EcoSalon co-hosts the Yoga Beauty Bar in Estes Park, Colorado.

Last weekend, EcoSalon traveled through field and mountain to co-host the Yoga Beauty Bar in Estes Park, Colorado. Part of the 16th Annual Yoga Journal Conference, a seven-day event of 35-plus master teachers sharing their practice, the YBB featured some of the best lines of clean, green beauty, including Buddha Nose Body Care, Dr. Alkaitis Skincare, Lotus Wei Flower Essences, Priti Nails, Yarok Organic Hair Care, Revolution Organics, and Trance Essence. Runa Tea and Wei of Chocolate also made an appearance, as well as healthy travel experts Pravassa.

Together with Amy Galper of Buddha Nose, Linden Schaffer of Pravassa, and Sarah Braat, LMT and Qigong Healer, we offered up an incredible experience of green beauty to the yogis of Colorado. And guess what? It was amazing.

Amy Galper of Buddha Nose (front right) talks product with a patron

“The only power we really have to make change is how we spend our money,” Buddha Nose proprietor and co-host Amy Galper told me, “But the Yoga Beauty Bar is not just about selling product. We want people to experience the brands.” Between misting clients with her famous Heart Spray, a delicate floral mist with the mind/body intention of love, Amy enthusiastically shared her vision. “Once we have information about a healthy product, we can advocate for healthier living for ourselves and for the planet.”

A patron checks out product

And the patrons of the Yoga Beauty Bar responded in droves. Patrons perused the hip shades from Priti Nails and pure cosmetics from Revolution Organics. They sampled the fragrance scents from Trance Essences Perfumes and Candles while sipping Runa Teas and nibbling on the delicious, floral-infused organic chocolates from Wei of Chocolate. (My favorite? The citrus-inspired “Joyful.”) Patrons delighted in the Lotus Wei Flower Essence’s elixirs and mists and lathered up with Dr. Alkaitis skin care moisturizers.

At the same time, Linden Schaffer shared Pravassa Travel, her New York-based wellness company that plans healthy vacations around the globe, such as Aruba, Bali, Vermont and Italy. Pravassa focuses on an aspect of health and wellness like cooking, body work, nutrition, pilates or yoga. Vacationers are able to refocus their thinking and restore their every day well being.

Linden Schaffer (left) of Pravassa 

All the while, LMT Sarah Braat worked on yogis who were eager for a massage or Quigong healing. Sarah, a nurturing soul who seems to make magic with her hands, is the founder of Sage Healing Arts in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. You can find Sarah on Facebook. She also does remote energy work and is offering a 10% discount to all EcoSalon readers.

Sarah Braat performing energy healing

Truth be told? This entire experience made me a healthier person.

As the green beauty guru for EcoSalon, I traveled to spend my time discussing green beauty to the interested yogis of the conference. I arrived much like an extra from the movie “Contagion,” staring down the barrel of one hell of a bad cold. Fortunately, I had the luck of entering into the nurturing and restorative sphere of Buddha Nose and Amy Galper’s line of USDA Organic body care products. “I have just the thing for you,” Amy offered after taking one look at my sallow face. She dosed me in her I-Booster Spray, an anti-bacterial concoction made with stimulating essential oils of Clove, Cinnamon, Lemon and Ravintsara.

Hair treatments courtesy of Yarok Hair Care at our party

Later that evening was the EcoSalon-YBB sponsored party, where yogis crowded into our Estes Park cabin to commune over green beauty. Lucky revelers, including myself, got to partake in various masks from Dr. Alkaitis and serums for Yarok Hair Care. The next day, I felt like a new woman as my cold symptoms were significantly reduced.

Facial by Dr. Alkaitis

It makes perfect sense. Our bodies take in 60% of the ingredients we put on our skin – so what better way to restore your health than to feed it with some of the purest ingredients on the market?

Amy informs me that future Yoga Beauty Bars are in the works – in fact, she plans to expand them across the nation at various events. “We have a real passion to educate people about clean, green product,” she says. Lucky for this EcoSalonista, her passion may also help hinder colds.

To see more behind the scenes Yoga Beauty Bar action, watch our video:

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Come meet EcoSalon’s Katherine Butler today and tomorrow at the Yoga Journal’s Estes Park conference.

Don’t forget to come see us today and tomorrow at the Yoga Marketplace, at the 16^thAnnual Yoga Journal Conference in Estes Park, Colorado!

Nestled within the Yoga Journal’s Marketplace is the EcoSalon-sponsored Yoga Beauty Bar, an interactive collective featuring the best in indie organic beauty and wellness brands. The Yoga Marketplace is free and open to the public so if we are all you’re looking for (though we hope you’ll stop and peruse the vendors outside our oasis), beeline it straight to us and we will pamper and educate you on how everything you put on and in your body has a direct effect on your well-being.

Looking for green beauty advice? Katherine Butler, EcoSalon’s resident beauty columnist is ready to dish out her seasoned knowledge on organic and all-natural beauty products as well as her sassy humor that we here at EcoSalon love her for.

We’ll also be having Friday evening cocktails with all the participating brands and hopefully you at our cabin in the woods so stop in around 8 p.m. and relax with us in the arms of the Rockies.

We look forward to meeting you!

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EcoSalon and The Yoga Beauty Bar pair up at the Yoga Journal Conference this weekend in Estes Park, Colorado.

Ever wonder what a thousand oms and stretches under a Colorado sun looks like? We’re going to find out this week as EcoSalon travels to Estes Park, Colorado, to co-host the Yoga Beauty Bar with organic beauty brand Buddha Nose. From September 22nd to 24th, we’ll be celebrating all that is good in beauty and well-being at the Yoga Marketplace, part of the 16^th Annual Yoga Journal Conference in Estes Park, Colorado, a seven-day event of 35-plus master teachers sharing their knowledge in the mountains. A gathering for both teachers and beginners, the event seeks to showcase the best and brightest the yoga world has to offer.

