Available for Comment: Kim Walls, M.S. and CEO of Episencial Challenges Moms to Read Baby Skincare Labels

Following today's release of the report "Baby's Tub is Still Toxic" from the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, parents may have questions about the products they are using to care for their baby's skin. Kim Walls, M.S. and a second-generation skincare expert encourages moms to go beyond the boycott:

•     I agree that harsh chemicals have no place on baby skin – or anyone's skin for that matter – because 70 percent of what goes on the skin can be absorbed into the body very quickly. Choosing products made only of all natural ingredients is a positive, actively healthy step.
•     Reading labels takes effort – no question – but, if the ingredients are naturally derived, they should be pretty easy to understand. The best product labels list the chemical AND common name of natural ingredients.
•     When choosing baby lotion, avoid petroleum-based products, such as mineral oil. Instead, look for plant-based oils such as olive, sunflower, avocado or jojoba because, in addition to moisturizing and lubricating the skin, they have actively healthy antioxidants and other good-for-you nutrients.
•     Your nose doesn't always know. An easy way to identify chemicals in personal care products is the ingredient "fragrance" a compound of up to several thousand chemicals – some quite harmful. If a product contains fragrance, it likely contains other questionable chemical ingredients.
•     Parents should know skin plays an important role in our overall health and immunity, so taking care of it is important.
•     All natural, actively healthy skincare formulas that are free from the bad stuff are more available and more affordable than ever before. But if, for whatever reason, those products aren't available to you - warm water and a wash cloth does a fine job!

About Kim Walls, M.S.
Kim Walls, M.S., the founder of Episencial, is an esthetician and a nutritionist with more than a decade of experience. Walls clinical perspective focuses on botanically-ba fashion coats online sed skin care and transdermal nutrient absorption as a pathway to improved health and beauty for women and children. She shares her experience internationally with dermatologists and estheticians, as well as childbirth and postpartum professionals, underscoring the relationship between optimum health and skincare.

To schedule an interview with Kim Walls, please contact Lisa Spicer at (818) 785-5287 or lisa(at)episencial(dot)com

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5 Holiday Tips for Healthy Legs

With holiday shopping and celebrations in full swing, now is the perfect time for people to think about how they're treating their legs.

"The holidays can be really tough on legs," said Dr. Cindy Asbjornsen, Board-certified vein specialist at the Vein Healthcare Center. "Standing in long lines, flying on planes, and even sitting in mall traffic, can give gravity the upper hand and cause blood to pool in your feet instead of returning to your heart."

Approximately half of the U.S. population has some form of venous disease, which includes (but isn't limited to) varicose veins. According to Dr. Asbjornsen, there's plenty one can do to alleviate the symptoms and prevent them from getting worse.

Here are 5 simple tips for people to take good care of their legs this season:

1.    Holiday shoppers, kick off your heels! High heels seriously restrict the calf muscles and can make it difficult for veins to get the "pump" they need. Wear sneakers or flats instead.
2.    Dress for comfort at the company party. Don't wear those tight jeans or slacks that may have fit last year. Tight clothing can be enough to restrict venous flow from the l women's jackets egs to the heart.
3.    Tap your toes when you're stuck in a plane, train or automobile. Tapping your feet— heels, then toes— squeezes the deep veins in your legs, forcing the blood to circulate.
4.    Get Christmas (compression) stockings. Graduated compression stockings (look for 20-30 mmHg) keep the blood moving and make your legs feel great, even after standing in long lines at the mall. (They're available for men and women online and at most pharmacies.)
5.    Walk for 30. Over the holidays, many people skip their regular exercise routines— to the detriment of their legs and overall health. Walking just half an hour every day is one of the best things you can do to stay healthy.

To learn more about the prevention and treatment of venous disease, visit http://www.veinhealthcarecenter.com.

