A report was released last night (Tuesday night) from advisors to the FDA that had re-examined all of the data regarding the potential harm from BPA. For those of you who aren’t aware, BPA stands for Bisphenol-A – a “synthetic estrogen” chemical used in the manufacture of plastics, most commonly those with the recycling #7.

The advisors, who were initially believed to be too closely tied to the plastics industry, gave environmental groups a pleasant surprise by concurring that there is inherent danger with the chemical and that the exposure to humans (particularly infants) poses significant concern. The particular concern is with infants as they are exposed at notably high levels during their first few months which can impact development and also future risk of diabetes, obesity and cancer.

The way we are exposed to BPA is when the chemical leeches into liquids that are stored in that plastic – either #7 plastic bottles or cans lined with plastic (infant formula, canned fruits and vegetables etc). The longer the liquid is in contact with the plastic – the worse it is.

I saw a segment this morning on the Early Show (click here for the report) – the doctor and the journalist came right out and said clearly – DO NOT drink or eat from #7 plastic. That was the first time I had heard it so strongly – it’s usually “try to avoid.”

So here’s the most frustrating part, this report was requested after another report in September had linked BPA to developmental delays, diabetes, cancer, heart disease and early onset puberty. The report had clearly stated the dangers, however the FDA came out and maintained their position that BPA is safe in the levels it is currently used. This was despite the fact that well-respected scientists were claiming that the chemical can alter cell activity at extremely low levels – and we are exposed to 10 to 100 times those levels. (read this report from USA Today)

So in comes this panel of advisors – OK’d by the FDA – to give their thorough and final assessment. As if we need one? And lo and behold they are in agreement – BPA is a threat to human health. So you would THINK that the FDA would cry “uncle” and give in. Really. But it doesn’t look like it. Despite the fact that countries like Canada have already banned BPA, our FDA is going to take it’s own sweet time in making a decision. And don’t hold your breath that it will be the right decision. The plastics industry is big and strong. Human health doesn’t hold a torch to the powers of plastics lobbyists. Lesson learned? You CANNOT trust that the FDA will keep your health as its number 1 (or even #2, #5 or #10) priority. You have to stay informed and listen to the real experts – the ones without any agenda.

The experts are clearly saying: DON’T USE #7 PLASTIC – check all of your sports bottles (YES – that means your Nalgene has to go), your baby bottles etc. It also means the big water cooler bottles at your office or in your home (like Poland Spring). Avoid canned goods with plastic linings (ugh – that one is hard!) And stay informed.

I’m sitting here in a food coma from celebrating my mom’s birthday (Happy Birthday mom!) – my sister made her famous sour cream chocolate cake with the yummiest burnt sugar frosting that is so addictive. Mmmmm.

Consequently, my brain is functioning solely on sugar so there’s not much productive going on. To add to that – I spent the last hour wasting the few functioning brain cells on Desperate Housewives. I can’t figure out if Gabby really did gain weight or if it is just in the costuming? Anyway – that is why I have come up with zero creative ideas for the one day sale.

Instead, I’m going to rely on a the fan-favorite FREE SHIPPING!!

So this is the easy way to save – no restrictions. Simply FREE shipping. So shop til your heart’s content at

www.gardengirlskincare.com

and order your favorites, start some early holiday shopping, get some housewarming gifts for the upcoming holidays or try some new products. Feel good knowing that the products are paraben-free, sulfate-free, petroleum-free and phthalate-free!

Then use coupon code FREESHIP to have the shipping cost removed from your order. If your order is $100+, then you get a straight discount of $7.99 (shipping is already free for orders over $100).

Have fun and have a great week! Happy Halloween!!

Recently, I have started to follow a couple of blogs that I have found fun or interesting, and I thought I’d share them with you:

http://www.urbansustainableliving.com/ – This is by Patti Moreno of Garden Girl TV. Patti has all kinds of “Green Living” tips and interesting ideas.

http://parabenfreeprincess.blogspot.com/ – This is a great blog by a woman “nearing 40″ who has started to purge her closets of paraben-containing products. It’s not only informative and amusing but it’s very real – she expresses her frustration in how hard it is to avoid parabens. She has great product reviews too!

http://somethingsnappee.blogspot.com/ – a mom who does some product reviews as well as lots of giveaways of eco-friendly products

Check them out if you get a chance!

