Origins is wishing you a “Happy Holidays” with a savings offer for their “friends and family.” Beginning today 11/14/09 and running through 11/19/09, you can save 25% off your online order or print out an in-store coupon. To redeem online, use the savings code NovFF.
When you visit the Origins website, don’t forget to enter their Wake Up & Win Sweepstakes.
The grand prize includes:
*A 3-month supply of Origins New GinZing™ Refreshing eye cream to brighten and depuff
(A $29.50 suggested retail value)
* A $250 Origins gift certificate
* The illy Francis Francis X7 espresso machine and case of illy espresso capsules
(A $500 suggested …read more

Carol Alt is a long time proponent of a raw food lifestyle. She has written a couple of best-selling books on the subject; Eating In the Raw and The Raw 50.  She believes that by subjecting food to high temperatures, we destroy a lot of the vitamins, minerals, nutrients, and antioxidants the food contains.
After much research, Alt found that the body absorbs 60% of what is placed upon the skin. She wanted to develop a healthier alternative to traditional skin care. RAW Essentials is the end result. The products are made with certified raw ingredients, they are vegan, and cruelty-free. They …read more

Golden Path Alchemy puts a lot of thought, planning, and work into making a quality natural skin care product. All products are made with pure ingredients, “food for the skin.” These ingredients are local, organic, and all products are handmade into small batches, so that they remain fresh. They are vegan and only tested on humans, never animals.
Golden Path Alchemy says…
We are the only company that synergistically combines gem and flower essences, therapeutic grade essential oils, Chinese and Western medicinals and botanicals uniting Eastern, Western, modern and ancient techniques to transform the skin.
Golden Path Alchemy sent me a variety of …read more

The Body Shop has two new limited edition products lines available. The Nutmeg and Vanilla line is a mix of nutmeg, vanilla, and ginger. The Black Velvet Apricot line is a mix of apricot and plum. The ad for these “Sweet Treats” shows a lot holiday ornaments, so I’m assuming these fragrances are designed for the holiday season.
The Nutmeg and Vanilla line includes Body Butter, Body Lotion, Soap, Bath & Shower Gel, Lip Balm, Body Scrub, and Hi-Glimmer Body Glaze.
I’d like to try the Hi-Glimmer Body Glaze. It’s made with Community Trade organic beeswax, antioxidant Vitamin E, and Lanolin. It …read more

Cooler temperatures are on the way and the changing weather conditions can be hard on skin. Especially the skin on your hands.  I recently had the opportunity to try a couple of EO’s Everyday Hand Creams. I tried both the Chocolate Mint and French Lavender versions. They are suitable for all skin types. 

They contain a wide array of beneficial organic ingredients:
*Lavender Essential Oil is a common ingredient in aromatherapy products. It’s known for it’s soothing properties
*Cocoa contains both flavonoids and antioxidants for younger looking skin.
*EO’s Five Mushroom Complex, Calendula, Chamomile, White Tea, Shea Butter, Cocoa Butter, Jojoba Oil,  Aloe, Vegetable …read more

Aveda is turning 30!
In order to properly celebrate this milestone birthday, the folks at Aveda are developing a Birthday Program. If you join program, you will receive a full-size customized aroma Personal Blends Pure-Fume Spirit or Body Care product on your next birthday. Invite your friends to join and if 5 of them do, you’ll get a free travel-size Aveda Foot Relief.

Aveda Foot Relief
Aveda’s Foot Relief softens, smooths, deodorizes, and invigorates feet and legs. Contains Fruit acids, Castor, Jojoba, Lavender, and Rosemary oils.
Also, use the savings code BIRTHDAYto receive a free Hand Relief and free shipping on orders over $30. Offer …read more

It’s been awhile since I shared some homemade natural beauty recipes with you.  I’m going with a sweet theme today.  Got honey? Raw Sugar? (Great in your coffee, by the way). 
I like to keep a few items around the house for quick treatments or to whip up some bath salts.
Feel free to substitute your favorite essential oil for the hair treatment. I keep Eucalyptus and Lavendar around all the time.  I like treatments with honey or olive oil,  because they work well and you don’t have to spend a lot of money when you  have most of the ingredients sitting around …read more

Being the skin care junkie that I am, I love a good facial scrub.  Eköh Pre-Party Prep facial scrub arrived last week and I put it to the test.
 
It’s made with natural ingredients like organic aloe juice,  jojoba bead, walnut shell powder, arpicot seed meal, rosemary, comfrey, lemon, apple, green tea leaf, pomegranate, olive oil, apricot oil, grape seed oil, and orange peel oil, and sugarcane.
The idea behind the scrub is that it gets your skin in the perfect condition for a big day. It smoothes by exfoliating dead, dry skin, and then it plumps your skin with with natural hydraters.
The instructions say …read more

I love the clever names that so many cosmetics and skin care products carry. This shows  a wonderful sense of humor and it gets your attentiona. Very smart marketing.  This weekend I tried an interesting named natural product – blabbermouth Lip Balm. blabbermouth is an organic productcreated by Hannah Wood and Christa Engelskirch.

blabbermouth Lip Balm
blabbermouth comes in a cute little brown jar, like an apothecary container. It carries a quote by e.e. cummings, “kisses are a better fate than wisdom.”  Hard to argue with that – I love kisses!  blabbermouth is a “raw and organic” product made of extra virgin …read more

For the past month, I’ve been using Shenui Skin Care Products. They are unique in that they are not mixed until it’s time to ship them to you. Each product comes with a little sticker that says your name and what ingredients are contained inside.
For example, my Custom-Blended Skin Peel says, “Michelle Smith, BioActive: Jojoba Beads 7%, Alpha Hydroxy Acids 5%, Elder Flower Extract 4%, Bisabolol .1%, Fragrance: No. Prepared by 03/02/200. Use by 09?02/2009.” It’s all very clear, no looking at the bottle thinking, “Okay, so how old is this stuff anyway?” It also contains Apricot oil and …read more