Valentine's Day Treats

I've been online shopping for Valentine's Day treats, here are some of my favorites :)

 Physician's Formula Happy Booster Glow & Mood Boosting Blush, $11.95

Available in Rose (shown), Natural, Pink, and Warm

Physician's Formula Happy Booster Glow & Mood Boosting Lipstick, $8.95

Available in I <3 Pink (shown) and I <3 Nude

♥ The Physician's Formula Happy Booster line also includes a bronzer, bronzer & blush combo, and face powder. ♥

 The Body Shop Chocomania Soap, $4/3.5oz

Yes, it smells like chocolate! Available individually or in a bag of 4.

 Everything in The Body Shop's LOVE ETC line. My dear friend Sari treated me to a few LOVE ETC...items for my birthday this year and I love them all!
Psst..Check out Sari's blog at http://bowerofblisse.blogspot.com/ ;)

 The Body Shop Love Gloss, $10
Available in nine shades, including 11 Raspberry (shown).

Lush 1000 Kisses Solid Perfume, $12.95/0.4oz
Inspired by the emotions of love, the main notes of this perfume are mandarin, osmanthus, labdanum (wood resin), myrrh, and musk.

Lush Frog Prince Bath Bomb, $5.95/2.8oz
Scented with jasmine absolute, with red body butter lips!

 MOR Cosmetics Gift Set, $17

Contains a 2.1oz soapette and 1.7 oz hand cream, available in Heart of Gold (Pink Tin/Lychee Flower), The Vow (Black Tin/Lychee Flower) , Hand over Heart (White Tin/Snow Gardenia), and Sweet Heart (Black Tin/Marshmallow)

 Nicole by OPI (3-Free) Nail Polish in Best of My Love, $7.99

Also check out two other Nicole by OPI heart glitters: Have a Heart (clear base with glitter and red hearts) and Love Your Life (clear base with glitter and pink hearts).

Or DIY it :)

 Forever 21 Valentine Cosmetic Bag, $7.80

 Forever 21 Marker Hearts Compact, $2.80

 Love 21 Heart Eyelash Curler, $2.80
Available in Pink/Red (shown) and Pink/White.

Hope you all enjoy Valentine's Day (or at least get some chocolate out of it)! :P

10 Favorite Products of 2011

As we begin the new year, I thought it would be fun to recall my 10 favorite products of 2011. I'm still loving them, though some are a bit hard to find. I guess I'm one of those girls that loves hard-to-get :P

1)

Kings & Queens Showergel

I fell hard for these gorgeously scented bubbly wonders, but alas, they are mainly available in the UK only :( I'm stopping over at Heathrow this summer on way to a vacay destination, and I have a feeling the stopover will mostly consist of me scrambling through duty-free/any drug store I can find to locate these.

2)

ILKA Fine and Limp Shampoo and Conditioner

Again, hard-to-get! I found these at TJ Maxx and Ross but couldn't find them anywhere else. There was some hope the line would be revived by the creators, Rusk, but after many months of quiet I am afraid this line has met its end :( I'm rationing the last two bottles I've got! 

3)  

Tree Hut Original Shea Body Butter

This stuff if really insane - it's got a soft, whipped texture that smooths over skin and smells warm and nutty.

4)

 

 Labello Fruity Shine Lip Balm in Pink Guava

Another oversees acquisition. Why can't the US of A have cool Labellos like the rest of the world?! I will be desperately searching for these in Scandinavia :)

5)

 

EOS Everyday Hand Lotion in Refreshing

Cheap, cute, and does the job!

6)  

 

Hurraw! Black Cherry Tinted Lip Balm

A replacement for my Labello Fruity Shine, it's slowly but surely beginning to trump its predecessor!

7)

 

 Neutrogena Naturals Purifying Facial Cleanser

Another cheap but effective favorite; I plan to use this until Neutrogena discontinues it!

8)

 

geoGIRL Lip Gloss in Sub-Lime

This lip gloss is fun, has a wonderfully non-sticky texture, and literally smells sublime. Oh, and you can get it for less than a fiver.

9)  

Burt's Bees 100% Natural Pink Grapefruit (Refreshing) Lip Balm

I feel like this lip balm is going to become legendary a la Burt's Bee's Peppermint Lip Balm and Pomegranate Lip Balm.

10)

Tarte Provocateur Face Powder with SPF 8

I haven't posted on this face powder before but I have used it consistently for the past several years. Much better than any MAC powder I've ever used.

There's my top 10 of 2011, hope you enjoyed!

