I am not Ultimate Eye Shadow Girl.

You know who I’m talking about – the girl who applies awesome eye shadow with such ease and flair that she must be a secret- agent-supermodel who can disarm a bomb from memory and never, ever trip in her high heels. She always has artfully applied eye shadow, and she always looks amazing and not the least bit clownish in it.

I have always wanted to be Ultimate Eye Shadow Girl. And it looks like this might be the year it actually happens.

This season, the trends in eye shadow are all about subtle, smoky eyes combined with neutral lips. (Or bright, berry lips combined with a neutral eye.) Forest colors are big, including lots of dark green, browns, plums, mauves and berries. And it is all about blending dark and light contrasts, or layering sheers over muted darks.

Here’s how to ace the eyes:

Start with the lighter color over brow. Blend in darker colors, but keep it below the crease. You can even add texture with a metallic blend or bright champagne color. You can also blend browns with a shimmery green or blue, which can reflect when the light hits it. Don’t forget to choose lighter eyeliner to enhance the smoky eye look.

And most importantly, what organic products to use? I sampled some of the top-rated eco-friendly eye shadows out there.

First, consider the eye shadows from Lavera Naturkosmetik. Their eye shadows contain organic hydrating vegan organic calendula and jojoba. The dual combination of Sand and Mocca is a good bet for shimmery earth tones. These products are certified by BDIH of Germany, free from parabens, synthetic preservatives, fragrances, emulsifiers and petroleum-based ingredients. They also contain  pure, organic plant oils, herb and flower extracts. However, they do contain talc, which in some studies has proven controversial.

NVEY ECO eye shadows offer up dark greens, silvers, deep purples and browns. They contain organic chamomile and vitamins A, C, and E. Further, they are free of talc, parabens, and preservatives. NVEY ECO contains no petroleum-based ingredients, propylene glycol, SLSs or genetically modified crops. And ,they are certified organic by the Australian government.

Josie Maran Cosmetics keeps up the season’s trends with some cool, smoky colors. (See? Everyone is all about smoky this season.) Their current line is extremely rich – Chianti is some of the richest bronze out of all the lines. Smoke and Maple also keep up the dusky trends. Josie Maran Cosmetics combines organic and mineral-based ingredients. They are free of parabens, fragrance, and petrochemicals.

Image: Mark Sebastian

Rachel Avalon, 2009 Project Green Search winner

Have you followed the progress of Project Green Search? It’s a recent contest that closed recently with winner, Rachel Avalon, being “crowned.”

Aysia Wright of Greenloop and Remy Chevalier of Lu Magazine, who co-hosted the event, say Greenloop’s education, outreach and fund raising arm naturally evolved into Project Green Search, a platform aimed at inspiring people to start thinking about how to align their careers with their environmental ethics.

Wright saw this inspiration as opportunity to reshape a particular  economic landscape, to support progressive, triple bottom line business models, media projects and non-profit organizations seeking to move forward in the realm of sustainable living.

In the case of Avalon, Wright admits she’s beautiful, but much more than just a fresh face.

“People relate to other people, especially people who tell a good story, who are accessible and authentic,” says Wright. “For many companies, non-profits, and media projects, telling their story in a compelling manner is a huge challenge. With the right person, this monumental task is so much easier.  It’s usually pretty clear when a cause is only skin deep to the person relating it, which affects its ability to take root and grow. When the right person tells the story though, a person who lives and breathes the story themselves, you can see it and feel it, and it resonates. ”

Wright says that is her goal with Project Green Search: to educate, inspire, make the connections and serve as the platform where all of this can take place.

Chevalier agrees, but has his own spin.

“Models and actors in ads or commercials need to believe in what they’re selling, so they’re not just doing it for the paycheck, prostituting their image to pay the rent,” Chevalier says. “We want to create an environment where that can happen, grow and expand, so as to transform the entire industry, which has always been led by where the next ‘it’ girl wanted to be.”

Based on Chevalier’s remark about transforming the idea of what a model is or represents for a brand or even for our culture is massive, especially when you’re standing out for the eco-world. There’s a lot more to be hold accountable for.

Avalon has a lot of weight on her shoulders now, and I’m not talking about the Swarovski crystal-embedded crown. What makes her the green girl to stand tall?

