UGH!

Alright so this is just going to be a rant post because I am kind of disappointed.. I have recently been looking for a new day-time lotion because I just ran out of my Carley's clear and smooth skin acne-prone lotion and I really really have been LOVING that lotion but I really don't like the fact that shipping is so high with that company.

So i've been loving etsy like crazy and I thought I found the perfect lotion with the ideal ingredients. On the website the ingredients consist of aloe vera, essential oils, jojoba oil & other carrier oils, vegetable glycerin, emulsifying wax and stearic acid. I didn't list the exact oils because I really don't want to single this company out more than I already am. As you can see the ingredients are just heavenly. As natural as a face lotion can get.

SO when I received this today I was so excited and the packaging was SO CUTE! And then I saw it...Phenonip. In the ingredients on the listing in the shop it never included this. Phenonip is a preservative that is pretty much composed of a whole bunch of different parabens. I guess what i'm trying to say is that I feel really mislead and i'm upset that the ingredients were not accurate on the listing. Anyways, that is my little rant for today. Since I've already bought this i'm going to use it up and hopefully it does work out with my skin despite the phenonip. =)

lovelove,

Julia

Haus Of Gloi - Vice Sugar Creme

[ingredients: organic cane sugar, butyrospermum parkii (shea butter) fruit, cocos nucifera (coconut) oil, prunus armeniaca (apricot) kernal oil, olea eropaea (olive) fruit oil, emulsifying wax NF, prunus amygdalus dulcis (sweet almond) oil, theobroma cacao (cocoa powder), cetyl alcohol NF, fragrance.]

Oh Dearie me.

Today I woke up from the sound of the postman ringing my door bell and to my surprise it was my teeny tiny Haus Of Gloi order! I was so EXCITED and I opened it immediately. I expected the scrub to be melted due to the extreme hot weather we've been getting and indeed it was. It looked pretty gross to be honest; like melted butter and oil with ground coffee floating around =P. But following the instructions that are clearly outlined on the website in the product description, I popped it in the fridge for 10 minutes and it was just like new!

First I need to talk about the smell. This is the description on the jar,"Steam billows rolling off a vessel of fresh made turkish coffee, marshmallow goo tainted by graham cracker crumbs, toasted hazelnuts and blanketed in black chocolate". Holy moly the description is so accurate! It has such a delectable smell I JUST WANT TO EAT IT.

Secondly the actual scrub. It's honestly fantastic. I was worried that it was going to be too greasy for me considering how oily my skin is and to my surprise it was just perfect. I scrubbed all over my body until the sugar dissolved and after rinsing my skin felt very very oily. HOWEVER after drying off with a towel OMGOOOOSHHH hello supple, smooth, baby bum soft, dewy, moisturized (and all words of that sort) skin. I didn't even want to put any clothes on after! And the smell did linger on my skin after rinsing and gosh did I smell so yummy.

The only small tiny thing that I dislike about this scrub is the fact that it is quite runny. First I thought it was just the hot weather that caused this however when comparing it with my Mad City Soap Moisturizing Scrub's texture after taking it out of the fridge it had a much much more runny consistency. i'll put pictures up later comparing the two just to give you an idea. It's not SUCH a big deal but it does make the scrub quite tricky to handle and it tends to make a bit of a mess. =)

lovelove,

Julia

Facial Clay Masks?

Happy Sunday everyone!

So I have been searching for a clay mask for so long! I'm looking for one that really detoxifies and is suitable for oily, acne-prone skin. I really really loved the effects of Mask of Magnaminty from Lush and just finished up my mega pot yesterday however..I really wasn't a fan of the talc or parabens used in the product. So i'm looking for a dry (mix it yourself) mask or a premoistened mask that is paraben and formaldehyde free. Any ideas?

The Sugar Pink Cupcakes Haul Numero 2!!

YES ANOTHER ONE ALREADY!

Because I was just so thrilled wih my first order I put in another order immediately and it arrived today! So I'm just going to show you all my goodies and tell you what everything smells like!

