London Correspondent Katherine McKenney writes:

What happens when technology meets natural beauty? They find true love in the form of an iPhone application called Cosmetifique. (The creator of this application Alfredo Delli Bovi will appreciate the love analogy since he is an 18 year old high school student from Salerno, Italy: the land of amore, no?)

Cosmetifique is an application that allows you to look up ingredients in beauty products and rates them green, yellow, orange, or red depending on their level of toxicity. Alfredo contacted local scientists to help him develop the rating system. The rating system is based on the International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients (INCI),  which is a system of naming ingredients based on their scientific names. Note – there was no ingredient testing or studies done to rate the ingredients so you will still need to refer to organizations like Environmental Working Group www.ewg.com for actual research.

I found the application a very handy tool to use when I was in a shop and had to quickly look up an ingredient (much quicker than Google searching on Safari). Also, you can add your favorite cosmetics/products and share them on Twitter/Facebook, though you have to enter them one ingredient at a time. For those of you new to the whole natural/eco beauty concept, you will learn a lot from this application. It’s also handy for seasoned natural beauty veterans who need a quick reference; although you might not always agree with the ratings (Sodium Lauryl Sulfate comes in at yellow, whereas I would have put it at orange).

When I asked Alfredo how he got the idea for Cosmetifque, he told me that his girlfriend told him he should build it. (Hmph.  I wish MY boyfriend would create me an iPhone application!). By the way, Alfredo’s favorite beauty brand is Lush. I wonder how their ingredients rate in Cosmetifique?  I feel market research (i.e. shopping trip) coming on…

London correspondent Katherine McKenney writes:

Making the switch to natural beauty products is an exciting proposition. Well done you for deciding to put your health ahead of empty marketing promises!

I can see it now: you buy your first natural product. You take it home. You unwrap the minimalist, eco-friendly packaging. You apply said product. And then you think, “Ahhhhhh, wait a minute!  This isn’t what I was expecting!”

Perhaps you are unfairly comparing the natural product to your usual synthetic chemical-laden equivalent. Natural beauty products are wonderful but they won’t behave in the same way as synthetic products. In order to prepare you for what to expect, here is a guide for what your natural beauty products won’t do.

– Natural beauty products will not smell the same because their scents are derived from plants, flowers, and lovely things found in nature.  Therefore they will not smell like the man-made chemicals you are used to.  At first whiff, you may be reminded of your granny who loved florals: lavender, rose, and geranium (not necessarily scents you would associate with your hip, happening self).  The first time I took a whiff of cedarwood, I thought it smelled like dirt.  Now I love it.   The essential oils tend to grow on you after your nose becomes accustomed.  I find synthetic fragrances really icky and overpowering but my Italian boyfriend persists on buying them for me since he comes from the land of overpowering scent.   When I jokingly asked him which “cancer spray” he was going to give me for Christmas this year, he retorted that with my bad attitude I wasn’t going to get anything.   Ba humbug!  He didn’t think it was very funny but I don’t think using toxic products on my body is very funny either.  To each his own. (more…)

London Correspondent Katherine McKenney writes:

When I’m having a strongly feminist moment, I don’t wear any make-up.  (After all, what’s wrong with what god gave me?!)  Then the beauty blasphemy washes away and I pine for Bare Minerals, the only makeup that I wear.  Bare Minerals has improved my skin’s condition over time–the foundation contains SPF and keeps the sun’s damage at bay (yes, there is occasional sun in London!)–plus doesn’t clog my pores and reduces breakouts on my oily T-zone.  It actually helps me like what I see when gazing in the mirror under the harsh fluorescent bathroom lights at work.  I know I don’t need to tout the benefits of Bare Minerals to you, dear reader, as Jolie is not too shy about her opinion on the topic–just check out her infomercial as evidence!

I recently had a make-under at the new Bare Minerals kiosk at Selfridges, and I was in heaven.  All dark wood and hot pink, the new counter beckoned from across the hall with the minerals in their naturally colorful glory, beautifully displayed at circular stations.  The beauty ambassadors were decked out in hot pink tee shirts and black skirts, their arsenal of tools and brushes wrapped in a holster around their waists–ready to spring to action quicker than you can say “mineral veil, stat!”

