HURRAW! The art of amazing lip balm [and a killer giveaway!]

**The draw is now closed- a winner will be announced shortly!**

Some of you might already be thinking, "Lip balm? For real?'  Yep, lip balm. It's a big deal to me, and over the years, I've used hundreds of them. I'll find one that I think is great, but after the third or fourth one, there will inevitably be something... one little thing... that bothers me about it enough that I won't buy it again. It's too sweet. The texture turns grainy after awhile. It melts too easily, it won't stay on my lips long enough, it's too waxy... I could go on. I even have brands that I return to periodically because they're perfectly lovely but I just need to be in the mood to use them. You see, I've usually got about a dozen active lip balms at a time, stashed in different places. I'm obsessed. The lip balm love affair may actually be one of the most common beauty obsessions that exist.

So what's the big deal about Hurraw! lip balms? They are silky and satiny, sexy and perfectly textured, profoundly hydrating, all natural, made with uber-high-quality ingredients that are literally good enough to eat, they are softly fragranced, very affordable... and my favorite part? They're not all formulated exactly the same. Each balm is a little work of art in itself, and I think this is most evident in several of my favorites, including the Ayurvedic trio (Pitta, Vata & Kapha).

My interest in the ancient Indian healing art and science of Ayurveda has grown quite a bit over the past couple of years, and these lip balms are formulated on-site with finesse and thoughtfulness by a staffer who also happens to be a practitioner of Ayurveda. Like every HURRAW! lip balm, they are authentic, a pleasure to use and filled with gorgeous ingredients.

While it was the Ayurvedic trio of balms that pulled me in, it was the "tea trio" that held me down. I'm absolutely crazy about them, but my crown jewel has to be Green Tea. Here's the ingredient breakdown:
Sweet almond oil, hemp oil, coconut oil, jojoba oil, cocoa seed butter, olive oil, camellia (green tea) powder, vitamin e, natural flavors. The brand uses raw, organic, vegan ingredients to create their products, and wildcrafted ones whenever possible.

This stuff makes your lips so soft and hydrated, that I swear that I can feel the moisture seeping through my lips into my entire face. Can you picture that? Maybe it sounds kinda gross, but if you're the winner of the TEA TRIO giveaway, you can find out for yourself if that's an accurate description of the delightful insanity that is  HURRAW! lip balms, and perhaps if this blog's readers are lucky, share some of your own weird technicolor visions of these addictive lip care products.

I've already bought some for my closest friends and family, and I personally own about twenty of these at any given time. My goal is to have tried one of everything, and I'm not very far off, to be honest. My husband is totally into the Root Beer balm, and Mom goes for the citrus fruits: lemon and lime. Another brilliant duo that I haven't mentioned yet are the Sun and Moon balms: Sun is tangerine and vanilla with SPF 15, and Moon consists of a mercifully soothing blue chamomile and vanilla, and is a bit thicker so that it really stays on all night.

You can win one each of the following lip balms, tucked away in an adorable little muslin drawstring bag:
Green Tea, Chai Spice and Earl Grey.

GREEN TEA

CHAI SPICE

EARL GREY

Just leave a comment below telling me about your current favorite lip balms, and what you look for in the ideal lip balm. On Monday night around 7pm Central, I will announce the winner in a new post. The winner will be determined by Random.org. At that time, the winner will be responsible for emailing me at eyelineronacat at gmail dot com with their mailing address so I can send out their goodies! Think of me as a version of Santa Claus that deals strictly in badass stocking stuffers, who has way too many pairs of high-heeled boots and bottles of perfume for her own good.

Feel free to head over to the HURRAW! website to check out all the different flavors and formulations they have. If you are a true lip balm freak, I dare you to click away without buying a couple. That is something I've been woefully unable to do as of yet.

Good luck to everyone, and happy holidays to you and yours!

[prize trio provided by HURRAW! balms. All other balms purchased by me for my own personal use. All images copyright HURRAW! balms, all rights reserved.]

Aftelier Perfumed Beeswax Candles

Just when my frenzied passion for candles was waning enough to be in danger of cycling back to incense exclusively, Mandy Aftel launches three limited edition (of only 23) perfumed candles. They're each 3oz and burn for approximately 18 hours, they're hand-poured and made with 100% pure beeswax. If you were one of the lucky few to snag her candles that were available last holiday season, you know how special they are.

The votive vessels are exceedingly impressive on their own, with coiled strung glass seed beads in a color appropriate to the scent it's paired with. Each candle has a very distinct personality, and when they are lit, they blossom into their full glory.

A fine candle has a way of engaging multiple senses when it's lit, and when every detail has been carefully thought out and executed by hand with luxury in mind, the experience is unmatched. These Aftelier perfumed candles afford that rare experience, and in my opinion are not to be missed.

