Two Loves Unite!

No, no one got married, but it is a breath of fresh air to see both Elle and Vanity Fair's "green" issues on newsstands this month. People are finally learning! (It only took two plus decades of ignoring the "hippies" telling them all of these things for years of course!) Anywho, for anyone who knows me you know that I have multiple hobbies/obsessions/loves. As of recently, two have combined for the better- ocean conservation and cosmetics- and I could never be more pleased. (Though I realize I've written a cosmetics blog already here, this one is a little different, so I'll proceed.)

Ever since I started I saltwater aquarium and the additional research that goes with it, I have been distraught as to the lack of awareness that our world seems to have for oceanic pollution (and ultimately destruction.) There have been articles in the last six months that have only made this worry and anger worse, some instances preventable and some not: the earthquake in the Phillipines that pushed many of their islands up and left much of their reefs exposed, the destruction of a lot of reefs around South America and the Carribean for construction purposes, and the ongoing cancer-like infestations of Crown of Thorn starfish who eat reefs faster than they can be created (and whose predators are at devastatingly minuscule numbers due to overfishing in the south Pacific.)

There are people trying to counteract this in the public sphere. This is where my love of reef-keeping and makeup combine. Chantecaille Cosmetics and jeweler Jay Strongwater have teamed up to design a series of limited edition enamel compacts for the cosmetic company's Coral highlighting powder. The LE compact will set you back a whopping $400+ at Neimans or Bergdorfs, but people can also do their makeup and make a difference without seriously breaking the bank- the regular highlighting powder is around $70. (Hey, I said seriously.) 5% of the retail proceeds go to Reefs of Hope, a University of Miami-based project that is working toward reviving underwater ecosystems that have been devastated by global warming, pollution, and overfishing. Go to www.elle.com this month for more great green ideas.