Stylist Talks Healthy Locks, the Perfect Blow-Out & an A-List Wedding

I’ve been trusting my tresses to Dustin David, owner of the eponymous salon in Los Gatos, California, since I was eighteen (in other words, for a really long time). I’m not the only one who puts their hair in Dustin’s hands. He’s styled the shiny strands of Victoria Beckham, the Hilton sisters, and Rebecca Minkoff—he even did Rebecca’s wedding day ’do...at a villa...in Italy. I recently took a spin in Dustin’s chair to get a fresh fall cut, some styling tips, and the mane details about a much-loved designer’s big day.

We all want healthy, shiny hair. How can we get it?
How your hair looks has a lot to do with your internal health. If you eat crap, your hair will look like crap. Also, I once heard Sophia Loren say to treat your hair like it’s made of glass. You have to brush it carefully and use good elastics or else it breaks. You also have to use the right shampoo and conditioner. My personal favorites are Oribe Signature Shampoo and Oribe Signature Moisture Masque—a little goes a long way.

You’re all about the big, bouncy blow-out. How can we get the look at home?
I recommend a round boar’s hair brush, a professional-grade blow-dryer—I use the CHI Rocket—and, of course, the right products.

1. Prep damp hair with Oribe Foundation Mist, which has heat protection, UV filter, and moisture, and Oribe Royal Blowout, which makes hair dry faster.

2. Apply a strong mousse at the root, like Bumble and bumble Thickening Mousse, and a lighter mousse on the ends, like Kerastase Mousse Bouffante.

3. Pre-dry your hair without a brush until your hair is at least 70-80% dry. Focus on the roots, lifting your hair up with your fingers while you dry to create volume.

3. Starting from the crown, place the brush behind a two-inch section of hair and pull toward your face as you dry. When you get the end of each section, wrap the hair around the brush a couple of times to create bend. Be sure to direct the air down the hair shaft, which blows the cuticle flat and makes hair shinier.

4. Once dry, add a mist of finishing spray—I love Oribe Super Fine—and you’re done.

You styled Rebecca Minkoff’s hair on her big day. Can you share any details?
That day, the bridesmaids put Moroccan oil in their hair while they were at the pool. When it was time to give them blow-outs, no one had shampoo. So I gave them blow-outs with oil still in their hair. It took an extra long time, but they turned out to be the best blow-outs. Rebecca never had a hair trial. We were at a 17th-century Tuscan villa, and there weren’t any mirrors in the room where we were getting ready. When I asked her what she wanted, she said, “You’re the hair guy—do whatever you want.” I created a beautiful, side-swept bun. She loved it.

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Beauty Review: Clarisonic Aria

I might be the last one to get a Clarisonic, but I have to write about it anyway—it’s THAT good. I held off on buying one forever—it just seemed kind of gimmicky and unnecessary, like I wasn’t capable of washing my face properly on my own—but then I heard that it leaves your skin so clean that serums, lotions, and the like work better and since I sometimes splurge on pricey products, I want my money’s worth. 

So I added the Clarisonic Aria to my beauty arsenal back in October and after the first use, I swear my skin instantly felt smoother. After a week, I was radiant. Well, at least according to my mom. “You’re glowing,” were her exact words, followed by a long pause. Followed by some awkward silence. “Oooh. Sorry mom, I’m not pregnant, but I got a Clarisonic!” 

Now, about ten months later, I think my clearer, more glowy complexion still has everything to do with this handy little device (drinking one of these every morning also helps). I try to use it most nights, and if I slack off, I notice a difference, usually in the form of a breakout. Also, after finally replacing the brush after an embarrassingly long time (Clarisonic recommends every three months; I was pushing nine), my skin looked better immediately. Conclusion: This thing works! 

The only downside? My dog hates it.

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Beauty Review: SkinCeuticals Physical Fusion UV Defense SPF 50

About five years ago, I got serious about sunscreen. A few things I’ve learned: 1) Do not leave home without it or else you will get wrinkles, sun spots, or worse, cancer. 2) There are chemical sunscreens and physical ones. 3) Physical ones leave behind a greasy, ghastly white sheen and should be avoided unless it’s Halloween and you’re going as a ghost. 

Well, that’s what my experience had been so far, until I tried SkinCeuticals Physical Fusion UV Defense SPF 50. While browsing the shelves at a local spa, the woman helping me recommended that I try it. “It’s a physical sunscreen,” I said, horrified. But when she explained that physical sunblocks have come a long way and, in her opinion, offer longer-lasting UV protection, I was curious. After trying it on, I was sold. 

Neither white nor greasy, this lightweight liquid comes in a “universal tint” that adapts to your skin tone. I don’t know how this magical feat happens, but I can vouch for this SPF blending in equally well with my skin (pale) and the spa lady’s (olive). It absorbs almost instantly (no more waiting around for your sunscreen to soak in) with a silky, matte finish. While it layers well under makeup, the coverage is actually so lovely that on good skin days, I’ve been skipping my usual tinted moisturizer. 

Now it’s your turn. What sunscreen do you use? If your answer is, “Sunscreen? What sunscreen?” get yourself to the store and buy one—any one!—right now.

