Interview with Dr. Cristine Thorpe, founder of www.Crissimone.com.

Describe what your site is about.

Cris Simone is an online beauty and health resource targeting busy women of color. We want to inspire women to enjoy the best of health, wellness and beauty in their lives each day.  We interview experts and feature women who share insight on how they are living life to the fullest.  We also keep our readers in-the-know by highlighting some effective products and services.

How is beauty and health important to you?

Beauty and health is extremely important because I believe that the two go hand in hand.  If we are not taking care of ourselves, it comes out in our appearance and in our behavior.  Beauty is just a reflection of what is going on within. If you love your life, your smile is brighter and your walk exudes confidence.  If you eat properly, your skin has a glow and your hair is radiant. If you have an active lifestyle, you body rewards you with a great figure and tons of energy.  With so many health issues disproportionately affecting women of color, I believe it is important that we become a voice of encouragement for each other to live a life of self-care and self-love.

Cris Simone beauty and health recommendation: Aromandina aromatherapy oils for their healing properties, and meditate for 5 minutes daily to center your hearts and minds.

Aromandina Aromatherapy Seven Solutions

]]> http://www.mybeautybunny.com/2010/03/women_of_color_crissimone/feed/ 8 http://www.mybeautybunny.com/2010/02/the-latest-beauty-advice-from-gwyneth-paltrows-goop/ http://www.mybeautybunny.com/2010/02/the-latest-beauty-advice-from-gwyneth-paltrows-goop/#comments Sat, 13 Feb 2010 15:29:26 +0000 mybeautybunny http://www.mybeautybunny.com/?p=4305 I’m an avid reader of GOOP, Gwyneth Paltrow’s feel-good lifestyle website/newsletter. For those of you who are unfamiliar, the newsletters consist of advice on food, travel, beauty, health, exercise, fashion, etc. Sometimes it’s Gwyneth giving the advice, but more often it’s Gwyneth’s famous friends and topic-experts who share their insights to help you improve your life.

Her latest newsletter is in Celebration of Chinese New Year, which just happens to fall on Valentine’s Day this year. Gwyneth enlists Adele Reising, an expert in Chinese medicine, to explain the significance of the Year of the Tiger and share some home remedies that are perfect for surviving the rest of the winter.

One of the shared remedies is instructions on how to make your own winter bath soak. I can’t wait to try it and I figured all our readers might too. So here it is:

“Here is a simple recipe for a winter hot soak. It will keep you warm and healthy all winter long. The sea salt bath gives our bodies much needed minerals. The sweet orange and lavender calm the nervous system and release tension. The ginger warms the muscles and relieves pain. The oil or milk acts as an emulsifying agent.”

Winter Bath

• 1 Cup bath sea salt
• 1 tbsp almond oil or 2 tbsp whole milk
• 3 drops sweet orange essential oil
• 3 drops lavender essential oil
• 1 – 2 drops ginger essential oil

Mix together. Add to a hot bath for full-body rejuvenation or use as a body scrub while relaxing in the tub.

If you’d like to read the entire newsletter, click here.

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For brilliant hair:
- To help mend split ends rub olive or coconut oil onto the ends of hair. Leave in for 30 minutes and then shampoo as usual. The oil nourishes hair and adds moisture.

- To add brightness and a shiny gloss to hair, Julia March, owner and specialist at Julia March Skincare, recommends combining 2-3 tablespoons of raw apple cider vinegar with a cup of water. Use this mixture after shampooing, and be sure to rinse to avoid a lingering vinegar aroma!

- Done with that beer? Put it aside for the shower. After shampooing, rinse wet hair with a tepid beer for added volume and shine.

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For a radiant face:
- For problem skin, March suggests letting the face absorb the vapors from a steaming pot of 3 tablespoons of raw unfiltered apple cider vinegar combined with a quart of filtered water. Raw apple cider vinegar can also be used as a tonic for oily skin when mixed with distilled water at a 1:1 ratio (not steamed).

