The Dazzle Dry formula is also Vegan and Non-Toxic.

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That’s why lip balms make great gifts.

Stick some eco-friendly lip balms in some one’s stocking this year.

Several companies offer delightful organic lip balms in numerous lip smacking flavors that will leave lips soft, smooth, and totally kissable.

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When veteran celebrity makeup artist Christy Coleman decided to toss her top of the line makeup kit and use nothing but natural cosmetics on her clientele, she had no idea what would happen next. It was a risk, to be sure, showing up without the typical high-end makeup brands here clientele were used to. Furthermore, she had no book to peddle, no Makeup by Christy Coleman line to sell; she was doing this solely because she believed shunning the toxic chemicals in commercial cosmetics was the right thing to do.

But quietly swapping out her professional kit seemed insufficient, and thus Coleman created ChristyColeman.com to educate everyday consumers about the best natural and organic makeup and skin care products on the market.

Still, it wasn’t enough. She was consistently achieving gorgeous, high-fashion looks with nothing but natural products (click here to see her “natural portfolio”), something her peers thought was impossible. She knew she could make a bigger impact on the mainstream industry. So ChristyColeman.com underwent an extreme makeover.

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What did they find? Well, the FDA scientists found lead in every brand of lipstick that they tested, but they don’t consider the toxic metal a safety concern.

OMG! Seriously. Back in 2007 the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics first blew the whistle on lead filled lipsticks finding that 61% of the 33 brands they tested contained some levels of lead. Shortly after the results were released to the public the US FDA said they’d look into it. Gee, it only took 3 years.

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Let’s say you’re new to the whole eco-friendlier beauty thing. You finished reading Not Just A Pretty Face, and are motivated to chuck your leaded lipstick, plasticized foundation and petroleum-packed moisture cream with plans to replace them all with gorgeously green glamour.

And then you start shopping, and quickly get overwhelmed. Where to start? What to buy? How to prioritize? How to make it happen while still having enough money to eat?

As with pretty much everything I do, my approach to greening my beauty kit was fairly melodramatic; in short, I spent outrageous amounts of money replacing everything all at once. I do not necessarily endorse this strategy, and neither does my credit card statement, so if you are saner than I am and want to pace yourself as you green your makeup bag, here are a few tips to help you prioritize your purchases:

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John Masters is quickly becoming one of my favorite organic beauty brands. I love the hair products and now I am really loving the green tea and rose hydrating facial serum. It keeps my skin smooth without feeling weighed down or greasy, which so many moisturizers do, even natural ones.

John Masters green tea and rose hydrating facial serum is very light weight, perfect for summer moisture. The scent reminds me of black licorice which is not an unpleasant aroma for me, sweet and a little heady but pleasant.

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It began with a leading cosmetic formulation company; one of those behind-the-scenes groups we never hear about, but who are responsible for realizing the dreams of makeup artists, models, and aspiring beauty moguls. Having spent the last 30 years pioneering natural and organic cosmetic technology, they decided it was time to come out from behind the curtain and create their own brand. What they needed was a beauty expert to partner with them, assist in the brand’s development, and represent it to the public.

Enter Eric Sakas, veteran makeup artist and long-time friend and colleague of Kevin Aucoin. He, too, had dreamed of creating a makeup line that successfully combined both glamour and health. Fate let him to Vapour Organic Beauty, where both a partnership and a complete line of 100% natural color cosmetics were born.

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Saffron Rouge has lovely eye beauty offers like these Dr.Hauschka eco eyeshadows. “Highlight, define and enhance the natural beauty of your eyes with these nurturing shadows…Perfect for even extremely sensitive skin, the natural formula is made with smooth Silk and talc powder for even coverage and Anthyllis and Black Tea extracts to nurture delicate skin. ”

Dr.Hauschka has now replaced their eye shadow duo sets with nine individual colors that can be matched and mixed.

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In the early 1990’s, film and television product Jane Iredale was increasingly disturbed by the damage chemical-based makeup was doing to her actresses, most of whom had little choice but to wear massive amounts of it on a daily basis. Despite having no background in cosmetics, Iredale set out to create a professional-quality base to replace the pore-suffocating foundations that were de rigueur in Hollywood. Her solution? A little known concept called mineral foundation.

