Wrangler's Monthly Wrap Up: January 2014

Happy Friday, everyone! Can you believe that January is over today? I certainly cannot! This month went by super fast. I hope this year goes by a little slower than last year's year went, last year flew by so so so fast. How are you guys doing on your first month of your resolutions/goals for the year? Rob and I kicked this month's butt! We're hoping to maintain our momentum in the next month and the rest of the year! Anyway, as I do every month, I wanted to share with you some of my favorite posts from the last month. I hope you enjoy!

LBW's Year in Review: 2013

Today LBW Turns Two!

Ipsy Glam Bag: December 2013

ForGoodnessGrape Part XIII

Eco Lips: Pure & Simple and Classic

Live Beautifully Solid Lotion & Face Butter

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As for my personal goals for the year, some of them were: go to the gym 4 times a week, go to yoga at least once a week, try at least one new restaurant each month, try at least one new recipe per week, and try something out of my comfort zone. I surpassed my own expectations for these goals! Most weeks I've been to the gym 5-7 times a week, I'm currently doing a 30 day hot yoga challenge, I started doing Krav Maga (out of my comfort zone), we've tried about 10 new restaurants this month, and about 15 new recipes. I'm determined to make this year my year! What were some of your goals? How are you doing on them?

What were some of your favorite parts of January? 

Have a wonderful day!

Rooted Beauty Part II

Hi everyone! Today's post is kind of a continuation of my last Rooted Beauty review. I've been really loving their lip balms, but their other products are to die for! I couldn't wait to tell you about them! I apologize about the abundance of facial product reviews this week, but I use them almost more than I use lip balm, so it was just kind of natural for me to start writing about them!

Company: Rooted Beauty

Products: Facial Wipes, Facial Moisturizer, and  Facial Cleanser. I love the scent of these Facial Wipes! They're scented in Raspberry Citrus and it is just such an invigorating scent. It's so bright and fruity and just has the most wonderful scent. The Facial Moisturizer and Facial Cleanser are both scented in Mango Passion and they smell just as lovely as the facial wipes! They have a tropical, fruity yet light scent.Seriously these products just have the most fantastic scents!

Wear: The Facial Wipes are probably the most moist facial wipes I've ever used, they're really wet and sometimes have little bubbles on them that reminds me of soap. But they're also the BEST facial wipes I've ever used (and I've used a TON in addition to different makeup removers). Of course they make my face feel fresh and clean, but they also remove all of my makeup! Even stubborn mascara and liquid eye liner. This stuff is amazing. It's the only makeup remover/facial wipe I'll use now when I wear makeup. The Facial Cleanser feels great and does a good job at cleaning my face (is that weird to say?). I use it almost every day, so it's pretty gentle to use that often. I often go for runs, attend hot yoga classes, and spend lots of time in the gym so I find myself having to wash my face more often because of all the sweat. Even the days I use this cleanser twice, my skin holds up and feels great. Not too dry or damaging. If I'm using this cleanser earlier in the day I tend to follow it up with the Facial Moisturizer because it's pretty lightweight, I save my heavy (or heavier) duty stuff for nighttime. When the moisturizer is absorbing it kind of makes my face feel stiff and dry, but then my face feels nice and soft the rest of the day. The moisturizer is made with Thanaka which is something I actually grew up with because my grandma uses it constantly on her face. Thanaka is kind of a Burmese beauty secret, it's made into a paste and left to dry on your face (which is why I think the moisturizer feels like it's dry and stiff for a little while). Lots of the older women in my family use it and have been using it since they were young! (I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but I'm Burmese and no one ever knows what that is so it was really neat for me to see something from my culture used in a mainstream product!).

Packaging: The Facial Wipes come in the usual industry standard type packaging, a peel and seal package. The Facial Cleanser also comes in a pretty usual squeeze tube. The Facial Moisturizer comes in a small pump bottle with a cap. Each one has brightly designed packaging with colors that are super eye catching. The packaging is really just lovely.

Price: You can get all three of these in a set for $26.99 or buy them each separately. Separately the Facial Wipes are $6.99, Facial Cleanser is $9.99, and Facial Moisturizer is $14.99. Each price seems pretty reasonable, especially since these will last a while! (Maybe not the Facial Wipes if you wear make up frequently, there are only 25 in each package.)

Overall
Pros: Each Product, Packaging, Price, Wear
Cons:

Rating: 5 out of 5 twists. I love these Rooted Beauty products, I think I even like the facial products more than the lip balms! If any of these interest you at all, I'd definitely recommend you try them! Plus, a portion of each product sold goes to support a woman to escape oppression. Good products and a good cause, what more could you want?

