Empties #1 - PART 2

If you missed PART 1, check it out here.  Now on to PART 2!

BODY

12. 100% Pure Hydrating Body Wash - $16 for 17 oz. - I got this body wash a while back and reviewed it here.  My opinion hasn't really changed since then, I still really like it.  It cleaned without stripping my skin and smelled delicious, all while being completely natural.  I actually purchased another after finishing this up, but I got Cocoa Kona Coffee to try.  PREVIEW:  It smells amazing!  :)  Even Brian likes it.

13. 100% Pure French Lavender Hand Buttercream - $8 for 2 oz (or $5.50 ea. in the set) - This was another item I reviewed here.  And again, I still love it.  It was actually the first of the hand creams I used up since I kept it on my nightstand and applied it almost every night before bed.  I may repurchase just this scent in the larger body lotion for the same purpose.  It's so soothing!
14. Shea Sugar Body Scrub in Tropical Mango - $7.49 for 18 oz. - This is my favorite body scrub (to buy).  It works really well, without being too rough on sensitive skin and the Mango smells great.  It's also a great value.  I would definitely repurchase, except that I'm loving to make my homemade scrubs instead right now.  If you're interested in making your own, feel free to check out my recipes here!

15. SheaMoisture Olive & Green Tea Body Lotion - $8.99 for 13 oz. - This is my current favorite body lotion.  Period.  It has a nice light scent and it's super moisturizing without feeling greasy at all.  I've already started a new one.  My only qualm is that it's a bit too thick to come out of the pop top that comes on it, so I replaced it with a pump.  It still takes some work to get it out, but it's worth it to me.  I will probably do a better review on it and the coordinating body wash very soon.

16. Avalon Organics LEMON Hand & Body Lotion - $12 for 12 oz. - This lotion was nice too, but I'm not sure if it's repurchase worthy to me.  Even thought it's a natural product and the lemon scent is really nice, that's really the only outstanding part of this lotion.  I definitely like the SheaMoisture one better.

HAIR

17. Dove Invigorating Dry Shampoo - $3.94 for 5 oz. - This is definitely not a natural product, but I used it up quite a while ago and figured I'd include it.  It works okay, but it puts out a lot of fumes and the smell is super strong.  For these reasons, I would not purchase again.

18. Dr. Bronner's Fair Trade & Organic Lavender Coconut Hair Crème - $7.99 for 6 oz. - This is supposed to be a leave in conditioner/styling product.  It is all natural and I love that, but this did not work for me.  It didn't matter how little I used, my hair always ended up slightly greasy and stringy.  BUT I ended up using the rest of it as a shaving creme and it worked great!

19.Carol's Daughter Monoi Repairing Shampoo - $20 for 8.5 oz. - I did a whole review on this line here.  I ended up buying the full sizes of all three products, but I finished the shampoo first since I use it more.  I still really like this line and feel that it does what it says.  Unfortunately, it is pretty expensive, so as you may know, I've been trying some other natural shampoo/conditioner options.  It is a great product though.

HOME

20. Nutiva Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil - $12 for 15 oz. -  We use coconut oil a lot in our house... and this one is not refined, deodorized or bleached, it's also made without pesticides, GMO's, or hexane.  If you use coconut oil you want to make sure yours has these qualities as well, so that you get all the benefits from it.  Right now, we have a huge tub from Costco, but it's just a good as this one.  We <3 coconut oil!

21. The Honest Co. Dryer Cloths - $6.95 for 32 cloths - I really liked these dryer cloths, esp since they don't have any nasty chemicals.  They say that the cloths can be used twice, but I find that only works if your load is cotton items only.  If there's too many synthetic fabrics they won't eliminate the static the second time around.  I honestly don't mind that though.  I'll take static over the chemicals any day.  I do have one more package to go through and then I think I'll look into making some homemade dryer sheets.

22. The Honest Co. Laundry Detergent - $12.95 for 70 oz. - We have really been enjoying this detergent.  It doesn't last quite as long as some of the commercial brands, but at least I know that it's safe and won't irritate my skin.  It seems to keep our whites white and does a good job of getting any stains out, so I'd say it's a winner for now.  Sometimes, I do like to combine it with the oxygen pods to get a deeper clean, which works really well for towels and the dogs blankets. I may try a homemade recipe soon, but I'd definitely buy this again.

