(Courtesy of KneippUS.com)

Looking for ways to cool off without cranking the air conditioner all evening long? A cool bath can work wonder for stilling your mind while refreshing your body.

Here are a couple of different ideas for achieving that “ahhhh” feeling during the dog days of summer:

• While the tub is running, pour in about a teaspoon of invigorating peppermint oil, like Eden’s Garden Peppermint 100% Pure Essential Oil ($7.98). The lukewarm water will open your pores and the menthol in the oil will detoxify your skin, making you tingle from head to toe. Relax in the tub for 15 minutes and it will feel like a quick trip to the Arctic.
• Swiss company Kneipp makes the most luxurious Herbal Baths ($19), made from organically grown botanicals. They’re even more amazing if you have a whirlpool tub — the forced air creates a gentle foam that moisturizes your skin. Our favorite scents are Spruce (which smells like summer camp amid pines and lakes) and Valerian & Hops (better than chamomile tea for lulling you to sleep).
• Bring the bath with you on the road with Dr. Hauschka’s Aromatherapy Bath Kit ($19.95). Five glass vials contain enough herbal oil for 1-2 baths each, and they also make lovely foot soaks or facial steams. The scents include Lemon, Sage, Spruce, Rosemary, and Lavender, which you can use solo or custom mix, depending on your needs.

We have our theories about why shopping for fall makeup is such an event. Namely, after the blistering heat of summer starts to cool off, it’s nice to be able to wear cosmetics without fearing your entire face is going to melt by lunchtime. And with summer typically meaning tinted moisturizer and sheer washes of color if anything at all, fall wins by offering deeper shades and studies in contrasts, like bold lips or gleamy eyes.

(Courtesy of NeimanMarcus.com)

This fall, there are more eco-beauty options than ever as cosmetics companies have stepped up their game to meet rising demand. Best of all, our top picks all ring in at under $25 a pop, meaning you can stock up without blowing your whole back-to-school shopping budget.

Want to indulge in the latest trends? Here are some of the green tools you’ll need.

Healthy Flush

Love the subtle hint of color on the model at right? Fake a similar flush with Josie Maran’s Blush in Fever ($20), a rosy beige powder blush infused with organic argan oil. It’s finely milled so it will blend right in, and it’s just warm enough to define your cheeks while looking totally natural.

Gleam in Your Eye

Shine on with a little sparkly eyeshadow by Terra Firma Cosmetics. We especially like the Celestial Shimmer Loose Mineral Eyeshadow ($8.99), a pale bronze that will complement all eye colors (but really make brown and green shades pop). It’s eye-catching enough that you can forgo eyeliner.

Pair it with a generous coat of eco-mascara like Lavera’s Volume Mascara in No. 1 Black ($20). It thickens without clumps to give you big-time lashes. And it’s made with extracts of organic jojoba and wild rose oils (and no beeswax, so it’s vegan-approved).

Full-Volume Hair

Looking for hair care that works but is still formulated without parabens, synthetics, phthlates, petrolatum, and other bad-for-you chemicals? Alterna has the answer.

Our favorite is the Hemp with Organics line, and the Thickening Compound ($19) is just what you need to keep your ‘do bodylicious. It’s made with nourishing hemp-seed oil and can be used on wet or dry hair before styling, making it a versatile addition to any hair-care routine.

Luxe Lipcolor

Whether you want to rock the bold look or go nude, eco-beauty companies can hook you up. For rich, Old Hollywood lips, look no further than Dr. Hauschka’s Skin Care Lipstick in Fortissimo ($23.95). This deep garnet shade is more versatile than it looks. Push it onto lips over lip balm for a stained look, or swipe it on for full intensity.

Can’t pull off red lips? We also like Bare Minerals’ 100% Natural Lip Gloss in Wild Honey ($15). The nonsticky formula balances a creamy texture with loads of hydrating natural oils (like pomegranate, jojoba, and Vitamin E), and the peachy gold shade will light up any skintone with warmth.

Natural Moisture

Cold weather means weather-stripped skin, so protect your face with an antioxidant-rich barrier like RMS Beauty’s Lip & Skin Balm ($25). Developed by celebrity makeup artist Rose-Marie Smith, the balm is formulated with organic food-grade ingredients like coconut oil and beeswax. In vanilla and cocoa scents, you’ll want to use it on hands, lips, cuticles, hair, hands — everywhere.

Having spent my formative years sopping up midday forehead grease with blotting papers, I’ve always been a bit skeptical of the new skin-care oils that purport to do amazing things for my complexion. However, I’m so glad I’ve given them a shot — they feel amazing and my face is so much the better for it.

