http://www.gourmetbodytreats.com/blog/ en info@gourmetbodytreats.com Copyright 2012 2012-02-03T08:22:13+00:00 http://www.gourmetbodytreats.com/blog/test_1/ http://www.gourmetbodytreats.com/ blog/test_1/#When:07:22:13Z 2012-02-03T07:22:13+00:00 http://www.gourmetbodytreats.com/blog/product_review_organic_keratin_leave_in_conditioner/ http://www.gourmetbodytreats.com/ blog/product_review_organic_keratin_leave_in_conditioner/#When:04:20:47Z   Lately we've been getting lots of questions about our Organic Keratin Leave in Conditioner so I thought I would write a small review on the product. It's one of my favorite products mainly because my long wavy hair can get a bit out of control and dry at times. So here are the benefits and uses for this great product. What it does The main ingredient of this product is a versatile vegan protein that actually binds to the broken pieces in the hair strand. This protects the hair from further breakage and makes it feel thicker and look shiny.  It adds extra protection that stays on strands as you heat style or become exposed to wind or heat. It also does double duty acting as a styling product providing a light hold because of the gel form it is in. Great for getting rid of frizzy hair, adding volume and managing curls. What it doesn't do It doesn't coat the hair in plastic or heavy oils so it won't weigh down hair. It doesn't repair split ends, it simply glues them together so the hair strand will reflect light better. It doesn't have a scent and is gluten free. How to Use it Spray the desired amount onto hair after you shampoo. It can be applied directly onto the hair or onto the palm of your hand and evenly spread throughout your hair strands. You can also use it in between hair washes to freshen up your style and revitalize your hair. Product Reviews 2012-01-27T04:20:47+00:00 http://www.gourmetbodytreats.com/blog/prime_time_for_primer/ http://www.gourmetbodytreats.com/ blog/prime_time_for_primer/#When:18:00:39Z Provided by Wendy Michelle Sanders - Owner of Blood and Glitter Makeup and professional make-up artist As a professional makeup artist I am often asked what products are my favorite and the most important, and the one I name the most is primer. Primer is one of those products that many women don’t use or may not even be aware of, but once they try it they are a new convert to the church of primer!   Primer is meant to be a base to your makeup. It helps fill in fine lines and create a smooth surface on which to apply your makeup. There are many types of primer out there, including vegan primers that you can use under mineral makeups and eyeshadow primers formulated specifically to lock down your eye makeup!   I live in Austin, TX where primer is a necessity to keep your makeup from melting off your face, but there are many other benefits to using this makeup staple.   For people with sensitive skin, primer can help you avoid makeup irritation. Primer creates a barrier between your skin and your makeup. Irritation from makeup, especially for acne prone skin, generally happens when your skin absorbs the makeup, so if you have that barrier of primer there, your skin is less likely to absorb the makeup!   Priming under your eyeshadow. Do you often feel like your eyeshadow doesn’t look as bold on as in the package? Does your eyeshadow crease after a few hours? Primer can fix these problems! Many eyeshadows will crease as your eyelids emit oils throughout the day and cause the pigments to settle into creases. Primer will create a smooth tacky surface for the eyeshadow to sit on which will prevent your skin’s oils from negatively effecting your eyeshadow. This tackiness also helps more eyeshadow stay in place and give your shadow a more saturated and bold look!   Primer helps you photograph better. As someone who works frequently in photography, film, and television, I can tell you that primer is a very important step to insure a person looks their best on screen or in pictures (I use it on men, too!). Primer effects the way your skin reflects light, and the way your skin reflects light determines the quality of your image! Your skin is naturally translucent, and the light of a flash bouncing off the different outermost 5 layers of your skin ( and facial oils!) at different depths can cause your face to appear mottled, shiny, and uneven. Primer helps create a smooth, flat surface for tight to reflect off of giving your skin a more matte, velvety texture.   Sometimes Primer is all you need! I often find myself not wanting to put on foundation, but you can still achieve a finished, smooth look with just primer. Apply your primer as you would under your foundation, and then just dust a nice translucent powder or mineral sheer on top of that! You’ll find your skin still looks more refined without being as made up, and it will help ward off shine throughout the day!   So now that you’ve gotten your crash course in primer, go out there and try some out! Product Reviews, Hot Trends, Beauty, News 2012-01-05T18:00:39+00:00 http://www.gourmetbodytreats.com/blog/choosing_the_right_eye_shadow/ http://www.gourmetbodytreats.com/ blog/choosing_the_right_eye_shadow/#When:17:26:31Z   Article Privided by Serena Bahe - Editor at active-balanced-vegan.com/   For some women choosing the right eye shadow color is a no brainer. They live and breathe color coordination with everything. It’s easy for them, but not so for others. Women want to look fashionable whether they hold a natural eye for color or not. How do you choose the appropriate eyeshade color for you?   