Well that wraps up this Empties post.  Hopefully you were able to get something out of this sampling of products, and please let me know if you'd like a more in-depth review on anything you've seen here.  Like I mentioned in Part 1, I'll try to do this quarterly...or most likely, whenever I have a box full of things I've used up!

Thanks for reading!!

Empties #1 - PART 1

If you are a regular to the beauty blog and/or beauty YouTube world then you may be familiar with a common post/video feature called "Empties".  Since I only have time to post once a week at the moment, it's pretty hard for me to share everything that I'm using-trying-loving.  I think an "Empties" feature is a great idea because it's like several mini reviews all in one post.  Plus, it offers me a chance to use something all the way up and formulate a really good opinion so that I can tell you if I'd repurchase it or not.  When I do regular reviews, most often I'm only about halfway through the product.

Anyhow, all this to say that I've decided to add a new feature about all the products I/we use up.  It could include a mix of skincare, makeup, hair & body care and home products.  This first one is going to be a lot longer than the others because I've been thinking about doing this since the beginning of the year, so that's when I started keeping our empties.  Because of this, I've decided to divide it into 2 parts. 

Well, let's get started!

SKINCARE

1. LAVANILA The Healthy Deodorant - $14 for 1.7 oz - This was the first natural deodorant I tried after quitting the commercial ones that are full of aluminum, parabens and other toxic chemicals.  I got the Lavender Vanilla one, which smelled really nice, but overall this deodorant didn't work for me.  I still sweat, which I expected since it's not an antiperspirant, but I also smelled halfway throughout the day.  It also got crumbly by the end and really hard to apply.  For all of this, I would not purchase this agian.  I've since been using a homemade version that I'm loving.  No more smelly pits!  I'll def be posting about that soon.

2. SheaMoisture Facial Moisturizers - $12 for 1.5oz. - It's safe to say that I loved these moisturizers to the very last bit... read my full review here.  The Raw Shea Butter Anti-Aging Moisturizer I loved slightly more.  I would definitely purchase it again.  However, I recently tried to pick up more of this one and when I got home it was butter yellow in color, not light beige and smelled like chemicals not Shea, Frankincense and Myrrh like the last one I had.  Now, I know that slight differences can occur between batches of products, especially natural ones, but this was like a different product.  I contacted SheaMoisture and they told me they would look into it.  In the meantime, it was so off-putting that I returned it and got the just the plain Raw Shea Butter infused with Frankincense & Myrrh, which is working nicely so far.  I'll keep you updated on that and I'll definitely be checking on the facial moisturizer to see if it's back to normal in a few months...

3. Mario Badescu Facial Spray With Aloe, Herbs and Rosewater - $7 for 4oz. - This was my first experience with facial sprays and it's how I fell in love with rose water.  This was amazing at moisturizing my parched skin and setting my mineral makeup.  It's not only rose water, but aloe and some great skin-loving herbs, BUT it also has propylene glycol, which I try to avoid.  In a nutshell, PG is a synthetic solvent or surfactant, a form of mineral oil.  It hasn't been linked directly to cancer, but it has been shown to cause acute toxicity when ingested in repeated small doses, plus it can cause allergic skin reactions in some people.  More so, I try to avoid synthetic chemicals in general, especially ones that are also in things like engine coolants & paint, like PG.  I've since found a new all natural rosewater spray that I love, and again, I'll definitely be sharing that soon!

4. Sensodyne Pronamel Toothpaste FRESH WAVE - $4.99 for 4 oz. - This was my quick "less toxic" toothpaste option, until I could find a more natural option that I liked.  It's definitely not the best, because it still contains PEG-8, Cocamidopropyl Betaine & artificial sweetener, but at least there are no parabens.  I've since been using The Honest Company's toothpaste, which has none of these and I really like it.

5. 100% Pure Red Wine Resveratrol Nourishing Cream - $38 for 1.6oz. - Both this face cream and the eye cream in #6 I received as a free gift with purchase.  I actually REALLY loved this product.  As you may know, I am an avid 100% Pure product user already, and this gem would definitely be in my top 10 favorites from 100% Pure.  It was very moisturizing, smelled great and made my skin feel super smooth.  I only had two issues... I had to cut the tube to get the last bit of product that was left after the pump wouldn't pump out any more product and the price is kind of high for the amount you get.  I can deal with the tub cutting, but becasue of the price I'm not sure I'd repurchase without a coupon code or something.  It was a very nice cream though.

