Category Archives: product review

Product Review: Splurge Skincare Natural Lip Balm and Body Scrub

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splurge skincare natural lip balm

Just thinking about…and smelling…and staring at these products makes me happy. Read this review then order some. Right. NOW. (Can you tell I loved these products?)

WHAT: The Rub and Lip Buttah
WHO: Splurge Skincare
AVAILABLE IN: Peppermint, Almond, Lemon, and Orange Chocolate (the latter is in Lip Buttah only)
COST: A .15 oz. tube of Lip Buttah is $7.00 and an 8 oz. tub of The Rub is $26.00
BONUS: You can pronounce all of the ingredients in these products!
RECOMMENDED SCENT: Almond (warning: you may experience strong cravings to eat said product)
FUN FACT: The line was created by two teachers, with the hopes of encouraging others to “splurge” on themselves everyday!
INGREDIENTS: The Rub – sugar, organic safflower oil, meadowfoam oil, glycerin, organic cocoa butter, organic shea butter, aloe vera leaf juice, sweet orange essential oil, bitter almond essential oil, vitamin E; Lip Buttah – babassu oil, organic cocoa butter, beeswax, sweet almond oil, organic castor oil, peppermint essential oil, vitamin E

I could hardly contain my excitement when I finally received the samples I had requested from Splurge Skincare. Being a lover of all things beautifying, and feeling the compelling need to discover and introduce others to natural, healthy, and safe beauty alternatives, I was pumped to give Splurge a shot.

Well, it’s been a month and I’ve already gone through half a tube of my Peppermint Lip Buttah—I never go through natural lip balm that fast, not even my Burt’s Bees. The Almond Rub gets busted out at least once a week, and I always have to double think about wanting to taste a little bit of it (I’m serious. It smells that delicious).

So? How do they measure up?

The Lip Buttah is luxuriously smooth and moisturizing. It does’t leave any residue, and it makes your lips soft and kissable. It comes in an oval tube, similar to that of Hurraw! natural lip balm. It comes in 4 flavors: Peppermint, Almond, Lemon, and Orange Chocolate. I sampled the Peppermint flavor. The scent was light, so it’s great for both men and women. I didn’t taste anything (which, if you read my last natural lip balm review, is nothing out of the ordinary for me). In addition to the classic flavors, these lovely ladies have also recently introduced a tinted line consisting of “Fling” (a luscious red), “Going Steady” (a sort of beige), and “In Love” (a pinkish nude).

The Rub is unlike any other body scrub I’ve ever used. It’s made with sugar, so the granules are fine and exfoliating against your skin without being rough. The organic cocoa butter & shea butter in it moisturizes your skin so that when you get out of the shower, you are glistening and your skin is quenched! It’s not greasy or harsh at all. In fact, I’ve found that I can skip my lotion or oil moisturizing session after a shower when I use The Rub, which, hey, anything that makes my morning beauty routine go faster is fine by me! I sampled the Almond scent, and it’s to die for. TO-DIE-FOR.

All of Splurge Skincare’s products are available for purchase on Amazon, as well as in a couple of local stores in New York and Massachusetts. I highly recommend the “splurge” on these, especially with Valentine’s Day just around the bend. As their tagline suggests, “spoil yourself naturally!”

Product Review: Hoo-Rag “The Better Bandana”

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hoo rag

Living in Chicago oftentimes means an intense exposure to the elements. Since it’s wintertime, the wind is atrociously strong and destructive (despite the fact that our winter has been the mildest it’s been in years). The last thing you want is to walk outside and get wind burn. The solution?

A Hoo-rag. What the hecka-hoo?

WHAT: Hoo-rag, a seamless, cotton-polyester blended microfiber bandana
WHO: Hoo-rag
AVAILABLE IN: A ton of crazy colors and patterns
COST: $9.99 – $14.95
BONUS: You can use these in the winter OR the summer. Dual-usage always rocks.
FUN FACT: You can get your own logo or designs printed on a Hoo-rag!

