By Gina Briganti, a Holistic Health Consultant specializing in nutrition and Reiki and Nina Lackey, a trained esthetician who has worked for LUSH cosmetics in the past. Nina is also Gina’s daughter. 🙂

We reviewed almost every item you see pictured, but if we’re missing one you want to know more about, please ask.

If you’re not familiar with A Joy Forever Bath + Body, then we’re about to take you on a journey of discovery. We can’t keep a great company like this one to ourselves. Any longer, that is.

My daughter Nina and I have been buying from A Joy Forever for a few years now, so it’s well past the point where we know their products and can fully recommend them.

This post is not sponsored. We purchased most of the products, received a few as gifts, and the views expressed here are our own.

A Joy Forever Bath + Body is a bespoke company where everything sold is handmade, vegan, cruelty-free, made with high-quality ingredients, and safe.

Label readers will especially love how they don’t need to research ingredients to find out if they’re being lied to.

That happens too often in body care, with manufacturers trying to cash in on a market segment they know will pay more for ingredients they won’t have to detox later.

And it’s the number one reason why we put this buying guide together. We found great lip balms, body butters, shower frostings, soaps, massage candles, room sprays, laundry soap, body mist, and more.

They think of everyone – women, men, non-binary, children, and pets.

We’ll start with one of our all-time favorites.

Lip Balm

One of our favorite and fun ways to take care of our lips. A Joy Forever has a tempting selection to play with. We’re sharing our thoughts on our favorites.

Bailey’s Irish Creme – Cocktail Collection

The scent reminds Gina of what she remembers Bailey’s Irish Cream smelling like. It’s been years since she smelled or tasted the real thing. This balm goes on creamy, tastes great, and gets reapplied a touch faster than needed because it’s so much fun to smell and use. One of her favorites.

Apple Martini – Cocktail Collection

Apple isn’t a flavor we see often in lip balm, which made it interesting from the time we saw the pretty green label. The balm goes on very smooth, is moisturizing, and smells just like a green apple.

Pina Colada – Cocktail Collection

A pleasant nod to the coconut and pineapple drink. This balm goes on smooth, tastes fruity and sweet on the lips, and has a good aftertaste.

Sex On The Beach – Cocktail Collection

Gina’s thoughts: This balm offers subtle fruity flavor and scent. I noticed the orange, and also a blend of cranberry and peach. Nice flavors on the lips and a good aftertaste.

Nina’s thoughts: I have had AJF’S “Sex on The Beach” room spray and LOVED it. I looove the lip balm too. Fruity and delicious. Refreshing for the senses.

Strawberry Dacquiri – Cocktail Collection

Gina’s thoughts: I have so many excellent lip balms in my collection that adding another one to it means it is the top of the line. That’s how I feel about strawberry dacquiri. It smells amazing. I love the slight pink tint it leaves on my lips, the texture, and the aftertaste. I will definitely purchase again.

Nina’s thoughts: I almost pocketed this one into my purse after sampling it from our haul, but that wouldn’t have been fair. I really am digging the strawberry scent/flavor for summer this year.

We haven’t tried Mojito, Prosecco (sparkling white wine -infused), and Raspberry ‘Bernet (red wine – infused).

Cookielicious

Gina’s thoughts: Smells like chocolate. Goes on smooth. Very hydrating. Clear balm. No distinctive taste once it’s on the lips, just a touch of sweetness. This is one of my favorites and I will definitely repurchase.

Nina’s thoughts: The packaging on A Joy Forever’s products is always ADORABLE to me IMHO. This one has little cookies on it that resemble Oreos (a guilty pleasure of mine). I can confirm that this lip balm smells like chocolate and is hydrating when applied to your lips. The waxes and butters Diane uses are reminiscent of the creme filling in a sandwich cookie.

Creme Brulee

Gina’s thoughts: Smells delicious with strong vanilla notes. Very hydrating. Clear balm. No distinctive taste once it’s on the lips.

Nina’s thoughts: I do not dig the smell on this one once I removed the cap, but I do like the smell when applied. It reminds me of a sweet, rich, and creamy vanilla custard with the rich taste of vanilla. YES, I have been applying lip balm and casually tasting it.

Pancakes + Syrup

Gina’s thoughts: Smells like syrup, tastes like pancakes. Very hydrating. Clear balm. Nice flavor on the lips. This one is pretty brilliant.