Ingredients: 
Facial Wipes: Water, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Hamamelis Virginiana (Witch Hazel) Bark/Leaf/Twig Extract, Rubus Idaeus (Raspberry) Fruit Extract, Citrus Aurantifolia (Lime) Peel Extract, Coffee Arabica (Green Coffee) Seed Extract, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Oil, Glycerin, Decyl Glucoside, Polysorbate 20, Sodium Lauryl Glucose Carboxylate, Lauryl Glucoside, Sodium Cholride, Citric Acid, Sodium Citrate, Phenoxyethanol, Caprylyl Glycol
Facial Cleanser: Aqua, Coffea Robusta Seed Extract, Passiflora Incarnata Fruit Extract, Panax Ginseng Root Extract, Euterpe Oleracea (Acai) Fruit Extract, Coco-Glucoside, Glycerin, Xanthan Gum, Propanediol, Citric Acid, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Molasses, Guar Gum, Caprylic Acid, Citrus Tangerina (Tangerine) Peel Extract (and) Mentha Viridis (Spearmint) Extract (and) Citrus Grandis (Grapefruit) Fruit Extract (and) Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Peel Extract (and) Calendula Officinalis Flower Extract (and) Clematis Vitalba (and) Pyrus Malus (Apple) Fruit Extract (and) Pyrus Communis (Pear) Extract (and) Vanilla Planifolia Fruit Extract (and) Rubus Idaeus (Raspberry) Fruit Extract (and) Mangifera Indica (Mango) Fruit Extract (and) Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavender) Extract (and) Prunus Armeniaca (Apricot) Fruit Extract (and) Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Ascorbic Acid, Potassium Sorbate
Facial Moisturizer: Aqua, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Limonia Acidissima Bark (Thanaka) Extract, Hamamelis Virginiana (Witch Hazel) Extract, Glycerin, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Glyceryl Stearate, Xanthan Gum, Citrus Tangerina (Tangerine) Peel Extract (and) Mentha Viridis (Spearmint) Extract (and) Citrus Grandis (Grapefruit) Fruit Extract (and) Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Peel Extract (and) Calendula Officinalis Flower Extract (and) Clematis Vitalba (and) Pyrus Malus (Apple) Fruit Extract (and) Pyrus Communis (Pear) Extract (and) Vanilla Planifolia Fruit Extract (and) Rubus Idaeus (Raspberry) Fruit Extract (and) Mangifera Indica (Mango) Fruit Extract (and) Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavender) Extract (and) Prunus Armeniaca (Apricot) Fruit Extract, Passiflora Edulis Seed Oil, Cetearyl Alchohol, Cetearyl Glucoside, Tapioca Starch, Lactic Acid, Citric Acid, Lecithin, Molasses, Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Extract, Potassium Sorbate

Have you tried these Rooted Beauty products before? What did you think of them? If you haven't tried them, do you think you might in the future?

Haul of the Week 1.29.14

Happy Wednesday, everyone! I hope you're week has been lovely so far! I'm still trying to kick this cold, but I really don't like resting! Can you believe that January is almost over already? I can't! I still haven't had many packages come in, and still no sign of one I ordered three weeks ago, but I did get two lovely packages this week.

Tom Jack's

Birchbox

What did you get this week? Anything new from a shop you haven't tried before?

Have a wonderful day!

Live Beautifully Solid Lotion & Face Butter

Hi everyone! I've been a little absent this week (I feel like it's Friday which is probably why I feel like I've been away longer than I actually have been). I've been a bit sick this week and my gosh darn computer almost never works and Rob's is a pain in the butt to use, so it's been hard to get posts up. I really need to figure out this computer situation! Anyway, I've been wanting to tell you about some of the other amazing products Live Beautifully Body offers. I hope you enjoy!

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Company: Live Beautifully Body

Products: Beautifying Face Butter and Solid Lotion Bar Tube in Berry Lime Green Tea. The Beautifying Face Butter is probably one of my most favorite face products I've ever used. I'm using a bunch of different moisturizers right now, it's pretty crazy, but this one is definitely one of my favorites! This smells so clean and fresh, but the scent isn't crazy strong, it's actually pretty light. The Solid Lotion Bar Tube in Berry Lime Green Tea is absolutely wonderful! The scent is so bright and energizing, I find myself using it all the time whenever I feel like I need a boost of energy or just have some dry skin! The scent even seems somewhat bubbly or sparkling. The sweet berry scent combined with tart lime and green tea is just amazing.

Wear: The Face Butter goes on like a dream. It's supposed to be whipped, mine came when it was a bit colder so the consistency isn't really super whipped, but you can tell it's supposed to be. Is that confusing? It's a bit whipped but at the same time solidly packed. It goes on smooth and lightweight. I really love the way it makes my face feel. I usually wear this at night, but sometimes during the day if I'm not planning on putting on makeup right away because this stuff does tend to sit a bit before really getting absorbed. Long story short: this face butter has a lightweight, whipped consistency that feels like heaven on my face. If you like they're whipped lip butters for your lips, this is like those but for your whole face. The Solid Lotion Bar Tube also goes on lovely. It melts on contact with my skin and goes on smooth making my hands feel moisturized and soft. I usually use it on my hands, but have also used it on the heels of my feet and my elbows.

