Holiday shopping isn’t exactly considered a relaxing activity, but Chill Out LA‘s trying to change that. The beauty and wellness site’s partnered up with Sirens Magazine to put together Sexy Serenity: Haute for the Holidays (PDF), a green-flavored holiday shopping and pampering event that invites you to make holiday prep a chilled out shop-cation.

When: Fri., Dec. 11, 7 pm – 10 pm
Where: ROB|B OPI Concept salon/spa, 12246 Ventura Blvd., Studio City
Cost: $25 in advance or $30 at the door. For the advance tickets, call ROB|B salon at 818.980.7622 and pay by credit. The ticket includes a shwag bag with freebies — including full-size products from Eminence Organics, OPI polish, Tarte cosmetics — and discounts.

Greener cocktails? Check, thanks to 360 Vodka. Gourmet organic nibbles? Check, thanks to Nicobella vegan organic chocolates. Eco-pampering? check, since the event’s at a spa / salon. Guests will get to take advantage of all that while shopping for holiday gifts and taking in product and entertainment demos from Natural High Lifestyle — and other companies ranging from handmade jewelry makers to sex toy purveyors of varying shades of green.

The least green part of this event’s the fact that it’ll be held at an OPI concept salon. While the building’s LEED-certified — and the salon’s website boasts about its “green environment” — OPI has the wonderful distinction of being a company that actually got singled out for making toxic nail polish. Due to eco-activist pressure, OPI finally relented and made its nail polish toluene, DBP and formaldehyde-free a couple years ago. But even now, “the company is not particularly green as far as I know,” says Stacy Malkan of Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, “just less toxic than they used to be.”

That said, the company still makes a nail hardener that contains formaldehyde, as Alexandra Gorman Scranton at Women’s Voices for the Earth recently informed me. OPI does make a formaldehyde free version of the hardener too, but as Alexandra points out, “While their formaldehyde-free version states that clearly on the label – the regular version doesn’t advertise that it contains formaldehyde except in the ingredients list.”

In any case, thanks to past eco-activism, guests at the event will get to enjoy the benefits of this eco-activism via less toxic express manis, as well as hand scrubs and massages. Here’s your chance not only to shop chillaxedly, but also to put on your discerning green shopping skills to use to select the truly eco-gifts from the greenwashed wannabes.

0 Comments