Dr. Cindy Asbjornsen is the founder of the Maine Phlebology Association and the Vein Healthcare Center in Maine. Dr. Asbjornsen is certified by the American Board of Phlebology and cares for all levels of venous disease, including spider veins, varicose veins and venous stasis ulcers.

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Fine Art and Live Entertainment at San Francisco Clothing Store Skunkfunk Jan 27 and Feb 4

During the next two weekends, the City's favorite place to shop for smart and fashionable urbanwear will showcase a host of Bay Area artists at their mid-winter festivities collectively called Tour de FuNk. The San Francisco eco-friendly clothing store invites everyone to bring it on down to Skunkfunk to support this fresh collection of emerging local talent, and reward themselves with 50% off original prices on Skunkfunk fashion.

Tour de Funk gets rolling this Friday, January 27 at Skunkfunk's Mission District store, located at 302 Valencia Street, with an exhibit of select works by mixed-media artist Carmen Solis. From 6 to 9 pm, gypsy-jazz-punk collective Cyclub will lay it on, and have everyone in the store moving their juNk to their awesome fuNk.

At this special art show, Solis will present her latest work—a series that examines the way society incorporates animal patterns and prints into clothing and accessories. Influenced by Kafka's story "Metamorphism" and Max Ernst's "Fatagagas," Solis portrays animals in highly humanistic states.

Cyclub has just returned from an intense tour of Japan, and is looking forward to kicking things up at Skunkfunk before the launch of their upcoming world tour. The talented musical group is a jazz-psychedelic-rock band that formed in the UK after band members Adam, Sam and Simon saw Junko play as Cyclub in Camden.

The second half of Tour de FuNk takes off Saturday, February 4th at 1475 Haight Street with an exhibition of works by two Bay Area fine artists: Kate Daly and Hugo Avianto. A special live musical performance by Repeat After Me will come on at 1 pm to get the intimate Skunkfunk crowd excited and tails thumping.

Art lovers are in for a fun ride at this art show. Inspired by mankind's relationship with nature, San Francisco fine artist and illustrator Daly's paintings often depict a strong and calm woman with nature living on her body, while showing man-made objects with the casual disregard man often exhibits towards nature. Her exhibit paintings will depict the fusion of the woman form and nature.

Avianto's work is quite different. Avianto has been painting since he immigrated to United States from Indonesia in the fall of 2005, and although he is mainly a portrait painter, Skunkfunk will showcase a collection of his work, including several of his serene landscapes.

The musical act, Repeat After Me (R.A.M.) will show guests why the band is a local favorite at lively venues like Bottom of the Hill, Hemlock, and Café du Nord. The band formed in Oakland in 2010 after childhood friends Rob Kassees (lead vocals/rhythm guitar) and Tom Monaghan (bass and vocals) hooked up with Bay Area rock veterans Aaron Levin (drum/vocals) and Eric Murriguez (lead guitar/vocals), and they bonded over their shared love of '70s rock and classic songwriting.

R.A.M.'s new album, "From the Mountaintop," can be previewed and purchased on Bandcamp. Vinyl records and digital download codes can also be purchased at both San Francisco Skunkfunk locations.

The Haight location is also hosting a huge sales event starting on this date, featuring classic styles from Skunkfunk's past collections for a very limited time. All items are priced at up to 50% off original prices.

Skunkfunk (http://www.shopskunkfunk.com) is a Manhattan and San Francisco clothing store that offers urbanites eco-friendly fashion, including convertible clothing that can be instaly redesigned for different occasions. The Spanish-born purvey of fine clothing is applauded for their eco-friendly fabrics and ethical distribution practices that harmonize with the environment.

Skunkfunk works hard to bring positive change to three areas of their fashion industry: people, planet and prosperity. Textiles are carefully chosen based upon their impact to the environment, and include recycled polyester, organic cotton, and Lyocell.

