Green Options

Desert Essence is one of my favorite organic brands, mainly because I love their coconut and vanilla chai scented products.

Now in addition to their body lotions and other wonderful bath and body products they now have something simple for your sink - organic hand wash that comes in Coconut, Vanilla Chair, Lavender, and Grapefruit scents.

I think I am inadvertently on the quest for the perfect soap because lately that’s what I have really been sampling and testing.

This round of sampling has me trying out Pomega5 Oil of Life Cleansing Bar which has changed names since I first receive the product for review and is now called the Lemongrass Clarifying Cleansing Bar.

Lemongrass makes more sense because it smells like lemon not pomegranate.

So far I like the scent and the way it foams.

I had the chance to sample Dr. Dobbs‘ Tomato Complexion Soap and I have to admit I was skeptical. I thought- Tomatoes? In soap? And this is supposed to do wonders for my skin? I don’t know about all that.

And then I tried it.

I am no longer skeptical. In fact I am ordering another bar…or two, right now.

Green beauty expert Terri Bly, president of The Nature of Beauty, introduces Tatcha Aburatorigami Blotting Papers: All Natural, Hand-Made Blotting Papers with an amazing, centuries’ old story that hails back to the Japanese Geisha.

Garden Girl Skin Care Productsare completely natural bath, body and beauty products that are completely free of phthalates, parabens, sulfates, petroleum products and mineral oil.

Peacekeeper Cause-Metics offers make up on a mission. They are the first company to donate all of their after tax distributable profits to Women’s Health Advocacy and Human Rights issues.

Need something to really wake you up in the morning? You have got to try Indigo Wild’s all natural goat milk soap- Zum Mint. It’s a special holiday edition so if you love it, you may want to stock up on it now.

This soap will literally leave you tingling all over- and if that’s not enough to wake you up I don’t know what is.

The women (and some men) in your life will love finding bath and body products in their stockings…if you choose wisely.

Whether it is sweet smelling perfumes, relaxing bath salts or uplifting shower gels make sure to go for the green…as in eco-friendly green.

Here are a lot of green bath, body and beauty gift ideas that won’t cost you a lot of green.

It seems as though every day I get news of another ‘great new this’ or ‘fabulous new that’, and I’ll be the first to put my hand up & gleefully admit it makes me just as excited as the rest of you to be in the know, to hear of things first, and to be updated on the latest & greatest - however, there’s something to be said for the ancient, the stoic, the classic, the tried & tested. Known and used for thousands of years by island cultures, coconut oil is one such legendary ingredient that falls squarely in that category. Not only has it properties that make it a staple in most organic beauty products as well as most natural skin & haircare collections,

Neroli Rose products are made with hydrating shea butter from Southern Sudan. Sudanese Shea Butter is thought to be the finest natural moisturizer in the world.

“In Sudan, shea butter is called Lulu, meaning ‘treasured pearl’. Sudanese women process their Lulu by hand, using an ancient, cold-pressed technique that retains the highest concentrations of Vitamins A and E. The butter is produced from the nuts of shea trees that grow wild, deep within the Sudanese forests, untouched by chemicals or fertilizers. This rare shea butter from the Nile Basin is so nutritious, it serves as a food staple for the Sudanese people during the dry season.”

The holidays are creeping up faster than any of us would probably like. Before Halloween is even over the stores are already putting up winter holiday displays. As always I try to start early though I hardly ever do. Time just flies by so fast.

But I have been keeping an eye out for great eco-friendly products that are reasonably priced (like $25 and under) that would make great gifts and stocking stuffers.