Coco Eco Magazine

Unless you’re one of the lucky ones (with skin that barely needs a sweep of tinted moisturizer before you head out the door, and requires no more maintenance than a swoosh of a wipe at night followed by some simple skin oil), you’ll know it’s a constant struggle to keep your skin buffed, radiant and polished to perfection. The cold winter months take their toll on even the most resilient skin types with the quest for gorgeous & glowing skin or matte alabaster perfection reaching obsessive proportions for most of us. There are multitudes of ways in which you can nurture your skin during this time and some of the key tools in your arsenal besides moisture, should be exfoliant (and we’re not talking the brillo pad kind but those with fruit acids to gently dissolve dead skin cells), some kind of Vitamin C serum to boost collagen, even skin tone and refine skin texture, and regular facials to name a few. Whatever your skin emergencies, inside these pages we’ll give you the scoop, the skinny, and the tricks to S.O.S (Save Our Skin)!

ALABASTER…

Content Description: With Twilight taking the world by storm and vampire movies popping up everywhere from the Cineplex to the 42” flat screen in your home, it’s suddenly au courant to embrace your pale, translucent beauty. Unfortunately if you weren’t born this way, no amount of skin whiteners will help your case toward alabaster perfection, but if you were, taking care of that perfection is key to maintaining a milky countenance…

Alima Satin Matte Foundation – Cool 1: $20
Silky, weightless and reflects light to give a flawless, matte looking finish. Nothing but 100% pure, BDIH certified mineral pigments.
www.futurenatural.com

Jane Iredale Active Light Under-Eye Concealer: $25
Unique ingredients create a soft-focus effect that conceals while it brightens. Vitamin K helps lighten dark areas, while white tea and cucumber extracts soothe tired eyes.
www.janeiredaledirect.com

Dr Hauschka Translucent Makeup – #00: $36.95
A gentle liquid foundation that enhances the skins natural glow, while plant extracts, oils & waxes moisturize & protect.
www.drhauschka.com

Oliv Radiance Elixir – Regenerative Complex: $49.50
Super-concentrated, bioactive, anti-aging and regenerative complex. Smoothes lines, stimulates cell activity and protects skin from the damaging effects of free-radicals.
www.futurenatural.com

Josie Maran Argan Oil Moisture Stick: $22
A head-to-toe spot treatment for dry areas in need of moisture, this soothing balm conditions and repairs skin as it hydrates. Perfect for smooth, soft skin including lips.
www.josiemarancosmetics.com

Euoko W Whitening Series: $110
Advanced whitening collection promises to deliver a flawless, translucent, white, even skin tone using peptides, hyaluronic acid and marine extracts.
www.euoko.com

RADIANT…

Content Description: Radiant, glowing, and luminous can all come from within, but even assuming each of us is blessed with spectacular inner beauty, that doesn’t mean our outer beauty is following suit. Those three superlatives are some of the most coveted and desirable skin traits we’d all love to have. Here are some illuminating products to help that quest…

RMS Beauty Living Luminizer: $38
Ultra sheer satin pearl hue to give gorgeous radiance to skin, lips, eyes and works beautifully on all skin types/tones.
www.rmsbeauty.com

Organic Glam Liquid Shimmer Highlighter: $37.10
A range of three colors ensures a fresh, dewy radiance no matter what your color preference. Great on shoulders, cheek bones, inside corners of eyes – anywhere you want some shimmer.
www.theorganicpharmacy.com

Vapour Organic Beauty Stratus Skin Perfector: $44
Brightens the complexion, evens skin tone and diminishes the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles using light reflecting particles. Great under foundation.
www.vapourbeauty.com

Korres Face Primer: $28
Creates a dewy, fresh look to skin & provides the perfect canvas for makeup.
www.sephora.com

Sukiface Tinted Moisturizer – Natural:
A luxurious, light, and hydrating makeup that’s loaded with botanicals for a sheer, dewy, flawless finish that lasts all day.
www.futurenatural.com

Aterglow Organic Triple Eye Treatment Concealer: $29
Creamy, organic concealer that brightens & freshens the eye area, while offering perfect coverage and a luminous glow.
www.afterglowcosmetics.com

FLAWLESS…

Content Description: No amount of concealer, foundation, or cover-up is going to give you a gorgeous visage if you don’t have the great skin underneath to set the scene. Thinking of your skin as a canvas is critical as a starting point to applying makeup that looks beautiful… but the key is to look as natural as possible, not like you had a wrestling match with the spackle. Use foundation that’s the right color, texture and consistency for your skin type and you’re off to a great start; add a splash of color on the lips & voila! You’ve arrived at a flawless finish…