I  asked all the Project Green Search judges one question: Was your choice to crown Rachel Avalon as the next green “it” girl based more on her being a fresh face or for her ease in being an advocate for all that is green and good?

Here’s what they had to say.

Darren Moore, Alter Eco Co- host on Discovery’s  Planet Green and Ecovations Founder:

“The reason Rachel Avalon was chosen as the next green girl was because all the judges considered her to be in the top two of their list. For me, Rachel represented the qualities we agreed were most important as judges:

1. History of work in the field
2. Relateable to the masses (look included)
3. Knowledge of green priorities (what’s most important)

This was a challenge to choose because each of the contestants had strong points with unique talents, skills and looks that were difficult to place in comparison with each other. This being the first competition, we had to devise our own criteria and all of us judges had a opinions on who they thought was the best public figure. We were essentially deciding on who we felt would be the choice of the people.”

Deborah Lindquist, Eco-fashion designer combining environmental responsibility with cutting-edge aesthetics:

“I suppose a bit of both. We needed to pick a girl who was commercially viable as a model but who also could speak well and was knowledgeable about the green lifestyle.”

Anna Griffin, Editor-in-Chief of CocoEco Magazine:

“My main criteria in choosing the Project Green ‘It’ Girl was to find a fresh face that was accessible to both big brands and the general public, who could also walk her talk in our green space, was passionate and had super integrity. In order to make green a mainstream conversation, it is imperative we start considering what is commercially viable, and build bridges between our industry, large brands and the general public.  Rachel has the ability to transcend each area, and has all the qualities needed to be that spokesperson.”

Starre Vartan, author of The Eco Chick Guide to Life: How to Be Fabulously Green and publisher of Eco Chick:

“I chose Rachel Avalon for three particular reasons: she has an amazing face that telegraphs natural beauty, she is graceful, well-spoken and easy on camera, and most of all, her passion for a greener planet is contagious and genuine. After interviewing Rachel, and speaking with her both formally and informally, her love for the planet was palpable, like something that spread from her and infected everyone around her. That is the quality I was hoping to find and several of our contestants were incredibly dedicated to various environmental causes, but Rachel Avalon’s love for the Earth is like a living thing and as we all know, Mother Nature needs representatives who can communicate both the challenges and the joys of going green.”

Josie Maran, Professional model and founder of Josie Maran Cosmetics:

“Rachel is our ‘It’ girl because she is fresh faced and a great advocate and spokesperson for all that’s good. She’s beautiful inside and out!”

Green girl Josie Maran has modeled for Glamour and Sports Illustrated and she’s appeared in films like The Aviator and Van Helsing. Now she’s an eco-entrepreneur whose eponymous cosmetic line is one of the best on the market.

What qualifies a model-actress to start her own makeup line? Models and actresses look fresh faced and makeup free for one reason – they are experts at applying makeup.

As Maran puts it, “When I began to land jobs, I discovered what a lot of girls already know: the power of makeup. I saw that a little could go a long way.”

After spending hundreds of hours in the makeup chair, she realized she was uniquely experienced to design her own line of healthy, natural cosmetics. And Josie Maran Cosmetics was born.

Recently, Maran shared some of her product and beauty tips from her fall line, exclusively for EcoSalon readers. Here’s what she had to say:

EcoSalon: A typical green girl might love makeup, but not love looking like she’s caked with it. What are your best tips for a natural look?

Josie Maran: You can achieve a natural look by using tinted day-cream instead of heavy foundation. Then, go in with a concealer to cover blemishes. For small areas use a pointy brush. This way you can place the concealer where it’s really needed.

Fall is here, bringing with it cooling temperatures and fading tans. What’s your best tip for transitioning our skin from the summer sun?

Smooth lips and hydrated skin are the ultimate foundation. Start your fall beauty routine with targeted moisture. This fall, balms are making a big comeback and my Argan Moisturizing Stick smooths chapped lips and hydrates dry, peeling skin. It targets areas that need moisture most, providing a smooth canvas to work with! And there are other fantastic balms to consider: Jurlique Love Balm and Burt’s Bees Replenishing Lip Balm with Pomegranate Oil.

What are the best eye shadow colors you recommend for fall? And more importantly, what are your tips for applying it?

