Winner Winner Winner!

Who's going to win the most Epically Epic lip balm?! Let's do a drawing, shall we?

And the winner is...

Yay for Deb over at It's Always Something...! Thank you to all who participated - I loved reading the comments about your favorite lip balms! I'm always on the hunt for new lip balms to try... ;)

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Oh silly me!

Just a little fun post... a blurb really!

I got this product lately that is a dupe of Lush's Honey I Washed the Kids. I have no idea what the real thing smells like. Living in Alaska, I've never come across any Lush shop so I really can't compare.

BUT, I used this product for the first time tonight and kept thinking that I smelled like I had just taken a bath with baby soap and shampoo.

And then I had to laugh at myself, because well...

DUH! It's a dupe of HONEY I WASHED THE KIDS!

So yes, I actually do smell like a newly washed and squeakly clean kid. I kinda like it. And feeling kind of dumb for paying no attention to the name and failing to make the connection until it was laughingly obvious.

And really... how silly of me! What was I expecting?! HAHA! :)

A wee giveaway for your LIPS! {ended}

I'm doing a giveaway! Woo!

Okay, I might be more excited about this than you will be. It's not the biggest giveaway ever, or big in any way, but it's a good one! And just to note, this is sort of my "get out of jail free" blog post for the week! I'm super busy with finals and whatnot, but will try to start posting more reviews soon - and on a more regular basis! But yes, the wee giveaway...

For your winning pleasure, I am offering up a lip balm from my favorites stash...

Epically Epic Soap Co. Lip Balm in Vanilla Bean! 

Allison over at Epically Epic Soap Co. makes some of the best lip balms in the whole entire world! They are smooth and super creamy and just all around delightful. I think I have about 20 of them... heh.

And Vanilla Bean just happens to be one of my favorite Epically Epic lip balms. It is the best vanilla balm I have tried yet. It's a straight up sweet and creamy vanilla without being buttery. I LOVE IT!

And I happen to have an extra Vanilla Bean lip balm that is waiting to be used, sooo... I thought I'd share the love with you guys! :)

To enter, leave a comment telling me what your favorite lip balm is! And don't forget to leave your email address, otherwise I won't have a way to contact you if you win! You have until Friday, April 27th to enter!

Honey Bee Holistics {review} part I

I am so excited to review Honey Bee Holistics, it is going to come in several parts (how many parts still to be determined)! And I've got to be honest, I've been holding out on you for awhile because I use Honey Bee Holistics products daily so these reviews are long overdue!

And on another note, the Marshmallow Honey Face Cream was sent to me by the seller to test. I volunteered when the seller, Melissa Carr, was asking for product testers on her Facebook page. I was asked to provide the seller with my feedback by answering a list of questions. However, posting a review to my own personal blog was NOT a requirement. Please note that I will be reviewing this product because I WANT to, not because I was asked to.

Now that everything has been explained, let's get on to the reviews! The first part will be… face creams!

Oh wait, before we get to the reviews I suppose I should explain my face (what an odd thing to say…). But yes, I fall between the normal and dry skin types. Most of my face tends to be normal with few blemishes, oiliness, or dryness. However, my eyes and along my lower right jaw tend to get quite dry to the point of flakiness. Sexy, no?

AND NOW...

{Organic Wrinkle Away Face Cream}

During the winter months, I was on the hunt for an ultra moisturizing face cream to help with those dry areas on my face. I wanted something with carrot seed oil since it seems to really work with my face. I also wanted something that didn't smell of roses, because I really detest roses, and it's strangely difficult to find carrot oil moisturizes without rosey scents. And so, I was super excited to discover that Honey Bee Holistics carried such a face cream, because by then I was already in love with the shop!

The Wrinkle Away Face Cream is thick and luxurious and quite lovely for slathering on when those dry face days roll around. It is also surprisingly light for being a thick cream. When applied, it sinks into the skin quickly and leaves behind a silky, powdery finish. I found the cream to be best applied before bed with just a little touch up in the morning. It left my skin feeling soft!

And, I completely adore the scent. It's so bright and fresh with a little green in there. But please note, Melissa never uses fragrance oils in any of her products! (LOVE that!)

Ingredients include almond oil, jojoba oil, beeswax containing bee propolis, evening primrose oil, mountain spring water, vegetable glycerin, vitamin e oil, witch hazel extract, and carrot seed essential oil.

{Organic Marshmallow Honey Face Cream}

This is a sample of the cream. When ordered, container will be different.