Organic Glam Creamy Lipstick – Red: $33
Use alone or under lipgloss for an ultra glam look that’s infused with Shea Butter, Castor Oil, Green Tea, Grape, Lemon & Orange to protect and nourish.
www.theorganicpharmacy.com

Nvey Eco Organic Liquid Foundation – #510: $45
Chamomile, Cucumber, and organic Calendula combine to create a soothing, moisturizing, and calming liquid foundation that gives natural radiance.
www.futurenatural.com

Josie Maran Mascara – Black: $22
Organic ingredients like Jojoba oil, Argan oil and Beeswax, condition and strengthen while the formula lengthens and defines.
www.josiemarancosmetics.com

Mod.Skin Labs Face Sculpt Serum:
DMAE, marine algae and hyularonic acid combine to create a firming effect in under 20mins. Great underneath makeup as a primer for a smooth, flawless finish.
www.modskinlabs.com

Vapour Organic Beauty Illusionist – Light: $20
Quickly and effectively perfects the skin’s trouble spots. Illusionist covers dark circles and blemishes effortlessly and blends beautifully without clogging pores.
www.vapourbeauty.com

100% Pure Blush Pot Rouge – Blush: $15
Blendable & silky formulation that gives a healthy glow wherever you want color. All the taste, smell & color comes from fruit pigments
www.100percentpure.com

One glance at most conventional fragrance labels will reveal a plethora of chemicals best reserved for your car engine – not your body! According to the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, the fragrance industry uses up to 3,000 ingredients, predominantly synthetic, some 900 of which are identified as toxic. Perfume manufacturers are not required by law to reveal every single ingredient in their scents, more often that not effectively disguising their chemical cocktails by declaring ‘fragrance’ as one of the ingredients. What most consumers don’t know is that the innocuous description can cover a nasty mix of everything from phthalates (known endocrine disruptors causing gender mutations in lab tests), to BHT (carcinogenic preservative used in embalming fluid), to petrochemicals that have been linked to all kinds of allergies such as headaches, lung irritation, skin abnormalities and more. Think about the fact that not only are you spraying this directly onto your skin (which we all know is one big sponge), but also very fine molecules of scent are dispersed into the air that you’re then breathing in directly. Double whammy!

Gone are the days when your only options were individual vials of essential oils, that not only did you have to become an alchemist to mix, but came with their own warnings about skin sensitivity if you use too much of one thing or another. Today, labs, boutique perfumeries and bespoke fragrance houses are compiling sophisticated and artfully conceived concoctions that rival the best conventional scents out there. You have world-renowned alchemists such as Mandy Aftel creating natural scents for products such as CleanWell anti-bacterial hand soaps, as well as unique mixes for her boutique, Aftelier. A fine French fragrance house has spent years developing their newly launched Acorelle Eau de Parfum, a fresh, utterly gorgeous line of certified organic scents; and the genius behind the famous L’Artisan collection, Olivia Giacobetti, was the nose for another recently launched French line called Honore des Pres; even Horst Rechelbacher, the founder of Aveda, has created a line of fragrances he calls “Aromatics”, with names such as Awake, Seduction and Focus. Not only are the ingredient decks pure, complex and beautifully unique, the packaging is no less gorgeous. Take for example the art deco etched glass bottles that Jo Wood uses in her namesake line, or the pretty cream perfume pots from Pacifica.

What’s different about all of these collections is that the ingredients are extracted using a mix of modern & ancient techniques such as steam-distillation, cold-pressing, wild-harvesting and organic farming methods, to preserve maximum potency and the very molecular structure of the plant or flower essence. What you get as a result is the ‘real’ smell of the source, not a synthesized version. The lack of chemicals in this new breed of perfumes means that you can breath deeply, inhale to your hearts content and you’ll never suffer from that ‘stale’ fragrance smell again. Each time you spritz you’re enveloped in a fresh cloud of aromatherapy that makes you smell gorgeous, and feel good at the same time.

Organic & natural fragrances need to be replenished every couple of hours as opposed to the 6-8 hrs that you’re used to your conventional fragrance lasting because it doesn’t contain the chemical binders that adhere to the skin, but not only is that a small price to pay for protecting your health, I love that I can spray them on over and over again during the course of a day and each time I do, I’m transported to olfactory bliss. An added bonus… the oils in organic and natural scent merge beautifully with your own body chemistry to create a smell that becomes uniquely yours. Convinced yet?

