It’s Spring, (!) and I’ve been loving a few newbies.  Then, I realized their packaging coordinated with each other.  Then, I realized that they all have something else in common: ETHICAL beauty.

Kari Gran Wonder Whip is the do-gooder-version of their fabulous (and one of my all-time favorites) original Naked Lip Whip.  Totally sheer with a hint of shimmer, this peppermint lippy is rich, thick, silky and hydrates for hours and hours.  50% of the proceeds go to WonderWork, a nonprofit that provides free, life-changing surgeries for blindness, club-foot and burns to children and adults in more than 58 developing countries.  This product is a win-win-win-win.

If you love a good floral perfume, but hate a bad floral perfume, Kahina Giving Beauty Essaouira Perfume Oil is for you.  Essaouira (pronounced es-suh-weer-uh) is a small, beautiful coastal village about two hours outside Marrakech that never fails to revive Kahina founder, Katharine L’Heureux.  She takes us along for the ride with floral notes like rose and lavender, combined with geranium and sandalwood to create an exotic, floral scent that is also bright and crisp.  (By the way, Kahina works with ethical, sustainable womens co-operatives in Morocco.  They also give back 1% of their annual revenue to organizations that benefit these women.)

Kosås Lipstick: This new lipstick line is basically perfect.  It’s creamy.  It’s matte.  It’s lightweight.  It’s highly-pigmented.  And, it lasts longer than anything else I’ve tried (that’s nontoxic).  Even when it does begin to fade, you’re not left with that awful 90’s lipliner look.  Just dab on some gloss, and you’re good to go.  This lipstick is made with cold-pressed, plant-based oils and butters – NOT parabens, phthalates, BHA/BHT, chemical preservatives, mineral oil, propylene glycol, polyethylene glycol, phenoxyethanol, synthetic fragrance or petrolatum.  Good for us.  Good for the Earth.

When Ayla Beauty founder, Dara Kennedy sent me Laxmi Skincare to try, I was scared.  Shea butter?  On my blemish-prone face?  What an idiot I was.  These products are spectacular!  If you are in a dry climate, travel frequently or have very dry skin, (that’s maybe also prone to breaking out) the Nilotica Facial Creme is something you need to check out.  It melts right into my skin, leaving a matte… sheen?  Glow?  Does that even make sense?  (It will if you try it.)  Nilotica Shea Butter is harvested by the source of the Nile River in Uganda, and it is totally different than the shea butter you’re accustomed to – it’s not waxy at all.   The Laxmi Cold Pressed Triple M Oil (for Mongongo, Marula and Maringa oils) is equally fabulous.  It’s anti-inflammatory, dissolves gunk stuck in your pores, and hydrates like a champ.  In addition to all the skin-firming cold-pressed oils and butters, these products also contain a teensy bit of Tea Tree Oil, which is naturally antibacterial, anti-fungal and antiseptic.  Like I said, if you need both moisture and the peace of mind that you won’t break out, this duo is unbeatable.  Oh, wait.  I almost forgot to tell you that all of the ingredients are sourced ethically in Africa, which enables producers to earn more than 3X the average local wage.  Think about what that could do for an impoverished woman and her children.

We talk about #gamechanger products all the time – some of these products are #lifechangers.

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