My wife and I often browse our local Central Market store for new eco friendly products and on one our recent visits I found a great green alternative for my morning shave!

The first green shaving product that we found was an organic fair trade shaving gel by the Dr. Bronner’s company. It is labeled as the “Dr. Bronner’s Magic All-One Organic Fair Trade Shaving Soap Gel” which is quite a mouthful but I was impressed with the eco-friendly claims and was willing to give it a try.

Green Shaving with Dr Bronners Shaving Gel

This wonderful shaving gel is USDA organic certified and is also certified by the IMO as a Fair Trade product. This shaving gel is available in different blends but I chose the Spearmint Peppermint blend. The main ingredient in the shaving gel is organic Shikakai which comes from the seed pods of the small South Asian tree the “Acacia Concinna”. The Shikakai is mixed with organic sucrose and grape juice to produce a soothing and moisturizing shave gel.

All the organic ingredients have been certified by the same national organic program that certifies food so I was confident in the eco-friendliness of my choice!

This green shaving gel is also certified as fair trade which guarantees that the farmers who produced the ingredients and their families receive fair prices, wages and community funding.

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Repellent Insect Spray

Do you wish there was an organic repellent insect spray which contained zero DEET and no synthetic chemicals but instead was formulated using all natural organic plant oils? Well we found the EcoSmart organic repellent insect spray which does just that!

I bought the 6 fluid ounce bottle at our local grocery store and have to admit I was not convinced it would work but I was more than impressed with the results. Our back yard is often full of mosquitoes which are attracted to a decorative fountain that we put in about a year ago. The EcoSmart organic repellent insect spray says it will repel mosquitoes, ticks, gnats and other annoying pests.

In my field test I applied a liberal coating all over my arms and legs and even the back of my neck, I felt a lot more comfortable applying a thick layer because this spray is made from all natural ingredients, see below;

EcoSmart Organic Repellent Insect Spray Ingredients:

1. Rosemary Oil
   • Rosemary oil can in fact be a great skin care product. Regular massage with the oil helps in toning your skin and removing dryness. It is also considered a beauty aid for the face.
2. Cinnamon Leaf Oil
   • Cinnamon is an anti inflammatory. It helps in removing the stiffness of muscles. It relieves pain and stiffness of muscle and joints.
3. Lemongrass Oil
   • Lemongrass oil has great benefits as a skin toner, it revitalizes the body and mind, helps with infections and keeps fleas and tick at bay whilst smelling nice at the same time!
4. Geraniol
   • Geraniol has a rose-like odor and is commonly used in perfumes. Research has shown geraniol to be an effective plant-based mosquito repellent
5. Wintergreen Oil
   • We suspect the Wintergreen oil is added for its clean smelling properties but here are some other interesting facts, Wintergreen berries have been used medicinally. Native Americans brewed a tea from the leaves to alleviate various aches and pains. Also wintergreen is the most common ingredient in root beer!

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I’ve been meaning to write about these earth-friendly brushes for ages, because I am in love, sweet love, with them. I actually have two of the bamboo powder brushes which I use everyday for applying my blush and bronzer and the 6 piece brush set which I use for eyeshadow application. It’s no lie when I say that the powder brushes are vital to my everyday beauty routine. I love that there isn’t any bristle fallout with these brushes. I don’t know how many times poor Martin has had to be on bristle patrol when I’ve used those other brushes, picking off random black and white bristles that get stuck on my face and end up looking like stray hairs. Not a good look for anyone. With these brushes I’ve never had one bristle come out, not a-one.

Another aspect of the ecotools bristles that I’m all about is that they are 100% cruelty free with synthetic Taklon bristles, instead of the normal squirrel or even goat hair bristles. I don’t know about y’all, but I’d rather not have any part of a squirrel or goat near my face, no matter how cute and cuddly they are. It kind of grossed me out when I learned that I had been using squirrel hair brushes on my face for as long as I can remember…but that’s a whole other article.

