Life Soap Simple Soaps {review}

I love a good bar of handmade soap, I truly truly do. But sometimes I forget just how much I love the bars of soap.  I'll start using the cream soaps and body scrubs that come in little jars and just stop using the soap bars. The soap from Life Soap Simple was a good reminder on how awesome a good bar of soap can be!
 

{the soap}

My first experience was with the Oats & Honey bar, and what a lovely shower that was! The lather is so creamy and the scent is lightly sweet and clean. I thought to myself, "THIS is soap!". I do have a great love for all of those fun, fragranced soaps out there, but there is just something about the soaps that have that simple soapy scent. It just makes me feel extra clean and fresh. To me, this Oats & Honey bar has the perfect "soap" scent.

I've also tried the Pumpkin Lavender and Tangerine Lemongrass. I have to admit, the Pumpkin Lavender is not a favorite of mine. But then, I've never been a big fan of lavender scents. I just like to convince myself I like things until I get them and realize I don't! Ha! But the scent isn't too overwhelming; it's slightly spicy, earthy, and soapy. On the other hand, the Tangerine Lemongrass has a nice citrus-y and refreshing scent. I used it a few weeks ago, and I loved how it made me feel alive in the shower! 

{ingredients}

Olive oil, coconut oil, shea butter, herbs, essential oils, palm oil, and colorants. Ingredients may differ in various bars.

{conclusion}

Would I buy from Life Soap Simple again? I definitely would! In fact, I've already gone back (I couldn't help myself)! The soaps are simply delightful. They have that perfect clean soapy scent that one would think that is what all soaps should smell like. The lather was creamy and a pure delight in the shower. And I was left feeling squeaky clean and fresh afterwards… and happy from a good shower! If you're looking for simply soapy soaps, go check out Life Soap Simple!

Candle Lynn Lip Balm {review}

You know, I own a LOT of lip balms. I have quite a few that I haven't even tried yet. And there's even more that I've only tried once. However, the balms I have from Candle Lynn truly get a lot of use from me!  These just may be my favorite balms ever, seriously. I can use nothing but these balms for days and be completely happy.

{the balm}

The glide is fantastic and the texture is phenomenal! It leaves a layer of silky, creamy goodness behind! And, really, I mean it is GOOD! The silkiness is unbelievable, it's like... pudding. There we go, it has the texture of pudding (dontcha just love my descriptions?). And I can't get enough of it. I'll put it on and just rub my lips together because it just feels that good. It is love.

And I really should mention the prices. Because they're sort of unbelievable for balms this good. Balms are priced at $2.49 each, or $11.95 for a pack of 5 with free shipping! (There's also some extra good deals going on now!) Doesn't that just blow your mind?! I kind of can't get over it. Uh-mazing!

{flavors + ingredients}

I have a few of these...

• Bubble Gum: Yummy pink bubble gum scent!
• Very Cherry: This is a very good cherry scent that reminds me of cherry Chapstick. Classic scent!
• Cocoa: My favorite! Light cocoa scent with a hint of sweetness.
• Cotton Candy: Sugary goodness! Really does smell like cotton candy!
• Creme Brulee: This one is like dessert for the lips! It smells like vanilla ice cream topped with warm butterscotch and toasted coconut. Seriously.
• Orange Squeeze: Nice light orange juice flavor.
• Strawberry Smoothie: Sweet milky strawberry scent. It also has a sort of "powdery" scent, because it reminds me of strawberry Nesquik!

As for the ingredients, the balms are made with: coconut oil, beeswax, organic shea butter, organic cocoa butter, vitamin e, flavor oil.

{conclusion}

Would I buy from again? Most definitely yes! The balms are some of the best I've ever tried! They feel perfectly delightful, there's a good amount of lovely flavors, and the prices are awesome! In fact, I'm purchasing some right now (good 4 for $4 deal going on)! I think you all should head on over to Candle Lynn and check it out!

Dreaming Tree Soapworks Voluptas Soap {review}

Do you ever hear about something wonderful that you just HAVE to try? And then you build it up it your mind expecting it to be the best thing ever? And then when you get it, it EXCEEDS all expectations and completely blows your mind?!?! Usually it's the other way around, but I've found a shop that sells pure perfection in a bar.

