There are many paths you can take to honing in on your ideal beauty products. Choosing for your skin tone and eye color is important. Whether skin is oily, dry, or normal is another important factor. But have you ever considered your astrological sign?

Wait, what?

You read it right. Beauty products perfectly suited to each zodiac sign. Hey, if you can choose a career or navigate a relationship based on your sign, a lipstick or eyeshadow is fair game, too, right?

And that makes a lot of sense, if you think about it. Each sign has unique characteristics. Take bold Aries. She would definitely be more likely to sport a fuchsia lipstick than, say, a more reserved Cancer.

Want to know which makeup product is perfect for your sign? Natural makeup brand, Alima Pure, has put together a handy dandy list of beauty products by astrological sign. Take a peek.

Which Beauty Products are Perfect for Your Astrological Sign?

Aries

Alima Pure says: After hectic March with its two eclipses, a little slowness and stillness helps you re-center. With the Sun in Aries, it is a time for articulating life goals and plotting new ways to go after them. A little Highlighter in Whisper on the cheekbones is the perfect dewy spring look for deep contemplation.

EcoSalon says: Aries isn’t afraid of a challenge. Why not take it one step further and add a touch of highlighter eyelids and lips for a super updated, musical festival season look?

Taurus

Alima Pure says: Before the excitement of birthday season, clear out the things that are holding you back, and focus your energy on self-restoration as you prepare for excitement waiting in the wings. Try Satin Matte Eyeshadow in Sage.

EcoSalon says: While you are doing some mental clearing, how about giving your diet a good spring cleaning too?

Gemini

Alima Pure says: Now is the time to find your tribe and enjoy being your strange and amazing self around the people who cherish your eccentricities more than anything else. Plan a new adventure with them that you’ll be able to look back on for years to come—the quirkier the better. Rock a bold smoky eye and explore with Luminous Shimmer Eyeshadow in Tigereye.

EcoSalon says: Sounds like it may be time to stock up on some hot travel tips.

Cancer

Alima Pure says: The tension between Mars and Saturn forms a wedge between you and your lofty goals, perhaps preventing you from springing into action. With a solid plan, nothing is out of reach. But is there something beneath the surface that requires your attention first? Fresh, wearable Satin Matte Blush in Antique Rose adds a healthy pop of color to welcome springtime.

EcoSalon says: Nothing conquers mind clutter and helps you get to the bottom of things like a little meditation.

Leo

Alima Pure says: Tried your hand at the lottery lately, Leo? The sweeping winds of luck push you forward toward things you’ve perhaps shied away from in the past. Though better judgment has previously steered you in a different direction, now is the time to take that risk and reap the abundant rewards that await. Luminous Shimmer Eyeshadow in Smoke is the perfect spring wash of color that shakes things up.

EcoSalon says: Speaking of risky behavior. Find out how Julia Roberts stays so gorgeous and youthful looking the natural way.

Virgo

Alima Pure says: Spring cleaning is a time to let go of that nagging toxic habit you’ve been trying to shed for some time now. The first few weeks of April give you a chance to get to the root of the habit, and to develop a new plan for starting fresh. Follow suit on your eyes with Natural Definition Eye Pencil in Paper as a fresh white base for colorful shadow.

EcoSalon says: While healthy habits are totally a good thing, remember not to take them too far.

Libra

Alima Pure says: As you come to the end of a major personal transformation–about two years’ worth of growth and changes–you’re ready to embrace your individual awesomeness. Curb that tendency to get down on yourself by enlisting the Buddy System. Choose a versatile, and wearable shade for shadow, brows, and even liner with Satin Matte Eyeshadow in Raven.

EcoSalon says: Before adorning those peepers, learn how to shape your brows the right way.

Scorpio

Alima Pure says: After the turbulence of March’s eclipses, it’s time to get back to business and deal with the spring cleaning, paperwork, and routines that may have been bumped from your to-do list. Reward your hard work with a fun spring hue–try Pearluster Eyeshadow in Camel for a wearable bronze smoky eye that adds intensity to the color of your eyes.