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Packaging: The Face Butter comes in a metal tin with a twist off top. The lid has one of those beautifully designed labels with the product type and ingredients on it. The Solid Lotion comes in a push up tube. I didn't know that at first, I thought it was a twist up tube, but no biggie. You push it up and the lotion comes out. The tube also has a twist off cap which I find unique for some reason as I'm used to pull off caps I guess. Both items would be perfect for travelling as they're lightweight and don't take up much space.

Price: The Face Butter is $12 and the Solid Lotions are $8. Both are definitely reasonable since these products last a while!

Overall
Pros: Wear, Packaging, Price, Scents
Cons:

Rating: 5 out of 5 twists. I wholeheartedly would recommend both of these products. I love them and use them at least a few times a week!

Ingredients:
Face Butter: Shea Butter, Apricot Kernel Oil, Avocado Oil, Cocoa Butter, Tea Tree, Labdanum, Bulgarian Rose Absolute, Bergamot
Solid Lotion: Beeswax, Cocoa Butter, Shea Butter, Mango Butter, Apricot Kernel Oil, Grapeseed Oil, Sweet Almond Oil, Macadamia Nut Oil, Coconut Oil, Natural Flavors & Oils

Have you tried these products from Live Beautifully yet? What did you think of them?

Balms of the Week 1.26.14

Happy Sunday, everyone! I hope the weather has been beautiful wherever you are and that you've been able to get some time outside. I love the weekends because we try to spend a lot of time doing activities outside together since we're pretty cooped up during the week. This week my lips have been incredibly dry, peeling and chapped and I don't know why. I've been drinking about a gallon of water a day and the humidifier has been going nonstop all week. The only thing that's different this week is that I've done Hot Yoga every day, maybe that's it? I don't know, but either way, I've been using a ton of balm this week trying to keep my lips hydrated. Here's what I've been reaching for this week:

Eco Lips' Roseberry

Long Winter Farm's Coquito

Crazy Rumors' Pistachio

ForGoodnessGrape's Ava's Paradise

Eco Lips' Hemp balm in Vanilla

Eco Lips' Medicinal

Kiehl's Mango

Rooted Beauty's Orange Vanilla

What balms have you been using this week?

Have a wonderful day!

Eco Lips: Pure & Simple and Classic

Happy Friday, everyone! I hope you're having a swell day so far. I realized that I'm quickly running out of Eco Lips balms to share with you, I cannot believe I'm almost done reviewing all 26 balms they sent me! Eco Lips have quickly become some of my most favorite balms, I find myself reaching for them all the time. I hope you've been able to try out some because I think they're pretty wonderful.

Company: Eco Lips

Flavors: Coconut (Purple & Simple), Grape (Pure & Simple), Kiwi Strawberry (Pure & Simple), Berry (Classic), Mint (Classic), and Sport (Classic). The Coconut is a really warm, toasty scent. It smells of creamy tropical coconut. To me it's more like a coconut cream scent than just a simple coconut scent, it sure does smell heavenly! The Grape is one I knew I probably wouldn't like, I don't like anything grape flavored except green grapes. But, this one wasn't so bad. It does indeed smell just like a grape sucker or candy and it's kind of growing on me, the scent is actually pretty lovely. If you're a fan of anything grape, this is probably a balm you'll want to try. The Kiwi Strawberry smells just like you'd assume, like sweet, ripe strawberries combined with slightly tart tropical kiwis. When I was a kid, well even up until now, I did not like anything Kiwi Strawberry, I didn't even like kiwis until about two years ago. This balm, however, smells pretty great. The Berry smells wonderful! A rich, bright berry scent. I can't really detect which berries make up the scent, but my guess would be strawberry and maybe raspberry and wild berry. Either way, it smells yummy! The Mint smells mostly of spearmint although there is a little bit of peppermint in there as well. It reminds me of Trader Johann's Virtuoso lip balm. It's just a classic mint balm, what more could you ask for? The Sport has almost no scent to me, it smells a little of vanilla, but not a whole lot. When I first sniffed it its smell reminded me of clarinet reeds, oh the good ol' days of being in band.

Wear: These balms feel firm, but then they go on so smooth. Slightly creamy, but a little more on the oily side. My lips feel a bit slick when I wear one of these. These are definitely lightweight and feel like they go on a bit thinner than most other balms I use, but at the same time it doesn't feel like I need to put anymore on. So I suppose a little goes a long way with these. The consistency kind of reminds me of Crazy Rumors or ForGoodnessGrape balms, except, like I said, slightly more slick. The Classic line balms also have SPFs of at least 15, the Sport has 30. I'll be tucking that one into my running jacket.

Packaging: These come in your average sized lip balm tubes, each one has a label that is colored to correspond to the flavor of the balm. The flavor of the balm is printed clear on the front beneath the company name. Simple, classic, not flashy.

Price: The Pure & Simple balms go for $1.99 each and the Classic balms are $2.49, which are both insanely great prices for these balms. That price point allows you to try more than one if you'd like!

