GREEN YOUR ROUTINE Restore Your Skin for Autumn

The transition from warm summer days into crisp Autumn mornings can take a toll on your skin. I asked some of my chicological product experts in the office to share their favorite tips for keeping their complexions looking fresh and luminous!

Xo, Josie

Exfoliate Gently:  Even though I'm always slathered with sunscreen, spending time in the summer sun can cause dead skin build-up on the surface of my skin. To remove this dull layer, I exfoliate regularly with Josie’s Argan Exfoliating Powder, and follow with a rich coat of 100% Pure Argan Oil to saturate my skin with vitamins and moisture. Applying products on freshly exfoliated skin allows them to absorb better. But make sure you don’t go crazy on your face—over-exfoliating causes irritation! --Annalise, Marketing

Try an At-Home Weekly Treatment: I love DIY beauty like at-home masks. One of my favorite weekly treatments is mixing together greek yogurt with some Argan Oil and raw honey and applying that to my face for 10 minutes. The lactic acid in the yogurt helps dissolve pesky dry and hyperpigmented spots while the Argan Oil and honey work together to seal in hydration. --Jenn, Product Development

Eat Up:  As the weather gets drier and colder, I like to feed my body with lots of good-for-my-skin snacks. I focus on getting plenty of essential fatty acids from whole food sources like nuts and healthy oils. These foods help my skin fend of flakiness and irritation by fortifying the lipid barrier. I also like drinking a glass of hot water with lemon every morning to warm up and jumpstart my body with hydration. --Taunia, Product Development

GREEN YOUR ROUTINE Relaxation Day

Hi Beauties! Take a deep breath. Let it fill your lungs all the way to the tippy top, then sip in more air. Hold for three seconds. Now exhale very slowly. There! Don’t you feel better? Today is Relaxation Day, so I’m all about getting my calm on! Here are some of my favorite ways to help me bliss out.

Lovely Lavender: It’s no secret that lavender is one of the most calming scents used in aromatherapy. I like to put a few drops of lavender essential oil on a tissue, wrap the tissue around an eye pillow, and drape the non-oiled side over my eyes when I need a little rest. The lavender scent wafts over my face and puts me immediately at ease. Don’t have essential oil? Massage a few drops of my Moroccan Argan Body Oil in Calm onto your temples for a similar effect.

Visualize Calm: Sometimes when I seriously need to relax, I close my eyes for a few minutes and visualize a place that makes me feel serene. Sometimes it’s a beach, sometimes it’s a field, and sometimes it’s a tranquil waterfall in Kauai. I just imagine myself sitting in this beautiful place for a few minutes. When I open my eyes, I’m ready to tackle my challenges without all the negative stress stuff.

Have a Cuddle: Lucky for me, I have two wonderful daughters who are always up for a cuddle. Experts say demonstrating physical affection—to a dog, a baby, or even a coworker—lowers your blood pressure and decreases stress hormones like cortisol, making you feel instantly more relaxed. So if you’re feeling edgy at work, find a friend and give them a hug! You’ll feel better!

With love and deep breaths,

Josie

GREEN YOUR ROUTINE Block Summer Skin & Hair Damage

Although we know it’s not summer everywhere yet, it’s sure been balmy here in L.A. We’ve been trying to make the most of the weather—taking impromptu dips in the pool, having barbecues, and taking hikes in the hills of Griffith Park. But all that chlorine and hot sun really takes its toll on skin and hair. Here are our top tips for keeping your skin and hair healthy and hydrated this summer.  

Block Chlorine: Whether you’re a fair-haired maiden or not, chlorine is not so good for your hair. But you don’t need to avoid the pool completely. To keep the cuticle of your hair from absorbing the chlorinated water, get your hair wet with pure water before you jump in the pool. The clean water will plump the hair shaft and keep it from absorbing any of the chlorinated water. Another one of our favorite tips? Massage a dropper-full of Argan Oil into your wet tresses before taking a dip in the swimming pool. It will help you avoid the straw strands of summer.

Block Sun: Do we have to say it? Wear sunscreen, ladies! And make sure it’s physical SPF please. Look for zinc oxide or titanium dioxide as the main sun protectants. And no matter what sunscreen you use, you need to reapply every few hours to make sure you’re getting the best protection.  Of course, we’d prefer you use ours!

Block Dry Skin: In summer, we expose our skin to elements more than in any other season. To keep skin soft and glowing, hydrate every day and exfoliate once a week. We like to do a deep hydrating treatment on legs once a week to keep our gams looking gorgeous. At night, after showering and shaving, apply Argan Oil to legs. Next, warm a quarter-sized dollop of Argan Balm between your palms, and apply a thin layer to legs. Slip on a pair of breathable cotton leggings and go to bed! The next morning your legs will be silky, soft, and glowy!

