Greenfest Brisbane – Realize Beauty Naturally!

This weekend Brisbane played host to Greenfest a wonderful extravaganza of ideas and inspiration for living a more ecologically sound life.  The three-day event, which opened on Friday to co-inside with World Environment Day, displayed the best in “green” music, food, products, services and entertainment.  I drove the ten hours with my family to present Realize Beauty Naturally – a look at what cosmetic choices exist for the “green” consumer.  We discussed the three steps to green success:

1)      Going Chemical Free.

2)      Making Your Own.

3)      Choosing Certified Natural / Organic / Ethical Products.

So, as a chemist who believes that everything is chemical how do we go chemical free? Well, my advice is this, instead of always opting for something “Wet” why not try something “dry” and re-usable. Think pumice stone instead of foot scrub, think hot flannel instead of facemask, think comb instead of hair spray, think toothpick instead of mouthwash.   OK, so that won’t always work but you may be pleasantly surprised at how good a great set of tweezers tidy up your eyes or at how a manicure set bring out the best in your nails – all of this without resorting to a “wet” chemical solution!

Now to making your own – is it possible? Here at Realize Beauty we believe that getting your hands dirty is a great way of developing a more intimate relationship with your personal care regimen.  We had a go at making toothpaste, bath bags and a mud mask using minimal ingredients that are both cost effective and easy to get hold of.   The process of feeling the ingredients and thinking about their origins helps to build up respect for the science involved in developing personal care products.  While some people were inspired to go home and make everything, most are happy just to practice their newfound skills for fun or special occasions.

Finally audience members preferring their products readymade were walked through some “Green Chemistry” while being advised of what logo’s and standards to look out for. The terms “Natural” and “Organic” were discussed along with the controversy that developing a global standard is creating.

The weekend was a feast of fun and interactivity. We  would love to say a big thank you to Greenfest and Brisbane and look forward to coming back sometime soon.

Unfortunately we forgot to take our camera so the shots below are the best that we can offer – thanks, Motorola!

Realize Beauty would also like to thank the BDIH, Angelique and Perfect Potion for their help in making the workshop / Presentation a success. BDHI offered guidance on their Natural Standard and allowed Realize Beauty to talk about the standard, By Angelique donated some of her Signature tweezers to give away  while the Perfect Potion provided samples for our post card recipe gift. Click on the logo’s below to be taken to the individual websites!