The Hoo-rag is a seamless bandana. Soft and smooth, the material is cool and refreshing to the touch. It looks like a hair headband, but 5-10x as long, so it’s more like a tube. You pull it over your head, down to your neck, and the wearing begins there. The Hoo-rag site provides a pretty helpful page about all the different ways you can wear the bandana.

The Hoo-rag is great for a variety of reasons:

1. IT PROTECTS YOU FROM THE ELEMENTS.

The sun, the moon, the wind, sand, dust, sweat. This is particularly good if you are an outdoors enthusiast or an athlete (or if you just sweat a ton at the gym). The Hoo-rag absorbs water (i.e. sweat) pretty well, so it doesn’t get soggy and fall down your face. My only qualm is that while it protects my face from the Chicago wind, I didn’t find it insulating my body heat too well. I guess that’s a good thing when summer comes around, though, because it provides a more cooling effect.

2. YOU CAN WEAR IT A BAZILLION DIFFERENT WAYS. 

hoo rag wear

Ok, so maybe not a bazillion ways, but chances are, there is a way that appeals to you. Check out this video for a great how-to. Personally, I wore mine around my neck like a scarf, and in my hair as a headband. And let me tell you: it held my hair back so well, without flattening or frumping up my hair like some other headbands do. Definite plus.

3. ANYONE CAN WEAR THEM.

From Mom cleaning at home, to Dad fishing on the lake, from your brother in the military, to your sister going to the club. The assortment of designs appeals to everyone, including kids, and it’s a pretty great marketing tool if you get your logo printed on them.

Check out the assortment of prints here!

I was not compensated for this post. A Hoo-rag was mailed to me with a request for product review. All opinions are my own.

Product Review: Abbey Brown Artisan Soaps and Body Oils

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abbey brown artisan soap

With the coming of fall, it’s so easy to fall (hah) in love again with all of those earthy, natural scents. Of course, I enjoy them year round, but there’s something about the brisk air, the sun beaming through multicolored leaves, and the nightly bonfires that make me love an earthy scent so much more.

Enter In The Woods.

WHAT: In The Woods Artisan Soap and Body Oil
WHO: Abbey Brown
AVAILABLE IN: 4oz soap bars; 4oz body oils
COST: Soaps are $7 in a cute recycled bag or $6.50 naked; Body oils are $9
BONUS: The soaps have 0 chemicals or preservatives (can you say AWESOME?)
RECOMMENDED SCENTS: In The Woods, Lavender, All That Jazz
FUN FACT: The body oil containers can be reused and are great for traveling.

Abbey Brown Soap Artisan is a Chicago-based company dedicated to handcrafting natural olive oil soaps, soothing body oils, and relaxing bathing essentials. Their tagline, “Shop Local, Bathe Local” really emphasizes what they’re about: all of the herbs and botanicals in their products are grown locally.

My first exposure to Abbey Brown was while my mom and I were perusing Country Naturals, an infinitely charming little shop bursting of little knick-knacks, candles, lotions, decorations, and more in the lovely town of Geneva, IL. They had a small selection of Abbey Brown products in a corner of their store, and with the name “In The Woods,” I couldn’t help but pick it up. On the first inhale, the smell of cedar and pine simply enveloped me. But soap? I don’t use bars of soap. I’m all about the body washes and scrubs. So I put it down, and I walked away…

But it smelled so good. Maybe… I inhaled the bar once again.

No, no… I don’t use bar soaps! It’s just going to sit there…

And then I picked it up and brought it to the checkout counter. Low and behold, the decision was a great one. It’s since been the only bar of soap I’ve used up and needed to replace. The bits and pieces of dried mint and lemon verbena provide the perfect scrub in the shower, and the olive oil nourishes my thirsty skin. Let’s not forget the fact that I then smell absolutely amazing.

The olive oil soaps are comprised of 58% cold pressed olive oil, with the remainder of the bar made up of essential oils, plant oils, and fresh herbs. Paired with the fact that there are no chemicals, preservatives, petroleum, or paraffin, you have a bar of simple, natural goodness.