Tsi-La Organic Eau de Parfum – Misaki: $125
Seductive and inviting. French lavender, warm tea, Sicilian bergamot, crushed mint, green tree moss, Tahitian vanilla orchid, and delicate neroli nectar infuse with flower extracts to create a gentle organic fragrance saturated in tranquility.
www.tsilaorganics.com

Acorelle Eau de Parfum – Bambou Lotus: $68
The stunningly beautiful Lotus flower is highly symbolic & this pure and light fragrance radiates with a scent as rare as the nature that inspired it. Combined with the coolness of bamboo, its unique & exhilarating force blossoms in notes of special luminosity and clarity. Fresh and invigorating – perfect for summer!
www.futurenatural.com

Honore Des Pres Eau de Toilette – Sexy Angelic: $145
Take the French sweet that’s a paste of sugar, candied melon and powdered almond laid between two wafers of unleavened bread and iced with an egg and sugar glaze, and lace it with the complex, herbaceous, green, musky, peppery aroma of angelica seed. Feminine & sweet, but with a dark side…
www.luckyscent.com

Pacifica Solid Perfume – Malibu Lemon Blossom: $9
An olfactory ode to the sun, surf and flora of Southern California beaches – dreamy surf and lemon blossoms scenting the salty ocean air with their sweet perfume and long warm summer days at the beach.
www.pacificaperfume.com

Jo Wood Organic Body Dew – Amka: $85
With a romantic heart of Iranian rose otto, Egyptian jasmine and bright fresh top notes of neroli and bergamot, Amka is a fragrance of energy and spontaneity. Green Mandarin and sweet orange add a fresh, vibrant layer, and the whole combination is grounded in a soft, spicy base of cedarwood.
www.futurenatural.com

Lavanila All-natural Fragrance – Vanilla Grapefruit: $56
An invigorating blend of sparkling grapefruit, creamy sandalwood, lime and Madagascar vanilla, this scent will uplift the spirits. Infused with vitamin-rich goji berry & Kakadu Plum for potent antioxidant power that pampers the body & soul.
www.lavanila.com

According to the American Academy of Dermatology, more than 1million new cases of skin cancer will be diagnosed in the US, this year alone. Sun protection is the principal means of preventing premature aging and skin cancer. It’s never too late to protect yourself and minimize your future risks.

Sunlight consists of two types of harmful rays — ultraviolet A (UVA) rays and ultraviolet B (UVB) rays. UVA rays (which pass through window glass) penetrate deeper into the dermis, the thickest layer of the skin. UVA rays can cause suppression of the immune system, which interferes with the body’s ability to protect you against the development and spread of skin cancer. UVA exposure also is known to lead to signs of premature aging of the skin such as wrinkling and age spots due to free radical proliferation, which leads to the breakdown of skin structure. The UVB rays are the sun’s burning rays (which are blocked by window glass) and are the primary cause of sunburn. A good way to remember it is that UVA rays are the aging rays, and UVB rays are the burning rays. Excessive exposure to both forms of UV rays can lead to the development of skin cancer & serious signs of aging.

Lest you think it’s ok to skip the sun and head for the tanning bed instead, the United States Department of Health & Human Services has declared ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun and artificial sources, such as tanning beds and sun lamps, as known carcinogens (cancer-causing devices or substances).

SPF stands for Sun Protection Factor. Sunscreens are rated or classified by the strength of their SPF. The SPF numbers on the packaging can range from as low as 2 to greater than 50. These numbers refer to the product’s ability to deflect the sun’s burning rays. The sunscreen SPF rating is calculated by comparing the amount of time needed to produce sunburn on sunscreen protected skin, to the amount of time needed to cause sunburn on unprotected skin. UVB protection does not actually increase proportionately with a designated SPF number.

For example, an SPF of 30 screens 97 percent of UVB rays, while an SPF of 15 screens 93 percent of UVB rays and an SPF of 2 screens 50 percent of UVB rays. However, inadequate application of sunscreen may result in a lower SPF than the product contains. While using a higher SPF provides greater UVB protection than a lower SPF, it does not mean that you should stay out in the sun longer. An example of how long it will work for: if a sunscreen is rated SPF 2 and a person who would normally turn red after ten minutes of exposure in the sun uses it, it would take twenty minutes of exposure for the skin to turn red. A sunscreen with an SPF of 15 would allow that person to multiply that initial burning time by 15, which means it would take 15 times longer to burn, or 150 minutes. Even with this protection, sunscreen photo degrades (breaks down) and rubs off with normal wear, so it needs to be reapplied at least every two hours.

