I’ve tried lots of natural lip balm flavors, but the most exotic flavor to date has to be mango. Bath By Bettijo Ripened Mango Organic Lip Balm combines organic jojoba oil, organic coconut oil, organic palm kernel oil, organic beeswax and mango butter in a 100 percent recycled plastic tube for a satisfying, moisturizing lip balm. It also has hints of organic olive oil and vitamin E for extra nourishment to dry, chapped lips. 

Bath By Bettijo Ripened Mango Organic Lip Balm comes in a 0.15-ounce, 100 percent recycled plastic tube. Photo Courtesy Bath By Bettijo.

Mango butter comes from the seed kernels of the fruit of the mango tree, which is native to India and the tropics. Mango butter is perfect for natural lip balm because of its vast hydrating and healing properties. Mango butter’s soft, delicate scent is an added bonus for any mango fruit lovers. 

Bath By Bettijo Ripened Mango Organic Lip Balm has a silky, slippery consistency, similar to Yes To Carrots C Me Smile Lip Butter and Shea Terra Organics Lip Butter. It’s hydrating and slick and makes a great base for your natural lipstick or lip gloss. 

Bath By Bettijo proudly lists all ingredients on its products and website. Bath By Bettijo stays away from the bad stuff—dyes, fragrances, TEA, DEA, sulfates, parabens, petroleum, mineral oil, silicone, formaldehyde and carbomer—that finds its way into many conventional beauty products. 

Bath By Bettijo Lip Balms are a little more expensive than some other natural and organic brands, but if you’re a lip balm junkie itching to try new, exciting products from eco-minded small businesses, the $8 price tag won’t bother you too much.

Though I’m not the hugest fan of orange, there’s something alluring about Menthe Orange Organic Shea Lip Butter from Shea Terra Organics. Maybe it’s the perfect aromatic blend of tingly mint and refreshing (never overpowering) orange, or the comfortable silkiness of shea butter, coconut cream oil and beeswax that sinks into my lips. Regardless, this is a fun, pick-me-up lip butter that provides great moisture and a fresh taste when I lick my lips.

Shea Terra Organics Menthe Orange Organic Shea Lip Butter blends orange and mint essential oils for a refreshing, tingly taste. Photo Courtesy Shea Terra Organics.

Shea Terra Organics Menthe Orange Organic Shea Lip Butter is made with 25 percent certified organic shea butter, herbs and golden beeswax. It’s slippery and makes my lips shine, and I can really feel it delivering moisture to my dry lips. Though I wish the certified-organic content was higher, it’s a nice lip balm from a company striving to do good: Shea Terra Organics purchases beeswax from a Ugandan beekeeping project and supports empowerment programs in Africa.

All of Shea Terra’s products are packaged in easy-to-recycle containers with recycled paper and pulp.

Shea Terra Organics Menthe Orange Organic Shea Lip Butter is available at high-end retailers, such as Nordstrom, but for a reasonable price: $4 for 0.15 ounces.

Have you tried Shea Terra products? What did you think? Leave me a comment and let me know your favorite lip balm brands.

I’ve had this little bottle of natural lotion stashed in my purse for a while, and it’s been my go-to lotion at the office. After moisturizing my nails and cuticles with Badger, I slap on Eve Organics Finger Food for intense, all-over moisture. It keeps my hands soft and hydrated throughout the day. 

Eve Organics Finger Food uses certified-organic ingredients. Photo Courtesy Eve Organics.

Eve Organics Finger Food natural lotion is formulated with goat's milk, which soothes and moisturizes dry skin while delivering a silky smooth (but not greasy) finish. It boasts 86 percent organic content, including organic aloe juice, organic coconut oil and organic black willowbark. Eve Organics Finger Food has a faint lavender and tea tree scent (from the therapeutic grade essential oils) that is clean and fresh, but never overpowering (I tend to stay far away from lavender—it’s not my favorite—but there’s the perfect, light blend in this lotion). It’s a fantastic all-purpose natural lotion for all skin types.

