As some of you know, every Wednesday we feature new favorite products on Open Sky. Today we’ve added a shampoo and conditioner set from Acure Organics. Siobhan reviewed this line back in November, so we thought we’d repost. Have you tried it?

I’m going to do a Q&A with myself about this new shampoo and conditioner from Acure Organics, because that seems, in this moment, to be a funny and easy break from form, since I’ve reviewed a bunch of shampoos and conditioners lately. Also, easy to read for you guys, right? Heh.

Does the shampoo get your hair clean?

LOL! What? Yes! Obviously.

Is there residue left over?

No, actually. The shampoo has a nice lather—hard to get in naturals—and rinses out pretty easily. Ditto the conditioner, which I typically leave on my hair for a couple of minutes as I shave my legs or sing or something.

Does it smell nice?

I’ve only smelled the argan oil shampoo and conditioner—there are three different kinds, with three different smells and oils, by hair type—and I love the smell so much! Spirit Demerson sent me the duo to sample to try and review (she sells them on her site), and I BBMed her after I first tried it freaking out about how nice is smells. Like almonds, kind of, with a citrusy smell that cuts the sweetness of the almond extract. I love how the smell lingers on my hair too. It makes me feel good about hugging people. (Does everyone think about how their hair smells during hugs?)

Does the conditioner weight down your hair?

Only if it’s opposite day. Which is to say, no, not at all. My hair has a nice bounce to it, no residue (see above) and it’s SHINY, probably thanks to all the oils in there.

Do you like it enough to use it—and only it—every day?

Yes.

Which means it’s probably prohibitively expensive right? Like all the other stuff you like?

Hey! That’s not true! OK, it’s sometimes true, but no, this one’s totally affordable! 12 oz. for $10.99.

I’m new to Acure. Do you like the rest of the line?

We’re new to it too! I haven’t tried anything else from them, but their price points are amazing, and the ingredients are clean, so I’m thinking this might be the beginning of a love affair.

Finally, is it…clean?

See for yourself:

Shampoo ingredients: Organic Euterpe oleracea (Acai) Berry, Organic Rubus fruticosus (Blackberry), Organic Rosa canina (Rosehips), Organic Punica granatum (Pomegranate), Organic Fair Trade CertifiedTM Rooibos, Organic Aloe Barbadensis Vera Leaf Juice, Sodium Lauroyl Methyl Isethionate (from Coconut), 100% Naturally-derived Betaine (from Sugar Beets), Vegetable Glycerin, Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate (from Coconut + Amino Acids), Sodium Cocoyl Glutamate (from Coconut + Amino Acids), Cocoglucosides Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride (Sugar Conditioner), Sodium Levulinate (from Corn), Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride (Guar gum conditioner), Potassium Sorbate (food grade preservative), Organic Argania Spinosa (Argan) Oil, Organic Fair- Trade CertifiedTM Olea Europea (Olive) Oil, D-Alpha Tocopherol Acetate (vitamin E), Hippophae rhamnoides (sea buckthorn) seed oil, Organic Curcubita pepo (Pumpkin) seed oil, Ubiquinone (CoQ10), Argania spinosa (Argan) Stem Cells, glycerophosphoinositol lysine (from sunflower), Almond Extract, Cinnamomum aromaticum (Cassia Bark) Oil

Conditioner ingredients: Organic Euterpe oleracea (Acai) Berry, Organic Rubus fruticosus (Blackberry), Organic Rosa canina (Rosehips), Organic Punica granatum (Pomegranate), Organic Fair Trade Certified™ Rooibos, Cetearyl Alcohol, Behentrimonium Chloride, Stearylkonium Chloride, Vegetable Glycerin, Glucono Delta Lactone (fermented sugar), Organic Argania Spinosa (Argan) Oil, Cetearyl Glucoside (from corn and glucose), Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride (guar gum conditioner), Glyceryl Stearate (vegetable-derived), L-Arginine (amino acid), Organic Fair Trade Certified™ Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Seed Butter, Sorbitan Olivate (from olives + sugar), Panthenol (Pro-vitamin B5), Cellulose (plant derived), D-Alpha Tocopherol Acetate (vitamin. E), Lactic Acid (vegetable derived),  Hippophae rhamnoides (Sea Buckthorn) seed oil, Organic Curcubita pepo (Pumpkin) seed oil, Ubiquinone (CoQ10), Argania spinosa (Argan) Stem Cells,  glycerophosphoinositol lysine (from sunflower), Prunus dulcis (Almond) Extract, Cinnamomum aromaticum (Cassia Bark) Oil

Have you guys tried this stuff? Or anything else from Acure?

