written by Siobhan O’Connor and Alexandra Spunt

This has to be one of the most erratic winters on record, which means that everyone from New York to Florida and all the way over to California is battling weather-worn skin. If you’re a regular on our blog, then you’ve probably heard this advice before but we can’t stress this stuff enough. Here, we’ve culled some of our favorite tips to share with you.

1. Try skin-friendly oils. This was probably one of the most crucial discoveries we made when writing our book: healthy, skin-compatible oils straight from nature are a beauty godsend. We love argan oil for our faces, and coconut oil for our bodies. We use these oils to moisturize, to take off makeup—even to shave our legs! They absorb quickly and, contrary to what you may imagine, do not leave skin feeling greasy or cause breakouts.

2. Stop using so much soap. We’re not huge fans of soap, and it’s not because we don’t like to smell good. It’s just that lathering up head-to-toe every day is just so darn drying. We suggest you show a little restraint with your soap bar: Use it where you feel you need to, and then leave the rest of your body alone—especially during the winter. Some of our bravest readers recently took a no-soap challenge, and the results we’re kind of shocking. Almost everyone reported softer, more hydrated skin, while almost nobody complained of odor problems. And for your face, stick with a nourishing cream cleanser that contains plant oils.

3. Don’t over-exfoliate. Whether for you that means a sugar body scrub or a trip to the derm for a glycolic peel, we strongly suggest that during the winter months you go a little easier on your skin. Peels and scrubs—aside from often containing nasty chemicals—remove that protective skin barrier that, well, protects you. While exfoliation certainly has its place, especially for very congested skin, many people have made it a too-regular part of their regimen. Once a week is plenty.

4. Eat your fats. There’s a reason why we crave more fat in the winter: because we need it. Of course, we’re not talking about burgers and ice cream here. We’re talking about olive oil, skin-healthy omega 3s, nuts and avocados—the kind of fat that feeds your skin. In fact, we dare you to up your fish or flaxseed oil intake, and not notice happier, more hydrated skin.

5. Get a humidifier. If dry winter air has you seriously suffering—and the above advice isn’t cutting it—a humidifier may be the answer. Just keep it clean to avoid bacteria, and use it where it will have the most impact, like by your bed. That way you can spend your sleep hours (oh, and try to get more of those!) hydrating, so that you wake up to healthy, glowing skin.

Thanks to both Siobhan and Alexandra for sharing these helpful tips with us! Many of us here at Daily Grommet have already put these tips to a test. Check out our thoughts on using Argan Oil and a Humio Humidifier to help your skin.

Do you have a tip you’d like to share with us? Tell us what you do to fix winter skin woes below in a comment.

When Laurel Valchuis first began telling us about her effort to bring a new type of urban gardening to the residents of Boston, she caught our interest. Urban farming or container gardening are trends in today’s city homeowners day to day lives and Laurel is inspirational to those wanting to get started in this urban gardening style! Today we invited her to share her mission with all of you. Think she has a great idea? Help her out with a quick vote!

by Laurel Valchuis

Last summer, after learning of the 5 year waiting list to get a plot in the community-garden, I decided to create my own urban garden space by putting my porch and some Tanzanian wisdom to work by building two ‘sack gardens’. I was first introduced to the concept of the sack garden while volunteering in Tanzania, where this technique came in handy for those who subsisted mainly on relatively cheap ugali (maize meal), had little or no land, and were in desperate need of affordable, fresh produce. Grown in a burlap bag, this urban gardening or urban farming method takes full advantage of vertical space, and adapted beautifully to my Boston porch, providing me with fresh veggies all summer. In addition to the delight of watching my vegetables grow, an exciting twist was watching mother-nature take action on the horn worms that had found their way to my tomato plants. The worms eventually became infested with parasitic wasps a phenomenon the biology major in me (and my three year old neighbor), found fascinating, especially as it took place in the middle of our neighborhood in the South End!

In addition to being a great science experiment and promoting biodiversity in an urban environment, the Landless Garden has the potential to address nutritional and economic gaps in the city. As a mentor for the Urban Improv Mentoring program, and analyst for HighQuest Partners (an agribusiness consulting firm), I have become well aware of the educational and price barriers to eating fresh foods in an urban environment.  Urbanites’ often have a disconnect from their natural environment: not knowing where and how their food is made, has also become very apparent.

