Happy September! Is everyone solidly back into the swing of things yet? I can tell you we're still wrestling with teens who like to go to bed too late, and I'm not sure the school year lasted a week before the novelty had worn off for them. Summer went by too quickly, as always.

That said, I know I'm enjoying a return to routines, and I'm taking the opportunity to do some learning of my own. Lately I've been reading "There's Lead in Your Lipstick: Toxins in Our Everyday Body Care and How to Avoid Them", by fellow Torontonian Gillian Deacon. It tells the grim story of the ingredients used in the cosmetics industry, highlights ways that we as consumers can reduce our toxic exposure, and offers solutions for making healthier choices.

Here's a paragraph from her opening pages that sums up the story pretty succinctly:

"... consumers need to educate themselves about what labels mean, about what ingredients really are. If you think that Health Canada or the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ... or any other regulatory body is doing its due diligence on the long-term health impacts of every ingredient in your bathroom cabinet, you are wrong."

Yet again, I'm so grateful that I've been introduced to Beautycounter. This company really is doing its due diligence on every ingredient, and on combinations of ingredients, and even on what happens at the end of the day when you wash that ingredient or that combination of ingredients down the drain. How fortunate that I can read a statement like this and come away grateful?!

Next up on my back-to-school reading list will be "Not Just a Pretty Face: The Ugly Side of the Beauty Industry", by Stacy Malkan. This is the book that inspired Beautycounter's resident celebrity makeup artist Christy Coleman to clean up her professional makeup kit in 2005, long before ingredient safety was on the fashion runway or red carpet radar. Christy has been a champion of clean beauty ever since, and has been with Beautycounter since the company's very beginning.

If anyone would like to read either of these when I'm finished, let me know - I'm happy to lend my copies out. Or if you'd just like some help navigating the aisles wherever you choose to shop, I'm happy to share what I've learned with you.

Hold the date! I am hosting a multi-vendor pop-up at my house NEXT TUESDAY to kick October off right! Pop in for a glass of wine and some fall shopping fun with four fabulous vendors under one cozy roof.

• Pop in during the day from 1:00-4:00pm
  

• And pop in AGAIN in the evening from 7:00-9:30pm
  

Feel free to bring your friends - the more the merrier!

What's that now?? OK, not quite yet... I'm just excited because the official holiday season for Beautycounter will start in October! I've had a sneak peek at this year's holiday collection and... oh my. MY OH MY! Our product development people have outdone themselves, and I can't wait to share these beautiful gift sets with you. Stay tuned for next month's newsletter for all the juicy details on everything!

Thank you, as always, for reading to the end, and for your continued support of my business. And for my local friends, I really hope to see you at next Tuesday's pop-up... it's going to be a ton of fun. Please bring your friends and neighbours, and RSVP to let me know you're all coming! See you then.

XO

Carolyn

Email: ckoziskie@rogers.com
Website: www.beautycounter.com/en-ca/carolynkoziskie
Phone: 416-797-3337