While my designated beauty ambassador Hayley swirl, tapped, and buffed Fairly Light foundation and Warmth onto my face, I pondered the term “make-under,” considering the Bare Minerals were under supplying the usual nasty synthetic chemicals found in most cosmetics. Hayley applied Queen Phyllis minerals to my eyelid and lined my eyes with Green Tea minerals, and I thought about how appealing I found the term “make-under.”  I didn’t need to be made over; I simply wanted to enhance my true beauty while allowing it to shine.  At the end, I still looked like me, only better.  And, really, isn’t that the point?

For months, I’ve had an organic skincare line called L’Uvalla sitting on my beauty counter (otherwise known to my roommate as our dining room table), continually meaning to try it out…and continually forgetting or getting sidetracked.

Last week, I finally got around to testing the products, and I can say that L’Uvalla is a line I think all my natural-beauty-enthusiast readers will love (we have Katherine McKenney at Natural Beautee to thank for pushing Jolie in this organic direction!).

All L’Uvalla skincare products bear the European COSMEBIO organic certification (see below), are “sustainably produced for optimal environmental preservation,” and are free of parabens, sulfates, propylene glycol, synethtic preservatives, synthetic fragrances, GMOs, and a whole host of other chemical baddies.

Side note: What’s the COSMEBIO/Eco-Cert Certification?
It’s considered the strictest certification available for natural/organic products. To receive this certification, products must meet the following requirements:

A minimum of 95% of the total ingredients must be natural
A minimum of 10% of the total ingredients must be organic
A minimum of 95% of the total Plant ingredients must be organic

I’m currently using the Gentle Foaming Cleanser ($26.99) and Eucalyptus Toner ($30.99), which are both gentle enough for dry and sensitive skin, but suitably cleansing and clarifying for oily, acne prone complexions (like the oil-slick blemish factory Jolie has going on).  If you’re in the market for natural skincare that’s still glamorous, read their FAQs about organic/natural products and check the line out for yourself!

For all you natural enthusiasts, I was just sent some DIY hair conditioning mask tips from the Santa Monica, California salon The Parlour on 3rd.  Enjoy!

Olive oil moisturizing treatment, by stylist Josh Rosebrook:
“1. Take 1/4 cup olive oil and pop it in the microwave for 30 seconds.
2. Part your hair into four sections and apply the warm olive oil to your scalp, section by section. Make sure to work the olive oil from the scalp to the ends of your hair.
3. Put a plastic cap on your hair and let the olive oil work its magic for 30 minutes.
4. Remove the cap. Shampoo, condition, and style your hair as usual.”

Healthy Hair Mask, by stylist Robear Landeros:
“The easiest, cheapest, and most effective hair mask secret known to stylists is mayonnaise. Who would have thought? Mayo is composed of egg yolk, lemon juice and vinegar, which can strengthen and moisturize your hair. Avoid commercial brands. Stick with organic for best results. Place a plastic bag over your hair after you apply. Leave it on for 30 minutes. If you don’t mind smelling like a ham sandwich, the end result is worth it!”

London Correspondent Katherine McKenney writes:

Liz Earle Naturally Active Skincare is to me what Bare Minerals are to Jolie (beauty obsession!). Although I make most of my own beauty products in my “laboratory” (aka kitchen), when I feel like splurging on skincare products, I go to Liz Earle. Her products are a high percentage organic and she even employs a full time botanist (Jennifer Hirsch) to formulate new products that get the most out of Mother Nature.

When I recently attended an event at the Liz Earle Flagship store in London’s Sloane Square, I met Liz in person and was stunned by how amazing her skin looks. It’s dewy and glowing, and she could be the poster woman for an anti-Botox campaign!  Considering how inarticulate and babbly I was as I thanked her for helping change notions of beauty, you might have thought she was Brad Pitt.   In her book Skin Secrets, Liz talks about the different things skin need at various stages of life. She told me that she had to fight with the editor not to touch up any of the “models” who were actually just friends of hers–i.e. “real” people.

These are my favorite Liz Earle Products:

Cleanse and Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser – the most famous and revered of all of her products. (more…)