Astrology & Skincare

We love our Moon! The cycles of the Moon have always come in useful to us. Even today farmers still use the stars and moon for planting, harvesting, and keeping track of weather patterns. Sailors still use the position of the stars and moon to stay on course, and even just recently the gravitational pull that our Moon has on the tides was helpful in pulling a boat from the Suez Canal. There's a nice article on Space.com about it and you can check it out here.

So last Autumn, I decided to become an Independent Consultant in the USA for The Body Shop. I realized they re-launched their 'At Home' line here while I was hunting around the internet for vegan beauty products that I could dropship. The local place I had worked with in Newark, NY phased out their drop ship program after the pandemic hit. With such a huge demand for their vegan bath and beauty products, they chose to continue their bulk orders only, while still supplying their products for manufacturing. I had some ideas but very little money to invest for beginning such a venture so many others had. I decided Independent Consulting would be much easier for me.

Ever since I was a kid, I have always enjoyed products from The Body Shop. While on weeklong or weekend family getaways in Canada, I would slowly walk around the store they had in Toronto's Eaton Center. It was like a hidden treasure not available in my local malls around WNY. The choices of their products left me breathless! It seemed like they had every fruit or vegetable, and fruit/vegetable combination available. From facial masks, scrubs, peels, hair products, body washes and moisturizers, body sprays, hair and makeup brushes, in every bath and beauty item they could think of! I saw my first rice powder for absorbing facial oil in The Body Shop. They also made it in convenient little tissue packs for my purse! The lip glosses were definitely another one of my favorites.

A Small History on The Body Shop

Founded in 1976 by Anita Roddick, the line is 100% Vegan and against animal testing. I found out last year that The Body Shop is a pioneer of Community Fair Trade. Like many other make-up lines, it has been bought a couple times by a larger one. L'oreal took them on for awhile but the last acquisition of The Body Shop was done in 2017 by Natura, a company based in Brazil. While watching Madame Roddick's YouTube documentary, I fell in love with these products all over again! A portion of all proceeds go back into the communities where the ingredients are purchased from. I recalled the many shop pictures in their Toronto store with young girls, boys and women holding Avocado's, Coconut's and colorful open Mango's. They haven't changed in 2021!

Communities all over the world benefit from the manufacturing and sales from The Body Shop. I had always felt like the love and care in the pictures was physically present in the store, and buying anything from them always made me feel like a part of those little worlds! As an adult, I continue to feel the same way about their products! I purchased their Honey Bronzer for the first time years ago and I have used it every summer since. It gives a rich golden metallic sheen and smells gorgeous! Does anyone remember being able to actually mix our own preferred natural scented oils right in the store to make our own signature scent, or did you just buy one scent straight? I would buy about 3 and layer them, just in case I only wanted to wear one. WHERE can we do this now?

In light of needing to spread the love I have for The Body Shop, and doing something positive for myself (I make a commission from all sales done through the online store they set-up for me) I decided to dive in!

In order to continue their mission on offering a healthier bath and beauty product that enriches the human psyche and helps to save our environment, The Body Shop started a Refill and Recycle mission in London. They want to spread this movement across the world while also helping to spread awareness about the ways we can change for the better to protect our planet (and each other) for the long run! Don't we all strive and fight for the empowerment of girls and women? For better Mental Health Care? There's also Equal Rights, Community Fair Trade (The Body Shop started their own program and it has grown to be the largest EVER in the cosmetics industry!) Animal Rights, Environmental Activism, Youth Homelessness, Domestic Violence... The Body Shop motto is still the same! Business could be a force for good.

Astrology & Skincare? WHY?

I have always been a little rebel when I have the chance to self-start a project. Then I rush ahead competing with how well I did yesterday. I watched the other consultants doing well by following the guidelines set up in order to get word out about The Body Shop AND make sales. It really isn't about the product at all so I started to brainstorm. Then after some time, a question hit me: How do I incorporate my passion for Astrology into a skincare routine that others will find useful?

