Grumpy Girl Cranky Cups - Wax "Smelties"

After ordering and ordering these cranky cups for a few months I have racked up quite the collection and I realized today that I have never talked about them! Basically they are wax tarts; you put them in either a candle or electric warmer and when they begin to melt, the scent is released and it makes the room smell just so lovely.

These melts are a blend of soy and paraffin waxes. I find that vnnnnnnnnbwith these tarts, initially, the scent throw is great. However within a few hours (I would say 4) the scent is for the most part gone and you're left with melted wax that you can smell if you stand over the burner but it doesn't really fragrance your room after that.

Don't get me wrong, when the scent throw is at it's strongest the fragrances are just amazing. However, after using 100% soy tarts I have found that they give off a stronger scent throw and for a longer period of time.

So would I buy more? Yes, probably but only because of the variety and complexity of the scents Sharon at Grumpy Girl Candle and Bath provides..Not to mention her excellent customer service and quirky packaging!

Lush Haul!

The other day I mentioned to you guys about the little clearance on easter/mother's day bath bombs at lush and so I did take advantage of the sale. This is everything I got! OH and all together my total WITH shipping was less than $40 Amazing right?

Hope you're all having a fab weekend! ENJOY!

lovelove,

Julia

PS: One of the lovely Honey Bun Bath Bombs will be going into my giveaway =D

G I V E A W A Y ! ! !

Yes, it is time! To thank all my lovely readers and followers I decided it was really time to host a giveaway. Included in this giveaway are natural handmade items that your body will also thank you for; Honey Bee Have Dusting Powder (retro item), Each Peach and Two's a Pair Massage Bar, Our Natural Creations Goats Milk Soap in Oatmeal Milk & Honey and a Grumpy Girl Lip Crack in Orange You Special. Of course I will throw in some soap samples for you to enjoy and a little something extra.

The Rules!

1. You must be a follower of my blog.

2. If you are under 18 please have permission from your parent or guardian before you enter.

3. Email me at soapaholica@gmail.com with your name and email address and tell me your
favourite bath & body product. (it can be anything really) This will gain you 1 entry!

4. For an additional 2 entries you can post this on your blog and send me the link just so I can make sure it's valid.

5. This contest will end on Thursday July 15th at 12:00am EST


6. The winner will be chosen using Random.org


7. Have fun and goodluck!

Haul & Mini Review

During my search to find Canadian handmade natural goat's milk soap, I came across Our Natural Creations! I was very excited because they are not only Canadian-based they are in my very own province! Also Christine has an extensive line of goat's milk soaps. She has so so many fragrances it's so hard not to just pick one or two.

I chose Black Raspberry Vanilla, Oatmeal Milk & Honey, Cherries & Chestnuts and Vanilla & Cream. She also sent me a small bar of Sea Coral. The first thing I have to say is that the fragrances are perfect! They're not too strong but they're not too faint either.

Secondly: the lather. Of course everyone who regularly reads my blog understands how important lather is to me and this bar exceeded my expectations. I used Sea Coral just because it was the smallest one and it lathered so well. It produced a thick creamy lather effortlessly. The one thing I noticed is that it wasn't a white milky lather like Creamy Creek Soaps, It was actually invisible for the most part and seemed to be even thicker! It rinsed clean, however did not leave that SUPER squeaky feeling that I dread. After drying it left my skin so baby-soft and smooth!

Each soap is left to cure for at least 4 weeks (most of the time 6-8 weeks) which explains why the bars are so hard. These will seriously last you forever! Even though they are hard you can still feel the creaminess when you touch the soap which is pretty impressive.

If you're interested in purchasing soaps from Christine, they are $5.50 per 4-5.5 oz bars. On her website she says that most of her bars are around 4 oz however when I weighed them they all come in over 5 oz so that's just a bonus. Like I mentioned scent-wise she has everything! So go check her website out and if you're interested in purchasing, just email her! (she is sososo friendly)

lovelove,

Julia

LUSH LUSH LUSH!!

