JASON Pure, Natural & Organic Hand & Body Therapy Lotion

If you’re looking for a decently priced paraben, mineral oil and petroleum free vegan lotion, one of my favorites is JASON Pure, Natural and Organic Vanilla Hand and Body Therapy Lotion. 

 I like to change it up with lotion.  I have at least twenty different kinds on my dresser. I’m not exaggerating.   Yes I know that’s ridiculous.  But I just get bored using the same thing every day.  And I wear at least three different lotions on a daily basis.  So I have lots.  And I’ve tried lots.  And I think I can pretty confidently say I know my lotion.

Anyway, I tend to think of organic or natural lotions as too expensive and not good enough to be worth it.  By not good enough, I mean that I’ve found some of them to be runny instead of thick and/or creamy and they don’t often smell as yummy as I want them to.  But I keep going back to JASON whenever I run out, because the quality is so high it’s like any chock-full of chemicals lotion.  And you can feel way better about what you’re putting on your body.

The vanilla scent is delicious.  It’s a good blend of “I would love to eat that” with just a right amount of floral thrown in so that you won’t actually try to.  I haven’t tried any of the other scents, but I feel confident recommending them if vanilla is not your thing.   

 The lotion texture is not super thick, but relatively creamy and feels luxurious.   It leaves your skin soft and quenched.  Some lotions make you feel like you immediately need to reapply, but not this one.  I love it. 

-Scent: 4.5 (Very nice.  Sweet but not too sweet. Somehow it’s not my favorite vanilla but it’s in the top 10.)
-Health: 4.75 (Natural products, but not completely organic.)
-Ethics: 4 (No animal cruelty in making their products, but they didn’t say anything about if they hold their suppliers to that on their website.  Also, there was no mention about giving back on their website.)
-Price/Value: 4.25 (It’s not cheap, but it’s not too expensive either. It’s worth the price for the value!)
-Does what it says: 4.75 (Definitely.  Very lovely.)

Overall: 4.5 (Great quality you can feel pretty good about using!) 

Secret Moments Island Escape Sheer Fragrance Mist by Victoria's Secret

Get it while you can!  I stopped by Victoria's Secret the other day when I heard that the semi-annual sale was on again and discovered one of my favorite scents in the clearance bin.  That usually means that they are discontinuing it!  I was so disappointed.   It looks like the entire Secret Moments collection is going out.  That's kind of sad, since I feel like it just came out pretty recently.  Like, within the last two years.  While I didn't like all the scents, the Island Escape scented items were fabulous.  Anyway, you'd better go pick some up while you can! 

The Secret Moments Island Escape scent is listed on the bottle as beachy coconut and sugarcane.  I can smell more sugar than anything but there is a light coconut note as well.  The Sheer Fragrance Mist is a burst of refreshing sweetness.  It's uplifting and so delicious that it gets instant attention whenever you refresh it.  I always get complimented when I wear it.  It is a mist, which means it won't last as long as a perfume would, but its so yummy it's worth the re-apply just to remind yourself how delicious you are.

The Secret Moments collection also carries a body lotion, a body cream, a scrub and a shower gel in each scent.  I didn't really like any of the other scents, but it's all personal, so check them out.  And, they're super cheap right now so it's the time to do it!  I don't mind paying for good quality products, but a deal is a deal.  And I enjoyed all the other items in the collection as well.  Sweet scent, sweet price.  Do it up.

Scent: 5 (Totally delicious!)
Health: 4 (The ingredients seem decent, I don't see anything that I know of as unhealthy on the label.)
Ethics: 3 (VS doesn't have any obvious redeeming nor any really horrible qualities, that I'm aware of. )
Stay-ability: 3.5 (Lasts decently on skin and better on clothes)
Price: 5 (Right now it's a steal! Get it while you can!)

Overall: 4.25 (Sweet product, sweet deal.)

LAVANILA Laboratories - The Healthy Body Butter - Vanilla Coconut

LAVANILA Laboratories has created a body butter that it deems "The Healthy Body Butter".  Sounded great to me!  I am a total vanilla person and always looking to be healthier, so I was obviously immediately interested in this product. 

The funny thing is that I completely hated the Pure Vanilla scented products that they make.  That scent is very very strong and floral.  I am not into floral vanillas at all.  I want like sweet, yummy, edible-smelling vanilla.  I find that funny too because I find vanilla as a flavor to be really boring, but as a scent extremely pleasant.  Makes no sense really, but there it is.