6. 100% Pure Organic Coffee Bean Caffeine Eye Cream - $21 for 1oz. - This goodie is not new to me, I actually reviewed it here, and have gone through 2 since then.  Like the Red Wine Nourishing Cream, I have to cut the tube open to get the last bits of product out, but at least this one is a better value.  It's not a miracle cream but it does do a pretty good job of depuffing and smoothing my eye area, naturally.

7. Pacifica Purify Coconut Water Cleansing Wipes - $6 for 30 towelettes - Unfortunately, these facial wipes were not a win for me.  As much as I love other Pacifica products, including their perfumes, they weren't as moist as I'd like and they made my eyes sting.  They are a great natural option and smell great, but they just didn't work for me.  I won't be getting these again.

MAKEUP

8. 100% Pure Luminous Primer Vitamins + Antioxidants With Resveratrol - $28 for 1 oz. - I've been using this primer for quite some time now, you can read my review here.  And I'm sure I've gone through a couple before this one.  It's got great ingredients and makes my skin plump and glowing. I actually have another in the wings and one more coming as a free gift with purchase.  The only downside is that the glass container makes it hard to get inside and get the last bits, but I make it work.  I will still keep using this as long as they keep making it.

9. Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes 4-in-1 Mascara - $20 - LOVE this mascara, especially the deluxe sample size... I think I prefer the shorter wand.  I talk about it more here.  Beyond that, the brush and formula are great.  It separates my lashes and is buildable so I can do natural or glam with no clumping or flaking.  It isn't 100% natural, so I may try to find a natural one that I love as much.  I'll be honest, it's going to be hard!

10. Signature Minerals Light Mint Corrector - $10-$18 - I just did a whole review on this, so if you're interested check it out here.  But basically, it's amazing and my savior against redness.  It's a staple for me.

11. Tarte Amazonian Clay BB Tinted Moisturizer Broad Spectrum SPF 20 - $36 for 1.7 oz. - This is a product that I keep thinking about reviewing because I've been using it since last summer, but sometimes I'm still not sure what I think about it.  Weird, right?!  I don't know... Overall I really like it, even if it's not all natural, it's pretty good in the ingredient department.  It offers good coverage for a tinted moisturizer, it goes on smoothly and blends easily and gives my skin a natural even tone.  But I tend to look pretty shiny after about 5 hours, more than the other products I use and I've noticed that it breaks up a bit on my chin by the end of the day.  I can get over this by just blotting once or twice, so it's not a deal breaker.  I actually wore this for my wedding and it looked great in person and in the photos.  I think I just need to play with the amount I apply or the finishing powder I use.  Anyhow, it's a good product, but I might not repurchase because I want to explore some more natural options.

Check back for PART 2 next week!!

fabulous find // Milk Glass

I actually acquired this 'fabulous find' a couple months ago with my mom when we visited Dade City.  It was in one of the {many} cute antique stores there.  I've been wanting to share, but there were some other posts that I wanted to share first.  Anyhow, within the past year or so I've developed a love for milk glass, or "Opal Glass" as it was once called.  Milk glass has been around since the 16th century and originated in Italy.  It is an opaque or translucent, milky white or colored glass, blown or pressed into a wide variety of shapes.  

 

 But my favorite is the pure white variety.  I just love how crisp & clean the white juxtaposes with their fun patterns & shapes.  Plus, anything you put in them just pops!

The style I have is a white Fenton milk glass Hobnail Ruffled Dish.  I'm not sure if it's the real thing, or a replica...my guess is a replica because it doesn't have the "Fenton" stamp on the bottom.  Honestly, I don't care either way.  I still LOVE it!

I hemmed & hawed for a while about what to use it for, but in the end decided it's future rested with holding beautiful bits and baubles.  AKA my jewelry.

Since it's pretty flat in the center it holds all of my small{er} earrings without jumbling them. And the ruffled edges are perfect for some of my medium-sized dangle earrings.

I also love how it completes my jewelry area. I've been really enjoying putting on my jewelry every morning because seeing it, just makes me smile. 

That's pretty much it for my first piece of Milk Glass.  I can't wait to add a second to my collection... I'm on the look out for a fun vase or cake plate!