RECYCLED POLYESTER
Polyester comes from crude oil, a natural scarce resource with a low renewability ratio. Recycled p women's jackets olyester is processed in a less energy intensive way than creating virgin fibers, and it's a perfect option to give a second life to post-industrial remains or post-consumer plastic waste.

ORGANIC COTTON
Organic Cotton is a natural fiber cultivated without the use of synthetic chemicals, such as pesticides or fertilizers, and is not genetically modified.

LYOCELL
Lyocell is a light and silky textile made from regenerated cellulosic fiber that comes from eucalyptus wood pulp. The biodegradable fiber is extracted under a sustainable closed-loop process that saves energy.

For more information about Tour de FuNk or any of Skunkfunk's products, call (415) 692-7678, go to http://www.shopskunkfunk.com, or visit one of their three stores located at 1475 Haight Street (Haight-Ashbury) and 302 Valencia Street (The Mission) in San Francisco or 181 Orchard Street (SoHo) in New York City.

About Skunkfunk
Skunkfunk is a Spanish-born New York and San Francisco clothing store that specializes in environmentally-friendly women's, children's and men's clothing. Skunkfunk has stores in San Francisco, New York City, various European cities and online. Their clothing is also sold in multi-brand stores throughout the United States.

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ModCloth Teams Up with The Princess Project to Send High School Students to Prom In Style

This year, innovative online retailer ModCloth is helping to make prom extra special for Bay Area high school students, by pledging to donate up to 500 dresses to The Princess Project. The Princess Project is a non-profit promoting self-confidence and individual beauty by providing free prom dresses and accessories to high school girls who cannot otherwise afford them. On March 5, 2012, ModCloth will donate one dress to The Princess Project for every dress purchased from ModCloth's "Fancy Frocks" category, with the goal of donating 500 dresses.

"With ModCloth's vast selection of vintage-inspired dresses, we're in a perfect position to partner with this great organization and help make some prom wishes come true," says VP of Marketing, Katie Garlinghouse. "Beyond directly helping some high school students feel extra special at their proms, we are excited to involve our community in a campaign that makes self-expression through personal style accessible to all women."

Since The Princess Project began in 2002, the organization has provided over 18,000 girls with free dresses and accessories. This year, they hope to serve over 4,000 California girls through dress giveaway events in the San Francisco area. The giveaways in San Francisco will be held March 17th-25th. To learn more or get involved, visit The Princess Project website.

About The Princess Project:
Entering its eleventh year, The Princess Project is a 100 percent volunteer-run effort that provides free prom dresses and accessories to high school girls who could not otherwise afford them. The Princess Project collects new and "nearly new" formal dresses and accessories from women, girls, and companies, and distributes them free of charge to teens at events in the spring in San Francisco area, Silicon Valley and San Diego. To learn more about the Princess Project, visit http://www.princessproject.org.

About ModCloth:
ModCloth.com is an innovative online retailer specializing in independent women's fashion and decor. They've attracted a large, devoted following through engaging promotions on the ModCloth Blog and social networks. Their mission is to democratize the fashion industry by nurturing a fun and engaging community and bringing indie designer products to market with customer feedback and validation. A cornerstone of the brand is their Be the Buyer,? program which allo women's coats ws customers to vote items from emerging designers into production. Founded by husband-and-wife team Susan Gregg Koger and Eric Koger, ModCloth has grown from its humble beginnings in a Carnegie Mellon dorm room to a 275-employee operation and "America's Fastest-Growing Retailer" in a few short years.

How to Get Beach-Ready for Less

Have you recently booked a holiday? If so, now is the time to start thinking about what you will take with you, what state your beach body is in and what factor sun cream you will need.

Stock up on sun cream and after sun

Good sun cream tends to cost a lot, but the protection of your skin from the harsh UV rays of the sun is well worth the expense. Nonetheless, you can trim the cost of buying sun cream and other sun products by using discount vouchers for stores such as Boots and Superdrug.

