I'd like to wind down my 2012 favorites with the product I loved in 2011 and continued to love in 2012 and the brand I was most excited to try in 2012.
In 2011 I discovered Hurraw! lip balm when it was recommended on Alicia Silverstone's blog. I have ordered some on-line and purchased some through Me & E (local shop in Greensboro) several times since then. I just love their lip balm! Before Hurraw! I was using Bonne Bell lip balm and maybe some non-cruelty free brands like Chapstick. Hurraw! seriously surpasses every lip balm I have ever tried. My lips used to be chapped all the time and since using their products continuously for the last year or so, I no longer have any issues. They have tons of great flavors. I have not found one I didn't like. The texture is very smooth and not sticky and doesn't have that chemically aftertaste. The ingredients are natural, organic, vegan, and it's made in America. The price is affordable (about $4 each with a three tube minimum online.) It feels so great to use a product that I love everything about and can actually finish!! I can't tell you how many lip balms before this hit the trash can because I got tired of them. I have tried the following flavors and would highly recommend all of them:
Vanilla Bean - contains real vanilla beans!
Coffee Bean - I used it in the morning and this is the first lip balm I ever got to the bottom of! Yay!
Moon Balm - have already repurchased, I use this one at night because it contains chamomile
Coconut - got this one in my Conscious Box and I love it! Totally assumed coconut would be boring but it's not!
Root Beer - ordered this on a whim with my last order and it's just as yummy as I'd hoped!
This year as I began to delve into the world of cruelty free beauty products, I heard a lot about the company 100% Pure. They do not use "synthetic chemicals, chemical preservatives, artificial fragrances, artificial colors, harsh detergents or any other unhealthy toxins." A lot of their scents are fruit based. After drooling over their out of my price range products for months, they had a really great sale during Cyber Monday. I took the opportunity to try a few of their products. The product I had heard praised the most was their Organic Coffee Bean Eye Cream. This one wasn't too pricey. I bought .5 ounces for $10 (got a deal with free shipping!) Oh My God!!! The smell of this stuff is incredible. I will seriously buy this again just for the smell! I look forward to it every morning and it just puts a smile on my face. When I'm facing a Monday that smile can make all the difference. I thankfully don't have any crow's feet to speak of yet but I do get dark circles under my eyes and thought it might help with that. Honestly I can't say I've seen much difference since using it, but I still love it and think the small tube will last a long while. I also tried the Vanilla Bean Hand Buttercream and Strawberry Body Cream. I get really dry hands in the winter and if I don't moisturize they can get really bad. I find if I use both of these products they do a pretty good job of keeping my hands from cracking. The scent of these two isn't as amazing as the eye cream but they do have a rich, luxurious feel. I was able to try a sample of the Cabernet Grape scented body cream in a prior Conscious Box and think I might purchase that scent when I order again. I didn't mind the grape smell because it was so rich and juicy!
The ingredient list on these products are just fun to read. For example here's the ingredients for the Strawberry Body Cream: Organic Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract (Aloe Juice)1, Organic Rosa Centifolia Flower Water (Rose Hydrosol)2, Theobroma Cacao Seed (Cocoa) Butter, Persea Gratissima Oil (Avocado Butter), Vitis Vinifera (Grapeseed) Seed Oil, Organic Rosa Canina (Rosehip) Seed Oil3, Euphorbia Cerifera (Candelilla) Wax, Ribes Nigrum (Blackcurrant) Oil, Tocopherol (Vitamin E), Ascorbyl Palmitate (Vitamin C), Extracts of Fruticosus Vesca Fruit (Strawberry), Organic Coffee Kona (Green Coffee)5, Organic Prunus Serotina (Wild Cherry) Fruit4, Punica Granatum (Pomegranate), Organic Rubus Idaeus Fruit (Raspberry)5, Rubus Fruticosus Fruit (Blackberry) and Organic Camelia Sincnsis Leaf(White Tea)3, Citric Adid, Hamamelis Virginiana Water (Witch Hazel), Extract of Lonicera Caprifolium (Japanese Honeysuckle), Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf, Origanum Vulgare (Oregano) Leaf , ThymusVulgaris Flower/Leaf (Thyme), Hydrastis Canadersis (Goldenseal), Ethyl Alcohol (Grain Alcohol), Extracts of Euterpe Oleracea (Acai Berry) Fruit , Resveratrol, Organic Camellia Sinensis (Green Tea)Leaf 3, Garcinia Mangosteen (Mangosteen) Peel, Lycium Barbarum (Goji Berry) Fruit, Aristotelia Chilensis (Maqui Berry), Sambucus Canadensis (Elderberry) and Vitis Vinifera (Muscadine Grape) Skin
It's just so great to know what's in your products and feel good about them! I'll need to wait for another free shipping deal or a good sale before reordering but think I will definitely be back for more!
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