DIY Natural Lip Balm (Simple Recipe!)

I’m really enjoying concocting my own homemade products and working towards a more low impact/high quality lifestyle.

It just feels right. It contains clean, honest-to-earth ingredients. And it works!

In case you’re new here, I made my own deodorant a little while ago but what I didn’t share was that I also made my own lip balm. It’s so so so easy. So in case you’re feeling crafty and want to give it a go, here’s what you need to know!

Clean out and reuse old lip balm containers

I’ve had this EOS lip balm since right after college which was (omg) 7 years ago! It was a spare one I carried around in my various bags and miraculously didn’t lose. It started to get stale after so long and I didn’t have the heart to throw it away.

Then I came across this idea to make my own lip balm, and found a whole plethora of ways to reuse the EOS container. Here’s how to empty and clean out your EOS container to be reused.

DIY natural lip balm | Nerelle

1. Open EOS lip balm. Notice the removable cartridge holding the balm.

DIY natural lip balm | Nerelle

2. Remove the balm cartridge using a sharp utensil (I used a butter knife)

DIY natural lip balm | Nerelle

3. It might take a bit of prying, but will come out with a bit of leverage

DIY natural lip balm | Nerelle

4. Scrape out the old balm from the top and bottom of the cartridge

DIY natural lip balm | Nerelle

5. Then clean it all off under warm soapy water

DIY natural lip balm | Nerelle

6. Let dry. And you’re ready to reuse!

DIY Lip Balm & What You’ll Need

Ingredients:

1 tsp Cold pressed extra virgin Coconut oil
1 tsp Shea butter
1 tsp Beeswax
5 drops of preferred essential oil (optional – I used lavender for its soothing effect)
½ tsp Cinnamon (optional – add to naturally exfoliate your lips!)

DIY natural lip balm | Nerelle

DIY natural lip balm | Nerelle

Directions for Making the DIY Lip Balm

Mix all the ingredients in a double broiler (the exact same way I made the deodorant here).

While it’s still warm, pour into your lip balm container!

Place the cap back on upside down and let cool at room temperature.

Or you can put it in the fridge for a few minutes.

Once it’s dry – voila!

That it! That’s how easy it is!

DIY natural lip balm | Nerelle

I poured the ingredients into both the EOS lip balm container and a regular lip balm container – both of which I cleaned and disinfected before reusing.

DIY natural lip balm | Nerelle
DIY natural lip balm | Nerelle
DIY natural lip balm | Sustainable living | Nerelle

So I hope you clean up those old cute lip balm containers, play around with these natural ingredients and and DIY your own sustainable lip balm!

xo, Nerelle

Photo Journal: Couples Camping Trip

Found this in my drafts folder… a photo journal of camping with my husband and our friends, Traci and Ano, back in May 2021. I think we timed this camp trip right on time for me and Ian’s anniversary weekend.

Many thanks to the Gurr family for always being so warm and allowing us to camp at your beach.

The fresh water stream that leads to the ocean.

Sabrina also came for the day to hang out with us.

We were looking for freshwater eel in the stream, and set up some traps, but we didn’t catch any this time around.

We spent a few hours in the morning snorkeling and spearfishing at the beach. I tested out my new pole spear and didn’t get so lucky, but everyone else caught something for lunch. Here’s Ian de-scaling a malau (red snapper) he caught.

With no cell service out here, we spent our weekend offline hanging out, snorkeling, fishing, playing suipi, eating good food, reading, and hanging around the fire we set up on the beach.

I love waking up early on camp trips — right before the sun rises — and soaking up the serenity of the moving water, birds chirping in the distance, and wind rustling through the trees.

Happy sleepy faces. I wake Ian up whenever the sunrise starts so he can watch it with me. Then he’ll usually knock out right after for another nap haha.

Me and this cutie puppers.

Traci and Ano spearfishing.

Our tents. Traci and Ano’s tent is the red and white one; they’re fully set up with an air bed! Ian and I keep it pretty basic with our yellow and black tent; using camping mats, and stuffing our clothes into pillowcases haha.

Ultimate relaxation.

Going back to the stream the next morning to check on the eel traps and take a cold dip.

Homeward bound in the back of Ano’s truck. I was getting car sick in the truck so I jumped in the back in case I needed to barf lol, but the fresh air in my face was just what I needed.

Looking back at these have me wanting to go on another camp trip real soon!

Plus, here’s an instagram reel I put together from this trip!

xo, Nerelle

A Sunny Home Tour

The morning sun is up in the sky, streaming through the windows at home.

I am always inspired by the way the light hits—sunbeams dancing with the shadows of tall coconut trees.