Gotta love it when this happens: You have an idea for a post and then you think… “That sounds like too much work!” and post about something else instead. Then you hop on over to your favorite wellness site and lo! They’ve done the work for you.

From Well+Good:

Spring is all about lightening up your makeup. Time to trash the heavy foundation, the lip lacquers, and that 4-year-old cream blush. Now, looks and products play to the “effortlessly dewy,” with springy palates, sheer coverage, illuminating shimmers, and trendy colors that (judiciously) pop.

We’ve culled from the crop of natural and organic cosmetics, and road-tested them for how the new brands and stalwarts wear—and for just how pretty they are on the inside, too.

Some of our favorites made the list! RMS Beauty, Kjaer Weis and Vapour Organic Beauty and Jane Iredale were on there—and so were some brands we haven’t tried!

You can see the rest of their 12 favorites are here.

Mais oui, according to a new study.

We told you a few weeks ago that thyme has been shown to be more effective than benzoyl peroxide—that skin-destroying ingredient that, in my opinion, totally doesn’t work if you’re over the age of 15. Many of you jumped with joy (which is to say posted comments about how awesome that is), and now we have even more interesting news: Rose essential oils can block the effects of stress on skin when inhaled—not applied topically.

This is the kind of research that gets me excited. As anyone with skin woes can tell you, the impulse to reach for a product to fix the problem is tough to beat. Unfortunately, as we’ve said many times, this doesn’t do much for you in a big-picture way. It’s the old “treating the symptoms, not the condition” thing. When it comes to just about everything, and especially our skin, this kind of spot treating (ha) does not work. Or if it does, it doesn’t work for long.

Rose has been shown—in a human and rat study—to significantly inhibit cortisol, the stress hormone that causes inflammation (which causes zits). It also blunted transepidermal water loss, which happens when your skin’s barrier function is compromised.

There are many ways you can put this into play in your life. Prevention.com has recipes for both thyme and rose skin solutions here.

Or you can seek out a potion that contains rose and huff the stuff when you’re stressed. Here’s some things that are worth knowing about aromatherapy:

1. Not all oils are created equal. The tidy rows of bottles you see lining the counter at health food stores? Not what you’re looking for. To work, essential oils need to be super-concentrated and carefully crafted, and when they are, they are incredibly powerful for your mind, body and your spirit. Many of these plants and flowers have incontrovertible evidence supporting their use to heal us, but you’re not going to get these benefits unless you’re working with high-quality oils. That means organic, wild crafted and, ideally, made in small batches.

2. You can use them anywhere, anytime. I basically always have aromatherapy and flower essences in my handbag, as anyone who’s been to a bar with me can attest. (I like dosing people whether they ask for it or, as with our friend Erika, violently protest.) I also keep some on my desk at work, which many a coworker has gotten in the habit of popping by to borrow. This makes me happy.

3. Understand that they can seriously affect your mood. This is important! Essential oils should not be used willy-nilly. The sleep potions I use, for instance, feel almost narcotic when I take them (looking at you Hope Gillerman and Essence of Vali). But investing in high-quality oils can be an amazingly effective (and completely drug-free) way to reduce stress, sleep better, and even look better.

Different ways to use them:

—Drip a few drops on a tissue and hold it to your nose taking 10 deep, meditative breaths.

—Put a few drops on your hand and rub them together, warming the oil and releasing the fragrance. Cup your hands over your nose and inhale as above. Remember that oils are super-concentrated, and can irritate or even burn the skin if you use too much. You may be better off skipping this approach altogether, though I’d be lying if I said this isn’t what I usually do.

—Put four or five drops in the bath for a sinus—and stress—clearing bath.

—Bring it with you in the shower and apply a few drops to your hands, rub them together and pretend you’re at a spa.

—Dab a few drops on the corner of your pillowcase at bedtime.

Have you ever tried rose essential oils?

I’m on a big green smoothie kick, which is something I have a weirdly hard time admitting in public. I’ve already gone on the record saying I’m not into cleanses, and as a food lover who adores cooking, I prefer to get my nutrients from whole foods—not ones pulverized into a convenient melange from the blender. I’ve had many green juices in my time, and I like them fine, but I know plenty of people who go gaga for smoothies and juices of all kind.

Me, I like water, tea and coffee. (Oh, and wine.) Those are basically the only things I enjoy drinking on a regular basis.

