3/7/14

Here's another reason to skip buying mealy peaches in the middle of winter: They have more pesticides on them than any other fruit in the supermarket. Conventional peaches that are imported from outside the country when they aren't in season are the most treated fruit with chemical pesticides according to the Environmental Working Group. Skip peaches when out of season and enjoy them when they are grown and harvested locally. And if you really want peaches, consider organic frozen ones. They may not be the freshest, but they are guaranteed to have been grown without any chemical pesticides.

3/6/14

State legislators in New York and California have recently introduced bills that would ban skin care products that use artificial exfoliants in their composition. The reason? Many beauty product brands use something called microbeads, which are microscopic plastic beads that help slough off dry skin. The problem is, plastic beads do not biodegrade and end up in waterways like lakes and oceans where they become part of the microsystem. Fish ingest the beads and, over time, the beads become a chemical compound that pollutes our waterways. The solution? Avoid plastic microbeads and use natural scrubs like sugar, coffee and salt to keep your skin glowing.

3/5/14

If you have a stash of unused or about-to-go-bad beauty products at home, here are some easy tips to save them before they end up in the trash. Foundation that is too dark for your skin tone can be remade into a bronzer for your legs -- just mix it with moisturizer and apply to give your legs a sun-kissed glow. Old perfumes can become room diffusers -- just leave the caps off, and they'll gently evaporate as air deodorizers. And nail polish that's dried up in the cap? Add a few drops of nail polish remover and shake -- it'll loosen the paint and make it as good as new.