Most of us have a nice long list of stuff we want to try right? I do. You should see my bookmarks. I have guilt issues with this though. You really shouldn’t try LOADS of stuff. It’s more eco-friendly to find good products and stick to them. You tend to have less waste this way, plus it saves you $.  Luckily the way around the guilt is to use up everything you do try. If you don’t like it, you’re sure to have a girlfriend who will gladly give your beauty castoff item a whirl. Also it helps if you choose items in recyclable packaging.

That aside, I do have a wish list of green beauty products. I tend to buy from my wish list when it’s a special occasion (my birthday! I get a new project i.e. job, or what have you). Here are a few of my yet to try wish list items…

PlantLove Botanical Lipstick: Mainly I want to try this because everyone on the entire planet BUT ME it seems has tried this brand of lipstick and loved it. Yes, I do sometimes jump on bandwagons. Also, I love the idea of 100% plant-derived packaging and of course the fact that this is pretty and organic lip fare.

LUSH – ah LUSH. You do not want to see my LUSH wish list. They have soooooo many cool items. I have managed to get my list down to three for today (or we’d be here forever). My current fave three wanna-try items…

• Blackberry Bath Bomb – love the smell of blackberries. I keep looking for a natural blackberry scented body spray; one that actually smells like blackberries, and as of yet have been unsuccessful. I may have to make do with a bath soak.
• Flosty Gritter Bubble Bar – because I am just that sort of girly girl. I love the pink sparkles. I adore vanilla and lavender and I want it all in a bubbly bar.
• Karma Dusting Powder – I am also that girly girl with some old school hippie mixed in. This powder is a mix of spicy orange, patchouli, lemongrass and marigold flowers. Sigh worthy to me.

Bare Organics facial products. Bare Organics gets the best scores on Skin Deep, and I really need to find a facial cleanser I love. I’ve tried lots, really liked many, but haven’t found one I LOVE. I do have one brand of facial grains I totally love – All Natural Facial Grains but I want a nice cleanser too. You don’t always want grains.

Alima Pure Nourishing Lipbalm – Because I have serious lip balm/lip gloss issues. Coffee is my first major true addiction, but lip gloss comes in at a close second. I have many lip glosses and balms on my wish list, but since I can’t share them all, I’ll share this one above.

Lastly, I also want a good organic or at the very least natural conditioner for my curls. I have never found a hair conditioner I love, organic or otherwise, that actually makes my curls stay smooth. Trust me, I’ve tried A LOT. Some that I may try – based on the Skin Deep rating (2 or lower) and other reviews include:

1. Super Shiny Grapefruit & Sugar Beet Conditioner
2. Mangrove Hair Conditioner
3. Shea Butter and Vitamins Nourishing Hair Mask
4. Acacia Milk Conditioner For Dry Hair

There you have it; my current beauty wish list – some more green than others, some more useful than others, but it is what it is.

What’s on your green beauty wish list?

I don’t wear foundation – I just don’t think it’s good for your skin; not even the green brands. It seems a little odd to put anything thick on in your pores. That said, I know that plenty of us want to cover some minor flaws, or even out skin tone. If you don’t want to use foundation, another way to go is with tinted moisturizers.  Tinted moisturizers aren’t new, and you have many choices, but it’s best to choose a green brand.

I recently tried out the tinted moisturizer from Organic wear and it’s way better than any foundation I’ve ever seen (yes I’ve tried foundation for reviews, I just don’t make a rule of using them).

The Product: Organic wear 100% Natural Origin Tinted Moisturizer from Organic wear.

Basic product info: Lightweight 100% natural origin tinted SPF 15 moisturizer that not only hydrates skin but evens out skin tone with sheer and natural coverage. Formulated with 80% certified organic ingredients, including jojoba seed oil, sunflower seed oil, avocado oil, and shea butter. Comes in four tones.

Suggested use: Shake well, squeeze small amount of moisturizer, and apply directly onto face using fingertips to blend. Apply evenly before sun exposure and as needed. You can follow up with a powder as well.