Nina’s thoughts: This is one of the most recent lip balms I purchased off of A Joy Forever’s website. I buy about twice a year from her because her products last such a long time. I wanted to try something new this time around. This balm smells like one of my favorite fluffy, buttery breakfast foods. Not too big on the taste of it. My five-year-old daughter said “You cannot make a lip balm like that.” She was truly amazed that there is lip balm this unique.

Pinkadelic

Gina’s thoughts: Smells like a fruity sorbet. Goes on smooth and has a slightly pink color. Tastes sweet on the lips. Very moisturizing.

Nina’s thoughts: When I first starting shopping at A Joy Forever, Pinkadelic is one of the first lip balms I tried. She has changed some product features since then. The color of the balm is a deep watermelon pink now versus the rosewater tint it used to be. I tasted more of the berry blend in the last tube I had. Pinkadelic grew on me. I received another tube with my recent order because if you buy 3 you get one free (usually) with the lip balms. The new flavor/scent profile of Pinkadelic is more almond-like to me nowadays. Not a bad thing, but also not my favorite.

Thin Mint

Gina’s thoughts: It looks like a chocolate mint cookie, smells like one, and tastes like one when the balm is on the lips.

Nina’s thoughts: The balm has pictures of a chocolate cake with green frosting in the middle of it. I totally thought they were the Andes mints at first (oops). One of my favorite hacks for birthdays is spreading mint chocolate chip ice cream across a piece of chocolate cake…..anyway…..back to the balm! The balm smells like chocolate w/ mint once removing the cap. Personally, I could do with more peppermint in the balm because I believe it is lost somewhere in the balm upon application.

Chapped Smackers Organic Whipped Lip Scrub 

Gina’s thoughts: I enjoyed the first Chapped Smackers Lip Scrub with coffee grounds as well, and overall find A Joy Forever’s Bath + Body to make the best lip scrubs from the brands I’ve tried. At most I have to use this for two days to clear up any chapping.

Nina’s Thoughts: When I first tried chapped smackers, it was when Diane (owner of A Joy Forever Bath + Body) made them for the Dallas Donut Fest. These lip scrubs had coffee grounds, sugar, and shea butter in them. I can’t remember if they were exactly mocha but they were PHENOMENAL. The ones she has listed on the website advertise gentle exfoliation and an intense amount of moisture. Lip butter anyone?

As for the new blend pictured here, with raw sugar as the scrub, it works well, tastes good on the lips, and if some makes it into your mouth, that’s okay, too. It’s a delicate, sweet lemon flavor. Given the choice between the two, I’d still buy the original coffee option.

Shower Frosting

Peaches + Creme

Gina’s Thoughts: I love the whipped texture of the soap. It smells and feels amazing on my skin. An unexpected bonus is that the whole bathroom smells terrific after using it.

Nina’s Thoughts: A whipped shower treat for anybody wanting to smell and feel like the fruity delight. I purchased this to compliment Pacifica’s Strawberry and Peach Pillow Mist & Body Spray. Smells reminiscent of a Bath and Body Works product without all the chemicals. Sugar gently exfoliates skin to leave it soft and radiant. A must have! Great to shave with in the shower. Reminds me of the shaving soap from Lush Cosmetics.

Raspberry Sorbet

Gina’s Thoughts: Smells divinely like the name describes it. The scent is the perfect blend of noticeable on your skin without being overwhelming. The shower and the bathroom smell terrific after your shower. Highly moisturizing. Very gentle when it comes to the scrub action. We love the soft pink color and the soft feel of the soap.

Nina’s thoughts: Is this a pint of raspberry sorbet or shower soap? Moisturizing, fragrant, and pretty close to taking a bite.

Tub Teas

Gina’s thoughts: I tried Love Potion, which was delicately scented, and definitely relaxing. I love how clean the tub is after and how there isn’t a pile of debris that goes down the drain. The bathroom and my skin smell lovely. It’s hard for me to identify exactly what the scent is to describe it, but I can say it’s mildly spicy, like chai. An added bonus: the tin smells great and I’m thinking of ways to reuse it. For now the tin is open, next to me, and I get a waft of the subtle spicy scent as I’m writing.

