This Wednesday at 8:00pm (Bermuda time) co-founder of Cassine, Mia Chambray will host a spot on our Instagram Live where she’ll talk about the benefits of using green beauty products and do a makeup tutorial using the products Cassine carries. Wednesday also happens to be Mia’s birthday so we encourage you to pour your favourite cocktail and join us!

In anticipation of Mia going live on our Instagram, we chatted with her to get the low-down on the benefits of green beauty and why reef-safe sunscreen should be the only thing you use this summer. 

BM: Tell us a little bit about Cassine for anyone who isn’t familiar with your brand and products.
MC: Cassine is a Bermuda-based green beauty company, which means our products are toxin-free, and made of uncompromised plant ingredients.

BM: What makes you so passionate about the products you carry and the women you cater to?
MC: We are passionate about our products, because we know that they are truly organic. Which means that when they are applied to your skin (the largest organ on your body) these products do not compromise our bodies in any way. Not only do they not harm us, but they also pose no threat to our beautiful Bermuda environment.

BM: Why is regular sunscreen so darn harmful to the environment and what can we use instead?
MC: WOW this is a loaded question, we could be here for a while! Off the shelf sunscreen is severely toxic. The toxins found in these sunscreens (Oxybenzone, Avobenzone, Oxycrylene, Homosalate) are hormone and endocrine disruptors. Simply said, they are bad for your health. How bad can they be though? Here are a few examples: Lower immune system, fertility distruptors in men and women, causing us to gain weight and not be able to lose it, cancer, and the list goes on and on. Remember when Vogue advertised arsenic many years ago (which has now been removed from the market) these chemicals are the equivalent. So they are hurting us in ways we can’t even imagine, and they are hurting and killing the environment. Been down to Tobacco Bay lately? It’s dead from toxic sunscreen.

The toxins in sunscreens (also now including Zinc) kill our juvenile coral, which means that reefs are unable to live and breed. Coral reefs provide 70% of the earth’s oxygen, so we must protect them. As a company it took us two years to find a reef safe sunscreen, which you can find via our website www.cassine.shop. As consumers we must read labels as much as possible. When you shop with Cassine you know we have read all the labels and that what you’re using looks good and is good.

 

BM: Let’s talk make-up: why should we be buying clean beauty products?
MC: I think the answer here is why shouldn’t you? With all the research that’s available and all the amazing green beauty brands that have been around for decades with other indie brands popping up daily, if you aren’t making the switch to green beauty, you are literally making yourself sick and killing the planet. As women we ingest 4-6 pounds of lip product in our lifetime. Don’t you want to at least be ingesting something that isn’t going to damage you? Also, it just looks better! RMS makeup and their new foundation is flawless, you want to look good while saving the planet, hunny!!

BM: What are the main beauty items someone should buy if they are on a budget but still want to do right by their skin?
MC: I would start by investing in a non-toxic sunscreen, good mascara, quality face wash and night cream.

BM: What are some of your absolute favourite products to use for the daytime?
MC: I really love our Green People Facial Sunscreen, our RMS Mascara, GP Body Sunscreen and a little dab of our RMS Luminizer.

BM: And for the evening?
MC: Lover’s Oil (gives the body such a beautiful glow and smells incredible) RMS foundation, RMS Pop or Mod Palette, RMS Crushed Rose Blush, RMS Unpowder, GP Eyeliner, RMS Sensual Skin Trio, RMS Midnight hour body luminizer, RMS Seduce Eyepolish, RMS Defining Mascara,  RMS Lipstick in the color (temptation), RMS Peach luminizer.

BM: What are the must haves for summer (we want to be bronzed, shimmering and glowing!)
MC: All of our pressed powder luminizers and bronzer  will give you the ultimate glow for this summer. RMS Luminzer in Grand Dame and Midnight Hour, RMS Madeira Bronzer (obsessed), Our Province apothecary and RMS body oils  and of course, all RMS Lumizers,

BM: Do you have products that people of a certain age will especially love?
MC: Our products are for all, regardless of age or skin tone. We have a gorgeous range called Green People ‘Age Defy’ which has a specific focus on mature skin, from facial to body products.

BM: Anything else you wish to highlight?
MC: With everything that has transpired over the past few months, I think we can all agree that our health is our wealth. Investing in yourself and making sure you are using products that are genuinely designed with yours and the planet’s wellness in mind is exactly where we need to focus. Every dollar we spend and every decision we make, is a vote for how we want our futures to be.

BM: Thanks for chatting with us, Mia – we look forward to seeing you on Wednesday at 8:00 p.m. to celebrate your birthday on our Instagram Live.

To shop Cassine’s extensive inventory of green beauty products, click here.