I decided to come up with my own 'Moon Care' skincare and beauty system using products from The Body Shop that I enjoy. I don't see why using Astrology in accordance with the phases of the Moon, we can't give ourselves a healthier skincare routine. Most of us already use Astrology to help ourselves get physically healthy. So off I went searching online. I found several blogs and articles about using the Moon phases for skincare. Not as many as I was hoping to find though, so I decided to get to work on my own. I already have a sort of fascination for our closest celestial neighbor and you can read my Moon blog using this vocal link!

This right here is just the beginning of my series on Astrology & Skincare! I hope you'll enjoy reading these Moon Care blogs as much as I'll enjoy making them! An important awareness we need to keep in mind during our morning and night beauty regimen is the mood of our Moon. She is a very constant, feminine energy because of her transit through the entire western Zodiac, a different sign every 2 or 3 days, and the reflection of our masculine sun on her surface gradually changes. Every two weeks we see a full moon to a new moon. Then after two weeks, the new moon changes back to a full moon again.

The New Moon in Aries, April 2021:

A New Moon is when no sun reflects from the surface of the moon for us to see. The moon is opposite the Sun and in our shadow. In my opinion, this just means there is nothing blocking any reflection of the Earth's shadow from the moon back to us. That shadow is being filtered through the sign our moon is in (which is Aries this April 11th) because the sun is behind us. In response to this, we should spend the two weeks leading to the New Moon balancing our shadow self.

The New Moon is a time for feeling introverted and like we want to socialize less. We want no negativity to upset the profound inner peace that the darkness from the moon gives us. It is a moon of new beginnings, birth, re-birth and the peaceful comforts of home. This night is about banishing, sending negativity away (back to sender is my favorite!) and smudging with sage. Candles give a great touch when connecting with our inner selves.

With the reflection of light on the moon growing smaller, start incorporating something different into your daily skincare ritual. Begin with a cleansing routine that pulls the impurities from your skin. Your intention isn't to just purify and cleanse your skin, but also to protect it. A good moisturizing cleanser like The Body Shop's Shea Butter cleanser can keep the dewy glow of replenished skin from a nice night's sleep and lock in that youthfulness. This prep before make-up includes a purifying toner and protecting moisturizer. My consultant kit came with The Body Shop's Vitamin C Skin Boost Instant Smoother for a nice glow and smooth finish. I usually love anything with Vitamin C, even going so far as scrubbing half a grapefruit on my face at night during a bath or shower. But I bought their Instablur Primer with Vitamin E and use that right before applying concealer and foundation. Instablur is super smooth and non-greasy. I want a matte appearance for my face or I'm just not satisfied. I use green concealer (not a product by The Body Shop, I can never find one!) and then I apply their clay matte liquid foundation with one of their foundation brushes. I dust with clay matte powder to finish. The goal is to pull and absorb oil from my skin anyway.

The time before a New Moon is also a time for less hair growth. So you may just see less of the need to shave. Your hair probably grows less during this time, so hold off on getting that bikini wax or haircut. The time of expansion of the moon is the best time, and that is AFTER the new moon! You may see your hair grow quicker and fuller during the two weeks leading up to the full moon.

At night, switch to a clarifying cleanser to draw out all the bacteria from the day that has built up in your pores. I bought The Body Shop's Tea Tree Oil Clarifying Cleanser kit for $15, which comes with 3 Tea Tree Oil products. I remove my make-up with the Camomile Calming Cleanser (which doesn't foam or suds up) because I find it a nice change for my sensitive skin and eyes. I like getting off all my eye make-up before I continue to wash or put any treatment masks on my face. It's safe for contact lens wearers even though I wear glasses and have never worn contacts. Even certain lotions will bother my eyes. My grandmother (and other women I personally know) always used Pond's. I tried it and experimented with others but found that I can't use lotions around my eyes. I CAN use CBD Facial Oil by The Body Shop around my eye area. But that isn't an eye make-up remover. I have yet to see what others The Body Shop has that won't bother me. It should be an exciting venture! Tea Tree Oil Clarifying Cleanser washes away the rest of any dirt and oils left in my pores. Right before bed sometimes I use the Tea Tree Oil Mattifying Toner and it leaves my face feeling minty clean!