ACTIVE INGREDIENT: (Pardon the bold – this is from the website; it’s not me screaming at you, it’s them). TITANIUM DIOXIDE 3.95% INACTIVE INGREDIENTS: CITRUS AURANTIUM DULCIS FRUIT WATER*, WATER, ALCOHOL SD*, SIMMONDSIA CHINENSIS SEED OIL*, HELIANTHUS ANNUUS SEED OIL*, PERSEA GRATISSIMA OIL*, LECITHIN*, CANNABIS SATIVA SEED OIL*, TALC, TITANIU, DIOXIDE, BUTYROSPERMUM PARKII*, OLEA EURPOAEA FRUIT UNSAPONIFIABLES, GARCINIA INDICA SEED BUTTER*, ALGINIC ACID, ALUMINUM HYDROXIDE, CETEARYL ALCOHOL, CETEARYL WHEAT BRAN GLUCOSIDES, GLYCERYL STEARATE SE, HYDRATED SILICA, IRON OXIDE, XANTHAN GUM. *PRODUCED FROM ORGANIC FARMING

Eco Perks:

• ECOCERT certified organic
• 100% Free of Harsh Chemicals
• 100% Free of Synthetic Preservatives
• 100% Free of Parabens
• 100% Free of GMO’s
• 100% Free of Synthetic Colors
• 100% Free of Synthetic Fragrances
• 100% Cruelty Free
• Recyclable packaging -  part of ECOCERT certification is that all packaging must be recyclable.

Skin Deep score: This product scored a three; a moderate hazard. There are some lower hazard tinted moisturizers, but also a lot more that are far worse.

What I think…

Product pros:

• All of the eco-perks listed above are obvious pros.
• Not a bad Skin Deep rating – mostly based on sun hazard (more on that in cons).
• Great informative website. Lists all ingredients, uses, and more. Very helpful info offered and no sneaky stuff.
• It didn’t feel like make-up at all. This moisturizer is tinted, but really feels light, not thick at all, and goes on super smooth.
• Works well with other products – i.e another moisturizer and face powder.
• Gave sheer coverage but didn’t look like I was wearing anything – for example, I have some freckles, and while the moisturizer didn’t blend them out, they did lighten their appearance. Also one day I had a little redness on my nose (too much sun time) and this product completely evened out the red. It’s always nice not to look like Rudolph.
• Fast – no blending of colors like you need to do with some foundations. Just a quick morning fix.
• A little goes a long way. All you need is a touch to even tone.
  

Product cons:

• Not too many shades to choose from – just four.
• The shades run dark. For instance everyone I know thinks I have a medium skin tone, but the shade that suited me best was their lightest – Ivory to Fair. I also tried the next shade up; fair to light, and thought it was too noticeable. I guess this would be more a suggestion than a con, go with lighter than you think you might need.
• Not the best Skin Deep score – although, as noted, there are far worse products out there.
• Not enough SPF. If you use this, you have to also use another moisturizer with extra SPF. 30 is honestly as low as you should go with facial spf – especially if you have light skin. Also keep in mind that you can’t add spf together. You can’t use two 15 SPF product to make 30. You need to choose a basic moisturizer with an SPF of 30 and use it under this tinted moisturizer.
  

Overall Score:

Four out of five pretty little trees. Because I’d like it better with an SPF of 30 it looses a point. However, I really liked this product. I like the natural ingredients, I like the light application, and it actually made me a  fan of tinted face products. This moisturizer simply evens out tone, without the fuss.

Learn more at Organic wear.

Have you used this? What do you think?

Tarte Cosmetics has this lovely little deal happening right now – purchase any product from Tarte.com and get a full size true love cheek stain free. Use the code: LOVE09.

Free is a great price. Especially on such a cool product. Tarte’s popular cheek stain just went all natural and won’t streak, leak or drip like your average stain. This cheek stain contains the tarte t5 super fruit complex, a blend of the five active superfruits: goji, acai, maracuja, acerola and pomegranate. Plus the packaging is fully recyclable. (Learn more here).

Need ideas about what to buy in order to score the cheek stain?…

Later this week, here at Green Beauty & Style Slices, I’ll be reviewing the Tarte Spring Greening reusable straw palette. I haven’t tried everything but being the lip glossy girl that I am, I did take one of the lip glosses in the set for a whirl and I ADORE it. So I’d highly suggest you consider the purse your lips limited-edition super fruit lipgloss clutch (shown above).

I’m not a fan of the gold color of the clutch, but I am a fan of sparkling fruit flavored lips, and this clutch comes packed with 9 deluxe lipglosses in brand new, limited edition shades infused with the t5 super fruit complex. I really like the lip gloss I already tried, the sparkle is noticeable but not too much – perfect. Plus the packaging is recyclable and all the gloss is butylene glycol free, mineral oil free, paraben free, phthalate free, preservative free, propylene glycol free, sulfate free and contains natural fragrance.

