Happy Earth Day!

Today is the 40th anniversary of Earth Day! Cosmetics and concern for the environment do not necessarily go hand in hand, but in a nod to being more green today, here a couple Earth Day beauty notes...

Hit the bar to go green Did you know that switching from liquid to bar soap is one of the simplest ways to go green and actually spend less?

Fact: Bar Soaps use less packaging – most are usually packaged in recyclable cardboard boxes – and weigh less than their liquid soap counterparts. Meaning they need less fuel to transport and take up less room in landfills. According to Country Living Magazine, “Substituting one bottle with a bar in each U.S. home would keep 2.5 million pounds of plastic out of landfills.” Also, less of the product goes down the drain during use, so you get more bang for your buck.

I personally use liquid soap, but I am going to try out some bars from Yardley of London Natural Soaps in Honeysuckle Citrus, Almond Milk and Lavender Wisteria to see if I can make the switch. It shouldn't be too hard since these moisturizing beauty bars combine the health and environmental appeal of all natural ingredients with luxurious scents and ingredients found in higher-end boutique soaps. . Available at all Rite Aid Stores and YardleyLondon.com for $3.

Spend some green on "green" products
Revamp your hygiene routine and go green at the same time. Your local drugstore and supermarket have a wealth of products that won’t break the bank. Fill your cart with these Eco-Friendly picks:

• Avalon Organics Vitamin C Sun-Aging Defense Moisture Plus Lotion SPF 15: Provides protection against the sun and made form100% vegetarian ingredients. Available at Walgreens.com for $16.99.
  
• de-luxe MAISON Soy Candles are made with premium soy wax, so they burn clean - no harmful pollutants like ordinary paraffin wax (which is used in almost 90% of all candles made today). They use 100% soy wax from soybeans grown here in America. Available at drugstore.com for $9.99.
• Mrs. Meyer's Liquid Hand Soaps in Geranium, Lemon Verbena, Lavender and Basil. All products are made with natural ingredients and come with biodegradable packaging. (Refill Pouches are also offered) Available at www.mrsmeyers.com for under $5.
  
• Eco Me Natural Home Suzy Dish Soap is chemical free and made from the purest ingredients. Best of all it smells like Sweet Tea. Available at eco-me.com for under $7.

Get creative with Ole Henriksen (contest!)
Ole Henriksen, Hollywood’s skin care guru to the stars and creator of Ole Henriksen Face/Body care products is challenging you to take recycling to the next level and come up with a creative way to reuse your Ole Henriksen product containers. Whether it is finding a new use for your jars and bottles, or turning them into a sculpture, all ideas are welcome. There is no limit to the number of containers you can use to build your creation.

To enter, submit a photo of your “Alter Eco” with a statement of 250 words or less at OleHenriksen.com, explaining how you repurposed your Ole Henriksen containers. Participants and visitors to the Ole Henriksen website will be able to vote for their favorite entry. There will be one grand prize winner who will receive a $150 online gift certificate to OleHenriksen.com plus a $100 online gift certificate to justgive.org to make a donation to a charity of their choice. There will be two runners up winners who will each receive a $75 online gift certificate to OleHenriksen.com. The contest begins on April 22nd and will run through May 22nd, 2010.