Being that I live in the city of Chicago, I was pleased to discover that Abbey Brown was local. Meaning, as I was driving down Grand Avenue one afternoon, I looked at the side of the road, saw the shop, and exclaimed to myself, “Oh my gosh! That’s who makes my soap!!!” Trust me, it was an exciting revelation.

Months later, when I finally made it into the shop, I had a blast sifting through their products and smelling all of their wonderful scents. I raved about my love for the In The Woods soap (and shea balm. So maybe I’m a little addicted.) as I was browsing the body oils. What? No In The Woods body oil? And what did the store associate do? Tailor-made me my own body oil of the intoxicating scent. Customer service and quality products — I’m all about that.

The oil is smooth and absorbs into skin quickly and easily. The scent lasts for a few hours, and even my boyfriend has commented on borrowing some (yeah. It’s that good.) The oils aren’t greasy and you can use them in the bath, as well. Pair a soap and its matching oil, and you’ll have one happy body.

Abbey Brown also makes bath salts, shea balms, body butters, and teaches classes on aromatherapy and soap making.

In Love with Natural Lip Balm

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natural lip balm

When it comes to natural lip balms and chapsticks, I am a very, very picky person. I’ve been committed to Burt’s Bees Beeswax Lip Balm with Vitamin E & Peppermint (i.e. the regular old Burt’s Bees) for years. But honestly? I just haven’t found anything that I’ve liked enough to switch over to or use regularly. For me, texture and taste are two major components, and I’ve found that a lot of lip balms are messy, taste funny, or are just too goopy. Burt’s Bees provides the perfect amount of moisture with the ever-so-slight sheen that has you applying it over and over again (in a good way!).

That is…
until now.

Discovery #1: HURRAW! all natural. organic. vegan. raw. good. Lip Balm

I will yell hurray, hurraw, whatever you want me to yell because I am so freakin’ excited about this lip balm, I don’t even know what to do with myself. Where do I even begin?

HURRAW! Lip Balm comes in a bazillion different flavors, you’ve gotta catch ‘em all. It’s like the Pokemon era all over again. Flavors consist of Earl Grey, Green Tea, Chai Spice (my current obsession), Coffee Bean, Cinnamon, Black Cherry, Coconut, Vanilla Bean, Almond, Chocolate, Grapefruit, Orange, Lemon, Lime, Mint, Licorice, and Rootbeer. In addition to the flavorfest, they’ve released an SPF 15 Sun Balm in Tangerine Chamomile and a night treatment Moon Balm in blue chamomile vanilla.

Each natural lip balm is made in “small, fresh, handcrafted batches” and hand poured, and they come in nifty oval tubes, resistant to pocket escapes. Cool, right?

Well, there’s more.

This balm is about as clean and pure as you can get. The company uses honest, fair trade, organic, vegan, and raw ingredients, all of which come from reputable suppliers. Their website is forthcoming about all ingredients within the balms. They are gluten free, contain no GMOs (yay!), and are certified Kosher Parve.

The little black specks in the vanilla balm? Yeah, those are real vanilla beans. Talk about authentic.

FLAVOR: Chai Spice
TASTES LIKE: Nothing really, and I’m ok with that
SCENT: Intoxicating chai and cinnamon goodness
TEXTURE: Smooth as ice cream on your lips, a bit of a glossy wear, however totally suitable for both men and women
WEAR: I can go a good hour or so without needing to reapply. In fact, my lips are usually pretty moisturized by then, telling me this balm does its job
PRICE: $3.79
AVAILABLE: Online and in select stores
INGREDIENTS: *Prunus amygdalus dulcis (sweet almond) oil, ***Euphorbia cerifera (candelilla) wax, **Cocos nucifera (coconut) oil, *Simmondsia chinensis (jojoba) seed oil, **Theobroma cacao (cocoa) seed butter, *Ricinus communis (castor) seed oil, *Olea europaea (olive) fruit oil, organic flavors, Elettaria cardamomum (cardamom) oil, Tocopherols (vitamin e) /// *cold pressed / organic **raw & organic ***wildcrafted

