Archive for Natural/Organic

Getting Naturally Clean with Neutrogena Naturals

I was given an eco-friendly Bliss bag from Glam Media with a bunch of environmentally friendly items, including a set of skin care products from the Neutrogena Naturals line. Here is a look at the contents of my bag:

Neutrogena Naturals Gift

Pictured are the Neutrogena items plus some other fun and useful things such as a Babble water bottle with a built in filter, a Yoga Fan full of poses and instructions, a Crate and Barrel bamboo tool set, a loofa sponge from The Loofa Farm, and some Simple Squares snacks that I found to be both unique and tasty. This Yoga Fan is particularly useful and interesting!

Yoga Fan

The star of the show though was the Neutrogena Naturals items, which I was quite happy to test. I am covering some of them here and some on Beauty and Fashion Tech. All of the products are free of parabens and harsh chemicals. They are formulated to be primarily natural, and in many cases the packaging is also partially made from recycled materials. Since I like to use natural products when possible and often try to recommend natural items, I was quite happy to see Neutrogena offering such a line of products.

Here is a look at four of the items, with a focus on cleansing:

Neutrogena Naturals Purifying Facial Cleanser: This is a nice daily use cleanser that features Willowbark as an ingredient. It will pick up dirt and oils, without leaving you dry. It is gentle, yet it also removed makeup just fine for me. It also rinsed clean. I was quite happy with it, but it is on the light side, so I preferred it as a general cleanser more than as a makeup remover. If you want a cleanser specifically designed for makeup removal, the line also offers a Fresh Cleansing+Makeup Remover that I really liked.

Neutrogena Naturals Purifying Pore Scrub: This is a very nice light scrub for cleansing with exfoliation. I find it perfect for light use a few times each week in between my use of heavier exfoliation items. If you have sensitive skin, this would be a good choice of scrubs to try. It also happens to smell terrific, as does almost all of the items in the Neutrogena Naturals line. The products have light, fresh scent that I can’t quite identify but that I really like. I noticed it the most in the scrub and the moisturizers.

Neutrogena Naturals Face and Body Bar: I really like glycerin soaps, and this one is especially nice because of its additions of olive and avocado oils to the soap. I love using natural oils for cleansing, and those two happen to be a couple of my favorites. It is a great way to cleanse without stripping the skin of oils while also providing some additional moisture to the product that won’t clog pores or cause acne. If you like glycerin soap, definitely check this one out!

Neutrogena Naturals Lip Balm: I love this balm! I like my lip balms to be on the buttery side and thick enough to stay on without a ton of reapplication. This one fits that perfectly and it happens to include a lot of my natural favorite lip balm ingredients. For oils it has my favorites of Olive Oil and Jojoba Oil, plus Sesame and Sunflower Seed Oils. Then, it includes my two favorite butters – Shea and Cocoa butters. Anytime you put Shea Butter, Cocoa Butter, and Olive Oil together, I am in heaven! The wax is beeswax. This balm is great for protection, but it would also be an excellent healing balm because it is more buttery than a lot of the balms out there. I really love this one!

Here is a closer look at the Neutrogena Naturals products:

Neutrogena Naturals Products

These items are an excellent way to add some natural products to your daily skin care routine. You can easily find them at drugstores, big box stores, or other major retailers.  They also are very budget friendly.

Neutrogena Naturals Logo

NEUTROGENA® Naturals Multi-Vitamin Nourishing Moisturizer is a daily lotion that replenishes essential skin nutrients while providing continuous moisture throughout the day for healthier, younger-looking skin.  It contains no harsh chemical sulfates, parabens, petrochemicals, dyes or phthalates.

NEUTROGENA® Naturals Multi-Vitamin Nourishing Night Cream replenishes essential skin nutrients and is fortified with vitamins B, C, E and anti-oxidant omega bionutrients. This nourishing cream is clinically proven to boost skin’s defense against dullness and roughness, leaving it  naturally radiant, healthier and younger looking today and in the future.  It contains no harsh chemical sulfates, parabens, petrochemicals, dyes or phthalates.

Disclosure: Compensation was provided by Neutrogena via Glam Media.  The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Neutrogena.

Disclosures: Girl Gloss at times reviews products provided by a representative of the company. When we do so, we specifically state so. We also use affiliate links. For more, please see the disclosure page

Five Reasons To Try Natural Beauty Products

What comes to mind when you think of natural beauty products? If you’re looking into them for the first time, it can be a bit confusing. Sure, there is a lot of buzz about all-natural goods, but what does it mean in terms of make-up and skin care? It means a healthier, more beautiful you. Here are five good reasons to switch to natural beauty products.

