Oprah Named These $14 Zero-Waste Lipsticks One of Her Favorite Things, and They Make Excellent Gifts

Oprah Named These $14 Zero-Waste Lipsticks One of Her Favorite Things, and They Make Excel

They already come wrapped like a present.

If Oprah was in charge of the world, you can bet it’d be a lot more green. The mogul’s love of gardening is well-documented, and the photo of her posing next to human-sized cabbages from her estate still elicits a chuckle (did Oprah invent the farm-to-table lifestyle?). So you can rest assured that when she features an eco-friendly, zero-waste lipstick as one of her favorite things, the love rings true — and now that the holiday season is upon us, there’s no better stocking stuffer than one of Axiology’s O-approved red lipstick boxes.

As a beauty writer, I go through a lot of products. By “a lot,” I mean that I have more lipstick than anyone could wear in one lifetime (here’s hoping I get reincarnated as a blob fish with my stash somehow intact). I’m well acquainted with the effect good packaging can have on a person, especially this time of year — something that’s wrapped up with a silvery Nordstrom bow or in a Tiffany Blue Box instantly delivers a smile, even if it’s just a Trojan horse for nice socks. Which makes Axiology’s zero-waste strategy kind of brilliant.

The Oprah-favored, eco-conscious indie brand took the normal amount of lipstick in a tube and freed it from its plastic. Instead, you get a pigmented crayon wrapped in peel-off paper and housed in a cute red cardboard box. That box protects your lipstick whether it’s on a vanity or in transit, and functions as a built-in gift box that’s perfectly sized for the toe of a stocking (meaning there’s one less thing to wrap on Christmas Eve).

At $14, one of the Lip-to-Lid Balmies is an ideal gift for a friend or a niece just getting into makeup (and for committed vegetarians, it’s vegan and cruelty-free). Even as a seasoned beauty vet, I reach for mine daily. Sliding open the scarlet box gives an instant burst of present-based pleasure, and I love getting my dose of color with an ethically-sourced formula created from plant oils, butters, and extracts.

Like the name suggests, the crayons come in a range of shades that work for your lips, cheeks, and eyes — from a softly shimmering bronze and champagne to earth-toned pinks, nudes, and reds (the brand also offers $36 sets of three coordinating shades). And since the brand is helmed by a woman of color who’s passionate about intersectional environmentalism, you know the quality is on point.

Thank Oprah for the tip-off and order soon to get yours within three to ten days — just in the nick of time for jolly old St. Nick’s arrival.

Shop now: $14; credobeauty.com