Recently, I got the chance to try out a pretty cool selection of natural and organic products that were new to me - look for more reviews and content about those products to come - and some of the most exciting products in the selection for me were a couple of hydrating products. It was perfect timing, I must say, for me to start testing them out as I actually managed to get really sick in a way that meant I was dehydrated and needed a little help on he surface while I basically mainlined water for the inside, so I found myself reaching for The Green Beaver Boreal Lip Balm* and The Green Beaver Boreal Body Lotion* quite frequently during the course of that.

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The Green Beaver Boreal products boast containing Labrador Tea and Shea Butter. While I'm clearly familiar with the latter as a hydrating ingredient, I was actually completely unfamiliar with the former so I had to do a little bit of research - and I was super interested in what I found. Apparently Labrador Tea is an ingredient that is high in antioxidants and has long been used by First Nations people as, among other things, a skin soothing and healing ingredient - perfect for products meant for very dry or cracked skin, right?

The Green Beaver Boreal Body Lotion*

Replenishes and protects your skin's moisture barrier. Plus it relieves itching due to dry skin. Overall it leaves skin silky soft, comfortable and not greasy! 

I have to say, this lotion has me wishing that I'd had it on hand during the drier months of the year, because it is very, very intense. A thick, rich cream that is unfragranced and, to me, smells faintly like beexwax - Is that the shea butter? - this can take a little bit of rubbing to work into the skin, but I find it well worth it for the driest parts of my body. I would personally recommend it right after a shower when your skin is still a little bit damp or right before bed when you won't mind having a little bit of tackiness on the skin. By morning, it's all soaked in and my skin feels really soft and hydrated. I also really like to use this as my overnight hand cream, which is when I always reach for something more rich to really treat my hands overnight. If you're someone who's looking for a really rich moisturizer that isn't going to irritate the skin, I would seriously take a look at this. I'm not sure how much use I'll personally get from it over the summer, but this is going to certainly be a winter staple for me.

The Green Beaver Boreal Lip Balm*

A soft, long-lasting balm that will soothe and protect red, dry lips caused by arctic winds. Enriched with skin-healing aloe and Vitamin E. Green Beaver Ultra Moisturizing Lip Balm is also unflavoured so you won’t lick your lips dry again.

Initally, I was a little bit surprised by the texture of this, because it's not what I was expecting. Though this does have a fairly thick texture, I find that it has a lot of slip so it applies really smoothly and feels really comfortable on the lips. It also gives your lips a really plump, juicy look - which is always nice, since a lot of my other lip balms tend to have a more waxy, matte look that isn't necessarily appealing to look at. I personally find that because I'm a lip smacker, this really isn't the best lip balm for me for daytime use, but I really love to apply it before bed and let it sit on my lips overnight when I'm not going to be smooshing it all off. I really saw how well it worked when I was dehydrated and my lips were starting to get dry and lean towards chapping. I applied this a few times and my lips were back to normal and feeling really hydrated. I've heard good things from people who rely on this not only for chapped lips, but also for around the nose and other places that get incredibly dry and uncomfortable, but I obviously couldn't test that for myself. For me, this is going to be one of the lip balms that lives on my nightstand, next to and rivaling some much more expensive options.

Overall, I have to say that I'm really, really impressed with both of these products and would recommend them for people struggling with dry skin. For me, the ultimate winner is definitely the Boreal Lip Balm*, because it gave me really instant results exactly when I was needing them and I feel like it won't just be a maintenance type of lip balm but also a treatment when my lips need a little bit more TLC. I'm thinking that I'm going to keep using the Boreal Body Lotion* as an overnight hand lotion for the time being, but I think it's really going to shine for me in the winter when the skin on my body gets really dry and uncomfortable. 

The Green Beaver products are available at Well.ca - as well as local retailers!

Thanks for reading!