With access to just 24 square inches of outdoor space, the Landless Garden can provide city dwellers the pleasure of cultivating a garden and cost-effective access to fresh foods, all while quelling urban water runoff. To spread the Landless Garden, I have applied for a $5,000 grant from Pepsi to build 500 of these gardens around Boston and  I need your votes! Funds are granted if I get in the top ten number of votes; voting only takes about 30 seconds by going here http://www.refresheverything.com/landlessgarden and signing in through Facebook or Pepsi. You can vote once every day until January 31^st, when the winners are chosen.

Please help me spread the Landless Garden around Boston by voting every day!

This post so delighted me, that we are reprinting it from Yahoo!  Shine in its entirety. BTW, for anyone anticipating a return to work, or looking to make a big change in your job in 2011, check out Carol’s company.  They run wonderful events and publish truly helpful advice for the “relauncher.”

by Carol Fishman Cohen, Co-founder, iRelaunch, Co-author, Back on the Career Track

I have been a loyal fan of Daily Grommet since early on*, but it is only recently that I realized how intertwined my life has become with the new products I have purchased from the site. As the mother of four teenagers and as the co-founder of a small company, I really appreciate the built-in vetting vehicle the site has become for me.  Grommet streamlines the purchasing process for items I’d normally either spend a lot of time researching before buying, or just not getting around to buying at all, even though I needed them.  So here goes….

Yawn……time to rest my head on the “CleanRest Ultra” pillow I bought from Daily Grommet.  I ended up buying four of them because I realized the pillows around the house were 20 years old! Plus we have a few allergy sensitive members of the family, so I was intrigued by the allergen free materials. As advertised, the pillows arrive, soft and comfortable.

It’s morning! I’m getting dressed – today I am going to wear my “Napapijri Naik” belt that I got from Grommet as a 50th birthday present for myself.  This belt actually has grommets on it for the belt buckle to latch into, which is one of the reasons it’s such an easy gift to give to others – it fits everyone.  As my kids can tell you I am somewhat fashion challenged, especially in the casual wear department. Wearing this belt makes me feel uncharacteristically chic.  I got one for one of my best friends who is on par with me in the fashion backward department. We both get compliments whenever we wear them.

Into the kitchen to make breakfast!  One of my kids barely eats except for breakfast, so I try to make him pancakes as often as I can.  I am using not one, but two Lodge Cookware cast iron skillets purchased from Grommet about six months ago.  Exactly as portrayed on the video, they are naturally non-stick, and everything, including pancakes, cooks beautifully in them.  I feel like a bit of a 1950′s throwback cooking breakfast in my cast iron pans, but so be it.

I’m hard at work planning the iRelaunch Return to Work Conferences my company produces.  I need speakers’ gifts!  Of course, I go straight to Grommet and find a number of contenders; The “I’m not a paper cup” cup, the Memory on Hand flashdrive bracelets, and the Tea Forte collections.  I get eight of each to give to speakers at conferences in different cities. For our university host in each city, I get one of my favorites – the Zip-N-Go Blanket.  I love this product, especially because it was created by a person who returned to work after a career break (as did a number of Grommet people, including their dynamic founder Jules Pieri).

How did holiday season creep up on me so fast? I need Hanukah gifts for my family and hostess gifts for the Christmas parties we are going to.  Grommet doesn’t disappoint: Bananagrams, the CyberCube, the Maine Flame eco-friendly fire starters, plus a Gorillapod tripod for my husband…perfect!  Then I discover one of my favorite grommets of all time: the Big Dipper Beeswax Candle; exquisitely crafted, a beautiful beeswax aroma, and a gorgeous color and feel.  I have bought more than 10 of these for hostess gifts, for presents for my own company team, plus I had to buy one for myself.  I can hardly bring myself to light it because it is so beautiful.  But it burns for FIFTY hours, so I know I will use it for a long time.

It seems as though every day I am interacting with the Daily Grommet products I have purchased, whether for friends, family, co-workers, clients or myself.  Thanks, Grommet, for being there at critical moments with just the right product.   Happy Holidays!

*Disclosure:  I have known Daily Grommet’s Founder Jules Pieri for years, and she’s on the Advisory Board of my company iRelaunch.  I also know some of the Grommet management team. However, no one at Grommet asked me to write this and it is not some thinly veiled advertisement for the company.  I would have written it even if I had no connection to Jules. I can be reached at info@irelaunch.com.

