Lily Organics Review

Well, it finally happened — a clean beauty company sent me some products to review*! As a newbie blogger, this is something I’ve been dreaming about from day one.

Lily Organics is a Colorado-based skincare company that grows its own ingredients on their USDA-certified organic farm (and the products are made fresh weekly in their FDA-inspected lab!). How cool is that? Lily is a 7th generation grower and she’s been in business since 1986. She sells her products online, and at Whole Foods and other natural food stores in the Rocky Mountain region. I’ve never seen her products in any stores in Minnesota, so this brand was completely new to me.

Lily Organics: Lily Moisture Mist, Kissable Lips, and Rejuvenating Enzyme Mask

Kissable Lips
I love this lip balm. It goes on smoothly and is rich and moisturizing. I’ve been using it every night before bed and it seems to last through the night. It has a really nice texture and isn’t waxy, gummy, or sticky. Though I haven’t used it anyplace other than my lips, their website says it can be used on elbows, cuticles, and other dry skin (a multi-tasker!). This lip balm is unscented, which is great for someone with sensitive skin (or a sensitive nose). I did find myself wishing there was a scented version of this — I’m a sucker for (naturally) scented lip balms! That aside, I really like this product. I will more than likely purchase this when I run out.

Lily Moisture Mist
This is a moisturizing spray that can be used as both a toner and a moisturizer. The scent of this product is lovely. It reminds me of a fragrant lily and it lingers without being overpowering. Going on, this feels nice and slightly cooling. I’ve been mostly using this at night as the last step of my routine and I’ve used it a few times as a make-up setting spray. Before using this, I was skeptical of its moisturizing properties because it contains grain alcohol. I thought the alcohol would be drying, but it doesn’t seem to dry out my skin at all. One thing I have noticed, though, is that 3-5 minutes after using this my skin feels hot. It’s not hot to the touch, I just feel like I’m blushing. It’s mild and only lasts a few minutes, but I notice it nonetheless. That was really the only downside. I like this product, but I don’t think I’ll purchase it. I love a good moisturizer, but generally not in the form of a spray, and I don’t see myself replacing my hydrosols with this.

Rejuvenating Enzyme Mask
This! I know I said in a previous post that I’m more of a physical exfoliator… but this product has completely changed my mind about exfoliating masks. The first ingredient in this is honey, and we all know how much I love honey. Papaya and pineapple are the second and third ingredients, respectively, and their enzymes dissolve dead skin cells. The other ingredients are pretty awesome, too, but these first three got me pretty excited because they’re edible! I’m not saying this product is edible, but it smells amazing. OK, fine, I tasted it and it was awesome. I couldn’t help myself! In all seriousness, though, this product is not for eating and you shouldn’t eat it. According to the directions, you should apply a thin layer to your freshly cleaned face and keep it on for about 25 minutes. Then wipe it off with a warm washcloth, or rinse it off with warm water, and tone and/or moisturize as usual. Yes, it is sticky, so don’t get it in your hair, but it comes off easily. Twenty-five minutes seems like a long time, but believe me, you will want to carve out time for this. This mask is very effective and leaves my face feeling soft and refreshed — no more dry spots! At the same time it’s gentle enough for me to use a couple times a week if I so desire. I absolutely love it and will definitely be buying this.

*These products were sent to me for free by Lily Organics, but they did not otherwise compensate me for this review. The opinions in this post are my own.

How it Goes

All right, it’s been three weeks since I posted about transitioning off of topical acne prescriptions. Three weeks isn’t a terribly long time, but I thought I’d post about how things are going.

I have to say, I think I was being a little dramatic when I wrote that post. I had visions of my skin turning into a horrible mess and it was really stressing me out. Things are actually going really well! That’s the beauty of writing something I can go back and read again — it helps me to put things into perspective, and also to be thankful for how things have turned out so far. To those of you who commented on the post, thank you. I love seeing what others are doing with their beauty routines, and it’s also good to know I’m not alone in the whole adult acne thing.