Plan your holiday wardrobe

There is no need to fashion coats buy a whole new set of clothes and accessories just for a week's holiday, but most people could do with a few new pieces to brighten up your summer wardrobe and bring it up to date. Before shopping, check online for discount codes for fashion retailer's websites, and don't forget to use promotional codes for buying sunglasses – there are loads of brilliant deals available for these fashion accessories, so there's no need to spend a small fortune.

Get your beach body ready

For many women, and men for that matter, the preparations for striding out onto a beach in a swimsuit start weeks and maybe even months before the holiday itself. You can save money on all the fake tanning, waxing, manicures, pedicures, hair and beauty treatments an any other pampering you like by using voucher codes you find online to book appointments at your local beauty salons.

Desert Rose Book Tour Continues as Bernice A. King Appears at MLK Jr. National Memorial and Busboys and Poets

The University of Alabama Press is proud to announce women's jackets that Bernice A. King will sign copies of her mother's memoir, Desert Rose: The Life and Legacy of Coretta Scott King on Saturday, May 26, 2012, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial. The tour will continue that night as King signs at Busboys and Poets from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m.

The MLK Jr. National Memorial is located at 1964 Independence Avenue Southwest, Washington, D.C. The Busboys and Poets signing will be held at the Shirlington location, 4251 South Campbell Avenue, Arlington, Virginia; phone: 703-379-9756.

"When I first visited the monument of my father, I was both proud and humbled…proud to be the daughter of a man who impacted the world globally and humbled that our nation would bestow such an honor upon him. The book signing of my mother's memoir Desert Rose: The Life and Legacy of Coretta Scott King at the memorial is an opportunity befitting the tremendous love, dedication and impact she had not only on my father and his life's work, but also the world at large," said Bernice A. King.

Desert Rose was written by Coretta's sister Edythe Scott Bagley, who partnered with award-winning author Joe Hilley during the editing stages to ensure the story was complete, comprehensive, and compelling. Although Mrs. Bagley passed away in June of 2011, the dream of Mrs. King to have her story published is being carried on through her daughter, Bernice A. King, and Edythe's son, Arturo Bagley. Desert Rose details Coretta's upbringing in a family of proud, land-owning African Americans from Marion, Alabama, with a profound devotion to the ideals of social equality and the values of education, as well as her later role as her husband's most trusted confidant and advisor.

As Coretta's older sister, Edythe shared in almost all of Coretta's many trials and tribulations. Desert Rose charts Coretta's hesitance about her romance with Martin Luther King and the prospect of having to sacrifice her dream of a career in music to become a minister's wife. Ultimately, Coretta chose to utilize her artistic gifts and singing voice for the Movement through the development and performance of Freedom Concerts. This book also charts Coretta's own commitment and dedication, in the years that followed King's death, to the causes of international civil rights, the antiapartheid movement, and the establishment of the King Center in Atlanta and the national King Holiday. Coretta's devotion to activism, motherhood, and the movement led by her husband, and her courageous assumption of the legacy left in the wake of King's untimely assassination, are wonderfully detailed in this intimate biography.

The University of Alabama Press, celebrating more than 65 years of fine publishing, is one of the largest publishers in the South. It publishes between 70 and 75 books a year in southern history, archaeology, military history, Judaic studies, literary criticism, communication, sports, Civil Rights, religion, and regional topics.

Desert Rose: The Life and Legacy of Coretta Scott King
By Edythe Scott Bagley with Joe Hilley
6 x 9 inches / 360 pages / 48 b&w illustrations
ISBN: 978-0-8173-1765-2 / $34.95 cloth
ISBN: 978-0-8173-8612-2 / $27.95 ebook

Early Praise for Desert Rose:
"Desert Rose is a must-read for anyone interested in learning about the first family of the Civil Rights Movement. This book offers an insightful look at the life of Coretta Scott King, and by default the life of Dr. King, from a unique and rare perspective. It provides an excellent ground-level view of African American life in Perry County and in Alabama's Black Belt."    
—Hasan Kwame Jeffries, author of Bloody Lowndes: Civil Rights and Black Power in Alabama's Black Belt