Lemon Basil ($35)
The fresh aromatic qualities of this blend makes it the most versatile of the three. Not just a kitchen candle, the brightness of lemon and the sharpness of basil together produce a sort of neon anisic quality that is not only delicious, but addictive too.

Campfire ($45)
Campfire is powerfully reminiscent of the real thing, with emphasis on the smokiness. The wax is a lovely shade of mahogany and the vessel's seed bead embellishment is red, which further enhances the coziness of the scent. You don't even need to light this candle to scent the room-- its diffusiveness is very impressive. Campfire is a rich, woody trip down memory lane for former summer campers. Just bring your own lanyard-making supplies and fixins for S'mores.

Root Beer Candy (circa 1972) ($35)
Lastly, there's Root Beer Candy, my favorite. It definitely smells like the real thing, and it's worth mentioning that the "circa 1972" part was aptly used to qualify the name. Old-school root beer barrel candies have a certain flavor to them that I could never have dreamed could be captured in a candle fragrance, but it's all there. A little sweet, a lot sassafrass-y, and a pure, unexpected delight. On a related note, if this were available in perfume form, I'd wear it ALL the time.

All three limited edition perfumed candles are available for purchase at Aftelier.com right now, but fair warning: there are only 23 of each to go around. If you pick just one to buy, don't worry, you really can't go wrong. These are a major treat for anyone who enjoys creating a warm and inviting living space. The cheerful disposition of these scents come through even when they're not lit, as they are very highly fragranced.



[samples sent to me by the creator for my consideration]

April Aromatics Jasmina: an Ode to Sol Invictus

jasmine peacock floral sculpture, unknown artist

April Aromatics Jasmina has achieved no mean feat in its life as a perfume, and that is to say, its design is focused solely on what the raw ingredients bring to the table, and how best to make them sing in harmony. I believe that to create a successful natural fragrance means several things: the quality of the raw materials must be the best, the skill of the perfumer is crucial, as is her/his taste level, and there should be humility in approaching the process-- because these gifts from the earth and their power is really bigger than all of us.

I have ticked off every box with Berlin perfumer Tanja Bochnig's fragrance Jasmina. Each time I wear it, I am struck dumb for awhile, unable to do anything except inhale the scent. I can't think coherently or even attempt witticisms. It activates the ancient lizard part of my brain that can only process urges... and then I bliss out for undetermined amounts of time. It makes me truly believe that simplicity is the most beautiful thing, and so far from boring. As I make the leap to another part of my brain to use words to explain what I'm thinking and feeling, I must try to assign importance to written and verbal language once again.

Notes: Jasmine Grandiflorum from India and France, Ylang Ylang from Thailand, Pink Grapefruit from US

I've got other jasmine and citrus-based perfumes in my collection that I love very much-- the combination of these notes is always cheerful and is a bona-fide, never-fail anti-depressant. Jasmina takes what I love about jasmine soliflores and intensifies it all.

It goes further with BIG jasmine, BIG pink grapefruit, and one other vital element that makes the jasmine explode as if being viewed through a kaleidoscope- ylang ylang. The ylang ylang gives it a bright but buttery  yellow sunlight feel. The hint of indole, the faintly animalic, earthy timbre, every facet of natural jasmine is honored here and certain ones magnified with impressive skill, restraint, proportion and positivity. Also, the outrageous quality of the raw materials doesn't hurt, either.

And when Jasmina's sun is setting, other colors and shadows draw close, merge and shift. The vast expanse of the world shrinks around you with the darkening sky, until it's just you and your jasmine flower in sweet solitude. The moonlight heralds the arrival of Jasmina In The Dark: the light touch of indole, the slight incense-effect-- almost like champaca-- and the emergence of ylang ylang is much more prevalent on my skin at night, as if the wind takes away part of the fragrance with it as it passes through, or perhaps it could be adding something, just as easily. Or both.

This perfume is so beautiful that it breaks my heart, much in the same way Guerlain's L'Heure Bleue does for me (though I am not comparing these two perfumes at all- they are not similar- just how they effect me). Perhaps the impermanent nature of perfume is responsible for this bittersweet emotion. When one's human failings render them unable to fully process and hold on to such natural beauty, what can they do? Let it go through tears of joy, until the next time.

Tanja Bochnig [photo credit: Holger Geffken]

I am no perfumer, but I do know that a truly great natural perfume is very difficult to make. What seems like just a few ingredients put together actually takes a lot of work and a lot of trial and error-- the perfumer must be like a jazz musician, following subtle clues and not afraid to enter uncharted territory. Aromachemicals are always exactly the same, but natural materials are rarely so. Due to this fact, many adjustments are constantly being made, especially between batches, to allow for the closest possible consistency for the bottles on the shelf.

