It seems that every cosmetic company is leaping on the mineral makeup band wagon, but is mineral makeup really natural? The promise of being natural is what interests many users, but are we being “green-washed” into believing that just because it’s mineral it is good for us and the planet?

Biome eco store founder, Tracey Bailey said she believed that mineral makeup had fallen victim to the same trend as many successful eco friendly products. “Once the mainstream consumer product industry sees there is money to be made, the integrity of the product becomes lost for the sake of reducing manufacturing costs,” Tracey said.

“Genuine natural brands do exist, but consumers need to be aware of the ingredients because many contain un-natural or synthetic ingredients.”

The original mineral foundations were all natural with only four or five natural ingredients. This simplicity-along with beautiful results and skin health-won over users, turning mineral makeup into perhaps the biggest trend the cosmetics industry has seen.

As more cosmetic companies created their own brand of mineral foundation and fought for market share, they began substituting cheap fillers, chemicals and preservatives. Toxic ingredients like:

* Bismuth oxychloride - found in most of the mainstream mineral brands, it is by-product of lead and copper refining that rarely occurs in nature.
* Talc - a mineral, but a known carcinogen linked to uterine cancer, ovarian cancer and respiratory problems in infants.

“For a start, if the packaging does not provide a full list of the ingredients, then put it down again and choose one that allows you to make an informed choice,” Tracey said.

“The only ingredients you want to see are titanium dioxide, mica, iron oxides and zinc oxide.”

Tracey said there was a good reason to look very carefully at the labels of all skin care. “Our skin is the body’s largest organ and also the most telling when something is wrong. Skin absorbs about 60 per cent of what is put on it directly into the bloodstream,” she said.

Biome eco stores ensures all its mineral makeup, natural beauty and skin care selections list the full ingredients and are:

* made from plants, not petrochemicals
* free from all harmful toxins and preservatives
* free from palm oil, or in transition to palm-oil free
* cruelty free and most are vegan
* perfect remedies for those with dry skin and problematic skin.

Natural mineral makeup chosen by Biome eco stores

Biome chose the Australian-made Musq mineral makeup containing only 100 per cent safe natural ingredients.

Biome mineral makeup manager, Hayley Preston said “we took at long look at many ranges before we decided on Musq. Not only did it need to be safe and environmentally responsible, we had to love using it”.

Hayley said she had tried just about every natural makeup on offer and thought Musq mineral makeup was fabulous.

“The foundations are comparable, if not better than, a lot of the conventional foundations that I have used because they are sheer with great coverage,” Hayley said. “The powder foundation, which I use over the crème or by itself is small but very concentrated, so you only need the tiniest amount each time.”

Hayley says Musq mineral makeup creme is weightless on the skin, giving a quick and perfect coverage. It contains anti-oxidants and organic ingredients that nourish while providing a natural dewy finish, like vitamin E and jojoba.

A pure mineral makeup should only have four or five ingredients

* Titanium dioxide - a natural mineral with particles that are not small enough to be absorbed by the skin.
* Mica - the shimmer from mica is used in makeup as it gives a translucent glow to the skin and helps to mask imperfections.
* Iron oxides - used to produce skin tone pigment. They are considered to be non-toxic, moisture resistant and non-bleeding.
* Zinc oxide - used today as a sunscreen, zinc oxide has been used as a treatment for skin conditions dates back to the early 10th Century. With it’s soothing properties it is ideal for the most irritated, sensitive skin types or those who suffer from acne or rosacea.

Ingredients to avoid in mineral makeup

* Bismuth oxychloride - many people are sensitive to this bulking and filler ingredient that is a by-product of lead and copper refining.
* Talc - a known carcinogen, which is very drying and irritating to skin, accentuates lines.
* Parabens and Alkyl hydroxyl benzoate preservatives - true mineral makeup is inert and needs no preservatives.
* Corn starch and rice powder - cheap fillers, not minerals.
* Dyes - often coal tar derivatives.

It is said that an attempted suicide by a woman thousands of years ago gave birth to wine. This article looks at the fascinating history of wine.

While the origin of wine is still unknown to the world, ancient Persian fable credits a woman as the discoverer of wine. According to the fable, the woman lost to the King and wished to end her life by eating spoiled table grapes stored in a jar. The suicide attempt did not go as she planned; instead she got intoxicated and eventually passed out. When she woke up, she felt as if all her troubles had vanished and this event encouraged her to continue taking the spoiled grapes. So going by this pleasant story, one can say that wine is not an invention of man but was rather found by luck.

The history of wine is as old as the civilization, the agriculture and the man himself. Archeologists suggest that wine was discovered accidentally during 6000 and 5000 BC. in the Fertile Crescent area, a region in between the Nile and the Persian Gulf. Archeological evidence has uncovered the earliest European wine production from crushed grapevines in Macedonia 6500 years ago.

From the time of discovery of wine to this present date, wine has played a very crucial role in many rituals and customs of the society. . In the ancient Egyptian period, wine became an integral part of ceremonial life, mainly funerary ceremonies. Only the wealthiest Egyptians like the Pharaohs were able to enjoy wine. Wine was also common in ancient Greece and Rome and in many other Western European countries.