- To combat puffy eyes, apply used black teabags to the swollen area.

- If slightly sunburned, apply cucumber slices to the face. Dry skin will draw moisture from the slices, in addition to being nourished by the many vitamins in cucumbers.

- For hydration and a radiant glow, March recommends applying a facial mask of raw honey and plain, full fat yogurt for 15- 20 minutes. The fats in the dairy and honey will moisturize and nourish the skin.

For smooth skin:
- To exfoliate the body effectively and inexpensively, create a DIY body scrub with olive oil and sea salt or sugar. Pay special attention to rough areas like elbows, knees and feet. March notes that a few drops of lavender extract add a nice and soothing scent to this homemade concoction.

- All out of bath foam and in need of a luxurious bath? Adding a quart of full cream milk to bath water will help restore and calm skin’s lipids while milk proteins help maintain skin’s elasticity.

- For hard and white nails, spoil fingers with a lemon bath. Dip nails into one half of a lemon and turn them, squeezing out the juice. Let them soak for a minute.

For white teeth:
- As a cheap alternative to whitening teeth, mix a teaspoon of baking soda and a pinch of salt with a small glass of water until mixture is paste-like. Brush teeth as usual and rinse well. It is proven that baking soda will help lighten stains, but be careful not to use too often. Once every two weeks should be enough, as baking soda can be abrasive and erode tooth enamel.

Credit: www.beautypress.com

Anyway, I’ve been trying some calorie-free sweets lately – sorry, they go on your body – not in your mouth!

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Soy Spacasso Sweet Vanilla Body Scrub

The first is the Sweet Vanilla Sea Salt Body Scrub by Soy Spacasso.  OMG – wow! This stuff smells heavenly. It smells like cheesecake to me – or birthday cake. It’s one of those fabulous sea salt scrubs that has skin-loving oils to moisturize while it removes dead skin cells. The sea salt is enveloped by avocado, soya and shea oils, which leave your skin feeling soft and smooth. It also has wheat germ, aloe vera, chamomile and sage to soothe skin.

I do want to note that this product does contain sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS). SLS is a very common ingredient that makes soaps, bubble baths, shampoos, and even toothpastes foam up.  It has also been the target of many false claims.  SLS has NOT been shown to be a carcinogen (cancer-causing agent) as some believe.  Just don’t eat massive amounts of it or stick it in your eyes!  However, SLS can be an irritant (like many natural ingredients), and may not be great for those with very sensitive skin.  The Environmental Working Group gives it a 3 (moderate hazard), which is pretty low compared to other ingredients.  I have sensitive skin, and have had no problem with SLS in soaps (or with this scrub), but I do tend to break out around my mouth when I use toothpaste with SLS, so I use Tom’s of Maine toothpaste instead.  But, don’t take my word for it;  I encourage you to do your own research!

UPDATE: I just got word from Soy Spacasso – they will soon be using an organic foaming agent – so no more SLS.  So…if you are worried about SLS, you can still enjoy this great product!

I also want to mention that I have a super sensitive nose and many products bother the heck out of me, but not this one – it’s scent lasts after the shower, but doesn’t give me a headache like some products do (sorry Bath and Body Works!).

One With Nature Shea Body Wash

The second product I’d like to tell you about is One With Nature’s Shea Body Wash.  It smells sweet and wonderful too – kind like doughnuts!  It’s nice and moisturizing but leaves no residue to speak of.  And, it’s filled with good-for-your-skin ingredients like dead sea salt, organic aloe vera juice, pro-vitamin B5, pomegranate, goji berry, myrrh, and green tea.  Plus, it’s a steal for only $8.99!

Best Bath Store - Chocolate Lip Balm

I’m also loving Best Bath Store’s Chocolate Lip Balm.  It has cocoa butter, organic cocoa powder, organic honey, vitamin E, vanilla essential oil, vegetable glycerin and grapefruit seed extract – almost good enough to eat!