EcoSalon says: If your spring cleaning needs a push in that direction, find out how to kondo your closets and more.

Sagittarius

Alima Pure says: Some serious hard work has been paying off, and now it’s time to relax and celebrate. Time with your crew is reinvigorating, and whether you’re single or taken, things are about to get exciting. Leave the eyes with a smooth wash of color as you explore what’s out there with Luminous Shimmer Eyeshadow in Oceana.

EcoSalon says: Give off that ‘70s vibe without looking outdated. Shimmer required.

Capricorn

Alima Pure says: Before you’re ready to fully embrace spring, a little winding down and recovery is in store for you. Make your home a place for recuperation, and celebrate your downtime with an escape into a book that’s been on your list forever, or that show everyone’s been talking about. Keep your look low-maintenance too with moisturizing Lip Tint in Petal.

EcoSalon says: Take in a few classic films with some serious fashion eye candy.

Aquarius

Prepare for the pent-up brilliance and creativity within you to burst free with the new moon. You become more articulate than ever, and your artful persuasion can be the impetus for new projects. You’ll even inspire others to get on board with one of your awesome new ideas. Try a lustrous silvery eyeshadow to match your silver tongue: Luminous Shimmer Eyeshadow in Ava.

EcoSalon says: Give creativity a boost with these inspo-inducing ideas.

Pisces

Repeat after me, Pisces: No. Scrubs. Whether you realize it or not, you’re now beyond the halfway point of a slow, but steady two-year era of self-improvement and growth. Now comes the fun part, where deeper connections with those around you (or perhaps just a certain special one?!) yield the attention and kindness you deserve. Try Luminous Shimmer Eyeliner in Nightfall.

EcoSalon says: Try your hand at the new, colorful take on a smoky eye.

Related on EcoSalon

11 Playful Ways to Rock Cat Eye Makeup

A Guide to Perfect Eyeliner: Make Your Eyes Light Up

How to Make Your Eye Makeup Last All Day

Horoscope image via Shutterstock

The post Look to the Stars: Beauty Products for Every Astrological Sign appeared first on EcoSalon.

Lunar phases matters, a full moon means an unmistakable restless energy.

I’m proof positive that full moon freak outs are real. It was a gorgeous Friday night at the beach. I should have been relaxed, enjoying myself. But a nervous energy was weighing me down, making me question myself and others. It didn’t take me long to look up at the sky and figure out the culprit.

A recent study on lunar phases proves what I’ve long known to be true. A team of researchers in Sweden concluded that more people are sensitive during a full moon and sleep an average 20 minutes less. However, they’re likely to enjoy 30 minutes more REM sleep, the deepest phase of sleep. Additionally, researchers found that the brain is more vulnerable to external distractions.

“Our study generated findings similar to the Swiss project,” says Dr. Michael Smith, who has a PhD in Medical Science from Gothenburg University, reported in Mind Body Green. “Subjects slept an average of 20 minutes less and had more trouble falling asleep during the full moon phase. However, the greatest impact on REM sleep appeared to be during the new moon.”

Researchers observed 47 healthy participants between the ages of 18 and 30 as they slept in a sleep laboratory without windows, so they couldn’t be distracted by the light of the moon. The changes during the full moon were present in both sexes, though only men had trouble sleeping.

“The purpose of our original study was to examine the way that noise disturbs sleep,” Mr. Smith continues. “Re-analysis of our data showed that sensitivity, measured as reactivity of the cerebral cortex, is greatest during the full moon.”

However, the study, which was published in Current Biology,  included a really small sample which could impact the results. Even still, it’s all the more reason to blame your crazy conduct on the full moon like I’ve been known to do.

Related on EcoSalon:

The 20 Best and Worst Cities For Your Astrological Sign

A Full Moon Causes Labor

Set Your Calendar By the Moon

Image: Denali National Park and Preserve

The post Full Moon Freakout: Study Finds Lunar Phases Matters appeared first on EcoSalon.

