Two weeks ago I attended Burt’s Bees’ 30th Birthday celebration at the Seda hotel in BGC. I was ecstatic to have been invited because the brand has been a part of my life since I was just 12 years old. I had my tin of their classic lip balm with me everywhere I went and I was obsessed with it. I still use the same lip balm up until this day, albeit in the twist-up stick form. There’s nothing quite like that minty feeling coupled with the perfect texture for a lip balm. Not too soft nor too hard. Another thing I love about Burt’s Bees is their use of natural ingredients. They are one of the few brands who can use the “natural bar” on their products. None of the products are less than a certain percentage natural (as prescribed by the US FDA), and should they be around the 95% mark, it will be marked clearly on the packaging. The birthday sign you see above is actually made out of live, natural ingredients, much like what goes into Burt’s Bees products. It’s true that nature made us who we are, and very often the remedies to our problems are provided by mother nature herself.
Upon arriving at the venue, guests were given mason jars that we could fill with iced water and sliced fruit. Keeping hydrated is one of the best things you can do for you skin and any additional incentive for drinking more water is a good thing–cute straws and hipster-y mason jars included! If you’d like to see what else went down at the birthday bash, read on! :)
The place was decorated beautifully, with Burt’s Bees products placed at arm’s length wherever one turned. Alongside the products were (again) the ingredients in their natural form — oranges, lemons, pomegranates, tomatoes, and so on.
Such pretty displays! Above are some of Burt’s Bees’ best-selling skincare products, including the Garden Tomato Toner, Peach & Willow Bark Deep Pore Scrub, and Orange Essence Facial Cleanser.
The brand may have kicked off with its simple (but hella awesome) beeswax-based lipbalm, but they have expanded significantly over the past 30 years to include skincare that addresses nearly every concern. This is the Rosewater Toner, which is the mildest of their toners. Rosewater is known for being very gentle and soothing on the skin, so it won’t leave you feeling overly-stripped. This is best for sensitive and normal skin types. As with many Burt’s Bees products, the Rosewater Toner is 100% natural!
As for the Garden Tomato toner, well, this one is best for oily skin. I’m so glad I got to take this particular product home with me (as well as a few other goodies), so I can let you know more about it in time.
Of course there was food and CAKE at the birthday celebration — what would a birthday be without cake, after all? The Beauty Bee was quite the happy guest.
Guests were also treated to a short program about Burt’s Bees’ history. The man you see on the tin is a real person: Burt Shavitz. While he is no longer part of the company, his love for nature (most especially his bees) still runs through every person who now works with the company. It’s a beautiful Philosophy that they share: working towards The Greater Good. Paying attention to ingredients, packaging, and the means by which they produce the products, Burt’s Bees is working for everyone’s interests — Mother Nature included.
I truly admire any company that takes an active and responsible stand when it comes to anything, but when it’s nature we’re talking about, I can’t help but fall in love. It’s not easy to create a balance of making a profit and responsibly putting stuff out there. “What’s right isn’t always popular. What’s popular isn’t always right.” as they told us during the program. It happens to be a saying that Burt’s Bees included in one of its earliest catalogues.
After getting to know the company, Liz (of Project Vanity) held a quick watercolour workshop to get our creative juices flowing. I used to paint when I was younger and I had totally forgotten how difficult watercolours can be. It was loads of fun though, and I eventually came up with an orange, a bee, and a little celebratory “30!”
Ta-daaa! I’m no artist. Let’s leave the beautiful creations to Mother Nature and to humans with more capable hands. Haha!
I had so much fun getting to know Burt’s Bees better. I already had so many things from them lying around the house and now I can appreciate them better. I also went home with a goodie bag of new things to try from the brand. Look forward to reviews in the future! For now, share what your fave Burt’s Bees product is! :) Is there anything that you think deserves more attention? :)
Burt’s Bees products are available at Beauty Bar
The cake looks like it was made for you, the beauty bee. :)
Very lovely picture and atmosphere :)
Your painting looks nice! I think it’s pretty cute how your blog mascot is part of the brand’s name :P I wanna hear your thoughts about the tomato toner. Even before seeing it at the event, that beautiful frosted glass packaging completely grabbed my attention!