After checking your eye color for the last time, determine which color it closely represents. Does it have more blue or more green? That is the first step. Once you have established your eye color, it’s time to select the right shadow for you.  If you’re part of the population bestowed with brown eyes, you are very lucky. Brown eyed girls can literally wear any color eye shadow they choose. However, if those brown eyed folks choose to use more than one eye shadow color for dramatic appearance, it’s best to coordinate those colors. For example, if you’re wearing a dark brown eye shadow for accent, choose a lighter brown to go with it and add an extra layer of eye liner and coat of mascara.    Unfortunately, blue eyed women need to stick to a particular color pallet. It’s nothing to be sad about though, as they have plenty of colors to choose from. Some of the best colors for blue eyes are rose, purple or lavender, copper, and gold. Blue eyed folks need to keep in mind that wearing colors with a red base tend to give the appearance of red or bloodshot eyes. In contrast, colors with a blue base make the whites of blue eyed women appear whiter.   Ladies with green eyes have the option of wearing purples, pinks, and reds. For a more dramatic look wearing bright greens and yellows will highlight their natural green eye color. Similar to green, hazel irises look best with warmer tones like bronzes or even green, where as gray eyed women need to stick with cool grays and brown tones.    Shimmer eye shadows add sparkle to any woman’s face, but older women may notice the extra glistening highlights wrinkles. For them, adding the shimmer to areas not affected by wrinkles would perhaps alleviate the problem. Some may forego shimmer all together and sport the matte eye shadow for a glamorous look, which emphasizes their eyes instead of the wrinkles surrounding them.   No matter what your eye color or whether you choose to wear a matte or a shimmer, Gourmet Body Treats provides a complete selection of eye shadow colors to fit everyone’s tastes. They are vegan, cruelty free, and handcrafted using natural and organic ingredients whenever possible. It’s the look you want produced with the ethics you support. Product Reviews, Hot Trends, Beauty 2012-01-05T17:26:31+00:00 http://www.gourmetbodytreats.com/blog/pomegranate_oil_for_aging_skin/ http://www.gourmetbodytreats.com/ blog/pomegranate_oil_for_aging_skin/#When:18:03:15Z For ages people have sought natural solutions to treat aging skin. Women of history had their own unique beauty solutions derived from nature. It’s said that Cleopatra used milk baths to soften and enhance her skin. In the modern day, oil derived from the pomegranate fruit appears to have some potential for enhancing the appearance of aging skin.   Pomegranate Oil for Aging Skin This ancient fruit, native to Southeastern Asian, is being studied for its role in reducing the signs of skin aging. Although all parts of the pomegranate plant appear to have beneficial effects on the skin, including the leaves, seed, and peel; the oil is emerging as a key player when it comes to slowing down the effects of skin aging. Pomegranate oil, derived from the seed of the plant, appears to cause changes in the outer layers of the skin that may help to reduce skin wrinkling and aging.   Pomegranate Seed Oil: A Study A study published in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology showed that pomegranate oil stimulates keratinocytes, the majors cells found in the epidermis, the outer layer of the skin. It appears that pomegranate seed oil may help to regenerate these cells and, in turn, offset the appearance of aging skin. Although pomegranate oil had no effect on collagen synthesis in this study, pomegranate peel extract did, suggesting that more than one part of the pomegranate fruit could have anti-aging effects.   Why Is Pomegranate Oil Good for the Skin? Pomegranate oil from pomegranate seeds is a rich source of a unique polyunsaturated acid known as punicic acid which has strong anti-inflammatory properties; and the oil is also known to have anti-oxidant effects. Punicic acid has been shown to have stop growth of prostate cancer cells in the laboratory. Beauty 2011-12-20T18:03:15+00:00 http://www.gourmetbodytreats.com/blog/gbt_videos_2011/ http://www.gourmetbodytreats.com/ blog/gbt_videos_2011/#When:03:37:44Z A recentl interview with our companies founder and CEO Waleska Agosto! And 2011-12-02T03:37:44+00:00 http://www.gourmetbodytreats.com/blog/holiday_shipping_schedule/ http://www.gourmetbodytreats.com/ blog/holiday_shipping_schedule/#When:00:25:16Z    We want to make sure you receive your package when you need it.  All orders will be shipped out within 2-3 business days. Below are the shipping Deadlines so you will receive your package on time. Nov.17 - Last day to order by standard UPS and receive by Nov. 24th Nov. 24 and Nov.25 - No delivery/Pickup by UPS.  No orders will be delivered on these dates nor will any orders be shipped on these dates.    