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How to be a Sleeping Beauty

After I wrote about the not-so-pretty side of beauty sleep—that'd be sleep lines, and yes, they are real—a friend told me she had nightmares. (I'm sorry!) Like me, a few also reported having trouble falling asleep on their backs, which is the best way to avoid these pesky lines. Clearly, Sleeping Beauty was onto something. Thankfully, my friend Rachel, a physical therapist, suggested a helpful tip for falling asleep on your back: put a pillow under your knees. I tried it immediately, and it was infinitely more comfortable. I didn't make it through the whole night that way, but it gave me hope that it's possible. I needed to know more, so I rang up Rachel to get the details. Here, she takes the questions that otherwise would have kept me up all night.

I assume you have patients who need to sleep on their backs for legit medical reasons, not my totally vain one. Still, can you tell us more about this pillow tip?
When we sleep completely flat on our backs, it puts pressure on the lumbar spine and can be painful for those with disc problems, nerve disorders, and other back problems. Having your hips elevated approximately 90 degrees greatly reduces the stress on your lower back. However, not everyone is comfortable with their legs elevated this high at night, and it can be especially challenging if you are sharing the bed with someone (talk about sheet fight!). So, I usually recommend that patients experiment with different-sized pillows, placed just under their knees and upper thighs, to find which feels most comfortable.

Do you suggest using a certain type of pillow?
Some people find using one fluffy pillow works best, while others use a firmer throw pillow. Some invest in a bolster or wedge that creates that 90 degree angle, however I find most people usually find a pillow at home works just as well.

For someone who usually tosses and turns, do you have any tips for staying supine all night?
If you’re a tosser and a turner, the pillow technique becomes a little more tricky. These are the people that toss the pillow across the room in the middle of the night because it just doesn’t work for them.

I think I did that last night. Is there anything else that might help?
Ultimately, you want to sleep through the night, so I recommend experimenting with various pillows and positions until you find what works for you! Making sure your head pillow isn’t too flat or too fluffy is important as well. If the pillow is disturbing your sleep more than helping, then your “beauty sleep” strategy pretty much goes out the window. Enjoy your zzzs, and I hope you wake up wrinkle free!

Thanks so much, Rachel! I’m gathering up all of my pillows and will start experimenting as soon as the sun goes down. So long, sleep lines, and sweet dreams to all!

(Image via Fanpop)

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Can Beauty Sleep Get Ugly?

We all know that sleep is essential for overall health, not to mention avoiding circles that say, whoops, I stayed up all night watching Revenge. But that's not all. "Sleep allows the skin to restore its natural balance and increases the effectiveness of certain skin care ingredients," says dermatologist Elizabeth Tanzi. That means the concept of beauty sleep is no myth.

But can you get too much of a good thing? Lately, I'm noticing sleep's not-so-beautiful side—literally. I’ve always slept on my left side, and now there’s a crease on that side of my face to prove it. I'll admit that I was warned by countless beauty mags about this—that's why some wrinkles are called "sleep lines," after all—but now that it’s actually happening, where can I draw (or erase, or at least stop) the line? 

You've probably heard of upgrading from cotton to silk or satin pillowcases, so that your face gracefully glides across the pillow instead of getting squished for eight (ish) hours straight. Maybe you've even tried the Save My Face pillow, a wrench-shaped support that keeps your face suspended all night. I have all of the above, but I still wake up with the same darn dent (it's always worse in the a.m.). Maybe I ditch that little wrench pillow halfway through the night, or shun the pillows—silk and all—and face plant into the mattress. How the heck would I know? I'm asleep!

“Women, who tend to sleep on their sides, are most likely to see these lines appear on their chin and cheeks,” says the American Academy of Dermatology (ADD). “Men tend to notice these lines on the forehead since they usually sleep with the face pressed face down on the pillow.” According to the ADD, the best way to avoid sleep lines altogether is to sleep on your back. 

But at least for me, that’s easier said than done. Prompted by my research for this post, I’ve been trying to sleep supinely, only to end up counting sheep or eventually resuming the fetal position. So ladies, when it comes to beauty, is it better to enjoy a deeper slumber on our sides, or get a less satisfying—but wrinkle-free—snooze on our backs? Does anyone have any tips for avoiding sleep lines, or unlike me, are you a sleeping beauty? Clearly my dog isn't very concerned about sleep lines.

(Photo via The Guardian)

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On Subject: Beauty

Should this be a beauty blog? I adore beauty, but I’ve never been sure how to properly express this without sounding terrible. Take your typical interview question: “So, what are some of your hobbies?” Me: “Well, beauty, obviously.” See, you just can’t say that! But beauty is definitely a legitimate interest. In the sixth grade, I found a book called Natural Beauty at Home at a store in Kansas and spent the next three years slathering mixtures of mayonnaise and shredded carrots on my face and cracking eggs on my head in the quest for perfect pores and shiny locks, respectively. I’d pedal my bike to the drugstore and spend hours ogling nail polish shades and flavored lip balms, then feel utterly transformed with a single swipe of watermelon Lip Smackers scored with my babysitting money.

Today, I’m still concocting strange things in the kitchen and searching store shelves (and now, the web) in the name of beauty. Chug kale to get a glow? On the regular. Dab La Mer under my eyeballs with a fancy little wand to ward off wrinkles? Twice daily. Procure a pillow that looks like a wrench because it promises to “Save My Face”? Done and done. Since beauty (as in the pursuit of, not the state of) clearly occupies a significant amount of my time and counter space, I'll also use this blog to share any pretty discoveries and maybe even revisit some old recipes. Can someone please pass the mayo?

(Pictured above: a glimpse of my bathroom counter)