I love fashion (you may be able to tell since I blog about it often), and I adore it even more when there’s a good cause attached to a label. For example, I am totally into Rebecca & Drew right now. Not only does this line make great clothing that is perfect for the workplace, but they also have been linked to Dress for Success, an organization that provides business attire to women searching for employment.

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Hello all! This is Beauty Chat’s first installment of Fab Friday Finds — our opportunity to highlight our favorite blogs of the week. We look forward to introducing our readers to great stories each Friday. Enjoy!

Girl-Woman-Beauty-Brains-Blog answers the question: “What’s so Great About that Acai Berry?”

The Makeup Diva has “Plum Perfect Shades for the Fall!” I love plum!

Perez Hilton provided his readers with “The Dark Knight by the Numbers.” It’s predicted that the film will break all kinds of records!

“Khole K Gets Clubbed Before Jail” was a hot story on TMZ this week. Can you believe she violated her parole and will be going to jail for 30 days? More »

After some serious reading, analyzing, and debating, a winner was selected for the Fab Freebie Giveaway, commemorating Beauty Chat’s one year anniversary. Congrats to Kristen who left this comment:

“I’m brand new to this site, and all I can say is WOW! I’ve probably just spent…Oh my god! The past 3 hours (at work, mind you) just reading through all the great articles and reviews of products! I have to say that my favorite so far is “Somme Many Skincare Choices, What’s A Girl to Do?” by Denice. The title is so clever, and the way she talks about the skincare system really makes me want to try it, and gets me excited to do so! Thanks for all the great info Beauty Chat!”

Kristen, while we don’t condone blogging on the job, we’d like to say that we greatly appreciate your delinquency =) Don’t tell your boss that we said this, but feel free to read Beauty Chat whenever you have the urge! Each of our staff writers thank you for the warm words and are glad to have you as a reader.

Now, on to the “Plastic Makes Perfect” T-shirt giveaway. Four lucky ladies were awarded this prize, and they are: Laura Lapcheska, Mikki, Dee, and JB. It was no easy task narrowing down the terrific comments that were left for us, but these entries really stood out.

Once again, thank you to everyone who entered both contests. And if you didn’t win this time, that’s okay because there are more fab freebies coming your way. In fact, check back with us next week!

Having a problem being a chic mom? Feel down, frumpy, unappreciated? Well I suggest you pick up a book called “The Chic Mom’s Guide to Feeling Fabulous” by Nina Sutton. While reading this book, a few friends with children came to mind. So I thought I’d pose a question: As a mom, how do you stay chic on your personal budget?

Here are some of the great answers I received:

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I know it’s been awhile since I vowed to keep our readers abreast of the trends in natural skin and personal care. The unfortunate truth is, there hasn’t been much news for me to share with you – until now. As it turns out, the Natural Products Association revealed a new “seal of approval” program for natural certification on May 1, 2008 – and I missed it! Finally, there’s a standard definition for companies that boast natural and holistic claims to abide by. So, with my sincerest apologies for letting this go unnoticed, I give you a few of the association’s stringent criteria for products that wish to be legitimately placed in the natural category:

• The product must be made up of at least 95 percent truly natural ingredients (or ingredients that are derived from natural sources)
• No ingredients with any potential suspected human health risks
• No processes that significantly or adversely alter the purity/effect of the natural ingredients
• Ingredients must come from a purposeful, renewable/plentiful source found in nature (flora, fauna, mineral)
• Processes must be minimal, and without synthetic/harsh chemicals or other dilution of purity
• Non-natural ingredients are acceptable only when a viable, natural alternative ingredient is unavailable, and only when there are absolutely no suspected potential human health risks

And it doesn’t stop there! The association, which is partially made up of experts from natural product manufacturers (including consumer faves like Burt’s Bees and Farmaesthetics), provides the full criteria at: www.naturalproductsassoc.org/certifiednatural. Because this group is the nation’s largest natural products, non-profit organization, representing more than 10,000 retailers and distributors, I think we can be confident that this program is an effective way of determining who’s natural – and who’s not. Start looking for the Natural Products Association Seal of Approval on the shelves within the coming year (keep in mind that it may take a while for every qualified product to receive its seal).

Who’s excited? I know I am! Let me know if this announcement will make a difference in the way you shop for personal care products.

Photo credits: Natural Products Association and Tractenberg & Co.