Eco-Friendly & Green Living Blog

If you’re fair like me, any little bit of protection from the sun helps, so I was happy to find out about Bethesda’s all-natural Sunscreen Soap.

With an SPF of 10, it’s not enough on its own for me, but I like to use it to wash my hands. After all, even if I apply sunscreen to them, I wash them throughout the day, which means bye, bye sunscreen, so this soap is the perfect way to ensure they’re protected to some degree.

Plus, it’s chockful of vitamins that protect against aging and keep your skin healthy looking, too, plus gylcerin, to keep skin nice and moist!

Available at: www.bethesdaskincare.com

Price: $8 US

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I’m not generally into room sprays, preferring to just keep things clean and fresh smelling that way, but we work right next door to the Canadian Living Test Kitchen, and sometimes when they’re cooking something fishy, garlicky or overwhelmingly greasy first thing in the morning, it’s all we can do to not flee from our offices.

Smells Life a Flower Shop Body & Room Spray has been a saviour on those occasions.

Made by Canadian company Mythical Matters, this spray is so natural you can use it as a perfume, and it really does smell just like a flower shop – truly evocative, but in a really subtle way, of fresh-cut greenery and beautiful blooms.

It’s made of water, alcohol, witch hazel distillate, aloe vera extract, glycerin and perfume and comes in a recyclable amber glass bottle; a percentage of every sale will be donated to the Toronto Wildlife Centre.

Available at: www.mythicalmatters.com

Price: $24.99 (8 oz.)

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I don’t know about you, but insects just looooooove me!

One night out and I’m covered in bites that turn into angry, itchy, swollen eruptions. Not a pretty sight! But I hate using insect repellent that’s filled with icky chemicals. I’d rather just stay in, thank you very much!

Until this weekend, that is. That’s when I had a chance to used La Fresh’s All Natural Biodegradable Insect Repellent Towelettes. They’re made from all-natural ingredients, natch, including peppermint oil, sesame oil, olive oil, castor oil, wheat germ oil, and vitamin E (also no parabens and the towelettes are biodegradable). I smelled very minty, in a not unappealing way, but not a single bite!!!! Let me tell you, I was practically doing a happy dance around the campfire.

I could only be more thrilled if the repellent came in a recyclable spray bottle…

Available at: www.lafreshgroup.com

Price: from $4.49 US for a six-pack

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I don’t know about you, but when I travel, I like to carry as little as possible! Since I wear contacts, my toiletry bag is already weighted down with my glasses case and contact solution before adding things like shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, blah, blah, blah….You get the picture.

So I was super excited when I got a press release yesterday about worldPRODUCTS created by Brian Phillips of Toronto’s worldSALON and hairstylist to celebrities like Kim Cattrall, Terrence Howard, k.d. lang, James Marsden, Norah Jones and Jessica Stam.

worldCLEAN, worldPROTECT and worldBELIEVE are products that can be used on both hair and skin and so cut down on the things you need to lug around with you when travelling, plus they have no artificial colours or fragrances, sodium lauryl sulphates or parabens and the packaging is recyclable. All of which made me a happy camper even before trying them out. And when I did try them out, I was impressed.

worldCLEAN is a hair and skin cleanser, worldPROTECT a hair and skin moisturizer, and worldBELIEVE a salve you can use anywhere to relieve skin inflammation, chapping, and cuts and scrapes (and it’s gentle enough for babies!). There’s no fragrance, so that might take some getting used to if you’re accustomed to things that smell. But I loved the fact the products are multiuse (take the worldPROTECT: I used it as a conditioner, dabbed it in my hair as a styling product, and also as a cream on my legs!), plus they do a great job. Who could ask for anything more?

Available at: www.world.ca or worldSALON, 132 Adelaide St. E., Toronto

Price: Limited time offer until Aug. 31, 2009 on the worldPRODUCT trio, $75 (worldCLEAN, 360 mL; worldPROTECT, 360mL; worldBELIEVE, 60mL); bottles can be brought back to the salon and refilled for 20% off (not including limited offer price)

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With the warm weather coming, it’s time to whip your skin into shape and that means some serious exfoliation!

Tackle the task with Naturally Upper Canada Body Polish with Buriti Seeds Warm Honey Nectar. It’s paraben- and SLS-free and filled with goodies like honey and shea butter and ground-up buriti and apricot seeds to get rid of dead cells and moisturize your skin beautifully. It smells yummy, too, in a lovely, subtle way that doesn’t overwhelm.

Available at: the Bay, Home Outfitters, Sears.

Price: $15

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Just got back from London and am suffering serious jetlag, but wanted to let you know quickly about a fabulous organic shop/bakery/food shop I found while there.

Daylesford Organic not only has amazing food products, but also absolutely lovely home and beauty products. So if you’re heading to the U.K., it’s a must-see for organic fans. In the meantime, check out the website at www.daylesford.com. Cheers!

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Canadian eco hair-care brand Live Clean expands its line with a batch of new products, including two hand soaps and two body washes, but also some styling products that I think are really exciting, simply because it’s not that easy to find widely available eco-friendly styling products out there.

The Strong Hold Styling Gel and Firm Hold Styling Spray and Firm Hold Styling Mousse are all paraben- and silicone-free and completely vegan with no animal or animal by-products and the packaging, even the gel tube, is recyclable.

I don’t normally use products like this on my hair, since it has plenty of body on its own, but I did try out the mousse for the fun of it, and was impressed with the added volume and texture it did provide. My sister, Jamie, who has dead straight hair, will be thrilled I’m passing it on to her!

Styling products available at: Shoppers Drug Mart

Price: approx. $6.99 each

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I am in love! It happened this morning in the shower, when I tried a sample of John Masters Blood Orange & Vanilla Body Wash that I’d recently received.

What a way to start a Monday morning in February! The delicious scent transported me to a tropical land, far far away from frigid Toronto!

Plus, the body wash, like all John Masters products, is certified organic, and is also paraben- petroleum- and sulfate-free, has no artificial colours or frgrances, and isn’t tested on animals.

Sheer heaven!

Available at: www.johnmasters.ca

Price: $25.40

I am a lip balm maniac. There! The truth is out! I have to have some with me at all times or I panic (OK, I don’t actually panic, but I can’t stand the feeling of dry lips!).

So when I heard about and tried Softlips Pure Natural Lip Balms, I was thrilled. Made with 100% all-natural, food-grade ingredients, they’re perfect for keeping your lips soft, smooth and pucker ready. Packed with things like aloe vera, beeswax, vitamin E, and shea butter oil, almond, jojoba and grape seed oils to protect, moisturize and condition, they also come in two yummy flavours, Citrus and my personal fave, Bergamot, as well as a fragrance-free version.

Available at: Wal-Mart, Loblaws, Zellers, A&P, Value Mart, London Drugs or visit www.mentholatum.ca for availability in your area.

Price: $4.75

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In these cold winter months, my hands really take a beating, and I’ve been using Lovefresh’s fragrant concoctions to rectify the sad situation. The Toronto company was started just over 18 months ago by aromatherapist Stacey Davis, who originally sold the stylishly packaged, plant-based products at the city’s St. Lawrence Market.

My go-to goodies have been the yummy scented Lemon Verbena Scrub followed up by the Pear Body Butter (both paraben and petroleum free), and my hands now look and smell beautiful. I also had friends who were over on the weekend test out the Body Butter to get their thoughts and they loved it, too!

Price: $22 (Body Butter), $24 (Scrub)

Available at: www.lovefresh.com

Do you have a product you’d like to recommend for this blog? Email me at naturalchic@styleathome.com!