Jessica Alba's Honest Life: A (Surprisingly!) Down-to-Earth Guide to Living Naturally

The star promotes her new lifestyle book

By Jennifer Chan Mar 16, 2013 1:12 AMTags
Jessica Alba Jason Merritt/Getty Images for The Honest Company

It's been one year since Jessica Alba first unveiled The Honest Company, a feel-good line of environmentally friendly home, body and baby products; and what better way to celebrate a successful entrepreneur endeavor than with a brand new book enveloping her entire lifestyle?

The Honest Life, a comprehensive guide that covers food, home, beauty, style, parenting and more, hit shelves this week, and we had the opportunity to sit down with the savvy star at the Mondrian Hotel in West Hollywood amidst fresh flowers from The Bouqs to get the scoop on how her eco-empire first began. 

"When I was pregnant, I wanted to eliminate any potential health risks, so I was searching for green products at the time, but it was all so confusing. I realized that a lot of those products had brown or beige packaging, but in the end, they were really just better for the planet, but not for people," she explained.

Courtesy of Rodale Books

From there, the gorgeous actress sought out to develop her own brand of safe, natural, and best of all, affordable goods that she wouldn't be afraid to use on her little girls, Honor and Haven.

Armed with new knowledge and a fabulous approach to living naturally, Alba wrote The Honest Life to educate and inform fans everywhere.

And if you think her green guide will be intimidating, think again!

"I always thought that being healthy or green or eco or whatever was an extreme lifestyle. I'm not a vegan, I don't live off the grid, I don't wear hemp every day. I don't have time!" she laughed. "I have two jobs, I have two kids, I have a husband, friends and family to care about. I have so much to do in my life, and all I want to do is make healthier choices that are realistic and inexpensive."

Jason Merritt/Getty Images for The Honest Company

Sounds like a breath of fresh air! 

The star cited the food and home sections of the book as her favorites and even admitted that she had to edit down a lot of what she could include. "I was so passionate about it all!" she smiled. And FYI, the book is packed with cool DIY projects (pirate ship playhouse, anyone?) and recipes ranging from her go-to green smoothie to the smart snacks she packs for her little ones. 

Another passion of hers? Beauty. "There are so many great companies out there—I found the best and included them in my book. It's a little bit of a dream of mine to start my own makeup line one day filled with high-performing products that are good for you and inexpensive."

Jess, we'd totally buy it.