Our Product Review - Lipsticks

Lipsticks, Lip gloss and Lip Balm

Brand Name: PeaceKeeper

Product Name: Paint Me Strong

Cost: $16.95 (4.5g)

Where did we get it? Where have we seen it?: Lilou Organics

Testers: Patti

Rating (out of 5): 4.5

Comments: This brand is well known in the US and just new to Canada. The product is great ... it promotes itself as long-lasting and I would say that it is one of the more long lasting natural brands I have used to date. It goes on smooth and feels like it is going to stay on my lips - not to glossy or gooey. The colour I choose is a solid fall colour for me - it is my new "everyday lipstick". A funky container has a "special click tight closing cap that keeps the Lip Paint from opening in your purse." And the price point is comparable to other fashion lipsticks. If you like supporting company with positive ideals - Peacekeeper is one of those - they use all profits, after taxes, to support women's health advocacy and human rights issues.

Ingredients: beeswax, carnauba wax, candelilla wax, shea butter, castor oil, jojoba oil, grapeseed oil, tocopherol. may contain (+/-): mica, carmine, titanium dioxide, iron oxides, ultramarines

Brand Name: Ecco Bella

Product Name: Flower Color Lipstick - Rosewood

Cost: $15.39 for

Where did we get it? Where have we seen it?: Rainbow Foods Natural health food store

Testers: Tamey

Rating (out of 5): 4.5

Comments: Very happy with the colour and I expect it to be a great lipstick for the winter as it is very conditioning for my lips (As mini grand canyons develop as winter progresses). It would be nice if it lasted a little longer. I will definitely try other colours form this line.

Ingredients:Castor oil, isopropyl palmitate (from palm oil), candelillia wax, 100iu Vitamin E, organic calendula oil, organic chamomile oil, organic jojoba oil, flower wax coated iron oxides. May contain carmine.

Brand Name: Burt's Bees

Product Name: Lip Shimmer – Watermelon, Rhubarb, Merlot

Cost: $5.99 (2.6g)

Where did we get it? Where have we seen it?: Natural health food store, large food store (like Superstore in their Natural Food Store), large drug stores (Shoppers Drug Mart), and some specialty gift shops

Testers: Patti and Tamey

Rating (out of 5): 4.0

Comments: Burt's Bees lip shimmer is like the Terra Tints – lip balms with colour. This product has peppermint in them which gives a tingly feeling on the lips when applied. I have several colours and keep these lip balms handy in several places. The applicator is slimmer than the Terra Tints and makes it easy not stray outside your lip area (don't want to look like some crazed woman with a lipstick moustache… do we?)

Ingredients: Sunflower Oil, castor oil, beeswax, candelilla wax, lanolin, cocoa seed butter, tocopheryl acetate & tocopherol (Vitamin E), peppermint oil, carnauba wax, rosemary leaf oil. May contain iron oxide, mica, carmine or titanium dioxide.

Brand Name: Dr. Hauschka

Product Name: Lipstick – Amoroso

Cost: $28.99 (4.5g)

Where did we get it? Where have we seen it?:Natural health food store, Lilou Organics

Tester: Patti

Rating (out of 5): 3.5

Comments: The shiny gold case is equal in presentation as any other high end lipstick. The lipstick went on smooth. Since I kept this lipstick in my purse, I found in the hotter months (likely because it was warmed up hidden in my purse pocket); it went on a bit uneven and glumpy. I would buy it again but the price point is high - so I would have to love the colour and keep it in my make-up bag at home.

Ingredients: ricinus communis, rosa canina, buxus chinensis, lanolin, daucus carota, rosa gallica, candelilla cera, butyrospermum parkii, cera flava, carnauba, prunus dulcis, cetyl alcohol, anthyllis vulneraria, oryza sativa, parfum, lecithin, [(declaration for lipstick colours 01-12) +/- mica, CI 75470, CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499, CI 77891].

Brand Name: Lavera Naturkosmetik

Product Name: Lipstick - #17

Cost: $28.99 (4.5g)

Where did we get it? Where have we seen it?:Natural health food store,

Tester: Patti

Rating (out of 5): 4.0

Comments: As I mentioned in an e-bulletin, its really hard to give up a favourite lipstick. I have relied on my stand-by from a major brand for years. I searched for lipsticks with more natural ingredients and the Lavera brand from Germany had several lipstick choices as well as a full line of cosmetics. The lipsticks are comparable to my ole favourite – they come a range of colours (14), look special in a fancy steel tube, go on creamy and stay put for a while. I use colour #17. I'm not sure this will be the new stand-by lipstick I have been looking for but it's a great alternative.

Lavera lipstick products are recommended as a "Best" choice in The Guide to Less Toxic Products published by the Environmental Health Association of Nova Scotia. A best choice product notes that they do not contain anything from EHANS Common Hazardous Chemicals list and are often based on natural ingredients.

Ingredients: Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil, Copernicia Cerifera (Carnauba) Wax, Euphorbia Cerifera (Candelilla) Wax, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil*, Glycine Soja (Soybean) Oil*, Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil*, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond) Oil*, Tricaprylin, Ceramide-3, Macadamia Ternifolia Seed Oil*, Tocopherol, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Alcohol, (aroma), (+/- Mica, Carmine (C175470), Titanium Dioxide (C177891), Iron Oxide (C177491), Iron Oxide (C177492), Iron Oxide (C177499), Zinc Oxide (C177947), Bismuth Oxychloride (C177163), Ultramarines (C177007)). *ingredients from certified organics agriculture.

Brand Name: Alba

Product Name: TerraTint Lip Balm SPF 18 - Blaze

Cost: $5.00 (4.2g)

Where did we get it? Where have we seen it?: Natural health food store

Tester: Patti

Rating (out of 5): 4.5

Comments: The Terra Tints are lip balms with colour. They have a bit of peppermint in them which gives a tingly feeling on the lips when applied. They feel like they are moisturizing your lips and give a nice hint of colour. I use Blaze. I keep these lip balms handy in several place, as they are inexpensive and feel good reapplying several times a day. A bonus is that they have SPF 18, which will protect from the suns rays. Now if only I could find one that protects me from burning my lips on my morning cup of tea!

Ingredients: 7.5% Padimate-O, 5.0% Oxybenzone in a base of Castor Oil, Candelilla Wax, Jojoba Oil, Beeswax, Lanolin, Carnauba, Pure Peppermint Oil, Castor Wax, Tocopheryl Acetate and Tocopherol (Vitamin E), Mica, Iron Oxides, Titanium Dioxide, with Herbal Extracts of Calendula and Echinacea.