Being labeled an “expert” is becoming more of a commonality, but Andrea Kane really knows her stuff. Recognized as the “organic beauty expert,” Kane writes and produces the only major natural and organic beauty blog and podcast on the Web.

Kane is a true renaissance DIYer. She first entered the beauty business world when she created a handmade bath and body line, Marley’s Own, while stationed in the Navy. “My children are multiracial, and the market for hair care for this segment is very scarce,” she said. “I bought some pure shea, cocoa, and mango butters with some oils and started mixing in the kitchen.” That was August 2003. Six moths later she had an online store with a full body-care selection.

In 2006 Kane started the Organic Beauty Expert blog. Already teaching classes on the subject, she was ready to “help consumers get through all the bullshit.” Adding a podcast, titled Organic Beauty Radio

, was a natural (no pun intended) step with Kane’s experience as a broadcaster while in the Navy. In February 2007 she released her first perfume collection. “I’d been doing it anyway as an aromatherapist. I’m a sensualist at heart and once I started mixing, I knew that I had found something that really ignites my soul…so slowly but surely … the first black perfumer!”

As if all of this wasn’t enough, June 1st, Kane’s show The Girlfriend Lounge premieres online as a unique spin on women’s lifestyle shows. “As women, we are more than mascara and high couture – we are mothers, we are multi-racial, we are professional, we are gay.”

So, the next time you feel inspired to knit, sew, paint, or mix up your own lotions, think of Andrea Kane. Inspired by her husband, kids, and the state of the beauty industry, she also holds a special place in her heart for her mom. “My mother died in 2005 from brain cancer and her final months were spent with me. She had such regret of all the things she wished she had done with her life… I believe you can do what you want to do if you do it and make it happen. So I make my life happen.”

[Scans can be seen here]