Are you dreaming of a white Christmas? How about a balmy one? You know where I’m going with this. I’d say a tube of lip balm is a consummate gift but as a balm extremist, I take it to a whole new level. I had to create a dedicated gift guide on this topic alone to explore what’s out there beyond that tube of Chapstick. These are all daBalm.com. Get to it!
These S.W. Basics lip balms taste like dessert and are a favorite of mine. I think the flight of four is such a fab gift.
The best part of balms is how many ways you can use them. Take Revolution Organics up on their challenge of 22+ ways to get your balm on.
I actually treated myself to an early May Lindstromholiday present (it’s all Cyber Monday’s fault). The Blue Cocoon Beauty Balm Concentrate is the stuff dreams are made of.
I consider introducing people to One Love Organics Skin Savior a public service. Mix this with your mineral makeup to make a cream, slather it on dry spots and you’ll soon realize that life is just better with Skin Savior.
The RMS Beauty Skin & Lip Balmis a hidden treasure! You could certainly use on your lip, but I think this is great to apply on the face and cuticles for extra moisture.
I’m back from a quick 36-hour jaunt to NYC for A Night for Green Beauty. You know what happens when you bring together a group of fanatical beauty bloggers, makeup artists, editors, brands and juice-spiked cocktails? Really amazing discussions on things like, which natural deodorant did you wear to the party? For the record, the answers were really interesting – the Green Product Junkie even whipped out a roll-on tube of Milk of Magnesia on the spot. And the proof is in the pudding, ladies. Take a good look at the glowing skin of these green gurus and you will be an instant natural skincare convert. Lina Hanson is so beautiful you almost can’t look at her directly and I really just can’t EVEN with May Lindstrom. Stunning.
While breaking down an entire night of green beauty goodness will be tough, I’ll give it a go!
Pretty little Lurk fragrance oils
One of the stylists at James Corbett Salon sat me down in his chair for a much-needed refresh with Tela Organics hair care. I usually give the stank eye to stylists who come at me with a paste but I’m glad I was feeling risky or I never would have discovered the Tela Beach Hair. The oomph it gave to my roots was pure sexpot. I now know never to doubt when shea butter is involved. This won’t be the last you hear from me on this product!
ILIA’s Sasha Plavsic and me
ILIA Founder Sasha Plavsic shared some deets on new launches. Look out for a new gold highlighter to come this holiday and reformulated mascaras. Also, you need to try the ILIA Lipstick Crayon in Call Me. It’s the perfect girly pink I’ve been searching for like ever.
La Bella Figura is at it again with exotic travel-inspired fragrance oils. This time, they brought to scent their experiences from San Miguel, Istanbul and Positano. I’m partial to San Miguel, which Victoria will vividly paint the picture of how it came to be based on her experiences in the city during Dia De Los Muertos and how the streets smelled of fresh bread, cocoa, cinnamon, wildflowers and incense.
Lina Hanson is also working on taking the fresh grapefruit and vanilla aroma of her new Global Body Serum and turning it into a fragrance. And, for moms of wee ones, she is also launching a Baby Serum this fall.
I chatted with team Kjaer Weis, pressing for details on the new foundation coming and getting in some physical exercise by doing reps with the weighty compacts! I’d be one happy gal if my makeup bag was filled to the brim, even if it caused lower back pain! I need to get on the taupe eye shadow Wisdom stat.
Alexandra of Revolution Organics touching up Katie of the Green Product Junkie
Summer may be fleeting but bronzer is here to stay. Revolution Organics Co-founder Alexandra Zanella showed me how to use the Bronzed Freedom Glow to bring life to the face. A fun and easy trick that actually makes you look like you were in the sun? Blending ever so slightly a dab on the tip of your nose.
After standing in my four-inch booties for hours, I was feeling the burn and onset of blisters. First time in boots all season is killer! It was fate that at that very moment I struck a conversation with Britta Aragon, founder of CV Skinlabs, who spritzed me down with her Rescue + Relief Spray. Instant cooling effect. I can see myself getting a little trigger happy with this mist!
Gotta love how this event all started with my Chicago ladies of La Bella Figura! Thanks for being such wonderful hosts.
Are you ready for eco everywhere today? Honestly, you can’t not love Earth Day. Because even though every day should be eco-minded, every day is not Earth Day. So let’s cheers to the official with a chat about green beauty! Admittedly, I am not 100 percent clean with my beauty routine but I am very ingredient-conscious and the balance is tipping more and more green for me. Especially with skin and body care. There’s no excuse for mineral oil and parabens anymore, ya know? The green beauty industry has majorly upped its game. And many other brands are cleaning up their formulas as well. The paradigm is shifting. In addition to spending some of Earth Day with nature, make it your mission to check out some of my favorite clean products and brands below! An Earth Day clean-up doesn’t necessarily have to be about planting trees and picking up trash…
RMS “Un” Cover-Up. An incredibly effective concealer, made with coconut oil and a blend of cocoa seed butter, jojoba and beeswax. This can be used all over the face on the areas that need a little coverage. Blend with your fingers to warm up the product and watch it melt into your skin. Don’t underestimate the magical powers housed in this tiny little pot. And also don’t fear the oils. Promise! It works wonders (even on oily complexions!)
ILIA Lipstick. The company responsible for making my favorite lipstick. In My Room is my perfect neutral. It’s pinky, with a hint of peach, and enough brown tones to balance it out.
Kahina Toning Mist. I’m in the middle of testing a few Kahina products, and in the process have become reliant on this moisturizing mist. It’s made with more than 90% organic ingredients and smells ever so slightly of roses. It calms skin, tones and replenishes moisture throughout the day. And, 25% of profits of this product are set aside to the women in Morocco who harvest and produce Kahina’s organic argan oil.
Vapour. Oh, just everything from this line. Seriously, it’s one of the best all-around organic beauty lines I’ve tried. Everything is consistently good, and made from organic plant-based ingredients, minerals and vitamins. This foundation rivals many of my “unclean” favs as do the Aura Multi-Use Blushes. Oh, and I adore the Siren Lipstick in ‘Au Pair’ — it’s definitely getting some use this spring as I can’t enough of rosy pinks.
Revolution Organics Freedom Glow Beauty Balm.A brand I’m interested in getting to know more of, based on my positive experience with the Freedom Glow in ‘Blushed’ – a super hot pink that is sheer and dewy on cheeks. The ingredient list makes me smile — coconut oil, shea butter, aloe vera and it goes on. The more I embrace these nourishing oils in my beauty routine, the more my skin behaves.
For more Earth Day fun, the ladies at La Bella Figura will be hosting an #EarthBeauty Twitter chat tonight at 7pm central. I’ll be joining in and hope you can tweet along as well!
*note: I received a sample of the Kahina Toning Mist.
