Winners will be contacted via email and should reply with contact/mailing info within 48 hours or forfeit winnings. 

Thank you to everyone who participated in our giveaway!

There’s still time to enter for a chance to win a $50 giftcard from Jake’s Downtown, see here for details.

{Update} Congrats to Eco-beauty Giveaway Winners! is a post from: Modern Hippie Mag

I tell you this to demonstrate what a product has to accomplish in order to win my favor and also to help explain why, despite my being constantly on the lookout for new, can’t-live-without-them, beauty products, I am fundamentally a creature of habit. I want to see change, and a lot of products only promise it. When I use a product I want it to meet my needs and expectations to the degree that when I run out, whether it’s shampoo or dish detergent, I am happy to replace it with the same kind. What I don’t want to do is feel the need to stand in the middle of the aisle for twenty minutes poring over toilet paper, debating whether I think the one with the half naked-baby on it will be less linty than the one with the cartoon bear or whether it’s better to have three layers of softness instead of cushiony quilting. So I save myself the aggravation (seriously!) and go with the supermarket recycled brand which is always exactly what I expect it to be: toilet paper and nothing more.

Case-and-point, I have used Kiss My Face’s Obsessively Natural Moisture Shave in Cool Mint almost exclusively for the past five years. I tried another brand once which was very nice, but also very expensive. Another time I got the peach one instead. That’s not a lot of straying for five years. Why have I stuck by Kiss My Face for this long? It’s because they give me more ‘good’ and less ‘bad’. It gives me a great, super-close shave, with zero irritation and it does it while being 99% natural, moisturizing, pH balanced, free of dyes, not tested on animals, and  biodegradable (to name just a few of its merits). Oh, and it lasts a really, really long time.

On the flip side, a product that recently inspired me to change my routine is Adara Organic Coconut Virgin Oil. Its scores from my “more good, less bad” method of product evaluation were outstanding. Adara is pure, cold-pressed (meaning they don’t use chemicals to extract it), organic, virgin coconut oil. Aside from being supremely moisturizing and soothing, coconut oil boasts natural antioxidants, vitamin E, minerals, and antimicrobial/antibacterial properties. It also works synergistically with our skin’s natural oils to help prevent clogged pores and breakouts. It can be used on your face, body, or hair and has innumerable health benefits both when applied topically and used as a health supplement. Even their production and employment practices are stellar. From paying fair wages to all their employees to helping provide educational and medical facilities to the community where Adara is harvested, this company truly understands what it means to be green. In fact, I highly suggest you check out their parent company  www.jcbeautygroup.com to learn more about the amazing ways this company gives back. Adara comes in 5 lush scents (Green Tea, Peach, Jasmine, Lavender and Rose) as well as an unscented version and sinks in so quickly (especially right after bathing) that if it didn’t leave your skin totally hydrated, super-soft and subtly scented, you might question whether or not you even put anything on.

So in light of green giving, I’m sharing the love by giving away sets of Kiss My Face Obsessively Natural Moisture Shave and Adara Organic Coconut Virgin Oil to three Modern Hippie Mag readers!

For a chance to receive one of these gift sets, here’s what you have to do:

1. In a comment on this post tell us which Adara scent you’d like to try, (Green Tea, Peach, or Lavender).

2. Subscribe to Modern Hippie Mag here.

3. Follow Modern Hippie Mag on Twitter, @modernhippiemag, leave your twitter username in your comment.

4. Retweet this giveaway (feel free to retweet often, everyday even!)

5. Become a Modern Hippie Mag fan on facebook and be sure to leave a comment there.

For more chances to win leave a separate comment for each.  For an added entry, blog about this giveaway and/or add Modern Hippie Mag to your blogroll. 

More details:

• Your gift will be mailed directly from Butterfly Effect so please be sure we know how to contact you to get your mailing address.
• You must complete all requirements to be eligible.
• Recipients chosen at random using random.org.
• Open to U.S. entrants only.
• Winners will be announced on Wednesday, Dec. 2nd 2009.