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I just wanted to give a quick shout out to Physicians Formula Organic wear Mascara. Yes, you read right, I just said “shout out”. I was pretty impressed with this organic spin on every girl’s must have…mascara. I had my favorite mascara before, which I’m sad to say was not green or organic in any way. I’m now a convert to Organic wear!! Where should I even start on all this mascara has going for it? This mascara is 100% free of harsh chemicals, synthetic preservatives and colors, parabens, and is 100% cruelty free. This is 100% natural origin mascara with organic orange water and aloe and cucumber extracts to hydrate, moisturize, and soothe your lashes without any breakage or clumps. And the brush is 100% recyclable to boot. I don’t know about you, but that’s a lot of 100%s to me.
Organic wear went on really smooth with even coating of the color (I purchased the Black Organics 1063) and with no clumping, a minor pet peeve of mine. There’s nothing worse than tarantula lashes… you girls know what I’m talking about. One coat would have done it, but I put on two coats just to be on the safe side.

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Sorry for the pun, but my favorite candles that I’m pretty much addicted to are Pacifica Soy Candles. You gotta love a candle that uses a natural soy wax formula, comes in a spiffy decorative tin, and smells A-MAZING to boot.  We currently have two  7 oz. candles around the house and they really give off a subtle yet scrumptious scent, and are surprisingly long-burning. With five dogs that have the run of the house, we always try to burn candles to diffuse that sometimes noticeable eau-de-dog.

We have been using eco-friendly bathroom tissue for about a year now but we recently noticed that different grocery stores carried different brands of green bathroom tissue. This called for a consumer test!!!

Contender Number 1: Small Steps Bathroom Tissue by Marcal

Marcal Small Steps Bathroom Tissue

Their tag line is “A Small Easy Step to a Greener Earth” and we certainly have to commend every company that develops and promotes green product lines. The packaging jumps out from the shelf and is instantly recognisable as an Earth Friendly bathroom tissue.

The standard pack contains 6 rolls = 708 single ply sheets, that’s 464 sq ft of bathroom tissue.

The Marcal tissues are whitened without chlorine bleaching, they are hypoallergenic and made without any dyes or fragrances.

The main selling point is that the tissue is 100% recycled paper.

Contender Number 2: Bright Green Bathroom Tissue

Bright Green Bathroom Tissue

The bright green bathroom tissue is our family favorite and we  knew that any contender to the “throne”, excuse the pun, would have a difficult task.

Once again this pack contains 6 rolls but in this case you get a double layer for extra softness = 352 double ply sheets, that equates to 264 sq ft of bathroom tissue.

The Bright Green tissue is also 100% recycled paper but it is also a guaranteed 80% post-consumer content product, that means your hard work recycling paper products is actually being put to good use!

The Bright Green tagline is “Brighten Your World” and it certainly makes us feel better about using so much bathroom tissue.

The Results!

The Marcal Small Steps bathroom tissue would certainly last a long time but we found that you would probably have to fold the sheets over several times to avoid tearing!

Marcal Small Steps Tissue Closeup

The Marcal brand tissue paper had a very simple dimpled pattern but felt too thin and a little rough to the touch.

We agreed as a family that we could get used to it after a while, and it is probably the slightly greener choice, if we could avoid excessive folding!

Bright Green Tissue Closeup

The Bright Green brand tissue has a “leafy” pattern and feels much softer to the touch.

So I’m afraid we won’t be switching from our current brand, not just yet anyway, the Bright Green Bathroom Tissue is still our favorite.

Time to lay it all out there. After a full week of using my Pangea Organics facial cleanser….alright alright, enough of the third degree, I only used it a couple of days, but I have to say I am not a fan. I wish I could say it was a girl meets face wash, girl and face wash fall in love kinda story, but alas I didn’t find my face wash steady. Let me preface this by saying that I’m pretty much a face wash snob and some would call my standards too high, but you have to go with what works for you. My chief complaint about this facial cleanser is that it doesn’t foam and I didn’t feel like it really got my face squeaky clean. I need a face wash that does double duty as a make-up remover, and with no foaming action, this cleanser didn’t really give me what I need. A girl’s got needs!! This is MY opinion, and as they say different strokes for different folks, so don’t take my word for it, give it a try and see for yourself. I still love the idea of planting the box, and come spring I have a place for it in my herb garden. As for this face wash junkie, my journey continues to find my face wash soulmate, and rest assured I’ll give you all the dish on what worked and what didn’t. Let me know what you use to keep your face so fresh and so clean, while still being green.