aries (Mar. 21st-Apr. 20th)
"You never get a second chance to make a first impression." What a great proverb. Too bad it's from a dandruff commercial. And you know anything having to do with advertising is usually just a big fat lie. So don't be too quick to dis every flaky-scalped hottie who looks over their snow-covered shoulder at you this week--they'll probably turn out to be a Pulitzer Prize winner or, at the very least, a Prada model.

Read more at DailyBedpost.com>>

Image via HSN

My mom is the original Product Fiend in our family, so as naturally as I push products on her, she pushes 'em right back. This time, she introduced me to a truly lovely and inexpensive hand cream by a brand I've never heard of, Elariia, a line inspired by the valley of San Pellegrino. The Snowdrop Hand Cream, with myrrh and angelica, is absolutely divine, and smells like um, snowdrops or some such light, fresh blossom. Plus it comes in a cute vintage-looking blue tube, and oh yeah, and it moisturizes too. Thanks, ma.

Image via Scientifica

Bear with me here, but I just had to share this anecdote with you guys because it makes me so proud, and I think it says a lot about what can be accomplished with say, one little old blog post and other various ways to speak out.

Recently, I wrote a post concerned with the negative environmental effects of polyethylene beads on marine life (synthetic exfoliants end up in the ocean and aquatic creatures eat them, which disrupts the ecosystem in several ways, blah blah, blah). See it here.

Then, I found out the best-selling product in Scientifica's skin care line, the very excellent Raspberry Lactic Scrub, contains them, so I wrote a post about what a bummer that is, and also spoke with the owner, Lulu directly. Turns out, like many product manufacturers, she had no idea about the negative consequences associated with synthetic exfoliants.

FLASH FORWARD--I just got the following note from her:

I have a dirty little confession to make. I sort of loathe going into Bath & Body Works when I'm at the mall because the stores always seem overrun by soccer moms clutching their giant tube of Pearberry moisturizer (what the hell is a pearberry anyway? Does that fruit exist in nature?)  and then usually a basket-bearing associate stops by to helpfully push mention that the lotions or body wash or hand sanitizers are buy three get four thousand free. But sometimes I get suckered in because the stuff all smells so damned good and come on, I'm not a stone.