Finally Friday Fun – Random Info and Links

It is a beautiful Friday morning, and I am recovering from a wine and cheese party last night (it is not what you think, my allergies had me fighting a HUGE headache after only one small glass of red wine) so I thought I would just post some links to some fun things I have been checking out around the blog world this week.  But first, here is a picture from the party, my friends are so cute!

On to the links.  First, I have been reading the Grosgrain Fabulous blog all week and am amazed by the ideas and giveaways there.  Today is a giveaway of a beautiful dress from the Shabby Apple, check it out.

I am getting ready to make the homemade deoderant that the Angry Chicken posted about since her going pooless is going so well.  Wait, backup, reverse that, poo what you ask?  The Angry Chicken has also gone shampoo less (whatever did you think I meant, hee hee) and I have joined her.  I have only done one washing in the baking soda mix, but my hair honestly looks better than it has in quite a while.   I was really worried about not using conditioner, as I have really dry and curly hair, but what do you know, it is soft and tame and I am just happy as can be with this.  And DH is going to do a happy dance when he sees the money I am saving him in costly shampoos and conditioners!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Shampoo and Conditioner Review

I am picky when it comes to my shampoo and conditioner. I like my shampoo to leave my hair feeling clean and clear, while I need my conditioner to leave my hair feeling soft and tangle-free. I have thik, curly, over-treated hair that tends to be a bit brittle and dry so while I will sometimes accept a less than perfect shampoo, I will not settle on my conditioners. I have always stuck to one or two brands that were recommended by my hair dresser until I decided to go all natural this past summer.

I have been through a ton of products, and have been mostly disappointed. Yes TO Carrots does stand out though, and has easily been my favorite product so far. I have pretty much stopped trying others, as the price is decent and I really like what it does for my hair. It does meet the minimum requirements from above and is also paraben-free and free of phthalates. I did try the Yes TO Tomatoes shampoo and conditioner first, and was not quite as happy with it.  I believe that Drugstore.com is running a sale right now on the entire line, but you should be able to find this product at most national drugstore chains and even at Target and Walmart.

Finally Friday Fun – A Great Blush

I have been trying some fun new makeup from a couple of different places over the past few weeks and one of my favorite new products is a blush I actually got for free at Coastal Classic Creations.

This site is just great.  They claim to be “working towards the advancement of clean cosmetics,” and I have to say that they seem to be doing a great job.  I ordered some concealer, powder, and lipstick originally and I will be reviewing those cosmetics in another post.  The neat thing about my order was that since I spent a certain amount I was offered not only a couple of free products, but MY CHOICE of free products.  I have only gotten free samples before from one other cosmetic company, and they did the picking, so this was a fantastic first impression for me.

I ordered a sample of the “Driftwood” (Rosewood) Creme Blush.  I have not used creme blush before, but I wanted to try it out and I figured a free sample was the perfect way to do so.  Boy am I glad I ordered this stuff.  It goes on so nice and creamy, and I find it much easier to get the look I want with the creme.  The color is actually very close to the way it appears on the website, and I am fairly certain that it will last me a few months.  The price is higher than I would normally pay for blush, but as I said, I believe this will last quite a while so it seems worth the price to me.  And while I do love this product, I think I will have to try the “Stargazer” Burgundy Blush next time.

Gormet Body Treats Review

I ordered the first of my new natural beauty products and have been trying them for the past couple of days and wanted to post my favorite finds here so I can access them easily in the future.

The first company I decided to try was Gormet Body Treats.  I like their website, and it is pretty easy to navigate.  Most of their products do show up as completely safe on the Skin Deep site too, which also made them the perfect starting point for me.

Since I didn’t have a ton of extra money, I decided to start with two products I knew I needed, a concealer and some face wash.  I found shopping on this site, as well as ordering from it very easy.  I was also very pleased with the speed of delivery.  I ordered on a Thursday afternoon and I had my products by the following Thursday afternoon.  Not bad for a small shop.

I was very pleased with one of my purchases and not so impressed with my second purchase from this vendor.  I really like the Cream Concealer that I purchased for $10.  While the tin is small, it does seem that I will not need a ton of the concealer, and I think I can easily make it last a month, maybe even two months and that seems very reasonable to me.  The consistancy of the concealer is much thicker than I imagined, but I find that it does cover well, and does conceal my dark spots/blemishes nicely.  I find that it lasts a couple of hours, which is actually longer than liquid foundation ever does for me, so I am quite happy with this product.

The face soap that I purchases is less impressive.  I went for the Soothing Neem Soap and while the product itself is ok, I will not pay $8 again for such a small bar of average soap.  This is not a typical size bar of soap, but rather is about 1/3 size of your average bar of soap.  This would be fine, if it did something amazing or was even better than your average soap, but it isn’t.  I have been using it for about 5 days now and it is just really expensive all natural soap.  I think you can do better at your local drug store.

Overall, I am pleased with my Gormet Body Treats experience and I will definitely be trying more of their products in the coming months.

I’m Going Natural

I have been thinking about it for a long time, and I am finally doing it.  I am going (as much as possible) to all natural product use.  I am changing all of my beauty products (including hair and body care), cleaning products, and household products to all natural products, chemically free where ever possible. 

It was actually something my brother said a while back that got me thinking about what I put on my body and what I put close to my skin and how healthy it all is for me.  My brother and his family were staying at my house one weekend and his daughter fell and scraped her knee.  I immediately took her to the bathroom and put some first aid creme on her wound and then added a bandaid.  Later, my brother asked if I put anything on it, and when I said I had used the first aid cream he asked what was in it.  I replied that it was the same stuff our mom had used on our cuts so it must be fine, and he said that wasn’t necessarily true and I too needed to be more careful about anything I put on or next to my skin as it is absorbed into our bodies.  My first reaction was to think he was a paranoid and a bit nutty, but I have been thinking about that conversation and I know think he was on to something.

A quick run through Target the other day had me realizing that there must be something to this paraben and chemically free movement, as at least one third of their beauty section included these type of “natural” products.  Since Target is my personal favorite store to shop, I figured that if I can get my products there, I am certainly going to make the move to remove as many chemicals from my home as I possibly can.  I will keep you posted on how it is going. . .