What the....

Hello my wonderful readers!! 

You may have noticed that I haven't been around for a while.  Well, I had a no reviews week, then the kids were on spring break and we went to Las Vegas.  Since I went away, I didn't use any new items, so instead I will tell you about my handmade travel toiletries.

When I travel, I have a bunch of handmade samples that I travel with that I know I love.  Too often, I have broken out or had issues with hotel toiletries, so I let the husband use them and I bring my own.

The first thing I travel with is shine on shampoo and daily conditioner from Heaven and Earth Essentials. (scent this trip: citrus splash)  If I am traveling for a week, I also bring the damage remedy conditioner.  I like for them all to be the same scent, and HAEE has a BUNCH of different scents. As another bonus, the shampoo is a paste, so you don't need to fit it into the little quart ziploc bag the airlines are in love with.

I have gone a number of ways with soap.  I usually just grab a small sample of a soap that I know I love.  the little samples are the best, because they last about a week (the small slivers are great for a weekend), so you don't have to worry about bringing home the soap. This trip, it was a small soap sample from Metropolis Soap Company, whose soap I really love. Even the Dh has been brought over to the "dark side" by their Black Horror Soap.

For lotion, I prefer lotion that is in a pot.  though it can get under my nails, I have had a lot less issues with bag explosion with pot lotions.  This trip, it was Main Element Love's Rise and shine body and hand lotion. The scent worked really well with my shampoo and conditioner, and the little lotion pot fit well in my travel purse.

Perfume is always in the form of a little sample or two (depending on trip plans).  I have HUNDREDS of samples, from designer to handmade.  This trip, I took along two samples, one was August Sultry Sumer by Lemon Lollipop for day wear (Actually, I think the official scent is through their other company "four seasons fragrance," but the sample was from Lemon Lollipop), and the other was Dark Rapture by the Scent Diva (now known as the Soap Box) for evening wear. On a random aside, Dark Rapture perfume was the first thing I ever bought from an etsy seller after getting a sample in a sampler box.

My cosmetics are commercial, because I like the way I can get almost everything into a small compact.  Toothpaste is Aquafresh, and my sunblock is also commercial and a special one for super sensitive skin. Toss in a few Shout Wipes and my prescription meds, and that pretty much makes up my travel toiletries.

This trip was also a little bit special in the packing, because I knew we were staying in our timeshare. There is a HUGE soaking tub in the main bathroom, so I brought a few bath bombs from Sheba's Secrets. I let my daughter take a "fizzy bath" for the first time last month, and she is HOOKED! Both she and I had a few "fizzy baths" that week.

Also, again because we knew we would be in the timeshare, I brounght a silicone trivet, a little matchbook and a travel candle by Mrs Tattooed Geek. (Black Orchid).  These candles are great for getting the "hotel" smell out, and the "home" smell into your room.  The candle is in a tin, so there are no worries about wax spillage, and they last a LONG time.  Like I said, I brought ONE candle for the entire week.

So, sorry there are no reviews to write right now, but they will be back after next week! Have a great weekend!

This Week in Reviews! 1/14-1/21

THis week's blog is, in some ways, a testament to my laziness.  This morning when I finally got around to unpaking my travel case of toiletries and cosmetics from the trip I took IN DECEMBER, I found a few items I had used on the trip that needed to be blogged about.  Yes, that's right. the only thing I had unpacked from my toiletries from a trip from 12/25-1/1 was the little bar of soap I had remembered was still wet, and that I had packed separately.

Oops....

So, anyway, now that I have admitted to the world of laziness that I live in, I feel the need to post about some items I used on that trip along with this week's items.

Here we go!

I am going to start off with something I have whined about before.  In an earlier blog, if you recall, I whined about my allergy to artificial sweeteners advancing to the point that artificially sweetened lip balm works like a lip (and tongue!) plumper on me. I had bemoaned the fact that I just could not find flavored artificial sweetener free lip balm.  WELL!  I got a few emails, and did some more searching, and I found a few sellers making unsweetened lip balm!  I am hoarding them and waiting to open a new one until I use the old one, so I currently only have one review, though I found three balms.