This fall is all about a neutral color palette. Create a natural smoky eye with my favorite earthy shades (for this look think: soft brown, not harsh black). Start by sweeping a muted, light brown shade all over the lid. I love the Maple shade in my line of eye shadows.

Then blend a darker, smokier brown into the crease for a dramatic effect. Try my Eye Shadow in Smoke, or my personal favorite Chianti – it’s a rich brownish plum, perfect for fall Smudge a brown eye liner along the lashes to get the smoky effect. Finish the look with brown mascara.

Lastly, what do you recommend for lips?

Red lips, naturally! Red lips have been a huge hit on the runways. I wear mine naturally with paraben-free lipstick in Desirous and shine it up with Joie De Vivre lip gloss.

Josie Maran Cosmetics is made up of a 70-piece line for eyes, lips, cheeks, skin and more. It’s free of parabens, toxins and petrochemicals, and it contains a large percentage of natural and organic ingredients. The product line is available online, at Barneys in New York City and at Vert in Venice, CA. You can also find products at various Sephoras around the country.

Some of us like to wear makeup. And some of us like to wear makeup that doesn’t feel like makeup, especially the kind of makeup that gives you the “raccoon eyes after a night of crying at various sad pet movies” look. For example, I recently made the mistake of applying mascara and then watching Marley and Me. I looked like a cross between The Joker and Marilyn Manson when it was all over. Not so pretty!

And so, running mascara is one of my greatest fears. (You know, next to nuclear war and the end of cupcakes.) Why? My lineage is Whitey McWhite, so my un-mascara-ed eyelashes resemble something you might see on the Invisible Woman. I’m forced to wear it, and it almost always ends up running. The only brands that seem to actually stay on said eyelashes seem to be from the old-school makers like Maybelline. And who wants to put parabens and synthetic dyes on our eyelashes?

We tested some of the top organic and natural mascaras out there. And, neatly ranked from favorite to not-so-much, here’s what we found:

Mascara by Josie Maran

This is a fantastic mascara that darkens, lengthens and simply gets the job done. It doesn’t clump and it goes on smoothly. And best of all, it withstood the ultimate test: while wearing it, I watched the end of yet another pet tear-jerker My Dog Skip. (Have you seen this movie? Rent it immediately with plenty of recycled tissues.) My one beef with this product is that it is harder than others to remove. But just keep the organic make-up remover handy and you are fine. It isn’t 100% organic and does contain iron oxides, but the product is completely natural, being free of parabens and fragrance, plus it contains organic ingredients like jojoba oil, argan oil and beeswax.

Volume Mascara by Lavera

This product provides great coverage, length and color. And it makes some of us look like we actually have eyelashes! It doesn’t clump and it goes on smoothly. The only downside is that it runs after a few hours – but then, most mascaras do. This product is also not 100% organic, but it is completely natural. It is made with extracts of organic jojoba and wild rose oils and is free of paraben and heavy metals. It rinses off with a mild cleanser and is vegan-approved, too!

Lash Masque by Lamas

This product is not a mascara, but a “unique formula [that] darkens lashes with non-irritating color from all natural ingredients without the harsh chemicals that cause premature breakage and irritation.” Great. But does it work? Well, I was a little slow on the uptake in realizing this wasn’t a mascara, and so I walked around wearing it as such. It does darken your lashes and it does stay on. In fact, it is a good choice if you just want subtle color as it sort of acts like “mousse” for your eyelashes. It claims to be “a perfect choice for natural looking lash definition during the day.” And I would have to agree with that.  This product is paraben free and formulated with organic botanicals.

Organic Mascara by Nvey

Nvey of the fantastic, best-on-the-market-organic lipsticks doesn’t quite hit the mark with their mascara. It takes several applications to go on. Thinking I had a dry tube, I emailed the company. According to the friendly Nvey rep, “our mascara is definitely a drier formula than many of the chemically based mascaras and natural mascaras on the market. However, the pigment actually instant adheres better to the lashes without a drier effect to the actual lashes, but rather a moisturizing and conditioning formula to lengthen and strengthen the lashes.” Lesson learned: if you have thin lashes like mine, this is not the product for you. But I had a thicker-lashed friend try it out, and she liked it. So there you go. This product is free of parabens, propylene glycol and sodium laureth sulfate. It contains nettle, horsetail herb and vitamin B5.

Main image: partycja