Guest post : Go Green for St Patrick’s Day

February is at a close and so is the Valentine’s Day celebration so it’s time to start thinking about the following international holiday – the world’s most favorite green festivity originating from Ireland. Yes, you’ve guessed it – it’s Saint Patrick’s Day. Read on for some ideas of how to change your beauty routine to include eco-friendly options.

Green up Your Beauty Routine for St. Patrick’s Day

Guest post by Cristina Nika*

Originally celebrated for bringing Christianity to Ireland, Saint Patrick’s Day today is a cause to put on everything green you have in your closet, drink a lot of good ale and enjoy the street parades and themed parties. However, you could add one more meaning to this cheerful holiday by starting a green “Small Changes, Big Difference” initiative of your own and switching to healthier options when it comes to personal care products

Hair care produce

What’s the best way to stylize your hair for this Irish festivity? Why – color it green, of course! Now, commercial hair dye brands promote their products as super-efficient with a “special formula for hydrating dry, damaged hair” but the truth is that using these products over time actually makes your lovely hair severely dry, coarse, and prone to breakage.

This is reason enough to turn to organic solutions that lack ammonia, but have natural nutrients like soy, flax oil, castor oil, jojoba oil, vitamin E and grapefruit seed extract and are not tested on animals.

Facial scrubs and moisturizers

Going green doesn’t have to mean just smearing something of this color tone on your face, but it could also include you using organic skin care products. That means ditching the synthetically produced ingredients that are harmful not only to our bodies but to the environment in general and switching to substitutes grown using biodynamic farming methods, which go beyond organic by emphasizing an even more holistic relationship between the soil, plants, and animals.

Look for face care products that contain natural glycerin (for hydration), chamomile (for reparation), walnut shells (great for exfoliation) and seaweed extracts (like chondrus crispus full of nourishing minerals).

Body lotions

Our skin, being the largest organ we have, is capable of absorbing a staggering 60% of the ingredients contained in the lotions that we use. Now, when you look at all the complicated formulas and complex names on most of the labels and if you think about putting on toxins like coal tar and cancerous polyacrylamide it may give you shivers (if nothing more serious).

That’s why it’s best to use natural ingredients in body lotions like shea butter or argan oil which have a rich, nourishing effect and prevent loss of skin moisture.

Makeup

Moving on to the best part of Saint Patrick’s Day – the makeup! Instead of risking permanent skin irritation or abnormalities like rosacea, use organic makeup for clearer, softer and healthy glowing skin.

As for foundation and primers, look for makeup that is based on a combination of arrowroot powder, cocoa powder, ground cinnamon, and nutmeg (depending on the skin tone) and with added jojoba, olive, or almond oil for long lasting moisture.

The mascara should have coconut oil, aloe vera gel and activated charcoal (for black) or cocoa powder (for brown shades). Your lips will greatly appreciate a natural lip tint containing organic castor oil and moisturizing organic hemp seed oil.

Perfumes

Finally, there’s nothing like the beautiful scent of rich perfume to get you into a festive mood, but the problem is that most perfumes are based on alcohol which damages the skin in the long run and the synthetic fragrances used have been linked to skin cancer.

Fear not though, because there are many healthy alternatives – like solid cologne and solid perfumes from This And That Herbal which are based on the fabled beeswax and are scented only with natural essential oils.

As you can see, there are a lot of sustainable and healthy ways to give a stylish green homage to the Irish patron saint and you can always look for more cool makeup ideas online. This year, go full green, have a lot of fun and watch out for a four leaf clover. Merry Saint Patrick’s Day!

Follow-up to “Go Green”

As I believe it is very important to pay attention to the ingredients we are using in our everyday skincare and make-up, I was so excited when, whilst I was working on this post with Cristina, I was given the opportunity to review the products stocked at Eco Natural Products.

The company is dedicated to providing natural and organic products and they offer a very wide range. You can get anything from soap to anti-aging products and make-up.

I hope you enjoyed this this guest post “Go Green for St Patrick’s Day” and you can find more of our beauty posts here .

I will be back soon with more style, lifestyle and travel inspiration and don’t forget to subscribe to the blog below to make sure you never miss a post,

 

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With love,

This guest post is by Cristina Nika, a regular author at High Style Life and a frequent guest blogger on other blogs. She likes to explore anything and everything regarding fashion, beauty and mindful living.  She also drinks excessive amounts of coffee and ginger ale, collects flip-flops and loves to take long walks around Manly beach.