Jade Nails

Who What Wear just did a beauty post highlighting pretty green nails for fall. They listed several different brands of nail polish in varied shades of green. There were some great brands on the list including OPI and Chanel. Sadly, there were no Eco-friendly suggestions. But, have no fear, I have found several shimmering (and matte) shades from mint to neon green. My personal favorite is a pretty shade of icy mint from SpaRitual called Delight. I discussed this company in an earlier post because they carry nail polishes that are vegan, DBP, formaldehyde and toluene free and the glass bottles are made of 50% recycled materials. Another great choice is a vegan, water based nail polish from Suncoat called Apple Green (#21). No Miss also has a sparkly shade called Jenson Beach Jade which is Vegan, and does not contain, formaldehyde, toluene, dibutyl-pthalate or camphor. What a perfect way to go green!

Calling all Greenies!

Samsung and service provider Sprint have released a new smart phone called the Reclaim. It is made from 80% recyclable materials and for every phone purchased a donation will be made to the Nature Conservancy's Adopt an Acre Program. It comes in two pretty colors: Earth Green and Ocean Blue and from what I have read has pretty good consumer reviews. There are also several eco-friendly applications available on the phone (although I am not quite sure what that means). If any of you have this phone, I would love to know what you think of it! Let's get to talking!

TOMS New Style

TOMS Shoe Company just created a new style with laces! They include a more supportive insole and stronger outsole and look like super cute, casual oxfords! These cuties can be worn with or without the laces and are a fantastic alternative to sneakers. The shoes come in three different colors for women and men. This new style is called Cordones and if you buy a pair they will donate a pair of shoes to a child in need. I can't wait to order my pair in natural canvas with brown leather detailing. Start shopping!

Style Engine

My blog was linked on Style Engine! Go check out the site! Shop around and check out my blog and other featured blogs under the friends link. Thank you Style Engine!

Gisele

Gisele Bündchen has a fantastic blog to help raise awareness about social and environmental issues. Everyone should check it out, you can read it in English or Portuguese! It is exciting to see models using their fame for important causes.

Victoria Goes Green

Victoria's Secret now has a line of beauty products that is organic, cruelty-free and vegan! The line is called Victoria's Secret PINK. Products range in price from $8 for lip butter (available in four colors) to $15 for body lotion (available in three varieties). Right now they are having some great specials on body lotions, body scrubs and body wash. Hooray for PINK!

WWWD and Toms

Who What Wear Daily featured Toms today in their daily update. Check it out here!

Buy One GIVE One Free!

My favorite pair of shoes at the moment are my bright red TOMS (pictures to be posted soon)! They were a Christmas gift from my adorable boyfriend and since the weather has warmed up I have been wearing them non-stop. TOMS is an extremely exciting company because for every pair the company sells, they give a pair of shoes to a child in need! They are a very simple design with great support and they are perfect the warmer spring and summer months! My pair are a bright cherry red, but they come in all assortments including, stripes, polka-dots, sparkles and basic colors like navy and black. They are available for women, men and babies. They even have vegan styles available. The website suggests that you order true to size but I found that I have to order half a size up. The company also makes adorable t-shirts and onesies for babies that when purchased are matched with a pair of shoes donated to a child in need. They have been featured in Vogue, Nylon, GQ, InStyle and the New York Times (to name a few)! G0 check out the website and support a company that is making a huge difference, one step at a time!

Teen Vogue Steps Up!

I was thrilled when I recieved the May issue of Teen Vogue in the mail a few days ago because it's GREEN! The issue is full of stories about girls all over the country working to makes positive changes in our world. There are tons of suggestions for eco-friendly beauty products and clothing and lists of organizations, designers and websites that are participating in the move to make our world healthier and happier. Go pick up a copy!

Pearly Whites

Every fashion forward girl or boy should have clean, beautiful teeth! Preserve is a company that believes in "Nothing wasted. Everything gained." They create home and personal care products from recycled products. I use their toothbrushes, made from 100% recycled plastic including yogurt cups. Each Toothbrush comes in a travel container made from recycled plastic. And the best part is you can "send the toothbrush and case back to Preserve using our postage-paid label to be re-processed into plastic lumber for picnic tables, boardwalks and decks." Get to Brushing!