Overall
Pros: Flavors, Wear, Packaging, Price, Made with Organic Ingredients
Cons:

Rating: 5 out of 5 twists. I really liked these lines from Eco Lips and see myself using them a lot in the near (and distant) future. I'd definitely recommend them!

Ingredients: 
Coconut: *Organic Sunflower Oil, *Organic Beeswax, *Organic Coconut Flavor, *Organic Vanilla Flavor, Vitamin E
Grape: *Organic Sunflower Oil, *Organic Beeswax, *Organic Grape Flavor, Vitamin E
Kiwi Strawberry: *Organic Sunflower Oil, *Organic Beeswax, *Organic Kiwi Flavor, *Organic Strawberry Flavor, Vitamin E
Berry: Active Ingredients: Octinoxate (7.5%), Oxybenzone (3%). Main Ingredients: *Organic Sunflower Seed Oil, *Organic Beeswax, *Fair Trade Certified™ Organic Cocoa Butter, *Organic Coconut Oil, *Organic Berry Flavor, *Organic Aloe Vera Oil, Vitamin E, *Organic Rosemary Extract, *Organic Calendula Extract.
Mint: Active Ingredients: Octinoxate (7.5%), Oxybenzone (3%). Main Ingredients: *Organic Sunflower Seed Oil, *Organic Beeswax, *Fair Trade Certified™ Organic Cocoa Butter, *Organic Coconut Oil, *Organic Essential Oil of Spearmint, *Organic Essential Oil of Peppermint, *Organic Aloe Vera Oil, Vitamin E, *Organic Rosemary Extract, *Organic Calendula Extract.
Sport:Active Ingredients: Octinoxate (7.5%), Octisalate (5%), Oxybenzone (4%), Avobenzone (1%). Main Ingredients: *Organic Sunflower Seed Oil, *Organic Beewax, Fair Trade Certified™ Organic Cocoa Butter, *Organic Coconut Oil, *Organic Vanilla Flavor, *Organic Aloe Vera Leaf Extract, Vitamin E, *Organic Calendula Extract.

Have you tried these lines from Eco Lips yet? What did you think of them?

Crazy Rumors Part VII

It's certainly been a while since my last Crazy Rumors' review. During Black Friday I picked up a few Crazy Rumors' balms since their Black Friday deal tends to be a pretty good one! I picked up two old favorites and two new balms.

Company: Crazy Rumors

Flavors: Ginger Peach, Pistachio, Red Hibiscus, and Lemonade. I have been eyeing the Ginger Peach ever since they came out with it sometime last year, so I was really excited to try it! This balm definitely does not skip on the ginger, it mostly has the scent of ginger. I smell a very light, light scent of peaches. This is mostly a ginger balm. There's something off about this balm that doesn't really sit well with me. The Pistachio smells absolutely wonderful! It's sweet, creamy, and nutty...everything you'd look for in a pistachio balm. The Red Hibiscus still smells like I remember...delicious! It smells just like candy. I picked up another tube because I'm certain my tube from last year has gone bad by now. This has such a sweet, bright scent. It definitely smells like sugary candy, but combined with a light floral scent as well. If you haven't tried a balm with hibiscus in it yet, I urge you to! It's been about two years since I last used my absolute favorite balm from Crazy Rumors, their Lemonade, so I figured it was about time I got myself another tube. This tube was so disappointing! Completely different from what I had before. Instead of a sweet, slightly sour, all around perfect lemonade balm, this balm smells very lightly of lemon, but kind of has a stale scent of lemon. It wasn't appealing like the tube I used to have. I'm not sure what's different, but this one definitely isn't as good as my old tube.

Wear: These balms are definitely firmer than most of my other balms, but they still go on smooth and don't feel greasy. They also feel a bit thinner than some other balms when going on. I think the consistency of these balms is similar to ForGoodnessGrape balms.

Packaging: These come in your average sized lip balm tube with really neat labels. They have a clean design and are really pleasing to the eye. The company name is right on front and below that is the flavor of the balm in a rectangle colored to match the flavor of the balm. Right next to that rectangle is an image depicting the flavor of the balm.

Price: $3.49 per tube which is a pretty good deal.

Overall
Pros: Pistachio, Red Hibiscus, Wear, Packaging, Price
Cons: Ginger Peach, Lemonade

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 twists. I'm sad to say half of this order was disappointing. There's something different about Crazy Rumors balms, but not all of them are affected in a negative way. If you're eyeing some of their balms, I'd still recommend them, but not as whole heartedly as I would have before. Maybe I just got some funky balms, who knows!

Ingredients: Certified Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Macadamia Seed Oil, Certified Organic Shea Butter, Candelilla Wax, Soy Wax, Jojoba Oil, Carnauba Wax, Natural & Organic Flavors and/or Pure Essential Oils, Vitamin E, Rosemary Leaf Extract, Natural Stevia

Have you tried Crazy Rumors balms recently? What did you think of them? Did you notice a change?