{the soap}

The Voluptas soap made by Dreaming Tree Soapworks has made my list of favorite soaps EVER! I first read about this wonderbar over at The Soap Bar, and boy am I glad I stumbled upon that review! My mind has been blown. I'm clean, I smell good, and my skin is super soft. Life is just beautiful.

But seriously, the first time I took a shower with this soap I think it was the best shower of my life. For reals. The lather was completely unbelieveable. It was a moment of shock and awe. Like. Oh. My. God. It has the creamiest lather in the whole entire world! It felt like I was washing myself with bubbly lotion! Needless to say, I spent quite a bit of time lathering myself up. Pure pleasure! And ever since then, I've had a difficult time trying to choose another soap (out of the millions I have) in the shower. I don't know if I've ever been this in love with a bar of soap!

And the scent! Have I mentioned the scent yet?! On Dreaming Tree Soapworks, it is described as being "a blend of two of the most amazing vanillas". I love the scent of vanilla. And I mean LOVE. However, it's difficult to find good vanilla fragrances out there that aren't too sweet or buttery. The Voluptas soap has an absolutely beautiful vanilla fragrance! It's an elegant, seductive, sexy vanilla that lingers softly on the skin. It's perfect!

I am completely in love with this soap. It smells so good that I have a hard time pulling the bar away from my nose. And it feels so good, I have a hard time pulling the bar off of my body. AND, it leaves my skin so soft, I can't stop thinking about my next shower where I get to experience the perfection of it all again.

{ingredients}

Coconut milk, coconut oil, olive oil, organic sustainable palm oil, sweet almond oil, organic fair trade cocoa butter, grape seed oil, fragrance, and cinnamon.

{conclusion}

Would I but again? YES! In fact, I need to buy some more soaps from Dreaming Tree Soapworks! I just cannot deny the hardcore soapy love I feel for this soap. Soon I shall be a-soaping with some new lovelies from Dreaming Tree Soapworks. And I strongly urge you to go check 'em out and do the same! You will not regret it! Seriously... go there now!

... NOW!

Giveaway Winner! {and some updates}

Thank you to everyone who participated in my giveaway! I'm so excited for this Mystery Box, I wish I could share with you all what's in it! But I don't want to spoil the surprise for the winner who is...

ALEX!

Again, thank you to all who participated! I will definitely be doing some more giveaways in the future featuring some of my favorite Etsy shops! So keep an eye out for those!

And now for some updates...

I asked you all in the giveaway if you think I should review other bath & body products here on this blog. I've been thinking about it for awhile, since I've come across some pretty amazing products. And since you all appear to be on my side, I will start doing reviews for more bath & body products! I'll be reviewing soaps, body scrubs, lotions, perfumes, body mists, and more! I hope you're excited, because I sure am!

And another thing, I am going to stop rating products. I honestly don't find ratings to be very useful. Personally, when I read review blogs, I pay more attention to the review than the rating. And, I don't want to give any sweet hard-working Etsy sellers a less than perfect score. In fact, I don't want to give anyone a bad review. So, from this point on, I'll mostly be reviewing products that I love and adore! But don't worry, I have a lot of loves!

You ready for change? :)

Ella Dean's Beautiful Twists Lip Conditioners {review}

WARNING: There may be a lot of gushing over the awesomeness of Ella Dean and her wonderful lip conditioners! I strongly urge you to continue reading...

You have all probably heard of her, but I though I'd add my review to the huge pile of well deserved reviews for Ella Dean! Ella Dean is one of the sweetest sellers on Etsy! The BEST customer service and one of my favorite shops, for her lip conditioners are FANTASTIC! Please, visit her various shops: Beautiful Twists, and Groovy Spookieville, and Ella Dean's Natural Products.

{the balm}

The glide on these lip conditioners are absolutely, positively, never been anything like it AMAZING! Seriously, I don't think I've ever felt anything better smoothly gliding across my lips! The balms are so silky soft and melt onto the lips in a buttery fashion. I just can't get over how good it feels. I'm pretty sure my eyes almost popped outta my head the first time I tried one! Besides the stellar gliding powers, the conditioners are quite moisturizing and lip quenching. They leave behind happy, soft, and good looking glossy lips! It is pure love. Seriously.