To my mind, Jasmina is a love poem. Who has written it and who it's written for is not completely evident. I suppose it depends on what you believe. What I believe is that only Tanja could have written this particular poem with a hand guided by her passion and reverence for the earth and her flawless, modern artisan aesthetic and execution. Now, we are fortunate enough to be a small part of it if we'd like to be. It's an invitation that remains open.

[interesting footnote: Tanja works with special Herkimer diamonds as well as crystals, which she uses to infuse her perfumes with, in order to imbue the liquid essences with the specific energy of the diamonds and/or crystals. I was surprised to find a few crystals tinkling in the bottom of my bottle when it arrived! She also creates products for her AromaYoga line as well as a slew of room sprays that sound amazing]

April Aromatics Perfumes are available in the US via Etsy, and overseas directly from the perfumer's website at AprilAromatics.com as well as other shops across the globe .

Product sample provided by the perfumer for my consideration.

Perfume Palate: A Matter of Taste [Hazel Walker]

Hazel Walker is the founder and owner of one of my very favorite places to shop online for natural and organic skin care products, fragrances and cosmetics-- NuboNau. I originally found the website while searching for somewhere to get my Pai Chamomile & Rosehip moisturizer, and they had a free shipping promotion on the brand at the time. I was instantly hooked by the thoughtful curation of the products, the friendly vibe you get while perusing the website, and later, I found that my affection for NuboNau naturally carried over to the owner herself.

There is a brick and mortar shop in San Diego, California that carries all of the products offered online, plus facial services using some of the best organic product lines. NuboNau has their own brand of gorgeous handmade aromatherapy candles (read my review HERE), argan oil and body soap bars-- all organic. Your package arrives in the prettiest, reusable containers and always with a personal thank you note and plenty of free samples. There are frequent sales, and they even have a loyalty points rewards program.

I was elated to see that NuboNau made In Style Magazine's "Best of the Web" list this month, and it just goes to show you that integrity, kindness and positive intention will go far in the business world as well as in customer service. Hazel is a very cool lady, and she definitely loves her natural fragrances, as you'll find out by reading below.

[Hazel Walker: she's got silky hair and she's not afraid to use it]

First of all, please state your name and occupation:

Hazel Walker
Founder of www.NuboNau.com-- an organic and natural boutique based in San Diego.

What is your favorite perfume at the moment?

Well... can I be cheeky and offer two? One is not really a perfume... but I'm in love with Aromatherapy Associates Deep Relax (at night). The combination of Vetiver and Sandalwood sends me off into a deep and restful sleep - and I am, I have to say, a complete addict after 20 years of usage...

Secondly (and to answer your question properly), it must be the Jasmine Spirit Essence by Intelligent Nutrients. Raw, earthy, beautiful... I absolutely adore it. 

What is your favorite fragrance house or brand of perfume?

I admire and am in awe of the independents who deliver such wonderful, amazing creations. I am loving reading the interviews in this series-- it's a fabulous insight and learning experience for me.

How often do you wear perfume, and under what circumstances do you wear it?

Every day, everywhere!

Is it important to you to know who the perfumer or creator is behind the perfumes you wear?

I should ask myself how I would answer this question ten years ago, before we had NuboNau! Now, absolutely! I'm a nosey so-and-so and I want to know it all! Thorns, stems and all- I want to know what goes in that concoction and why! 

In the old days, before I became more aware of clean cosmetics and fragrance, I was seduced by the glamour of the larger fragrance houses. I still do admire the iconic imagery and dream-like positioning of so many of the institutional houses- but now prefer to look on from a distance. Choosing natural botanicals is a psychological must for me-- and I genuinely believe a better physical choice for me too.

I feel that the story behind the perfume does make a difference. I believe that the passion of an independent, boutique creator is tangible in their fragrance. 

Do you follow the work of certain perfumers, and if so, who?

On my voyage of discovery I prefer to follow the expert reviewers and bloggers (such as eyeliner on a cat). I would love to be able to 'taste' fragrance in such a way and deliver such eloquent descriptions! I do feel very privileged to be asked my opinion for this series. 

Think of an iconic perfume bottle design from the past. What is it?

I fondly remember breaking that black cord seal wrapped around the neck of the bottle on my first (and I should say tiny... no really, really tiny) bottle of Chanel no. 5 for my 16th birthday... I can still visualize that moment...and that bottle.

How many times a day do you estimate that you think about perfume?

Mostly when my friends say-...ooooo...you smell lovely!

Think of the last time you complimented someone on the fragrance they were wearing. Did you ask them what it was, and if so, did they tell you?

Yes, a client came into our boutique, she was Australian, on holiday- and wearing Grace by One Seed. It was so pretty (and she was so enthusiastic about her choice!) we sought the brand out- tried it, loved it, and we introduced the fragrance line in our boutique in June.

In just three words, describe your ideal fragrance:

Gentle, Aromatic, Natural