Haul of the Week 1.22.14

Happy Wednesday, everyone! I hope you're having a wonderful week so far! I'm so glad that this week just seems to be flying by since Rob had last Monday off. I ordered some balms two weeks ago from two different *new(to me)* shops, but neither package has shipped yet. It always makes me so weary to purchase from sites that aren't Etsy or a direct shop from a shop I know. I've received confirmations for both orders, but nothing on shipping which kind of stinks. I was hoping to have more to share with you today, but I just have a teeny tiny haul for you this week.

Ipsy

That's it!

What goodies did you get this week? Did you get something awesome?

Have a lovely day!

The Gnarly Whale Part IV

Happy Tuesday, everyone! I hope you all had a nice (possibly long) weekend! We certainly did, but I think all our activities this weekend left us super tired so I apologize for the delay. I've also been having some computer issues, Rob thinks my computer may have a virus, it often shuts down in the middle of me doing things. I usually have to work as fast as I can if the computer is up and running, if not, I'll most likely be cut off. Anyway, so sorry for the delay, I hope you enjoy today's post!

Company: The Gnarly Whale

Flavors: Asian Pear, Spiced Caramel, Pumpkin Cheesecake, Buttercream, and Peanut Butter Cup. The Asian Pear smells just like those delicious Korean pears I love. It's sweet and fruity and is really just a lovely scent. It has a pear-like scent, but it's totally different from our usual pears. The Spiced Caramel would have definitely been a staple for me in the Fall if I had had it then. It smells of gooey, sweet caramel blended with warm spices. It's a really warm scent and makes me just want to cozy up under a blanket. I'll have to keep this one in mind for next Fall! The Pumpkin Cheesecake is different from most of my other pumpkin cheesecake balms, it's really mild. It was kind of hard to detect a scent. There is a really, really light scent of pumpkin with just a hint of creaminess. I wish this balm had been stronger in scent. The Buttercream smells exactly like buttercream frosting. It's sweet and sugary and smells just wonderful. The Peanut Butter Cup is definitely one of my new favorites. It smells exactly like a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup, one of my absolute favorite treats! You really can't go wrong with creamy peanut butter and rich milk chocolate! If you are a chocolate peanut butter fan, you need to get this balm!

Wear: These balms go on really firm. I have to fight a little bit with some of these balms to get them to go on properly. It may just be that I need to warm them up a bit, but they're still pretty firm. Once you get some on your lips though, the balm melts right in and becomes creamy. I can't think of another balm that goes on similar to this as most of my balms go on smooth and creamy with no fight. These are definitely more unique as they're firm when they go on with a little bit of fight, but then the consistency is smooth and creamy once on my lips. I'll try to think of a balm that is similar to this consistency.

Packaging: These come in your average sized black lip balm tubes. The labels are black and white with the shops name and product type (lip balm) in giant letters. Below that is the flavor of the balm. My one qualm with this packaging is that I wish the labels had some color to differentiate the balms from one another. If you're like me and have more than 10 Gnarly Whale balms, it gets kind of difficult to find the balm you're looking for. I usually have to separate them out in order to know where to find which balm. I'll usually put one flavor in my purse and one on my nightstand and another in my backpack just to know where the balm is, but then I don't use that balm unless it's conveniently located. I do love the black and white, but something to set each balm apart would be great!

Price: $3.50 which is definitely a deal for one of these balms!

Overall
Pros: Flavors, Consistency once on my lips, Clean and simple packaging
Cons: Balms were a little too firm, Hard to tell balms apart

Rating: 4 out of 5 twists. I love Gnarly Whale products, not just their lip balms, but their scrubs, hair detangler, and facial toner too! I'd definitely recommend them to everyone! These balms may have been firmer than Gnarly Whale balms I've used in the past, but they're still pretty lovely!

Ingredients: Candelilla wax, mango butter, coconut oil, jojoba oil, vitamin e, grapefruit seed extract, flavor

Have you tried these balms from The Gnarly Whale yet? What did you think of them?

Balms of the Week 1.19.14

Happy Sunday, everyone! I hope you're all having a wonderful weekend so far! We've been trying to be super active this weekend so lots of running and long walks and we took our first Krav Maga class the other day! We're planning to go do some Bikram today too, so hopefully that pans out. Don't know what's gotten into us but we've had a lot of energy lately. What have you been up to this weekend? Here are the lovely balms I've been using this week:

Little Batch's Red Velvet Cake

Eco Lips' Orange Spice

Eco Lips' Roseberry

ForGoodnessGrape's Orange Cinnamon Roll

ForGoodnessGrape's Ava's Paradise

ForGoodnessGrape's Stress Less

Bunny Butt Apothecary's Mango Lassi

Epically Epic's Lemon Sorbet

Rooted Beauty's Orange Vanilla

Long Winter Farm's Coquito

What balms have you been using this week? Did you find any new favorites?

Have a fantastic day!

And the Winner of My Second Birthday Giveaway is....

Krista H.!