Did I mention how glossy they are? You have to check out how glossy they look just in the tubes!

Apart from the amazing and flavorful balms, Ella has taken it a step further by creating unique labels and stories for her balms! All of the balms feature different women (and some men and animals) with their own little stories that coincide with the unique flavors. I'm currently holding Pistachio Pudding in my hand right now, and here is what the label tells me:

There once was a girl named Pistachio (nickname Sweet P) who was born with beautiful pistachio colored hair. She loved watching the lightning bugs, winking & wearing flowers in her beautiful hair.

How creative and fun is that?! Ella even sends cute cards featuring the balm's character:

It just blows my mind when I think about how much love and effort Ella puts into every single one of her balms! She is simply amazing!

{flavors + ingredients} 

Ella Dean has an astonishing amount of unique flavors! Here's the (quite long) list of what I have:

• Apple Juice: It's a fruity, almost floral, apple flavor... if that makes sense.
• Assorted Roasted Nuts: This one has a salty, nutty scent with a bit of sweetness.
• Black Cherry Milkshake: Beautiful black cherry scent mixed with a creamy vanilla! It's softly sweet!
• Burnt Sugar Cherry Blossoms & Seaweed: THIS IS THE ONE! By far my favorite, the sweet burnt sugar scent really stands out in this balm with a hint of floral sweetness. And the seaweed powder makes it extra smoooth and creamy!
• Fresh Cream: Smells like sweet, creamy vanilla!
• Grapefruit Juice & Unicorn Kisses: Just like tart grapefruit juice.
• Hawaiian Banana Coconut Smoothie: It's sweet banana coconuty goodness. It reminds me of something that I can't quite place a finger on. Either way, every time I smell this one I have to stop, close my eyes, and sigh. It's that good.
• Marshmallow Grape Bubble Gum: A deliciously sticky sweet grapey scent!
• Modest Peaches & Cream: This is one of the truest peaches & cream scents I've ever had the pleasure to sniff. No too sweet artificial peach-ish scent here. It's da real deal!
• Pistachio Pudding: A bit nutty and sweet with a hint of spice. Yum! I wish I bought the body spray now!
• Plum Ice Cream: Reminds me of sweet berry juice!
• Raspberry Almond Cake: I didn't expect this to be very cake-y, but it totally is. It's like almond cake topped with raspberries
• Seductive Cinnamon Rolls: Seriously smells like cinnamon rolls. I want to eat it!

As for the ingredients, Ella's lip conditioners are vegan! Made with candelilla wax, sweet almond oil, olive oil, aloe vera oil, olive butter, safflower oil, vitamin e, fda color, essential oils, flavor oils, and love (and lots of it, folks!). A few of the balms also have seaweed powder, which is pretty gosh durn amazing! 

{conclusion}

Would I buy this product again? Um, YES! Most definitely, absolutely, positively, YES! I've already made several purchases from Ella. Her balms are AMAZING! The flavors are so unique and presented in a fun, playful way! The customer service is excellent and Ella is super sweet! This is one of my all-time favorite shops and I think you should leave this blog RIGHT NOW and go check out Beautiful Twists! I promise you'll find something to drool over!

Mystery Box Giveaway! {ended}

I have a VAST amount of lip balms and bath & body products! I really need to do some destashing! And if I give any more to my family/friends, they'll have to start giving some stuff away too! And since I've been neglecting my blog as of late, I thought I'd start off again by doing a giveaway!

I will be giving away a Mystery Box of handmade goodies! The items will come from a variety of different Etsy sellers and will include the following:

• lip balms (of course!)
• lotion(s)
• soap
• solid perfume

Before you enter in this giveaway, please understand this:

These products are coming from my own personal collection. They may have been opened and sniffed once. If you have a problem with this, please don't enter the giveaway. However, I guarantee that the products in this giveaway are unused, and basically brand new. 

{UPDATE: I have decided to give you another HINT of what's going to be in the Mystery Box! There will be one or two delightful products from Pink Bow Bath Boutique! L-O-V-E!} 

TO ENTER: You can earn a total of THREE entries for the giveaway!