And yet! A couple of weeks ago, on a particularly sluggish morning, I wandered into a smoothie spot on the way to work. Looking at the assortment of fruit and veggies in front of me, I picked what I like best, not really thinking about whether or not those things would taste good together. “Kale, blueberry, and half a banana please,” I said. They asked if I wanted almond milk or yogurt, soy or apple juice as the base. “Um, could you just do those three things and see what happens?” They agreed, and the resulting “drink” (cutesy quotes because the stuff barely comes up the straw) was incredible. I’ve had some version of the same every day since. It’s my breakfast along with a handful of nuts, and sometimes some toast. It’s been two weeks and I feel good. Also, my skin is sort of glowing. Nothing crazy or dramatic, but there’s a slight difference, I think, and people have said as much to me. This is not something I would have believed if I’d heard someone else say it.

I guess seeing is believing.

Yesterday I made my first one at home, knowing if I keep up the $10 a day habit I’ll be kicking myself. I was inspired by this recipe, which is where I borrowed the picture up top from, but I also had some raspberries on hand, some new raw honey from Stone Barns and a bit of rice milk that I wanted to use up. I blended it all together in my old-school Cuisinart. The consensus? So tasty!

So do you go the green smoothie thing? And if so, have you noticed any changes in how you feel or look?

Image via this awesome site you should bookmark

People who come over to my house sometimes laugh at the little altar by the window. There’s a Buddha that my friend Ethan got me in India. A native Canadian statue that represents abiding love. There’s an antique gold-leaf painting of Mary and a rosary I got at the Vatican. There’s also a wooden heart that my friend Erika got me in Jerusalem, a beautiful dancing Shiva, some Lotus Wei mists and seashells I don’t remember collecting. Clearly, I take a sort of kitchen-sink approach to happiness and spiritual wellbeing. Or, as my boyfriend likes to joke: “You’re covering all your bases.”

But if we’re picking favorites, my most prized item is probably a bamboo woodcut by the artist Sighn that reads “It’s OK.” It was made, cheekily, in a limited edition of 1 million, and it makes me smile every time I look at it. I’ve had it since 2008.

Why am I talking about all this? Because I’ve decided to do my best to actively cultivate more joy, in a day-to-day kind of way. Some tough stuff has happened lately, and as far as I’m concerned “It’s OK” is a very good place to start.

My older brother—a loving father, husband and prankster known for hacking into people’s Facebook accounts and posting ridiculous status messages on their wall—passed away about a month ago, at the age of 34. This is a very difficult thing, and there isn’t much more I’d like to say about that. But if you’d asked me a year ago how it would feel to have people say things like “He would want you to be happy now” I think I’d have said “That sort of makes me want to punch you now.” And yet a couple of people I trust deeply have said as much to me in the last few weeks, and every time I hear it, I get goosebumps. When people die, you start looking for lessons. Of the two I’ve found so far, there’s one I want to share: Experience joy, even, or especially, when things suck. He would want me to feel joyful now. And I want to feel joyful, too.

So on the days when I’m not playing a game of emotional Chutes and Ladders, that’s what I intend to do.

That’s why we’re starting a new series. Regular readers know by now that we’re not just a beauty site, even though we are, totally, a beauty site. We cover food and meditation and sleep and sexy hormones and other weird things because we take a whole-person approach to feeling (and, yes, looking) our best.

So I’d like to start you all off with my favorite new game. I “invented” it as a way to hasten making up with someone after a little spat, and it’s called Say Five Nice Things. Now I do this all the time. I even do it when I’m on the train and someone bumps me. (“Quick! Say five nice things about that awful stranger who just plowed into you!”) Every time I do it, my mood shifts.

Here are three reasons to play Say Five Nice Things:

1. Everyone loves compliments. That’s why it’s fun to do with a buddy. It could be as simple as “Your sunglasses fit your face really well” or as meaningful as “You always put your arm around me at the exact right moment.” The more specific and sincere the better, I think. But really, probably anything will do. As long as it’s nice, in whatever way you define it, it will probably work.

2. It’s like gratitude, except easier. Gratitude is great. We’re big fans of these kinds of exercises, but it can feel a little hokey and it’s a lot of pressure. Sure you could say “I am grateful for the fact that this martini is delicious” but that might feel a little…thin. This game is much more low-pressure. It’s just noticing five things that you like, and then saying them out loud, or out loud in your head.

3. It changes your focus. I’m not a “look on the sunny side” kind of person—I find unrealistic optimism creepy at best. But I do try, not always with great success, to resist the undertow of hardship. That’s why I say nice things about jerks on the train. It completely diverts my attention from bad things and onto good. Try it, maybe. I find it works.

Now, we’d love YOU to list five nice things in the comments about literally anything in the entire world. We’d also encourage you to try it with a friend or lover. They might look at you like you have three eyes (you do!*), but I bet they’ll like it, too.