Cupcake Tarts

I got 4 bags of cupcake tarts: Birthday Cake (smells like sweet buttercream frosting spread on top of a buttery white cake), White Cake & Strawberries(MY FAVOURITE SMELL EVER; juicy ripe gigantic strawberries tossed on a white sponge cake and sprinkled with sugar), Sugar Pink Cookies (smells like buttery sugar cookies topped with a creamy strawberry & cherry icing) and Strawberry Shortcake. (I really do not like this scent it smells like a burnt strawberry shortcake to me for some reason)

Breakaway Tarts

Anddd I got 4 packs of breakaway tarts: Pink Lemonade (smells like grapefruit and lemons with a hint of sugar), Better Than Sex Cupcakes (OMGOSH; smells like a chocolate almond cupcake with a whipped hazelnut icing), Pomegranate Cream (I don't smell pomegrante or cream it smells more floral with a distinct hint of cinammon & spice, it's a really nice complex scent) and Pineapple Upside Down Smoothie. (smells like a fresh pineapple blended with vanilla and hints of banana and mint)

Bath Bomb Fizzies-Bundt cakes

I also wanted to try these so I got 2 of them: Blueberry Cupcakes (smells like sweet gooey blueberry pie filling) and Frosted Lime Cupcakes. (smells like a really fresh lime flavoured icing)

She also sent me a sample of her sugar scrub which I have not opened yet and also 3 more of her white cake & strawberry tarts BECAUSE I CANNOT SAY BETTER THINGS ABOUT THIS SCENT!! So I'm really happy with my order! As you can tell everything was very neatly packaged and ready for gift-giving if that is what you're looking for. I'm disappointed that I didn't like the Strawberry Shortcake but we all have preferences and maybe you would like this scent. So if you haven't checked her etsy shop out I really suggest you take a little look and try something out! =D

lovelove,

Julia

Le Bella Beauty Bar

OMGOSH OMGOSH I just couldn't help but share my small bath bomb order from Le Bella Beauty Bar on Etsy! 5 are 2 oz and 2 of them are 5 oz. As I use them up in my bath or as a hand and foot soak I will be reviewing them =D. HOW CUTE ARE THESE! I got such a great deal on them so click the title of this post and you can too!

lovelove,

Julia

I have a secret. =X

[ingredients: coconut oil, soybean oil, rice bran oil, olive oil (pure grade), sodium hydroxide, natural shea butter, apricot kernal oil, castor oil]

So I have been using this particular soap forrrr...well going on 5 months now and I am just totally 100% in love with this soap. I use on my face and before you think "omgosh bar soap on my face" well YES on my face and I just absolutely love it. If I had to choose a holy grail soap this would be it. Let me tell you why..



The lather- OMGOSH! When it comes to soaps the most important thing about it has to be the lather. This soap produces a creamy, milky, sudsy just really glorious lather. It is like i'm on cloud 9 when i'm...washing my face lol. You can use this on your body as well and the only reason I don't is because it doesn't really have a smell.



The smell- If I had to describe the smell it would be pleasent and a very light clean smell. It's not offensive at all and it's perfect for the face.



The way my face feels after- Incredible! This soap completely removes all my makeup at the end of the day and since using this soap my face has been so soft. The texture of my face has improved and of course my acne situation has come to an end. I have also been using their Clear and Smooth Acne treatment for a full 5 months and after going through about 5 months with pimples popping up out of nowhere I really was so relieved when I tryed this and it worked! I can do a review on that product at a later date if you guys want, just leave a comment.



Now this soap is not pretty I mean it doesn't have any cool swirled colours in it or any different shape to it it's basically a plain yellowish-cream colour rectangular bar of soap. Oh and it's HUGE! This bar must weigh at least 8 ounces and each bar is only 5 dollars.

