Let's all be natural beauties!!!

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. We CAN prevent breast cancer. It's a matter of education.
Anyone who's ever been in my boutique for any amount of time, knows I'm a die hard advocate for non toxic beauty. I'm an activist as much as I am a retailer. I thrive on educating my customers about things that will help them lead a healthier life.
According the The Breast Cancer Fund,a non profit with a mission to educate about breast cancer prevention,between 1973 and 1998, breast cancer incidence in the United States increased by more than 40 percent. Today, a woman’s lifetime risk of breast cancer is one in eight.

Did you know that there is NO regulation of the beauty care industry??? And that even a popular baby bubble bath contains proven carcinogens?!Think about it,we try to eat organic,know to buy organic cotton clothing vs. conventional cotton etc,what about our skin? Our skin is our largest organ,and responsible for absorbing upwards of 400 pounds of chemicals over our lifetime! We have control here, lets use it!Last year we hosted a book signing for Not Just a Pretty Face. This book is a MUST READ for all women.

Stacy Malkan's book has been instrumental in bringing the issue of toxins in our daily use beauty products to the forefront. I personally cleaned out 90% of my bathroom cupboards after reading this book! Yikes!To those who may be afraid to hear the truth, I say I am SO grateful to have the information to make better decisions. Better late than never. Now I know how to read labels and assess a products safety before using it on myself or my family, or offering it to my customers. I also feel good about voting with my dollars and supporting companies that are working toward a sustainable future,over corporate profits.
The best resource for learning the safety of products you are already using is The Skin Deep Database.
Visionary only brings in lines that have signed the "Compact for Safe Cosmetics", a voluntary pledge by cosmetics companies to leave out scores of proven and suspected toxic chemicals normally found in everything from toothpaste to shampoo.When companies sign the Compact for Safe Cosmetics, they are pledging not only to make safer products, but also to provide greater transparency to consumers about their products. More than 1,000 companies are leading the way in innovating safer products.

Once you learn more and get fired up about the fact that the government is doing nothing to protect you from your own beauty care products,YOU can do something about it here by joining the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics.
Visionary Boutique is a passionate supporter of eco conscious companies who are working to bring you healthy and helpful products to help green your beauty routine.
Being that October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we're having a Breast Caress promotion.

This heavenly organic oil is used for self massage to help keep your breasts healthy,ya know PREVENTION? What a concept!3 lucky winners will recieve a bottle of Breast Caress.
Rules:just add your Wish for the World to the Visionary website during the month of October.
Winners will be notified  the first week of November.

Visionary is thrilled to announce our newest skin care line, Duchess Marden.

We are SO impressed with the philosophy and effectiveness of this line! It's all vegan and GMO free and based on Indian Rose water-deelicious!!! I can't get enough of the rich rose scented face cream.
Another line we recently brought in is OSEA. Osea's unique blend of sea nutrients and essential oils provide an active and effective formula for well being, employing the power of the sea and its plant life to condition and balance your skin for a lifetime of results you can see. I was so impressed to learn that the founder was the very first to sign the compact for Safe Cosmetics. This line is very active and results are seen quickly.
Visionary Boutique is so proud to be one of the few retailers authorized to sell the non toxic and most incredible make up line Jane Iredale. This line has changed the way I use makeup.

It is commonly referred to as "the skin care make up" due to it's ability to transform problem skin into flawless skin. Many of the skin problems people are experiencing today are simply reactions to chemicals found in the products they use.
Visionary Mobile offers eco makeover parties where we can bring a Jane Iredale make up artist to show women how to green their cosmetics bag.
Ever notice getting a headache from perfume? Could be the toxic chemicals. Err on the side of caution and choose a natural alternative like Golden Earth Botanical Essences. They smell SO yummy and at $25 you can't beat the price! You know when you buy those high end designer perfumes all you're paying for is their advertising budget and a host of potentially cancer causing chemicals-yuck!

We just brought in a great new line called Revolution Organics,that matches our philosophy perfectly.
I love the all over body balm in the turn up container.

I keep one in my car and use it for all kinds of touch ups throughout the day from dry elbows to eyebrow control. 22 uses in one means you buy less products too:)There are also juicy lip glosses,a super rich skin cream,and another multi tasker, called Glow. I use that one on my cheeks and lips. This one saves me time in the morning and spares me the chemicals!

For the rain forest enthusiasts out there,the line to use is Lluvia. This stuff is beyond fair trade and beyond organic. The botanicals are harvested in the rain forest and buying this line helps to save acres(Visionary has saved 1 so far) and create a sustainable livelihood for the indigenous people in the Amazon. Not to mention this line smells unreal-the essential oils are of the charts effective and smell sooooo amazing!You've got to try it to believe it.
Now back to education. You can't start too young to teach kids about making educated and safe decisions about what thy put on and in their body. I'd love to see every teenager join The Teen Campaign for Safe Cosmetics.  Lets raise the next generation to know these things as second nature. Lets say Of COURSE we don't use products that contain phalates,synthetic chemicals,fragrance.petrochemicals,parabens etc, and for Lord's sake-NO ANIMAL TESTING!
These kids ran a successful campaign to get OPI to take formaldahyde out of their nail polish-you heard me-fformaldahyde-most polish contains this proven cancer causing chemical. That's why we offer Priti Polish at Visionary. Priti All polishes are DBP, toulene and formaldahyde free.Their soy polish remover is phenomenal as well!
At Visionary we're all about raising awareness about the problems, but also following it up with  solutions. We're continually building our organic apothecary in an effort to offer our customers a place to shop for safe and effective beauty products.
So spread the word. Tell your friends and family to get educated about what they put on their body,and we can make a cleaner and healthier world for generations to come!

