Skincare

I go out of my way to use "green" products to clean my home, I buy organic fruits and vegetables, I recycle...so it stands to reason that using natural beauty products should be a priority for me as well. However, finding skincare products and cosmetics that work well without harsh chemicals or unnatural additives isn't always easy. As a longtime fan of Neutrogena products (dating as far back as high school, in fact!), you can imagine how excited I was to try the new Neutrogena® Naturals collection.

The collection includes a full range of skincare products that contain no harsh chemicals, sulfates, parabens, dyes or phthalates -- in other words, none of the nasty stuff found in many beauty products. Instead, they contain naturally derived bionutrients that work with your skin's natural functions to deliver safe and effective results. Even better, the products aren't tested on animals, the packaging contains 50% post consumer recycled plastic, and the cartons are made from 100% recycled paper.

That all sounds fantastic, but the real question is, do the products work? I had the opportunity to test out several products from the collection including Neutrogena® Naturals Purifying Facial Cleanser, Purifying Pore Scrub, Fresh Cleansing + Makeup Remover, Lip Balm, Face & Body Bar, Multi-Vitamin Nourishing Moisturizer, and Multi-Vitamin Nourishing Night Cream. Overall, I was thrilled with the full collection, but here are a few of my favorites:

Purifying Pore Scrub - A pore scrub is an essential part of my nightly skincare regimen. I am impressed with how gentle this scrub is and how clear and fresh my skin looks after using it.

Multi-Vitamin Nourishing Night Cream - I have extremely dry skin, so a night cream is a must for me. Many creams tend to be really thick, making my skin feel like it can't breathe. This night cream, however, was lightweight , absorbing instantly while leaving skin moisturized and comfortable. I love that it's packed with vitamins B, C, E and anti-oxidents, so I feel like it's working hard while I sleep to make my skin look healthy.

Fresh Cleansing + Makeup Remover - With so many steps to my nightly skincare routine, I hate using a separate makeup remover. This combination cleanser/makeup remover works so well! Every trace of makeup is easily removed and my skin is left feeling soft, not stripped.

Face & Body Bar - This all-purpose cleansing bar has found a permanent home in my shower. Rich in avocado and olive oil bionutrients, it's so soft and gentle, I'm comfortable using it on my young children's sensitive skin.

The verdict after trying out the full collection? You can count me as a Neutrogena® Naturals convert!

We're always trying new skincare products. And we have to say, it takes a lot to make it into our list of favorites! But these five have definitely done it. We're glowing, we're radiant, we're soft and smooth ... and we're sharing the secrets with you.

Bliss Fabulips Softening Lip Balm
Soften up your pucker with this unassuming little while tube, thanks to a combination of shea butter, jojoba and grapeseed oils, and Vitamin E.
$16 at blissworld.com

Bite Whipped Cherry Lip Scrub
Not only does this smell and taste fantastic, but the exfoliating beads make our lips feel unbelievably smooth in seconds. Perfect after a winter of horrible chapping and dryness.
$18 at sephora.com

Clarisonic Mia2 Sonic Skin Cleansing System
If there were only one product we could take to a desert island, this would be it. We've long been obsessed with every Clarisonic product on the market, and this new vibrating skincare brush--with two settings--has gotten rid of every trace of dryness.
$149 at sephora.com

Lancome Genifique Youth Activating Concentrate
A serum that promises to make you look younger? Why wouldn't we try it? And while we're not sure we've taken years off our lives by applying this religiously every day, we will say we have a previously unknown glow.
$60 at lordandtaylor.com

Ole Henriksen Truth Creme Advanced Hydration
A moisturizer that isn't greasy, sinks into skin immediately and makes us radiant? Yes please. Luckily, this one does all three.
$45 at sephora.com

Want a moisturizer that makes even the driest skin feel nourished and conditioned in no time flat? Introducing Clinique Moisture Surge Intense Skin Fortifying Hydrator.

We were already huge fans of the original Moisture Surge moisturizer, so we were incredibly excited to try this one out. The oil-free cream-gel is thicker and more lush than the original, which is a gel only. While it felt a bit greasier going onto our skin, it sank in immediately and left behind a gorgeous glow.

