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  • Home
  • Book
  • Categories
    • Healthy Living
    • Mommy Greenest Approved
    • Eco Beauty & Fashion
    • Natural Parenting
    • Latest Buzz
    • Green News & Events
  • Mommy Greenest Guides
    • Guide to Going Green
    • Guide to Eco-Friendly Fashion
    • Guide to Healthy Eating
    • Guide to Natural Parenting & Pregnancy
    • Guide to Green Beauty
    • Guide to Healthy Cleaning
  • About
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  • Eco Beauty & Fashion

    Oil Cleansing Skincare Miracle

    March 30, 2022 /

    Decades ago, I complained to my friend Vanessa about the blackheads on my nose. She recommended washing with oil, but I ignored her advice. More oil on my oily skin? It didn’t make sense. Now I wish I’d listened to her, all those years ago. Because oil cleansing is a game changer. Over the past few weeks, the practice has DRAMATICALLY changed the way my skin looks and feels. But I had to learn how to do it — the right way.

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    Rachel Sarnoff 4 Comments

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    Need A New Year’s Resolution? Shop Drop!

    January 1, 2014
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    Let’s Start A Fast Fashion Revolution!

    April 14, 2015
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    Go Put On Your (Natural Beauty) Face!

    December 23, 2013
  • Slugging is a beauty trend that’s trending on TikTok, where petrochemical products are promoted. Try my vegan slugging solution for natural beauty!
    Eco Beauty & Fashion

    Vegan Slugging, Naturally

    February 28, 2022 /

    My great-grandmother always had a jar of salve on her dressing table — she would slather it on her face before she went to sleep. This ritual was something she learned as an actress in Hollywood, a hundred years ago. Today, it’s been rebranded as the “slugging” trend that’s trending on TikTok. But can you slug without petrochemically derived products? In a word, YES! Try this inexpensive, all-natural vegan slugging solution.

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    Rachel Sarnoff 0 Comments

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    3 Steps to Natural Beauty

    April 14, 2013
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    Can Hemp Save the World?

    June 4, 2013
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    DIY Natural Bug Repellant Perfume

    July 28, 2014
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    Mommy Greenest Approved

    Mommy Greenest Loves: Superfood Facial Oil

    November 17, 2020 /

    As hormones plummet and cells stop renewing, skin becomes drier with age. The only thing that seems to restore moisture is a pure, natural facial oil. I’ve been using certified organic argan facial oil for a while, but recently upped my game by switching to seriously rich Superfood Facial Oil from British natural beauty brand PHB Ethical Beauty. My skin drinks it up!

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    Rachel Sarnoff 1 Comment

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    Mommy Greenest Approved: Shop Smart with Climate Store

    April 15, 2015
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    Mommy Greenest Approved: Blue Sky Family Farms Pasture Raised & Free Range Eggs

    February 23, 2016
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    Mommy Greenest Approved: Saison Beauty Natural Skincare

    September 28, 2015
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    Mommy Greenest Approved

    Mommy Greenest Approved: Saison Beauty Natural Skincare

    September 28, 2015 /

    Remember when you were in high school and your grandma’s friend was “having her colors done” and you learned you were a Spring? Okay, maybe that’s just me. But I was fascinated by that cool little color wheel and how it finally made sense that I still loved pink even though I was 16. That’s kind of how I felt when I discovered Saison Beauty, which takes the seasonal concept and applies it to natural skincare. Genius!

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    Rachel Sarnoff 80 Comments

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    Mommy Greenest Approved: #MinorMiracle with ZerorezSoCal

    March 21, 2014
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    Try A Natural Deodorant Detox from Weleda

    January 26, 2015
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    Mommy Greenest Approved: Goodbeing Subscription Box

    November 30, 2015
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    Mommy Greenest Approved: Earth Kiss Natural Face Masks

    September 14, 2015 /

    I remember the first time I had egg on my face. I was about nine, and our family friend—a gorgeous woman with ridiculously high cheekbones and poreless skin—showed me how to separate an egg, whip up the white with a fork, and apply it as a natural face mask. I idolized her, so I sat with that egg shriveling and prickling up my skin for what felt like an hour, until she remembered to tell me to wash it off. People, masks have come SUCH a long way since then. Case in point? The AMAZING new, individually packaged, 100% natural face masks from Earth Kiss. I’ve got 10 sets to…

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    Rachel Sarnoff 119 Comments