Once or twice a week, the Himalayan Charcoal Purifying Glow Mask helps my skin feel fresh. I love the way the charcoal scrubs feel as I rub it on and rinse it off. A pleasant surprise are these green herbal leaves. This tightens my pores a bit and helps me relax. Especially after a day that I spent out and about on my feet all day! For protecting my skin and helping the cells rebuild, the CBD facial oil I mentioned earlier is what I use around my eyes and on my forehead. The cleansing drew out the impurities and now it's time for some real protection for my skin. The CBD Facial Oil with Hemp Seed Oil is perfect for rebuilding facial skin cells. We get a new layer of skin every 30 days, so it only makes sense those skin cells remain healthy as they grow to the surface. These two weeks leading to the New Moon are just as important as the two weeks after leading to the Full Moon phase. Plus, after cleansing I like to protect the skin on my face from catching air-born dirt, just in case I want to head out for snacks.

Why not try a similar routine twice a day, morning and night, for two weeks until the moon reaches the New Moon.

My Suggested Make-up Colors For Aries New Moon:

Channel your shadow side during this New Moon in Aries! It's young, fresh, and a time for new beginnings! Any New Moon is the best time for new projects, new creations, and heading ideas onto a new path. Have a new love interest or looking for one? Smoky eyes and a seductive red lip keeps in tune with hot red Aries! There's no filter for her seductive feminine moon! As a new moon she's young and has her own ideas on how to get things started.

Keep in mind that in the shadow of Earth, this new moon in Aries will be keeping herself rooted on solid ground. She's not prone to flights of fancy and flying off the handle, as during a Full Moon in Aries! This moon transit will have us all feeling a bit more introverted and less likely to socialize. Quite a bit of introspection on solving past troubles may be going on. An Aries New Moon is sure to come up with all sorts of ways to solve any dilemma's that arose in the past two weeks. Maybe something old sprung up as a present issue? Aries is the God of War, after all! What do warriors do? They tend to go to battle...usually with their war-paint on! Don't like make-up? You can just as easily start this transit with a happy naked, fresh face! It is a time to balance your Sun-Sign during this time in the feminine earthiness of this Shadow-Moon. Just please keep your skin protected from impurities during this time. Always use a moisturizer with a high SPF out in the sunshine. During this night in particular, make a point to finish with the Himalayan Charcoal Purifying Mask, Tea Tree Oil Mattifying Toner, and CBD Oil protection. The Moon will begin waxing from Aries into Taurus for the next days.

The next two weeks our Moon will gradually appear bigger. Those next two weeks are about absorbing and being receptive. The moon transit from Aries to Scorpio is definitely about maturing. All these signs are typically found during the Summer months. A Full Moon allows EVERYTHING to affect us, which is why doctors and nurses who work in hospitals during full moon's have such a busy night! Police officers also see a rise in arrests and in calls to respond. These transits differ in that a Full Moon in Pisces last week, will be a different type of Full Moon next month. Two different signs with a Full Moon just aren't the same transit in any given season!

A Word About 'Void' Moons:

A 'Void' moon is when the moon is between signs and isn't in it's next Zodiac sign yet. The unfiltered feminine energy of the 'Void' moon is perfect for going au natural. The seductive nature of the Earth and the Moon with no Sun-Sign ruling either is the perfect time for only a nice layer of oils to infuse into your skin for a healthy glow. Definitely play up the power of unfiltered femininity and use a nice bronzer on a moisturized face, line eyes with nice dark eyeliner, rosy cheek and smoky eyeshadow. Instead of lipstick, plump those lips with a fruity lip stain or lip gloss. Don't really like those? Try a lip liner in a dark berry hue and give it a wet, glossy finish with a moisturizing lip balm. The fragrant, floral scent from one of The Body Shop's body mists or from the White Musk line will definitely bring you some compliments!

Are you interested in buying from my online store? As an Independent Consultant for The Body Shop At Home, Maybe you would like to become an Independent Consultant too? I am available for any questions you may have on helping to become a force for good, and on any of the products mentioned in my blog. You message me from my store page under the 'Contact Me' tab!

Curious about my skincare tips for a Full Moon in Scorpio? You'll have to check back in order to read more! I hope you enjoyed reading this blog so be sure to let me know by clicking the 'heart' at the bottom of this page!! The more hearts from readers, the more I know this is enjoyed! Tips are absolutely appreciated and every dollar will help me continue to bring you more blogs on Astrology & Skincare!