Dec.17 - Last day to order by standard UPS shipping and receive by the Dec 24th. Dec. 22 - Last day to order by Next Day delivery and receive them by Dec 24th.  Next day shipping charges apply. Dec. 25 - No Delivery/Pickup by UPS. No orders will be delivered on these dates nor will any orders be shipped on these dates.  Dec. 31 - No Delivery/Pickup by UPS. No orders will be delivered on these dates nor will any orders be shipped on these dates.    Jan. 1  - No Delivery/Pickup by UPS. No orders will be delivered on these dates nor will any orders be shipped on these dates.  2011-11-23T00:25:16+00:00 http://www.gourmetbodytreats.com/blog/gmo_seeds_are_they_safe/ http://www.gourmetbodytreats.com/ blog/gmo_seeds_are_they_safe/#When:00:59:34Z Here we go again.  Monsanto, the company famous for forcing farmers to plant genetically mutated Soybeans is now trying hard to do the same with alfalfa seeds.  The long term effects of GMO foods on humans or animals has not be tested but the negative effects of farming GMO seeds has been evaluated. Currently only 10% of the alfalfa crops are sprayed with herbicides, scientist are saying much more will be needed to keep the weeds off this new, resistant alfalfa.   This means more herbicides in our soil and drinking water, not to mention that foods that contain GMO ingredients do not need to be labeled as such so how is a consumer to know what they are eating. Why is this happening?  Monsanto, a large wealthy biotech company pours lots of money into federal campaigns, advertising and marketing to convince the public that GMO produce is safe even though no research shows it is.  What to do. Buy local, know your farm – what they grow, how they grow it. Be informed and be involved in your local community keeping GMO foods out of your local area Here at Gourmet Body Treats, we never buy any ingredient that has been genetically modified.  We just can’t guarantee it will be safe. News 2011-11-09T00:59:34+00:00 http://www.gourmetbodytreats.com/blog/new_products_for_nov/ http://www.gourmetbodytreats.com/ blog/new_products_for_nov/#When:17:55:43Z This is the month we get to introduce a bunch of new products filled with yummy scents and colors.  We're using lots of pumpkins, vanilla and of course sugar. Here’s a list of what we've got finished so far.   New Product in Cosmetics: ·  Luminous Liquid Foundation: Our top selling mineral foundation in a liquid form with added skin repairing ingredients ·  Vegan Eye Liner: Our vegan eye pencil formula in a compact, perfect for getting a smoky eye We've also got new lipstick and nail polish colors for Fall.   New Products in Bath/ Body: ·  Tahitian Nutmeg Body Hydrator:  Yummy body moisturizer with our new sweet aroma with a touch of spice   New Product in Skin Care: ·  Pumpkin Enzyme Mask:  Repairs sun damaged skin and dissolves dead skin cells ·  Calendula Complexion Bar: Gentle olive oil based facial cleanser     I think I covered all of the new and seasonal products for this week. I'm getting more products ready for next week so stayed tune. I hope you will enjoy them as much as I have enjoyed making them. News 2011-11-06T17:55:43+00:00 http://www.gourmetbodytreats.com/blog/keeping_our_fair_trade_business_fair_trade/ http://www.gourmetbodytreats.com/ blog/keeping_our_fair_trade_business_fair_trade/#When:18:41:57Z As many of you have noticed, the price for several of our products has gone up. We've been getting concerned e-mails and phone calls, so I wanted to address the topic in a quick letter to let you know why this has happened.   Recently it's come to my attention that some of the ingredients we use aren't as "Fair Trade" as the provider claimed them to be. I was upset and angry to hear that in some cases child labor was being used to harvest ingredients. Needless to say, we started brainstorming a response immediately!!   The short version of the 6 hour meeting we had was "We've got to start working directly with more farmers!"   We do an excellent job of this on a local level, but ingredients like cocoa, and coffee aren't grown well in the United States. This left us with only one option, we've got to visit farmers where the ingredient is grown, ask questions, and find someone we can work with. And we did just that!   We traveled though the Caribbean Islands, Mexico, and South America for 2 weeks, meeting with farmers. Though it was a bit difficult at times, I'm proud to say that we've found farmers already running bio-diverse farms, which use traditional non-toxic fertilizers and chemical free pesticides like Neem. The cost of the ingredients in many cases was dramatically higher, in many cases as much as 3x higher than what we've previously paid.   There are many benefits to using these new sources though. Because the ingredients aren't coming from China, India, or Africa, they are much fresher when they get to us, and less fossil fuels are used in their delivery. This means a higher quality product for you! Also, the people growing and harvesting the product make a living wage, which in turn helps the farm grow and become more viable over time.   I hope that you'll be able to see the benefits of our new process for sourcing ingredients, and can appreciate the reasons that our prices have had to increase.   Thanks for taking time to read this!   Sincerely, Waleska Agosto Owner / Founder GourmetBodyTreats.com News 2011-11-04T18:41:57+00:00