For a small company started by two female entrepreneurs in 2007, Eve Organics sets the bar high for social and environmental responsibility. Eve Organics is another great green beauty company that is committed to listing ingredients on its packages and online, and is a signer of the Compact for Safe Cosmetics. Eve Organics’ commitment to using wholesome, good-for-you ingredients is tied directly into the company’s philosophy and mission. Eve Organics also donates 10 percent of its net profits to charities that support people or communities in need.

Eve Organics Finger food is available in two sizes: 4 ounces for $14.95 and 1 ounce for $4.95. Purchase products online—and if you purchase more than $75 worth of natural beauty products, shipping’s free.

Have you tried Eve Organics products? What did you think? Leave me a comment in the comments section.

It’s a widely known fact that I’m a lip balm junkie. Right now, I have more than 10 lips balms in my desk drawer, probably three or four at the bottom of my purse and who knows how many in my bathroom at home. 

But if I’m going to be addicted to lip balm, at least I can feel better about being addicted to a USDA-certified organic lip balm. I constantly reapply Yes To Carrots C Me Smile Lip Butter in Citrus to my pucker every day. This 95 percent organic, all-natural lip balm is slippery, kissable and oh-so-good for you and for the planet. Its key ingredients are coconut and olive oils; beeswax; shea butter and vitamin E. Yes To Carrots lists all ingredients on both the packaging and on its website, so you’ll know exactly what’s going onto your lips and into your body. As with any USDA-certified organic natural beauty product (and all the products I review in this blog), Yes To Carrots C Me Smile Lip Butters are free of parabens, nasty petroleum byproducts and phthalates. 

Yes To Carrots C Me Smile Lip Butters are USDA-certified organic. Photo Courtesy Yes To Carrots.

Made in the USA, Yes To Carrots C Me Smile Lip Butter is widely available at Walgreens, Duane Reade and Ulta (in the States) and is one of the most super-affordable organic lips balms I’ve ever reviewed: $3.79! Try it in five different, delicious flavors: berry, carrot, melon, citrus and mint. Yes To Carrots also makes fantastic natural lip tints and lip glosses; watch for those reviews soon!

I sing praises for olive oil all the time. Unfortunately, I’m out of olive oil at the moment and probably shouldn’t be using too much of my nice cooking olive oil for vanity…which is why I’m happy to have a tin of all-purpose Badger Body Moisturizer to nourish my nails and cuticles. 

Badger Vanilla Coconut Body Moisturizer delivers high-impact moisture and is USDA organic. Photo Courtesy Badger.

Badger Body Moisturizer balm is a simple blend of virgin oils and extracts that deliver superior moisture to thirsty skin and nails. I use Vanilla Coconut Badger Body Moisturizer; it’s loaded with cold-pressed coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil, beeswax, castor oil and extracts of vanilla and rosemary. Every ingredient is USDA-certified organic, too! 

Because Badger Body Moisturizer is just oils, beeswax and extracts, the consistency is slick and oily—which is just what ragged cuticles and sun-shocked nails need. Don’t expect a creamy or thick body butter—these moisturizing balms are for seriously moisture-deprived skin and nails. I like to work the oils into my cuticles, massaging them in and then applying thick body butter on my hands after concentrating on my nails and cuticles. Badger also offers a nice cuticle and foot duet, but honestly, any of Badger’s fine balms will work for your cuticles and nails. 

Another great use: Rub a little bit of balm on your temples and sinuses for calm, relaxing sleep. Badger makes a balm specifically for sleep, but any of your favorite, calming essential oils blended into a balm would work! Try lavender, rosemary, sweet orange and vanilla. 

Badger Body Moisturizers cost $15 for a 2-ounce tin. It will last a long time, even with daily moisturizing—I slather this stuff on my hands, nails and cuticles at least three times a day. It’s a good, guaranteed-organic buy from a family-run company with wholesome, green values—and is Green America-approved.

Do you use Badger products? What do you think of this 14-year-old company? Leave me a comment and let me know!