So anyway, after I was disappointed with the Pure Vanilla scent, I almost gave up on LAVANILA altogether.  But then I noticed that there was a Vanilla Coconut scent!   I clearly had to try it and when I smelled the deliciousness I clearly had to buy it.  If you don't like sweet scents, they also make a Lavender Vanilla and a Grapefruit Vanilla and a few others as well.

The body butter is not nearly as thick as (what I think of as) a normal thickness for lotions deemed "butters", but it is still very pleasant.  It is very rich, yet absorbs easily and is a great moisturizer.  The scent is pretty light and not overwhelming.   It's a great light butter for supple summer skin with a light beachy scent.  Fabulous and yummy!

Ratings:

 

Scent: 4.5 (Delicious but not too sweet or overwhelming.)
Texture: 4.5 (Smooth and creamy and easily absorbed.)
Health: 4.5 (The company seems dedicated to Healthy products!)
Ethics: 4 (Haven't heard anything about good works, but they do healthy well.)
Does what it says: 4.75 (A great light moisturizer with a great light scent.)

Overall: 4.5 (Dreamy!)

LUSH Sugar Babe Shower Scrub

LUSH is my new obsession.  I love their stuff.  My friend got me into it by talking about all their wonderful products, and of course I was not hard to attract to a company who hand makes their products, cares about where their supply is coming from, is conscious about packaging their products, and puts mostly fabulous ingredients into them.  And their logo is bright and catchy too.  Yay!

Anyway, so their stuff is fabulous, and my friend and I started a monthly trip to LUSH for supplies.  This month is only the second trip, but we are excited.  I expect the tradition will live on.  It's definately a day out activity because there are only two stores in CT.  One is at the Danbury Fair Mall, and the other is at Mohegan Sun.  In bigger city areas, they are easier to come by.  Or you can always order online.  

So yes, about the Sugar Babe Shower Scrub.  When I think shower or body scrub I always think  liquid (well, cream or gel, really).  This is a solid scrub.  At first it weirds you out a little.  But I've figured out how to use it, and I LOVE it. 

What I do is break off a chunk to take into the shower or bath. Once the half ball is broken, the center is softer, and easier to use.  I place the chunk on the side well away from any water spray (it will fall apart if you get it fully wet) until I am ready to use it.  Once I am at that stage in my shower process, I step out of the spray, grab the chunk and use my fingers to take a little bit of it into my palm.  I rub that small amount on one part of my body, (i.e. thigh) and smooth around to exfoliate.  Then I continue using little bits on different body parts until I've covered all the body parts I wanted to. :)

The relatively small half sphere lasts longer then you'd expect.  It really depends on how much you use, and how many body areas you cover.  For me (and I cover most of my body when exfoliating) it lasts 5 or so showers.  That's really pretty decent.   It's less than $5, and though most scrubs may be bigger and last a little longer, they are also more expensive.

You do have to be careful with it, because it can crumble easily.  That's why I don't attempt to break off small pieces, but use big chunks and then just pull a little crumble off with my fingers.  And I also don't store it in the bath, but in the closet so it doesn't get wet and become mush.  Also by bringing in only a chunk, if it does get wet by dropping it or something I don't lose the whole thing. 

Sugar Babe is dreamy.  The smell is delicious, and it has a core of coconut oil, so not only are you smooth from exfoliating, you are also given an extra dose of moisture as well.  I exfoliate as my last step in the shower, and so I get that little boost of moisture at the end to prepare my skin for the day.   So you feel totally smooth and wonderful all day.  Who doesn't want that?  

Ratings:

 

Scent: 4.5 (Delicious but not too strong)
Texture: 3.5 (A great exfoliator, but falls apart easily.)
Health: 4.5 (I recognize most of the ingredients. No parabens, but it does contain sulfates.)
Ethics: 4.5 (Lush uses fair trade and fresh ingredients, seems great as far as I can tell.)
Does what it says: 4 (A great exfoliator but it falls apart easily so it can be a little hard to use.)

Overall: 4.25 (Very lovely!)

Some other fav LUSH products:

The Body Shop - Brazil Nut Body Scrub

The Brazil Nut Body Scrub from the Body Shop is a delightful experience.  I picked it up on a product smelling spree, and was very glad that I did so.  I don't like to eat nuts, so I tend to stay away from nut-scented items (although I do enjoy the smell half the time it's just an automatic aversion based on taste).  But I'm glad I didn't stay away from this one. 

The scent is very sweet and lovely.  I totally wanted to eat it.  (even thought I don't eat nuts!) The texture is very creamy, with little dark flecks.  Because the little flecks are not very concentrated I thought this may not be a good exfoliator, but it definately is.  There must be a sugar base for it.  No wonder it smells so sweet!  Yum!

