never underestimate the power of the perfect lipstick. i keep all of mine in a linen pouch in my purse to choose based on my outfit and/or my mood. and don’t forget that sometimes all you need is some nice lip balm and, in the sun, spf.
they all look the same in my board above but i swear they’re not! 1. nars shanghai express: great for that dark red sultry look. || 2. lipstick queen jean queen: perfect for everyday jeans and t-shirt outfits where you may just want to accentuate your lips without changing their color. || 3. mac ruby woo: the ultimate red. this shade looks good on everyone and is your classic, bright, sexy red (pictured below). || 4. nars heat wave: more funky than the others, this is a bold coral with an orangey tint. fun for late, summer nights. || 5. r.l. linden beauty & co la balmba rosa healing rose balm: i use this as needed moisturizing my kissers and right before i go to bed. || 6. lipstick queen medieval: want that bitten lip look? this shade is actually a sheer gloss that adds a tint of red; it’s all vitamin E and pigment. || 7. sun bum lip balm w spf 30: protects your lips for the rays.
i’m on the hunt for a nice light pink (as you can see i tend to lean toward RED). any suggestions for a muted pink?
here i am wearing mac ruby woo. photos by harper point.
tadasana (mountain pose)
adho mukha svanasana (downward-facing dog) & eka pada adho muka svanasana (one-legged downward-facing dog)
salabhasana (locust pose)
paschimottanasana (seated forward bend)
ananda balasana (happy baby pose) & savasana (corpse pose)
young, happy yogi.
base coat is a new nail salon opening up this sunday in the berkeley neighborhood of denver. tran wills, one of the creative minds behind brick & mortar, partnered up with her mother, who has years of experience beautifying nails, to open this sleek, modern, one-of-a-kind nail space. it is founded on the idea that your time spent there should be the most relaxing in your day. sounds pretty good to me!
in addition to the minimalist space–which oozes calm–base coat only uses nail polishes that are five-free (free of the five most harmful chemicals commonly found in nail polishes). and all of their nail and skin care products used during your treatment have been formylated by local company r.l. linden & co. concoctions include a basil + geranium cuticle soak, lavender + frankincense cuticle oil, petitgrain + lemon enzyme sugar scrub, and a spearmint + bergamot deep moisture foot cream, among other goodies. so it’s pretty darn green for a nail salon and safe for children and expectant mamas like me!
tran invited in to experience the magic hands of her experienced nail techs. i was so in awe at the well-designed space and soaked in (literally and figuratively) the relaxing treatments i received. these ladies are good. there are three levels of services for every schedule and budget.
there’s an opening party, this saturday, september 14th, from 4-8. stop on by, meet tran and the rest of the gang, sip some champagne and make a future appointment (no services will be offered. this is just to celebrate the opening!). the first 25 to book an appointment will receive a goodie bag!
i’m super pumped to announce the launch of my friends’ new company: R.L Linden & Co. they let me in on their project a little bit ago with testers of their goods. they had me swooning with every spray, swipe, cleanse, sip, sniff of their expertly concocted ecobeauty skin care products. i swear by their toner and am having fun doing further beta testing with them on a deodorant and facial serum. read my interview with robin and lynn below.
1. in your words, what is R.L. Linden & Co?
R.L. Linden & Co is Robin & Lynn. We are a small, local, women-owned company dedicated to crafting lovely plant-based skincare and healing teas.
2. how did you get into this? what was your inspiration?
Combined we have backgrounds in herbalism, nutrition, women’s health and natural skin care; have always made products for ourselves and friends; and are total beauty product junkies. We are inspired to create products that help people feel gorgeous in their own skin, as well as getting to work with our favorite plants.
3. what has the process been like from conception to execution?
We have known each other for about six years now, but started creating and blending together in August of 2012. Around the holidays we decided to do this for real and started our LLC in January. While formulating and deciding on what products to offer first, we took business classes together and sent out beta tester product samples to gather feedback. The official launch of our first three products is on August 2nd; we can’t believe it’s already been a year!
4. has creating/developing/launching this been what you expected? easier or harder? what have the challenges been?
We both had experience with start-ups in the past, so had a good idea of what to expect. Because we are committed to bringing our vision to fruition, and are so passionate about what we do, it makes the hard work totally worth it.
Of course we’ve had fairly minor challenges that are common to new businesses: nailing down our aesthetic, sourcing beautiful eco-friendly packaging, and definitely funding. Our biggest challenge, honestly, is more personal. With five kiddos between us, scheduling our work time with family time has proven to be a difficult transition.
5. tell us about other collaborators/helpers in the shop/brand?