Whatever sunscreen SPF is chosen, wearing sunscreen should not provide a false sense of security about protection from UVB exposure as no sunscreen can provide 100 percent UVB protection. Studies show that unlike other common sunscreen chemicals, little to no zinc and titanium absorb through the skin, and they provide stable UVA & UVB protection relative to the other ingredients. Most sunscreens absorb and disperse the radiation through chemical interaction with other ingredients; zinc oxide & titanium dioxide simply reflect the suns rays with no absorption. For these reasons many zinc and titanium-based sunscreens appear at the top of the recommended product lists on Skin Deep, the Cosmetic Safety Database often used as a guide for what’s considered safe, and not.

In a nutshell, the bad news is, there is no safe way to tan. A tan is the skin’s response to injury caused by UV exposure. Tanning occurs when ultraviolet rays penetrate the epidermis, the skin’s outer layer causing the production of melanin as a response to the injury. Chronic exposure to ultraviolet light, both natural and artificial, results in a change in the skin’s texture, causing wrinkling and age spots. Thus, tanning to improve appearance is ultimately self-defeating because every time you tan, you damage your skin, and this damage accumulates over time. The accumulated damage, in addition to accelerating the aging process, also increases your risk for all types of skin cancer.

However, the good news is, you no longer need to subject yourself to hours in the sunshine to get that healthy, bronzed goddess look you love so much. Instead, check out some of our fabulous fake tan recommendations & buy yourself a tan from a bottle! Fake tans these days represent a vast improvement in color, application and formulation from even five years ago. Also, there are an increasing number of brilliant and effective natural/organic sunscreens now available. For recommendations see our ‘Super Sunscreens’ in this issues Beauty Section.

Really, you have no excuses – get the glow, but get it safely.

TIPS TO PROTECT YOURSELF FROM SUN DAMAGE THIS SUMMER:

1.    Most people apply only 25-50 percent of the recommended amount of sunscreen. One ounce, enough to fill a shot glass, is considered the amount needed to cover the exposed areas of the body properly.

2.    While there are a number of combination moisturizers that contain sunscreens these days, it’s important to remember that most of these products do not contain enough SPF to protect you from the sun. If you’re spending time outdoors, add some high SPF to your moisturizer to ensure you’re covered. Reapply after prolonged exposure.

3.    Don’t reserve the use of sunscreen only for sunny days. Even on a cloudy day, up to 80 percent of the sun’s ultraviolet rays can pass through the clouds. In addition, sand reflects 25 percent of the sun’s rays and snow reflects 80 percent of the sun’s rays.

4.    Sunscreens should be applied to dry skin 15-30 minutes BEFORE going outdoors. When using sunscreen, be sure to apply it to all exposed areas and pay particular attention to the face, ears, hands and arms. Coat the skin liberally and rub it in thoroughly. Remember a shot glass, or one ounce is the amount needed to truly protect.

5.    Wear a hat that provides loads of shade and stay out of the sun during peak hours – during summer between 10am – 4pm. Don’t forget that lips get sunburned too, so apply a lip balm that contains sunscreen with an SPF of 15 or higher.

6.    Sunscreens should be re-applied at least every two hours or after swimming or perspiring heavily. Even so-called “water-resistant” sunscreens may lose their effectiveness after 40 minutes in the water. Sunscreens rub off as well as wash off, so if you’ve towel-dried, reapply sunscreen for continued protection.

7.    There are so many types of sunscreen that selecting the right one can be quite confusing. Sunscreens are available in many forms including ointments, creams, gels, lotions, sprays and wax sticks. The type of sunscreen you choose is a matter of personal choice. Creams are best for individuals with dry skin, but gels are preferable in hairy areas, such as the scalp or male chest. Sticks are good around the eyes & for lips.

8.    Look for formulations that contain broad-spectrum protection from both UVA & UVB rays. Both cause serious harm in different ways so it’s important to shield from each.

9.    Titanium dioxide and zinc oxide are generally considered the safest and most effective non-toxic active sunscreen ingredients. Avoid formulations that contain PABA’s, avobenzone, octyl methoxycinnamate, oxybenzone, parabens, synthetic fragrance.

10.    Keep your stash of organic & natural sunscreen fresh to ensure effectiveness. Throw our your old tubes and start from scratch at the beginning of each new season.