Spa & Beauty
Where to Click for Health-Conscious Beauty
Getting the best natural and organic beauty products onto your vanity table has never been as easy as a trip to the drugstore or your local Sephora. Shopping for natural products is as much about knowing what you want as it is about finding it! Fortunately, there are a handful of online beauty boutiques that are simplifying our quest for the safest, healthiest beauty offerings. Not only do these boutiques stock dozens of natural brands in one place, they eliminate serious legwork by weeding out products with questionable ingredients. What’s more, they provide full ingredient disclosure so you can decide for yourself which products to trust. And (here’s the feelgood part) every dollar that you spend at these natural beauty retailers is a vote toward their longevity. With our support, the future of natural beauty shopping is in wonderful hands!
The mind-boggling makeup selection ...7 Ultimate Beauty Treats
The weather may still be drab, but your skin needn’t be. It’s time to infuse your beauty routine with some new energy—a pick-me-up that makes you look forward to the daily groom. All too often, what gets in the way of splurging is choosing what to splurge on, not the lack of intention. You’ve probably had the experience of roaming the aisles of Sephora or Whole Foods, prowling for a beauty treat, unable to decide on a scrub or a serum, a mask or a moisturizer. Behavioral economics call it “decision fatigue”: The array of choices create a feeling of overwhelm and paralysis, and ultimately, leads to no treats.
We’ve made it easy for you. Here are our seven ultimate beauty indulgences, designed to give you a beauty lift. While our picks are just the tip of the natural beauty iceberg, we think you can’t go wrong with any of them. So streamlined ...Wholesome Honey
Honey, one of nature’s most amazing and delicious substances, has been used to dress wounds, soothe rashes, and moisturize weathered, sun-damaged skin for centuries. And though this household staple probably finds its way into your tea more often than it does your skincare regimen, honey’s topical benefits are not just old wives’ tales—both time and science have proven their efficacy. Turns out the wise old wives were right—honey not only boasts both antioxidants and antibacterial properties, but acts as a natural humectant, trapping skin’s moisture within.
Not surprisingly, spas and skincare lines have caught on, and honey-based treatments and products are turning up in spas and apothecaries from New York to New Zealand. Anxious to see what all the buzz was about, I booked a Manuka Honey Body Wrap and a Signature Biltmore Facial at the Spa at Biltmore ...Skin Refresher
The best—and easiest—weekend skin detox
I remember when I did my first detox, a ten-day brown rice fast. I was nineteen at the time, infatuated with macrobiotics, and craving purity of both the physical and ideological kind. How hard could it be to just eat brown rice all day? While I didn’t starve, the monotony did get to me. I settled into a kind of brown rice trance. Everything started to look beige, but I diligently mastered the art of contemplative chewing. I had a lot ...Trends in skincare for 2010
Natural and organic skincare has grown some deep pockets—the global market for natural skincare is projected to reach $10 billion by the start of this year. But growing popularity hasn’t stopped the eco-beauty niche from continuing to innovate and evolve. Taya Tomasello, director of beauty innovation for the Mintel International Group, a marketing research firm, describes one of the most prominent trends as “scientifically natural”—naturally sourced beauty products ...
