Beauty is always on a woman’s mind and part of that obsession with beauty is the desire to hold back the clock – retaining youth is synonymous with retaining ones beauty. So if we opt for green lifestyle then cosmetic surgeries and interventions would be out of the question, but deciding on a natural alternative isn’t always necessarily a better option.

I’d like to bring to your attention something I saw on a documentary – about how people were doing the tango with death by eating poisonous toads, all in the name of beauty and health. They were careful about how they prepared the toads for meals as it was a delicate process to not poison the toad. Personally I think it’s a little too much for me and I’m not prepared to trade wrinkles for a meal of toads, but the woman they showed in the documentary who subscribed to this natural remedy looked 10 years younger than her true age!
I wasn’t too convinced about this “natural remedy” until I found an article about how extracts from frog and toad skin could help treat more than 70 diseases was discovered by researchers from Queen’s University in Belfast.

It goes on to explain about how the secretions from the skins of these amphibians – the same ones they produce to protect themselves from predators are also able to control the growth of blood vessels – a process known as angiogenesis, which could be a great progress in the fight against cancer!

Well all this sounds great, but it didn’t quite explain how they extract the secretions from the animals. If we eat them and then kill them also for the secretions – very soon we’ll have an extinction issue and that always tips the balance on the food chain – a huge green no no.

• 1.    No more New Year Resolution – seems bit cowardly as the only reason I’m saying this is because I know I never finish my list.
• 2.    Everything that remains on the list gets carried forward to the new New Year’s List – balance carried forward anyone? Only problem here is I foresee this balance ending up a mountain by the time 3 New Years come along and the list will end up a scroll.
• 3.    Everything that’s not checked off gets transferred to my bucket list – same issue with carrying forward, only I get a longer time frame to complete it? Maybe?
• 4.    Be realistic about what I’m trying to achieve. The New Year Resolution is supposed to be a commitment to make a reforming habit. –With that said it should be obvious that we should only have 1 on that list because let’s face facts – old habits die hard and there should always be a finite way of measuring  the achievement of that goal.

And so after much consideration over one too many cups of Irish coffee, I decided that it’s going to have to be either #1 or #4, the other two are just so obviously excuses to fail. At the end of it, I decided #4 was the winner because while #1 made sense, I’m the sort of person who likes to better herself and resolutions done the right way are intended to make us better versions of ourselves.

So after a lengthy babble…here’s my 2012 New Year resolution:

Stop the beauty wastage.

Elaboration:
The Source of the problem: As a woman, the worse impacts I leave on the environment are likely from my beauty regime. And as the clock ticks on my age, the more elaborate that regime gets. I am sold by the belief that I befriend time – not to the extent that I want to stay looking like a fresh faced 18 year old forever but rather just to age gracefully.

The Bad Habit: I am tireless in trying out products. I bother that it’s too the least an all-natural product but before I’m done with one jar I’ve bought another one, which means I have one too many products for the same function and each gets used maybe 4 times at most.
The resolution performance indicator:

• 1.    Start with zero : To give away those one too many products I have to people who would actually use them religiously.
• 2.    Replenish with one: Only one jar/tube/bottle to be bought until it is used up.
• 3.    Replenish with one with a conscience: So far I’ve been committed to buying only organic or natural based products. But really that’s not enough. It’s hard to get something you like and works in organic so this year I’m going for at least natural but must be animal friendly.

The resolution’s objective:
1.    Reduce waste – lighter carbon footprint.
2.    Guilt free indulgence – be able to say no animals were harmed to keep this skin soft and supple. Helping animals is always a green thing to do.
So ladies…what’s your one true resolution?

Here’s my two cents on this. Achieving that ideal sized body is only a small step in ‘mastering’ the laws of attraction. Getting into that size 6 dress is great but it’s not very useful when you did not pay attention to the details of it – i.e. you look great dressed but undressed you’ve got another thing coming.

With this I’d like to bring to your attention a condition that plagues even the best of us – spots and I’m not talking about the ones on our face because we’re quite attentive to those. I’m talking about every perky bum’s nightmare – a spotty behind.

For various reasons, even the nicest bum gets haunted by spots and when those spots leave scars – it’s just nasty. So what can we do about it?

1.    Prevent/Avoid
You’ll need to find a way to not get the spottys to begin with. Usually it’s an issue that can be avoided with proper fitting clothes that come with good aeration. I recommend investing in good fitted bamboo cotton undies. Your tush will thank you for it.
2.    Control
You can control the condition by keeping good hygiene. For a natural antiseptic wash, I recommend the use of tea tree oil. Just add that to your soap and use it each time in the shower.
3.    Damage repair
Preventing and curing the spottys is one thing. Dealing with the scars is another. The most you can do is work hard at fading them and that involves exfoliating. You can use loofahs or invest in a good organic sea bath salt to exfoliate with.

