August 18 Questions: Paige Padgett

Each month we will ask a new eco-maven 18 questions about his or her life, occupation and advice for other like-minded people. This month we were able to sit down with Paige Padgett, a makeup artist and a leading authority on green beauty. In addition to launching her own green beauty site, www.paigepadgett.com, Paige is also the green beauty expert for Dasani ECOmmunity Facebook Page, DailyGlow.com and Jillian Michaels Wellness Team.

1. What is your name (and age)

Paige Padgett, 45

2. What is your occupation?

Green Beauty Expert & Makeup Artist

3. Do you have a “green” memory growing up?

Yes, I have a couple but one that really stands out. Growing up we didn’t have a lot of money and we lived in a socio- economically lower class neighborhood. One day a friend said that because they didn’t have a lot of money, they grew their own vegetables in their backyard to eat. I thought it was genius and wanted to do that with my family. It resonated with me so deeply, and I never forgot it. I was young but I knew it was they way we should be living. It just made sense. And it was so chic to me. It was an excellent example of living luxe with very little money. Wealth is one thing but rich is a state of mind.

4. What’s your favorite meal?

I don’t have a single favorite. I am a vegetarian but I do eat fish. Right now when I cook at home for myself I always make a bean, a green and a grain. For example: one of my favorite pairings is white beans, collard greens and brown rice. When I go out for dinner I love sushi, especially anything made with jalapeño. I am always down for any type of Asian food as well as Indian.

5. Who/What inspires you to be more “green” in your life?

Our children, our environment, and Ken Cook, Founder of EWG. He brings awareness to so many pressing environmental issues.

6. Where on the “green scale” do you fall?

In my lifestyle I am more hippie than punk rock but I have gotten a bit more militant in some areas. With regards to cosmetics on a scale from 1 to 10 I am an 8.

7. What are the most rewarding and most challenging parts of your job?

The most rewarding part is helping women green their beauty routine. I love knowing I have given them the steps to incorporate chemically safe products into their life without sacrificing performance or being too rigid. I let them have options and consider their lifestyle and chemical criteria. The most challenging part is getting them over the idea of premium brand names and finding alternatives for their fragrance.

8. Where’s your “greenspot” Food, bodycare/beauty, oceans, home or neighborhood, explain:

Whole Foods and Green Line Beauty for cosmetics. Crossroads in West Hollywood and Local in Silverlake for food. Griffith Park, Surf Rider Beach in Malibu and the Botanical Gardens in Montrose.

9. Where do you turn for your news?

CNN, BBC Huffingtonpost.com, and Wikileaks.

10. What is one environmental change you vow to make in the next year?

To use less paper towels and keep things longer.

11. If you could trade places with one person from any time in history (past or present) for one day—who would it be and why?

Benazir Bhutto. I like her politics. She had her finger on the pulse of politics in Pakistan. She understood how democracy could work in an Islamic nation and with the West. Her Islam is not the Islam of today. It was progressive yet closer to Islam’s fundamental values than much of Islam is today.

12. You have a meeting with the leader of every country in the world. You have 30 seconds to tell them anything you want. Go!

World peace please! No nukes ever! Education is essential for all children in every society. Focus on growing the middle class. It is what makes a country great.

13. You have the chance to send one tweet to all the tweeps in the world. Let’s hear it in 140 characters, or less!

Give back!

14. If there was one industry/product that you could make more eco-friendly, what would it be?

Fragrance

15. Where in the world would you most like to be right now?

India. I have been there a couple times already and I find myself longing to be there. It’s dynamic, culturally rich and the people are warm and inviting.

16. What is the best book you have read recently?

I just bought a coffee table book that I love called Gypset Travel. It is a movement in luxe travel. It’s not about money but about creatively living in style. My favorite reader at the moment is Reconciliation: Democracy, Islam and The West by Benazir Buhutto

17. What makes you cringe?

That people go hungry all over the world, child abuse, animal cruelty, zoos and animal circuses, fast food and bad reality TV – oops! Did I say that?

18. What do you want your legacy to be?

I want to be remembered as the woman and the artist who made chemically safe cosmetics chic and sexy. One day I want to do humanitarian work on an international level. I want to be remembered as an internationalist, a pioneer in green beauty and a loving mother.