The Slow Bicycle Movement

The Slow Bicycle Movement celebrates the use of the bicycle as a "normal" mode of transportation to get to work, school, the movies, the mall, the market, etc. They have a facebook and a blog encouraging people to ride their bikes and enjoy the view of the world around them. This movement is in connection with other slow movements including (but not excluding) Slow Food, Slow Company, and Slow Retail. If you want to read more about The Slow Movement check out The World Institute of Slowness. I was browsing around the Slow Bicycle Movement's blog and found some really cute merch. This was my favorite:

Front and back of a very cute tote for carrying grocerys or books!

A Peace Treaty

I found this amazing company, A Peace Treaty on my friend Eric's Facebook (he modeled for them). A Pakistani Muslim and a Libyan Jew created an accessory company to create employment "for skilled artisans in places of socio-political strife." The company also donates to Counterpart International, an organization that helps bring medical supplies to Dafur. Here are some of my favorites from the 2008 collection, And they are having a SALE!:
Babylon
Makkan
Ishtar
Tira
Niani
Borderlines Yellow (It's Eric!)
Let's get wrapped (so cheesy I know)!

Stella Goes Vegan

Stella McCartney sent vegan legging boots down the runway for her fall 2009 RTW collection! It is exciting to see vegan footwear options showing up in major runway shows. I think this bodes well for those of us in search of animal friendly shoes that are fashion forward. Even though legging boots are not quite my thing I love the collection, especially the divine over-sized blazers with drop lapels! Tell me what you think.

"Green is the New Black"

This article (it's short) from the Huffington Post gives us all more reasons to shop vintage. I hope this inspires you all to go out and discover vintage shops in your area. If you would rather look online try Ebay or vintagetrends.com. Goodluck!

My favorite thrifted blazer...

My boyfriend (Will) and I went out to our favorite bar (Congress) when I was home over Christmas Break. Here is what we wore:

I am wearing: my favorite navy thrifted blazer,
Michael Kors grey sequined beanie, Betsey Johnson
Dress, navy tights, and my JCrew boots (made in Italy)
Will is wearing: American Apparel Navy hoodie
(made in USA), American Apparel grey v-neck t-shirt,
Marc by Marc Jacobs cords, and TOMs navy shoes

A Better view of my outfit

A farewell kiss for you all...

Second Hand Plaid

I scouted a few folks (Sartorialist style but without the great photography skills) and asked them to pose for me. Each one of them showed a fun and fashion forward way to wear a plaid shirt bought second hand!

Girly (Plaid purchased at Goodwill)

Glam Rock Meets Western (most of the outfit
was purchased at Buffalo Exchange, where he works)

Grunge (Plaid purchased at Goodwill)

Down to Earth

Check out the latest post from Atlantis Home (this is one of my new favorite blogs). It features a home with lots of organic, natural and most likely recycled materials. It really inspired me and made me wish I lives in a beautiful "hut" such as this one!

Organic Cosmetics for All

Investing in Organic and Eco-friendly cosmetics is a great way to lower your carbon footprint, but can often be extremely expensive. What's a poor girl to do? Physicians Formula has just answered all of our prayers, with the release of their Organic Wear line. All the packaging of the line is completely recyclable (including the mascara wand) and all products are cruelty free and Eco-Certified. Best of all, everything is available at drugstores nation wide and websites like drugstore.com at affordable prices. For the most recent products added to the line, such as mascara, lip gloss and a two-in-one bronzer and blusher, head to physiciansformula.com.

Polished Thoughts

I was thrilled when my mom came home from the salon one day with a little bottle of perfectly pink nail polish in hand and announced that she had found me vegan nail polish! SpaRitual is the only company I know of that has created a line of vegan and eco-friendly nail polishes. The company uses Vegan ingredients such as specially sourced and selected plant essences that are wildcrafted or organic. And its products are naturally colored and free of synthetic dyes, toluene (a petroleum-based ingredient), formaldehyde (a cancer-causing chemical), and dibutyl phthalate or DBP (a chemical shown to cause birth defects). SpaRitual also prints all its materials in recycled paper using soy based inks. If you want to have pretty fingers and toes and avoid all the toxic chemicals that are harmful to our bodies and the enviornment, I would highly suggest picking up some SpaRitual polish to take to your next manicure or pedicure! My favorite shades from SpaRitual are: Surreal (an alluring shade of navy), I Feel The Earth Move (a rich shade of chocolate brown), Too Hot To Handle (a sexy shade of classic red) and Airhead (a perfectly pretty light pink)! Get to painting!