1. You must leave a comment with your email address! (REQUIRED)
2. If you are a follower of this blog, leave another comment for an additional entry.
3. If you answer this question: Should the Etsy Balmer also review other bath & body products?, leave another comment for an additional entry. (I'm looking for some feedback!)

***Please note that for additional entries, separate comments must be left! Or else they won't count towards the drawing! Thanks! :) ***

The last day to enter will be August 12th. I will use random.org to pick a winner and the winner will be announced (and contacted by me) on August 13th.

Good luck and have fun! :)

Country Blossom Lip Balm {review}

I've been kind of addicted to these balms! In fact, I've made several purchases from Country Blossom! And, I think I have most of the flavors...

WHERE TO FIND:

Check out Country Blossom on Etsy and find some great lip balms, candles, and body scrubs!

PRICE:

The prices are fantabulous! Each balm is $2.50, or you can buy a set of 3 for $6.75. Isn't that a great deal?!?!

SHIPPING & PACKAGING:

Shipping costs are quite reasonable. Every item (even a set) is $2 for shipping, and $0.25 for every item after that. And, I received my items in a timely manner!

APPEARANCE:

The balms come in the standard .15oz clear tube. All of the labels have the Country Blossom image and logo and flavor name. They're quite cute!

INGREDIENTS:

Beeswax, olive oil, coconut oil, vitamin E, and flavor oil.

TEXTURE & GLIDE:

These balms take a little extra push to get 'em going, but it's totally worth it! They're almost the perfect consistency between light and heavy. The balm feels so creamy and smooth on the lips with light gloss! I love it!

MOISTURIZING ABILITIES:

The balm leaves behind noticeable softness!

WEAR:

The wear is about average. I'd say around 1.5 to 2 hours.

SCENT & FLAVOR:

I, um, ordered several flavors...

• Blueberry Pomegranate: Can definitely smell the blueberries in this one! It's like sweet, sugary blueberries with a hint of pomegranate!
• Caramel Apple: This is a scent that has never really appealed to me, but I thought I'd give it a shot. It's actually not too bad. It's caramel-y, but not as sweet as I was afraid of. The apples come out after applied.
• Creme Brulee: This one is one of my favorites! I've never had creme brulee before, so I don't know what it actually smells like. But this balm is fantastic! It has a lightly sweet, custard scent with a faint wisp of something burnt. It's a very creamy scent, and utterly fantastic!
• Coconut Peach: This scent surprised me. I thought it'd be sweet and peachy, but it's not. It's like coconut milk with peaches. Actually, I think that's how it's described, but I didn't expect it to actually smell like that! Anyway, it's a very good coconut and peaches scent that isn't nauseatingly sweet. Score!
• French Vanilla: I'm addicted to vanilla scents and this one is one of the best I've tried! It's like vanilla ice cream! Yumm!
• Green Tea & Honey: I'd have to say this one is my least favorite. But that's because I convinced myself that I like green tea scents and I actually don't. So, if you like green tea scents, you might like this one. But it's not for me... I think it smells kind of floral.
• Mint Chocolate Chip: It's like chocolaty, minty goodness. I wish it had more of a vanilla scent, so it'd be more like the ice cream. But, it's still a lovely scent, and another one of my favorites!
• Peanut Butter & Strawberry Jelly: You can definitely smell the strawberries in this one! The peanut butter doesn't come out until after you put it on. So it's not overwhelmingly nutty, which is probably more "user friendly". However, I wish it had more peanut butter scent. I'm weird though -- I crave nutty scented lip balms. Ha. I still enjoy the scent though. :)
• Pomegranate: This one is a nice lightly fruity, pomegranate scent. It's a nice, as expected, scent.
• Strawberry Lemonade: This is a sweet and tart scent, that kind of sparkles your senses! You can definitely smell the strawberries and lemons. It's quite a refreshing scent!

BUY AGAIN?:

I would definitely buy from Country Blossom again! Actually, I've already visited this shop 3 times, and I don't expect it to be my last! The balms are fantastic and creamy, and may be on the list of my all time favorite lip balms! There's a lot of flavors with a few unique ones! And, the prices are absolutely fantastic! I would HIGHLY recommend these balms, so go check out Country Blossom right now!

MY RATING: 5 OUT OF 5