I just wanted to let everyone know that Lush is having a sale online! Mum Flower Bath Bombs were previously $7.95 and now they're marked down to $2!!! Most of the easter stuff is already sold out however the Honey Bun Bath Bombs are still available. Originally 3.95 (because of how small they are compared to others) these are also marked down to $2. These SMELL AMAZING. They're just like Honey Bee Bath Bombs and are similar to Honey I Washed The Kids. AHH I'm just in heaven right now =)

Have a super night!

Julia

Haul! Mad City Soap Body Spritzers - Moisturizing Sprays

Hey lovelies! I just got a package in the mail today from Mad City Soap and thought I would share.

FIRST OF ALL. I'd like to talk about the ingredients. (water, octoxynol-13, nonoxynol-12, glycerin, propylene glycol, methylchloroisothiazolinone, methylisothiazolinone, fragrance) Obviously these are not natural ingredients and in my opinion most of these could very well cause skin to be irritated. So why did I purchase them? Well it is summer and I do work out regularly and I am outside for the majority of the day. So I really don't want to be smelling like some kind of cave woman who doesn't ever shower. Body spritzers really just make me feel kind of fresh. That being said, I never spray my skin directly; most of the time I will either spray my clothes before I put them on or spray in front of me and walk through the mist.

Okay so the smells..TO DIE FORRR. I chose Cherry Divinity & Marshmallow (smells like maraschino cherries with fresh whipped marshmallow cream), Raspberry Coconut Cream Roll (smells just like the name unfortunately it has a slight hint of plastic), Mint Angel (smells like fresh cool peppermint and sweet vanilla) and of course Pink Sugar-type (dead on dupe no trace of plastic smell at all). I am really satisfied with the fragrances I picked out and mmmm they are just so yummy! Also I asked to sample the Kai-type fragrance because I had never smelled it before; it smells like jasmine, honeysuckle, peony and maybe even a hint of ginger. It's very floral and perfumey, lady-like kind of scent. I don't think it would wear it regularly just because I find that fragrances that are very floral tend to give me a headache throughout the day.

As usual Sue was very quick to send these out. I am super satisfied with my order and I know these are going to last me all summer. The prices of these are reasonable. You can pick 3 fragrances of 1 fl oz spritzers for $10 just to try out scents and a 4 fl oz spritzer is $6.50!

lovelove,

Julia

Creamery Creek Soaps

[ingredients: fresh goat milk, saponified oils of: olive, coconut, palm, castor, avocado, shea butter, soybean, and fragrance/essential oils]

Okay so a few weeks ago I got my order from Creamery Creek. They sell goat milk soap and I have heard such wonderful things about goat's milk so I decided to get a few to try. I picked Red Clover tea, Peach Tea and Raspberry Zinger. If I had to pick a favourite it would be Raspberry Zinger just because it's summer and this raspberry-lemonade kind of smell is really refreshing. My least favourite was Peach Tea; it smells awful. It smells like..vomit or other things of that nature.

Moving on... Regardless of the smell these soaps produce the most luxurious dense milky lather that I have seen yet! When I first got them I just used one of the little sample slivers that were included and I really wasn't impressed because it took a while to get a lather that was ideal. However after taking a full size bar in the shower I was just completely convinced. These soaps are amazing. I would compare this lather to whipped egg whites but with the density of heavy whipped cream. It is just like I am on cloud 9 or something.

Also, this soap doesn't leave my skin feeling squeeky clean which i've found that many soaps do. Even though I feel that I still need to put on a moisturizer after, I feel that the soaps are quite moisturizing despite being a bar soap.

