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?

Winter lips aren’t always the most kissable. Winter air can dry your lips out and even make them flaky. Ick. You can have kiss ready; or pout ready (depending) lips by Valentine’s Day though.

1. Exfoliate: Try one of the following treatments…

• You can use a small, soft, and slightly damp washcloth to rub your lips about twice a week.
• Take a dab of honey and a dab of white table sugar and gently use this to exfoliate your lips. I did this by accident once (I was doing a honey skin pat) but it works well for lips.

• Use an organic lip scrub treatment such as Natural Lip Scrub in Organic Cinnamon (organic, no petroleum – no parabens) or try NVEY ECO Organic Lip Exfoliator which sounds awesome – a blend of cranberry seeds and organic oils that help refine and smooth your lips.

2. Treat: Some people think using lip balm will dry your lips out more than using nothing; however, I think that using a bad lip balm might, but if you use a nice one, it can only help your lips. At least, that’s my experience. Grab a nice super rich lip balm, such as…

• I’ve noted before that I like the Burts Bees bees wax lip balm, but have been looking for a new brand. I’m thinking of trying Red Bee Real Lip Balm. Red Bee sound pretty nice; it’s handmade in small batches with only plant-based ingredients. No pesticides, alcohol, paraffin waxes, or preservatives and it’s available in peppermint, watermelon, strawberry and lemon.  At just $5 a pop, it seems insane not to try this balm.
• A reader here suggested All Good Lips – which I still need to try, but it sounds nice and soothing. Made by Elemental Herbs, All Good Lips is a combo of 100% natural essential oils and is available with or without sunscreen and in original flavor, tangerine or spearmint.
• Try some Homemade Natural Cranberry Lip Gloss.

3. Top your lips off: Of course choose a color that suits your skin, but go for a satin shine or rich glossy finish, not matte, not in winter when your lips need brightening, and absolutely not on Valentine’s Day. The general color rule is that darker, deeper red shades – raspberry and burgundy are good for very pale and dark skin, while bright reds and light berry (think strawberry) are good for medium skin tones. That said, I’m not much for rules. I know what looks best with my skin tone because I experiment and you can too. If you need instant tips, read Choosing Lip Colors, which is short and seems on target.

If you’re planning to glam it up on New Year’s, nothing is better than a little body sparkle. I used to be way into glitter (as in I probably needed a glitter self-help group). You know what though, it’s hard to find natural and organic shimmer products.

If you can’t find a product you like, you can always snag a nice shimmery organic eye shadow – of which there are plenty, and divvy it up on your bod. It won’t be quite as sparkly, but it’ll work; if you mash it up a bit it helps. If you really want to go all destroyer style, mash up your shimmer shadow to a fine dust, then mix a little in your hand with some organic lotion and smooth onto your skin – this helps to distribute the color and shine better.

All that said, there are some good shimmer products available:

Zosimos Botanicals has some pretty cool cruelty free, talc free, Shimmer Dust products going on. The Icy Shimmer Dust above would be a great winter accessory.

Golden Amber Glitter from Nezza Naturals: body glitter balm made with 14 karat gold and amber resin for a sweet earthy scent. Nezza products are free of parabens, sulfates (Sodium Lauryl, Sodium Laureth or Ammonium Lauryl), synthetic thickeners and animal products. No animal testing either.

LUSH has a fairly wide array of fresh and natural shimmer products, such as the neroli, vanilla and rose scented vegan Glitterbug Sparkle Bar above. The Glitterbug bar has a blue-violet-silver tint with loads of shimmer and shine. Simply warm a little in your hands and rub onto your body. LUSH also carries a vegan Candy Fluff dusting powder that looks awesome – gold and iridescent sparkles along with what LUSH notes is a, “Sweet-as-a-strawberry-sundae-topped-with-creme-brule-served-on-a-bed-of-marshmallows scent.” Sounds yummy.

If you’re looking for lip shimmer, I’d try a Vegan Lip Gloss by Gabriel – I’m desperate to try the Ambrosia (shimmer) and Nectar (shimmer) (numbers 1 and 7 in the line above). Not all are shimmery though, but the glosses that are look great. In order from left to right the shades are: Ambrosia (shimmer), Champagne (shimmer), Diva (shimmer), Mocha Ice (matte), Caramel (matte), Venus (matte), Nectar (shimmer) and Passion Fruit (shimmer). These shiny lip glosses are available at Vegan Essentials.