One of the great things about Honey Bee Holistics is the versatility of the products. For the Marshmallow Honey Face Cream, I discovered that it is an excellent night cream, a daily eye cream, a hand cream, and a moisturizer for those extra dry days. The more I use this cream, the more I love it. I mean, what other face cream can you find so many uses for?!

And here is what makes it so gosh-darn useful: It is ultra moisturizing and super gentle for sensitive skin. And when I say ultra moisturizing, I mean it. I would even go as far to say that this is the most moisturizing face creams I have ever tried. Well, the most moisturizing that doesn't leave my face greasy or sticky or suffocating under a just-won't-sink-in layer of product.

The cream goes on suuuper smooth and a little bit goes a long way. The cream is a bit on the heavy side and takes a little longer to sink in completely. But once it does, my face is soft and smooth and I can just feel the hydration!

I don't use the cream as a daily moisturizer, but I do use it as a daily eye cream. The area around my eyes tends to get very dry and this cream has done wonders. It's also great to use as a moisturizer when my face is generally feeling pretty dry, like after a little soak in the chlorine filled hot-tub that I just can't avoid. And slathering on some before bed results in some amazingly soft cheeks in the morning.

AND, the Marshmallow Honey Face Cream is a pretty outstanding hand cream. My finger tips can sometimes get really dry and this is the product I now turn to. My mom, who gets really bad eczema on her hands, really loved using this cream on her hands also. She was surprised by how moisturizing and soothing the cream was!

Personally, I think everyone needs some of this cream. At some point, we all need some ultra moisturizing lovin' and this cream can bring it. It's moisturizing abilities are deeply penetrating and soothing. It is just so much more than a face cream.

Ingredients include jojoba oil, beeswax containing bee propolis, evening primrose oil, mountain spring water, vegetable glycerin, vitamin e oil, witch hazel extract, marshmallow root infusion, and calendula.

{conclusion}

I am simply in love. Honey Bee Holistics makes some fantastic face creams. And I have found a face cream product that I don't ever want to be without! What else can I say? I use nothing else but Honey Bee Holistics products on my face. But that's not limited to just the face creams…

Stay tuned for part II of the Honey Bee Holistics reviews!

Bubs & Scrubs Soap {review}

You ever find a shop that you just so desperately want to try but continuously talk yourself out of it because you simply do not need [insert name of whatever floats your boat here]. But it sure as heck feels like it is needed! That is how I felt when I first found Bubs & Scrubs. And I finally caved and bought some soaps when they had a sale going on… how could I resist that?! Here's what I thought…

{the soap}

First off, I love the simple beauty of these soaps. They have that "I-am-a-wonderfully-natural-good-for-you" kind of look about them. And I could just see the creaminess. I kept going back to Bubs & Scrubs again and again because the soaps just looked amazing.

And when I finally ordered some soap, I fell in love with the scents. I ordered Creamy Peppermint and Calendula & Honey. The Creamy Peppermint (which I believe is not currently being offered) is amazingly minty! You know how much I love peppermint, and this one is up there on my list of favorite peppermint soap scents. Probably because the mint is so strong. It is still a bit on the sweet side though - it reminds me of candy canes!

And the aroma of the Calendula & Honey is equally amazing! Another note, I think the soap formula for this soap has been changed and is now called Calendula Bubs. But I think the scent should be the same - and I hope it is! Because ohhh-my-gaawd what a wonderful scent! When I first got the soap, it had a mildly sweet scent that I was expecting to disappear in the shower. But it came alive in the shower! Every time I use it, it reminds me of early summer when the salmonberry bushes are starting to blossom. What a wonderfully sweet floral scent! Never would I have thought that I would find something that smells like salmonberry blossoms!

As for the soap itself, I would have to say I wish it was as wonderful as the aroma. The lather is great - it's very gentle and on the creamy side. And it rinses off well enough, with no tightness. However, I have found that the soaps are not as moisturizing as I would like them to be. It's not a huge issue for me, because I often use body scrubs after soaping up and those are ultra moisturizing. But sometimes, I don't have the time to follow with a scrub and the soap just doesn't cut it in the moisture department.

{conclusion}

Would I buy again from Bubs & Scrubs? I'm a bit torn on this one. I love the scents, but I found the soap formulas to be a bit lacking. I might be willing to give the soaps another chance, especially if the formulas have been redeveloped. Also, there's quite a few new soaps being introduced that I haven't tried yet. Knowing me, I probably will eventually buy some more soaps from Bubs & Scrubs. It'll probably be one of those "I-really-want-to-buy-some-but-I-shouldn't-but-maybe-I-will-anyway-but-I-really-shouldn't" kinda deals. You know how these things go. :)

Baroque Solid Perfume {review}

I'll admit it… some days I don't take a shower. I wasn't able to take a shower the night before, I wake up late, yada yada yada. (Or sometimes I am just plain lazy). Those are the kinds of days that I like to wear perfumes and the like and make myself feel like I actually put some effort into getting ready to greet the world! One of my favorite products for such days are the "clean & fresh" solid perfumes from Baroque.