In Search of Positive Product Evolution & Giveaway! is a post from: Modern Hippie Mag

While growing a beard is the most surefire way to cut down on razors, I have been down that path more than once. Living in Florida, a face of fur offers a bit more warmth than I need, and since I have a relatively thick beard, there is a length at which the itching from the dryness underneath becomes almost unbearable. Also considering that kissing my wife becomes far less enjoyable when there is a barrier of hair between us, I really wanted a viable alternative to keep my mug more kissable.

The majority of my shaving experiences have been with a myriad of disposable razors, as I suspect is the case with most American men. If we were to believe the popular media, it would seem that this is the only option we have by which to shave. Dozens upon dozens of commercials and magazine advertisements proclaim the praises of the various disposable razors, each one with more blades than the next, and each offering the best shave possible. However, though the plastic used in them is miniscule compared with many of our other products, it is still more than I care to use in my efforts to curb my plastic consumption.

For most of my disposable razors, I have done a fairly good job of getting the most use out of the blades by cleaning the whiskers of out of the heads after every shave. But most recently, I have been using the Schick Quattro, which has four blades separated into four different segments. This makes it much more difficult to clean out unless I take an old toothbrush to it. Even doing that, the blades grow dull rather quickly, making that much effort a bit of a time waster. Also considering the fact that buying four new heads (in a wasteful cartridge equipped to hold five) costs over ten dollars, I wanted a new razor.

My last attempt at escaping the disposable razor conundrum was going electric. I purchased an inexpensively priced Braun several months ago, thinking that it was a respected brand and would give me a shave in a short amount of time. Nevertheless, after about fifteen minutes of going over the same spot, my face still carried straggling whiskers which I had to finish off with the Schick and shaving cream. I can only assume that if you spend more than a hundred dollars on an electric razor, you will get a worthwhile shave, but I’m not willing to throw that much down.

So I researched other options and found the Preserve, (www.preserveproducts.com) disposable razors. The plastic handles and replaceable heads are made from recycled yogurt containers, and you can even print out postage from the website to send your used handles back for further recycling. Yet I still wanted something a bit more sturdy and a little less time consuming, so I continued my search (we did recently buy some toothbrushes from Preserve, and they don’t taste at all like the recycled yogurt cups from which they were made).

Though razors are thought to have been used since the Bronze Age, only recently have they become a disposable commodity. In 1901, the first razor with disposable blades was created, and in the 1950′s, when consumerism became a chief industry in America, the fully disposable razor was released, soon becoming the shaving standard that it is today. Although I don’t trust the steadiness of my hand to wield a straight razor, nor do I want to sharpen it on a strip of leather attached to the sink, I have found an intermediary.

Vintage Butterfly Razor

I have recently become the proud owner of a Vintage Butterfly Safety Razor with a gun metal finish for the price of $23.99 through Classic Shaving, (www.classicshaving.com). It arrived in the mail yesterday with a pack of ten double-edged blades costing $5.99. I lathered up with some Kiss My Face Lavender and Shea Butter Moisture Shave and went to work. With one half of my face finished, I had to run downstairs to show my wife. It is the smoothest shave I have ever had in my life!

Just one little blade and I got the closest shave ever. I didn’t need four blades. I didn’t need a pivot head. I didn’t need Titanium or Adamantium or Diamond blades. It does take a more deft hand, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t draw a little blood the first time. But I managed to keep from fainting and have been rubbing my face ever since. Plus, my wife really loves kissing me now.

So if you’re looking to cut down on the plastic you’re throwing away and you want a great shave, go to www.classicshaving.com, www.vintagebladesllc.com, or www.theartofshaving.com and invest in an old school razor. I’m still debating on whether I stick with shaving lotion, which tends to stick to the blade, or go to a shaving soap, but I have found that there are much better options than the chemical filled aerosol cans. I’ve read that pure olive oil is great for your face in addition to increasing the life of your blades. Let me know if you’ve found something that works well for you. I’m just glad that I’ll never have to buy another razor again.

A Close Shave is a post from: Modern Hippie Mag