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    Mommy Greenest Approved: Purely Posh

    July 5, 2013
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    Mommy Greenest Approved: Bona

    October 7, 2013
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    Mommy Greenest Approved: SIRUM Life Saving Medication Reform

    February 18, 2015
  • Weleda Evening Primrose Facial Care
    Mommy Greenest Approved

    Mommy Greenest Approved: Weleda Age Revitalizing Evening Primrose Facial Care

    May 11, 2015 /

    I have a birthday coming up. I’m not going to share exactly what number I’m hitting, but let’s just say it’s a big one. As I approach said birthday, I’m noticing a few things changing in my world. Two of my three children have to bend down to hug me. Strangers routinely call me “ma’am.” But the biggest change? My skin is different. Drier. Less elastic. Even—dare I say it—downright saggy, in spots. I got help from Weleda’s new Age Revitalizing Evening Primrose Facial Care. Want to try? I’m giving it away!

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    Rachel Sarnoff 130 Comments

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    Mommy Greenest Approved: Baby Bjorn Bouncer

    May 6, 2015
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    Introducing: Mommy Greenest Pregnancy Book!

    April 21, 2015
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    Carbon Offset: The Gift That Keeps On Giving

    December 15, 2014
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    Mommy Greenest Approved

    Mommy Greenest Approved: LumiMist

    October 27, 2014 /

    I’m always up for being a guinea pig to green technology. I cleaned my carpets with alkaline water and drank hair spray to show how unnecessary toxic chemicals were in beauty products. So when LumiMist asked me to take a look at their device, which transforms ordinary tap water into a bacteria-fighting cleanser and toner, I was intrigued. Could something this simple really work?

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    Rachel Sarnoff 54 Comments

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    Mommy Greenest Approved: Shop Smart with Climate Store

    April 15, 2015
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    Mommy Greenest Approved: Goodbeing Subscription Box

    November 30, 2015
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    Mommy Greenest Approved: Organic Pastures Dairy Raw Milk

    December 22, 2014
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    Mommy Greenest Approved: Love for Humanity Organic Skincare

    September 29, 2014 /

    There are lots of brands that plant trees for every purchase. And although that’s a noble endeavor—it’s a fir joke, get it?—if my purchase can help people and the planet, I’m sold. That’s why I was so excited to discover Love for Humanity Organics, a new truly natural skincare line that gives a meal to a child for every product you buy. Want to try? Get 25% off and a chance to win some!

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    Rachel Sarnoff 24 Comments

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    Mommy Greenest Approved: Maty’s All Natural Vapor Rub

    October 23, 2014
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    Mommy Greenest Approved: Pour le Monde Natural Fragrance

    September 15, 2013
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    Mommy Greenest Approved: Pristine Beauty Breast Cancer Kiss Off

    October 5, 2015

Welcome! I created this blog in 2008 as a resource for healthier living with less judgment. I'm a mother of three, former journalist, and co-founder of the (shuttered, sniff) sustainable beauty and fashion site EcoStiletto. I was Executive Director of the nonprofits The 5 Gyres Institute and Healthy Child Healthy World and appeared as a sustainable lifestyle expert on "The "TODAY Show" and "CNN Headline News," among others. Oh, and have you checked out my TEDx talks: Trash is Ruining Recycling and Can One Straw Change The World? Today, you can find me here. Let's keep in touch! xoRachel

