This Gary Harvey-designed piece of eco couture is made from 350 Skin Food packages, and was unveiled at the opening night party of Eco Fashion Week in February 2010.

Summer sandal wearing does considerable damage to my heels, leaving them parched and cracked. Usually a winter spent in cozy socks clears up the aggravation. Last year the skin on my right heel was particularly bad, including a fairly deep fissure, so even a full season spent covered up did nothing to alleviate the problem. Any foot salve I tried did little to help. And at this point, my heels simply laugh when I whip out the pumice.

When Weleda sent me a bottle of their cult-classic product Skin Food, I knew I wanted to try it on my heels. As an experiment, I used it only on my right heel, the one that’s much worse for wear, and leave my left foot untreated.

Given the state of my right heel, my Weleda Skin Food test seemed almost unfair.

After a little over a month of frequent application, the deep fissure is about half way closed. And while my skin is still pretty rough (and I suspect nothing short of a serious peel or a dermaplane will fix it completely at this point), the Weleda tested heel is noticeably softer and slowly getting healthier.

Essential fatty acids in the Sunflower Seed Oil is the key to Skin Food’s hyper moisturizing properties. Dry skin is, clearly, fatty acid deficient and Sunflower Seed Oil replaces it. Skin Food also contains Sweet Almond Oil, which is not only an excellent hydrator but also absorbs into the skin nicely without leaving an oil slick behind (hence why I was not slipping and sliding all over the floor after application).

There’s a ton of other soothing and antibacterial ingredients in this little tube, including rosemary, calendula and chamomile. But I think the oils are the key to Skin Food’s proven success.

This is definitely one of my new go-to products for dry, irritated and damaged skin.

Weleda Skin Food is $17.50 for 2.5 ounces and is available at Target, Whole Foods and online at Weleda.com.

Disclosure: I was sent a tube of Skin Food to test by Weleda’s PR representatives.

In his weekly e-newsletter, Trust Agents (Amazon affiliate link) co-author and social media guru Chris Brogan includes a cool shout out to people he thinks are “doing it right”—engaging their audience, doing great work and inspiring trust.

With a nod to Chris, I’m kicking off 2010 with a shout out to five Twit-tastic beauty brands who are, indeed, “doing it right,” and expanding their communities via social media.

Urban Decay (@UrbanDecay411)
This fierce and fantastic beauty brand is as cutting edge with technology as they are with their cosmetics. They tweet out a constant stream of beauty tips, product launch info as well as loads of contests and exclusive discounts. They engage their fans, answer questions and offer product suggestions. Added bonus: they just announced (via Twitter) a new Alice In Wonderland-inspired limited edition make up palette.

Weleda (@Weleda)
This organic skin care company was founded in 1921, but they use social media like young whipper snappers. Follow them and be alerted to product giveaways, product discounts, and links to posts on their fantastic blog. They are always up for engaging with their fans–they have respond to every @Weleda tweet I have blasted out!

PCA Skin (@PCA_SKIN)
This fantastic results oriented treatment line is the go-to line for many skin care pros (particularly their pro-peel products). Their esthetician continuing education is top-notch, and they tweet out fantastic links to really smart and well researched scientific articles on skin care. They are fairly new to the Twitter-verse, and are not chained to updating their stream, but when they do post a Tweet, it’s always worth reading.

e.l.f. Cosmetics (@eyeslipsface)
This brand gained cult status with their super cute makeup at bargain basement prices. They tweet out some great makeup tips, links to video tutorials on using the products as well as links to product giveaways and special promos. They clearly adore their fans—taking time to answer questions and constantly giving shout-outs.

Blow NYC (@blowdrybeauty)
Whoever handles Blow’s stream is so up for engaging on Twitter that she tweeted from a Miami Heat game over the holidays. I have had some fun exchanges with Blow over the months, and their Twitter stream often makes me giggle. Follow NYC’s first blow dry bar for access to special offers, discounts and hair tips.

Originally published on Technorati on January 5, 2010

Congratulations to Katy, whose name was picked by Random.org as the winner of the Weleda Pomegranate Regenerating Body Oil. Thanks so much to everyone who participated in my first EVER product giveaway.

Still want to try it? Weleda has a fantastic offer for the Holidays. You can pick up a Pomegranate Travel Kit for $9.99, with FREE shipping through December 24th. The travel kit includes the amazing oil, as well as the Pomegranate Regenerating Hand Cream and the Creamy Body Wash. I recommend stuffing your own stocking with this kit!