{the scents}

I'll start off with the scents for this one, both from the "Clean & Fresh" line:

Clean Cotton: This is definitely a clean scent! It kind of reminds me of fabric softener sheets. It also kind of reminds me of the way towels smell when they're dried by the sun and ocean breezes. I believe it is one of Baroque's most popular scents - which doesn't surprise me! It's wonderfully clean and airy and I totally dig it.

Fresh Laundry: I am completely in love with this one! In fact, I have never loved a perfume as much as I love this one. And I've never been a huge perfume fan. But this perfume smells EXACTLY like fresh laundry! It's amazing! And fresh laundry just so happens to be one of my favorite scents in the whole world! I never thought I'd be able to wear the scent as a perfume and I am in total bliss! It's just so wonderfully fresh and clean and oh-so-amazing.

{the perfume + ingredients}

The solid perfumes come in .07oz tubes and are also available .5oz tubes, called "Stallion Sticks". I have the small tubes, but they have been lasting me forever. The perfume is filled past the brim, so I haven't even had to twist-up the Clean Cotton one yet!

One thing that helps with making them last longer is that there is no need to constantly be reapplying the perfume. I can put it on in the morning and still be able to smell the fragrance late at night. Maybe not quite as "fresh", but definitely still clean! These perfumes have the longest lasting wear of any solid perfumes I've tried… and some regular perfumes too!

And being solid perfumes, the scents aren't too overpowering. I don't like it when people bathe in perfume and leave 20ft perfume trails behind them. I wear perfume for me and I don't want the whole world to know what I smell like. I like solid perfumes because they keep the fragrances close to me, so I can smell and appreciate them. And if someone gets close enough to appreciate it too, that's all well and good. Just as long as the person on the other side of the building doesn't have that chance!

Ingredients are coconut oil, beeswax, and fragrance.

{conclusion}

I would definitely recommend to anyone that they check out Baroque. The solid perfumes are the best of the best, as far as solid perfumes go. The fragrances are long lasting without being over-the-top. And in my opinion, they have the BEST perfume scent! Of course, you may not like "Clean & Fresh" fragrances as much as I do. But with the wide variety of fragrances available at Baroque, I'm sure you'd be able to find something you love just as much!

sunday shower...

I didn't mean to post two "sunday shower" posts back to back... guess I was a bit slacking on reviews this week! Ah, well. Soon to come, I promise! Anyway, here is what I lathered up with today:

Shampoo: Nature's Gate Shampoo in "Tea Tree"

Conditioner: Get Lathered Solid Hair Conditioner Bar in "Lemon Curd"

Body Soap: Cellar Door Soap Co. "Rosemary Mint" Soap

Shaving Soap: Mad City Soap "Fresh Snow" Parfait Soap and then switched to Sudsy Soap Scents "Banana Pudding" Cream Soap

Face Soap: Product Body "Fat Boy" Soap

Cleanser: Sweet Creek Herbal Care Facial Butter Bar in "Unscented" 


Did all this result in a satisfying shower?

In general, I did enjoy this shower. I was all stinky from working out this morning! I recently joined the gym... which is why I'm always having to shave my legs now. Bah. But anyway, I was super looking forward to the cleanliness a shower would provide. 

And in my testings of good shaving products (without actually having to buy a shaving soap), I thought I'd try cream soaps today. I had a Mad City Soap cream soap sitting around in Creme Vanille that I've been waiting to use, and today was the day! But alas, I accidentally grabbed the one that I was going to give away. I didn't particularly care for the scent, but I had already opened it in the shower so I thought I'd give it a chance. The Fresh Snow scent was not at all to my liking and that is why I switched over to using my sis-in-law's Sudsy Soap Scents cream soap. The banana pudding scent was very real and pleasant.

Another note, the Mad City Soap turned out not to be a good shaving soap anyway. That leg was left itchy. Bah. So the search continues through my crap load of products for a good shaving soap. The rest of my shower was fairly pleasant. I got to get all lather-happy with minty minty soap.

Working on some reviews for this next week! Hopefully I'll actually be able to get them up this time - grad school is time consuming! Ah, life.

Hope you all had pleasant showers (or baths)!