The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics opened up our eyes to the dangers of harmful chemicals stored in the makeup that we use daily. If you’re curious about your own makeup collection sitting on the vanity, head on over to Skin Deep, a super helpful database that lets you search for specific products, ingredients and even companies! The database also conveniently organizes products by category to make the search easier, and created a user-friendly score key to let the users know where their products fall in the range of hazardous chemicals.

According to this article from the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics website:

“Lead may be a contaminant in over 650 products listed in Skin Deep. Lead can be found in a range of cosmetic products including sunscreens, foundation, nail colors, lipsticks and whitening toothpaste. Several ingredients derived from plant sources, such as cottonseed oils and rice derivatives, may contain heavy metals such as lead and mercury.

Titanium dioxide and zinc oxide are widely used in sunscreens, and zinc oxide is also common in foundations, concealers and diaper ointments (up to 4 percent of products in Skin Deep).

Some metals serve as colorants. For instance, chromium is used in a very small number of products as a colorant, and iron oxides are common colorants in eye shadows, blushes and concealers. Some aluminum compounds are colorants in lip glosses, lipsticks and nail polishes. In addition, some color additives may be contaminated by heavy metals, such as D&C Red 6, which can be contaminated by arsenic, lead and mercury.

Arsenic is a contaminant in about 641 products, or about 2.5 percent, of those listed in Skin Deep.

Zinc is used in a small number (47) but wide array of products, including moisturizers, shampoos and foundations.

Mercury has been reported in very few brands of mascara and eye drops.”

Wow! That’s a lot of chemicals in products that we often use on a daily basis. Perhaps it’s time to re-evaluate what should stay and what should go in our make-up bags and/or bathroom counters! For more information on natural skin care products, check out Safe Skin Care and this informative article titled “Are Your Skin Products Killing You?” as well as “Safe Cosmetics, Where Do You Get Them?”

Halloween is right around the corner and if your due date is too, you’re in luck. And not just because your little one is almost here but because your baby bump is just perfect for dressing up! Now that’s reason to dance!

Just think of the possibilities…

• Pumpkin
• Watermelon
• Earth
• Fish bowl
• Basketball/ baseball
• An Easter egg
• Beach Ball
• Pearl in a shell
• Happy face

Or, forget the cliches and dress your belly up as something unique like – the president. Huh? Stay tuned for tomorrow’s post featuring the amazing work of Photographer Mark Jordan.

Of course, green mamas-to-be will want to steer clear of most conventional face and belly paints, even those labeled “non-toxic” unless you know what all of the ingredients are (companies are not required to tell you) and whether the ingredients are safe. (Go to Environmental Working Group’s Cosmetic Safety Database to search the ingredients – if they are even listed.)

The better bet? Buy face pencils such as by Lyra, made under European’s stricter safety standards or make your own belly paints using the easy recipe in our book, Celebrate Green!.

Have you decorated your baby bump in clever ways for Halloween, or incorporated it in some other way into a funny, interesting or beautiful costume? Do share, do share!

Safety experts recommend using flashlights on Halloween to light the way for trick-or-treaters and to alert drivers to their presence.

But conventional flashlights use batteries – which, as most greenies know, aren’t such a treat for our planet.

Although using rechargeable batteries is a great, green option, eventually, they too will need to be dumped.

Enter people-powered flashlights: a fun and eco-friendly option. Some you shake, some you crank, and some you squeeze.

We’re nuts about these sweet, squeezable flashlights from www.GreenPartyGoods.com (and they cost just $8!). The owner, Carole, sent my girls two to try and they’ve been the holed up in dark corners of the house playing with them ever since!

We have a hunch these are Halloween accessories your kiddies will love  – and your Mother (Earth) will be grateful for.

There is a new warning put out by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency that Sherwood brand Pirate’s Gold Milk Chocolate Coins are being recalled due to the fact that they’ve tested positive for melamine.

These coins may be sold at Costco, as well as many bulk and dollar stores, specifically in Canada.

MomsRising.org has a page outlining additional candy products found to be unsafe by the US Food and Drug Administration and give more information on melamine and candy produced in China.

PLEASE let your friends and loved ones know.

For a list of our suggestions for treasures and healthy treats, click here.

For the 2.2 million kids (and growing) who have food allergies, Halloween traditionally presents a cauldron of concerns.

Exposure and ingestion of foods that trigger allergic reactions may cause severe physiological reactions – even death – so many parents of food allergic (and food-sensitive) children work hard to create non-food based Halloween traditions for their kids.

With the epidemic of food allergic and food sensitive children in America, it may be time to lean heavily towards handing out goodies that are “treasures.” Shiny stones, (recycled) spining tops and handmade friendship bracelets are treats all children can enjoy – whether they suffer from food allergies (or other health issues such as diabetes and obesity) or not.

Another idea is to hand out candy that is less likely to be allergenic, such as the confections from www.divvies.com or www.amandasown.com, which are not made in facilities processing wheat, peanuts, milk or eggs.

And yet another option is to allow trick-or-treating, but afterwards have a “swap.” (Health-conscious parents may want to do the same.)

Swapping is simple: allow your child to trade some candy for a few pre-purchased or made treat or treasure items that won’t cause a problem. If you’d like, you can then invite the Halloween Fairy/Sugar Sprite/Great Pumpkin/ or Candy Witch to your home to take the rest of the loot – leaving another treasure behind (see previous posts here and here for more on this tradition).

How do you handle Halloween and other food-focused occasions?