Just after I wrote that post, Adina from S.W. Basics of Brooklyn did an AMA on Reddit. Perfect timing. So, I took this wonderful opportunity to ask her about transitioning off the topical meds. Here’s what she said:

“Hi Rach! Ugh yes so sorry about the break outs. I was on topical medication for a long time too, so I understand. The tricky part is that your skin becomes addicted to the meds, just like your body would internally. So you have to ease off, and use only very very gentle ingredients. I would start with oil cleansing. Have you heard about this? You can use sweet almond oil or olive oil (sweet almond is better if you can get your hands on some–it actually fights acne), and massage it into your skin at night. Once you totally transition from the meds, you can use sea salt to exfoliate, by gently patting it onto your face with water, letting it sit like a mask, then rinsing and following with moisturizer. Most importantly you have to be patient, especially when hormones come into play. No one has perfect skin all of the time!!”

Awesome! What a great resource she is. I think with acne, it’s tempting to go balls-out battle-style on our faces and dry the crap out of every bump that appears. I wanted to be gentle, so this is exactly the advice I was hoping for. And lucky for me, I had some sweet almond oil chilling in my cupboard. I haven’t quite gone the route of the oil cleansing method because I still love using honey, but I have incorporated the oil into my routine at night.

I also started using a new product at night, which has replaced the Klaron I had been using. I got evanhealy Rosehip Treatment Facial Serum in Rose. I lusted after this product for a long time because it smells so awesome, but hadn’t yet tried it because I felt like I already had too many products in my nighttime face routine. Part of my draw to this product (and evanhealy as a brand) is their philosophy about not interfering with the skin’s natural functions. This fits in with the whole “gentle” thing I was going for, so I went for it. I really love this product. It’s moisturizing, gentle, and the smell! Another moisturizer can be used on top of it, but I’m finding I don’t need one. I no longer need to use argan oil, so really this has replaced two products. It really is lovely, and I’m so glad I picked this up.

evanhealy Rosehip Treatment Facial Serum – Rose

So, here’s what I’ve been doing to my face at night:
Remove make-up using S.W. Basics Makeup Remover
Massage small amount of sweet almond oil onto skin
Massage about a tablespoon of raw organic honey onto skin
Rinse everything off with warm water, pat dry with towel
Spritz hydrosol onto face (I was using rose for a while, but I’ve switched to lavender for funsies)
While face is still dewy from the hydrosol, smooth evanhealy serum onto face and neck
Apply eye cream (I’m between products right now, more about that in a future post)

So far I’m pretty pleased with my routine and I haven’t had any big breakouts. I did get a couple of predictable (hormonal) zits a few days ago but they’re going away without much of a fight. Other than adding sweet almond oil and swapping the Klaron and argan oil out for the serum, I don’t want to make any other drastic changes just yet. I’m giving my skin time to fully adjust to what I’m doing now. We’ll see how it goes! I also exfoliate about twice a week (and at some point I will be trying the sea salt method Adina talked about).

Thanks to your suggestions, I have a couple of other great (clean) strategies in my back pocket in case I need them. I’ve had my eye on evanhealy’s Lemon Thyme Hydrosol ever since one of my readers suggested it (thanks, Rebecca!). I love hydrosols and I’m quickly becoming obsessed with evanhealy, so it’s only natural I try it at some point. Another couple of options are Manuka honey (spendy, but not horribly so) and seeing a naturopathic doctor (much more expensive). Hopefully things won’t get bad enough for me to seek out either one, but I’m glad to know about both! And of course there’s all the things I can do internally, like staying hydrated, not eating junk food, and eating nutritious foods. That is something I can always work on and improve!

SPF: Face Edition

My husband and I took a trip to Arizona to see his folks at the end of April. It was a much-needed vacation from the dreary weather back home, and it was lovely! It ended up being the perfect time for me to start wearing facial sunscreen on a daily basis, and I’m proud to say I’ve worn it every day since then. I’ve tried four different SPF-containing face products: Two straight-up sunscreens, and two CC creams. Here’s what I thought about the ones I tried.

Keys, Coola, and Juice Beauty (not pictured: Supergoop!)

Keys Solar Rx

I picked up a smaller travel-sized bottle of this, and I’ve only used it a handful of times. This sunscreen has 30+ SPF with nano zinc oxide (if the word “nano” strikes fear into your heart, read this). It goes on smoothly and provides a good amount of moisture. The protection was very effective in the hot Arizona sun (and it was hot!). I didn’t burn even a little bit. I like to put sunscreen underneath my eyes and on my eyelids, and this one did not irritate me at all. Unfortunately, it was a touch heavy and felt a bit on the chalky side after being on my skin for a while. With everyday facial sunscreen, I don’t want to feel like I’m wearing it. I want it to be stealthy. Though this isn’t going to work out for me for daily use, I will definitely use it on vacation and for heavy-duty, prolonged sun exposure.

