Grace #18 Organic Mineral Makeup

There is so much discussion these days about toxins: toxins in our water bottles, our food, our clothing, our furniture, our air, our homes, and our personal care products that it is overwhelming to me sometimes. Especially with a propensity toward hypochondria, I have to remind myself that I do what I can, do the best I can to reduce my exposure, and that is all anyone can do.

So I have stainless steel water bottles, and I buy organic food when I can, and I open the windows in my car and home and I feel virtuous, a little safer, and a lot more in control of my exposure to toxins.

But most importantly, I have changed my personal care products. You know, the stuff you rub into your skin everyday: the lotions, deodorants, moisturizers, foundations, powders, and lip balms and lipsticks. The stuff that goes directly into the bloodstream through the skin, into the lymph nodes on my neck and underarms, into my mouth via my lips.

It was all toxic.

I was so surprised when I first read and understood the ingredients used in these products. I just assumed that someone had checked the safety of these products and that someone had deemed them safe because of course no one would market, produce, and distribute a product that was harmful, right? (Yes, my naivete knows no bounds, it's like I'd never heard of a cigarette, isn't it?) When I first learned of the toxic chemicals in my makeup it was a no-win situation because more natural options were not available or not available in my price range: should I not wear any makeup, which, with my skin wasn't really an option; or use the toxic stuff knowing what I was rubbing into my skin. I couldn't decide if my vanity would win out against my health concerns and it was a moral dilemma every morning. I spent several years using less makeup, or not using any foundation if it was a particularly good skin day, but I never felt good about my decisions either way.

Then, one day while browsing through Costco, a beam of fluorescent light shown down upon a new product: Physician's Formula Organic Mineral Makeup. I could even hear the faint sound of angels' trumpets over the Muzak as I picked up the product, read the ingredients, and purchased this little miracle of science and nature. It was a good day my friends, a good day.

Now my skin is glowing with good health (and mineral sheen), my conscience is clear, and my bank account is happy.

Mineral makeup: it's a good thing.

(For more information about toxins and potential toxins in your makeup go to http://www.cosmeticsinfo.org/)