Thanks so much to everyone who participated in my first ever product giveaway! Kinda fun, right?

If you have dry winter skin like I do, Weleda’s Pomegranate Regenerating Body Oil is a little miracle in a bottle.

Weleda was tickled with my kids rave review of their Calendula Cream Bath. So they asked if I would be interested in doing a product giveaway from their new Pomegranate Regenerating line. They sent along a bottle of their Pomegranate Regenerating Body Oil  for me to try, and it could not have arrived at a better time.

The skin on my legs were such a flakey mess that I couldn’t even wax them properly. After one use, the skin flakes disappeared, even 24 hours without reapplying.The oil absorbed quickly, and did not leave a greasy film (my least favorite side effect of a body oil). The scent is light and lemon grassy, which I really loved. Although, sadly, the beautiful smell disappeared after a few hours (or I sniffed it right off my arm).

Punicic acid, found in pomegranate seed oil, is the real workhorse of the antioxidants. This omega 5 oil has been proven in clinical studies to be an anticancer agent, hence the recent push to injest more pomegranate. In the skin, a 2006 study from the University of Michigan Medical School, published in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology, showed  that punicic acid promoted the regeneration of the epidermis.

I was so impressed with the results that I tried it on the kid. Being Weleda, I knew it would be gentle enough for her skin, and that we wouldn’t need to decontaminate her from an over abundance of chemicals after. And that’s where Weleda really won me over. As I blogged here last week, my kid has keratosis pilaris and I have not been able to find anything to tame her KP. After using the Pomegranate Regenerating Body Oil on her for a few days, I noticed a reduction in the chicken bumps on her arms.

I inquired with Weleda about this, and they had not heard of the Pomegranate line helping with KP, although I am pretty certain that the punicic acid is breaking down the hardened keratin in the clogged follicles while the super moisturizing oils like jojoba are keeping the skin soft and limber.  I want to point out that Weleda does not make any claims that the product banishes KP, but was my experience using the oil.

So this is, hands down, the best body moisturizer I have ever used. It’s a fantastic foil for winter ravaged skin, and I am really excited to offer this as the first Beautyology giveaway!

Leave a comment below this post to enter. The names will be entered in Random.org to pick the winner. You have until Wednesday, December 16 to enter! Good luck!

FCC disclosure: Weleda sent me a full size product to try, and are providing the winner with a full size bottle of the oil.

Ya’ll know how much my daughter and I love Weleda. Now they are holding a contest for the next cover model of their lifestyle magazine we. I really want to enter my kid.

The winner receives a trip to NY for the photo shoot (ok, we don’t really need that), organic fame as a cover model (we don’t really need that either) and a $300 gift basket full of Weleda products (yes, we really really need that).

Hello Stage Mom!

Enter here! Contest closes on December 13. Good luck!

PS: Keep a sharp eye on this blog–next week, I am having my first EVER product giveaway with Weleda. The product has quickly turned into a winter necessity, and my several week’s long trial is showing amazing results.

My daughter inherited my sensitive skin–it nicely welts right up when she comes in contact with something too irritating. And, of course, being an esthetician and skin care freak, I have tried every baby and kid product imaginable since she was an infant. My only criteria was that the product be haz-mat free.

When organic-minded new moms gave a thumbs up to California Baby, I gave that a whirl, but I found the products kind of drying (particularly their hair care). So when I stumbled on Weleda at an organic esthetician’s skin studio while we were on a long beach weekend, I picked up a bottle of their Calendula Cream Bath for my kid.

As a sensitive skinner myself, I have always been partial to Calendula. It’s anti inflammatory and incredibly gentle and healing. The base of Weleda’s Calendula Bath Cream is sweet almond oil, which is easily absorbed and very moisturizing. It protects the skin barrier and keeps the skin super smooth.

Weleda is an organic brand that has almost invincible staying-power. Eighty years ago, they pioneered the concept of Biodynamic farming, which is only now being used as trendy organic buzz words in the beauty biz today. The company was founded on the principle that the products support and enhance the body’s own natural healing tendencies.

Since my kid’s the one using it, I asked her to provide her review of the product during bath time tonight:

I like it. It makes me smell pretty and I love how it feels really soft. My skin feels nice and soft after. If I don’t use it the night before, the next day my skin feels all wrinkley. But when I do use it… Not wrinkley!

And isn’t that what we all want from our skin care products?