Five Reasons You Should Consider Using Natural Beauty Products

Korres natural products

 

1. Not All Chemicals Are Created Equal

Regular beauty products have synthetic ingredients. A lot of them. Everything from colors in eye shadows to scents in shampoos are often artificial. They can cause anything from acne breakouts to blisters to itchy dry skin. Some of them are known toxins or carcinogens, and many do not get tested for safety. Natural products don’t contain these abrasive, damaging chemicals. They also do not contain artificial preservatives. They are gentler, not harmful to your skin, and much safer to use.

2. They Help You Be Cruelty Free

Thousands of unsafe skin and hair products are tested on animals. This is not the case with natural care items. All the ingredients used in them-bee pollen, honey and milk, for example-are natural and not harmful to animals. And natural beauty products do not contain any ingredients made from animals, either. Not only do they save your skin, they save the lives of innocent animals.

3. A Great Way to Go Green

By eliminating toxic chemicals from what they create, manufacturers of organic products reduce pollutants in water, sewage and trash. Food ingredients are grown organically and do not contain artificial pesticides and fertilizers. This also reduces the amount of carbon dioxide emissions and our carbon footprint. And while many non-natural products have harmful plastic packaging, natural products use recyclable, environmentally friendly ones.

4. You Are What You Absorb

Skin is the largest organ of the body, and it absorbs nearly 60 percent of anything applied to it. Then our bodies must break down what is absorbed and remove any toxins from it. If a beauty product contains a lot of chemical ingredients, this process becomes harmful. These toxins can cause illness and decreased fertility, among other things, and the more frequent the use the greater the overall risks. Natural products remove this danger by using ingredients like citrus fruits and rose hip oil, which promote good health inside and outside.

5. The Natural Truth

If you listened to everything that the advertisements told you, you would have the impression that you simply had no hope of looking fantastic without their (usually expensive) products. Millions of dollars are spent in advertising and marketing synthetic beauty care, and the costs of that are passed down to the consumers. But natural beauty products have been used for centuries by women like Cleopatra with excellent results and no gimmicks or false promises. The manufacturers of these products don’t spend a fortune on advertising, and they don’t make sweeping claims they can’t back up with hard data. Unlike synthetic brands, what you see is what you get: healthy products with healthy results.

Beauty is more than skin deep. It goes all the way to your bloodstream and the environment. Switching to natural products not only helps you be healthier, it also helps the world you live in. What could be more beautiful than that?

Shop For Korres Natural Products (pictured)

Disclosures: Girl Gloss at times reviews products provided by a representative of the company. When we do so, we specifically state so. We also use affiliate links. For more, please see the disclosure page

The 41 Best Lip Balms

Girl Gloss is brought to you by lip balm addicts, so isn’t it about time that it had a best lip balm list? I think it is! The following are the best lip lip balms that money can buy!

 

The Best Lip Balm List

The best balm list is split by tinted and untinted products and is generally in order of favorites as far as the top 5 or so go. But after that it is hard to pick favorites among the items, as they are all good products. You really can’t go wrong with any of these nice balms. Instead of trying to link to each balm, I verified that you generally can find them through the following sources, with the exception of Votre Vu, which has their own website and is also an MLM program.

Lip Balm at Beauty.com

Lip Balm at Drugstore.com

Lip Balm at Norstrom

Sephora

Ulta

Best of the Standard Lip Balms

Below are 30 of the best lip balms. These generally are untinted or refer to the untinted version of the balm.

1: Badger Cocoa Butter Balm: Big, fat, and tasty, plus natural with great moisturizing ingredients and made by a cool company. What else could you want? Badger is our perennial number one favorite!

2: Murad Vitalic Energizing Pomegranate Lip Protector SPF 15: For the most part, I tried to keep gel tubes off this list because I classify them as glosses instead of a balms, but Murad’s lip protector is simply too good not to be on the list. This super moisturizing gel tastes great, gives lots of shine and offers SPF 15 protection.

3: Eos Lip Balm: The cool Eos lip balm pods are all the rage and the balm is pretty darn good too! Fun to carry and great to wear.

4: Votre Vu: Votre Vu makes a luxurious, buttery balm with a nice vanilla almond taste that comes packaged in a lipstick type tube. For hand cream fans, you can also get the Duette, which is a tube of particularly nice hand cream with the balm in the lid.

5: Fresh Sugar Rose: A cult classic for a reason, Fresh Sugar Rose has a luxurious feel with a wonderful scent and taste. This is the best luxury level lip balm that you can buy.