Here are our top picks for your skin type:

• For normal skin: Josie Maran’s Argan Oil ($48) is a miracle worker for all skin types, sinking in instantly and eliminating those dry flakes you might get from acne or anti-aging creams. It’s also fair trade and grown by a women’s collaborative in Morocco.
• For dry skin: We have a lot of love for Kiehl’s products (just check our medicine cabinet), and the Midnight Recovery Concentrate ($42) is no exception. A blend of evening primrose, lavender, and squalene oil derived from olives, this paraben-free natural oil comes packaged in recyclable glass.
• For oily and acne-prone skin: There’s a lot to love about Desert Essence Tea Tree Oil ($8.99). Tea tree oil is a natural antiseptic and it makes a great toner applied to a cotton pad and swiped over affected areas — not to mention its price is exceedingly reasonable.
• For anti-aging: Marie Veronique Organics makes a wonderful Anti-Aging Oil ($70) that is totally vegan and free of nut oils for allergic folks. It is a blend of grapeseed, tamanu, and borage oils with a healthy dose of Vitamin E to keep your skin looking its youthful best.

The peak of summer can be a hard time, scent-wise. Especially if you live in a city, the heat can turn scents that you could otherwise ignore — like a coworker’s perfume or the pizza place next to your apartment building — into an overwhelming sensory experience. And not a good one.

Luckily, there are an absolute ton of refreshing and eco-friendly bath and body products to look forward to at the end of a brutal day. Perk up your senses with one of the following:

• Start a spa night off on the right foot with a pick-me-up bath. We love One’s I Need This! Natural Bath Fizzer ($5.99) for its zingy scent of lemongrass and totally recyclable packaging.
• Love the energizing smell of crushed fruit? Then you’ll want to dig into the Cranberry and Pomegranate Sugar Scrub ($13) by Burt’s Bees. The exfoliator gets down and dirty on dry patches and calluses, and the ingredient list is practically edible.
• Work on your tan without heading to the Hamptons with a generous application of Lavera’s Self-Tanning Lotion ($19.86) — which gradually builds your healthy glow without the use of nasty chemicals or an even nastier fragrance.
• Lavanila’s products are already well-known among eco-beauty cultists, but now you have even more of a reason to buy up. For every product sold through its website, the company will plant a seedling through the Nature Conservancy. Our pick? The lushly floral Vanilla Blossom perfume ($58), which combines rose, orange blossom, and jasmine with Madagascar vanilla.

We’ve had fleeting love affairs with a variety of organic or otherwise eco-friendly hair products over the years. It was hard to get used to shampoos that don’t make suds and conditioners formulated without the slippery, silky feel of silicones, but we were willing to make do for the sake of the planet.

But finally, we came across a luxury hair-care line that requires no such compromises. Alterna’s Hemp with Organics products have all the effectiveness of the brand’s famous Caviar line, but with organic ingredients as well. And none of the company’s formulas contain the parabens, synthetics, phthlates, petrolatum, and other junky chemicals you don’t want washing down the drain.

There’s a product for every summer-hair woe. Get perfect Blake Lively-esque beachy tresses with the Ocean Waves Texturizing Spray ($20). Restore shine and brilliance with the conditioning Repair Gloss ($19). Coax out great volume in your next blowout with the Thickening Compound ($28). Protect your highlights and scalp with broad-spectrum sunscreen in the Sun Recovery Spray Bi-Phase Leave-In Conditioner ($20). Love package deals? Save yourself $10 by buying the Sculpting Putty and Shine Spray set ($28.20).

We promise, you won’t be disappointed.

Looking for a unique hostess gift, or maybe a little pick-me-up for yourself? This solid lotion bar by Owens Acres will hit the spot.

Coming in scents like juicy mango and bright lemon, these bars are made with natural oils and butters that melt on contact with your skin. Formulated with coconut butter, mango butter, apricot oil, shea butter, and pistachio butter, all the ingredients are grown on a small family farm in Placerville, Calif.

Each bar comes in a tin and is hand-stamped with a bee motif in the small size, or a sunflower design for the large.

The company is a member of Co-op America, Farm Trails, CAFF, and Buy Fresh-Buy Local, and founder Laura Owens is a certified master herbalist, so you’ll give your support to a non-GMO farm with your purchase.

Owens Acres Lemon Lotion Bar, $6.95 at WorldofGood.com.

Nursing a sunburn or hangover-dehydrated skin after the long weekend? Or maybe your feet are showing some wear after a month or two of living in flip-flops. Treat yourself to an at-home spa night on the cheap, using only the stuff in your pantry and fridge.

