Ten years ago, when veteran Hollywood makeup artist Paige Padgett decided she wanted to "green my kit" (work exclusively with environmentally friendly products), she says she had a lot of detractors. "I'm like a child. If you say I can't do something, then I'm going to do it," says Padgett. But amid all the nay-sayers, Padgett continues, was one big celebrity supporter, Jillian Michaels, the personal trainer/reality TV star from The Biggest Loser and Losing It with Jillian. "Jillian says we all want to be healthy for different reasons," says Padgett.

For a makeup artist spending most of her time at work, Padgett wanted to bring more meaning to her job and to live more environmentally compassionate. What makes The Green Beauty Rules: The Essential Guide to Toxic-Free Beauty, Green Glamour and Glowing Skins (Health Communications) useful, says the debut author, is its "step-by-step plan for people to green their routine with loads of super-green beauty products." Rather than name environmental offenders, Padgett likes to share the names of companies that are producing great green products, including Jane Iredale, Well People, Ecobella, and Beauty Counter.

"There is no reason you can't create a home green beauty look," says Padgett. Step one for anyone wanting to green their makeup, says Padgett, is to determine their motivation. For the author, becoming a mom later in life made her start wanting to leave a legacy. "I think it's very empowering," says Padgett. "Even if you do not change one thing in your makeup, you have the information and the choice."

For the cosmetically challenged who worry about stopping by the makeup artist's signing, Padgett assures that she is the last person to judge anyone's look. "I tend to think everyone is beautiful, and I practically never wear makeup during the day," she adds. "But I love makeup at night." The Green Beauty Rules is about so much more than makeup, says Padgett: "It is all about being beautifully empowered."

Padgett will be signing alongside her HCI book publicist, Kim Weiss, who makes her first BEA appearance as author of Sunrise Sunset: 52 Weeks of Awe and Gratitude, recently published by HCI. They both will be signing today at Table 12 and 13 at 2:30 p.m. 

This article appeared in the May 28, 2015 edition of PW BEA Show Daily.