Today: Ma’am, your epidermis is showing.

[tweetmeme source=”elizabethev” only_single=false] The older I get, the more refined my sense of humor becomes.  Clearly.  Fortunately, I moisturize on the regular, so I have the dewy complexion of a eleven year old, which is right on par with my emotional maturity.  Speaking of eleven year olds, if you passed sixth grade science, you know that the skin, or epidermis (from the Greek, dear spelling bees, meaning upper skin),  is our largest organ.

[Photo source]

As I was reminded at last night’s Whole Foods Market Whole Body showcase, what you put on your body is just as important as what you put in your body. You body ultimately absorbs whatever products and chemicals you slather on your skin, which gives me great pause when I consider the body glitter craze of the late nineties.  I am pretty sure I can break out in hives on command, so I have always been extra careful about which products I use, but I certainly have a lot to learn.  About mostly everything.  I was like a veritable loofah last night, soaking up all kinds of information.  Let’s wring it all out, shall we?

Inside each Whole Foods Market is a heavenly little section called the cheese department.  The is also a section equally as heavenly, called Whole Body.  Whole Body features carefully selected products that can be characterized as quality, safe products with an emphasis on natural ingredients– plant-based, naturally-derived, with pure essential oil fragrances, gentle preservatives, and non-petroleum ingredients.  In other words, no Bonne Bell Lip Smackers.  Oh, and no Whole Body products are ever tested on animals (obvi).

I had the chance to meet some of the glowing (seriously, these people practice what they preach) faces behind many of Whole Body’s featured brands last night.  The event had sort of the same appeal as my favorite farmers’ market up the street: we enjoyed the opportunity to connect with the people who care about the product, and learn a bit about why and how it should be used.  This is how I found myself smelling all kinds of lotions, serums and spritzes, enjoying a facial on my hand (a handcial?), sipping an elderberry elixir, and eating goji berries, mulberries and chocamole on a Tuesday night.  Yes.  Chocamole.

My first stop was the Kiss My Face table.  I’ve long been devoted to the brand and loved chatting with their lovely representative about their new products, and their partnership with Seeds of Peace, the recipient of 10% of sales of their new castile soap, aptly named Peace Soap.  You can learn more about that partnership and the great work that Seeds of Peace does here.  Doing good while looking good?  I’ll take a piece of that.

I was similarly attracted to the partnership between Mineral Fusion and the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence and many of the other brands represented that have relationships with organizations dedicated to environmental protection, land preservation and other important issues.   Cause marketing is such a brilliant way to attract consumers, while elevating organization’s public profiles and often channeling valuable resources.  As someone who runs a non-profit, I always love to see how brands interact with causes.

This post has officially reached “bordering on way too long, sister” status, so I will wind things down for now, with the threat promise to be back with more soon.  In the meantime…

If you’re interested in learning more about keeping your body “fit and sassy both inside and out,”  I recommending visiting the Whole Body website, which is ripe with information about quality, safe, natural health, beauty and wellness products.  They also offer great resources on a variety of topics, including health and wellness for young adults, supplementing with superfoods, and how to create a spa experience at home.  Given the wealth of products I received last night, I am quite certain a spa day (or month!)  is in the cards.  Someone bring me my slippers.  Please.

Also On Tap for Today:

• Returning to the Heights to steer impressionable undergrads down the career path at an alumni/career center event
• Owl jokes are the new pirate jokes
• Invent a new type of laundry that washes and dries itself …psssssssh

If you had a million dollars to give away, which cause (or beauty product) would you donate to (buy)?