Shepard Fairey Partners with Visionary Boutique for Power Up America Fundraiser

Shepard Fairey recently teamed up with MoveOn in their “Power Up America” campaign and created an original art piece involving windmills to assist in promoting it.This new piece features red, white and blue windmills resting on a bed of stars, with "Clean Energy for America" emblazoned at the bottom.
We are honored to be in the possession of a limited number of these signed posters .Shepard is a true artist that puts his money where his mouth is. This is the third fundraiser I've had the honor of working with Shepard on. He is continually giving of his time and talents for causes that he believes in. Most recently I worked on the Sea No Evil Art Show benefitting The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society where Shepard donated his time and art.

He also DJ'd our "Obama or Bust" fund raiser at Visionary Boutique last year,and donated  signed HOPE posters and artwork that helped us to raise $10,000 for Obama's campaign.

Creator of the iconic "HOPE" poster that became the unofficial emblem of President Obama's campaign, the Charleston, S.C., native has designed album covers for the The Smashing Pumpkins and Black Eyed Peas, and his work appears at The Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., the Museum of Modern Art in New York City and, beginning Oct. 18, The Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburg. Fairey is currently in Pittsburg canvasing the city with this image as well as installing murals.
Like the symbolic content of his images, the placement of these public art installations on Pittsburg is also purposeful. The murals are meant to not only publicize his upcoming exhibit, but also to urge G-20 Summit leaders to address climate change and adopt clean energy standards.

These exclusive signed posters are available for a $50 donation to  Moveon.org. Come in and pick up your poster before they're gone! Limited edition of 50 signed posters in stock. Cash or checks made to Moveon.org only. No credit cards will be accepted.Offset prints, 24 x 26, on thin paper stock-SIGNED by Shepard Fairey.

An Eco Activist's Journey to Optimum Planet and Animal Friendly Health

I am SO very blessed to be running my triple bottom line business. It is leading me in such a positive, fulfilling and gratifying direction of personal and professional growth. Every day with Visionary is a gift!
For example, over the summer Visionary Mobile attended Worldfest ,and we haven't been the same since.

That is where I really got inundated with information about the vegan lifestyle. I got to meet

Paul Watson,Captain of The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society that day. I first learned of the Sea Shepherds about a year ago on their show Whale Wars on Animal Planet.

At Worldfest I got to hear Paul Watson speak first hand. That speech started me on a track I can't seem to shake. It was during that speech I learned that an incredible %40 of the fish coming out of our already overfished sea today is fed to pigs. Amazing but true! Imagine,we're depleting the world's oceans to support the pork industry?! Yuck!Bye bye bacon!

I also learned the hard truth that day,that %90 of the ocean's big fish are GONE. I find that all at once devastating and motivating. It motivated me to write this post, so we can raise awareness and hopefully reverse some of the horrific damage us humans are wreaking on our precious planet.
I was fortunate enough to attend and volunteer at an art show fundraiser,Sea No Evil, for the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society last week. Check out the photos .

I often say,"Once you go green you can't go back". Anyone with a conscience who gets this sort of information simply can't go on in the same old ignorant patterns.Check out these 15 reasons to stop eating meat.

I am planning to watch Earthlings soon. We met them at Worldfest too.The trailer alone is so horrific it may take me a minute to muster the courage. I saw Food Inc. the day it premiered, and must say I will NEVER eat another fast food hamburger,or non organic soybeans again. Call me crazy but I just don't want ammonia soaked beef or GMO processed foods in my body. I'm about %25 through the book Skinny Bitch,which is helping me along my path in a most entertaining way. I also listen to CLOUT with Richard Greene on Air America,where he holds a "Meatless Monday" Show that focuses on a conscious meatless lifestyle. I get a lot of great tips and information there.

My journey towards conscious eating really accelerated in 1998 when I was pregnant with my daughter Lula. My body craved fruits and vegetables like never before, and I was repulsed by meat.As of today,this is where I am in my journey. I eat local and organic whenever possible. I frequent my local farmer's market(and covet the $1 wheatgrass shots!).I am a member of my local CSA. You can't beat a $25 bag of locally grown organic produce for $25!I've cut out beef,pork,and chicken so far,and am eating wild caught fish just once or twice a month now. I suspect once I get around to see End of the Line,that may change. I make conscious choices when grocery shopping and choosing what to eat-wherever I am. Another great resource we met at Worldfest is The Healthy Voyager, a great blog about finding healthy eats while traveling.
I plan to join the program at The Optimum Health Institute when time allows, to get closer to my goal of optimum planet and animal friendly health. This to me means going completely raw.
I learned a lot about the raw lifestyle while working our mobile boutique at the Raw Spirit Festival over the summer.I do think my journey may take some time as I think my addiction to cheese will not be releasing me anytime soon.The raw lifestyle has been steadily growing in the last several years,with a "no sacrifice" approach facilitated by a crop of "visionary" raw chefs like Chef Be Live, and master of raw desserts D Raw's Jason Wrobel. One of the leading educators in the raw food movement today is Lou Corona. I have been fortunate enough to hear him speak twice.

And of course conscious eaters are bound to be conscious dressers too.Vegan fashion is really coming up with some great animal friendly solutions. Just look at The Girly Girl Army,the go to guide for any vegan fashionista.
I'm thinking that in my case,a gradual education and transformation is the best path for long term success.
Please tell me about your journey,and share your resources and inspirations in the comments....