6: Maui Mike’s Lip Balm SPF 15, Surfer’s Mint: A popular balm that has a great texture that is not too waxy and not too oily. It wears very well and offers SPF protection.

7: Caudalie Lip Conditioner: This buttery balm has great texture and also is good sized, making it a great choice for those who like a bigger balm.

8: Palmer Coco Butter Balm: A nice standard lip balm. Buttery and long wearing. Look for it at your local drugstore.

9: Mission Lip Balm: A favorite for outdoor activities, Mission balms have a good SPF level and are a bit waxier so that they will last longer and give good wind protection. I wear mission when I go running.

10: Jane Iredale Lipdrink: Moisturizing and soothing. This is a good everyday balm.

11: Tarte fRxtion Natural Sugar Exfoliator & Lip Balm Duo: Exfoliation is important and often over looked. This duo is a great way to exfoliate and then moisturize.

12: Alba Hawaiian: Super tasty is why I love this balm. It also is packed with some nice oils and is a bit on the glossy side for fans of lighter balms.

13: Lorac Vitamin E Stick: A great choice for vitamin E lovers. This stick conditions and protects.

14: Shiseido Sun Protection Lip Treatment SPF 36 PA++. Buy this one for its great sun protection. Perfect for tropical vacations!

15: NUXE Reve de Miel Lip Balm: A nice balm that generally gets good reviews.

16: Kiss My Face: If you love natural products, this is the balm to buy. It provides good moisture though natural oils in a lightweight balm.

17: Bliss Fabulips: Yet another nice buttery balm.

18: H2O Plus Lip Treatment: Provides extra conditioning for extra dry lips.

19: Dr.Hauschka Skin Care Lip Balm: This is a nice standard balm that is generally well rated.

20: Banana Boat Lip Balm: Great for outdoor activities, this balm is a bit waxier in order to last longer and it has a good does of SPF. I often wear this one in summer and alternate it with mission balms for outdoor activities.

21: ChapStick Fresh Effects: A super minty balm to freshen breath while keeping your lips fresh as well.

22: Classic Chapstick: The old standby, I still love my cherry Chapstick!

23: Badger Classic Balm: A lighter, slightly oilier balm, good for those who like smoother and glossier balms.

24: Philosophy Kiss of Hope Therapeutic Lip Treatment: An all around good conditioning lip treatment.

25: Maybelline Baby Lips: Soft and soothing, this is a nice standard balm.

26: L’Occitane Shea Butter Lip Balm Stick: I love shea butter, and this balm packs it in. Great for overall moisturizing.

27: Peacekeeper Eco-Sensual Lip Balm: Another nice daily wear lip balm with a lot of fans.

28: Neutrogena Lip Moisturizer: If you need an easy to find lip treatment, this is always  a good option.

29: Yes To Carrots:  A lightweight balm that can be found at most drugstores. Comes in a variety of flavors, including carrot!

30: Jack Black Intense Therapy Balm: A highly conditioning treatment balm.

Best Tinted Lip Balm

Here are 11 great tinted balms.

1: Benetint Balm: Benetint is the original lip stain, and their balm packs in the pigment for pretty rose colored lips with a dose of moisture. Don’t be afraid of the red pot, the tint is very natural looking.

2: Elizabeth Arden 8 hour Lip Protector: A balm that wears very well and gives off a good amount of tint.

3: Yves Saint Laurent VOLUPTÉ SHEER CANDY Glossy Balm Crystal Color: Expensive, but the choice of pretty and sheer shades makes it worth it.

4: Korres Lip Butter: lightly tinted natural balms.

5: Dior Addict Lip Glow: Claims that the tint will adjust to your perfect color. I don’t buy into that, but I still love this product for its pretty tint and great conditioning.

6: Laura Mercier Stick Gloss: Good tint in a quality balm.

7: MAC Tinted Lip Conditioner: These pot balms have a good amount of pigment and moisturizing properties.

8: Tokidoki Gelato Lip Balm Stain: I love Totkidoki, and their lip balm stain does a nice job at providing color and conditioning.

9: Chapstick True Shimmer: A balm with a shimmery tint to it. Try it over standard lip stain for comfortable and neat look.

10: Nivea Tinted Lip Balm: Nivea makes several tinted items, each of which gives a nice bit of color in a light weight balm.

11: Burt’s Bees Lip Shimmer: Offers a decent range of shades in a slim balm.

Shop For The Best Lip Balms

Buy Lip Balm at Beauty.com

Buy Lip Balm at Drugstore.com

Buy Lip Balm at Nordstrom.com

Shop at Sephora

Shop at Ulta

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