Congratulations Krista! If you could shoot me an e-mail with your mailing address to lipbalmwrangler AT gmail DOT com that would be great!

Thank you to everyone who participated in my second birthday giveaway! I'll have another one coming up for you guys soon...I promise!

Have a wonderful day everyone and thank you for your continued support of my blog!

Christina

Balms I've Got My Eye On 1.17.14

Happy Friday, everyone! I hope you're having a wonderful day so far! I'm definitely looking forward to the long weekend this week (Rob has Monday off from work). I also had an interview yesterday so I'm hoping everything goes well! This week I've been trying to continue branching out from my usual shops, although I have been watching my usual shops too. Here are the balms that caught my eye this week:

Theme Fragrance's Vanilla Cake Batter

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Ripe Shop's Chocolate Caliente

(via)

Swamp Angel Soap's Cinnamon Vanilla Spice

(via)

What balms have you been eyeing this week? Have you tried any of the shops above? What did you think of them?

Have a wonderful day!

ForGoodnessGrape XIII

It's been a little while since my last ForGoodnessGrape review, so I'm excited to be sharing these balms with you today. These ForGoodnessGrape balms have been some of the best ForGoodnessGrape balms I've ever tried, Lisa's definitely been working on some good things over there.

Company: ForGoodnessGrape

Flavors: Salted Caramel Mocha, Stress Less, Orange Cinnamon Roll, Ava's Paradise, Pomegranate Orange, and Blueberry Cabernet. The Salted Caramel Mocha smells absolutely amazing! Just like my favorite drink from Starbucks. Rich chocolate, some coffee, topped with salted caramel..what's better than that? The Stress Less smells like a tropical getaway. The first thing you smell is the warm, tropical coconut followed by ripe peaches and just a hint of tropical mango. This is definitely what I think of when I want to get away from any stress, a nice tropical vacation! The Orange Cinnamon Roll is definitely my new favorite go-to balm. It smells of delicious warm cinnamon rolls topped with orange icing, this is just fantastic. First off, let me tell you, Ava's Paradise smells absolutely incredible! It's supposed to smell like lemon drop, strawberry sorbet, and kiwi and it most certainly does! I'm a sucker for anything lemon, and this one is definitely one of my favorites! The Pomegranate Orange has a lovely scent of sweet, slightly tart pomegranate and fresh, sweet oranges. The Blueberry Cabernet smells of ripe blueberries and sweet red wine, I wasn't so sure about this combination, but it definitely works!

Wear: These balms go on sooo smooth and creamy. These are firmer balms and definitely not oily in the least. The consistency of ForGoodnessGrape balms resemble Orange Thyme balms in my opinion.

Packaging: These come in your average sized lip balm tubes with artfully designed labels. Each label's design corresponds to the flavor of the balm, which means each label looks different from one another.

Price: About $3.75 per tube which is definitely a deal for one of these fabulous balms!

Overall
Pros: Flavors, Wear, Packing, Price
Cons:

Rating: 5 out of 5 twists. These balms are absolutely fabulous! I'd recommend them to anyone, plus there are just SOO many flavors to choose from, there has got to be something for everyone's taste!

Ingredients: Shea Butter, Mango Butter, Cocoa Butter, Sweet Almond Oil, Beeswax, Jojoba Oil, Coconut Oil, Castor Oil, Vitamin E, and Fragrance

Have you tried these ForGoodnessGrape balms before? What did you think of them?

Eco Lips: Premium Balms

Hi everyone! I don't have a haul for you this week, so I figured you guys would like to see a review! I did buy some new balms I've been eyeing, but they still haven't arrived, so look out for those next week. I'm almost done wrapping up my Eco Lips reviews, kind of. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy!

Company: Eco Lips

Flavors: Eco Lips Hemp in Vanilla, Eco Lips Bee Free in Lemon Lime, and Eco Lips Gold in Unflavored. I've never used a hemp lip balm before, I've only seen them a few times so the Eco Lips Hemp balm in Vanilla definitely intrigued me. The vanilla is a lightly scented and definitely a true warm vanilla scent. The Eco Lips Bee Free in Lemon Lime is most definitely a bright citrus scent. It's sweet, slightly sour lemons combined with tart and tangy lime. This is a great balm for citrus lovers like myself! The Eco Lips Gold in Unflavored is truly unscented. Some plain/unflavored balms I've tried in the past have had some scent to it, usually a light cocoa scent because of the cocoa butter that's usually in them. This one was really hard to pick up any kind of scent, so those of you who prefer or just like unscented balms, I'd definitely recommend this one.

