charity

A Healthy Snack that Gives Back

Written on December 11, 2012 at 2:28 pm , by Molly Ritterbeck

Makeup artist Bobbi Brown (one of my inspirations!) recently teamed up with KIND Healthy Snacks to create the company’s first Snack & Give Back campaign to help you look and feel beautiful from the inside out this holiday season. How it works: you can purchase Bobbi Brown’s limited edition Eat Pretty Powerful Cube featuring her four favorite KIND bars: Dark Chocolate Nuts & Sea Salt, Cashew & Ginger Spice, Dark Chocolate Cinnamon Pecan and Madagascar Vanilla Almond (they make the perfect snacks and gifts!). A portion of the cube’s proceeds goes toward the Broome Street Academy—a public charter high school that prepares New York City’s most vulnerable young people to graduate with Regents diplomas—a school close to Brown’s heart and one she chose for this program. KIND will also make a $10,000 donation to the academy to help fund a new KIND Kitchen.

KIND is also offering snack cubes curated by Arianna Huffington from the Huffington Post to support the Committee to Protect Journalists and Grace Potter from Grace Potter and the Nocturnals to support the Alzheimer’s Association. The limited edition cubes are available for $42.95 on www.kindsnacks.com.

Think Pink: Five Beauty Goodies that Give Back!

Written on October 25, 2012 at 12:45 pm , by Molly Ritterbeck

October marks Breast Cancer Awareness month, which means companies are churning out beauty products that not only help you look good but do good, too. We’ve spent the past few weeks sifting through them. Here are our faves:

Ahava Hope Blossoms Mineral Bath Salts ($22 for 32oz., ahavaus.com). Sprinkle a capful of these white floral-scented salts into a warm bath to soothe achy muscles after a tough workout. Even better than the spa-like effect: Ahava will make a 10% donation to the National Breast Cancer Foundation in support of their mission to help fund research and promote education and early detection.

Nails Inc. Nail Lacquer in Pinkie Pink ($9.50, sephora.com). This is the perfect way to show your support—right down to your fingertips. Paint just one nail (like your pinky) with this metallic pink polish to add extra sparkle to your manicure. $1 from every sale will be donated to Breast Cancer Campaign.

Palmer’s Cocoa Butter Formula Swivel Stick ($3, drugstores). Meet a great multi-tasker to toss in your gym bag. Use it as lip balm, body balm or rub a little between your fingertips to tame pesky flyaways. Palmer’s will donate 15% of sales of specially-marked Palmer’s products (with a minimum donation of $100,000) to Susan G. Komen for the Cure®.

Stila Positively Pink Set ($18, stilacosmetics.com). The adorable pink ribbon blush adds just the right amount of pink to your cheeks to fake a post-workout flush. Top off your look with a swipe of shimmery lip glaze and you’re good to go. $1 from every purchase will be donated to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation®.

Clinique Great Skin, Great Cause Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion ($36, clinique.com). This cult classic facial moisturizer is not only super light and hydrating, but it comes with an adorable charm key ring. $10 from every sale of this limited-edition product will benefit The Breast Cancer Research Foundation® while supplies last.

Team NARS Completes Triathlon, Raising More Than $100K for Charity

Written on April 24, 2012 at 3:06 pm , by April Franzino

A huge, heartfelt congratulations to our friends at NARS Cosmetics for recently completing the Lavaman Triathlon in Kona, Hawaii, raising more than $111,000 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society in support of a fellow employee who is a cancer survivor. “We challenged ourselves mentally and physically like never before,” says Kelly Fobar, global communications manager for NARS in New York City. “It was incredible to see how much encouragement, friendship and dedication this team shared in the three short months we trained together.” We at FITNESS are so proud of your accomplishments— living proof that makeup, fitness and making a difference aren’t mutually exclusive.

Be A Model Citizen

Written on April 4, 2012 at 12:55 pm , by April Franzino

Cult favorite cure-all Josie Maran 100% Pure Argan Oil is getting the model treatment this month: Catwalk stunners Angela Lindvall and Petra Nemcova, along with Josie herself, have decked the bottles in limited-edition designs that reflect the charity closest to their hearts. Ten percent of the price of each bottle sold will be donated to their respective causes— Healthy Child Healthy World for Angela, Petra’s own Happy Hearts Fund and Women for Women International for Josie. Virtually scent-free, the nongreasy, fast-absorbing argan oil inside is a superb nourisher for face, body and hair. Try rubbing it into cuticles and elbows, onto heels before slipping on socks, adding a few droppers to your bath for a moisture boost, and smoothing over fried strands for an instant hydrating fix.

