There are countless things that I love about this balm. Number one is that it's a balm. Even with natural, clean products, lipsticks and other lip color tend to leave my lips feeling a little dry. Glosses by themselves make me feel like I'm in high school again. This balm is creamy, moist, and contains just the right amount of color for everyday wear. I'm pretty lazy when it comes to make up, so I hate standing in front of a mirror and attempting to expertly apply lip color. I can slap this baby on in the car or at my desk and it always looks great. Nice and natural, but with enough shine and color to pop. All in all, it's fantastic and I highly recommend it. I may even try some of their other colors.
A word about Burt's Bees and other mainstream brands:
I realize that a brand owned by Clorox is not perfect. I really do. I was disappointed when Burt's Bees was purchased by Clorox, but that didn't make me stop loving their products. There are a lot of pseudo-green brands out there that I dislike (see Dove, Aveeno, Garnier, most Jason products... basically anything that touts themselves as being "natural" or "herbal" but contains few or no actual clean ingredients), but Burt's Bees is not one of them. Let me tell you why.
Just take a quick glance at the ingredients on this particular lip balm and you'll see what I mean: coconut oil, vegetable oil, beeswax, olive oil, candelilla wax, sunflower seed oil, jasmine flower wax, rosemary leaf extract... You see where I'm going here. Let me tell you a secret: I generally judge products based on the first three ingredients. This is the stuff that makes up most of the product. If any of those first three ingredients are bad, I chuck the product and usually make a self-important grimace. If those first three ingredients are good, I examine the rest of the ingredient list and make a decision from there.
The most questionable ingredient in this particular product is probably the sufficiently ambiguously named "aroma (flavor)" and most of my discomfort with this ingredient is simply based on the fact that I don't know what the hell it is, much like the mysterious "fragrance" or "parfum" included in most personal care products today. But based on the fact that I kind of trust this brand and I really wanted some damn tinted lip balm, I went ahead and took that leap of faith.
On a larger scale, I believe that brands like Burt's Bees, Yes To Carrots, Kiss My Face, Whole Foods, Tom's, Aubrey Organics, Badger, etc. play an important role in the marketplace. True, they may be owned by big scary companies, and their products may not be perfect, but they're a hell of a lot better than most of the crap you find on shelves today. It's important to remember the importance of money in all of this. For example, by spending money on Tom's toothpaste, you're sending a message to Colgate-Palmolive that consumers want more natural products. If these huge, multinational companies can see that they can make money with safer, healthier products, they'll be more willing to invest in safer, healthier products and make those products more readily available.
We eco-beauty queens need to understand that not everyone wants to scour the internet or the farmer's market for their moisturizer. Maybe they just want to pick it up at the grocery store. And you know what? There's nothing wrong with that! I think that we'd all rather touch, smell, and feel our products. It's much more likely that someone will try a new product if they can buy easily. There's something to be said for the convenience of buying your lip balm while picking up ice cream and toilet paper.
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