Last up, an entire limited edition sparkly kit – the Sugar Plums Set by Korres. Everything you need for a shimmery, shiny, holiday colored evening.

Included in this kit:

• Plum Lip Butter with Shea Butter, Rice Wax, and a shiny, tinted finish
• Plum Cherry Lip Gloss with cherry oil and vitamins E & C
• Plum Sunflower & Evening Primrose Shimmering Eyeshadow with sunflower and evening primrose oils

The entire set is mineral oil, silicone, propylene glycol, and ethanolamine free and available at Sephora for a limited time.

What’s your fave natural glitter product?

Actually, I found about 13 fab reusable Etsy bags the other day, but that would make for a pretty long post, so we’ll start with seven.

Etsy is sometimes the only place you need to find great green goodies. Beautiful, eco-friendly bags, clutches, and coin purses are especially prevalent at Etsy. They have so many to choose from, you’ll have a rough go of it; picking only one. In this post, I’ve got six great options for you, starting with the bag you see above, the Eco-friendly Hemp Messenger Bag with Flying Birds with Pine Tree from Uzura. This bag is lined in 55% hemp / 45% organic cotton, has two inside pockets, and is absolutely adorable.

Uzura is way too cool a shop to only share one bag. I loved every single bag there. The hemp one above is one of my faves, as are these two above, the Eco-friendly Hemp Linen Handbag with Queen Anne’s Lace and the Eco-friendly Hemp Bag with Water Lily. All of Uzura’s bags are printed with unique original designs. I just love them.

For small change, there’s the lovely and perky pink Fuschia Birch Clutch Purse. Made with an antique brass finish, 55% hemp / 45% organic cotton, and printed with environmentally friendly, solvent free inks by the very cool Portemone. Many other great fabric choices available for this tiny purse.

If you’re looking for something a little different and still ultra cute, I’d check out Retrofied. This shop has, among other bag gems, the gorgeous Reversible Hobo Bag – Large – Retro Bird Print and SKAL Organic Cotton. This is 2 bags in one! One side sports  a retro bird print from Moda and the other side is SKAL certified organic cotton that has been tea stained.

The Vibrant Pattern Tote from Upstyle offers a wicked punch of color and lots o’ carrying space and layered fabric protection for small equipment (ipod, cellphone, BlackBerry). Upstyle’s shop uses organic, new remnant or surplus, unused materials when possible.

Last, but not least, the small, but overly sweet, Recycled Sweater Argyle Wallet, Pouch, Coin Purse. How cute and soft looking right?! Thinking Mama uses recycled,felted, soft and fuzzy sweater bits to for this and it’s big enough to hold money, credit cards, business cards, cell phones, mp3 players or little knitting/craft accessories.

Coming up this weekend, six more fab bags from Etsy. Stay tuned. For now though, which bag above is your favorite?

I was looking for a honey scrub, but found this great holiday lip gloss instead at the National Honey Board. Perfect for the season! I’m way excited to try it.

You’ll need to gather:

1. 1 Tablespoon sweet almond oil
2. 10 fresh cranberries
3. 1 teaspoon honey
4. 1 drop vitamin E oil

I’d use organic everything, if you can find it.

To make your lip gloss:

1. Mix all your ingredients together in a bowl.
2. Microwave for two minutes or until just boiling. If you don’t own a microwave, heat your bowl in a pan of water on the stove.
3. Stir well and gently crush the berries.
4. Cool your berries for five minutes. Strain with a  fine sieve until there are no fruit pieces left in your mix.
5. Stir and set aside to cool completely.
6. When cool, transfer into a small portable plastic container or tin.

Awesome recipe! This would also make a cool holiday gift.

There are all sorts of other natural beauty recipes offered like:

• Foaming Vanilla Honey Bath
• Green Honey Glow Mask
• Harvest Pumpkin Exfoliating Mask
• Honey and Oat Exfoliant
• Honey Cleansing Scrub

+ Cranberry Lip Gloss via the National Honey Board