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We’re pretty picky when it comes to skin care. Before we recommend a product (or use it ourselves) we always thoroughly vet the ingredients.
For a while we’ve gotten questions from our inquisitive customers (or friends, followers) who’ve asked us to recommend some natural products that we don’t carry (yet!). Lip balm and deodorant are two of the most common requests. Before we suggested anything, we wanted to be absolutely certain that it was made with good (the best) ingredients. Believe us, it hasn’t been a short search…
So when we stumbled upon LilFox Botanicals, we breathed a huge sigh of relief (and maybe gave a squeal of excitement). We knew right away that we wanted to feature it in We Heart.
We have sinced connected with LilFox and are super excited to share with you a few of our favorites from the line. Plus we’ll tell you a little bit about the lovely lady behind all of it.
Click Here to Browse the LilFox Product Line
LilFox Botanicals is as devoted to pure ingredients as we are. It began when founder Alexis Rose had a spark of interest in natural skin care and decided to learn more. As she deepened her knowledge and experimented with recipes, LilFox was born. Her product line is truly unique, using oils, essences, and plant butters to create everything from Deep Forest Deodorant to Aphrodite Rose Toning Mist with Rose Quartx Infusion.
Running through her collection is the symbol of LilFox, which is playful, adventurous, and uber feminine.
Our First Love: Lip Balm
The first LilFox product we tried was the Mandarin Lip Balm. We got one for each of us in the office so we could see what everybody thought.
We love it! The natural raspberry pigment and the subtle silky finish make it the perfect finishing touch for a night out, while casual enough for everyday wear.
Of course, something you put on your mouth better be 100% natural! So many chapstick brands use petroleum-derived ingredients to moisturize. Why? Because they’re cheap.
This lip balm uses yummy, natural ingredients like jojoba and coconut oil to give you that softness and sheen that you want. Plus, it’s tinted with alkanet root, a plant that has a naturally rosy pigment. It’s so cool, the things that nature provides!
A Sensory Journey
Last year, Alexis pursued certification in aromatherapy and organic cosmetic science. And it shows! Her Siberian Fur Salt Crystal Bath Soak has a unique and sophisticated essential oil blend that is simultaneously relaxing and uplifting. She combines oils from three confers: white pine, siberian fir, and norway pine, with lavender to add a relaxing, floral component.
Alexis often starts with the essential oils when developing a product. Her blends represent elements of the whimsical forest world of LilFox, such as root essential oils to create her Forest Floor aroma, and conifers and lavender she fuses into her Siberian Fur concoctions.
Aromatherapy is certainly an important characteristic of any bath product, but beyond smelling good, a bath salt should beautify your skin as well. That’s why Alexis uses Dead Sea salt crystals as the base for this product, which draw out impurities and provide minerals.
More on Alexis Rose
Alexis lives and works in Miami, Florida, an area she describes as somewhat lacking in the area of high quality, hand-crafted skin care. “I would love to see Florida be more progressively earth friendly and proactive for the future,” she commented, “starting with banning plastic grocery store bags and styrofoam. There is a lot of work to be done here.”
She describes herself as a lifelong nature enthusiast, so when she started making her own skin care products, her passion ignited and it became clear that this was something she was meant to do.
In the beginning, she was making products for herself, her friends, and her family. Now that she has a company, complete with a beautiful website, she continues to create her products as though they are to be used by people near and dear to her. She believes that what we put on our skin is as important as what we eat, and her ingredient sourcing reflects that.
Her stance on ingredients is really similar to ours, actually. She chooses organic, wild harvested, or no-spray plants, depending on which particular source is the highest quality. For her plant butters, she prefers those that are fair trade certified and thus support higher wages for the women producing them in West Africa.
Better than Water
Something we don’t like to see when we look at a product label is “water” as the first ingredient. Don’t get us wrong, water is great. But your skin doesn’t absorb it (if it did, swimming would be fatal). So when you buy a product with water listed first, you’re paying for something that comes out of your faucet and doesn’t beautify your skin.
Another thing about water-based products is that they require preservatives, which are often synthetic and sometimes harmful.
LilFox Botanicals instead uses hydrosols and oils as bases. Hydrosols are made by steaming a plant to extract its essence. They contain some of the same beneficial properties as the essential oil that would be derived from the same plant, but are much more gentle. To extend the shelf life of these products, Alexis uses antioxidant, non-gmo vitamin E, elderberry flower extract, and aspen bark extract.
We Heart
If you haven’t yet, subscribe to We Heart! Every month we tell you about an awesome company that we have fallen for, with a focus on sustainable, ethical, and wellness-oriented businesses and organizations. We will be featuring more unique and natural skin care companies in the future, so stay tuned. 🙂
I am looking for a new lip balm, not in a pot, but in a lipstick form. I used to buy Suki at Whole Foods but it was discontinued. I tried John Masters Organics but it stings and is too oily. I loved the consistency of Suki because it was a bit more thick and I could put it under my lipstick and it helped my lipstick stay put. I don’t think I will like the peppermint stick and I don’t want a pot so do you have a recommendation? Thank you.
I realize this is a very expensive item to check out/recommend, but I’m SO grateful to Mommypotamus for recommending Intellibed ~ it’s made with special materials so there’s no off-gassing, and I’m getting the best sleep of my life. I’ve always heard that a good mattress is important because you spend 1/3 of your life there, but I’ve suddenly realized it’s much more than that ~ it affects the other 2/3 of your life as well. This mattress is life-changing! 🙂 (If you call them, they may be able to tell you of a chiropractor, etc. in your area who has one you can try out. It was really scary to make such an expensive on-line purchase, but I’m really glad I took the chance ~ they also offer a 60-day free in-home trial where you can send it back at their expense.)