Here’s an inconvenient truth about my makeup bag—not one thing in it is organic. It’s a stark contrast to the way I’ve been living the rest of my life since the birth of my daughter in 2006. As a mother, I obsess over what I put on and into my child. Everything about her is organic. So when I calculate that I use an estimated 32 beauty products a day—and have been seriously using them for about 25 years—I decide that it would be a good idea to reduce my body’s cosmetic-related chemical load. After all, my daughter’s existence makes me want to live for as long as possible, and I like the idea of preserving the world for her.
After years of gleefully using makeup, I’ve done my due diligence. I know what works for my dry skin and fine hair. I’m deft at tweaking the routine to try something new. Acne, aging, cellulite and eczema—I’ve got the cure. For the next four weeks, however, I’m going green—beautifully. This month, my arsenal is not familiar. It smells funky too.
Week oneThe shower.
My new Consonant soap is made with organic essential oils, so I worry if it can be used, you know, down there. Unsure, I avoid the whole area. But I dig the little loofah ottoman that comes with the bar and is its off-duty home. Despite assurances it contains 99 per cent natural ingredients, I’m skeptical about the Organic Surge Fresh Grapefruit hair conditioner’s natural-ness, as it has the strong aroma of a plastic toy action figure. The label on my Perfect Organics Orange Ginger Ultimate Body Scrub tells me it’s made with oat bran, cornmeal and almond meal, and sure enough it looks like a handful of half-chewed granola. It collects in a grainy puddle in our shower, and my husband asks if the cat has vomited.
Week twoSkin care.
The combination of smells from the products adds up to the aroma of a salad. Stem Intensive Eye Serum: cucumber. Skin by Monica The Cure Wrinkle Reducer: avocado. One morning, I bail on the whole lot and retreat to my trusted regime. To offset my actions, I take a yoga class and have tofu for dinner at a vegan restaurant. However, it’s so cold out that we drive the three blocks there. I’m confused about how it all shakes down in terms of the day’s carbon footprint. Maybe we should have stayed home and eaten my new skin care?
Week threeColour cosmetics.
Finding the right shades reminds me of the time my college sorority sisters made me stand in front of them naked, to assess my cellulite. OK, that never really happened, but that’s how vulnerable I feel sporting watery foundations that are no match for my on-the-wrong-side-of-35-year-old skin. The concealers cower in the wake of my dark undereye circles. But I eventually find ones that work for me, and I’ve become attached to my Living Nature Blush and Nvey Eco Natural Makeup.
Week fourDespite the fact that I’m convinced the green gel in the wall dispenser of my gym’s shower is filled with wiper fluid, I cave and use it—I’m tired of siphoning off drips of my new products to shuttle with me to the gym. But my experiment is nearly over. Contradicting all of my irrational concerns, swapping out my tried and true products has not left me with flat hair, acne flare-ups or a sudden accumulation of age spots. I’m even electing to take the advice of Dr. Woodson Merrell’s The Source—a handbook on living chemical-free. His suggestion: “Carefully evaluate your sources of greatest exposure; products that you use over a large surface of your body.” So the chunky stick of Revolution Organics All-Over Body Balm is now a staple, but I don’t feel healthier having spent the month green. However, like all things good for you, the benefits become clear in the long run. So I’m going to stick with my favourite green goodies and help save the world, one kohl eyeliner at a time.
{SEE LAURA’S MUST-HAVE GREEN PRODUCTS}
First published in FASHION Magazine April 2009
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