Products: The Body Shop Cranberry Joy Shower Gel, eye creams!)

Hi!

February is here!

Why so fast! Though it's only the first few weeks of the year, I am getting more and more stuff, which is great but surprising. I have several skin care items that were given to me as a trade-off with a friend that I bonded over skin care items. I received The Body Shop Cranberry Joy Shower Gel and the Vanilla Bliss Hand Lotion from her; she got this over the holidays  but turned them over to me because she learned that I loved Cranberry and have always wanted to try that scent.

I traded these for my bottle of Queen Helene Mint Julep Mask because she said she has always been itching to purchase it but never got the time to. Although I have to buy another mint julep, I think it's still worth giving up because my friend threw in a vanilla lotion for me-- because she didn't like the vanilla scent as well!

Crazy girl, eh? But all the better for me!

I have just very recently tried the TBS Cranberry Joy Shower Gel. I love, love, love the scent that's straight from the bottle. It is an amazing cranberry smell that is more fruity than sweet. It's not overwhelming and it is a welcome burst of scent! I bought a fluffy loofah for this so I can scrub the shower gel all over my body and found that when you use the gel, the scent goes from fruity cranberry to a solid, barky cranberry that is so awesome because it doesn't smell so cloying. 

This is pretty popular in our household because the person who showers after me always exclaims that the bathroom smells so wonderful! Right now, my niece also uses this because she loves the scent and it moisturizes well enough without having that slippery feel.

Another thing I got is the TBS Vanilla Bliss Hand Lotion. I usually use this at night after taking a bath. AI actually mistook this for a body lotion so at the first try I spread it all over my my hand and body and wondered why it was so creamy? I finally realized it was a hand lotion but whatever! I love it so so so much! The scent is a vanilla au lait kind of thing.  I still use it on my arms and shoulders because I just HAVE to smell the vanilla scent before I go to sleep; it's like aromatherapy for me now! I don't think I can have a well-rested sleep without smelling it on me hahaha!

What I'm worried about is running out of this lotion. Both the Cranberry Joy and Vanilla Bliss are Christmas exclusives / holiday specials :( If I run out of this lotion before this year's Christmas my sleep is doomed! XD With this lotion, I sleep better at night and I wake up with soft skin!

Thanks so much for reading!~~

Products: Choosing to Go Organic in Bathcare!

Well well well, another post, another day to praise the benefits of organic products to the heavens! You must be getting tired of all these wonderful feedback, but I am all up in this cause. I want to find a comfortable pace in shifting to all-organic skin care, so I am now dabbling to bath care!

Zooming on Face Washing
Daily cleansing is a very important part that you just can't skip. (Don't even think of skipping your cleansing routine!) It is where the foundation to which the health of your skin rests on. There is more to cleansing than just washing away of the day's dirt or grime, as it should also:

1. Avoid stripping away the natural moisture
2. Help the skin replenish lost moisture due to make up or heavy usage of topical skin care products
3. Not aggravate skin conditions like dry skin or oily skin
4. Cleanse the face thoroughly without being harsh to the skin

Organic soaps should always be cut in smaller pieces, as these have no "hardeners"
and may melt a lot easily than ordinary soap

This is why I picked one of the more popular brands in all-organic bath soaps: Cyleina! They have sooo many varieties online that it's I'm always frustrated when I only see Tomato soap, the small versions of Strawberry and Glutathione soaps available in the dept store. I got both but I chose a full-sized version of the Tomato because it is going to be my main soap. The others I just want to get for no reason other than I had no other choice :D

Price List : Tomato - P100.00, Kojic - P75.00, Strawberry - P20.00

Some experts say that you shouldn't use the same soap you use for the body on your face; but I believe that organic soaps are an exception. I think that you shouldn't use commercial/non-organic soaps on your face at all! Those have a long list of ingredients that are not good for the skin in the long run. How can you go wrong with Cyleina's ingredient list?

Ingredients: Saponified organic vegetable oil, Jojoba oil, Sweet Almond oil, organic Tomato extracts

These soaps may not come cheap, but they are worth the penny!

Going Natural on Hair Care
Along with  the change in my soap, I was also able to try organic shampoo. I purchased this P300+ 532 ml bottle at Healthy Options, which carried the Nature's Gate brand that I have always been curious about. These are advertised as "organic", but I'm not sure what the percentage is. But compared to regular shampoo in the market today, these have zero to low levels of harmful chemicals and are free from SLS and other ingredients with carcinogenic (cancer-causing) properties. Scary, isn't it?

A big bottle! Worth its price!

The image below is the ingredient list of this product, and even I am skeptical if this is an "all-natural product", as they imply it to be. I'm still glad I can use this sometimes, because I found that if I use it my hair gets hard and tangly. This is ok as a clarifying though!

But there are really good ingredients on the list so I am positive that I'm still on the right track somehow! It's better than seeing these: (Taken from Shampoo Ingredients To Avoid at SavvySkin)

1. Sodium Lauryl Sulfate
2. Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate
3. Ammonium Laureth Sulfate
4. Ammonium Xylene Sulfonate
5. TEA Lauryl Sulfate
6. Sulfur (in dandruff shampoos)
7. Selenium Sulfide (in dandruff shampoos)

Thankfully none that I can find in the Nature's Garden Aloe Vera shampoo! I will need to find a better shampoo that will complement my hair type, so the journey doesn't end here.

All in all, I am glad for my baby steps in switching to organic skin and hair care products.