Life-Saving Soaps

Written on April 2, 2012 at 1:01 pm , by April Franzino

Do good while you wash up with soaps from Hand in Hand Sustainable Suds and SoapBox Soaps. Similar to the Toms Shoes “One for One” credo, for every soap purchased from these brands, one is donated to a child in a developing country to prevent the spread of water-related illnesses, which kill more than five million people per year worldwide. And you’re not sacrificing quality for conscience: The hydrating glycerin and shea butter-based bars come in sophisticated, fresh scents like orange blossom, lavender and lemongrass.

Giorgio Armani Fragrance + UNICEF Team Up For Clean Water

Written on March 14, 2012 at 10:36 am , by April Franzino

Sweet charity: Giorgio Armani Fragrance is partnering with the UNICEF Tap Project to deliver clean, safe drinking water to children around the world. Do your part— and smell great in the process—by participating in the Acqua For Life Campaign between March 1 and 31st.

• $1 from the sale of each Acqua Di Gio for Men and Acqua di Gioia for Women spray cologne or gift set puchased will be donated
• $1 for the first 100,000 people who “like” the Acqua For Life Facebook page will be donated
• Up to $15— 100 percent of the retail sales price—of each 10ml Acqua di Gioia Rollerball Eau de Parfum purchased will be donated

Do The “Write” Thing With The Body Shop

Written on January 25, 2012 at 11:58 am , by April Franzino

Spread the love! From now through mid-February, visit The Body Shop stores to write a message of support to survivors of sex trafficking living at Somaly Mam Foundation shelters in Cambodia, Thailand and Laos through the beauty brand’s “Words of Hope” postcard campaign. It’s simple: Buy a card like the one shown for $1 (the full purchase price will also be donated to the charity), record an inspiring note, and the beauty brand will forward them to the victims when the campaign concludes.

Favorite Find Friday: Mary Kay Beauty That Counts Creme Lipsticks

Written on September 16, 2011 at 9:38 am , by April Franzino

Starting today through December 15, $1 from the sale of each Mary Kay Limited-Edition Beauty That Counts Creme Lipstick will support The Mary Kay Foundation, which grants funding to women’s shelters across the country (they’ve donated $25 million since 2000!). Choose from—or all—three shades (from left): Give Hope, a golden rust red; Give Dreams, a bright pink; and Give Joy, a creamy peach . An easy, pretty way to sweeten your smile—and help save lives.

Favorite Find Friday: Clarins FEED 15 Pouch

Written on July 15, 2011 at 10:36 am , by April Franzino

Do good and look good with the Clarins FEED 15 Pouch, on sale today, which contains the brand’s iconic Hand and Nail Treatment Cream, Moisture-Rich Body Lotion, and Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector in Rose Shimmer. The sale of each pouch provides 15 meals to underprivileged children through the United Nations World Food Programme, with the goal of feeding 1 million children within the next two years.

Something to Smile About

Written on July 5, 2011 at 10:46 am , by Fitness Magazine

A recent study by Orbit Complete found that 69% of people find women more attractive when they smile than when they are wearing makeup, and women generally smile more than men.

We were born to smile…literally: Babies start smiling in their sleep as newborns!

Young or old, no one wants a parched-looking pucker. Keep your lips moisturized this season with the lip products that make me smile:

Palmer’s Cocoa Butter Swivel Stick with Vitamin E: This moisturizer to soothe cracked lips may look like a glue stick, but it’s far from sticky—we keep it on our nightstand and smooth it on before snoozing.

EOS Lip Balm Smooth Sphere: This fun-to-use orb is addictive and tastes slightly sweet.

Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment: The combination of hydration, SPF and brown sugar is almost kissable itself!

Etsy Bare Balm: This can be applied with your finger and conveniently fits in your wallet or pocket.

What’s the lip product you can’t live without?

—By Amanda Downs, beauty intern