In our go-go society, don’t you miss the days of personal connections with … well … everyone! A large basis behind the sustainable agriculture movement is going to farmer’s markets and being able to meet those that grow your food face-to-face. What if we could start doing that in other areas too?

Enter: Skin - a new all natural beauty brand made by-hand in Kansas by founder Stephanie Simkins. “Skin is the culmination of my passion for all things real, natural, organic and living. Nothing fake. No chemicals. No additives,” Stephanie says.

“As a nutrition consultant, organic cook, and herbalist, I combine my love of holistic healing, whole foods, and nutrition, along with the use of organic oils and botanicals to create products I believe will nourish your mind, body, and spirit. Everything in the Skin brand line is made in small batches, by hand, with love. Real and Simple. The way it was then, the way it should be now.” Ah, made with love - what a novel concept, no?

When I received a delightful email from Stephanie offering to let me sample her new line, I couldn’t say no. My collection of samples and full-size products arrived swiftly in my mailbox; the package (with recycled bubble wrap inside) was I promptly ripped open and shared with my mother, who was then visiting from Connecticut.

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The winner of the Victoria-E.com/FutureNatural giveaway is … Kathryn Rile! A big CONGRATULATIONS to Kathryn, who also happens to be founder of Pogo Design, a nifty graphic design firm that has worked with a number of small businesses.

Thank you to everyone who entered and thank you to FutureNatural for offering up some of their delectable items. I plan to have more contests and giveaways in the near future, so stay tuned to Victoria-E.com!

Don’t forget - there is only one week left to enter the FutureNatural giveaway, featuring 3 full-size organic body products! The winner will be announced next Monday, March 10th right here on Victoria-E.com. Click the link after the picture for more details.

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Move over Sephora, there is new online home for organic and natural beauty projects - its name is FutureNatural. Launched only two months ago, FutureNatural carries some big names in eco-beauty, such as Zoya, Stem Organics, Nvey Eco make-up, Juniper Ridge, Hamadi, and Farmaesthetics to name a few.

“We’re not anti-science, we’re not blindly for nature, and we don’t profess to be perfect. What we do believe is that science and nature combine beautifully to create products that are effective and luxurious to use - but we want you to be healthy as well as gorgeous,” says FutureNatural President and Founder Emma Pezzack. “FutureNatural is the lifelong culmination of experiences, passions, accumulated knowledge and a genuine desire to empower others to be aware of how their purchases affect their health, wellbeing, environment, plants and animals.”

Emma’s lifelong passion began on a farm in Australia. Now settled in Austin, Texas, she is also a trained make-up artist and experienced fashion stylist. A self-proclaimed “responsible hedonist and organic glamazon,” Emma started FutureNatural with a simple concept. “Our passionate endeavor is to only represent brands that have no petroleum derivatives, no parabens, no synthetic colors or fragrances, dibutyl pthalate, sodium lauryl sulphate, formaldehyde, or any other known harmful ingredients, and absolutely none of the products are tested on animals.”

Don’t see your favorite natural brand on FutureNatural? They will soon be adding Dr. Hausckha, Weleda, Pangea Organics, and Tashodi to the site. If you know of another great eco-beauty brand, contact Emma and let her know.

*** By now, you have probably noticed that EXCLUSIVE GIVEAWAY! part in this post’s title. The time has come to share that awesomely fantastic giveaway with you … so keep reading!

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Am I the only person that felt up-in-arms after hearing about all-natural Burt’s Bees being bought by the Clorox conglomerate? Having touched on the subject of sustainable sellouts once before on Victoria-E.com, the buyouts within the beauty industry have increased immensely in the past year (including Body Shop going to L’Oreal and Jason/Zia to Hain Celestial) … but WHY?

Extra investment capital and access to a wider market are the two most common reasons I’ve heard for a company being “absorbed” or bought out by another. Both are good arguments in favor of selling, but are you willing to do it at the cost of your current customers and their safety? What happened to the three-point bottom line of planet, people, and profit? Can no one be happy with their current success and not constantly insist on growing bigger and bigger and bigger?

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A few less synthetic chemicals being absorbed into our bodies is a good thing, no? Nearly every aspect of eco-lifestyle has been profiled in major magazines recently, and now green beauty can be added to that list. The July issue of SELF Magazine, one of the best selling women’s health magazines in the world, has a great six-page feature called “Natural Beauty for Everyone”.

We all want to look more natural and be more earth-friendly. But as with everything else, when it comes to beauty it’s a matter of degrees. Whether you’re the Al Gore of the cosmetics aisle or you’d slather on toxic waste if it made a headlight-sized zit disappear, we’ve found natural options for you.

Three different “green theme”s are covered, giving any and all consumers a wide variety of sustainable choices and substitutes. Personally, my favorite part of the piece is on the last page, where SELF put green, and not so green, versions of the same products up against each other in a test. Out of the five different types of products compared, the natural versions won out over the “conventional” ones in four.

Nearly all of the products mentioned in the piece are featured in an online buying guide on the magazine’s website, as well as a few extra goodies. A standing ovation goes out to the SELF crew for the beautiful display of intelligent information, and to Beth Janes for writing the piece - wonderful job folks!

Image by Robert Erdmann/featured in Self