Dr. Bronner's is one of the most talked about products in the green community and for good reason. This soap has a million and one uses and is basically just a great item to keep on hand. I mostly use it for cleaning purposes -- makeup brushes, laundry, and more -- but it's also great as a body wash or hand soap. I like the Unscented best, since it can be used as is or easily scented yourself with essential oils. Repurchase? Definitely!
Aura Cacia Sweet Almond + Blueberry Seed Oil
This is a great oil! Judging by the price, I'm sure it's somewhere around 90% almond oil, but the blueberry seed oil, however minimal, still manages to lend a delicate blueberry scent, and also offers additional antioxidant benefits. It's a great multipurpose blend that I used for a variety of things: as a makeup remover, oil cleanser, body oil, and even hair oil. My one gripe is that I can't stand Aura Cacia's bottles -- the squeeze mechanism always dispenses either too little or too much -- but it's simple enough to decant into another bottle, which is what I ended up doing here. Repurchase? Yes.
Intelligent Nutrients Organic Styling Gel
Intelligent Nutrients is one of my favorite hair care brands and the Styling Gel is a nice product. I like the minty scent and it has great hold, though it can leave hair feeling crunchy if you use a lot of product. For that reason alone, I prefer my old standby, Kinky-Curly's Spiral Spritz, for day-to-day light-hold styling, but the Styling Gel is great for when you need a bit more hold. Repurchase? Maybe.
Nourish Organic Fresh Fig Hand Wash
I love Nourish products and the hand wash is no exception. Fresh Fig is a great sweet and fruity scent and the hand washes are creamy and moisturizing. Unfortunately, Nourish recently discontinued them, but I really think the body washes are, if not exactly the same, very comparable. I'll probably hang onto this bottle and refill it with those in the future. Repurchase? Not possible.
Young Living Thieves Foaming Hand Soap
I like this hand soap for the kitchen. It smells fresh and YL's Thieves blend contains a lot of purifying essential oils, so it's great to use while you're cooking. The one negative is that I do find it can dry out your hands when used repeatedly within a shorter time frame. Repurchase? Maybe.
Earthpaste Peppermint Toothpaste
I've gone through many a tube of Earthpaste and I keep going back to it for the simple fact that it's the most accessible glycerin-free toothpaste I've found. I prefer the Wintergreen, but the Peppermint is fine too. Repurchase? Yes, I already have.
Acure Moroccan Argan + Argan Oil Shampoo
I've used this shampoo for years and have repurchased numerous bottles, but I think this may well be my last. I'm not sure whether my scalp has changed, or if it's just gotten too used to this product after such a long time, but I started having issues with buildup a couple months ago and eventually traced them back to this. I used to love it, but it just doesn't get my scalp clean anymore. The last quarter or so of the bottle was finished off as a laundry soap. Repurchase? It's unlikely.
Rocky Mountain Soap Apricot Hand Cream
Rocky Mountain's hand creams are loaded with nourishing oils and rich butters, but they still manage to absorb really nicely, without any kind of greasy residue. Sadly, the apricot scent was less of a hit than the actual hand cream formula. It smelled great in the tube, but quickly turned both sickly sweet and slightly sour as soon as it touched my skin. Repurchase? Yes, but not in this scent.
Andalou Naturals Lime Blossom Shea Butter + Coconut Water Hand Cream
Again, a great hand cream formula, but not my favorite scent. I don't find Andalou's hand creams ultra-nourishing, but they're great to reach for throughout the day, when you might not have time to wait for a richer cream to sink in. I think this particular one would be a big hit for fans of coconutty and tropical scents, but, personally, I prefer the Clementine. Repurchase? Yes, but probably not in this scent.
The Parkdale Butter Co. Peppermint Lip Butter
I received this lip butter in an event goody bag in the fall and although it had a beautiful chocolate mint scent, I wasn't a fan of it for its intended purpose. Made with just four organic ingredients -- shea butter, cocoa butter, coconut oil, and peppermint extract -- and no waxes, the texture was closer to a whipped shea butter than a traditional lip balm. On the lips, it melted away very quickly and didn't seem to really do much, but I did like it as a body butter. There are other Parkdale Butter products I like more, but I wouldn't recommend this particular one unless you're looking for a purse-friendly body butter. Repurchase? No.
Acure Ultra-Hydrating Body Lotion
I've made it pretty clear that I'm not a fan of this lotion in its current iteration. I'd love Acure to return to the old formula, but as it stands now, the lotion is a lot thinner and waterier than I like and does a truly sub par job of keeping my skin moisturized. Repurchase? No.
Stay tuned for Part 2 later this week for all my skincare and makeup empties!
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I love your empties posts! I've never seen that Aura Cacia Sweet Almond + Blueberry Seed Oil before but it sounds really good! I hate their packaging too, though.
ReplyDeleteAnd Earthpaste is also one of my favorites! It's great!
Thanks Kassie! I think Aura Cacia makes a raspberry and cherry version of the almond oil too, both of which also sound promising :) Earthpaste is the best, isn't it? I always end up coming back to it!
DeleteCaitie--Have you ever tried to make a homemade Earthpaste? I've been using this recipe for the last year or so, and the cost savings has been so worth it. Just wanted to share the link in case you are ever interested in DIYing it!
ReplyDeletehttp://dontwastethecrumbs.com/2014/03/homemade-toothpaste-thats-just-like-earthpaste/
I've actually been meaning to try something like this for a while, but I've dragged my feet on actually doing it because having xylitol in the house + dogs just makes me nervous, haha :) I'll definitely have to try it with stevia. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
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