https://youtu.be/sOol1MIgois

rachellincolnsarnoff

Exiting the @pacificmfa womb and headed into the w Exiting the @pacificmfa womb and headed into the world, proud of brilliant graduates including @allisuuunshines and @krazykenzer14 and honored to be on this path with @kburmz_ and @katiesumers and @rwrowe21 and too many others to name “jumping and dancing and skipping” and writing and reading and listening and thinking. I am profoundly grateful for this community and fellowship that is truly life-changing, and I read this poem TODAY which is further proof the universe is listening.
THE DAYS (abridged)
If only I could live my life, not write it,
I’d have double the experience
and be better at nothingness, at being present.
The page, I once believed, offers permanence,
sanctifying time, making it longer,
but now I see my words as susceptible,
even if digital, to fire, flood, misplacement.
To misinterpretation. To accidental
download by enemy. I don’t yet want them 
to be lost, but I dread the possibility
that they won’t self-destruct at the end
of my life, or the end of my lucidity.
Maybe I’ve been using paper all wrong,
committing to ink what should live in my head,
which is part of my body, which will not last…
Each night, I had written Here is what happened
like a kid whose pen makes her small life exciting,
then gone on mistaking the plot for the story,
as if the point of writing were writing.
-Adrienne Su “The Days” published in the New Yorker January 2/9 2023 (abridged)
#AmWriting #Memoir #Essay #Nonfiction #Fiction #WomensFiction #Stories #Story #WritersOfInstagram #Writer #Writing #WritingCommunity #PacificUniversity #PacificMFA #MFA
Searching for the sleeper wave. #amwriting #amread Searching for the sleeper wave. #amwriting #amreading #fiction #writer #writersofinstagram #writingcommunity #mfa
After the recent announcement of the fusion breakt After the recent announcement of the fusion breakthrough at Livermore — where my grandfather once worked as a chemist, that’s him on the right — many messaged me that the “climate crisis was over.” At the lab, lasers fused two forms of hydrogen into helium, which released more energy than it took to make it. And yes, this is amazing: Nuclear fusion releases no greenhouse gases and the waste is less problematic than what’s produced by nuclear fission, which is what my grandfather worked on. But the Livermore experiment — among many others — was able to produce just a small amount of energy and scaling its ability will take a lot of time, which we don’t have. Here’s what we do have: Wind and solar and regenerative agriculture, which are all eminently scalable now. As my grandfather might have said, “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.” Photo: Bonestamp
#Climate #ClimateJustice #KeepItInTheGround #CleanEnergy #Motivation #MommyGreenest
I’m not big on resolutions, but I do believe in I’m not big on resolutions, but I do believe in ritual. Every New Year’s Day — and my birthday — I try to do the things that I want to be doing for the rest of the year. I spent the morning writing and then did some yoga and went for a walk with my family. I made posole for my son’s birthday party and ate said posole and it was delicious. I prepped a bit for work and played my guitar. All in all, an excellent start to another year. How about you? #happynewyear #newyear #resolutions #ritual
I have always been a writer. Published? Not so muc I have always been a writer. Published? Not so much. I published myself, obviously — MommyGreenest since 2008 woot! — but with other projects I tended to give up after a pass and internalize the rejection. But late last year, I read an essay by @elizabeth_gilbert_writer in which she described her process as tennis: Every time a story was lobbed back to her she sent it back over the net to another potential publisher. One in, one out. I took that to heart and each time I received a no, I swung harder. I still haven’t placed a story, but this year I published three nonfiction pieces — in the @washingtonpost, @nwreview, and @hippocampusmag. With encouragement from Kate McKean’s @agents_and_books newsletter, I submitted to over 50 agents who passed on my novel, but 11 requested the full manuscript and responded with notes (this will mean nothing to most people, but after enough time in the slush pile, querying writers gauge success by the detail of the rejection). No, this work is not lucrative and yes, it is a privilege to carve out the time and attention that it demands. Last spring, I was inspired by @jamiattenberg’s #1000wordsofsummer to schedule hour-long writing sessions, often at 5 a.m. before work, in order to chip away at a new novel that just topped the 50,000-word mark huzzah! Next week, I’ll join @pacificmfa peers in Oregon for my first in-person residency on the slowest train ever to an MFA. Cheers to all the creative people who can’t stop won’t stop trying to make sense of this reality through art. I am inspired by all of you.
#AmWriting #Memoir #Essay #Nonfiction #Fiction #WomensFiction #WritersOfInstagram #Writer #Writing #WritingCommunity #PacificUniversity #MFA