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The Lavera black eyeliner glided on smooth and left a perfect black line that really stood out. So smooth and easy to use. No hard pencil that pulls at the skin, just smooth perfection. And the mascara…

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I’ve been greening my cosmetics one step at a time to test new products, see what works and what doesn’t freak my skin out. It is a journey. So far I’ve found the most fabulous lip balms and lipsticks. I even found a couple of mineral and organic foundations that I love but the perfect pressed powder has not been chosen yet.

However I have found an online store that has EVERYTHING. I can scroll through and search and find whatever I need in natural cosmetics and skincare at All Natural Cosmetics.

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They have Vegan bee free lip balms that are 70% organic but use no beeswax, hempseed oil Eco Lips that are 98% organic, medicinal Eco Lips with lysine to help heal cold sores, SPF sport lip balms, and more. Something for any of your lip needs.

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Then I tried NVEY ECO’s organic creme deluxe foundation. I was sure it would be too thick as well but I thinned it down a little with a damp cosmetic sponge and it was perfect. Light, airy and breathable in the summer heat and humidity.

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NVEY ECO’s products offer high performance without chemical fillers and the colors are phenomenal.

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As consumer demand grows for safe beauty products, marketing departments get better at making their products sound less synthetic without actually delivering the green goods. As a result, rather than increased transparency, we get layer after layer of…er…let’s called it mud. The typical advice is to read labels. I don’t know about you, but for me that can feel like a full time job. In chemistry. Without a degree. I’ve found other ways to detect the washing of the green, and thought I’d pass along what I have learned.

1) Are the ingredients clearly displayed on the label?

If the answer to this first question is a no, you’ve almost certainly happened upon a company engaged in greenwashing. When ingredients are hidden, it almost always means there is something in that list they want to hide. A great example is Victoria’s Secret’s Pink body care line, the contents of which are hidden beneath a white sticker with a nondescript black arrow, discretely placed underneath the bottle. The ingredients are not anywhere on the website, another bad sign (see Tip #4). A brand promoting a natural line that is indeed organic and/or natural will proudly display their ingredients where a consumer can easily find them.

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I like to think I’m not the only woman who kept an eye and ear on constant alert for the various Bonus Time events at the cosmetic department of Macy’s (and Nordstrom’s, Bloomingdale’s, you get the idea). Like a July mosquito to the bug zapper, I was drawn in each and every time to the big sign displaying the funky little cosmetic bag next to little tubes of lipstick and other novelties. It didn’t matter that I already had 42 bags containing half-used eye makeup remover from previous Bonus Time affairs; if it was happening, I immediately felt compelled to participate.

So it’s really no surprise that I created one for The Nature of Beauty. As they say, once an addict….But I wanted to make this one a bit more meaningful, to give me and you a legitimate excuse to get excited about this particular Bonus Time.

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Before presenting the Emeral Awards for Best Natural Shampoo, Conditioner, and Hair Treatment tomorrow, I would like to deliver a brief public service announcement.

As you may have noticed, few of the products mentioned in the Emerald Awards series have also won best of green awards in the major newsstand magazines. Those products are primarily sold at Sephora and carry this retailer’s own “natural seal.” Go to the website, and they will acknowledge that no universal standard exists, leading them to create their own seal because “we felt we had to take the initiative to define what natural means in terms of our environment. What is natural beauty? We have defined the term as it relates to Sephora, and products must live up to that definition to be considered natural.”

This definition of natural is, at best, a broad one. In fact, it earned Sephora the honor of being named one of the four “biggest ‘green marketing’ scams” by TerraChoice, the group behind sinsofgreenwashing.org. Beyond that, however, I found much greater concerns than their lax standards.

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Welcome back to The Emerald Awards! I’m your host, Terri Bly, presenting you with the top truly natural beauty products as voted on by our panel of green beauty experts. Today’s category: Best Natural Foundation. 

Foundation. Just the word speaks volumes. Before we enhance our skin’s natural glow with bronzer or brighten it up with some blush, most of us choose to even out our skin tone with a base, be it liquid, cream, or powder. Unless your foundation looks good, and by that I mean whatever you choose to do or not do to your skin, everything else you put on it won’t look great, either. When it comes to natural and organic formulas, there are numerous high-performing and long-lasting options to choose from. For that reason, I divided the category of Best Natural Foundation into three subcategories: Liquid/Cream, Tinted Moisturizer, and Loose/Pressed.

And the Emerald Award for Best Natural Liquid Foundation goes to:

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