I guess it would be how we’re all going to sustain and stay true to our green code.
Let us assess and break down what and how Christmas impacts us

The season for giving
I do believe the true meaning of giving here refers to the act of being selfless but in modern terms that probably translates as buying your loved ones gifts and their “heart’s desire” instead of that pair of shoes you’ve been eyeing all season. But the ‘sacrifice’ of the cash is just one part of it because you’ve got to find a way to balance the ambition with your conscience, ie: find the gift that will be what they want but in green which proves to be not so simple a task and often quite expensive.

The season for forgiving
There are 365 days in a year and only 7 days of it left once Christmas roles along. That’s 358 days worth of opportunity to be offended/hurt/let down/broken up by someone(s) which translates to a lot of pent up frustration, anger, hurt, fear and rage. In the long run the damage these negative emotions have on your core also indirectly affects your green lifestyle as you reach out for emotional comfort in the compensating form of destructive behaviors such as binge eating and retail therapy. You might think that these behaviors just wreck havoc on your weight and finances, but they also dig deep in carbon foot prints with the waste you create.

The season for miracles
Personally I feel that the miracle of Christmas isn’t about winning the lottery ticket or your old car miraculously turning into a brand spanking new Audi Coupe on Christmas morning. No, it’s about finding yourself, finding hope where it was lost. What’s the green bit on this one…I’m not too sure, but maybe it’s the awakening of some people to finally seeing and understanding why we all should care if the sunrises tomorrow, if the rain is acidic or if the animals are homeless.

So there you have it, my take on the Christmas Season and what it stands for to an eco loving woman.

And so we are all advised, to take precautionary measures to protect ourselves. Women are empowered by both choice and knowledge. So as you all have the choice, I’m here to share the knowledge.

Now some of you may have the signed up for some self-defense classes and that’s great, but for others who don’t have the same opportunity, fret not because even the best trained in martial arts would still carry a little handy helper in her purse.
So you’ve heard about mace and you’ve heard about pepper spray. Are they the same things with interchangeable terms? No…they are not. In fact one is derived from manmade compounds and the other from a natural source.

So which is which?

Mace
Mace is essentially tear gas. It is derived from either the mixture of CS (2-chlorobenzalmalononitril, also called o-Chlorobenzylidene Malononitrile) or CN (Alphachloroacetaphenone.) It’s an irritant  to themembrane tissue that causes stinging pain and tearing in 5 to 30 secs. But it’s not effective on everyone, as some people can develop a resistance to CN and CS. In fact mace doesn’t work on the intoxicated!
This form of mace should not be mistaken for the edible mace which is something we get from nutmeg.

Pepper Spray
Pepper Spray is not made from pepper seeds; it is instead made with a natural compound Capsicum Oleoresin which is what you get when you crush capsicums in certain solvents. Pepper spray is an inflammatory agent which causes the eyes to shut instantly. And even if the assailant could open his eyes, the capillaries would be dilated rendering him blind for a certain period. Pepper spray will also result in an instant coughing fit as it inflames the breathing tissues causing breath to be severely limited.
So really the pepper spray is the better choice!

However…I’ll have to admit that today’s post was in a way inspired by recent events (ashes to ashes, dust to dust…) but with a slight twist you could say…as we’re going to be looking at an interesting gift idea!

Now I don’t know about you but I like my gifts to stand for something. I like them to be special not because I want it to stand out in a crowd, no. I want it to be special because it represents my thoughts and wishes for the recipient.

So what is this special unique gift you ask? Well the next chance I get, some people are going to get “eco-worms” in a box!
I can tell you’re already giving me that look of absolute disgust, but bear with me for a bit more before you throw the idea out the window. Trust me; the worms will be a welcome.

If you look past their wriggly exterior, you’ll see that worms have an uncanny ability to turn waste into living bacteria that posses the power to transform poor quality soil into a rich, living growing medium for plants and crops! Which really makes them the perfect gift for someone who is a keen supporter of keeping an eco friendly home and loves tending to the garden.

A gift of eco-worms will be a welcomed surprise as you learn about how much fun and contributing, having a worm farm in your garden can be to the environment. A worm farm will help you turn vegetable and fruit scraps into great potting soil or soil amendment through worm castings and worm tea – both odorless and priceless for your plants. Of course don’t be mistaken to think that they are made from mushed up worms – they are made by worms, not from them.

My friend was a great many things but above all he was a dutiful son, a wonderful brother, a loving husband and a magnificent friend. Surely the memory of a man so great cannot become extinguished with the last breath he draws? I think regardless of which faith you keep; when we are faced with death…we cannot help but wonder what is next.