Tarte has plenty of other green goodies you might like as well though and their prices are great. Check out their site, choose something cool, and score your free cheek stain.

Later as noted I’ll be reviewing their Spring Greening reusable straw palette so stay tuned.

Razors pose a fairly large eco problem. Most are not recyclable. Most are not long life. Most are made of toxic icky junk.

That said, if smooth is your game, you’ve got limited choices.

• There’s the reusable straight edge razor, which can cut you up like no one’s business, but if sharpened can last a long time.
• There’s not shaving.
• And now, for a while, there’s been the recyclable Preserve Razor. It’s available in a triple blade and a double blade. Preserve Razors are cool because the handles are made from 100% recycled plastic. The Preserve Triple Razor package doubles as a reusable travel case and can be returned for recycling. 

Personally, I actually refrained from shaving for years, thus cutting my waste considerably. However, after moving to New Mexico, where heat is king, I couldn’t take any extra anything; body hair included. I started shaving again.

This was before the Preserve days, so I bought an old school Gillette Sensor Excel Razor. I don’t think you can even get these anymore. You can barely find the cartridges, so I’ve one, been in a fix, and two, never liked the fact that this razor is made from non-recycled plastic.

Since it’s getting harder to find my cartridge replacements, and because I’d like a lower footprint, I recently bought a Preserve razor – the triple blade version – to try.  And now, the face off. Which razor is better? The Gillette or the Preserve?

The contestants: One Gillette Sensor Excel in pink (that I’ve had for maybe three years – yes I clean it!) and one Preserve Triple Blade in the lovely sea green (brand new).

Smack down stats:

• I did four leg shaving sessions. Two each with each razor.
• I used a new razor blade in each razor, and shaved twice (four shaves total). I did not change out the blades for the second round.
• On the oddball chance that shave cream might make a difference I used two different types – the awesome vedaDUDE Glide Organic Shave Gel that I reviewed here (and loved) and Kiss My Face Key Lime Moisture Shave.

It’s important to remember: As previously noted I have sharp object issues. I always tend to cut myself. So I’m a hard case for razor reviews.

SMACK DOWN SHAVE TESTS:

The Gillette razor – When I used the Gillette with the vedaDUDE gel I didn’t cut myself once. I got a clean, close, smooth shave. While the Gillette didn’t fare as well with the Kiss My Face shave cream, it still performed ok. Not too many cuts and a decent smooth shave.

The Preserve razor – When I use the Preserve razor with the Kiss My Face cream, I got more cuts than normal. When I used the Preserve with the vedaDUDE gel, it was better, but unlike the Gillette, I walked away with some nicks. The shave overall was smooth, although, not in my opinion, as smooth as the Gillette, and the cuts were annoying.

SMACK DOWN WINNER:

Clearly my old school Gillette. This was much to my dismay I might add. Preserve toothbrushes are the only toothbrushes I’ll use, and I’m a huge Preserve company fan, so this was a major disappointment to me. I wanted the Preserve to win going in, but it just couldn’t cut it.

My thoughts and ideas: First of all, I’m so used to my old Gillette, that I’m thinking the Preserve handle threw me. It’s longer, thinner, and harder to hold on to. Also, Preserve razor handles can be used with Personna, Acti-Flexx, and Gillette Sensor blades so using a Preserve handle with another blade is an option. Overall I like the look and colors of the Preserve better, but I also like not being cut.

My best choice is to go with hanging on to the Preserve handle and using different blades. What I’d really like is one eco-razor that totally works though. I’ll keep looking.

What you think…

All this said, I’m just one girl (with sharp object issues I might add) SO I’m interested in your thoughts. Have you used the Preserve razor? If so, what do you think?

If you’re looking for something yummy but low calorie for Valentine’s Day, I’d consider CHOCOLAT White Chocolate Organic Body Butter. I know you can use some zero calorie chocolate in your life! Rich body butters and real vanilla extract for silky delicious skin. I like the whole white chocolate slant too; many chocolate body products are overwhelming, but vanilla extract tends to mellow chocolate scents out.

If you’re not into chocolate, a basic vanilla body treat like the certified vegan SHEA YOU LOVE ME Vanilla Bean Organic Body Butter will still spread candy-like Valentine’s Day love. Both of these would be cool as Valentine treats for a girlfriend too.

If you’re looking for a sweet homemade Valentine’s Day gift, try whipping up a batch of homemade Organic Lavender Vanilla Sugar Scrub.

+ Juliet’s Room Organic Skin and Body Care