Aveda Soothing Aqua Therapy

Really is soothing, and smells wonderful!

I love Aveda's Soothing bath salts. They've got a strong herbal, almost minty scent which is really relaxing, and keeps your bathroom scented for hours after your bath. It's a great stress-reliever, and works wonders on sore muscles. It always makes me feel really luxurious and the jar is large enough that you'll get multiple uses out of it. I like that the crystals are large and leave your skin rehydrated but not at all greasy, which some bath salts do. The price is a bit excessive, but it makes a great gift.

April 28, 2008

Aveda Blue Oil Balancing Concentrate

Hasn't quite worked yet, but still trying it out

I haven't actually had any relief from headaches or muscle soreness with this product, but I still like it. In my opinion, it's one of those products that you don't really need, but buy because you like Aveda products and hope that this might work. It's got a faint scent, which is quite nice, but you've got to have a super nose to detect the scent for more than a minute or so. I'd like to recommend this balancing oil, but it just doesn't seem that useful.

April 28, 2008

Aveda Smoothing Body Polish

Great exfoliant! Makes skin shine!

The tiny grains in Aveda''s Smoothing Body Polish do a great job of gently scrubbing away dead skin cells, leaving your skin looking radiant. I use it a couple of times a week on entire body (minus face) and really concentrate on trouble dry-skin areas like elbows and knees. The result is hydrated, fresh skin. The scent is herbal and clean-smelling, but doesn't seem to linger once I've rinsed the body polish off, which is really a shame since it smells quite good. The bottle lasts forever since it takes a tiny amount to do the trick!

April 28, 2008

Aveda Hand Relief Moisturizing Creme

Great, non-greasy formula with awesome moisturizing power!

This is truly one of the best moisturizers I've ever used. Goes on quite thick and creamy, sinks in to your skin quickly and doesn't have a greasy film like many hand lotions. Leaves a clean, herbal scent without being too overpowering. Moisture seems to last longer than other lotions I've used, and seems to really soak in better.

April 28, 2008

Burt's Bees Color Keeper Green Tea & Fennel Seed Shampoo

Decent shampoo, but not my favorite

I tried Burt's Bees Color Keeper shampoo a while back, because I've used lots of other Burt's Bees products throughout the years and thought I'd love this as much as I love the other products- but I just don't. First, the shampoo was on the expensive side ( $12), even for natural shampoos. Second, I wasn't impressed with the lather- it didn't lather at all! On the plus side, it did keep my color looking fresh, but it didn't give me any shine, so while I kept my color, it didn't really pop. I'd suggest this shampoo only if you can't find another natural shampoo with color protection at your local store.

April 28, 2008

EO Sanitizing Hand Wipes

I get compliments on the smell of this stuff!

EO has the best hand sanitizer around. It smells great, unlike most hand sanitizers which leave you smelling like alcohol. Leaves you with the scent of organic fresh lavender, and leaves your hands clean and germ free. While the hand wipes are nice to throw in your picnic basket or in your pocket when you're not carrying a bag, I've found that I prefer their bottles of hand sanitizer- in fact, I've got the purse-sized bottle in my purse, the 8 oz. bottle on my desk at work, and the huge 32 oz. bottle at home to refill my smaller bottles when I'm running low! I always get compliments from people who say this stuff smells so good, and my boyfriend carries around the tiny bottle in his pockets (even he can't resist the clean, delicious smell). Says that EO products are exclusive to Whole Foods, but this isn't true. I've always gotten them at other natural food markets and they've got an online store for bulk orders. If you want clean hands but not chemical laden hand santizers, this is the stuff for you!

April 24, 2008

Jason Sea Fresh Toothpaste Non-Fluoride, Cooling Spearmint Flavor

My favorite toothpast- don't let algae or sea water fool you!

I love the taste and cleaning power of this toothpase. I've been using natural toothpaste for a long time now, and this is the best, most freshening toothpaste I've found. Don't let the algae or sea ingredients fool you, this gives you such a clean mouth and long-lasting fresh breath. I can't stand to use regular toothpaste- they always have ingreadients I can't pronounce, and have a strange, chemical taste and texture. This toothpaste just gets to the point and cleans your teeth and mouth without harmful chemicals. Even my boyfriend, an eternal skeptic of natural products, agrees that this is the best toothpaste around.

April 24, 2008

Dr. Bronner's Organic Eucalyptus Liquid Soap

The only soap you'll ever need

I can't even tell you how often I use Dr. Bronner's eucalyptus soap- I buy it in the 32 oz. bottle and it lasts forever! I've washed everythign you can think of with this soap: use daily as body wash, and always when washing my dog. I dilute it and use as an all-purpose household cleaner, and when camping I use as body wash, toothpaste, hair shampoo, laundry soap, and for cleaning dishes! I will say that I don't love it as shampoo, but am happy to use it while camping or if I've run out of my regular shampoo and haven't replaced it yet. The eucalyptus scent is quite invigorating, and the soap doesn't dry my skin out. A tiny drop of this soap goes a long way- I can clean my entire body with just a couple of drops, and the lather is amazing.

April 24, 2008

Burt's Bees Orange Essence Facial Cleanser

The absolute best cleanser for hard-to-please skin

I've tried many, many facial cleaners in my time, and nothing has come close to Burt's Bees Orange Essence Facial Cleanser. It has the best smell ever, like all- natural fresh squeezed orange juice, and does amazing things to my skin! I've got skin that is rarely the same two days in a row- it's combination oily and nothing else has made it quite so radiant. It's a boost of moisture without overdrying, and doesn't leave a residue. Most people with oily skin try to battle it with harsh, overdrying soaps, but that just makes your skin produce more oil.This soap give me clean, fresh moisture that my skin soaks in before I'm finished towl drying! Removes makeup and best of all contains no harmful ingredients that most skin care lines do! I love this product, and would recommend it for any type of skin.

April 24, 2008

Kiss My Face Miss Treated Conditioner

Great for colored hair! Smells so fresh!

Kiss my Face has come out with yet another amazing product- this shampoo is great. The smell is a natural, herbal minty smell without being overpowering and making you smell like you've rubbed a breath mint on your head. It just smells clean, and it's really invigorating in the shower. It also cleans hair well, leaving no traces of residue.. It doesn't strip hair color, which is really hard to find in a natural shampoo product. Leaves my hair feeling totally clean but not stripped of it's natural oils. My only complaint would be that it doesn't seem to lather up very well, so I feel like I use more shampoo than necessary just to feed my (wasteful) need to feel the bubbles soap up in my hair. This is a great shampoo, and I'd definitely recommend it, especially to those environmentally-conscious folks who want to lengthen the life of their hair color.

April 24, 2008