Ground control to Major Tom.

In a week that Mercury went into retrograde (we think), our thoughts turn skywards. What’s up there waiting for us, in every sense? This week, our regular launch into the EcoSalon archives takes a celestial flavor as we look at space – the key to so many of our earthly problems.

Space Is How We Fix Our Own Planet. Remember the incredible image of Earth-rise, described by photographer Galen Rowell as “the most influential environmental photograph ever taken”? That’s a gift the space program has bestowed upon us – ecological self-awareness. We know how fragile our world is because we can see it, bright and alive against the backdrop of the most profound emptiness we know. The help to our planet is technological, too: For example, you may have heard of a little invention developed for spacecraft called solar panels.

Space: Why Bother?

The more fuel efficient flying machine Aurora researchers envision (illustration, above) would be designed to cruise at mach 0.72 instead of the industry standard of mach 0.8. It would not have to use composite materials (which are lighter weight and used in the newly tested Boeing 787 Dreamliner) but it could use conventional aluminum and manufacturing technology, while still saving substantial amounts of fuel.

25% of costs for a typical airliner are spent on fuel, studies show. So the environmental benefits should deliver economic benefits, too.

Can the same efficiencies apply to space travel and space ships? As an industry, commercial space travel is too nascent to “go green,” Parrish says. But it is starting with a very ecological-minded entrepreneur, Richard Branson, along with pioneering spacecraft designer Burt Rutan.Branson famously supported and financed the development of alternative, renewable energy and signed the Clinton Global Initiative in 2006.

EcoMeme: The Future Of Flight, Fuel Efficient?

There are around 900 satellites up there, busily keeping the world connected. They’re immersed in a sea of spacecraft fragments and garbage nicknamed space junk. There are parts of rockets, fragments of destroyed satellites (some of them very fresh indeed), gloves…even, would you believe, an astronaut’s tool bag that can occasionally be spotted whipping across the night sky (and here’s how it got up there). Around 18,000 pieces are larger than 10cm and can therefore be tracked and avoided. The rest? An estimated 580,000 further objects above 1cm in diameter. And all of these are hurtling round at orbital velocity, with enough kinetic energy to punch through spacecraft armor, destroy systems worth millions of dollars and endanger the lives of astronauts. It’s way beyond being a nuisance and makes a shocking picture.

The Sky’s The Limit: Space Gets Trashed

If there’s one way to feel how precious and fragile our tiny blue-green planet is, it’s to watch the stars wheel as the world turns on its axis. When I eventually settle down and have kids, I’ll be taking them for long trips away from the city lights, and encouraging them to squint through a telescope, and pointing them towards online astronomical resources such as the pupil-dilating beauty of the WorldWide Telescope project, and all the other forms of amateur astronomy that gave me such a sense of the wonder of Nature when I was a child.

Stars: Teaching Us About Living (And Lying)

The thing about the Geminids is that they’re unlike other meteor showers in that their “shooting stars” do not come from our passing through the tail of a comet, but rather from a “weird rocky object” called 3200 Phaethon. This smallish rock with an odd orbit is believed to have come from an impact event with asteroid called Pallas. In any event, there’s a ton of strange and unique features to this show, many of which remains a mystery to scientists. Its big deal though, is, well, its bigness.

Heads Up, The Geminids Are Coming

Whether you actually buy into planetary politics (we’re reserving judgment), the cosmos are a fun and convenient foil for a range of bad behavior and bum luck. Your astrocartography, on the other hand, is something that should be taken very, very seriously. That’s right, your astrocartography, a.k.a. locational astrology, meaning you are where you live. That’s what the experts say, anyway. And you, my dear Leo, could very well be living in the wrong ZIP code.

Pack your bags. Here’s where you should be living according to your star sign.