If you have sensitive skin and find that bar soaps tend to try out your skin, you might want to give Creamery Creek soaps a try because of the goat's milk. Goat's milk ph level is very close to our skin's ph level and therefore works with your skin instead of againsts it. Also Goat's milk contains lactic acid which is a gentle exfoliant for your skin. It also contains a variety of vitamins and minerals that are beneficial to your skin. At Creamery Creek, they use the milk from their own Nigerian Dwarf Goats; they have a 4-9% higher butterfat milk content than regular dairy goats. So this just makes the soap extra creamy and extra moisturizing.

So it is true that once you try goat's milk soap you will never go back. Lately I have been purchasing just goat's milk soaps from different companies and you will see that in future posts!

=)

lovelove,

Julia

Relaxing Spa Day - At Home Mini Facial YAY!

Today I got my little package from Lilith's Apothecary on Etsy. I ordered the Healing Herbal Spa Mask and the Clarify: Organic Herbal Facial Steam (for normal-oily skin). I haven't done a clay mask in just over a week because I ran out of my Mask of Magnaminty from Lush. So I thought it was the perfect opportunity to finally treat myself! So today I had a little mini spa day and I took pictures along the way so hopefully you enjoy this =)

Step 1: Make sure you have a clean face. I washed my face thoroughly with African Black Soap to remove any impurities and then patted my skin dry.

Step 2: In a pot, bring purified water (I just used brita water) to a boil if you don't have a facial steamer. Add an organic herbal mix to your boiling water if you wish or you can just use the steam itself. I used Lilith's Apothecary Clarify - an organic herbal facial steam for normal to oily skin.

Step 3: Carefully bring the pot over to a table after it has stopped boiling and place it on a heat-proof surface. Wrap a towel around the circumference of the pot just to ensure you do not burn your skin and to have a soft surface to rest your face on.

Step 4: With a clean face hover over the pot (or facial steamer) letting the steam open up your pores and do it's natural detoxifying job. If you find that the steam is getting too hot just lift your head up and take a few seconds to breath and cool down and then repeat. It's important you don't put your head too close to the steam because you definitely don't want to burn your skin. I found that resting my face on the towel was actually too close and I had to lift my head up about 12 inches away from the pot. However when the water had slightly cooled down I could rest my head on the towel and while blowing into the water it produced more steam. I steamed my face for about 15 minutes.

Step 4: After you have patted your face dry with a clean cloth you can then begin mixing your clay mask if it is not already pre-moistened. The mask I am using is Lilith's Apothecary Healing Herbal Spa Mask (for blemished or acne-prone skin). You can mix your dry mask with any kind of wetting agent including: purified water, rosewater, honey, yogurt, aloe vera or toner. I decided to use 100% natural fresh aloe vera gel. In a bowl mix 1 tbsp of your clay mask with 2.5 tablespoons of the wetting agent you're using. You should mix it until you have a yogurt-like consistency.

Step 5: Spread the clay all over your face using your fingers; avoid your eye and lip area. Once you have the mask to the thickness you desire you can take a nap, shave your legs. or take pictures of your green monster face and send them to your boyfriend until it has dried. Keep in mind, the thicker you apply your mask the longer it will take to dry!

Step 6: After your mask has completely dried (when there are NO dark wet spots and you can't smile properly..mine took about 25 minutes) you can then take a very damp warm cloth and begin patting your face until you have removed all the clay! I try to avoid rubbing the cloth into my skin because I find it just irritates it and it's unnecessary.

Step 7: When your face is clean of the mask, you can pat your face dry with a clean cloth. You will notice that your skin is quite red..like I mean red like you have just been baking in the sun for 3 hours. No worries! It will subside within 20 minutes.

Step 8: The final step to your mini spa day is to moisturize! I used raw unrefined shea butter for this step. In circular motions rub the moisturizer gently into your skin. Don't forget your neck!

You can follow this regime once or twice a week. It's a great weekend treat for you and your face! Detoxifying helps to purge all the excess oil and bacteria in your pores and leaves your face smooth, youthful and glowing!

lovelove,

Julia