Now I do appreciate that the presence of death, is hardly a time to think about eco sustainability and let us face facts…death or how we lay the body to rest after is anything but eco-friendly – think of the embalming fluids (formaldehyde), the expensive caskets, the carbon dioxide that your loved one becomes when cremated.

But it’s something that has to be done. Laying our loved ones to rest in an honourable and complete manner is necessary for closure. I recommend that you read this article by Gloria Campos which is entitled “8 Environmentally Friendly Burial Alternatives.. or 8 Options to the Boring Old Coffin”. It’s absolutely brilliant and quite inspiring.

She gives you insight into a world of eco-burial as you probably never imagine existed.

However, there is one eco-sustainable burial that isn’t on her list and that’s the POETREE.

POETREE is the brilliant brainchild of one Margaux Ruyant, a young French Inventor with the DSK International School of Design Pune, India. She designed a funeral urn that progressed with the emotional stages of grief and mourning.

The ashes of the departed is placed in the urn and a boxwood tree (an evergreen shrub) in planted in a biodegradable pot and placed onto the ashes within the urn. As the tree begins to grow, the pot will biodegrade, the soil within will mixed into the ashes and the roots of the tree will begin to grow into the mixture. This will take sometime and by the time it happens, it will be synonymous with the stage of letting go.

The POETREE is now ready to be planted into the garden where after a while, the cork based urn will disintegrate into the earth leaving only the tree and the ceramic ring top which will serve as a living memory of a great life now departed.

The true beauty of the POETREE is not so much it’s green effect but rather how it is designed to walk the stages of grief with you.

Continent: Oceania
Country : Australia
Poo Paper providing animal: The Kangaroo
Famous Kangaroo Poo Paper Brands:  Roo Poo Paper by Creative Paper Tasmania

Continent:  Oceania
Country: Australia
Poo Paper providing animal: The wombat
Famous Wombat Poo Paper Brands:   Creative Paper Tasmania

Continent: Europe
Country:  United Kingdom
Poo Paper providing animal: The Reindeer
Famous Reindeer Poo Paper Brands: The Exotic Paper Company LTD

If you are wondering how paper is made from these animals’ poo and you’ve got doubts about using poo paper because … well it’s made from animal waste…then visit this page on the Elephant Dung Paper website. They have detailed the process with photos to help educate consumers which should help you better understand why it’s safe and a great idea that you should support.

In fact it’s not just sheets of poo paper available these days; there are also other poo paper products available such as scrap books and greeting cards, so do check the possibilities out.

Now looking at such a country, it’s easy to get immersed in its tragedies and forget that what it still has to offer. You see held sacred to the hearts of all Burmese women is the use of Thanaka, an all natural beauty remedy for preserving the skin.

Thanaka is made from the branches of the sandalwood tree, (linoria acidissimia) The grounded bark of the Thanaka tree, acts as an astringent, sunscreen and antiseptic. It very common to see the women folk in Myanmar, both old and young walking around with a creamish yellow coloured pattern drawn onto their faces. Sometimes it’s in the shape of a leaf, sometimes they are circles…but whatever design they may be they are applied to protect the skin from the harsh weather conditions.

Does it work? Absolutely! Of course you won’t see results overnight but as a sunblock it is amazing! And it acts pretty fast to remove sun spots. But if you’ve ever had the chance to meet a woman of Myanmar who has used Thanaka on her skin her whole life you’ll see just how smooth and blemish free her skin is. And mind you the weather conditions in Myanmar are quite extreme in terms of heat and sun exposure!

I saw something fascinating (at least to me) the other day. It’s a Japanese product and it’s called the F-Cup Cookie. At first I was puzzled at what it was because on one hand the box read cookie and on the other it as being sold in a lingerie boutique and on the box was the unmistakable body of a slim Japanese woman with a full enviable bust line. My initial impression was then  – this was the Japanese version of a chicken fillet, something you’d stuff under your bra to give that impression of a fuller cup but the boutique assistant was delightful enough to correct me.

You see F-Cup Cookies were indeed cookies just not like any ordinary cookie. These are cookies that contain the herbal breast enhancer Pueraria Mirifica, which meant if you kept to the consumption instructions you’ll find yourself with a fuller and firmer bust line with the added perk of maybe a slimmer body because the cookie works to not only fill your bust, it works to fill out your stomach too.

Is this another gimmick? Well I did some research on the key ingredient which is the Pueraria Mirifica and this product might be genuine in its claims about giving a firmer fuller bust. Just that it’s commercialized and the packaging sort of overtook the focus on the herb.

Pueraria Mirifica is not a new innovation. In fact it’s an age old remedy used in South East Asia, typically in Thailand and Myanmar where the plant is native to the environment. Known locally as “Kwao Krua”, the plant contains rejuvenating properties as it is has Phyto-estrogen constituents.  So basically the secret in the cookie is the plant extract that increases the level of natural estrogen which reverses the effects of ageing!