• For shiny hair, pour one tablespoon of apple cider vinegar into two cups of cold water. After shampooing, rinse your hair with the vinegar mixture to detoxify your tresses. Got some extra time? You can also steep fresh herbs in your vinegar for up to two weeks before straining the vinegar and adding the infusion to the water.
• To soothe a sunburn, apply straight honey to affected areas and let it sit for 10 minutes before rinsing with warm water. The honey may drip, so keep a towel handy while you hydrate.
• For all-over body softening, add a cup of powdered milk to warm running bathwater. Soak for 20 minutes for a Cleopatra-style treat.
• To purify your pores, make an tisane with near-boiling water and 2-3 peppermint or chamomile tea bags in a large basin. Lean over the bowl, at least 10 inches above the water, and drape a towel over your heat to trap the steam and steep your skin free of toxins.
• To tame cuticles and soften hands, stir a teaspoon of lemon juice into a half cup of plain yogurt. Work the mixture into your hands, then cover them up in plastic wrap and cover with a warm towel. (You may need a friend’s help for that part.) The lactic and citric acids will team up to slough off dead skin.
• For smooth feet, combine equal parts white granulated sugar and avocado oil (olive oil works well too). For added refreshment, you can also add aloe vera and peppermint essential oil and work the scrub up your legs.

The Los Angeles Times this week reviewed some of the newcomers to the eco-beauty bandwagon, and they all have one unique trait in common: a food-based ingredient list.

“It’s happening like crazy,” Karen Young, chief executive of the Young Group, a consulting company that works with beauty brands, said of the increased prevalence of food in skin care. “We’re learning more and more about skin and nature, and about the interaction between the two.” Young said segments of the U.S. beauty industry are increasingly leaning toward natural, organic and homegrown products as customers veer away from chemicals and synthetics.

“In other parts of the world, it is normal to use food and elements of nature for medicinal or beauty purposes,” she said. “In America we are just waking up to that now.”

The article cites brands like the Body Deli out of Palm Desert, Calif., and Farmhouse Fresh from Frisco, Tex. One maker we can vouch for is Elique Organic Skin Food, which sources its foodie-quality ingredients from Los Angeles’s famed farmers markets. And coming this summer, Elique’s founder Elisha Reverby will be offering classes out of her salon in Venice, Calif., to teach students how to make their own eco-beauty products at home (details TBA here). Sign us up!

If you don’t recall our love for U.K. skincare and body line The Organic Pharmacy, here’s the short list of why its offerings are majorly covetable: Devotees include Gwyneth Paltrow and Madonna; each product balances an organic ingredient list with take-no-prisoners effectiveness; and those with sensitive skin will be like a kid in a candy shop — there’s even a line for expectant mothers and babies.

So that’s why we’re so pumped that the U.S. website is offering 25 percent off every purchase through Tuesday, June 15. Just enter coupon code DAYCAN25 during checkout — and be sure to select your country at the bottom to get U.S. prices. Free shipping on orders over $100 to boot!

Rose Hand & Nail Balm, $37.95 at TheOrganicPharmacy.com.

Londoners may have quirky style down cold and California girls know a thing or two about laid-back fashion, but when it comes to ease with elegance, the French have the competition all sewn up.

Many books have been written about how a French woman eats and dates. But what you may not realize is that understated French style is actually eco-friendly by default — “less is more” means you’re more selective and less wasteful with what you buy. (Bonus: Dressing so attentively means you will likely spend less over time as well.)

Here are a few tips to coax out your inner Parisienne:

• Whip your hair into fab shape. L’Institut Leonor Greyl, one of France’s most celebrated hair clinics, is well known for its scalp treatments. You can recreate the experience at home by kneading Weleda’s Rosemary Hair Oil into your roots for an invigorating scalp massage, then shampoo out. Complete the look with buffed, groomed nails; contrary to what you may think, just say no to French manicures.
• “Pared down” is the name of the game in French beauty. A swipe of lipstick and a dab of your signature perfume is all you really need to leave the house. (Eco-options abound for both, but here are our picks.)
• The keys to French style is exquisite tailoring and maintenance. You needn’t spend a fortune on basics, so long as they fit you like they were custom made for your measurements and you keep them looking their best. Buy the best quality you can afford, then get a tailor on speed dial. Keep shoes polished, jewelry sparkling, and frayed hems under control.
• Show restraint. Always remember proportion and balance: If you wear heaps of pearls like Coco Chanel, go easy on bracelets, earrings, and rings. Draw attention to one feature at a time.
• Own a great handbag in a neutral color. That means black, grey, cognac, and white, preferably in leather. You want something that will go with any outfit, day or night, so make sure it’s smaller than a bichon frise.