Wear: The Eco Lips Hemp goes on very smooth and somewhat creamy, but then it feels slightly oily once it melts into my lips. It kind of reminds me of Orange Thyme balms when they first go on, but then kind of remind me of Ripe Shop balms once they're really sinking into my lips. The Eco Lips Bee Free is definitely slicker than the Eco Lips Hemp balm. It goes on slick and oily and almost gets away from me when I put it on (probably because I had just tried putting on the other balm which was firmer than this one). The closest balm I think this would resemble is Epically Epic balms, but only slightly since these ones are much oilier. Not that that's a bad thing! My lips surely do feel smoother with this balm on! I can still feel the cracks, but it doesn't feel as dry, but it also feels more oily than I'd normally like. The Eco Lips Gold is firmer than both of the other balms and goes on much thinner. I didn't feel like I had to put on another layer or two though, so I don't think the consistency being thinner is a game changer. This one is the least oily of the three and feels nice and light on my lips.

Packaging: These come in your average sized lip balm tubes. The Bee Free tube has a yellow label, the Hemp tube has a green label, and the Gold tube has a blue label. Eco Lips was so kind to include the carabiner which attaches to the cap of the lip balm through a cover that goes on it. This would make it easy to attach to your keys or purse or anywhere else you may want some lip balm handy. Eco Lips also sells these carabiners on their website for $2.

Price: Each tube runs for $3.49 which is really not a bad deal at all. Especially since each one is either USDA certified organic or made with certified organic ingredients.

Overall
Pros: Flavors, Wear, Packaging, Price
Cons:

Rating: 4.75 out of 5 twists. It was really hard to not list these as perfect, because really they are just about everything you'd look for in a great balm. But, the Eco Lips Bee Free was a just a little too oily for me. These balms are still pretty darn perfect though!

Ingredients:
Hemp: *Organic Sunflower Seed Oil, *Organic Beeswax, *Fair Trade Certified™ Organic Cocoa Butter, *Organic Coconut Oil, *Organic Hemp Seed Oil, *Organic Vanilla Flavor, Vitamin E, *Organic Rosemary Extract, *Organic Calendula Extract
Bee Free: *Organic Sunflower Seed Oil, Candelilla Wax, *Fair Trade Certified™ Organic Cocoa Butter, *Organic Coconut Oil, Vitamin E, *Organic Essential Oil of Lemon, *Organic Essential Oil of Lime, *Organic Rosemary Extract, *Organic Calendula Extract
Gold: *Organic Sunflower Seed Oil, *Organic Beeswax, *Organic Baobab Oil, *Fair Trade Certified™ Organic Cocoa Butter, Vitamin E, *Organic Rosemary Extract, *Organic Calendula Extract
*= Certified Organic Ingredients

Have you tried these balms before? What did you think of them?

**Don't forget to enter my giveaway for lip balm and an Etsy giftcard here!! Today is the LAST day!!**

Bunny Butt Apothecary

Hi everyone! Sorry for my absence, I was feeling really under the weather yesterday and basically just lounged around all day between napping and just feeling miserable and back to napping to avoid feeling miserable. I actually didn't even wake up today until after noon which was a first since I was probably in 8th grade! I absolutely loathe sleeping in that late, but apparently my body needed it. I'm feeling much better today, although still groggy and still feeling pretty blah and tired. I may be going back to sleep right after I crank out this post for you guys, trying not to though! Anyway, I've actually been meaning to try balms from this shop for a few years now and this year I decided to give them a shot! (I've also been trying a bunch of their other goodies; perfume, face stuff, lotion...I'll write about those later though.) I hope you guys enjoy!

Company: Bunny Butt Apothecary

Flavors: Mango Lassi and Lychee. The Mango Lassi smells of ripe mango, yogurt and just a hint of spiciness. If you've used a mango lassi balm before, you'll know what I'm talking about. This one is more lightly scented than other mango lassi balms I've used, but still strong enough that you can tell there's a scent. The Lychee may just be the most perfect lychee balm I've ever tried! I'm always looking for lychee and mango balms that really deliver and smell like the real thing, and this lychee balm is pretty darn close! It smells light, sweet, and fruity yet very subtly kind of has a floral scent as well. It's hard for me to describe the scent of lychee to someone if they've never tried it. But it's a delicious tropical fruit and I absolutely love eating heaps of it whenever I can get my hands on some!

Wear: These balms go on nice and smooth. They're pretty creamy, but still slightly on the oily side. They glide on really nicely and you only need about one swipe on top and bottom to get perfect coverage. To me they're kind of like the consistency of ForGoodnessGrape balms, but slightly more glossy. When I put on one of these balms next to a ForGoodnessGrape balm on the back of my hand you can tell Bunny Butt balms are definitely glossier.

Packaging: These come in your average sized lip balm tubes which are black. The color of the labels correspond to the flavor of the balm (yellow for mango, white for lychee). The flavors are also printed nice and big right on front.

Price: 2 balms for $7.50 or 3 for $11, either way it's a pretty good deal.

Overall
Pros: Flavors, Wear, Packaging, Price
Cons:

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 twists. I'd definitely be interested in trying out a few more balms from this shop, they only carry about 10 flavors of balm so it probably wouldn't be hard to try them all =). If you've been eyeing this shop for a while like I was, I'd definitely say give them a shot!

