Kick Chemicals To The Curb: Book Two: All-Natural Makeup And Beauty Recipes, by Claire Bowman

[Note: This book was provided free of charge by the author in exchange for an honest review.]

As the second book [1] in a series of books about all-natural alternatives to chemical-heavy commercial products, this book is not one that has a great deal of personal relevance. This is an example [2] of a book that is written by a woman for women that does not have much material that is directly of interest to the vast majority of men. In fact, of all of the many interesting recipes that this book contains, there were only a very small amount that I would be willing to try, namely different varieties of sunscreen (a product that is of considerable interest given the fact that I burn very easily and painfully). That said, as plenty of women read this blog, I feel that I can provide a fair audience for a book that is not directly relevant to me, and this book has much to appreciate even as an outsider to its content.

Like the previous volume, this book tends to take a humorous approach to issues of makeup, and is organized in a similar fashion. It starts with introductory material that follows from the first volume, contains an ingredient list that includes the most essential items for the various recipes (such as arrowroot powder, charcoal, cosmetic mica, various types of clay, beeswax, aloe vera, vegetable glycerin, and distilled water, among others), contains a great many recipes, many of which are different options for the same set of products depending on taste and sensitivities to different ingredients, and includes some bonus recipes at the end for more specialized products. Included is the trademark lighthearted approach of the author, which includes comments like this gem from page 10:

“So as I introduce these ingredients, pause for a moment and remember that if you can’t eat it, you probably shouldn’t put it on your skin. Once absorbed through your skin, your body has to fight to clean up toxic agents. Your liver can only do so much. So let’s help ourselves look amazing, stay clean, and fatten our bank accounts.”

Not only does this book have a sensible mentality that is based on a consistent bias towards all-natural ingredients and an avoidance of chemical toxicity, but the book also manages to avoid taking strong positions on matters of taste. By including a variety of recipes with different base ingredients, the author eschews a one-size-fits-all mentality and provides a variety of options to reach the same end, recognizing that areas of health and beauty are matters where individual sensitivities and tastes are of importance. For this reason, many of the recipes themselves include options to tweak the shade and other qualities of the given makeup product, which in effect make the reader of the book a partner in the aspect of creating their own beauty products, helping to make themselves more beautiful through a knowledge of very basic ingredients and mixing practices. Although there is little in here I can use directly, there is much that I could appreciate, and I imagine that a woman who feels confident in creating her own beauty products, and finds them successful in their intended purpose, would have even more reason to feel confident in herself as a person of skill and creativity, which is indeed something that any gentleman can appreciate on a variety of levels, even without a having direct interest in makeup himself.

[1] See, for example:

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com/2014/11/16/book-review-kick-chemicals-to-the-curb-how-to-make-healthy-natural-cleaners-for-your-home/

[2] See, for example:

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com/2014/03/26/book-review-the-secret-place-of-the-most-high-for-women/

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com/2013/09/14/book-review-wounded-women-of-the-bible/

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com/2013/08/03/book-review-what-about-women/

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com/2014/07/21/book-review-love-letters-from-the-edge/

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com/2013/01/03/book-review-overcoming-abuse-gods-way/