So if you're looking for a really high quality bar of soap that really has nothing to it, basically a very plain jane soap then give this a try. If you're really looking for a soap that lathers and is wonderful to use on your face then I would really recommend this! Please keep in mind that I do have oily skin and for people with very dry skin this soap may not work for you as a facial cleanser.

Gudonya Whipped Shave - Strawberry Fields & Original Almond

[ingredients: distilled water, glycerine, sugar, sodium cocoyl isethionate, sorbitol, disodium lauryl sulfosuccinate, bentonite, kaolinite, coconut oil, sweet almond oil, avocado oil, olive oil, stearic acid, sodium chloride, fragrance, pentasodium penetrate, tetrasodium etidronate, colour, optiphen (formaldehyde and paraben free preservative)]

I've been looking for a replacement for shaving cream for quite some time now. I was previously using Gillette..you know those gel ones that come in the cans. Well I realized that the product is loaded with parabens and the actual cans they come in are not environmentally friendly at all. So taking a new eco-friendly approach I came across GudonyaTOO on etsy. They sell shampoos, whipped soaps, lip balms and lotions just to list a few of many items. They also sell shave bars and creams. I've never really tried shave bars before and I liked the idea of a shaving cream better so I went with the cream.

I chose Original Almond (smells like nutty sweet almond with a touch of vanilla) and Strawberry Fields (smells like a fresh ripe gigantic juicy strawberry). The texture of these are just so luxurious; they have the same consistency as whipped buttercream frosting. Like I mean REALLY whipped.

So I scoop one finger in the whipped shave and I take a very little amount and spread it all over my legs after I have dampened them a bit. It foams up just enough and a little amount of this stuff really does cover my whole leg. Mind you, it doesn't foam up as much as a shaving cream from an aerosol can would, but thats a given. Shaving with this cream is like a dream. The razor slides so easily and to my surprise I have not experienced any cuts or nicks on my legs. I always seem to manage to nick myself either near my ankle or near my knee, but not with this stuff!

After shaving, my legs are so so so silky smooth and they feel very moisturized. AND the smell of this stuff fills up my whole bathroom MMM! Knowing what I put on my legs is not packed with parabens and that the container it is sold in can be reused and recycled is definitely refreshing and really makes me have confidence in a product that I am buying.

lovelove,

Julia

The Sugar Pink Cupcakes

So today i'm going to do a review on some soy tart melts that I recently purchased on etsy from a store called The Sugar Pink Cupcakes. Now I did a review also on a store called Country Home Scents, what sets their tarts apart is what they're made of; these are natural soy wax tarts.

First i'm going to talk about the scents that I chose. For the cupcake melts I got White Cake N Strawberries, Pink Coconut Fluff and Cinnamon Sugar. For the break-away melts I chose Beach Baby, Cherries N Cream and Frosted Pumpkin Cupcake. Basically whatever the name is, it smells just like that. Pink Coconut Fluff however smells like a pina colada with extra coconut and Beach baby smells like tanning lotion mixed with a tiny bit of pina colada. Out of all of them White Cake N Strawberries is my favourite. IT IS HEAVENLY. I have been burning this scent since I received it in the mail and I really just can't get enough. It smells like fresh juicy strawberries tossed on baked sponge cake. It doesn't smell buttery or creamy which makes this a perfect smell for summer. INTOXICATING is the word that comes to mind.


Next..customer service. Impeccable is how I would describe Shantay & Stacy's customer service. If you have a question, they get back to you so fast and they will work with you if you need a custom listing or a custom tart. They also update you on shipping and if they're going to be out of the shop and when, just incase you have any questions. I have already placed another order with them because THESE THINGS SMELL AMAZING and I have noticed that they last forever.