Though I rarely blow dry my hair during the work week, I’ve found an eco-friendly styling tool for the rare mornings when I have five minutes to spare. Pure Heat Tools’ Wet-to-Dry Iron blends a flat iron and blow dryer into one nifty styling tool that offers decent results on the fly. 

Pure Heat Tools’ Wet-to-Dry Iron is made from 14 percent recycled materials (I wish that number was higher!) and is minimally packaged in recycled cardboard for easy recycling. Pure Heat Tools says that the Wet-to-Dry Iron is engineered to emit lower levels of EMFs (electro magnetic fields), which disrupt natural body rhythms. All Pure Heat Tools are also RoHS-certified, meaning they use limited amounts of hazardous substances. 

Pure Heat Tools' Wet-to-Dry Flat Iron features a digital enhancement screen to view the flat iron's temperature. Photo Courtesy Pure Heat Tools.

The Wet-to-Dry Iron features nano tourmaline ceramic heat technology (similar to other flat irons on the market—this one heats up to 390 degrees) and a high speed fan to aid in the drying process. While the Wet-to-Dry Iron is loud (imagine a soft humming of a tiny motor), it’s effective at drying and straightening towel-dried, damp hair. If you want stick-straight hair, spend more than five minutes using this iron; if you just need to look like you somewhat cared what you looked like on Monday morning, run your hair through the iron for five minutes! The result is softer, shinier hair that still has some body and volume. 

Pure Heat Tools should be recognized for creating an eco-friendly line of styling tools—the hair care and beauty industry isn’t exactly the most sustainable! Pure Heat Tools partners with EarthShare, an organization that gives environmentally conscious employees and workplaces one central place to donate money to green nonprofits; Pure Heat Tools’ donates a flat dollar amount to EarthShare each year. 

Pure Heat Tools’ Wet-to-Dry Iron is competitively priced with other designer irons on the market. It costs $129, weighs 15 ounces and comes with a one-year limited warranty. The iron also comes with a thermal travel bag. 

What’s your morning routine like? Do you air dry or get out the styling tools? Would you pay $129 for a greener styling tool? Leave me a comment and let me know what you think!

I've spent most of the summer poolside, and the sun and chlorinated pool water have not been nice to my skin. To combat dryness, I've been moisturizing with Garden of Eve Hand and Body Cream for the past few weeks—it's the perfect after-sun, natural lotion because it's light yet it really sinks into your skin to deliver much-needed after-sun moisture.

Garden of Eve is a small, Virginia-based natural cosmetics company founded in 2003 by health consultant Eve Stahl. Garden of Eve offers natural personal-care products that are free of parabens, phthalates and other synthetic ingredients. Committed to safe personal-care products, Garden of Eve is a member of the Green Products Alliance, American Botanical Council, is a signer of the Compact for Safe Cosmetics and is Green America-approved. Garden of Eve products are also cruelty-free. Not every natural beauty company has those kinds of green beauty credentials!

Peace & Calm lotion is light and luxurious on your skin. Photo Courtesy Garden of Eve.

Garden of Eve offers 10 natural lotions and creams for all of your needs and tastes. I tested eight different hand and body creams (packaged beautifully in a fair-trade, bamboo-woven box), but my favorite was Peace & Calm Hand and Body Cream. It blends the essential oils of blue tansy, tangerine, orange, ylang ylang and patchouli with a hydrating base made of organic coconut oil, organic beeswax and vegetable glycerin. All of the hand and body creams slide onto and blend seamlessly into your skin. These natural lotions are great on hands, elbows, knees and other rough spots. Your skin is left feeling smooth, nourished and hydrated—but never greasy.

Try eight different natural lotions in the hand and body sampler kit. Photo Courtesy Garden of Eve.

A 3-ounce pump bottle of natural lotion costs $30. The hand and body sampler kit, which contains eight 0.3-ounce jars of hand creams, costs $37. While the prices are a little steep, keep in mind that you're also paying for the guarantee of natural, organic ingredients for your sun-beaten skin. I'm willing to shell out a little extra for natural beauty products that carry those kinds of green beauty credentials.