* LOL, sort of.

GUYS! RMS Beauty has new(ish) colors. I adore both. Here’s what they’re like, and how I’ve been wearing them. Teaser: I did the perfect accidental smoky eye this weekend for a party. Read on for details.

Solar is a delicate and interesting gold color. Like the Living Luminizer, it isn’t teeny-bopper sparkly, but instead just luminous, the mineral pigments sort of bouncing light off your face and adding a warm and subtle glow, as opposed to a gold sparkle. Plus, because they’re oil based, like all of her products, they’re moisturizing and don’t cake in the lines above or below your eyes.

How I wear it: We believe that our fingers are the best makeup brushes out there, so I apply it that way for the most part. I’ve colored the lower part of my lid with this several days in a row and it makes my blue eyes positively pop. My favorite trick for night, though, is to use my ring finger to apply a light sweep of it under my bottom lashes, on the outside of my eye. With my eye tight-lined in black pencil, this looks so lovely! In the light it’s a little glam, but in normal lighting (meaning at a bar or restaurant, because that’s what I do most nights when I bother to put on eye makeup) it just adds a little light to my eyes. Bonus: I sort of have shadows under my eyes these days due to insufficient sleep, and drawing attention to the corner of my eye, as opposed to the bluey color over by my nose, makes me feel prettier. Finally, I’ve also used this as a highlighter on the outside of my eyes on the side, down to my cheekbones. This looks lovely! Oh, and one more thing: I’ve done the trick we’ve all tried with Lumizier: Dabbing a touch above my iris on the lid, to make my eyes look more awake. Love this trick, too.

Karma is as deep and intense as it looks, but more of a super-dark brown as opposed to a true black. I admit I was a little scared of this one. The pigment is rich and the color is dark and I’m more of a “Is she wearing makeup?” kind of girl, though I’ve been branching out lately.

How I wear it: I love a smoky eye and the other night I went to a birthday party with my boyfriend and decided to really sort of do it up. I used a stiff flat eye brush to apply this stuff in a thick line on the top of my eyelash line. It looked sort of Mad Men (though I didn’t cat-eye it out at the sides). Then, I applied a very light sweep of the stuff close to the lash line on my lid, with my index finger. On my bottom lashes, I used a regular black pencil to tight-line, then swept on a little Solar in the way I described above. I had a the instinct that as the night wore on it would gently bleed into the perfect smoky eye, and behold! That’s exactly what happened. It didn’t smudge or bleed or look messy—it just sort of migrated into dark-at-the-lash-line-smokey-on-the-lid perfection. I’ve also tried blending Solar and Karma together and, surprise, surprise, that looks amazing, too.

All righty! Both cost $28. Also, if you want to feel bad about yourself, you can see how a professional artist (the lovely RMS herself) applied to it a supermodel (the lovely Miranda Kerr) here.

Has anyone else tried these? Got any application tips I haven’t thought of?

I’ve been on a big manicure kick lately and now I have a question…

Can someone please explain to me why, for the love of God, a basic manicure requires about four scrubs with a super-harsh nail polish remover? Question not rhetorical.

Seriously, this stuff is terrible for your nails and is super toxic in a not-really-up-for-debate kind of way. Other aspects of the salon experience are far from natural as well—including that three-free polish—but I suck it up for the most part because manicures are fun, they make me feel put together and I can’t be bothered at this moment in time to perfect my shakey left-hand-on-right application technique.

So I bring my own polish or I cave and use OPI, I don’t let anyone cut my cuticles, and I make sure to take off my polish before I got to the salon.

With what, you ask? Scotch Naturals’ nail polish remover. It’s touted as a remover for water-based polish but I’ve used this stuff for just about every brand under the sun—even Essie one time, shh!—and it works perfectly well. Some people apparently like to apply it and then let it sit for a few minutes then wipe it off. I used to do that with Suncoat’s remover, but I don’t find I need to do this with Scotch’s, nor do I think that technique works that well. Instead I spray a paper tower or cotton round with the stuff, then rub the polish off.

No, it doesn’t come off in one sweep like the industrial strength stuff at the nail spot, but it requires minimal effort for the result.

One bottle has lasted me the better part of a year, and it costs $11.99. I like it so much that I have a bottle at home and at the office.

What’s your favorite nail polish remover? And do you do anything to minimize your exposure to garbage at the nail salon?

Thanks to all of you who have alerted us to the site snafu we’re going to call the “box problem.”