GREEN YOUR ROUTINE At-Home Scrubs

We love playing chemists in our kitchens and concocting new beauty elixirs. One of our fave ways to revive skin post-winter is by exfoliating and moisturizing with a homemade body scrub. Here’s our formula for creating the perfect potion for gorgeous skin.

Pick a Base. Choose the main ingredient in your scrub. We personally like oil-based scrubs (shocking, we know) made with Argan Oil or even Coconut Oil. The oil softens and protects your skin from over-exfoliation. But if you’re looking for something a little less rich, you can also use pure organic honey as a base. Use about ½ cup of base to create a full batch of scrub.

Choose a Scrubber. At the heart of any good scrub is something that will help slough off dead skin and impurities. The two easiest scrubbers that you’re sure to have on hand are sugar and sea salt. Sugar is great for a gentle, hydrating scrub. Sea salt is slightly more abrasive but contains beneficial minerals to help draw out impurities and toxins. Add ½ cup of your scrubber.

Add a Booster: Pick a booster based on your individual skin needs. If you’re oily or acne prone, try lemon oil or lemon juice. If your skin is prone to redness or irritation, add a few drops of calming lavender oil. If dryness is your problem, add some ground oats for an extra boost of skin-nurturing moisture.

Mix it all together and voila! The best way to invigorate your skin!

Images via: Social Graces, Larkspur Company, A Glimpse

GREEN YOUR ROUTINE Product Care

It’s no secret we think natural products like ours are the best bet for you, your skin, and your health. But going au naturel means less harsh preservatives and stabilizers--so you have to treat your products with care! To keep your goods functioning at their optimal levels, follow these tips for extending the life of your beauty.

Keep it cool and dark: Bright light, extreme heat, and extreme cold can cause your beauty to get a little kooky. Keep things at room temperature and away from bright sunlight.

Twist it: Finding out that a loose cap has caused one of your favorite products to dry out can really ruin a day. Be especially careful that you tighten the lids on all water-based cosmetics. Oils won’t dry out, but it’s still a good idea to keep them covered so they stay fresh.

Shake it Up: If you accidentally leave a liquid product in the sun and it gets a little too toasty, remember to shake it up before using it again. If any melting or separation occurred in the heat, shaking it will help redistribute the ingredients.  

GREEN YOUR ROUTINE Brush Care

While we love using our fingers to apply much of our makeup, there are times when a good brush just can’t be beat. To keep things eco and animal friendly, we prefer cruelty-free synthetic bristles and handles made from sustainable resources like bamboo. But believe it or not, even the most earth-friendly brushes can become a hotbed for bacteria if they aren’t cared for properly. If you use your brushes every day, you should be washing them at least once a week to prevent build up of dirt, makeup, and germs. Here’s our favorite routine for keeping things clean.

• Rinse your bristles under your faucet using warm water.
• Take a dime-sized amount of a mild cleanser (think: baby shampoo, natural liquid hand soap, etc) and massage it into the bristles.
• Run water over the bristles to wash away makeup and cleanser. When the water runs clear through the brush, it’s clean.
• Reshape the bristles and lay the brush on a towel to dry. Do NOT store your brushes vertically in a cup until the bristles are totally dry. Excess moisture at the base of the bristles can cause them to loosen from the handle and promotes mold growth. 

Images via: Pinterest

GREEN YOUR ROUTINE Beauty Resolutions

Surprise! We talk a lot about beauty here at JMC. So as the year comes to an end, a lot of our lunch conversations have revolved around what’s to come for us in the New Year. We’re all hustling to get a ton of new products ready for our Argan Beauties, tweaking them to perfection and thinking a lot about how to make our community even stronger. But we’ve also been thinking about what we can do in our personal lives to make things a little more beautiful. Here are some of our beauty resolutions for 2013. 

More Me Time. Being selfish isn’t as easy as it sounds. We’re a pretty diverse group here at JMC—some of us are parents, some are spouses, some are the friends who always seem to be holding someone up. And all of us are fiercely devoted to our jobs. While juggling all of our different roles and responsibilities, it’s easy to forget to take a little time to nurture ourselves. We’ll be working hard to take a little bit more “me time” in 2013. Restorative yoga and meditation, here we come!

Use Less. As beauty junkies, it can be easy to load up on a ton of products, half of which go unused. In the spirit of consuming less, we’re going to try to pare down to just our must-haves, and get double-duty from multitaskers like 100% Pure Argan Oil, which acts as the perfect moisturizer for face, body, and hair.

