DIY Natural Lip Balm (Simple Recipe!)

Aug 26, 2021 | Create, Sustainable Living

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.

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

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

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

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

5. Then clean it all off under warm soapy water

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!)

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!

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 | 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

Quarantine Diaries: Golden hour reflections

Mar 26, 2020 | Lifestyle, Photo Diaries

Today is the first time I’ve felt really just crappy since I started home quarantine. It’s also day 14, my last official day in isolation.

I’m not sure why I feel so ‘bleh’ so suddenly… I did yoga, ate a good breakfast, got productive with some work, and cleaned my room trying to snap myself out of this funk. As I reflect on my time in quarantine, I’ve been really happy about the time apart. Time to myself, and time spent with my fiancé since he just got back from a long trip. I’m staying hydrated, sticking to a routine, finished a book, watched a few shows, journaled, edited photos, deep cleaned the house, worked out, gone swimming and paddling, and posted on my blog a lot. These are all things I love and could spend hundreds of hours doing for the rest of this pandemic.

Still, maybe it’s because my mind has been busy about getting things done, and making the most of this extra time. I guess I just haven’t slowed down too much since starting quarantine two weeks ago. Plus, checking the news daily for updates about COVID and its impacts all around the world might be stressing me out.

I think I just need to clear my headspace. Do nothing, be still. Even just for a little bit. It’s going to be ok… just wash your hands and rest your mind Nerelle.

Hope you are all staying safe and healthy, and getting fresh air and sunshine when you can. xoxo

Quarantine Diaries: Why I decided to self-isolate

Mar 25, 2020 | Lifestyle, Photo Diaries

Ian recently returned from work travel to the mainland, and was placed on mandatory 14-day medical quarantine just in case he was exposed to COVID during his trip. Because I live with him, I am also self-isolating to ensure that we aren’t causing potential harm as potential virus carriers. That’s it. And ok… the word “isolate” is kind of a cold, cruel sounding word. The buzz word going around is “social distancing”, and it’s basically the same thing, except self-isolating is just a step further. Like, fully staying at home and avoiding physical interaction with people. Seriously, everyone should isolate or practice social distancing during this time. Please please please.

PS – I wrote this because I just learned about Typhoid Mary. If you haven’t heard of her, you should read this Nat Geo article about it. It’s wildly relevant to our situation as potential coronavirus super-spreaders, and gives insight to why we need to avoid contact with people even if we aren’t showing any symptoms.

I truly hope you are all safe and well! Sending much love and virtual hugs through the inter webs.

xoxo, Nerelle

While I’m self-isolating at home. I go outside at least once a day for fresh air and exercise.

I woke up this morning, and Ian wasn’t in bed. He wasn’t even in the house. I saw on a friend’s ig story that he was out SUP surfing, so I jumped out of bed, put on my biker shorts which I was going to wear for morning yoga anyway, and my Belle the Label swim top, and head to the beach.

Ian started picking up trash around the beach for about 10 minutes and collected this heap of debris. There was a lot of styrofoam, plastic bottles, a slipper, a piece of a hose, even random cabinet pieces, and an actual car door. I’m always baffled at what trash ends up on the beach. Ian’s doing these quick cleanups as part of his work’s social distancing activity where each employee just picks up trash for a short allotted time, then take a photo of it for data, and disposes of them properly. It’s such a great idea, and I’m going to tag along with Ian along our stretch of beach.

Someone sent me a message the other day on instagram saying that I make quarantine look like vacation… and I was in between feeling flattered and a little guilty, thinking this pandemic is a horrible thing for the world, and if I’m making quarantine look like vacation, am I being offensive?

I thought about it a little and I’ve decided that I shouldn’t feel guilty. This is my daily life even without quarantine, and it might even be a good thing to show people that self-isolation or social distancing is a good thing. If you want to see it as a staycation, go ahead. It’s a good thing to be safe and healthy.

Sometimes I’ll be so laser focused on my work that I don’t realize I’ve accidentally skipped lunch. Working from home with Ian though makes it a lot easier to remember lunch because he’s always hungry haha. Today he surprised me with delicious crunchy fish lumpia!

How We Help Our Animals (The Fun Way)

Apr 20, 2017 | Culture, Lifestyle

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APR 2017

My last blog post (and first ever podcast!) was a little preview of what Coconut Mutts is and how it got started. But beyond the organization, Coconut Mutts is made up of people who genuinely care.

Out of love and compassion for our canine and feline friends, Coconut Mutts and a tribe of animal lovers got together for an outdoor movie night and silent auction benefit, where all proceeds would go directly towards purchasing much needed supplies for the only veterinarian clinic in American Samoa.

Coconut Mutts Founder, Kelsey Johnson, with Tiny the Chihuahua

Listen and read my interview with Kelsey here.

It was a fun way to hang out and do some good at the same time. We watched “All Dogs Go To Heaven” and appropriately (or inappropriately) ate hot dogs. Items at the silent auction were all donated by community members. People bid on various things like paintings, homemade candles, circus tickets, massages, and surf lessons.