Ingredients: helianthus annuus (sunflower) seed oil, cera alba (beeswax), cocos nucifera (coconut) oil, ricinus communis (castor) seed oil, butyrospermum parkii (shea) fruit butter, flavor, tocopherol (vitamin E)

Have you tried Bunny Butt Apothecary before? What did you think of their products?

**Don't forget to enter my giveaway for lip balm and an Etsy giftcard here!!**

Balms of the Week 1.12.14

Happy Sunday, everyone! I apologize for the HUGE delay in today's post, but we've been doing a lot this weekend and any chance we get we've been trying to relax and disconnect from everything. I only have a few minutes right now to write out this post as we have a friend that we haven't seen in about three years coming over right now. I haven't been using too many different balms this week, what about you?

Long Winter Farm's Coquito

ForGoodnessGrape's Orange Cinnamon Roll

Little Batch's Red Velvet Cake

Orange Thyme's Vanilla Pumpkin

Rooted Beauty's Orange Vanilla

Epically Epic's Lemon Sorbet

What balms have you been using this week? Anything new that's blowing your mind?

Have a wonderful day!

**Don't forget to enter my giveaway for lip balm and an Etsy giftcard here!!**

LWF Seasonal Lip Balms: Winter 2013

I know I kind of missed posting this before 2013 was over, but there was so many other things being written about that I figured since this subscription installment covers all of winter, it would be okay to post a little into the new year. I really like this seasonal subscription because I really forget that it's coming, I don't really pay attention for when I should expect it, so it's always a surprise! Even more so than my monthly lip balm subscriptions I used to get which I always happened to forget about until they showed up in my mailbox.

Company: Long Winter Farm

Flavors: Peppermint Hot Cocoa, Chocolate Butterscotch, and Coquito. Like I've said in previous reviews, I really like LWF's Peppermint Hot Cocoa. It's a great blend of chocolatey goodness and tingly peppermint. It's one of my winter staples that I order every year. This year I already ordered myself one, so this tube is one of the prizes in my current giveaway! The Chocolate Butterscotch smells deliciously of rich chocolate and even richer, creamy butterscotch. Butterscotch is definitely one of my guilty pleasures during the winter! I love eating butterscotch chips right out of the bag. This definitely has the same intoxicating scent butterscotch has. Coquito is probably one of my most favorite LWF balms. It smells so creamy and a little spicy, which makes sense since it's supposed to smell like coconut milk, rum, and cinnamon! Absolutely wonderful!

Wear: These balms go on nice and creamy. They're a little on the firmer side in the tube, but once you start putting them on your lips they melt right into them. I would say that these are almost on par with the consistency of Orange Thyme balms. These balms are lightweight too, it never feels like my lips are being bogged down with too much product. It also doesn't feel like balm is just sitting on top of my lips. I can get a good 2 or 3 hours out of these before I have to put on some more.

Packaging: These come in oval shaped tubes with beautifully designed labels. The labels each have the flavor of the balm printed right on front and have colored bands that correspond to the flavor of the balm. You always know which one you're reaching for! I really like oval tubes because the balms don't roll away (some of my circular tubes have rolled onto the floor and cracked the balm inside, which usually causes the balm to be lodged in the cap and a quarter of the balm broken off the rest).

Price: $4 per tube which is a reasonable price to pay for one of these balms.

Overall
Pros: Flavors, Wear, Packaging, Price
Cons:

Rating: 5 out of 5 twists. Even though I got a repeat of a balm I already own, I'm still happy with this subscription because it brought me the Coquito balm which I never leave the house without! I'd highly recommend trying out individual Long Winter Farm balms (or any other LWF products, really) or the seasonal subscription if you haven't yet!

Ingredients: Natural Beeswax, Sweet Almond, Grapeseed & Jojoba Oils, Cocoa & Unrefined Shea Butters, Vitamin E, Flavor Oil

Have you signed up for LWF's Seasonal subscription yet? What did you think of these Winter balms?

**Don't forget to enter my giveaway for lip balm and an Etsy giftcard here!!**

Balms I've Got My Eye On 1.10.14

Happy Friday, everyone! This week has been going by so slow for me, I have no idea why! I've been keeping myself super busy each day which makes the day go by pretty quickly (currently trying to find a job in Seattle), but the nights seem to be lasting forever. Which is still okay because then I get to spend time with Rob after he gets back from work. Anyway, I've been trying to find new and different shops I've never tried or heard of before and after some research I think I've found some potential balms that I may be adding to my collection. Check them out:

Tom Jack's Citrus

(via)

I've never heard of this company before, but their packaging is just gorgeous! It's what drew me in immediately, even if they are lip pots/tins.

Glory Boon's Dulce de Leche

(via)

I really like the packaging this shop has too! I've definitely got my eye on a few of their balms!

Mirasol Farm's Lemon Chamomile

(via)

This balm just sounds divine!

What balms have you been eyeing this week? Have you tried any of these shops before?

Have a wonderful day!

**Don't forget to enter my giveaway for lip balm and an Etsy giftcard here!!**