Green Weddings Part 1: The Venue

If you are planning on going green for your wedding, more power to you! There are lots of ways that you can reduce your carbon footprint…even on one of the biggest day of your life! All you need to do is remember the three R’s in every category of your wedding day: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.

I know what you are thinking…how can picking a venue reduce my carbon footprint? It can, you just need to ask the right questions. Questions, that most brides wouldn’t even think to ask. I will list some of the main questions you should ask to help you make the right decision for you and your Groom-to-Be.

• Do they have a recycling policy?
• Are you able to host the ceremony and reception there? This helps reduce traveling pollution to and from each site.
•  Where do they purchase their food and do they support local or regional farmers?
•  Do they compost leftover food or do they donate leftovers to a local garden?
• Do they have any decor items on site that you would be able to reuse?
• Are you able to bring in your own baker so you have the option of getting an organic wedding cake?
• Are you able to reuse floral arrangements from the previous night’s event for bathrooms, entrance tables, etc.?

Those are just a few of the questions that you can ask your venue in addition to all the others that you would normally ask. For more, you can check out Eco-Chic Weddings by Emily Elizabeth Anderson. She has a lot of great information!

When planning your wedding and looking into the venue, you want to support businesses that are doing in regard to sustainability. Make sure they are on the same wavelength as you are in regards to green practices. There are lots of great places that you can get married in such as: a park, or you can support a Non-Profit by having it at a Museum or a garden. A great place is a Vineyard! You would be supporting local farming, plus most of them have a restaurant on site which would give you the same benefits of having the reception at a restaurant. I have done many wedding here in Temecula at the local Vineyards! They are beautiful!

Check out these websites to help you find a green venue by you.

www.greenbrideguide.com. This is my favorite place to go for information on green weddings.

http://greenhotels.com

http://greenweddingshoes.com/top-26-coolest-wedding-venues/

The knot also has a way that you can check Eco-friendly when searching.

I hope that I have given you some good information as a start of this green weddings series! Thank you for reading and please pass it along to those who will benefit from this information!

“Being Green is Beautiful!”

 

Being Green is Beautiful!- A Tutorial

Last week I had my first article published on: http://factbasedskincare.com/green-beautiful-makeup-advice-abbie-moya. Just wanted to post that article here in case you didn’t get to see it!

Summer is a wonderful time to be outside at the park, the beach or the pool. You want to look nice, so you put on your makeup the same way you have been throughout the year. After about an hour or so, you notice that your makeup is no longer on your face because you have sweated it off. During the summer months, you should change your makeup routine. My theory is less is more. You want to just enhance your beautiful features without piling on layers of makeup. Makeup that looks fresh and young. Something that says SUMMER!

Many women are skeptical of organic makeup because they don’t believe that it will perform like the other brands. After lots of research, I have found some great organic/natural makeup lines that perform just as well or better as those sold in department stores.

I am going to show you a simple look that even the makeup beginner can do! I have enlisted my beautiful friend, Jenn to model for me. Here is her before and after pictures (I took the after outside in the sun to show how the makeup looks in the natural light). I will take you step-by-step and describe each product that I used.

1.) ALWAYS use a sunscreen! It doesn’t matter which one. I like to use Nature’s Gate. Works great for everyone in your family.

2.) Once your sunscreen sets in for a bit, I applied a primer. The one I used on Jenn is Jane Iredale’s Smooth Affair. Not only is it a primer, but also a brightener as well. Apply that all over the face. You can use a foundation brush or your fingers. If you were to use a brush, I recommend the foundation brush from Ecotools or Bdellium Tools. Both are great and plus they are eco friendly!

3.) Let the primer set in the skin for a few minutes before applying the foundation. If you do not wait, then your foundation will start to bead up depending on the primer that you use. Just a good rule of thumb to wait a few minutes not matter what. You could brush your teeth while waiting!

4.) You are now ready to apply the foundation.
One of my favorites that I use on most of the brides is from W3ll People. It is called Narcissist Foundation and Concealer. They have six colors ranging from light to dark and it’s a cream foundation. I used number five on Jenn. I like to use my fingers for the face and a concealer brush for under the eyes. The reason for using the brush under the eyes is because when you use your fingers, we have a tendency to pull the skin. This will create more wrinkles. The benefit to using your fingers with most organic foundation is that your natural oils help to smooth it onto the skin and create that flawless finish. Again these are just recommendations. You use whatever you are comfortable using. Make sure you bring the foundation all the way down onto your neck and blend, blend, blend!

5.) For the summer, I like to add a light bronzer on top of the foundation.If you are really oily, you can lightly brush a translucent powder over your entire face prior to the bronzer. I love the one from RMS Beauty called “un” powder. The bronzer I used on Jenn is from a mineral makeup line called Alima Pure, in Trinidad. Make sure you brush the bronzer all the way down the neck and even a little onto your décolletage.

6.) Now you are ready to apply your blush. I like powder and cream, but for a fast simple look I use a cream blush like the one from Vapour Organic Beauty. The color I used on Jenn was the Aura Mutli Use in Crush. I use this with my fingers as well. For placement, I always have you smile and put some on the apples of your cheeks and blend it back into your hair line. Just keep applying until you have the desired amount.

7.) From the cheeks, I moved to the eyes. I wanted to keep it very simple, so I used my same bronzer for my crease shadow. For the all over color, I love to use the Luminous Shimmer Powder in Lumina from Alima Pure. Looks great on a lot of skin tones. I then took an angle brush and dipped it into my dark chocolate brown pressed eyeshadow from Couleur Caramel and used that to lightly line the top of the eyes. I finished it off with the Couleur Caramel Cils Longs in Black mascara.

8.) Before applying your lips, if you notice that you feel that you are too dewy, then take that “un” powder and do a light dusting all over the face.

9.) To finish off the look, take the same cream blush and apply that to your lips then add a pinkish clear lip gloss called Fiji from Primitive Cosmetics.

10.) For added comfort, before going out spray some Jane Iredale D20 Hydration spray. Not only does your skin feel hydrated but it helps to set your makeup.

You now have your simple summer look! I hope that I have opened your eyes to some great tips on makeup and remember, “Being Green is Beautiful!”

Friday Favorite-Aveda’s Control Force Firm Hair Spray

I LOVE this hairspray! This is one of the best firm hold hair sprays out there…at least that I have used. It smells good and it works well.

A little bit about it from the Aveda website:

• All-day firm hold and 24-hour humidity defense
• Fast-drying, non-flaking formula
• UV filters and anti-oxidants

• Organic essential oils of Bulgarian lavender, bergamot, palmarosa, and vetiver—calming aroma

What’s also great about this product is it has a net-zero climate impact.

“Through Aveda’s funding of renewable energy to offset the CO2 associated with the manufacturing, transportation and use of Aveda aerosol hair sprays.”

If you are looking for something to hold well and all day and night! Check out this and some of their other amazing hair products at www.aveda.com.

I have actually included the travel size in my Mini Organic Hair Touch-up Kits!