What a wonderful way to kick off the year: Kahina is offering a very generous site-wide discount to all their NMDL fans. For those of you who know the line, well, you know. And for those of you who still haven’t tried it, if price was at all discouraging you, now’s your chance.
It’s very simple: Just enter the promo code CHEERS (cheers!) and you’ll receive 15% off your order. Bam. Deal lasts until midnight next Thursday.
As you know we don’t have enough good things to say about this line, its founder, and the people who work with her (a little shout out to Mairin, who also wrote one of our most entertaining Morning Routines Exposed to date).
What’s more is that Kahina is using its growing success to help improve the lives of the Berber women (pictured above) who, as part of the argan cooperative, make the Kahina line possible.
We encourage you to check out this blog post describing how Kahina is working to impact their lives, as well as this video because it will make you smile.
We’re very proud to work with this company! It doesn’t hurt that they make a mean, clean, beauty product too.
Happy Friday!
Salut les amis! We have a very special—and timely—deal from Kahina this week that we hope will warm your hearts as much as it warms ours. In the spirit of giving, and giving thanks, they’ve come up with a generous and inspiring deal that we will definitely be participating in ourselves.
In case you aren’t aware, Kahina, founded by Katharine L’Heureux, goes the extra mile to give back. Where some companies donate a small percentage of its profits to charities, Kahina donates 25% of all profits to support the Berber women of Morocco, who harvest the argan oil that is at the core of the line.
Now, for this deal, they’re going even further.
For NMDL readers, Kahina is offering free ground shipping with any order with code THANKS. Also—and this is the real deal—they will donate $5 for each product purchased toward the “goat fund.”
“Hold up. What the heck is a goat fund,” you ask? Read on.
The money will be donated to the Berber women, who will use it toward the purchase of goats in the remote village of Tazghelite in the anti-Atlas mountains. Goats thrive in Morocco’s dry desert climate. The gift of a dairy goat can supply a family with up to several quarts of milk a day. Extra milk can be sold or used to make cheese, butter or yogurt. Families fertilize their gardens with goat manure. Women use the wool to make rugs, which they can then sell at market.
Basically, goats go a very, very long way for the Berber women. And now’s your change to help them get one.
Happy shopping, people. Deals with this much heart don’t come along every day.
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?
You know how you’re always told to apply moisturizer on damp or just-patted-dry skin to seal in the moisture? Well, when I can be bothered to moisturize my body in the first place, I do as I’m told: Pop out of the tub, and on goes the body oil.
Lately, though, my mornings have been a little lazier (not complaining!), which means by the time I’m in the shower, I’m looking to cut corners anywhere I can. So last week I grabbed my body oil and slathered it on in the shower, while my conditioner was working its magic (I typically leave conditioner on for a couple of minutes). As it turns out, I find this quite pleasant!
My current body oils—Lotus Wei’s Energy Serum, which you can use on your face as well, and Soapwalla’s body oil, which, yes, I am still loving—smell incredible, and when taken into a steamy shower there’s an aromatherapy effect that’s luxurious and spa-like. So I apply, rub it in, rinse off the excess (truthfully there never is any “excess,” actually), then pat dry. My skin’s been super soft!
The last couple of days I’ve done this on my face, too. As I’m winding down, I grab my Kahina (yes, still obsessed) and drop a quarter size of the oil onto my palms and then press my palms into my cheeks, neck and forehead. This has made the biggest difference, I think. My skin is getting a little drier with the seasons changing and the rain abating, at least for now, and the extra hit of moisture feels amazing.
So who else does this? Anyone? And if anyone else has time-saving shower tips, we’d love to hear them.
Picture of a bath I don’t have time to take via
Salut, salut! We’re reeeeeally excited about this Friday Deal because it’s so, well, simple. It’s from one of our all time favorite lines, and you get the pick of the litter here on what you want to stock up on—which is good, because summer’s over, and if there’s one thing we know (as we have been discussing lately) it’s that skin needs extra TLC when the seasons change. Also, and follow us here: When fall comes, and our outfits get more subdued, and we’re showing less skin (here’s hoping anyway), there is even more emphasis placed on our faces. Which means we want to be keeping them in tip-top shape, are we right?
Specifically, your skin needs barriers from the elements. And it needs sun-damage repair. And it needs hydration! All of which Kahina, and its all-star ingredient argan oil, provide in spades.
So here’s the deal: Buy anything on the Kahina Giving Beauty site between now and next Thursday the 15th at midnight, enter the code 15UNTIL15 at checkout, and you’ll get 15% off your order. Simple, clean, generous—just like the line itself!