Spread Love and Light. What are we without the ones we love? In 2013, we’re going to make the most of each interaction with our loved ones, and do more to strengthen our relationships. We’ll put away our phones and really listen. Being present in the moment will help us give our friends, family, and coworkers the love they deserve—even if we only have a few minutes!

What are your beauty resolutions for 2013 and how can we help? 

GREEN YOUR BEAUTY ROUTINE Getting Cozy

After a scorching early Fall here in L.A., we are finally getting some rain! The chilly temperatures have us longing for cozy days snuggled up trying some new at-home beauty treatments. We can't wait to treat ourselves to these soothing eco-friendly options to help us get comfy as the rain trickles down outside. 

Epsom Salts Bath: If you're feeling achy or stressed, you could use a soak in an Epsom salt bath. Many Americans are deficient in magnesium, and Epsom salt baths are one of the easiest ways to boost your levels, relieving symptoms of magnesium deficiency like joint pain, fatigue, and arthritis. Epsom salts also help relieve stress, reduce inflammation, and flush out toxins from the body. Yes please! 

Soften your Feet: We love a good pair of wooly socks in the winter. But what we love even more is that our favorite fuzzies keep our feet feeling baby smooth. Here's how. Soak your feet in warm water for 5-10 minutes, then use a pumice stone to scrub your heels and pads. Apply a rich moisturizer (our Argan Balm is a great tool for the job) to the tops and bottoms of feet and pull on a pair of comfy socks. We promise when you take your socks off after a few hours, your feet will be so supple.

Warm Your Moisturizer: If your house is chilly it's hard to get warm. Here's our favorite tip. Post-shower, warm a bit of your favorite moisturizer in the microwave. Make sure it's not too hot before you slather it on your skin. It will keep you feeling toasty as it absorbs and softens your skin. Our favorite? Josie's Moroccan Argan Body Oil. Try the Calm (lavender) scent, and get to relaxing! 

Images via: Viciously Cyd, DTW, Pinterest

GREEN YOUR ROUTINE Beautiful Bathing

We love a good bath and body care tip, like the great DIY scrubs that our October guest blogger shared with us on Tuesday. Inspired by her tips, we’ve been looking into how to make our overall grooming a little greener. Check out our finds!                                                                   

Go Reusable: Most of us probably have a little unwanted hair that we like to say sayonara to at least once a week in the shower. But, according to the EPA, we toss 2 billion disposable plastic razors a year! Try a reusable razor instead to cut back on your footprint. And instead of buying shaving cream, try using your regular hair conditioner or body wash. Anything that really coats your skin will protect you from razor burn.

Cool Off: Nothing feels better than a really hot shower, especially as we enter into the colder months. But, did you know that your extra steamy temp could be wreaking havoc on your skin? The skin naturally produces special proteins and fats that protect and lock in moisture. Hot showers remove this protection, leaving skin dry and itchy. So turn down the heat! You’ll do some good for your skin and your energy bill.

Baby Your Skin: Okay, so we talk a lot about not stripping your skin here at JMC. But really, don’t do it!  Use very mild soaps on the body or an oil body cleanser like our Argan Cleansing Oil for Body. You want to avoid products with harsh detergents which can leave your skin dry, and aren’t so great to wash down the drain.  After showering, gently pat skin with a towel. Then, apply a thick moisturizer to seal in hydration. Extra dry types should try our Argan Balm, while we recommend Whipped Argan Oil Body Butter and Moroccan Argan Body Oils for more normal skin types.

GREEN YOUR BEAUTY ROUTINE Natural Nails

Here in the office, we’ve been talking A LOT about our nails recently—our Manager of Product Development, Jenn, has been sporting some wacky and wild nail art that has sparked a wave of serious nail envy. Among us chicological gals, all things nail polish and nail art have gotten a pretty bad rap due to all the chemical-laden formulas out there.  But—hooray—there are some eco-conscious alternatives that have us striping, polka-dotting, and bedazzling our digits. Here are our fave eco tips for nails.

Be Free: “3 Free” that is. Look for nail polishes that are free of these three no-no ingredients: toluene, dibutyl phthalate, and formaldehyde. Josie’s favorite “3 Free” brand right now is Priti NYC, which was started by fellow mom Kim D’Amato when she was pregnant with her first kid.

In the Buff: Our VP of Sales gave us a great idea yesterday. When she goes to get a manicure, instead of having polish applied, she asks for her nails buffed. And boy do they sparkle! It looks like she has a clear coat on top, but it’s all her natural shine.

Argan Nails: You know we couldn’t talk about nails without giving some props to the ultimate cuticle oil—Argan Oil! It moisturizes those hangnails and dry nail beds like nothing else. You can even put a drop on your freshly painted nails to repel water and dust while it’s still tacky.

Images Via:

Priti NYC

The Beauty Department

Pinterest