I’ve been been a sucker for all-natural products since my first dalliance into crystal deodorant at 14. (No need to try that one. Tried it for you.)
There is something about a product that is actually good for you instead of just making you look good that gives my heart a boner. I’m also a sucker for anything multi-use.
Last Saturday, I popped into one of my favorite stores, Grand Street Bakery, for a perfectly distressed t-shirt fix when I noticed an array of little silver vintage-looking tins adorning the counter and thought, Oooooh, Basil Lip Tint. I loooove Basil. AND it’s made in the Rockaways? Sold!
Goldies Natural Beauty has been around since 2009; all the products are organic and 100% free of preservatives (like parabens), phthalates and formaldehyde. (Wait--why would there be formaldehyde in beauty products? Initiate flashback to pig-dissection day in 10th grade and that smell...)
I opened the tin to look at the color, which was super-dark, and decided even though there wasn’t a tester, I would just buy it anyways. Impulse buying at it’s most basic, y’all.
The second I got home, I slicked it all over my mouth and it felt oh-so-good. The combo of shea butter, avacado, and olive oil made my lips a slip-and-slide of juicy deliciousness. The deep color is about 100 times more intense in the tin, and on your lips imparts a hint of rose that you wish your lips always had.
The closest color I can equate it to is Benetint. A more subtle, moisturizing, creamy Benetint. Plus, the color is made from alkanet root, which has anti-aging properties. BONUS! Who wants old-ass-looking lips?!
As for the other (very few) ingredients, honey and beeswax are pretty standard, but anise essential oil--what does that do?
Let me tell you: IT HELPS PROTECT YOU AGAINST HERPES. I’m so serious, y’all. Anise in other forms (as in ouzo, my favorite imbibe) has amazing digestive properties, but herpes protection? That’s a whole other level of amazingness.
Apparently, Dr. Paul Schnitzler from the University of Heidelburg in Germany found that anise is effective against herpes simplex virus type 2 when introduced after exposure and before the virus attaches to cells. Fabulous! Now put this on and go out and meet a handsome stranger tonight. You deserve it!
Sweet basil oil rounds out the eight ingredients in this wünderproduct, adding luster to dull skin, and even help treating acne. I know you're wondering what that has to do with your lips, but I’m not holding this baby back by just using it on my lips? Hell naw, girl! This stuff is amazing as a cheek tint AND eye gloss.
It is really such an easy summer look, when you sweat everything off your face anyways and just want a hint of color to look alive. After applying tinted SPF, I slick this bad boy all over my lips, the apples of my cheeks, and my eyelids. Perfect for when you have one minute to get ready in the morning. All you need to look pulled together!
Das it! Do you know of any other all-natural miracle products I should try?