Alba Botanica Aloe & Green Tea Oil-Free Moisturizer

A few months ago I ran out of my usual night cream, Yes to Cucumbers Facial Hydrating Lotion, so I dashed to Target to pick up another bottle. Alas, Target was all out, and I was forced to pick a replacement. I ended up settling on Alba Botanica Aloe & Green Tea Oil-Free Moisturizer ($19/3oz). I had never tried anything from the Alba skin care line before, but I always see the products when I go to the drug store and thought I'd finally give it a go.

This moisturizer does contain silicones (Dimethicone and Panthenol) and some other ingredients I have trouble pronouncing, but most of the ingredients are natural, and for me the price was right. I have been using this moisturizer for the past few months and its been working well for me. It's has a thin consistency that smooths on easily and feels comfortable on my skin. And I really dig the fresh aloe vera scent :)

Front!

Back! Note: Recycleable packaging and leaping bunny!

Side-to-side!

Of course I notice a piece of fuzz in the cream AFTER I upload this picture :P

Since I purchased this moisturizer Alba has re-done the packaging, so it looks a bit more like this:

Overall I wish this product didn't contain silicones, but I do like it a lot and would purchase it again! 

Green Beauty Blog Rating: *****

Indigo Wild Zum Bar Goat's Milk Soap

 

Zum Bar Goat's Milk Soap in Lavender-Mint

Today I stumbled upon some new-to-me natural beauty products at the grocery store of all places. The boyfriend and I were cruising the aisles of Safeway when I came across a display featuring Indigo Wild's Zum products, most prominently, the Zum Bar Goat's Milk Soap ($5.75). The scents sounded a little crunchy (Frankincense-Patchouli?), but each one smelled amazing - well-balanced, therapeutic, and in no way overpowering. My favorites at the store were Lavender-Mint and Tea-Tree Citrus, but there are a ton more scents available online. The soaps themselves are gorgeous - swirled and marbled with different colors - and the packaging is super eco-friendly, just a slip of cardboard around the soap. I'm on a no buy for body washes/soaps now, but maybe once that ends I'll order a Zum Bar sampler.

The Zum products line includes a ton more personal care products, candles, cleaning products, even pet care products! Check them out here. Hopefully I'll get to know this company and its products better in the future...in the meantime I'm thankful for the Sunday night pick-me-up :)

geoGirl Lipshine in Pomegranate

To continue the tinted lip stuff deluge...

This is my review of the geoGirl GR8 Lipshine in Pomegranate ($4.29). I picked up this product at Walmart a few months ago. I got the darkest color, Pomegranate, since I wasn't sure how pigmented these would be. The geoGirl website stressed that the lipshines are very sheer, but to my surprise they deliver quite a bit of pigment. Check it out!

 Bit blurry, my bad!

 Ignore my bumpy skin - I think I had wind rash!

L-R: One coat, 3 coats

For the price, I was really impressed with the amount of pigment the product delivers as well as the nice, plummy color.

The product is packaged like a lipstick and has a comparable texture. It does contain mica for shimmer, which can feel a little gritty upon application. But after it's been on my lips a bit I don't notice the grit at all. The cardboard tube is very sturdy and the cap stays put with no problem. I love that with the exception of the plastic shrink wrap and thin plastic tube within the applicator, every bit of this packaging is recycleable and/or biodegradeable. Plus, you gotta love the bees (and grape soda scent).

As far as ingredients go, it's mostly standard fare (castor seed and jojoba oils, beeswax, shea butter and cocoa butter), but I did have to whip out Google to identify some, like...

BIS-DIGLYCERYL POLYACYLADIPATE-2: A form of vegetable oil :)

POLYETHYLENE: A polymer, AKA plastic :(

AMMONIUM GLYCYRRHIZATE: Ammonium salt used for flavoring, fragrancing, skin-conditioning :)

ASCORBYL PALMITATE: A form of Vitamin C (mostly like used as a preservative) :)

Here's what the Environmental Working Group's Skin Deep Database has to say about this lipshine. According to them it's lands somewhere in between the best and the worst products out there.

So what do I say? This lipshine is a cheap, natural, eco-conscious and FUN way to get the trendy plum lip for F/W. The texture could be smoother and "What is that plastic doing in my lipshine!", but at under $5, geoGirl did a good job.