Tastes like chocolate and makes your lips smooth and kissable without any irritating ingredients – what more could you ask for?

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Okay folks, I just took a relaxing bath and used several new beauty products so I can review them for you.  The things I do for you people!

I had several cruelty free, all natural products to try out from Best Bath Store. What you won’t find at Best Bath Store: petro-chemicals, sodium lauryl sulfate, formaldehyde, phthalates, parabens (preservatives), animal-tested products or other no-nos.  What you will find: simple, natural and effective ingredients that you can feel good putting on your skin or on your children’s skin.

First, I tried the extra-large lemon-lime bath bomb. I loved the fizzy bubbles and lemon-lime-y aroma (kinda made me want to drink a Sprite), but the best part was the vegetable glycerin and olive oil that coated my skin and made it feel super-soft.  It was also great for shaving my legs because the oils made my razor glide so smoothly.  My only complaint was the yellow-green residue that collected on my tub and tub accoutrements, but it comes off easily and is not a big deal.  I think next time, I’ll try the eucalyptus, dead sea or lavender/goat’s milk varieties.

Next, I tried the Dead Sea Mud Mask. This face mask contains:

Dead Sea Mud, French Green Clay, Grapefruit Seed Extract, Chamomile Hydrosol, Organic Manuka Honey, White Willow Bark Extract, Vitamin E, Bergamot Essential Oil, Potassium Sorbate

The dead sea mud and green clay are there to draw out impurities and tighten up pores.  The grapefruit seed extract and bergamot are antiseptics, used to kill bacteria.  The chamomile, honey, white willow bark, and vitamin E are there to soothe inflamed skin and moisturize.  The potassium sorbate is a preservative, but one that is deemed safe for cosmetic use – it keeps the mold and yeast out of the product and away from your face.

I would recommend this to anyone with combination or oily skin.  It was a bit much for my dry, sensitive skin, but I know several guys and gals who would love this product.

The natural Cocoa Butter Body Bar was very nice – very moisturizing (which most of us need – especially if we use hot water when bathing) and it lathered up pretty nicely for a product without SLS.  It works best when used with a washcloth or shower poof.

After my bath, I hydrated my skin with Best Bath Store’s shea butter body lotion. I would recommend this for all skin types, except for perhaps very, very dry skin.  There are no synthetic fragrances, which makes it great for sensitive skin, but the natural scent is not the most appealing.  It’s great for everyday use though, because the natural scent wears off quickly after application.  The ingredients listed are:

Purified Water, Aloe Vera, Shea Butter, Grapeseed Oil, Vegetable Glycerin, Jojoba Oil, Cetyl Alcohol, Stearic Acid, Emulsifying Wax, Chamomile Extract, Vitamin E, Potassium Sorbate

My favorite products are the lip balms! I have tried A LOT of different lip balms, and they often feel too greasy or too waxy, or they irritate the sensitive skin around my lips and actually make them swell up (okay, not the way I want to imitate Angelina Jolie!).  The Best Bath Store lip balms are so simple and so great – I may have to say they are even better than Burt’s Bees lip balm, which was previously my reigning favorite!  I tried the chocolate (mmm…tastes like Tootsie Rolls!) with organic cocoa powder, vanilla essential oil and organic honey!  And, I tried the peppermint with cocoa butter, beeswax, almond oil, peppermint essential oil and Vitamin E, which was my fave – cooling and moisturizing without being greasy or waxy.  They come in other scents/flavors too.  I have tried $10 lip balms that I’ve ended up giving to my boyfriend because I can’t stand them.  These bad boys are only $2.95!  I can’t find anything bad to say about these.  The only thing some may miss is the lack of sunscreen.  Personally, I DO NOT want sunscreens in my lip balms because they often irritate my skin and cause swelling.  But, if that’s a concern for you, I recommend wearing this at night.  Your significant other will love kissing you goodnight!