Nestled within all this is the EcoSalon sponsored Yoga Beauty Bar, an interactive collective featuring the best in indie organic beauty and wellness brands.

The Yoga Beauty Bar is the brainchild of Buddha Nose founder Amy Galper, whose New York City-based shiatsu practice inspired her to create a line of products to encourage its user to “be still and breathe.” Buddha Nose is certified organic body care to inspire a “mind-body-beauty” connection.

Each day the Yoga Beauty Bar booth will feature a special beauty and wellness treatment, so make sure to stop by and make an appointment to receive chakra balancing, hand shiatsu or mini scalp treatments or simply to chat and sip some organic tea. The Yoga Marketplace at the conference is free and open to the public so if we are all you’re looking for (though we hope you’ll stop and peruse the vendors outside our oasis), beeline it straight to us and we will pamper and educate you on how everything you put on and in your body has a direct effect on your well-being.

On hand for green beauty advice is yours truly, ready to dish out my seasoned knowledge on organic and all-natural beauty products. Meet me at the conference or Friday evening for cocktails with all the participating brands at our cabin in the woods.

After you’ve enjoyed sampling products at The Yoga Beauty Bar, you might want to purchase some award-winning products from their featured brands. God knows we will:

Buddha Nose body care

Dr. Alkaitis Skincare

Wei of Chocolate

Lotus Wei Flower Essences

Pravassa Wellness Retreats

Priti Organic Nails

Runa Tea

Trance Essence Perfumes and Candles

Yarok Organic Hair Care Products

Revolution Organic Color Cosmetics

We look forward to seeing you there!

Questions? Contact Yoga Beauty Bar organizer Amy Galper at info@buddhanose.com or Amy DuFault at amy@ecosalon.com

Additional contributions to this post by Amy DuFault

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Not only do I like Buddha Nose products, I can’t help but like the name. Buddha Nose? Come on!

Before founder Amy Galper started producing her organic body care line in the spring of 2004. She was a New York City-based shiatsu practitioner who encouraged her mostly female clientele to “be still and breathe.”

Check out the Buddha Nose website and you’ll find this message: “Recognizing the connection between the energetic dynamics of shiatsu, a Japanese form of bodywork based in Traditional Chinese Medicine, and with the essential oils of aromatic plants, Amy created handmade beauty products in her kitchen to inspire the mind-body-beauty connection.”

The products themselves are invigorating, and thanks to their unusual fragrance, make you focus on the pure scent which is at times intoxicating.

Buddha Nose uses only USDA certified organic ingredients when available, and four out of their 12 products proudly boast the USDA organic seal.

“The skin is our largest organ,” says Amy, “and by using only organic ingredients, we not only respect the health and well-being of our bodies but we also respect the health and well-being of our environment.”

That means we don’t bother the person sitting next to us on the subway or our very own self with nasty smells. (I’m just sayin’!)

Nowadays, besides keeping her focus on the business of Buddha Nose in New York City, Amy spends time with her husband building their eco-conscious and self-sustaining “off-the-grid” home on their 30 acres in the Catskills.

Look how pretty she is! Come meet her at EcoSalon Shops!

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Hey there, lady readers! For over two years, we’ve been bringing you stories about the stylish side of sustainable living. We’ve been chatting, we’ve been tweeting, we’ve been friending something fierce – but we’ve never met in person! It’s time, don’t you think?

Join EcoSalon’s EIC Sara Ost, Fashion Editor Amy DuFault, and a host of other EcoSalon writers when we host our first ever event, EcoSalon Shops! at Green Spaces on June 4, 2010, from 7 p.m.-10 p.m. at their 394 Broadway, New York, NY location.

Our susty soiree will be haven to 20 sustainable clothing and accessories designers including Lara Miller, Study by Tara St. James and Cri De Coeur shoes, four eco-boutiques, Buddha Nose organic body care and A Perfume Organic. Designers from all the lines will be on hand to chat with you as you peruse new looks and try on your favorites.

You should come prepared to shop, mingle, sample sustainable goodies and organic cocktails – and participate in a Twitter #FollowFriday eco-fashion tweet up.

In addition to shopping, Save The Garment Center’s Erica Wolf will be on hand with Save The Garment Center t-shirts to answer your questions about the status of New York City’s historic Garment Center and how you can help the cause. Though there won’t be an admission fee to the event, we do suggest making a donation to our friends at Save the Garment Center.

Whether you’re in the market for a sexy strappy number or a new pair of kicks, you can do it all in eco style with us as we toast to green fashion with delicious organic wine, Divine Chocolate and Fair Vodka, and much more. Swag bags filled with sustainable gifts are available for the first 50 shoppers. Throughout May, we’ll be featuring all the participants for EcoSalon Shops!, and answering any questions you may have about the event, so stay tuned. (You can also bookmark this post for daily updates about each designer.)

For more info, check out some of the designers we’ll be showcasing:

• H. Fredriksson
• Feral Childe
• Ecowrist
• Doucette Duvall
• Divine Chocolate
• Fair. Vodka
• Cri de Coeur
• Buddha Nose
• A Perfume Organic
• Ryann
• Lara Miller
• NatureVsFuture
• Rebecka Froberg
• RESTORE
• Tara St. James’ Study
• T-Luxe Lingerie
• Zhena’s Gypsy Tea
• Foundfuture
• Juno & Jove
• Mission Savvy
• Feisty Elle

We can’t wait to meet!

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