Green Beauty Blog Rating: *****

Josie Maran Argan Cleansing Oil

I received this sample of Josie Maran's Argan Cleansing Oil ($32/6oz) in a Sephora Beauty Insider 500-point gift. I've been lukewarm about my experience with Josie Maran products, partly because they market themselves as being natural but some of their products contain well-know non-natural ingredients, like silicones. This product does contain all-natural ingredients, but I can't say I am a fan. To be fair, I didn't really give it a fighting chance. I know that many people claim oil cleansers work wonders for blemish-prone skin, but this product feels so thick and viscous...I just never got up to guts to try it. I have been using it as a body oil after showering and that works for me. It contains numerous natural oils including argan oil (duh!), safflower oil, grapeseed oil, olive oil, and sweet almond oil. It also includes grapefruit peel oil, which scents the product.

I love the smell of grapefruit, so this stuff has me there, but otherwise I think it was a miss for me. Has anyone used this? Care to share your experiences?

Green Beauty Blog Rating: *****

Tinted Lip Balms

Here are swatches of a couple tinted lip balms I've posted about in the past: Hurraw! Tinted Lip Balm in Black Cherry and Yes to Carrots Color Balm in Soft Plum. As a bonus I included some swatches of Burt's Bees Tinted Lip Balm, which I received in my Christmas stocking.

L-R: BB Tinted Lip Balm in Pink Blossom 1 coat, 3 coats; Hurraw! Tinted Lip Balm Black Cherry 1 coat, 3 coats; Yes to Carrots Color Balm in Soft Plum 1 coat, 3 coats.

Hopefully someday (read: when I'm not plagued by stress break outs), I will show you some swatches on my lips!

Burt's Bees Tinted Lip Balm in Pink Blossom is very light and deposits a sheer was of color. The balm sweeps on smoothly, feels great on the lips, and has a sweet, bubble-gummy smell. I'm not crazy about the scent, but that's OK. I haven't used it a lot, but I would guess that it's fairly moisturizing. I was actually hoping for more pigmentation from this product. I will definitely use this one up, but maybe in the future I will try other colors. I would give it an initial 3 stars out of 5.

Hope these swatches are helpful! Everyone have a good week!

No woman, No buy!

I've seen some other bloggers do "no buys" for various reasons - to save money, to help them re-discover products they already have - and I think it's about time I enact one of those myself. My lip balm collection is getting a little out of control. I have at least 15 lip balms, and there are probably more squirreled away in random places. I also have a solid stockpile of body wash - probably enough to last me through summer at least. So, in the interest of saving dough and enjoying the products I currently own, I am going to try my darndest not to buy any new lip balms or body washes until I've worked through the ones I already have. It's probably going to be tough, but I can (and definitely should) do it!

Black Beauty

For the past few years I've been really into color - bright clothes, bright makeup, bright everything! But lately I've become enamored with neutrals, especially black. Black is so classic, mysterious, and sexy. I put together a little list of natural beauty products centering on a "black" theme - hope you enjoy!

Caswell-Massey Luxury Natural Bath Bar in Onyx, $20
With notes of coriander, black pepper, tobacco, and cedarwood.

MOR Cosmetics Emporium Hand Cream, $20/100ml
It comes in awesome scents like Lychee Flower, Kale & Watercress, and Italian Blood Orange (I love me some citrus).

Tokyo Milk Dark Parfum, $36/2oz.
With the beautiful packaging, unusual scents, and edgy names (Bulletproof, Arsenic, Tainted Love), what's not to like?

Butter London 3 Free Nail Decals, $10

Shea Moisture African Black Soap, $9.99/13oz.

Boscia Detoxifying Black Cleanser for face, $28/5oz.

Giovanni Cosmetics DTOX Purifying Body Scrub, $9.95/6oz.

Blushie Lip Gloss in Bramble Berry, $8/0.7oz.

Tokyo Milk Dark Lip Elixir, $7/0.7oz.

So sexy, and in such unique flavors (Salted Caramel, Clove Cigarette, Absinthe)!

So this is the new year...

And I feel very different (kudos to those who got the Death Cab for Cutie reference)! It hasn't been an easy year, but I've grown up a lot. And *gasp*, 2012 will be Green Beauty Blog's third year of existence! I'm proud that I could keep the blog up for so long, even if posts were intermittent. I'm even prouder that I've been able to mostly eliminate harmful chemicals from my skin care routine and makeup bag. Truly, it was easy and fun. We're lucky these days in that there are TONS of cute and effective natural and organic products on the market. I hope they are the way of the future, for everyone's sake!

In the spirit of the new year, I've decided on some new goals for 2012:

-Take a surfing lesson.
-Improve my Spanish skills.
-Learn how to play the guitar.
-Grow Green Beauty Blog!

Hope you all have an excellent new year!