The Egyptian Era

Though scientists have identified a wine jar from Hajji Firuz Tepe in the Northern Zagros Mountains of Iran, the widespread knowledge of wine cultivation is believed to have come from ancient Egypt. The wine- making process was represented on tomb walls dating back to 2600 BC. Maria Rosa, a master in Egyptology says that wine in ancient Egypt was of great importance and only the upper class people and kings had access to wine. Rosa further points out that the ancient Egyptians labeled the wine jars with product, year, source and the vine grower’s name, but there is no mention about the color of the wines. A recent discovery has shown that the wines in ancient Egypt were predominantly red.

The Greeks

Arrival of wine making process in ancient Greece is not well documented; many believe that wine- making tradition was introduced to Crete by the Phoenician traders. Strong evidences of wine production have also been collected from Minoan Mycenaean cultures.

Wine was a very important trading article in Greece commerce. The Greeks were able to set up their colonies throughout the Mediterranean and this in turn eased the export of Greek wines in the region. The Greeks learned how to prevent wines from spoilage by adding different herbs and spices. Wine in ancient Greece was stirred in a bowl before drinking.

Apart from trading, the Greeks used wine in the field of medical sciences. One of the well known medicine practitioner, Hippocrates, also known as the “Father of Medicine” studied wine extensively for its use in medical sciences, specially to cure fever, convalescence and as an antiseptic. It must be mentioned here that the Greeks were equally aware about the negative health effects produced by drinking wine.

The Roman Empire

The Romans developed the viticulture (cultivation and study of grape growing) and oenology (the science of wine and winemaking). In the Roman Empire, wine formed a vital part of their daily meals as water could not always be trusted to be safe and healthy. During this period, wine- making technology became more established with a significant impact on the Roman business. The Romans developed barrels to store and ship wine, while bottles were used for the first time in the history of the wine world. The Romans are also known to have dissolved pearls in wine for their better health.

With the expansion of Roman Empire, wine production expanded to all of its provinces. During the Dark Ages when Roman Empire fell and when Europe passed through social and political turmoil, wine production was kept alive by the efforts of monasteries. Churches are known to have developed some of the finest vineyards in Europe.

Wine in Ancient China

Although wine was not much of a favorite of the ancient Chinese people, its production and consumption was popular in three different periods, mainly the Han Dynasty, Tang Dynasty and the Yuan Dynasty. In ancient China rice wine was not as much popular as the grape wine.

Wine in the Middle Ages and Modern Life

Wine became popular in the Middle Ages, it was considered as a social drink for all occasions. In the northern regions of the Europe where no grapes were grown, beer and ale were predominant and in the Eastern part Vodka was the preferred drink.

America, Chile, Argentine, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand that produce wide varieties of wines are considered as the New World Wine Producers. The products of these countries were not well known to the wine lovers until late in the 20th Century.

The industrial revolution in the 20th century has provided wine manufacturers with new technology and innovation that has made production much more efficient. Considerable R&D advances in viticulture and oenology have helped the present day manufacturers to produce more varieties of wines of much superior quality.

Southbank Institute of Technology (SBIT) conducts the government approved responsible service of alcohol Brisbane Queensland and an RSA course Brisbane. Visit today for details of online and classroom RSA courses.

A good marketing advertisement pays attention to both content and layout. But always, always, always, compose the copy first. The design must reemphasize the strongest points in the copy, and never be created independently of it.

Otherwise, your stuff might look great but have too little substance, or have a visual message that conflicts with the copy, or force your most important points into some hard-to-read corner.

Copywriters often have a sense of good design, and prepare a rough layout for the graphic artist to work from (or, if the design is simple, actually create both elements together). But trying to fit text to suit illustration and design is a definite mistake.

The only exception is in a very small piece. In some instances, like a business card with a strong graphic, you may have a very clear idea of the look before you write the words. If the whole idea is to dominate the page with a graphic, such as your company logo, and fit in contact information around it, obviously the words come second place.

But always ask yourself if this card is doing the strongest selling job it can. Maybe you need a sales sentence and should shrink the logo down a bit unless your product, too, is graphically oriented. Make sure the graphic is appropriate to your message and if it is not, throw out the concept.

Effective Copywriting and Wonderful copywriting:

1. Catches the reader’s attention with something relevant;
2. Addresses the reader’s fears, anxieties, or aspirations;
3. Stresses benefits to the user, not the features that lead to those benefits;
4. Offers to solve the reader’s problem, in the most specific terms possible;
5. Gives the reader with a chance to acquire something of clear value, but only for a limited time;
6. Pulls the reader toward an immediate next step;
7. Shows the consequences of a failure to act;
8. Backs up claims with comparisons to the competition;
9. Includes solid, substantial proof of your claim by someone else (a customer, an expert); and
10. This should be obvious, make sure you provide the necessary order form, address, telephone number and e-mail to allow the reader to take action.