The 20 Best And Worst Cities For Your Astrological Sign

Images: paul (dex), Aurora, Buglugs, ForestGladesiWanderer, DrRawheaD and Apple Wood Manor.

The post From the Vault: The Sky Is Not the Limit appeared first on EcoSalon.

February 3, 2011 rang in the Chinese New Year and the year of the rabbit, formally known as the year of Xin Mao. What does the Chinese Zodiac have to say about the year of the rabbit? Here is the prediction of one source:

We can look forward to a year of calm and composed temperament. Sophistication and refined taste will shine on everything while we acknowledge that persuasion is better than force. Diplomacy, international relations, and politics will be given priority during this congenial time. Discretion and reasonable concessions will reign without struggle.

The year of the rabbit is known for abundance and spoils, thoughtfulness of duty and responsibility can easily be compromised in the lap of opulence. This year of luxury is a time to be mindful of indulgence.

Unpleasant realities of law, order, rules and regulations will be lenient – we will be far too busy relishing small moments with company and relaxing into the tranquility of the year. The era will be mellow and tranquil, so the mood can easily slip into sleepiness, mediocrity and procrastination.

In honor of the Chinese New Year, I have gathered confections of rabbits, hares, and bunnies to add some festive whimsy to your space.

1. Bunny No. 1 – Sharon Montrose, $25 (Above)
2. Rabbit’s Foot Fern Volcano Plant – VivaTerra, $55 (Above)

3. Antiqued Mercury Glass Rabbits – My Sparrow, $38
4. Berkley Illustration White Rabbit Portrait – Velocity, $10
5. Oval Rabbit Decoupage – John Derian, $75

6. Runway Rabbit Lamp – Anthropologie, $498
7. Nestled Ring Dish – Anthropologie, $10
8. The Royal Hare – Anthropologie, $30

Here’s hoping the year of the rabbit is as full of lighthearted bliss as the Chinese Zodiac predicts.

Wondering what your year of birth means according to the Chinese Zodiac? Scroll through this source and gain some insight into your personality, or at least some mild animalistic entertainment. If you find the color wheel more interesting than zoology, devour the notion of Colorstrology.

The post The Year of the Rabbit appeared first on EcoSalon.

When I found a little something called Colorstrology, my heart skipped at least three beats. Just as your day of birth lends you an astrological sign, it also lends a specific color that offers insight into your personality. After perusing Colorstrology, I am utterly infatuated.

Here is an excerpt with insight from Michele Bernhardt (the creator of the Colorstrology site):

“The colors that we see all around us are a reflection of the sun’s light in all its glory. It is magic made visible. There is nothing more miraculous, unexpected or wondrous than seeing a rainbow appear in the sky. You are part of that rainbow of light and just as being born on a particular day under a particular Sun sign offers insights into your personality and nature, there is also a personal color that corresponds to the real you. It is a color that reflects the very essence of your specific birth date. There is a world of possibilities contained in each day of birth.”

Click over to Colorstrology and start your obsession. After the scintillation site introduction, click on your birth month and learn a little bit about your personality. Then click on your specific birthday (by clicking on the calendar near the top of the site) and explore the depths of your character.

My color is sunflower (Pantone 16-1054), which I see gracefully lounging on the ceiling in the perfect photograph above (by Michael Eastman). In the interest of (not so subtle) narcissism, here is what Colorstrology had to say about me.

“You are not afraid to fight for what you want. You have the ability and strength and know-how to persevere in the face of adversity. You are a generous and loving person and quietly lend a helping hand to a great many people. Your personal color helps ease your tenacious spirit. Wearing, meditating or surrounding yourself with Sunflower inspires calm as you continue to learn, explore and attain the many goals that you have on your horizon.”

After scrutinizing and evaluating my personal color, I also lingered around long enough to look up the personal colors of just about everyone I know. It is only fair to warn you that this lovely little place of color palettes is somewhat addicting.

So, what’s your color?!

The post Colorstrology: A Horoscope, Except with Color appeared first on EcoSalon.