I use this (or another exfoliator) daily to keep my rough areas (feet, knees, elbows, etc) smooth.  You can follow up with the Body Shop Brazil Nut Body Butter to lock in the scent and keep your skin smooth.  Although it doesn't smell quite as yummy as the scrub, it is a very close match. 

Overall it's fabulous!  Get some for yourself!  If you are allergic to nuts, the Body Shop has a whole line of Body Scrubs.

Ratings:

Scent: 5 (Delicious!)
Texture: 4.5 (Creamy and appealing, concentrated exfoliants.)
Health: 2.5 (The ingredients seem decent but it does contain parabens.)
Ethics: 4.5 (The Body Shop does not do animal testing and this product contains at least 3 fair trade ingredients)

Does what it says: 4 (It's an excellent exfoliator but it's not extremely rough, as may be needed on feet, etc.)

Overall: 4.25 (Pretty wonderful!)

Body Fantasies Signature Cotton Candy Body Spray

I have to say I fell in love with this body spray a while ago.  Several years ago (okay probably like 7 years ago)  I found a mini one in the travel size section at my local Walmart and decided to try it for traveling.   The smell is totally delicious.  Who doesn't want to smell like sweet cotton candy?  It is nice and sweet but not overwhelmingly so.  I do like to mix and match scents (I wear at least 2 if not more different perfumes/body sprays daily) so especially when mixing it is not overwhelming.

The price is cheap and the scent is great.  It lasts well on clothing, less well on skin.  Those are the good aspects.

I've really started to re-evaluate many aspects of my life in the last few years and one area is the things that are in what I put into and on my body.  I've been interested in naturals and organics for years but haven't yet taken the step towards exclusively using those types of products.

However, it may be time to at least give this product up.  Not only is Walmart the main retailer, but also as I read the ingredients for the first time probably ever, I find out that it contains BHT.  Which has been linked to cancer and also is in embalming fluid, among other things.   It doesn't sounds too healthy to use something on my body that they also use to help preserve dead bodies.  That's just creepy.

Too bad I have a full bottle left!  At least it's not a lot of money wasted.  I'll just have to go on a crusade to find something more natural that smells just as yummy.

Ratings:

Scent: 5 (Absolutely delicious!)
Health: 0 (Apparently not at all.)
Stay-ability: 3 (Lasts decently on skin and better on clothes)
Overall: 2.5 :(

Korres Guava Lip Butter

The Guava Lip Butter by Korres is a great product.  I bought it on a whim while standing in line at Sephora. I was wary of buying a guava flavored lip product, as I have an aversion to tropical flavors because of a childhood incident that I won't go into, but the texture is creamy and doesn't really have any strong taste or smell.  That is actually one of it's only downsides.  I really enjoy a yummy tasting or smelling product.  The guava is very subtle and really quite nice if you're looking for something that will do it's job and not just something that will be yummy.

Korres is a "natural products company" which means I'll assume you can feel good about applying this product to your lips.  A tag like that always makes me feel better, but sometimes if a product works well or is particularly yummy I'm willing to overlook it.   Also, since there are no international standards, you can never really be sure what anyone ever means by that.  Korres seems pretty legit though from what I've read about it.

The only other downside I've found is that it, like all lip butters I've ever tried, can leave your lips white if you use too much and don't rub it in fully.  But that's easily fixable by applying with a mirror or just using a small amount.  It does sink in well, and makes your lips soft and kissable.  I apply it every night before bed.

I like this product because it actually seems to cure skin dryness, for at least 12-24 hours anyway.  I've found most lip products that I use for dryness tend to feel good at first but don't really have any lasting effect and I have to re-apply frequently to feel relief.

It does come in other flavors that are supposed to provide a slight tint.  Because I liked it so much I also bought the Jasmine one because I was curious about how that type of scent would translate into something I wanted to put on my lips.  It is pink tinted in the tub but I haven't seen any tint on my lips.  It's also very subtle and nice though.

Anyway, in conclusion, I really like this product, and its one of the only lip products I've ever used enough to see the bottom of the tub.  (I usually have too many products to choose from to ever finish one!)

Ratings:

Texture: 5 (Creamy buttery loveliness.)
Taste/Smell: 4 (It's not strong and lovely, but its not repulsive either.)
Does What it Promises: 4.75 (Solves dryness wonderfully but I ain't seen no tint.)
Health: 5 (Korres is a natural products company.  This product is paraben and sulfate free.) 
Overall: 4.75 (Pretty wonderful product!)

By the way, if you'd like to purchase this product for yourself, it seems that Sephora may be the only retailer of this product.  Learn more about it here.