Coola Face SPF 30 Cucumber Moisturizer

I got a sample of this in this month’s Birchbox. Straight out of the bottle, it smells like watermelon bubble gum. Don’t get me wrong, I love me some Bubblicious, but not on my face. Once a thin layer is smoothed onto the skin, it smells more cucumbery and the scent fades within a few minutes. Because of the scent, I didn’t even attempt to put this around my eyes — I feared some major irritation and tears. Coola likes to brag about their organic ingredients, which is great, but I was disappointed to find that this product contains chemical sunscreen. It’s a small amount, sure, but I don’t understand why they chose chemical sunscreen over physical, especially since most of the rest of the ingredients are decent. I wasn’t outside long enough to really know if it’s effective in protecting against the sun. This product does a good job moisturizing and felt great on, but I won’t be buying it. In fact, I may not even finish the bottle since the smell is a deal-breaker for me.

Supergoop! Daily Correct SPF 35 CC Cream

This one was in my Birchbox last month in light/medium and I used up the whole thing pretty quickly. It goes on nicely with a foundation brush and provides light coverage. This made my skin look healthy and more even, but it was just a touch too orange and barely a shade too dark. Since I kept the application light, the color mismatch wasn’t super noticeable. The zinc oxide SPF in this product provides effective sun protection and I didn’t burn. My eyes weren’t irritated by this, which was a plus. Though the coverage is light, this product was too heavy for me. I’m generally not a fan of tinted moisturizer or foundation, especially in the summer. It could work for winter, but for summertime it’s a no-go. I can’t deal with wiping a make-up mess off my face every time I sweat (which is a lot, since we don’t have air conditioning in our house). That aside, I would definitely recommend this product to someone who wants a little more coverage (and sun protection!) without the heaviness of foundation.

Juice Beauty Stem Cellular Repair CC Cream

I saved my favorite one for last! This one also has SPF 30 using zinc oxide. Like its Supergoop! counterpart, this product is tinted, but it’s lighter and matches my skin tone much better. The coverage is also lighter — so light that I don’t really notice it’s on, even when I sweat. Though I didn’t wear this while we were in Arizona, I did wear it to a baseball game in full sun on a hot day, and did not get burned or have any issues with sweat. It worked well around my eyes, and it makes my skin tone look a little more even. I was a teensy bit afraid to buy this, since nearly every review I’ve read on this product has complained about the smell. I’ll admit the smell isn’t my favorite, but I don’t mind it. It’s sort of grapefruity with some earthy/mossy undertones, and it fades very quickly. I’m finding that the more I use the product, the less I notice it. Overall I’m very pleased with this product. It’s the perfect everyday SPF for me. My next task is to find the perfect brush to go with it!

Juice Beauty: I Like!

I recently picked up Juice Beauty’s Green Apple Age Defy Hand Cream (once again, Ulta’s display full of smaller-sized items got the best of me). Juice Beauty had always been intriguing to me, so I thought, why not? I’ve always heard great things about the brand and their products (which are clean — yay!). Plus, I needed a good hand cream for work. I work in an office and I’m on the phone for most of the day, so I type and touch my phone a lot. As much as I love my homemade hand/body cream, it’s just a little too much for a day at the office — too heavy and greasy, and I leave prints all over everything.

Juice Beauty Green Apple Age Defy Hand Cream

So far I’m really liking this hand cream. It has just the perfect amount of moisture. It’s adequate for my hands when they’re at their driest, but it’s not greasy or over the top. My skin readily absorbs it and there’s no waxy residue leftover. And the smell! It’s lemony, definitely fruity, with an after-smell of Fruity Pebbles. Yum. The only thing I’m not wild about is the price — $12 for 2 oz. It’s the perfect size for traveling, but I could easily buy an 8 oz. bottle of something else for that price. Though it’s on the spendy side, I think I’ll buy this again. It’s hard for me to stay away from products that smell this good.