Now! If you’re looking for suggestions, here’s what WE are thinking of doing: Stocking up on the stuff we know we’re going to be needing as the seasons change: the lotion, which helps protect against the elements, the oil, because it’s the best multitasker we’ve found, the eye cream, and the mask. Masks are a great way to ready your skin for seasonal changes—it sloughs off dead skin making it more radiant, but it’s also so nourishing and calming. Siobhan actually finds that when she uses it, the natural pinkyness of her skin—which she has learned to love, sure—is reduced visibly.
If you want more ideas, check out this 10-point list on how to use argan from head-to-toe written by the amazing Mairin Cipolla from KGB.
Also, a lot of you have been asking us lately about the difference between the different argan oils on the market, and why some cost more than others. Here is a great primer, written by the lovely Katharine (we call her Kahina behind her back).
Happy shopping!
Every so often, we get an email about a natural beauty line that sends our special authenticity detector off the charts.
You know when you can just tell that someone a) is the real deal, and b) would be really fun to have dinner with? Well, when Karen King from Chicago emailed us about her new organic skincare line La Bella Figura, that’s what happened. We wrote her back and asked what she thought her stand-out product was, which is when she told us about her Decouverte Eye Repair Serum.
Plagued with hereditary dark undereye circles—not to mention the occasional not-enough-sleep and too-many-cocktails nights—Karen says she was on a mission to find natural ingredients that would be great for her eyes. “In our research we discovered barbary fig seed oil. I was very interested in the composition of this oil with its very high linoleic acid content and because it contains Vitamin K, which helps stop leaky capillaries, one of the main reason for dark circles. However, I was very skeptical because it is very hard to get, time consuming to produce, and therefore very costly.”
Well, after experimenting on her own mug, she found barbary fig seed oil to be so great that she made an eye serum for the rest of us.
Now, to be honest, I’ve never had much of an undereye-circle issue but I totally have smile lines around my eyes (doesn’t bother me) and in the last few months I have thought the skin under my eyes might feel thinner and as a result, a little darker (bothers me a bit). Also, there are the puffy-eye days. We all have them thanks to things like salty food, booze and tears, and they suck.
I’m happy to report that La Bella Figura eye serum noticeably reduces inflammation on puffy-eye days, hydrates the lines around my eyes, and, yes, the skin under my eyes feels somehow thicker and looks less dark. It’s true! Even if I feel bad recommending a product that costs $115.
Now, am I sleeping better than I did last month? I don’t know, I think so? But the point is, it’s hard to know what’s what—but that’s always the case with beauty products.
There are no silver bullets, lifestyle accounts for a lot, so do our genes, and so does diet, but products certainly can and do work, in their way. I’m going to say this is one of those products.
Here are the ingredients:
100% Pure Organic Argan (Argania Spinosa) Kernel Oil, Organic Opuntia Ficus Indica (Barbary Fig) Seed Oil, Organic Rosa Rubiginosa (Rosehip) Seed Oil, Wild-crafted Lycopersicion Esculentum (Tomato) Seed Oil, Wild-crafted Coffea Arabica (Coffee Bean) Oil, Wild-crafted Rosa Damascena (Rose Otto) Flower Oil, Organic Tanacetum Annuum (Blue Tansy) Flower Oil, Organic Helichrysum Italicum Oil, Organic Cymbopogon Martinii Motia (Palmarosa) Oil, Organic Lavandulia Augustifolia (Lavender) Oil.
Also, check out her charming, candid blog here.
Found an eye treatment you think…works?
Image via La Bella Figura
We promised to get more of these to you guys, and our friend Vanessa Gualy from Nailing Hollywood was kind enough to send hers along. Vanessa, whose big brain handles the business side of things, and her amazing partner, green celebrity nail stylist Jenna Hipp, are a dynamic female duo. (We love those!) You can learn about their projects on their blog, including the launch of this HIPPxRGB foundation-inspired nail line. Isn’t it chic? Big -3-Free, of course.
These girls are longtime clean beauty enthusiasts and helped turn us onto Hope Gillerman. Vanessa is constantly trying new stuff, but here’s a current snapshot of her morning routine:
Name: Vanessa
Age: 33
Current weather: Sunny and bright- just like I like it!
Hair: Naturally wavy and tends to be dry. I heat style often.
Skin: Normal, no complaints
My morning skin and hair routine starts before I step foot in the shower. My approach is always beauty and health from the inside out first. As soon as I wake up, I drink a glass or two of water followed by a shot of my cleansing concoction- the juice of a lemon and a tbsp. of olive oil. This cleans my body- especially my liver- and hydrates me from the inside out.