You may not get all ten in every marketing document, but aim to include as many as you can. These group together into several bunches.

Writing promotional material is both a science and an art. Doing your own press release or flier copy is pretty straightforward. But if you’re going to spend a lot of money doing a brochure or newsletter, make sure the copy is worth the investment.

Certainly you can try to do your own, following the principles outlined above. But before you print the final, try out the advertisement on people who will give you accurate and detailed feedback. Writers who sell are writers who revise, so be prepared to do several drafts. Then leave it for a few days and come back to it with a fresh mind.

Or call in outside help. Either outline the project to a writer and wait for a draft, or write the first draft yourself and then let an editor put the magic in it. Whether you or the outside consultant prepare the first draft, expect to play with it. Make sure each section uses strong sales language. Examine the different sections together, to see if they fit well and are in the right order.

Where do you find writers and editors? Get recommendations from other business owners whose marketing materials you respect. Look in the Yellow Pages under Editorial Services, Marketing Consultants, Public Relations, or Publicity. Or, of course, have a look on web sites like elance.com or getacoder.com

If you’re looking for a Brisbane web site designer, visit johnhacking.com For Brisbane Google Company, visit Search Tempo Pty Ltd. If you want SEO Training Brisbane, then contact Search Tempo.

While visual design is crucial online, so too is the copy. It should not be neglected in favour of fancy slow-loading graphics.

Similarly, despite all your best efforts to optimise your site or search engine marketing strategies, if you don’t get the copy right you could see plenty of traffic but very low conversion rates. Rather than simply replicating your offline marketing collateral, copywriting in the online space needs careful attention if it is to address the different needs of your online customers.

While some of the same principles as print apply online, the interactive nature of online means the need to write with your online user’s behaviour in mind is paramount.

Headings
Arguably the most important aspect of online copywriting content, headings must be kept simple, relevant and grab attention. Think strong and engaging and make full use of your keywords in headings, particularly on the homepage.

Engage emotion
The most effective sites clearly identify the value proposition from the home or landing page. Write with your visitor’s expectations in mind — why are they online, why are they visiting your site, what do they really want?

The content on your homepage needs to resonate with your reader so they carry on to complete the desired action. A principle that applies both off and online is that if your copy emotionally engages the reader it transforms a passive reader into a proactive buyer.

Customer centric
Online users tend to be in information-hungry mode. They want to know what you can do for them, not all about your company, so tell them clearly what’s in it for them. Be generous with your information and highlight the fact that you have free content, top tips, a latest news section to build traffic to your site.

Most people go online to find information and research purchases, so if your information is free, useful and accessible it will help you to establish credibility which will do wonders for your brand and build repeat visits. By giving you will get back.

Benefits
Use the online space to communicate the direct benefits of your products’ features, don’t just describe the features, but build on how these will add value to them and their lives.

Answer these questions for your target market by always asking:

what’s in it for them?,
is it better value than our competitors product(s)?
is it more reliable?
will it make our customers lives easier?
how will it improve their lives?

You can go into a lot more detail online so don’t miss the opportunity to do so.

Keep it brief
However, while the online environment allows you to provide more information it also means seriously low levels of patience, so make sure you get to the point before your visitor clicks out of your site altogether. Use short blocks of text, plenty of headings, short sentences and clear link text that makes sense.

Use your copy to coax visitors along the site process and in action until the point of conversion or until they complete he desired action. Clearly articulate how easy it is to respond by communicating how simple it is to pay online, how quick delivery time is and highlight online cost savings.

Know your target market and who you want to attract. Make sure your copy style and tone connects with your readership if you’re an upmarket luxury travel agent, for example, you need the copy to reflect the lifestyle of your target market. Be relevant otherwise people won’t stick around for long.

Remember Keywords
Think carefully about your keywords, ie those that you optimise to drive traffic to your site. While popular keywords are likely to be used by many online players, if you pay careful thought and attention to keywords you can select niche ones that will see targeted traffic arrive at your site keywords need to be deftly woven into your copy, sp ~` as well as writing with the reader in mind you should always write with search engines in mind.

Consistency is key
Make sure the style of your copy is consistent, that it flows across the pages, talks directly to the user and is grammatically correct. Building and maintaining your customer’s trust online is intrinsic to effective online copywriting and it stands to reason that sloppily written and badly punctuated copy is not going to build much faith in your company or products. Checks f and double-check your website’s copy to ensure there are no embarrassing typos or lazy writing.

Build Trust
Consumer cynicism is at an all time high in the online environment - make sure you engender trust in your products via your copy or you could see sceptical consumer leave your web site swiftly.

Since anyone can establish a web site it’s important that you build trust online so that customers are happy buying or sharing data with you rather than deciding a big-brand competitor is a safer bet.

Once you have established trust they will buy from you and copy is crucial for reassuring online users. Make it clear that customers have a money-back guarantee, state upfront that postage and packaging is extra, and never forget to point them to an offline, bricks and mortar customer contact point.

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