When we started using this moisturizer, our skin was completely ravaged by winter's cruel, cold temperatures and icy winds. But within a week, all traces of dryness had disappeared and our skin looked plumper, fresher and healthier than it had in months!

A skin miracle worker? We'd say so.

Clinique Moisture Surge Intense Skin Fortifying Hydrator retails for $36 at dillards.com.

Want to be moisturized, nourished and hydrated from head to toe--literally? Then Sephora Head To Toe Hydrator really needs to be in your beauty arsenal.

This unassuming white tube packs a serious punch, thanks to the lush formula with HydroSenn+. The plant-derived moisturizer forms a protective barrier on the skin and causes it to be super nourished.

In simple terms? Wherever you apply this moisturizer--and we really mean that!--you're going to find yourself uber-soft and smooth. We've tried it everywhere from our hair flyaways to our dry cuticles to our winter-ravaged peeling cheeks, always with the same results--total moisturization and nourishment in no time at all! We also love that it's great for all skin types (and we know, since we tend to break out with most moisturizers and our face was glowy and gorgeous with this one).

So what are you waiting for? Get gorgeous from head to toe.

Sephora Head To Toe Hydrator retails for $14 at sephora.com.

Sometimes we just can't help but fall in love with products formulated for tweens. (Like any beauty product made for movies like Twilight and The Hunger Games, for example.) Enter our new favorite face wipes, Ottilie & Lulu Clean Skin Face Wipes.

These wipes are created specifically for tween skin, but that's why we love them so much. They're free of salicylic acid, which can be extremely drying, and are scented with delightfully refreshing rosewater.

We love that the product on these wipes isn't greasy and that the wipes themselves feel substantial yet soft and pillowy. And hey, if these wipes help us feel like kids again, we're all for them!

Ottilie & Lulu Clean Skin Face Wipes are $10 for a pack of 30 at ottilieandlulu.com.

We've all been there. A zit that really actually isn't so bad is so surrounded by redness, it makes the zit look 10 times larger than it is! Enter Visine Maximum Redness Relief Formula.

Now, we know you're thinking this product isn't for the skin -- it's for dry, itchy, red eyes that have had contacts in them for too long. Well, we're here to tell you it's got another use! Simply squirt a touch of this liquid onto the affected area and in no time, the redness disappears completely.

We've tried this on everything from miniscule dots to full-on, under the skin, seen from space pimples ... and the result is the same EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. You don't even need concealer! You will need to reapply a few times a day, but really--isn't that a small price to pay for redness that disappears in an instant?

Visine Maximum Redness Relief Formula retails for $6.49 at drugstore.com.

Sometimes at the end of a day my feet and legs are screaming, both in pain and for a loving touch. When even the removal of shoes doesn't quiet them I know exactly what they need -- Mama Mio Skincare Lucky Legs. Mama Mio is a skincare line that aims to make your skin smooth, soft and glowing! Lucky Legs achieves all three with a unique blend of ingredients that makes your legs practically sigh with relief. It even has a subtle sheen to it, that makes legs look glowingly radiant. Seriously, grab a bottle of this and your fave evening drink of choice and begin to unwind.

When the going gets rough, the rough lips get rougher and more chapped. Or so we thought until First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Lip Therapy came along.

Within this unassuming little tube lies one of the best lip balms we've tried in quite some time. For starters, the tiniest amount imaginable--really, about the size of a pinprick--is all that's needed to completely coat the lips in balm bliss.

And what's in this magical balm, you may ask? The petroleum-free formula is chock full of glycerin, shea butter and an antioxidant booster to really nourish and protect your pout.

We also love that the formula is both scent- and flavor-free, so we really just get the benefits of the balm without any weird added aromas or tastes.

First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Lip Therapy retails for $12 at firstaidbeauty.com.

I've already professed my preference for a certain men's razor (read why I use the Gillette Fusion ProGlide Shaving Razor, here), but when it comes to my shaving cream, I stick with the feminine variety. I've used so many shaving gels and creams over the years that I had lost track and gotten bored, and then I found eos Ultra Moisturizing Shave Cream. First of all, the plastic packaging means I won't have any more rusted can marks in my shower (and yes it's recyclable). Second, it comes in a great Vanilla Bliss scent, as well as several others. Third, and probably most important, its thin lotion-like consistency actually allows for better control with my razor and yet my shave has never produced smoother skin.