In the shower…
I LOVE to shower. I mean, I really, really love it. Shower, bath, salt water, I’m game. In the morning, I like my shower to feel invigorating. I’ll often start with a dry skin brush to naturally exfoliate and get my circulation going. I’m currently using Stark’s exfoliating mitt. Before I get in the shower, I douse HGillerman’s Chest Remedy on – as you well guessed- my chest. I take hot showers (I know, very drying but it feels oh so good) because the steam feels like bliss to me. The steam coupled with HGO’s oil makes the shower feel and smell like my favorite spa. After the steam gets going, I turn off the shower water to conserve but also to lather up. Collective Wellbeing’s charcoal body wash, detox soap and buffing bar are my cleansing staples. I’m also a huge fan of Dr. Bronner’s liquid soap (it’s saponified oils). The tingly peppermint one is in constant shower rotation and almond one for a bath or soak. My face gets the spa treatment with Suki’s exfoliating foaming cleanser. The lemongrass scent is perfection. I use a Clarisonic a few days a week on my face and an old toothbrush daily to scrub nails clean. I turn on the water for a rinse, turn off, apply natural oil to wet skin (apricot, coconut, etc.) to hydrate and pat skin dry.
Occasionally, I take epsom salt baths to detox and I add HGO oils to the mix.
Although I wash my body at least once daily, I seriously dislike washing my hair but love it if someone else does! I try to stretch hair washings – shampoo + conditioner- 3 days apart. My hair is dry so I rely on a light touch of natural oils- esp. argan oil – to add sheen and moisture. I’m still on the search for my favorite hair care line- I haven’t found a product I can’t live without yet.
Outside the shower…
Most of the action happens in the shower for me, so outside the shower is a breeze. A quick dab of a Kahina Giving Beauty Argan Oil is applied all over my face. It’s magic, try it! I use the leftover oil on my hands as a treatment focusing on applying it over my cuticles. Soapwalla Deodorant cream is my go-to natural deodorant. Lastly, I add Hope Gillerman oils. The daily mixture changes depending on what my body needs that day. Today, it needed serious muscle therapy.
The finishing touches…
My hair gets the heat treatment on most days. It’s summer so my makeup routine is super simple. Daily, I curl my lashes, style my brows and apply a generous coat of mascara (Tarte and Emani). I conceal the skin under my eyes and apply blush (Vapour). I don’t always wear lip color/gloss – I am constantly drinking something so I’d rather not get it all over my glass/mug- but lip balm is something I can’t do without. When the occasion or mood calls for it, I pull out all the stops and do the full schbang- eyeshadow, red lips, etc- but this is the exception these days.
Since going green, I tossed out my favorite and loved fragrances (yes, I wore fragrance daily) and I’m still on the lookout to replace them with nontoxic options. I haven’t found my new scent yet but I am searching….
Can anyone suggest a favorite clean fragrance line to Vanessa? We are both loving Honores Des Pres.
This one goes out to all my curly, frizzy, wavy, fro-y friends out there.
I’ve been meaning to write this post for some time now and, inspired by my buddy’s piece yesterday, I decided to get all listy on it. Obviously you guys know that what got us in trouble in the first place was a fated chem-filled Brazilian Blowout. And as such we like to encourage women to generally embrace what they were born with, rather than fight their looks at every turn—especially with toxins.
But let’s be real about things too. There will always be women with curly hair who try to make it straight. And just because we want you to love and accept yourself does not at all mean that we don’t strongly advocate mixing sh*t up sometimes. When I get a blowout it’s like a new lease on life! I don’t do it often but when I do, a whole other gal comes out to play: She’s a little more sophisticated than me, this blowout character, a little more polished. I’ll never be her year-round, but I like her style.
But here’s the big surprise, ladies: Going natural—and I mean really natural—is the best thing you can do for your blowout. Consider this a guide to the anti-Brazilian blowout.
1. Stop washing your hair. If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times: Not washing my hair is the best thing I ever did for this (now less) dry, curly mane of mine. It’s made it more manageable and actually much easier to style. Thanks to the natural oils in there I no longer look like someone who’s been electrocuted when I get my hair blown out. Sure, my ends are still a little ragged but overall my hair looks much healthier than it once did straightened. Also—and this is the clincher—when your scalp is used to not being washed you can keep a blowout for days (and days, and days) without it turning to a greasy mess. It’s like you’ve pre-trained it for the blowout. I kept my last one for over a week easy—and I could have gone longer.