Right now it’s just the two of us in the business, but we’ve been super lucky and really grateful for all the support that we’ve gotten. Blogs/Social Media/Product Lines like A Denver Home Companion, Seed to Serum, Rebecca Casciano, Green Beauty Bunny, One Love Organics and Beauty Bets have really helped to get the word out before our products were even available. It’s really humbling to be embraced this way.
6. who is helping you w branding/website development?
A huge thank you to Lynn’s husband, Jonathan Till, who did a beautiful job designing our logo and labels. Right now we have our website on VIRB and Lynn has set everything up so far, but we will likely enlist his creative services more as we grow.
7. where can you be found?
As of August 2nd, we will be available locally at Brick & Mortar General Store, whom we adore, and through our online store at www.lindenbeauty.com. also twitter || facebook || pinterest
8. what new/other/different businesses would you like to see in denver?
That’s pretty hard. Denver is totally rocking it right now.
9. what are your favorite shops in denver? food/restaurants? neighborhoods?
Lynn- A Small Print Shop, Beet & Yarrow, Ironwood, Fancy Tiger (both stores). Udi’s off of Colfax is yummy and walking distance from us and True Food Kitchen is great despite it’s location. City Park, Baker, RiNo
Robin- Tallulah Jones, Kismet. I always get a great meal at The Kitchen and my favorite salad is the Macho Salad at Cherry Creek Grill. I love spending time in LoHi and City Park.
they launch friday, august 2, and are going to celebrating by participating in a wonderful gathering at our mutual friend that evening along with brick & mortar, ollie’s vintage, and other awesome small denver business companies). look at the flier below and keep scrolling for a giveaway!
robin and lynn are generously giving a bundle of one of each of their products to one lucky reader of A Denver Home Companion! just leave a comment below saying what daily beauty product you cannot live without. you can gain extra entries by sharing this giveaway on twitter and/or facebook, and also by following R.L. Linden & CO on facebook, pinterest, and/or twitter. one extra entry per share or follow! that’s a lot of chances! just make sure you comment back here for everything you do so it’s sure to be counted. the giveaway winner will be announced in a blog post on august 16.
i’m back w a new edition of toiletry tuesday!: recommend sun protection for mama and baby.
living in denver, we’ve got both high altitude and consistent sun (on average, 300 days out of the year!). higher altitude means stronger UV rays, not bc you’re closer to the sun–as i’ve heard been said– but bc the atmosphere is thinner and so absorbs less UV rays than a lower altitude w denser atmosphere. (interesting read: what factors determine UV strength.) so these geographic reasons, coupled with the facts that skin cancer runs in my family and my fair skin and blue eyes makes me prone to sunburn, i’ve really learned the importance of protecting my skin from those harmful rays. (i can also thank my mother for this as she was the one who constantly told me how beautiful my pale skin and blue eyes are while also firmly reminding me that pale skin and blue eyes mixed w my family’s history of skin cancer are no joking matter. she was never amused when she saw me slathering on tanning oil at the beach, knowing well before i did that i was kidding myself if i thought it would turn me into a dark brown goddess. ha.)
shown above are my daily go-tos for sun protection for my daughter and i. in the list below, i’ve also mentioned some items not pictured. what i have here is not the end all be all of sun protection but so far, for us, it’s proven pretty darn effective.
1. on my face i use neutrogena ultra-sheer sunblock || 2. for ramona, all over, i use neutrogena pure & free sunscreen || 3. lip trip by mountain ocean is my go-to for lip protection (runner up is the sun bum lip balm) || 4. i never leave home without my straw cloche || 5. all over, for me, is sun bum’s SPF 50 moisturizing sunscreen lotion || 6. sunglasses! jasper by warby parker || 7. neutrogena’s pure & free sunscreen stick makes it easy for me to thoroughly get ramona’s face and ears covered. || not pictured: a bonnet and a rash guard for ramona.
important things to remember when protecting yourself from the sun:
1. use sunscreen that says “broad spectrum” on it. this will protect from both UVA and UVB rays. || 2. sunscreen w SPFs of greater than 50 generally aren’t doing much more than the 50 does. || 3. sunscreens aren’t ever really totally water resistent. you should be reapplying at least every 80 minutes, certainly more if in the water or toweling off or after major sweating. || 4. you should be applying at least a golf ball size amount of sun screen every time || 5. spray sunscreens are less effective in that people tend to apply less sunscreen to their skin, even if they feel they are getting full coverage || 6. avoid the sun between the hours of 10:00 and 2:00. || 7. don’t forget the hats, sunglasses, and cover-ups!
welcome