Finally c-positive, which is a negative, but the p Finally c-positive, which is a negative, but the plus side is a cozy blanket, knitted with love by a friend, and this amazing book, sent to me by my mother, which includes this wisdom: “…it strikes me as a particularly dangerous fantasy…that someone might be able to live without…heartbreak or sorrow. Which I’m pretty sure you only get to do if you have no relationships, love nothing, are a sociopath, and maybe, if you’re enlightened. I don’t know about you, but I check none of these boxes.” Love love LOVE. Who else is reading/has read? Let’s discuss! #amreading #rossgay #essay #nonfiction #inspiration
Los Angeles is full of magical places, especially Los Angeles is full of magical places, especially this time of year. We got dressed up and went to one of them. Highly recommended. Happy holidays, everyone!
When your daughter is doing the crossword puzzle a When your daughter is doing the crossword puzzle and you know both the answer and the person in the clue.
#JennaJambeck #Plastic #CircularEconomy #BreakFreeFromPlastic #Motivation #Health #Wellness #MommyGreenest
Obsessed. #Natural #NaturalBeauty #CleanBeauty #Be Obsessed. #Natural #NaturalBeauty #CleanBeauty #Beauty #Perfume #NaturalPerfume #HenryRose #NotSponsored
Slow and steady wins the race. #SlowAndSteady #Ha Slow and steady wins the race.
#SlowAndSteady #HappyHolidays #HappyHolidays2022 #AmWriting #WomensFiction #WritersOfInstagram #Writer #Writing #WritingCommunity
It’s inevitable — in December, we take stock. It’s inevitable — in December, we take stock. 2022 was full of surprises, but one constant was me on top of a mountain, wearing some weird assortment of sun protection and smiling. What happy place did you return to over and over this year?
#Health #Wellness #Hiking #Hike #Motivation #HealthyLifestyle #MommyGreenest
Tighter than a ____’s ass in fly time. You fill Tighter than a ____’s ass in fly time. You fill in the blank. #hemingway #amreading #amwriting #writer #writersofinstagram
All parents are proud of their kids. That’s just All parents are proud of their kids. That’s just what we do. I’m no exception. For the last three days, I’ve been listening on repeat to my son’s first album, proud as a peacock. But I’m also a music lover and a musician and I would love this album even if Gabriel — known on Spotify as Garb — hadn’t made it. This is a concept album: The songs follow the trajectory of a relationship and connect viscerally to all the raw and unfiltered emotions of first love. He is accompanied by incredible jazz musicians — known here as the Rags — from the Berkeley music program, creating this really interesting folk jazz fusion. I am proud of what he has created and also of how brave he is to put it out into the world. Please take a minute to click through, listen and — most important — please share. Link in bio. Thank you!
#Music #Singer #Songwriter #Songs #Garb #garbandtherags
Have you heard about the movement to #RebrandThank Have you heard about the movement to #RebrandThanksgiving? It’s a reminder to disrupt historical myths and honor the heritage of the #Indigenous land on which we live. Check out resources @IllumiNative and the map at native-land(dot)ca. Today and every day I am grateful to be living here, on native Chumash and Tongva land.
#IllumiNative #Thanksgiving #HappyThanksgiving
So proud to know @maryhelenstefaniak who has not o So proud to know @maryhelenstefaniak who has not one but TWO books out this year! I can’t wait to read this collection of essays, which @valerielaken calls a “treasure trove of marvels.” Both of these fantastic humans and writers are faculty at @pacificmfa. I am so inspired by this community!
#AmWriting #Memoir #Essay #Nonfiction #Fiction #WomensFiction #WritersOfInstagram #Writer #Writing #WritingCommunity
Opened Rilke to this. Who needs the I Ching? #rilk Opened Rilke to this. Who needs the I Ching? #rilke #writing #writer #writersofinstagram #reader #readersofinstagram #reading
My essay is in the Northwest Review!! This is a li My essay is in the Northwest Review!! This is a literary journal that I truly respect and admire. It’s one of the oldest in the country — they ran Ken Kesey’s first story in 1957! NWR has published Pushcart nominees, Best American Short Story winners, Stegner Fellows, and now me. I’m so proud that my compact little essay, “Morning-After Pill “Freebies” Highlight Abortion Divide” made the cut. Plus, that cover — amiright? Link in bio!
#AmWriting #Memoir #Essay #Nonfiction #Fiction #WomensFiction #WritersOfInstagram #Writer #Writing #WritingCommunity
You? #vote #voteblue #votelikeyourlifedependsonit You? #vote #voteblue #votelikeyourlifedependsonit
If you’re in Los Angeles, go see the extraordina If you’re in Los Angeles, go see the extraordinary #JoanDidion exhibit, curated by #HiltonAls at the #HammerMuseum. #Inspiration #AmWriting #WritersOfInstagram
My husband. Seriously. This stuff is all stuffed i My husband. Seriously. This stuff is all stuffed in various garages until he builds it into magic. The neighborhood kids follow him like the Pied Piper until it’s finished. And then he reveals a new element that’s even more fantastic. This year, he hung the moon. I’ll be handing out #fairtrade #organic chocolates on Monday if anyone wants to stop by! #upcycled #plasticfree #hauntedhouse #halloween
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