Scents of the Season

We have a brand new scent for the fall/winter season. Our newest scent is Flannel Pajamas. (Thank you Andrea for the name.)

This scent is a warm, cozy scent. It reminds me of curling up in a chair in front of the fire in my PJ's.

You can get Flannel Pajamas in lotion or room spray.

Our room sprays are great for freshening up your home, car or linen. Also try our other new room spray - Crisp Linen. This spray is a sanitizing fresh spray using the disinfecting properties of rosemary, tea tree and lemon.

Fall Celebration

Welcome to fall. This is my favorite time of the year! I absolutely love the holiday season which for me is from Halloween to Christmas.

This month we have a bunch of new things on the way. First let's start with our Passion and Purpose Customer of the Month.

This month Colleen is our featured customer. Colleen has selected the Komen Foundation to receive 10% of the profits from November's sales.

Colleen has also dedicated a product to her mom. Our newest dedication is Choices Conditioner. Here is the dedication:

"In life we always have choices. We can choose to focus on the good things that make us smile or the not-so-good things that make us feel bad. Choices Conditioner is dedicated to a wonderful mother/daughter team who did not always have the best relationship. In the end, they found a way to focus on the happy times that they had together and let the other parts of their lives fade into the background. Choices are not always easy but it is the hard ones that bring us the most peace."

Choices Conditioner is available in Lemongrass or Unscented.

Natural Skin Care

Have you made the switch yet? You know, the wardrobe switch? Time to put away the light colors and fabric of summer and switch to the sturdy earthy fabrics of fall.

When you switch your clothes, it is also time to review your skin care products. Toss old out of date products, open a fresh mascara and eye liner, and change your facial products.

If you were using an astringent for summer, its time to change back to a toner which is less drying to your skin. It's also time to review your cleanser.

This month we are featuring our milk cleanser. This cleanser is a cream cleanser that is extremely gentle on your skin. It cleans your face without harsh ingredients and allows your face to retain its natural moisture.

To get the most from this cleanser, wet your face with warm water and then apply the cleanser to your moist skin. Wipe the cleanser away gently with a warm wash cloth.

This cleanser is so light that it will not leave a soap residue behind. Soap can dry your skin out and make it feel tight. The milk cleanser will leave your skin feeling supple and silky.

As this is a gentle cleanser, it is great for sensitive skin. It will not however remove heavy layers of make up. If you wear a heavy foundation in the winter, try our Green Tea Cleanser for best results.

SPECIAL - Our Milk Cleanser is an unscented product. For this month only, if you would like it scented in our limited edition fall scent, Lemongrass & Thyme, you can order it online. Unscented is still available.

New Scent for Fall

Happy Fall!

This month we have a brand new limited edition scent for you. We have created Lemongrass & Thyme. This scent is uplifting and a clean. For some reason it stirs up childhood memories and makes me feel nostalgic whenever I use it.

Fall is a great time for nostalgia as you plan for a new holiday season which means spending time with friends and family that you might not see all that often.

Lemongrass & Thyme is available in Linda May Shampoo, Conditioner, Body Wash, and our featured product of the month - Milk Cleanser.

New Web Site

Hello everyone. I hope you have had a great summer. I have been busy building a new web site and updating the B-cause product line. The new site is easier to navigate and looks fresher than the old site.

In addition the credit card security features are enhanced. The new site is PCI Compliant. Which means your information has the highest level of protection out there right now. You can still use PayPal as your preferred form of payment if you would like which is PCI compliant as well.

If you have any feedback on the new site, please feel free to share it. I am always open to your comments.

July Special

Can you believe July is here? It is time for a new special and time for a new charity. This month our Passion & Purpose customer, Suzanne O'Connor has selected a terrific charity to receive 10% of July's sales.

The Food Pantry at the Church of Saint Vincent de Paul serves over 2600 families in the Albany area annually. That figure includes children, senior citizens and adults. During these difficult economic times, those who live on the margins of society are the people who suffer most. More of the working poor are coming to the Food Pantry for assistance than ever before with an increase of 15% over the last year. Thank you for helping the hungry in our community.

July features our Shades of Summer Sale. All of our foundation powders are on sale. Be creative with these powders. Not only do you want a shade that matches your skin tone, you can use a second powder that is darker than your skin tone to highlight your face. A deeper tone can be used to contour your face or give it a bronze highlight. I often use a "bronzer" to make me appear tan.

Visit us at www.BeautyWithACause.com. Happy summer.

Five Things To Do This Summer

No this is not a list of vacation spots. Well, maybe it is, but not in the traditional sense. This list is five things to do to take a mental "vacation" so that come fall you are recharged and ready to set off at a frenetic pace again.

Summer is a time to do things a little differently. Do you remember as a child when school break came, your entire routine changed? Summer seemed so long back then.

Now, we never seem to take more than a one week break if that. Our schedule remains the same except maybe the scenery.

So here is a list of five things to do for July and August to give yourself a change in routine. Your life can have a different rhythm and feel refreshed by making minor changes.

1. Change your route to work. I have two ways to get to the office that are almost equal in drive time but I tend to stick to just one of them. It is a habit I don't have to think about - my car just goes that way. Going a different way makes you alert to new scenery and new traffic situations.

Maybe you don't have a great second route but try to find something to mix up your drive time. Remember it is only for two months that you will try an alternate path. There may be a way that you avoid so that you don't get stuck behind a school bus, now is a great time to use that route.

2. Next change your daily routine. Pay attention to your morning "get up and go" routine and see where you can change it for the summer. Maybe you can switch your coffee, take a shower in a different bathroom, let your hair airdry instead of styling it. Whatever - look for something that will make your morning "feel" different. When you go back to your old routine it will feel fresh. You need this break.

3. Take advantage of the extra day light. Get up a little early and go for a walk or take a walk in the evening when you would normally be settling everyone down for the night. This is not a long term commitment - getting up a little early won't be that painful. You will benefit from the fresh air and exercise.

You dont' have to do homework with the kids so dinner can be a little later if need be. Take this little bit of me time!

4. Let it go - let housework lapse for the summer. You don't need a pristine house for two months. Chances are you are spending more time outside anyway and a little mess never hurt anyone. Relax and enjoy being sloppy for a little while.

If you are like me, it will drive you crazy by the end of the summer but for the short run it feels a little rebellious. I know, I'm really living on the edge here! HA HA.

5. Learn a new trick. Find something new to learn over the summer - speed reading, a new language, perhaps a new sport. I refuse to be an old dog! Learning keeps me young. If you remember that you don't know it all then there is still a world of wonder waiting for you.

Watch how a child finds wonder is the simplest things. Find that again for yourself and explore something new that never occurred to you before or something that you never took the time to learn in the past.

I hope you have fun and mix it up for yourself this summer. Come September 1, you can go back to your old routines, they will still be waiting for you but now they will feel new. Perhaps you've made some changes that will stay with you.

Look at it as a two month vacation for your mind and the best part is, you don't have to deplete your vacation day bank to do it.