I felt compelled to pick up my camera on this particular morning and take photos in and around my home, to capture my feelings and freeze these seemingly mundane but sentimental vignettes of light and space.


Welcome to my home!

Please take off your shoes, and enjoy this little home tour.

The view outside my door looking up at the mountains. Can’t find a more appropriate way to describe this other than that it’s majestic.

Morning light streaming in through the kitchen windows. When it’s super clean (not in this pic), I always feel extra happy to make my homemade iced matcha turmeric lattes.

From the hallway to the studio/home office. I am so grateful for this space. I’ve always dreamt of having a studio dedicated to my crafts and creative pursuits. I especially love working on this workbench table that my husband and I made several years ago.

The large paogo (pandanus) tree outside my kitchen. It’s in the neighbors yard actually, but it’s so tall that I feel I really get the most benefit of its lush crowning glory.

The coconut tree outside the back door balcony that I always spot bats and birds in. It’s like having the music of nature living right here.

Ian’s surf rack in the studio/office that is also home to our snorkeling gear. It makes a great backdrop for my work video conferences. And this map I always reference for little known spots around the island.

A recent addition is this wooden stool I picked up at a neighbor’s going away sale. It houses my wifi routers on the bottom, Echo dot (on top behind the terra cotta planter), and it’s a great little propagation spot.

A realistic, not-so-tidy spot on my workbench in the studio/office. I love this limited art print by Ohkii Studio because she painted it out of inspiration of American Samoa in the 1940s, and the fact that the two brown women in the va’a (outrigger canoe) are wearing red tropical print dresses very similar to one that I made for myself (DIY Upcycled Tahiti-Inspired 2 Piece Outfit) some time ago. It felt very “me”!

Samoan fish motif art by Warren King. Photo of me and my hubba hubba on the day that he proposed to me at the top of Mt. Alava. Betwixt the new curtain panels to shade us from the heat of the afternoon sun.

One of my favorite views is the view outside my living room overlooking the Pala Lagoon and the Nu’uuli mountains. This view is my daily source of gratitude and honestly I feel like a house plant thriving whenever I look out these windows.

Same view, I just opened the window to take this photo of the lagoon and mountains. It truly brings me so much joy.

A diy beaded tassel that I made earlier in the summer hanging here on the screen door that leads to our porch balcony.

We left the screen of the sliding door open so that Yodi and Officer Scruffles can go in and out of the balcony and take long afternoon naps.

This bookshelf where we keep some of our favorite books, books to read, random shells, and our small collection of classic games like chess, cards, dice, dominoes, and bananagrams.

Officer Scruffles lounging outside by the front door balcony. He likes to roll around on the cement and lay in the sun.

Outside the back door balcony, looking towards the beach in the front of our apartment. I go out the back door pretty much every day to check the tide, or see if our friends are in the treehouse to hang out.

Downstairs below the back balcony where we share a compost with our neighbors. It’s great for us too because we can just open our back door and chuck our food scraps into the pile, and on weekends the guys will turn the soil. Also, the main source for my rich garden soil.

Shadows cast onto the tin roof of the house downstairs of our front door balcony, with a net I don’t think anyone realizes is lost except us.

Me, blurry, because I need to clean the dust off this mirror we placed in our entry so we can check ourselves before we head out, and pick up reusable tote bags, our keys, or a mask if we need one from the hanging rack.

The pantry shelf above the mirror. We have a small space, but we try to make each space as functional and beautiful as we can. This houses most of our snacks, canned foods, extra milk, and jars.

And a portrait of sweet Yodi girl, who was born and raised here at Coconut Point for as long as I’ve lived here.

Yodi spends many afternoons on either this side of our gated balcony, or on the porch balcony because she and our neighbor’s dog do not get along, so we have them outside on a rotational schedule.

She actually recently got into a pretty nasty fight with the other dog, and she’s almost fully recovered from her big scars. She went swimming with us the other night too.


Well I hope you enjoyed this little home tour—my personal slice of paradise!

Hope you’re staying well, healthy, and getting sunshine wherever you can.

xo, Nerelle

Monday Day Dreaming

Happy Monday friends!

It’s that time of the week again. A brand new day to start again, or to continue trucking on.

Today’s mood board is about the simple things in life. I am definitely living one version of my dream life here at home, for which I am so grateful.

I am soaking up the sun, swimming in the rain, and dancing in my living room with my love.

When I think about how I would like to add to my life currently… I want to make room in my life for more art and creativity, more heart to heart conversations, and more healthy habits.

How will you make your dreams your reality this week?

Cheers to a great Monday, day dreamers!

xo, Nerelle