Hand Washing Away From Home

Hand washing away from home is a dilemma that I think everyone making the switch to natural products runs into at some point.  Do you skip washing your hands?  Use whatever's in the bathroom, even though you know the ingredients are less than ideal?  Carry your own soap?  Use a healthy hand sanitizer instead?

Honestly, this isn't something I've given a lot of thought to before.  I do carry a natural hand sanitizer, but there are times when I just want to go the more traditional soap and water route.  Usually I'll opt for whatever soap is there and figure it isn't going to have much of an impact since I use clean products for everything else.

Recently though, I noticed the beginning of a rash on one of my hands and I've traced it back to the soap in the public washrooms at my work.  At first it was just a few small red bumps on my hand and thought it was bug bites of some kind, but I've noticed a couple more bumps popping up literally within five minutes of washing my hands there. 

Unfortunately it's not the kind of bathrooms where I'd be able to just leave a bottle of soap, but obviously something needs to change there.  So, I'm wondering...if you're someone who avoids certain ingredients or sticks to more natural products, what do you do about dilemmas like washing your hands when you're out and about and away from home?  I'd love to hear your thoughts!


         

Win It Wednesday: Goodies for Your Lips!

It's still exciting to me that there are actually people out there who read and follow my blog!  As a thank you, I wanted to have a little giveaway.

I picked out the following goodies for one lucky follower to win:
 
 
Silk Naturals Butter Cream Lip Glaze in Dame
I know I've mentioned Silk Naturals' lip products numerous times before.  Dame is a beautiful plummy red that's a little sheer - super wearable.

LUVU Beauty Lip Lovin' Lip Gloss in Vixen
These glosses smell like oranges and are fairly opaque.  Vixen is a pretty purplish pink. 

Crazy Rumors Raspberry Sherbert Lip Balm
Yummy raspberry lip balm from Crazy Rumors' A La Mode collection. 

Deep Steep Honeydew Spearmint Moisture Stick
This is a multi-purpose product that's equally great for dry feet or chapped lips.  Not to mention everything in between that it can be used for!  

In case you're sensing a theme here...I guess this giveaway is tying into my lip product obsession of late!  

All products are, of course, completely brand new.  The giveaway is open internationally and will run for two weeks.  Super simple to enter, just wait for the Rafflecopter widget to load (below the cut) and have at it!


Earth Mama, Angel Baby Ginger-Grapefruit Happy Mama Body Wash

I'm still loving my Bubble and Bee shower gel, but when I was placing an order with iHerb recently, I decided to try out Earth Mama Angel Baby's body wash too.  Earth Mama, Angel Baby is, as the name suggests, a line mainly for babies, mothers, and mamas-to-be, but a body wash is a body wash, so even though I'm not the target demographic, I went ahead and tested it out.

The body wash comes in a foamer bottle, which eliminates any potential issues with getting the soap to lather up.  The bottle is pretty small, at only 5.3 ounces, but it does contain more than 300 pumps, according to the label.  That sounds like a lot, but I find I have to use 8-12 pumps to wash my 5'2 self, so I'm not expecting the bottle to last all that long.  On the plus side, it's affordable, retailing for $10.99 (or $8.79 on iHerb.)

Earth Mama, Angel Baby uses only organic essential oils to fragrance their products, which is awesome, but I'm a little mixed on the scent of this particular product.  I usually love both citrus and spicy scents, but I'm just not crazy about this one.  It doesn't have the freshness or zest I'd expect in a grapefruit scent and the ginger seems to just muddy it up even further.  Not terrible by any means, but not a stand out smell for me either.

The Bottom Line
Ingredients-wise, this body wash gets an A+.  And, while there's nothing specifically wrong with it, it's just not a product I'm in love with.  I've never used a foaming body wash before, but I've come to realize I prefer a more standard shower gel that can be lathered up on a loofah.  That, in combination with the scent, which I was only so-so, means that while this is definitely a product I'll use up, it isn't one I'll be rushing to repurchase.


And don't forget!  If you're new to iHerb, you can save $5 off your first order with my referral code ITI429 :)


         

Darling Girl Cosmetics Review and Swatches

Darling Girl Cosmetics is one of my favorite indie makeup brands.  I know I've mentioned a few specific colours in favorites posts, but I can't believe how long it's taken me to get the actual review and swatches done!  Susan, the owner, is, if you'll excuse the pun, a real darling, and her eye shadows are some of my favorites.  Shadows are sold in two sizes: petit ($2.50) and full size ($5.90).  There are also sample packs available.  According to the website:
 Full sizes are packaged in 5g jars with approximately 3/4 tsp of product. Petits are packaged in 3g jars with approximately 1/4 tsp of product. Samples are packaged in 2x2 zip lock baggies with approximately 1/8 tsp of product.

My mini jars looking pretty in rows
 
In terms of quality, Darling Girl makes some of the best eye shadows out there.  Everything, including the more glittery shades, is pigmented and very smooth to apply.  They also wear wonderfully.  Even on days when I've skipped primer, I've had very little problem with creasing.

Now, onto the swatches...this might get a bit picture heavy!


(L to R) Be Mine, Moves Like Mick Jagger, Frolic

(L to R) Electric Lady, Exhale, Sugar Plum

(L to R) Masquerade, Creampuff, Surfrider

(L to R) Surfrider, New Grass, Texas Tea


(L to R) Smoking Gun, Polaris, Deery Lou

(L to R) Cozy nights, Cococat, Dr Pepper Cake

(L to R) Harvest Moon, Chai, Snuggle

(L to R) Donner, Blitzen, Enchanted

The Bottom Line
I'd highly recommend Darling Girl Cosmetics.  Their eye shadows are fabulous quality and they have a ton of colours.  They're also one of the more fun companies to keep an eye on, since Susan is constantly coming out with new products and colours.  One thing to keep in mind is that Darling Girl is basically a one woman show, so turn around time can be a little high at times. (It's currently at 14-16 business days.)  It might not be the best place to order if you need something immediately, but other than that, don't let it turn you off...it's definitely 100% worth the wait!  


         

Wishlist Wednesday

One of the more long term effects of my years as a mostly out of work student seems to be that, even with a regular paycheck, I'm still a pretty frugal shopper.  I spend a lot of time debating purchases and given the choice, I'll almost always choose the less expensive of two options.  Still, that doesn't mean I'm not tempted by more luxury items.  Here's a peek at what's on my current higher end wishlist:

Bare Minerals Ready Blush in The Aphrodisiac ($22 US/$28 CAD)




A Perfume Organic Urban Organic ($65)


Butter London's Spring/Summer 2012 Collection ($73)



Revolution Organics Freedom Gloss in Freedom ($26)




What products have you been eying recently?