 

 

Whether you are ready or not, the holidays are here. Tis’ the season of family gatherings, cooking, baking and entertaining. You might be organized and ready (boy do I envy you!), but I am nowhere near prepared. In order to de-stress and kick myself into gear, I’ve asked a few of our Twitter pals to stop by and share their holiday tips with us. I hope you find them as useful as I do!

@TheHipHostess: When burning votive candles in glass holders, add a 1/2 tsp of water to the bottom before inserting candle. Later, candle will pop right out.

@CreateGirl: My #1 holiday decorating tip is do not overwhelm your house! Pick a few areas and go all out decorating them. For example chose the mantel, foyer and dining table to create festive focal points. Choose a two color theme and carry this throughout the house it will unify all three areas. There is no need to decorate every table top and nook in your home having less will definitely create and even larger impact!

@KateLandersLLC: When baking with very young children for the holidays, it’s best to have them decorate pre-assembled gingerbread houses or pre-made cookies!

Have a holiday or entertaining tip? Leave a comment below or tweet us @DailyGrommet — we could all most likely use a little help!

Jules Pieri

I’m working with AuthorsGlobe on  some really interesting online Master classes which give people  easy access to some of the most progressive business thought leaders of our time.   The current series kicks off  on November 10 with Raj Sisodia.  He’s a Professor of Marketing at Bentley University.  A few years ago, as part of a long process of questioning traditional marketing and even fundamental business practices, and while writing his book “Firms of Endearment,” Raj began the process that lead to his founding the Conscious Capitalism Institute.

I asked him a few questions to explain this exciting movement.

How do you define conscious capitalism?

We define conscious capitalism as having four key characteristics:

• First, business can and should be done with a higher purpose in mind, and not just with a view to maximizing profits. A sense of purpose creates a high degree of engagement for all stakeholders, especially employees.
• Second, the business is explicitly managed for the simultaneous benefit of all of its stakeholders. We use the acronym SPICE to denote the stakeholders: Society, Partners, Investors, Customers and Employees. A conscious business aligns the interests of all stakeholders, so that what is good for one is good for all.  Society is listed first for an important reason: businesses must ensure that they are on the “right” side of society, that they have a positive net impact on the world.
• Third, such businesses have conscious leaders, who are driven primarily by their loyalty to the firm’s purpose, rather than being driven by power or money. They lead by mentoring, motivating, developing and inspiring people rather than through command-and-control or the use of so-called carrots and sticks.
• Finally, such businesses have some unique cultural characteristics. We represent them using the acronym TACTILE, which stands for Trust, Authenticity, Caring, Transparency, Integrity, Learning and Empowerment. The word tactile also suggests that the cultures of these companies are very tangible to their stakeholders as well as to outside observers; you can feel the difference when you walk into a conscious business versus one that is purely driven by a profit motive and just for the benefit of shareholders.

What’s changed to make this important today?

Business as usual will not work because people have changed, and also because our collective sense of urgency about the need for radical change has never been stronger. As Tom Friedman wrote in the New York Times recently, “Mother Nature and Father Greed have hit the wall at the same time.”

The world has changed significantly, especially in the past 20 years. What used to be acceptable in the past is no longer acceptable today. Think about it. 150 years ago, slavery was widely acceptable to a large number of people. 100 years ago, many thought it acceptable to deny women the right to vote. 75 years ago, colonialism was still widespread and generally accepted. 50 years ago, most people accepted segregation as a way of life.

As human beings, we did not stop evolving when we got up on our hind legs. Our evolution continued, but became more internally driven. As these examples illustrate, our consciousness about what is right and what is wrong is constantly evolving. The data also suggests that human intelligence has been rising at an average rate of 4% every decade for the past 70 to 80 years. This is known as the Flynn Effect.

Some of the greatest changes in society occurred about 20 years ago. The fall of the Berlin wall in 1989 triggered the collapse of communist regimes all over Europe, something that had been unthinkable just a few years before. This essentially ended the defining ideological debate of the 20th century between competing systems for organizing human societies. Capitalism and democracy decidedly won that battle, and the only question now was the type of free markets and democracy that worked best.

1989 was also the year in which, for the first time, there were more adults over the age of 40 than below the United States. The psychological center of gravity shifted into midlife and beyond, triggering a gradual but deep transformation of the zeitgeist towards a greater concern with meaning, purpose and other centeredness. We refer to this as the beginning of the “Age of Transcendence.”

