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The Never List: Things You Should Never Use On Your Skin

September 2, 2015 by Ashley Hackshaw

This past year I have been actively reducing the number of chemicals in our home. Small changes, one month at a time, have been making our family healthier and greener.

Over the past year I’ve been disappointed with products that I’ve been using (and letting my family use), and even more horrified at the ingredients in products that I thought were safe. Here’s what I’ve learned: the U.S. Government does not make sure our products are safe:

The United States has not passed a federal law governing the cosmetics industry since 1938.
The FDA does not require that cosmetics products or ingredients be approved before they go on the market. Additionally, the FDA has no power to recall a product from the market.
The U.S. has banned or restricted only 11 ingredients to date, while the European Union has banned close to 1,400.
1 in 2 men and 1 in 3 women in the US will be diagnosed with cancer. (I’ve already had cancer so 2 people are off the hook).
In this research study, close to 16 potentially toxic cosmetics chemicals (including phthalates, triclosan, parabens, and musks) were found in the bodies of 20 teenage girls.

Something is very wrong with this picture!

But there is good news: There is a company called Beauty Counter and it is the strictest in the skin care industry. As a company they have willingly banned more than 1,500 ingredients from their products. Their mission:

To get safe products into the hands of everyone.

So where do you start? First, start with Beauty Counter’s NEVER LIST of ingredients and check your current skin care products:

And check out the Environmental Working Group’s (EWG) website…especially this page on Top Tips for Safer Products.

Over time I’ve been replacing old products in our home (skincare, cleaning, pest control etc) with new ones as I learn and research more. Below are the first BC products I started out with and they have become my skincare staples. Not only are they safe, but I’m in love with how they work, how they smell, how they feel:

1. Routine Clean
I clean my face with this twice a day with this cleanser. I love the subtle scent and for the first time ever I feel like I’m doing something nice for my skin.

2. Every Day AM Hydrating Cream
I use this as my daily moisturizer, adding in 2 drops of Lustro oil each morning.

3. #3 Lustro Oil
I use this in the morning and at night. It always seemed counterintuitive to use oil on my skin since I have breakouts but since using the #3 Lustro Oil it’s cleared up. The plant oils, unlike synthetic oils, work with the skin to lock in moisture and calm irritation (like rosacea!) without clogging pores. Plant oils also have antimicrobial qualities. (click here to read a PDF about the oils and skin types)

4. Tint Skin
I use this as my only makeup. I can apply as much or as little as I need.

No one asked me to write about these products, I’m sharing because I am making safe products a priority, and my skin looks great to boot. If you’ve been a reader for a while you know I don’t ever sell products. I say no to almost anyone who asks me to share their products. I am an information gatherer…and here’s why I am investing my time in this: as my daughter gets older I know the time will come when she will want to use makeup and skin care products and that scares me to death. Also, I am increasingly environmentally focused and Beauty Counter has no plastic microbeads or other chemicals to irresponsibly contaminate our precious rivers. The products are almost 100% vegan except for carmine and beeswax used in a few products. I’m all about education, especially for my daughter’s sake. I’m not asking you to buy anything, but I am asking you to take a look at the products you already use. Look up the ingredients and make sure they are safe.

Please help reduce the chemicals that are building up in our environment. Small steps.

If you have any questions about any of the products, or if you are interested in becoming involved in Beauty Counter to help spread the education about the skincare industry you can email me here and hopefully I can point you in the right direction. I am an official Beauty Counter consultant and safe products are a cause that my heart is deeply rooted in!

Thanks for listening! And if you’d like to support my Beauty Counter shop and/or sign up for yourself you can click here or click the lovely image below. I would love to help you find the right products and/or have you on my team if this speaks to you!

xoxo,

Ashley

The Colors in Nature’s Palette

September 2, 2015 by Ashley Hackshaw

Nature always wears the colors of the spirit.

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Walking to get frozen yogurt last night Boo and I wandered through a gravel lot to get a closer look at the train and we found this:

I don’t know what kind of plant it is but we stood in awe for a few minutes wondering how that many hues could come from one tiny green vine. Here are a few of the actual color matches found in the photo:

Too many to even name but if I tried: mulberry, wheatgrass, camel are a few that come to mind.

I uploaded the photo to Palette FX to get a few names:
Butterfly Bush
Limed Spruce*
Horizon
Tom Thumb
Flax Smoke
Pale Oyster
Pippin
Petite Orchid

*my favorite

This morning I stumbled across this watercolor painting of the old Bethlehem Steel Company in Pennsylvania. It was painted in 1881 by Joseph Pennell and what struck me was how ominous it looked.

Source

I started trying to come up with names for the colors used and most at first had a sterile theme of ash, coal, pollution, and alchemy. But what if I ran it through the same palette generator? Stripped out the colors are beautiful:

And check out the names (from left to right):

1. Pink Flare
2. Mountbatten Pink
3. Amethyst Smoke
4. Smoky
5. _____
6. Casper
7. Fiord
8. Pattens Blue
9. Elephant
10. Pancho
11. _____
12. Sambuca
13. _____

I don’t know why 5, 11 and 13 don’t have names yet. Maybe you have an idea for them.

Hand Stitched No Carve Pumpkins

September 1, 2015 by Ashley Hackshaw

I can’t believe that summer is already quickly coming to a close and that fall is almost here. That means it’s almost pumpkin time. As a Michaels Maker each year I get a chance to come up with a unique craft pumpkin and I must have been feeling a little embroidery deprived because all I wanted to do was stitch this year. So here’s the project I came up with: hand stitched / embroidered pumpkins. A mix between candlewicking/embroidery…

…and cross-stitching:

I love the Michaels craft pumpkins because they can be re-used year after year. The first thing you have to do it just cut the top off…and there is no mess inside to clean out:

I used charcoal and pencil to sketch out a quick design. If you mess up the easiest way to clean off the drawing is with a damp magic eraser.

You can easily hand punch your holes with a sharp object like a skewer or a small flat head screw driver but I recommend a household drill to get the job done quickly and more precise:

Here is my first design…all the holes drilled:

I took a thick black yarn and an embroidery needle and began to stitch my design. I recommend using smaller lengths of yarn than larger and just re-thread often:

This was the first one I made and I love the way the garland turned out:

I learned this stitch when I was about 5 years old…so no excuses about not being able to sew:

This easy hand drawn vine design took about 10 minutes to stitch:

It provides a balanced contrast of simplicity next to the busier pumpkin:

And the cat…Boo loves this one:

I used a hot knife to cut slits into the side of the pumpkin starting at the top opening to hold the ears. The cat ears are just pieces of black card stock cut into curved triangles:

I love the monochromatic look:

To kick off fall in your own home, visit Michaels.com and check out the variety of craft pumpkins available – there is every color, shape and size you could ever want!

Just a bit more information from Michaels stores:

There are tons of ways to DIY your own craft pumpkin for your home, a party or even as a gift.
If you’re looking for something a little bit different, Michaels recently started selling these fun half pumpkins, perfect for fall décor wall mounts and fun signs.

Also, if you’re in need of more fall décor inspiration be sure to look at the 49 other DIY pumpkin projects from the rest of the Michaels Makers – they are fabulous:

An InLinkz Link-up

And here are a few ideas from past years:

A Pumpkin House Number

Sharpie Owl Pumpkins