"Coretta Scott King, like so many women during the Civil Rights Movement, has never gotten her just due other than being Mrs. Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. But her work and leadership was just as instrumental in advancing the cause of Black folk. Desert Rose puts the light on Coretta and her family, and allows us to revel in the courageous work of a remarkable family, and definitely a strong and fearless woman like Coretta Scott King."
—Roland S. Martin, nationally syndicated columnist and author of Speak, Brother! A Black Man's View of America

"Desert Rose provides a useful window into the lives of Edythe Scott Bagley and her sister, Coretta Scott King. Illuminating African American middle-class life in Black Belt Alabama at the turn of twentieth century, the author takes us behind the scenes where readers can see the toll civil rights activism took on the King family, both immediate and extended."
—Andrew Manis, author of A Fire You Can't Put Out: The Civil Rights Life of Birmingham's Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth

"It is difficult to think of a person more qualified to write a biography of Coretta Scott King than her older sister, Edythe S. Bagley. An accomplished scholar and writer, Bagley creates in Desert Rose: The Life and Legacy of Coretta Scott King, a portrait not just of her younger sister who grew up to play a large role in the nation's history, but of the family that produced and nurtured Coretta and sent her proudly out into the world to assume her rightful place. As scholars and historians begin to do the necessary work on the life of Mrs. King and her unique individual contributions to progressive movements in this country--both before and after the death of her husband, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.--they will find in Desert Rose a loving portrait, filled with anecdotes, family stories, historical footnotes, and memories only a sister could provide. For those who want a closer look at an extraordinary woman, Desert Rose: The Life and Legacy of Coretta Scott King will provide that intimate glance with great affection, deep understanding, and amazing grace."
—Pearl Cleage, author of Till You Hear From Me and the play A Song for Coretta

Pre Ramadan Offer at MyBatua.com - Modest Islamic Clothing Shop

MyBatua.com is a popular online store catering to traditional and modern Islamic women's clothing needs with wide range of styles and designs. It has more than 25 years of experience in manufacturing handmade, embroidered clothing and accessories for fashion Industry. MyBatua brings the ultimate trends to your door and allows you to enjoy them without spending a fortune. The store has always strived to offer great value to our customers for their money.

The Leading International Online Shopping website for Islamic clothing MyBatua.com announces "Pre Ramadan" shopping offer on Special Abayas, Jilbabs, Hijabs and much more of Islamic clothing collections online. All type modern, trendy, stylish and designer collections, available in hundreds of designs, textures and fabrics with multiple colors, embroideries and sizes. All the shoppers are offered 10% discount on their shopping.

MyBatua online sto fashion jackets online re offers customization of clothes for plus sizes and lengths. There are many women for whom standard, off-the-rack outfits pose sizing or fitting limitations. They need a certain level of customization for a better fit of garments. If you happen to be someone who has always experienced difficulties with standard sizes, tailor-made abayas, jilbabs & sherwanis might be just the right choice for you. It is now possible to order custom-fitted clothes online specially abayas at Mybatua.com up to 7 XL plus size.

MyBatua.com Presents Online Islamic Woman's Fashion Clothes at Cost-Effective Rates including Abaya, Jilbab, Hijab, Tunics, Tops, Scarves, Stoles, Shawls, Bags, Purses, Footwear and more. Registered customers can also invite their friends to shop on MyBatua.com. The invited friend gets a 10% discount. One of the biggest benefit of being a member is that - for every friend who accepts your invitation & shops, the member gets a $20 shopping voucher (coupon code) free*.

MyBatua has a strong presence of social media network too. The customers and fans can check regular updates, reviews, new launches and special offers too through Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Google plus sites by checking mybatua page.

The shoppers can really have a delighting experience while shopping online at MyBatua.com.