If you're looking for tarts that are not overpowering but do smell true to scent and name then these are for you! half a dozen cupcake tarts are $5.95 and the 6 pack of breakaway tarts are $3.50 so definitely affordable. Everything is packaged very neatly and just smells SO good. This is my NEW go-to company for soy tarts and I really hope that you will go and check her store out because I know you won't be disappointed. She also does sell bath bombs as well and I will review them just as soon as I try them!

lovelove,

Julia

Mad City Soap~Scrubbin Bubbles Scrub

[ingredients: sugar, glycerin, sodium cocoyl isethionate, olive oil, sweet almond oil, sorbitol, propylene glycol, disodium lauryl sulfosuccinate, stearic acid, vitamin e, dimethicone, sodium chloride, diazolidinyl urea, iodopropynyl, butylcarbamate, tetrasodium edta, fragrance, cosmetic colourants]

FINALLY I am doing this review! I really really I mean really absolutely love these scrubs. I..unfortunately..was blessed with very oily skin and when it comes to finding a scrub that works for me it can be very frustrating and disappointing. That is until I came across these ones.

Firstly I need to talk about how fast shipping and tat is! I live in Canada so when I order things from the USA I always allow up to 10 business days to receive my products and if it comes within the 10 business days then I consider that decent shipping time. After receiving these, I placed another order on April 27 and I received that order TODAY! 6 business days from the USA to Canada, considering these were totally customized scrubs I am just so impressed by how quick Sue from Mad City Soap is.

Okay so getting on with the scrubs I ordered 6-2oz scrubs for $20 just to try out the scents and decide which scents I really liked so I got: Lush Island Retreat, Coconut Breeze, Mexican Vanilla, Cherry Divinity, Italian Cream Cake and Watermelon Taffy. All the scents are described on the profile section of her etsy store so just click the title of this post and it'll take you there. Out of all these scents, cherry divinity has to be my favourite; it smells like buttercream frosting topped with maraschino cherries-DIVINE.

In the shower, this scrub gave me the ultimate exfoliating experience especially because I requested turbinado sugar in them. It sloughed away all my dead skin and didn't leave an extremely oily film like most scrubs do. It also produced a very nice milky lather. After showering my skin felt moisturized, very soft and I didn't need to use a moisturizer after. Keep in mind that I do have oily skin and she does sell another scrub called Whipped Sugar Scrub which is geared more towards people who have normal to dry skin! (I will review this another day)

So, all in all I highly recommend ordering from this company. If you have any questions, Sue provides amazing customer service and she will get back with you asap. A lot of things can be customized so be sure to check with her if you're wanting something that isn't already listed in her store. As I said she is FAST, and definitely worth trying if you have not already done so!

lovelove,

Julia

Marshmallow Dream Soap

[ingredients: coconut oil, palm oil, castor oil, safflower oil, vegetable glycerin, purified water, sodium hydroxide, berry-based sorbitol, sorbitan oleate, soy bean protein, titanium dioxide]

I ordered this soap from Dazzle Dott on Etsy. After coming across a youtube review, I was so intrigued that I had to to try it out for myself! So when I opened this soap up to smell it when it came in the mail my initial reaction was..well I was disappointed. I thought this would smell like a marshmallow! I mean it looked like a marshmallow. However when I read the description again..it really didn't say anything about what the soap was supposed to smell like.

After using it in the shower...I can honestly say that I love this soap. It has sugar granules thoughout the whole bar and man do they ever do their job. It's a very gentle exfoliation that is perfect for every day use and when you get out of the shower OMGOSH..hellooo soft skin. Now going back to the scent..

I forgive this bar of soap for not smelling like a marshmallow.... not because I don't love the smell of marshmallow but because even though I really like sweet scents, fruity scents and bakery scents I really don't have anything that smells JUST clean. So this a new addition to my collection. The scent really just smells clean and soapy. You know when you had baths when you were younger and your parents would buy a huge bottle of bubble bath? To me it smells like that.

OH I forgot to mention I contacted the seller after I got it because it was REALLY soft like I could have probably squished it into a ball with my hands. She told me that the bar was supposed to be slightly soft but if it was extremely soft to just put it in the fridge for a couple days. So thats what I did and it did harden a bit but it is still very soft; that actually makes it easier to use in the shower because it won't slip out of your hands.

-Julia