home - blogs - welcome seattle

Welcome Seattle

image

In honor of the Seattle Bite's first-week anniversary, here's a bit about our newest member of the team, Seattle Bite Editor Jen Harper:

How Jen heard about Ideal Bite: "It was actually during one of my plane trips to sunnier spots (Desert Hot Springs, CA, to be exact) during dreary December. I grabbed a Domino magazine at the airport, and it had a little profile of Jen Boulden and Ideal Bite - I was totally hooked."

Jen's eco-confession: Jen loves to fly to sunny places, especially during Seattle's long, gray season, which lasts about eight months. (Says Jen: "I was totally fretting when yesterday's Seattle tip ran about ways to color your world when it's all gray outside. It's been weirdly, unseasonably sunny lately - global warming at work? According to the weatherperson, the gray's supposed to roll in starting Wednesday...") But she just sold her Volkswagen Beetle, so when it comes to traveling around town, she buses, walks, and bikes to coffee shops, restaurants, and the acupuncturist. She also makes a habit of toting her aluminum SIGG water bottle wherever she goes to avoid falling into the plastic water bottle trap.

Jen's fave eco-hangout: "Julep Nail Parlor, for their awesome pedicures with phthalate-free polishes and paraben-free lotions."

A Face Only a Mom Could Love

I got on the Bare Escentuals bandwagon thanks to my mom. The woman has flawless skin (she's often mistaken for my sister, which amuses her to no end). She showed up at my apartment one day, glowing per usual, while I was having a bad case of redness. I asked her about her latest secret (growing up she always went high end on skin care and scrimped on other things, like TP). We went and picked up the BE starter kit and she showed me how it works (a little goes a really long way) - you can sleep in it too, which I do when I'm too lazy to wash up (uh, every Friday night).

-Senior Editor Theresa...off to email my mom, who finally splurged on a computer this month...

Posted by: ddiprima on 10/28/2008
related tip
18 Comments 
Email Permalink
Bookmark and Share
Email Send to a Friend
Ana  on October 28, 2008 at 05:54 AM 1
I love miessence organics mineral makeup. It's made with natural minerals (no nanoparticals) and certified organic oils... they have mascara, matte and shimmer blushes, foundations, concealers, liquid foundations, lip cremes, shimmer cremes, and a bronzer... it's all priced very reasonably and shipping is free over $100. It smells lovely, and I can sleep in it with no problem, in fact, I think it makes my skin improve overnight! I get mine from: www.anniesorganics.com - you get a discount on repeat orders :-)
Kristy  on October 28, 2008 at 08:38 AM 2
I'll have to try miessence, though my experience is that most minerals don't offer the same coverage, no matter what they say. One brand that does the trick is Alima, really love their products. They also give free samples with every order, and you can order sample sizes of products if you don't want to commit to too much without trying first. It's alimapure.com.
Leanne  on October 28, 2008 at 09:32 AM 3
Bare Escentuals uses something called bismuth oxychloride as a filler in some of their products. This can be very irritating to some people. I use Mineral Basics from www.mineralbasics.com Fantastic products, no added fillers, and after nearly 3 years, my sensitive skin has never been in better condition. She also sells wholesale, so if you can get a group of friends together, you can get some really great deals! Just a very happy customer :)
K Peters  on October 28, 2008 at 10:44 AM 4
I am a big fan of Ideal Bites but this one was way off and I was really disappointed by the lack of good information you offered. I felt this article was misleading because it started out by stating the importance of opting for cosmetics with fewer synthetics like parabens (which have been shown to cause cancer), but then you go on to recommend Bare Escentuals cosmetics. Their products ALL contain parabens as do Tarte products. I know first-hand that paraben-free choices are few and far between, but they are out there. I know because I decided to go paraben-free two years ago and it took time and persistence to find good products to replace my old favorites (because parabens are not the only potentially toxic substance to be concerned about). At this point I believe my family is using safer products, from sunscreen to cosmetics.
Fran  on October 28, 2008 at 11:33 AM 5
This all sounds good, but... "most mineral makeup isn't actually mined; it's produced in safe labs, so you don't have to worry about mine waste" - what exactly does that mean? Unless they're breaking the laws of physics, these labs are getting their raw ingredients from somewhere. Care to enlighten us?
Michelle  on October 28, 2008 at 11:35 AM 6
I've been using the ELF mineral makeup, and I really love it. Plus it's very economic for me. I assumed because they were mineral, I was buying better for the environment.. I hope I'm right. :)
Katie  on October 28, 2008 at 12:13 PM 7
I tried to use the mineral makeups, but finally came to the conclusion that it's not a very good option for older women. I'm 48 and I've cycled and hiked and done all kinds of less than kind stuff to my skin all my life. I don't look like Grandma Moses, but I have a few lines in my face and my pores aren't what they used to be. The powdered mineral makeup made the pores look like moon craters and the wrinkles look like glacial crevasses. I went back to reading the labels on liquid make ups and trying to find the least of the evils. I think it's great if you can wear the stuff, but powders are just waiting to fall into flaws. I have always worn makeup, and I wish the mineral ones had been around when I was young enough to use them.
Lauren  on October 28, 2008 at 12:23 PM 8
Oh yes! You can do so much better than Bare Escentuals. I use Larenim (http://www.larenim.com/). They have no: Gluten, Nano-size Particles,FD&C dyes, Parabens, DEA/TEA-synthetic stabilizers, Quats, Bismuth Oxychloride, Formaldehyde Donors, Carbomer, Talc, Phthalates 1,4, Dioxanes, Chemical Sunscreens, Chemical Preservatives, Polymers, Petro Chemicals, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Acrylates, Glycols, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, PVP. You have basically all and only the same ingredients at your disposal that Cleopatra did (minus the crocidile dung and lead). You DO need to have a good brush collection! I like this more than the Bare Escentuals, which I used to used, and dumped, because of the bismuth and parabens. KATIE - They sell samples. Check them out. There are a few products they sell as pore fillers. Surely that will help fill lines too? Also, things with an 'opal' finish, will help mask lines. If you find a good liquid makeup, though, please tell us!! FRAN - Sorry. ELF (with their beautiful colors and amazingly cheap prices) are not very enviro (or skin) friendly. (Damnit!) Check the ingredients yourself.
Idealbite Team Member tmeronek   on October 28, 2008 at 12:37 PM 9
K and other Biters, Don't worry about parabens in the Bare Escentuals product mentioned today as it doesn't contain any (we always check ingredients before we run a tip, BTW) - the company's moving a lot of their products to paraben-free.
Caitlin  on October 28, 2008 at 02:03 PM 10
I have to agree with some of the other comments -- what a disappointment to see you list Bare Escentuals as a good alternative. I have always trusted your judgement, but realize now that is not always in my best interest.
12next ›last »

Post new comment

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
  • Web page addresses and e-mail addresses turn into links automatically.
  • Allowed HTML tags: <a> <em> <font> <strong> <cite> <code> <ul> <ol> <li> <dl> <dt> <dd> <p> <br> <img>

More information about formatting options