Shortly after buying the hand cream, I got a sample of Juice Beauty Green Apple Peel Sensitive in my Birchbox. I hadn’t had any experience with at-home peels, so I was excited to try this. It was very easy to use. You just smooth a thin layer onto clean skin, leave it on for 10 minutes, and rinse it off. What’s fun is that you can actually feel the product working. It’s sort of a mix of tingly, burny, and itchy — I know I’m making it sound awful, but it isn’t! I actually enjoyed having it on. When I went back to the mirror after my 10 minutes were up, I fully expected to see a red face staring back at me. I was shocked to see that my skin looked completely normal, even after rinsing. It was easy to rinse off and left my skin feeling smooth. My skin is easily irritated, so I was really happy to see that my skin didn’t completely freak out with this.

Juice Beauty Green Apple Peel Sensitive

I like this product, but not quite enough to purchase the full-size. I felt like I still had a few dry spots after using it, and it just wasn’t as amazing as I had expected. I feel that gentle physical exfoliation has been much more effective for me in getting rid of dry skin and rough spots. Though this isn’t the best product for me personally, I would recommend this product to anyone who enjoys peels and masks. It’s definitely worth trying. And it smells good! I’m sensing a theme here…

My SPF Resolution, Plus Supergoop! LipFusion Review

The sun is finally shining on a regular basis here in Minnesota. Time to start piling on the sunscreen!

I know, I know… Sunscreen should be a year-round thing. I’m not really outside in the cold months as much as I am when it’s warm out, but it never hurts to be cautious. About two weeks ago I started using SPF on a daily basis, and I intend to continue to do so. Even in the winter.

Why now? For starters, I’d rather not look like a brown leather bag when I get older. I believe in aging gracefully, but I’d like to avoid wrinkles if I can. I’ll be 32 this year and I have abused my skin pretty badly so far. I’ve burned, blistered, and peeled more times than I can count on my fingers. I took full advantage of the benefits of working at a tanning salon in college (so, SO dumb). My skin is pretty light and I have a family history of melanoma (my grandfather died of it on my 27th birthday; it’s a message from the universe). Yeah, I should probably get on that, huh?

So, here I am. I have a bunch of SPF-containing products I am trying and reviewing. I used to be a person who only applies sunscreen when I know I’ll be out in the sun for a few hours. This is the first of many posts about my new plan to be proactive and use daily sun protection (yes, even on cloudy days). I will be regularly using sunscreen on my face and neck.

I thought I’d start with something easy — lips. They’re often overlooked, but it’s important to keep them protected. Though I can’t recall having sunburned lips more than a few times, I can tell you that it hurts. It’s like having super chapped lips. No, thank you.

I was at Ulta recently, looking at all the cute smaller-sized items near the register. I spotted Supergoop! MintFusion Lip Balm with SPF 30 and picked it up. Being somewhat familiar with the brand I decided to purchase it.

Supergoop! MintFusion Lip Balm

Turns out I was blinded by the Supergoop! label and didn’t realize until I got home that this contains chemical sunscreen (Octinoxate isn’t the worst offender, but still. It earns an EWG rating of 6). Oops. Just goes to show you should always read labels! In my defense, most of their products are on the cleaner side and use physical sunscreens rather than chemical ones. One thing that’s nice about Ulta is that even if you use a product, you can return it if you still have the receipt. At this point I’m thinking about returning it and getting something else that isn’t so toxic. I wouldn’t be using it as my full-time lip balm and it’s really only for when I’m outside, so it wouldn’t be the end of the world if I kept it. But still, I’d like to make sure that whatever I put on my lips is safe. If I still have the receipt, I will likely take it back. Juice Beauty has a lip balm trio that uses physical sunscreen, so I was thinking about buying that instead.

That aside, I liked this lip balm. The tube is a good size. It feels great on and it produces a nice minty tingle. It’s thick without feeling too goopy or heavy. It keeps my lips moisturized, and so far it’s done a good job protecting me from the sun. It doesn’t last terribly long, so I found I had to apply it often. One word of advice for anyone who may purchase this — don’t accidentally lick it off your lips. You really don’t want to be eating this anyway, so the product is doing you a huge favor by tasting really gross. Overall, it performed relatively well, but I would rather use something safer if possible. I want to make sure I feel good about the products I’m using!

A Little Help?