Nina’s Thoughts: I have steeped myself in tea for the first time in my life. I heard reusing tea bags as a bath hack is beneficial for the mind, body, and soul. A Joy Forever blends her own tub tea and offers a few unique fragrances for our us to enjoy. I have tried the Maui – Tropical Getaway tub tea because I thought $7.50 is an affordable price for a trip HAHA. You get up to 6 uses in a container that size.

Handcrafted Bath Soap

New summer collection

Photo Courtesy of A Joy Forever

Gina’s thoughts: Fruity, but not too sweet. Great lather like the majority of the soap AJF handcrafts. Smells like fresh, crisp apples.

Nina’s thoughts: This soap is easy on the eyes. The smell brings me back to a time I can’t quite remember. Great lather, a little goes a long way. Floral smells are really big for me right now and this scent compliments my natural scent.

Photo courtesy of A Joy Forever

Gina’s thoughts: I used my Thai Ginger sample up before the other two in the summer collection. It’s pretty, moisturizing, and I love the subtle scent it leaves on my hands.

Nina’s thoughts: Fresh, energizing scent left on my skin after washing my hands with this soap. I have yet to take a shower with it. I do like to begin the day with a shower lately.

Berry Blossom soap.

Not pictured. Gina’s thoughts: I like the clean scent of the berry blossom soap, but didn’t get the berry notes until I used it. It’s very moisturizing and I love the pink marble look.

Botanical Body Mist

Bliss – sprays on and has a warm, non-floral scent. Reminiscent of perfume. Moisturizing. Absorbs quickly into the skin. It smells vastly different on Gina’s skin compared to when Nina wears it. Both outcomes were pleasant.

This one is not currently on the website, but make a request and/or keep an eye out for it.

Organic Body Custard

Sweet Citrus – the custard has a delightfully light, whipped texture and appearance. The custard is concentrated and you don’t need much. It goes on a tad sticky, but absorbs quickly and leaves the skin very soft. Gina chose this scent specifically to keep Texas bugs from making her into a snack and it’s working.

Organic Massage Lotion Candle

Lavender Fields – 100% Soy, pure essential oils, wood wick, white massage candle. Smells nice when it’s burning. The melted wax massages well into the skin and leaves it soft and fragrant.

Tobacco + Vanille – 100% organic soy, wood wick (the most original thing we’ve seen in the candle industry), white massage candle. We think this candle tin is highly giftable. The scent is addictive. Once melted and massaged into the skin, the tobacco notes dominate over the vanilla.

Whipped Body Butter

Unicorn

Gina’s thoughts: this whipped body butter quickly turned into a smooth oil. I think if your skin is as dry as my feet can be, it’s a little too light to be a body butter. It’s definitely moisturizing, but didn’t absorb that quickly for me. I like the subtle glitter sparkle.

Nina’s thoughts: Fun in a jar! Great pastel colors, whipped appearance, and a fruity scent. It’s moisturizing, absorbs quickly, and leaves a little glitter sparkle on the skin.

This one is not currently on their website, but make a request and/or keep an eye out for it.

A New Spin – 100% Biodegradable Laundry Powder

Nina’s Thoughts: I was FLOORED when I saw that A Joy Forever made laundry detergent. The packaging is adorable! I know, I know I say that A LOT. Patchouli scented ladies and gentleman, kids and pets. My clothes and linens offer a light, clean patchouli scent now. My hippie level has reached to over 9000 now HAHA. I am currently on my second bag.

It Ain’t Odor Yet Room, Linen, and Body Spray

Nina’s thoughts: I love this to freshen up a room or linens! I have had three scents from her so far. Sex on The Beach, Sandalwood Spice (I believe it’s called Sandalwood + Teak now), and Spa Day (my current one). I use it in my bathroom, on my bedding, clothes, and even a quick spritz on my person when I need to.

As I, Nina, perused the AJF booth at V-Market for the first time; I noticed little lego soap. That’s when I discovered I could not only get things for me, but for my five-year-old. I’ve received popsicle soap in blueberry scent with an order I made when I ran out of my goodies. AJF offers Bath-Doh for kiddies to play with while they scrub up in the tub. Pictured above is a nice present from AJF that features a toy cat to play with once my kiddo uses up all the soap.

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We hope you enjoyed exploring A Joy Forever’s extensive product list with us. There’s still a lot we haven’t tried, but we have no doubt that we will find many more treasures.

Thanks for the time we spent together today!

Gina and Nina