I’m writing this as I watch the Red Sox play Tampa Bay. I honestly didn’t expect them to get this far (I set my expectations low this year due to player injuries and other things). It is so exciting – AND nerve wracking. So – this is serving as my distraction!

This week’s special is focusing on FREE. Always a good thing, right? (Ok – assuming it’s for something that you like or want to try. Free garbage or free asbestos, for example, might not be that great, but I digress…)

Many of you have probably picked up on the fact that I throw in a travel/sample sized product with every order. I have always loved getting little freebies. And I always appreciate companies that give you that little extra something. So I wanted to be sure Garden Girl fell into that category.

But this week, I want to give you double the “extra something”. Every order placed by midnight Monday will include one sample of MY choice and one sample of YOUR choice. To get this special deal – simply indicate in the comments section of your order, your choice of one of the following:

No Worries face cream
Nature Nurture face cream
Starting Over microdermabrasion
Cookies + Cream face masque
Oasis for Faces face wash for sensitive skin
You’re Fresh face wash for normal/oily skin
Hand it to You hand cream
Chill Out body lotion
Jump Start body lotion
Mellow body lotion
Alive body lotion
Pucker Up Coconut sugar scrub

Those are the only choices available at this time, so please be sure to choose one from the list. And I will surprise you with ANOTHER one! Super bonus day

Don’t forget – all Garden Girl products are paraben-free, sulfate-free, petroleum-free and phthalate-free. Oh – and guilt-free too!

Ok – time to pay attention to the game again. We’re still up 1-0 – fingers crossed! Go Red Sox!!

A new report by the Environmental Working Group revealed that there is yet another reason to stop buying bottled water. Aside from the pollution/waste issue, it’s now clear that there could be a health issue with bottled water as well. EWG’s study found that there were 38 contaminants found in the 10 major brands of bottled water in their study.

According to the report: “The bottled water industry promotes an image of purity, but comprehensive testing by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) reveals a surprising array of chemical contaminants in every bottled water brand analyzed, including toxic byproducts of chlorination in Walmart’s Sam’s Choice and Giant Supermarket’s Acadia brands, at levels no different than routinely found in tap water. Several Sam’s Choice samples purchased in California exceeded legal limits for bottled water contaminants in that state. Cancer-causing contaminants in bottled water purchased in 5 states (North Carolina, California, Virginia, Delaware and Maryland) and the District of Columbia substantially exceeded the voluntary standards established by the bottled water industry….”read more

So what should we do? Use reusable #2 plastic or stainless (without BPA plastic liners) water bottles filled with filtered tap water. Easy, cheap and safe.

This was a total family weekend for me – lots of activities (and work around the house!) – apple picking, pumpkin patching, and car washing. So I delayed the one-day sale to Tuesday. I tried to come up with a creative offer – maybe something connected to Columbus? But in the end, I decided to just do something simple.

Here it is:

10% off ALL orders! (no minimum, no strings)

Easy. A great way to try new products or stock up on your favorites. Feel good knowing Garden Girl products are free of parabens, sulfates, petroleum products (including mineral oil) and phthalates.

To take advantage, simply go to:

www.gardengirlskincare.com

Place your order, and use coupon code:

OCT14

when checking out.

Hope you had a wonderful fall weekend and have a great week! And don’t forget to read the other posts – including the most recent, about alpha hydroxyacids. Happy shopping – and don’t forget this offer is good only until midnight Tuesday night

I am going to try to do a mini-series of informational bits on ingredients that we use in Garden Girl products. This way you can get a better understanding of why they are used and how they benefit your skin. So to kick it off, I thought I’d start with AHA’s.

AHA’s – or alpha hydroxyacids – are commonly found in skin care products. AHA is a group of acids often referred to as “fruit acids.” While there are many types, they all are generally used to treat hyperpigmentation, damaged skin and acne.

The beauty of AHAs is that they improve your skin with little effort needed on your part! They exfoliate dead skin which in turn helps to unclog pores, keep skin smooth and clear, and reduce fine lines and wrinkles (yes please!). Further, there is the added bonus that in doing so – they actually help to improve skin’s hydration. They have natural moisturizing properties and activate your skin’s own hyaluronic acid. Hyaluronic acid then is able to retain more moisture in your skin.