Whoa, two posts in one day! What is going on here?! Let’s just say I’m making up for my laziness from the last month or so. That, and I’m having a bit of a skin crisis. OK, maybe that’s a bit dramatic. We’ll call it a skin “situation.”

First, a brief history: I’ve struggled with persistent acne since adolescence. I’ve seen a dermatologist on and off since then. I’ve been on different topical and oral medications and most of them worked temporarily. Four or so years ago I quit prescription creams cold turkey and switched to cleaner products, and my acne quickly became severe. I waited for months for it to clear up, thinking my skin needed time to adjust, but pretty soon a year went by and I had seen very little improvement. At that time, I started taking Accutane and was on a low dose for 8 months. It completely took care of my acne and for the first time since I was 14, I had clear skin without trying. For about a year and half after finishing the Accutane course, I was using Metro Cream (a prescription topical) at night, which helped keep things very clear. I mistakenly thought I didn’t need it anymore, and I hated the smell so I stopped using it. This was also around the time I stopped taking hormonal birth control and got a copper IUD. Since making these two changes about 6 months ago, I’ve had some mild acne at certain times during my menstrual cycle. I recently went back to the dermatologist and he prescribed Klaron, which is a topical anti-bacterial. It’s working OK, but it contains parabens and other nasty preservatives. And here’s my bigger concern: Could this actually make my acne worse? What happens when the bacteria that’s being controlled by the Klaron starts mutating? Will this create super-acne that will later be difficult to control? Right now my acne is totally manageable, maybe 4 or 5 small-to-medium-sized blemishes a month. This is a dream compared to what things used to be. I want to nip this problem in the bud before it gets worse (and knowing my luck with acne, it will). It’s taken a lot to get my acne under control, and I refuse to go on Accutane again. It did wonders for my skin, but the side effects sucked pretty hard.

Right now I’m washing with a mixture of honey and apricot kernel oil at night (rarely, when I’m not in the mood to deal with honey, I use Nubian Heritage bar soap instead). I follow that with about 6 spritzes of rose hydrosol to tone. After that, it’s a thin layer of Klaron, some eye cream, and a few drops of argan oil. In the morning I do a thorough rinse with warm water, and follow the usual routine I do at night, minus the Klaron (even though I was told to use it morning and night — this is my compromise). Then it’s CC cream or sunscreen, and the rest of my make-up that I’ve been using for months. I’m trying to be better about staying hydrated and not touching my face during the day.

Here’s where your help is needed. I want to break free from all topical acne prescriptions. Is there a safer alternative to Klaron, and if so, what is it? I’m thinking about somehow incorporating tea tree oil into my routine, since I know that’s a natural anti-bacterial. I want to be as clean and gentle as possible. I have some ideas of things to try at this point, but wanted to see if there’s anyone out there who has been through a similar situation. So, lay it on me. What has worked for those of you who have broken free from prescription acne medication?

My Never-Ending Search for the Perfect (Clean) Shampoo/Conditioner

Ever since I began transitioning to cleaner products, I’ve been searching for the perfect shampoo and conditioner. I’ve found some good ones, but I always feel like I can find something better. When it comes to shampoo and conditioner, I’m extremely picky. I just haven’t found the perfect thing for my hair yet.

I have fine hair, and I don’t have a whole lot of it. Currently it’s straight and shoulder length with a few subtle layers, and I’m growing it out. I have bangs that I generally sweep to the side, and they’re always the first to get greasy. Since my hair is so fine, it’s mostly flat, so I need something that doesn’t leave any sort of residue or add weight. It gets greasy pretty easily, and in the winter I get static like the dickens. I’ve gone down to washing my hair every other day, and that’s really the best I can do. On days I wash my hair, I blow it dry and I generally don’t usually use any other products. On my second-day hair days, I use a tiny bit of Acure Dry Shampoo on my roots, and that works well for the most part. By the end of those days, I end up throwing it back into a ponytail.

Here’s what I’ve tried so far for shampoo and conditioner, in chronological order:

Whole Foods 365 Grapefruit Shampoo and Conditioner (pretty sure it’s around $6 per 16 oz. bottle): This is what I started off with. I mainly bought it because it was so inexpensive and I really didn’t know what to look for starting out. It did an OK job, but I didn’t love it. Though it’s a vast improvement over most dirty shampoo/conditioner, I felt I could find something cleaner.

