As a part of the business community offering plant medicine and choosing sustainable extraction methods, there are many arenas in life for these standards. Safety, low environmental impact and renewable, organic ingredients are also primary concerns when choosing body care products.
Skin is more than a pretty package. Skin protects the body’s tissues, regulates temperature and synthesizes vitamin D. Important components of the immune system reside in the skin, including natural killer cells, lymphocytes and a large pool of T-cells. Skin is also the largest organ of elimination, an excretory system for hydration, lubrication and releasing toxins. Environmental pollutants, stress, sleep, genetics and nutrition all influence the face we show the world.
In fact, your face is an essential reflection of you. Those character lines etched in the facial landscape can be from laughing or from frowning. Furthermore, facial skin is softer, more delicate and more vulnerable to environmental stress. So why do those who are conscientious about food choices sometimes not give the same consideration to facial cosmetics?
Facial skin needs extra care and better products because of its vulnerable physical structures. In light of this you would think cosmetics would be especially gentle. However, make-up is one of the worst offenders when it comes to ingredients. Look at your make-up labels: you may find petroleum-based ingredients, mineral oil, FD&C colors, formaldehyde, talc, parabens, phthalates, quaterniums or DEA. While you don’t want harsh ingredients, even a purist might want to have fun with make-up. With just a few questions you can find cosmetics to nurture your facial skin, while providing you with the color palette for creating a face to launch a thousand ships.
In ancient Egypt both men and women adorned themselves with make-up as a part of their daily religious practice. These mineral cosmetics were worn as a sign of holiness and left in tombs for the deceased, who would need the magic of make-up for meeting the gods. While today most people believe that a spiritual life goes deeper than appearance, make-up can still be a happy pick-me-up. It can boost confidence or provide a signature look. Whatever your reasons for sprucing up your features, here are some ideas to enhance your beautiful face.
Look for mineral make-up: non-synthetic, non-nano, organic and even local, if possible. Your make-up needs to be re-evaluated every five years. You can’t wear the same dark colors as you age; instead you need to soften and lighten your cosmetics with the years.
First mist and moisturize before putting on make-up. A mist or toner hydrates your skin and decreases the amount of moisturizer needed. Facial moisturizers and body lotions contain different oils: for smaller facial pores, oils with a smaller molecular size are more effectively absorbed. In addition to a moisturizer suitable for face, neck and décolletage, choose a cream specific for the eye area, and use it for the thin skin of both eyelids and lips. Eye cream has the smallest particles of oil for enhanced absorption with those smallest of skin cells, which have no oil glands. Remember to include lips in all facial treatments, even exfoliation.
Start your make-up routine with concealer. If the shade of the concealer is too light for your skin, it will call attention to what you are attempting to conceal. Gently cover blemishes, brown spots and your under-eye area. Smoothe concealer on your eyelid to create a canvas to ornament with color.
Foundation evens out skin tone, while providing a small amount of UV protection. When choosing a foundation shade, test on your jawline, not on your hand, for a better match. Ingredients like botanicals and vitamins can provide health benefits as well as coverage for your skin.
Create a wholesome flush with a pink or apricot toned blush on the cheek, two fingers width from your nose. You can further enhance bone structure by blending a bronzer or brown-toned blush in the hollow of your cheek.
The current make-up trend emphasizes the eyes or the lips, not both. If you like the look of smoky eyes, then select a lighter lip color; with red lipstick choose more subtle eye hues. Use pale colors as a base on your lid, layering darker shades in the creases to accentuate eye shape and color. For a more natural look, apply eye shadow as an eyeliner and on your brows with a small angled make-up brush. For those wanting a more dramatic look there are pencil and liquid eyeliners in a variety of colors. Brown mascara offers a softer look. If you want more intensity, simply add more coats of mascara. Although the FDA loosely regulates cosmetics, mascara is an exception to some of the FDA's rules. You definitely want to find safe mascara, without mercury compounds that the FDA allows in eye make-up.
Whether choosing quiet or bright shades, your lips are the piece de resistance, where eating, talking, smiling and kissing happen. Softened by exfoliation, moisturizer or lip balm, your lips are ready for the final touches of your cosmetic routine. Start with a neutral lip liner. Outline your lips, then fill in the whole lip area with edge of the lip pencil, not the tip. This becomes the long-lasting base for your lip color. Next apply lipstick. Gloss adds the final shine. Blot your lips together so as not to smear off the gloss.
Perhaps you prefer a very basic approach to make-up. No matter your time restraints or lifestyle, you can quickly make use of a pressed powder compact; a color pot for a tint on your lips, cheeks and eyes; and mascara.
You can keep it simple or play extensively with color. Then voila! That lovely reflection you see in the mirror is ready to face the world or the gods.
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Marilyn Walls has a Masters In Nutrition from Bastyr University, where she taught for three years. After working in many fields of the natural health world, she is currently a Nutrition Educator for PCC Natural Markets.
To contact her: marilynewalls@hotmail.com
August 7, 2016