The first lip balm I opened was Maple Hill Farm's "Lemon" natural lip balm. Though it can feel a little grainy in the stick container, this lip balm goes on smoothly, with none of that grainy-ness transferring to your lips.  If anything, the grainy helps open up the wrinkles in your lips to get a better coverage with less balm.  I don't feel like I have to reapply or slather on this balm to get the benefits from using it. The lemon flavor/scent is light and not over powering. There's just enough to cover up the normnal "lip balm" smell and taste.  I REALLY like this lip balm. Right now, it is living in my purse. When I found the trip items, I remembered this balm in my purse.  I am going to buy another one after I finish the ones I already have.  The price was good, too.  Maple Hill Farm also sells soaps, body butter, and laundry soap.  I bought a few soaps when I bought the lip balm, which I will review after I use them, though they look lovely.  Buying a few soaps also offsets any shipping, and makes the price even better.

One of the things I bought for this trip was Citronella Skin Balm from Sandy Creek Soap. Every time we go away, I end up getting eaten alive.  A lot of bug sprays make me break out, and I hate the stink.  This skin balm is all natural and goes on like lotion.  it smells nice, and best of all, it WORKS!! I would put a light coat of balm on my skin before I get dressed in the morning, and reapply after going swimming. This was the first trip I didn't spend half the night every night up scratching my bug bites.  I even felt safe putting it on my kids!  I am never going away without this balm again!  It lasts forever, too! They have other scents of body balm, too, which would be great to use as a solid perfume or lightly scented lotion.  Sandy Creek soaps sells a lot of other products, too.  In fact, they will be appearing again in the next few months, because I got a handful of their soap samples, too.   

Because I am obsessed with candles and smelling good (and we were going to be in a timeshare for a week), I brough a couple of travel candles from Mrs Tattooed Geek.  I had gotten these candles in some Little Black Boxes and never gotten around to burning them before.  What a mistake!  They burned cleanly and well, lasted a good amount of time, and really threw some good scent!  Next time I go away for any length of time, I am picking up a few more travel candles!  They are in a little tin, so the candle is contained, but not in breakable glass. I just pack a silicone heat pad to protect the surface, buy (or get) matches at my destination, set everythign up, and burn some sweet smelling candles wherever I am!  The scent that I had that I liked best was Sugar Skulls, but I love some of the scents she has listed in her shop.  I can NOT wait to have money again so I can go on a candle binge!!  Mrs. Tattooed Geek is at the top of my list.

This week's soap is Sun Ripened Raspberry by S.V.Soaps. I am using a sample I got in my Little Black Box.  I like this soap.  It has some nice color layers with lovely rosepetals and dried raspberries in the soap.    Although I put in a link to this seller's stand alone website, they are also on Etsy.  S.V. Soaps also sells body butter, bath bombs, items for men, lip balm, and so many other things.  Having used their sample of soap, I would love to try some of their other items.

I also figured I would let you all know that I am STILL using the shampoo and conditioner from Heaven and Earth Essentials.  I LOVE IT, and it lasts forever. I am rotating 5 scents, each in 2 oz containers, and after 3 months, I am only about half way through all 5 scents.  I know I have mentioned them before, but seriously, the more I use their products, the more I love them.

My last review is of a non-consumable.  It is a mug that my sister got me for Christmas from Larry Spears Pottery.  I have been using it all week to drink my tea out of.  It is a great size (I like my mugs BIG), and the handle is very comfortable.  It was shipped well packed and in a timely manner.  I got a lot of compliments on my mug, and the husband uses it behind my back a lot.  All positive things to recommend Larry Spears.  What I REALLY want from him is his Soup Tureen. I covet that thing.  I have a couple of soups that are my specialty, and I LOVE the concept behind the tureen.  I just don't have the money right now.  Oh, but SOON.  Soon, I hope, I will be able to splurge on it. It is fabulous looking,a dn if it is made with the same craftsmanship as the mug I got, it will end up being a display piece as WELL as a highly used functional item.  I will leave you with a picture, so you too can revel in its magnificence.

Talk at ya later!