Some typical AHA’s include:

Glycolic Acid (found in At Long Last, Break Free and Nature Nurture) which is sourced from sugar cane juice
Lactic Acid (found in Break Free) which is sourced from sour milk
Malic Acid (found in Nature Nurture) which is found in apples
Tartaric Acid which comes from grapes and wine
Citric Acid (found in Nature Nurture) which comes from lemons, limes, pineapples, oranges and other fruits
Pyruvic Acid (found in Break Free) is derived from tartaric acid

Glycolic and Lactic acids are thought to be the most effective for use in skincare and can be safely used in cosmetic products at a rate of no higher than 10%. Generally, AHA’s can be safe for all skin types, but people with sensitive skin should test the products on their skin before they use them.

So go ahead – embrace those AHAs. Your skin will be glad you did!

Oh boy – very excited to announce that we have two new products! These products are targeting people with oily or acne-prone skin (although they work well for “normal” skin as well!).

We scoured around to find a manufacturer who could make us some some serious stuff – we were looking for dermatologist-grade products. And we found it. By using these 2 products, along with Even Ste(pH)en toner and either Nature Nurture face cream, your skin will be at its best. And best of all? You won’t be slathering your face with chemicals! Those of you with acne/oily skin know what I’m talking about. The products for oily skin – even if they have “botanicals” seem to be extra harsh and chemical-laden.

Well – you can kiss those chemicals good-bye once you try out the two newest Garden Girl additions:

At Long Last This is a fantastic face wash with a gentle cleanser that won’t irritate your skin with harsh toxins, combined with effective glycolic acid that removes impurities, exfoliates dead skin, and removes dirt and other irritants that can clog pores and cause break-outs. Note: I want to let you know that with this product, the manufacturer did erroneously put a small amount of blue color in the product (future batches will not include the blue). It is at such a low percentage that rather than trash the batch I decided to do the ecologically sound thing and keep the batch but I wanted to be sure to let you know. It is completely safe and non-irritating, just unnecessary.

Break Free We have been thrilled with this product because it is so effective and is easy to use – and it has a simple list of ingredients and isn’t laden with fillers or junk. Break Free is packed with THREE alpha hydroxy acids – glycolic, pyruvic and lactic – to combat oil, exfoliate dead skin, clean pores and even remove the outer layers of damaged or thickened skin. With repeated use, you’ll notice a brighter more even-toned complexion and a reduction in the appearance of age spots and other imperfections. One of our testers found that her skin looked as good using this (along with our toner and wash) as it did with ProActiv!

Feel great about treating your skin to what it deserves with these two products. Set yourself free from the chemicals and check out these new products. As with all Garden Girl products, they are free of parabens, sulfates, petroleum products and phthalates!

So to celebrate our newest babies – we want to offer a whopping:

50% off Break Free and/or At Long Last

This offer is only for our email-list customers. But we are extending our usual “one day sale” to Wednesday this week as a bonus!

To take advantage, simply go to:

www.gardengirlskincare.com/facecare

Add Break Free and/or At Long Last to your shopping cart, and use coupon code:

OCT6

when checking out. Happy Shopping! (and Go Sox!!)

When I started reading this article on WebMD I sort of felt like this was one of those “no DUH” things. Of course exercise is good and is going to help you lose weight. But after reading the article, I realized that the principal had not been studied on older folks as well. And lo and behold – this theory holds true for young or old!

Check out the article on Exercise vs. Diets: Weighing the Benefit from WebMD. It gives examples of how combining the two is going to pay off – and explains why it helps you to lose weight faster and more efficiently.

Let’s face it, exercising is hard work. It’s easier to skip the exercising and we often feel that we just don’t have time. Believe me – I’m saying this from personal struggles that I face each week. I go in waves – sometimes I am really into staying in shape, and then other times I just can’t motivate. It’s definitely hard to fit in when you juggle a family, kids schedules and full time (or more than full-time!) work.

I am back on track these days – my husband got me something called the Fluidity Bar which I absolutely LOVE. And no, I wasn’t offended that he bought me exercise equipment. It was out of the kindness of his heart – he knew I was frustrated trying to find time to exercise. Now I can do this in the early morning before the kids get up. It’s been great! And I’ve stuck with it for 2+ months so that’s a good sign for me

Anyway, the point is not what works for me – it’s finding what works for you! I’m sure many of you already have some great tips for fitting it in – I’d love to hear them!