 

Discovery #2: Naked Eye Beauty Rose Tinted Lip Balm

I was turned on to this lip balm by the lovely ladies over at Product Junkies Rehab (if you haven’t checked out their blog already, take a few and do it now. They are a wealth of information regarding all sorts of natural products. It’s a gold mine over there!). When Jordan wrote that the tinted lip balm blew Burt’s Bees out of the water, well, you know. I just had to try it. I clicked over to Naked Eye Beauty’s website and lucky for me, they were having an anniversary sale! A few more purchases and a prompt shipment later, my Rose Tinted Lip Balm arrived.

Ladies, this balm has a beautifully rich pink pigmentation. The color looks a bit dark in the tube, but once you roll it over your lips, the color and sheen simply melt into perfection. I generally have a hard time with pinks and reds; I just can never get a pretty cool without looking washed out. With this though, the pink complements my skin tone, both the pale one, and the bronzed (after being in the sun this past weekend) one. It’s fantastic!

The balm holds a bonus factor for doubling as cheek color. Best of all, though, is that it’s deliciously infused with a rich passion fruit scent (don’t worry, you can still detect the hints of rose!). You want to keep smelling it, like you did with those scented markers as a kid.

The lip balm is available in a coral color, as well, but I’ve yet to try it.

All of Naked Eye Beauty’s products are handmade using ingredients sourced from reputable certified fair trade and organic American wholesalers and from the personal organic herb and flower garden of the company’s founder, Jennifer. Homegrown beauty at its finest!

FLAVOR: Rose
TASTES LIKE: Nothing… maybe I just don’t taste chapstick well
SCENT: A luscious, full tropical passion fruit with a touch of soothing rose
TEXTURE: Creamy and smooth, entirely kissable–watch out!
WEAR: A few hours will go by with this balm. The initial layer of balm and coloring comes off pretty easily (it will leave a lip line around the rim of a glass), however, the color gets absorbed into your lips some, so after the balm fades you still have a soft pink glow. It’s awesome!
PRICE: $8.00 (and worth every cent. You seriously won’t regret it)
AVAILABLE: Online
INGREDIENTS: Organic Olive Oil, Candelilla Wax, Coconut Oil, Palm Oil, Organic Shea Butter, Organic Jojoba Oil, Rosehip Oil, Castor Oil, Vitamin E, Rosemary Extract, Neem Oil, Passionfruit Rose Flavor, Red Mica, Brick Red Oxide

Product Review: Swan Creek Soy Candles

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Swan Creek Soy Candles

Coming off of the topic of soy and beeswax candles, I thought I’d introduce you to one of my favorites.

WHAT: Soy Candles, the Homespun Jar Collection
WHO: Swan Creek Candle Company
AVAILABLE IN: 12 oz; 3.75″ x 4.5″ or 24 oz; 3.75″ x 6.75″
BURN TIME: 12 oz has a 75-100 hour burn time; 24 oz has a 110-150 hour burn time
COST: 12 oz is $12.50; 24 oz is $19.50
BONUS: Out of season scents are available at a discounted price!
RECOMMENDED SCENTS: Lilac, Lily of the Valley, Pine Tree
FUN FACT: The jars that the 12 oz candles come in make for great glassware afterwards.

Swan Creek Soy Candles come in a variety of permanent and seasonal scents. They burn clean (soot-free), which is something I love. Some smoke is emitted when you blow the flame out, but not too much (even when I burn my candles for hours at a time). The candles last for hours upon hours, and the natural fragrances infuse the rooms in which they occupy. Without being overwhelming, the candle scents contribute to a relaxing and pleasant smelling atmosphere.

The wax in the candles burns and re-hardens quite evenly, which contributes to their longevity. In addition to coming in clear, reusable glass jars, the candles are available in a variety of colors and seasonal scents (Christmas Pine, anyone?). Swan Creek also has a number of other lines, including the Clean & Contemporary Jar Collection, Retro & Aromatherapy Prism Glass, Votives, and Wax & Wick Refills.