In 1990, Tim Berners-Lee created the World Wide Web, an invention that would transform the world like no other, perhaps in our history. Within a few short years, the web ushered in an era of true information democracy, in which the average person had free access to more information more rapidly than the richest persons in the world had enjoyed previously. People became infinitely better informed, and were soon far better connected as well, through the web as well as through mobile technology. We now live in an era of almost total transparency, in which all corporate actions and policies become public knowledge, especially if they are controversial.

Taken together, all of these changes have resulted in a dramatically transformed landscape for business. The so-called feminine values of caring, nurturing, relationships and compassion are on the ascendance in most spheres of society. People today care about different things, are better informed, better educated and better connected than ever before. They are looking for different things from companies, in their roles as customers, employees, suppliers, investors and community members. However, most companies have not evolved to keep pace, and are still conducting business according to norms that were developed in a much different time.

Companies that operate according to the principles of conscious capitalism are far better attuned to the sensibilities and needs of people today. These companies create multiple kinds of wealth: social, economic, intellectual, ecological, cultural, spiritual and of course financial. Our research (reported in the book Firms of Endearment) found that such companies outperformed the market by a 9 to 1 ratio over a ten-year period, while paying their employees better, having profitable suppliers, paying taxes at a higher rate, providing great customer service, investing in their communities, and having a positive impact on the environment.

Raj Sisodia

What companies or individuals are the best examples of being conscious capitalists?

 

Our book features 28 companies, 18 of them publicly traded. Outstanding examples include Whole Foods Market, The Container Store, Southwest Airlines, Costco, New Balance, Timberland, Wegmans, Trader Joe’s, UPS, Starbucks and Google. A great example outside the US is Tata, one of the leading companies based in India. Tata has truly been a conscious capitalist for well over 120 years, always acting from a sense of higher purpose that puts society’s needs as paramount and seeing profits as the natural outcome of meeting those needs in an effective and efficient manner.

What’s an example of a company that’s represents the opposite of a conscious capitalist company?

An easy example is British Petroleum, which has just gone through a very public and humiliating ordeal that has revealed how hollow its claims of being a responsible, environmentally sustainable company truly were. A company that is rapidly evolving towards greater consciousness is Wal-Mart. For a number of years after the death of Sam Walton, Wal-Mart became a relentless cost-cutting machine, squeezing its employees, suppliers and communities in order to eke out low prices for its customers and high returns for its investors. After a decade in which its stock price was virtually unchanged, the company has gradually started to better align itself with the value system that is increasingly prevalent today. Other companies that are transforming in a positive way include McDonald’s and PepsiCo.

What will it take to make this a mainstream idea?

The business world, like many other spheres of society, is highly imitative. As they say, nothing succeeds like success. As conscious businesses continue to outperform their competitors, other companies will be forced to start emulating their business philosophy in order to survive. Our purpose in the Conscious Capitalism movement is to help thing about this change more rapidly and in a more conscious manner, so that companies understand what it truly takes to be an authentically conscious business and not just one that pays lip service to the idea.

Our mission at the Conscious Capitalism Institute (www.cc-institute.com) includes three elements: research, education and development. We will conduct research that will help improve our understanding of the principles of conscious capitalism and how they can be best implemented. We will develop educational materials (including cases, courses and simulations) that can be used to better educate the next generation of managers coming to our business schools. Finally, we are developing executive education programs to help current managers understand and implement this approach.

Our hope and dream is that one day soon, Conscious Capitalism will come to be seen as the “normal” way to do business. When that happens, we will be well on our way to creating a society that creates a rising level of well-being for all our citizens in a manner that is sustainable for the indefinite future.

What will people learn from listening to your master class?

Through the master class, people will understand how the world is changing, why businesses need to respond, the key elements of conscious capitalism, the impact of these on performance, and how companies can start the change process of becoming truly conscious businesses. They will understand that business transformation starts with individual transformation, and that they must embark on a journey of raising their own consciousness. They will leave with a new lens with which to view the world, and a new perspective on the kinds of companies they should look to associate with, as customers, employees, investors and community members.

What advice do you give your 3 children in terms of how they can support or contribute to this idea that’s so important to you?

I have tried to get them to understand the consequences of conscious versus unconscious decision making in all spheres. By now, they are all pretty well indoctrinated into the philosophy of conscious capitalism. I am sure that when they look for a job, or perhaps one day when they start a business themselves, they will keep these principles in mind so that their own prosperity does not come at the expense of other people or the planet itself.

You can register here to participate in Raj’s November 10 Master Class at Authors Globe.  What a great way to have direct access to Raj, without ever getting on a plane.