organic body care – EcoSalon

Slow Beauty Tips with Shel Pink, Founder of SpaRitual

Aysia Wright — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 08:00:42 +0000

SpaRitual founder Shel Pink dishes out her secrets on slow beauty and self care.

Self care…the process of how we nourish, soothe and pamper our bodies, inside and out, is a ritual that most of us partake in on a daily basis. For some, it’s an elaborate multi-step process repeated twice a day coupled with yoga, juice cleanses, fresh foods, and other healthy living practices; for others, it’s a brief splash with soap and water, a multivitamin and a salad at lunch.

Wherever you fall on the self-care spectrum, we can all work to make it a a more mindful, personal, fulfilling experience, whether your ritual is 5 or 95 minutes. To deepen our understanding of the self care rituals, we caught up with Shel Pink, founder of the healthy beauty skin care and cosmetic line SpaRitual, which offers a huge collection of “five-free” (no formaldehyde, dibutyl phthalate, toluene, formaldehyde resin and camphor) vegan nail lacquers and a drool worthy range of spa-inspired natural skin care.

Launched in 2004, SpaRitual was created with an enlightened consumer in mind, providing a beauty brand to honor the collective mind, body and spirit and committed to creating multi-purpose eco-friendly products and packaging using vegan, certified organic and fair trade ingredients from around the world. SpaRitual encourages women to understand beauty as a holistic connection to oneself and to the environment, a philosophy that has evolved into what Shel calls “Slow Beauty.”

Aysia Wright: How did you get started in healthy beauty?

Shel Pink: I developed SpaRitual when I was pregnant with my son. It was when thinking about how I wanted to best care for my child, I decided that I wanted to use and offer a healthier, holistic more authentic alternative to mainstream beauty products. Choosing vegan beauty care products is one important aspect of living a healthy, holistic lifestyle which also includes diet, meditation and other slow beauty practices.

AW: What is Slow Beauty?

SP: Slow beauty is an alternative approach to beauty in the fast world. Today, beauty is all about quick fixes like fillers, Botox and plastic surgery. Instead, slow beauty makes us beautiful from the inside out with relaxing rituals and products that are good for you and free of harsh chemicals. It is beauty rituals that are pleasurable, rather than painful and punitive. Slow beauty helps people slow down and nurture the mind, body and spirit, therefore producing visible results. When we shift our mindset from the façade of quick fixes, invasive surgeries, and the illusion of perfectionism we have the freedom to discover joy, spontaneity, depth and vitality. Slow Beauty includes seven outposts: spa tradition, rituals, nourished mind, self-expression, meditation, and mindful consumption. Each one offers opportunities to make lifestyle choices that help us to be in our hours, instead of being an age.

AW: How does Slow Beauty apply to the average women?

SP: First of all, there is no such thing as an average woman. We are dynamic beings. Slow Beauty applies to all women. Internalizing a tyrannical approach to our beauty, and to aging compromises our power, and our right to live a truly creative life in process. Developing and sustaining a Slow Beauty practice empowers women. The seven outposts are opportunities to connect with joy, vitality and freedom. You don’t have to experience all seven outposts to live a life of slow beauty. This practice is completely personal. Once you open the door and add one experience that becomes a rewarding part of your natural routine, then you most likely will want to create space for more. Don’t force it. If you go to a meditation class that doesn’t resonate, next time try something else. Slow Beauty is about surrendering to the places, spaces and experiences that resonate with you and bring you wellness of your own creation.

AW: Beyond Spa Ritual, what are your go to brands & products that fit in with your Slow Beauty philosophy?

SP: MSCHIC blush in “kissed.” This mineral makeup series is talcum-free and contains no allergenic fragrances. This blush is also paraben free. According to the company philosophy statement they dance at the office when they are excited about new products. I discovered this make-up line at an adorable boutique store called The Detox Market, they specialize in curating green brands in beauty and lifestyle. The co-founder, Valerie Grandury, walked me around the shop and shared each brand’s endearing story with me. That leads me to introduce you to the skin care brand I love and use; Odacité. The products contain certified organic ingredients, and are free of petrochemicals, fragrance, glycols and parabens. The founder of this brand is also Valerie Grandury. She’s lovely and incredibly passionate about holistic living.

Jane Iredale MakeUp. I’m a huge fan. I like her Mystikol powdered eyeliner in Onyx and PurePressed Eye Shadow Triple Azure. All vegan.

Teas are part of my beauty ritual too. Yogi Teas– Green Tea Muscle Recovery supports an active body. It is 100 percent natural and made with organic turmeric. This is a good tea to relieve sore muscles after exercise. I love the fortunes that surprise me on each tea bag. I’ve also recently discovered Pukkha Teas, try their triple fennel organic tea. It’s absolutely delicious.

AW: What’s the best way to experience Spa Ritual products?

SP: SpaRitual products are best experienced when turning your beauty routine into a ritual. Being mindful about beauty, health and wellness and expanding your routine into a ritual is one way to embark on a slower path to beauty. You can experience SpaRitual in the comfort of your own home, or with a trusted professional who uses SpaRitual for manicure, pedicure and body care treatments.

Are you ready to embrace Slow Beauty? There’s a good chance you already incorporate one or more aspects of Slow Beauty into your daily routine. If so, tell us about it, or where you plan to start. Seeing what others are doing can help provide a starting place for those not there yet, sparking ideas when starting something new feels daunting. So go ahead, share your rituals. We’d love to hear about them.

Image courtesy of SpaRitual

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EcoSalon Shops! Presents: Buddha Nose

Amy DuFault — Tue, 11 May 2010 17:45:23 +0000

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!

The post EcoSalon Shops! Presents: Buddha Nose appeared first on EcoSalon.

Join Us for EcoSalon Shops!

Amy DuFault — Thu, 06 May 2010 19:40:33 +0000

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:

We can’t wait to meet!

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