Monday, June 29, 2009
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.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
What's your toxic beauty score?
Do you know how many potential toxins you are exposed to before 9 AM?
Many major skin care and beauty products contain potentially harmful ingredients. On average a woman uses between 10 and 20 products before 9 AM.
Perhaps you are saying to yourself, “Well, I don’t wear make-up so this doesn’t apply to me.”
Think again. Toxic ingredients are hiding in your toothpaste, soap, lotion and deodorant in addition to beauty products.
So take the test – check all the items you used as you got ready this morning:
Toothpaste
Mouthwash
Shampoo
Conditioner
Body Wash/Soap
Shaving Cream
Lotion
Powder
Deodorant
Hair spray/gel
Facial Cleanser
Facial Moisturizer
Foundation
Blush
Eye Shadow
Eye Liner
Mascara
Lip stick
Perfume
Nail Polish
So how did you score?
What is the danger posed by all these products? Well, alone and used occasionally, not much, but used in conjunction with one another and over a lifetime the threat to your health is quite real.
Each of these products may contain a different mix of ingredients that have been related to birth defects, breast and other cancers, allergic reactions, asthma and other breathing disorders, hormonal dysfunction, skin sensitivities, tooth decay just to name a few.
As a consumer, you need to be informed about what is in your products and demand safer products that do not contain suspected and known harmful ingredients. Some of the ingredients you want to avoid are parabens (methyl-, ethyl-, butyl-), phthalates (often hidden in fragrance and nail polish), sodium lauryl sulfate and sodium laureth sulfate, talc, PEG, TEA and fluoride.
There are many companies dedicated to making better products that do not contain toxic ingredients. A great resource to find these products is the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics (www.safecosmetics.org). To find out more about ingredients to be on the look out for visit the Eco Friendly Digest (www.eco-friendly-digest.com).
You are your own best advocate and you deserve quality skin care products but you need to create a demand for them. Support small businesses making non-toxic products!
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Progress
Tonight - a breakthrough!! It only took two years but my husband finally stopped midway to the garbage can, turned and went into the garage to put the plastic bottle in the recycle bin.
Usually, I wind up finding a bottle in the trash and have to pick it out and recycle it on my own. (Not one of my favorite tasks.)
I am encouraged by this progress but, boy, I never expected it to come so slowly.
Oh, well - I'll take it!
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