Alaffia Coconut & Shea Hydrating Shampoo and Conditioner (around $9 for each 8 oz. bottle): A friend of mine gave this to me because it didn’t quite work for her. Both products were nice and smelled good, but they were just a touch too heavy for my fine hair.

Encoura Shampoo and Conditioner in No. 104 (around $10 for each 8 oz. bottle): Encoura has since reformulated their shampoo, but I’m pretty sure I bought a bottle of “transition shampoo”, a bottle of the regular (clean) shampoo, and then the conditioner. The smell was nice and it did a decent job, but I wasn’t in love with it. Plus, it’s not sold in stores and for some reason it bothers me to have to order hair products online (picky, I know).

Healing-Scents Shampoo/Body Wash in Lavender Minty with Peppermint Conditioner (around $15 for each 8 oz. bottle): I decided to try and go super-clean here. This shampoo is probably the cleanest out there — it’s pretty much castile soap. The Healing-Scents website clearly outlines a transition period (complete with instructions) in which your hair gets pretty greasy, since your scalp has to purge all the crap you’ve been putting onto it. After that transition period things are supposed to get considerably better, oil levels even out, and your hair starts to look much healthier. I followed all the instructions and tried this for a good two months. Unfortunately, the “better” time never came for me. My hair was oily but also staticky (I tried it during the winter), which was super frustrating. I was only using a tiny bit of the conditioner on my ends a couple times a week (again, following instructions and not using it until several washes with the shampoo alone), and most other days I used a 1:1 vinegar/water rinse to condition. The vinegar rinse helped with the static, but I got a little stinky after any sort of exercise or sweating. I liked the concept of the whole thing, but it wasn’t working for me, so I gave up. I’d like to point out that this is the only shampoo/conditioner I’ve tried where I haven’t used all of the product (on my hair, anyway — I’ve been using it instead as body wash and for shaving).

Shea Moisture Yucca & Baobab Thickening Shampoo and Conditioner (around $10 for each 12 oz. bottle): Bonus points for accessibility on this one, as this brand is available at Target and Walgreen’s. This did an all right job on my hair, but by the time I ran out of it I wanted something else. It lathered nicely, which I like, but I got sick of the smell. I had also read an article about Shea Moisture not being terribly honest about their ingredients, which left a bad taste in my mouth about the brand.

Acure Organics Pure Mint + Echinacea Stem Cell Shampoo and Conditioner (around $10.99 for each 12 oz. bottle): This is also an accessible brand. Their products are sold at Whole Foods and some local co-ops. This has been my favorite so far. It does a great job for how clean it is, and it produces a decent lather. This particular formulation is specifically for fine/thin hair. The only thing I’m not wild about is that the fine hair version doesn’t come in any other scents. Don’t get me wrong, I love mint, but it would be nice to have a floral option. This is me being overly picky. I should just stick with this one because it really is great. It’s by far the best I’ve tried and I will likely keep going back to it.

Currently using: Intelligent Nutrients Harmonic Shampoo and Conditioner (around $7 for each 2 oz. travel-size bottle): I’d been hearing all kinds of good stuff about Intelligent Nutrients and their products, so I thought I’d give their shampoo and conditioner a try. IN was founded by the same dude who started Aveda. Everyone remembers how awesome Aveda used to be, right? Well, he sold Aveda to Estee Lauder a few years back, which explains why Aveda’s products are of much lower quality than they used to be. IN uses organic, food-grade ingredients and makes very clean products. I’ve been using this for about two weeks now. The shampoo and conditioner smell good, vaguely minty and pleasant overall. The shampoo doesn’t really lather, which isn’t a big deal. I was bummed to find that my second-day hair seems to be a little greasier, and for some reason my hair has been super tangly while using this. It’s also definitely more expensive than I’m accustomed to. For the price, I guess I expected it to do a better job than Acure. I can’t justify spending more money on a product when I can spend less on another product that clearly works better for me. I’m really glad I bought the travel size of both, because I think I’d probably be pretty mad at myself for dropping all that cash on the larger bottles.

So far, I’d have to say that Acure is the clear winner, but I’m continuing my search. I know I can’t expect a shampoo to work wonders for me or change what I already have. I just haven’t found the perfect thing yet. Am I too picky? Probably. But I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that.