2. Show up with a wet head. Critical if you’re doing it at a salon, otherwise the stylist will force you to wash your hair. Trust me on this one. And even if they don’t they will still use chemy products in there that you don’t want. Which takes me to…
3. Avoid leave-ins. I’m not talking about a little bit of argan oil on the ends here, but if you leave crap in your hair (even of the more natural variety like my new favorite curl cream) you run the risk of your hair getting weighed down and dull looking after a day or two. Even worse, your scalp could start itching. On the contrary, your natural oils will add shine and not weigh your hair down (except maybe at the root, but there’s a solution for that). So keep your hair dirty-clean, yeah?
4. Ask for a loose wave rather than the pin-straight look. I know us curly-haired girls dream of nothing more than shiny, stick-straight locks. But the truth is, no matter how healthy our hair is, most of us are still going to have broken ends that look rough when they’re super straight. It’s just the nature of the curly beast. As dumb luck would have it, the last blowout I had I asked for loose waves because I wanted to wear it in a pony for my friend’s wedding. I’ll never ask for anything else. Having the ends fall into big curls was the perfect camouflage (see picture above for inspiration) The waves also actually got better as the days passed.
5. Use dry shampoo to keep it alive. As mentioned, depending just how used to not washing your scalp is, the top can get a little greasy or flat after a few days. Meet your new best friend, dry shampoo. Siobhan has written about this stuff in the past but for some reason I’d never tried it. Probably because it’s called shampoo—but it’s really nothing like it. The added volume dry shampoo can give you at the root makes it feel more like a styling product to me than anything else. Yes it gets rid of the grease, but also, holy height! (Again, see above pic for inspiration because dry shampoo can do that depending how thick your hair is.) I’ve been using this All Nighter Styling Powder (couldn’t look less natural, but it’s made from rice tapioca and colored with mineral pigments) and I love it. I even use it here and there when my hair’s curly just to get that extra boost on top.
So, who here likes to get a blowout now and again? Got any tips to add?
Happy Friday, loves—and happy summer too! We’re sorry we had no deal for you last week (scheduling snafu!), but this one’s doubly good to make up for it. The beloved Kahina Giving Beauty is doing something we’ve yet to see: They’re offering a discount AND a giveaway with this week’s deal.
So here it is: Spend over $50 (before taxes) buying whatever you like on the Kahina site to receive a 15% discount AND a little prezzy from the Kahina crew: this yummy Argan Bar Soap (featured above). Delish. Just use the promo code NMDL624 at checkout. As per, the gift won’t show up in your cart, but it will arrive with your shipment.
And let’s have a little fun with this today. If you’re going to order something, let us know in the comments what you’re getting and why. Will it be the classic argan oil, or maybe the eye cream? How about Siobhan’s total obsession: the toning spray?
Now go have a wonderful summery weekend of sun, fun and repose.
You know when you meet a new person and you’re so wild about them that even their snoring is adorable? You think about them when they’re not around and find ways to work them into conversations no matter how much of a stretch it is? That’s basically how I feel about the Kahina Giving Beauty Toning Mist, which I’ve been using religiously for exactly a month now mainly because…
It’s not every day one of your favorite brands puts out a new product, and it’s not every day you find a product that is loaded with actives, feels and smells good, and—gasp—works.
A word about the word “works.” This is obviously to a certain extent subjective, but seeing is believing when it comes to skincare and based on what I see in the mirror (even in the super-unflattering lighting in my bathroom) and on the ingredient list (posted below), I’m a believer. I feel almost certain that my skin has been more hydrated, calmer/clearer, plumped and glowy since I started using it—which I credit to the sodium hyaluronate, argan leaf extract, willow bark and rose water. There are also a lot of antioxidants in there.
Here’s how I use it: After my morning shower, where I typically wipe my face with a muslin cloth from Pai (with no cleanser), I spray my face with Kahina’s Toning Mist, wait a couple of minutes, and then apply moisturizer and sunscreen. And at night before bed, after washing, I spray, wait a few, then apply my night oils and an eye cream. It’s also nice over makeup (it sets minerals very nicely) and as a refresher after a long flight. So far, so great.
Plus, 25 percent of the profits are set aside for the Berber women in Morocco who harvest and produce Kahina’s argan oil.
You can get it from their site, for $36. I’m not sure how long it will last but with a month of twice-daily use I have a long way to go before it runs out.
Ingredients: aloe barbadensis (aloe vera) leaf juice*, aqua, rosa damascena (rose) flower water*, salix nigra (willow bark) extract, populus tremuloides (aspen bark) extract, medicago sativa (alfalfa) extract*, sodium hyaluronate, argania spinosa (argan) leaf extract, oryza sativa (rice) seed extract*, camellia sinensis (white tea) leaf extract*, sodium PCA, glycerin, sodium levulinate, sodium anisate, maltodextrin, sodium benzoate.
Have you tried this mist? Do you have a toner you like?