If you’re using Safari or Firefox, you probably know what we’re talking about. We’re working on it. For now, poor Silvy isn’t getting any advice from you guys. But if you click the headline and load the post in its own page and scroll down, you should be able to post a comment. I mean, if you have one…

A tout!

Saturday night over dinner with some friends, the conversation turned somehow to oxytocin—that wonderful hormone sometimes called the “love drug” or the “cuddle chemical.”

The pituitary gland secretes it during orgasm, when we get bear-hugged or massaged, possibly when we pray or meditate, and when we snuggle. It also prompts new moms to produce breast milk, which promotes bonding and builds trust. Even meaningful eye contact with someone you love—including an animal, apparently (though, not being a huge pet person, I find that harder to understand)—can flood your brain and blood with the stuff.

Men produce it too, but since testosterone can interfere with oxytocin, they tend to have less of it. Its impact on the way we think and behave is nothing short of fascinating.

Oxytocin, scientists believe, makes us behave morally, can increase empathy, compassion, and generosity, and it helps build trust (in most of us, anyway). There is even research underway about its ability to treat depression. It’s not a psycho-social panacea, but read enough research about it and it starts to seem that way.

Here’s what I find especially interesting about it: You can’t “feel” oxytocin rushes the way you might adrenaline or dopamine—and yet in study after study, scientists are finding that when levels of it are elevated, we behave differently—regardless of how we feel. And different in a good way.

But here’s the thing: According to the researchers I’ve spoken with, it’s not like any old hug fills up you up with the cuddle drug. There has to be trust there (or at least some illusion of trust, which, yes, can get a little dicey depending on who’s hands you’re in). The prize you get for feeling trust in the first place is this hormone—which can then lead to more trust. Assuming you’re in the right hands, this is a very good system.

Soon, a book called The Moral Molecule, written by a neuroeconomist named Paul J. Zak, will come out about it. (You can and should watch his TED talk here—apparently, and unsurprisingly, the guy is a big hugger.) I was lucky enough to receive an advance copy of it sent after my boyfriend got one first and I got jealous. I tore through it, fascinated by the ways our hormones impact our actions and our feelings about our actions and, in turn, may lead us to behave in ways that are more morally sound.

I’m going to not do the thing where I give you a list of ways to boost oxytocin in your life. Once you understand what the hormone is you can figure that out on your own. Or you can read Zak’s list, here.

Why am I writing about this on a clean beauty site? Because, duh, we’re about much more than products over here, as our stress series, our “There’s No Such Thing As Being Bad At Meditation” tips and our insanely frequent posts about sleep can attest. Also, being happy is one of the most natural ways to look good, and oxytocin is one of the most fun ways to get happy. So there’s that.

There’s no obvious question for a post like this, but please comment if you have anything at all to say. Perhaps you could tell us what you ate for lunch? Or, if you’re feeling sharey, your favorite source of this feel-good hormone?

Oh, bother. We can’t say we’re terribly surprised about this, and we know that even when nail polish is free of toluene, DBP and formaldehyde, it’s still usually as far as you can get from natural, but yup:

A new report from the California Department of Toxic Substances Control found levels of these harmful chemicals in 10 of the 12 “nontoxic” nail polishes it tested.

From the Washington Post:

Investigators found that 10 of 12 products that claimed to be free of toluene actually contained it, with four of the products having dangerously high levels.

The report also found that five of seven products that claimed to be “free of the toxic three” actually included one or more of the agents in significant levels.

As I type this, gazing at my chipped coral manicure (OPI, don’t hate—it was for an important occasion), I’m sort of faced with that “I knew it but I didn’t want to know it” feeling. It’s similar to how we felt when we were writing the book and had to part with some of our favorite products. Like my “all-natural” defrizzer that was aloe-based, but also contained no fewer than three parabens—as well as fragrance.

But back to polish. Among those tested and mislabeled were:  Sation 99 basecoat, Sation 53 red-pink nail color, Dare to Wear nail lacquer, Chelsea 650 Baby’s Breath Nail Lacquer, New York Summer Nail Color, Paris Spicy 298 nail lacquer, Sunshine nail lacquer, Cacie Light Free Gel Basecoat, Cacie Sun Protection Topcoat, Golden Girl Topcoat, Nail Art Top-N-Seal and High Gloss Topcoat.

Glad that none of the brands I use are on the list, but there’s little comfort in that, obviously, since the Tox department only tested a random sample.

Show’s to go ya you never can be too sure you’re getting what you’re buying, no matter how careful you are. That’s why we try to only shop from brands we know very well, whose transparency and authenticity we trust. But blah all the same. Are you going to stop getting your nails done?

Image via