Gels/Soaps -LUSH - Figs and leaves soap
Zedar 3/30/2008 7:03:00 PM
This is my favorite bar soap from Lush. The best one yet to exfoliate my backside!
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Bath Treatments -LUSH - Ceridwen's Cauldron
Zedar 3/30/2008 6:59:00 PM
Ceridwen's Cauldrin comes in cheesecloth and is perfect for all occaisons. It is a soothing oatmeal, bath ideal for sunburn or poison ivy, and it smells better than any of Lush's other scents, IMO. This is my favorite Lush product. Use it fresh since it will go rancid eventually.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Bath Treatments -LUSH - Haagenbath
Zedar 3/30/2008 6:50:00 PM
This is my current favorite bath bomb - minty cocoa butter is awesome!
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Lotions/ Creams -LUSH - Soft Coeur Massage Bar (The Honeymooner)
Zedar 3/29/2008 4:18:00 AM
It has some drawbacks, but the Soft Coer massage bar is one of my favorite products from Lush. The like the sweet, buttery (salty?) smell and natural ingredients make this a much better (and sexier!) option than the petrolium-based "cocoa butter" lotions that have been hitting the market recently. Also, a heart is a convenient shape for moisturizing my legs! Cons: the chocolate streaks your skin - when you reach the cocoa in the middle, it is granular and not sexy!
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Shampoo -Beauty Without Cruelty - Rosemary Mint Tea Tree
Zedar 1/13/2008 2:10:00 AM
NOTE: I had rated this shampoo 5 stars, but I knocked one serious star off because it contains the petrochemical chemical ethyl hexyl glycerin, which is a form of Ethylene Oxide that reacts with other personal care ingredients to produce 1,4-Dioxane, which is known to cause cancer in the State of California (not to mention it is tested on animals and this is a BWC shampoo) (see http://www.organicconsumers.org/bodycare/DioxaneResults08.cfm) This is really too bad since all of the other ingredients in this shampoo are great. Until I find a shampoo I like that doesn't contain ethyl hexyl glycerin, I will use this BWC Rosemary Mint Tea Tree shampoo as needed and BWC's Daily Benefits shampoo daily. This rosemary, mint and tea tree shampoo is a little drying to use every day on my long, fine, hightlighted hair. However, it is great as a clarifying shampoo or as a medicated shampoo to chase away flakes during the winter. I have repurchased both shampoos repeatedly. I love them both!
3 out of 5 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Moisturizers -Epicuren Discovery - Acidophilus Probiotic Facial Cream
Zedar 1/6/2008 11:31:00 PM
My aesthetician suggested this probiotic emulsion as part of my skin care regimine for acne, although I am more excited about this product as a convenient and moisturizing alternative to yogurt masks, although it is definitely more expensive.
I don't know how effective this probiotic emulsoin is in preventing acne. Although my acne has improved somewhat, it has improved in conjunction with using several treatments including this one. Still, this seems like a good moisturizer for people with acne prone or oily skin, or people who are struggling with scaling, flaking skin, like I used to.
In the AM, I mix a dime size amount with an equal amount of aloe vera gel as a moisturizer after my other treatment products and before sunscreen. Whether you add more aloe or not, this moisturizer is pretty light, and it smells like pina colada yogurt. It has mostly natural ingredients including Aloe, Safflower Oil and Jojoba, but it does contain some parabens.
Other people may not like: the smell (although it doesn't bother me) and that may not be moisturizing enough. I use a more moisturizing cream at night.
By the way, my aesthetician also has me taking probiotics orally.
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Toners -Epicuren Discovery - Acne Conditioning Astringent
Zedar 1/6/2008 11:18:00 PM
This was part of my new skin care regime, which was working really well, but I felt this product in particular was too drying, so I stopped using it. It has a lot of alcohol in it and salicylic acid, which always makes my skin overly peely/scaley and irritated. It is a toner that you can "feel working" (I could feel my blemishes stinging a little bit when I applied it). If you are not irritated by salicylic acid, it is worth a try.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Treatments -Epicuren Discovery - Medicated Acne Gel
Zedar 1/6/2008 10:58:00 PM
This 10% Benzoyl Peroxide and 5% Asymmetric Oxygen gel was part of my new skin care regime, which worked really well until I had an allergic reaction to its high level of benzoyl peroxide. Therefore, I have not been able to use this potent product as directed by my aesthetician. However, this is an effective product for people who are less sensitive to BP.
Interestingly, the product formulation seemed to change slightly. My first bottle was more watery and my second bottle (purchased April 19, 2008) is slightly more solid (creamier or more gel-like). The BP in this product is not as finely milled as PCA and Proactiv, so it doesn't work as well under makeup. However, it is more potent.
My aethetician instructed me to use a tiny bit as a spot treatment on existing blemishes in the morning and also more in the evening over entire acne-prone areas. Although I found this routine very effective in clearing my skin (cysts I had for months disappeared), it was extremely drying. Worse, after a few days, it made my eye sockets puff up and caused some hives/welts (my usual allergic reaction to too much BP).
People who need and can tolerate such a high level of BP should look into this product, but be sure to use moisturizer after it dries. One of the advantages of this product over much cheaper drugstore BP treatments are the natural ingredients, if that is important to you.
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Cleansers -Epicuren Discovery - Benzoyl Peroxide Scrub
Zedar 1/6/2008 10:42:00 PM
This is no longer my favorite BP product or my favorite scrub, but I still will continue to use it daily as a masque. The combination of Avon Clearskin Scrub and Neutrogena's BP cleanser/mask is probably a more effective and economical option, but certainly less natural than Epicuren.
The Epicuren BP scrub is a little drying, but I think it made a big improvement in my skin. It reminds me of a combination between Proactiv's scrub and Booth's Green Apple Microdermabrasion, but it costs a lot more, unfortunately.
Unlike the instructions on the bottle, my aesthetician directed me to use it each evening as a 1-hour mask after cleansing for 2 minutes with Epicuran's medicated acne cleanser with triclosan.
Note that the pump in the retail size bottles always fails when the bottle becomes about 1/2 empty. I don't know if the pumice is too much for the pump or what the problem is exactly. Therefore, I gave the packaging low marks. However, I bought a 300 ml professional size with a big, strong pump for $46 and I think this pump will work a lot better. If you are able to find it and use this product daily, go for the professional size for the pump and the value!
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Sunscreen -Epicuren Discovery - Zinc Block SPF 20
Zedar 1/6/2008 10:31:00 PM
I wish this had a higher SPF and I wonder how well it blocks UVA rays. However, I have been using this on my face as part of my new skin care regime, which is working really well, so I will probably repurchase.
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Cleansers -Epicuren Discovery - Epicuren Medicated Acne Cleanser
Zedar 1/6/2008 10:24:00 PM
This product is part of the skin care regime that I started a few weeks ago, which is working really well, although it is a little drying. People who like this line say it is gentle, but after researching some of the ingredients, including triclosan, I am not sure it is so gentle. However it is more effective than other cleansers with triclosan that I have tried. Like some of the other reviewers mentioned, success with this product may be attributable to HOW it is used. My aesthetician said to use two full pumps for my face and neck, which is a lot, and to massage it in for a full two minutes. This may account for the better results that I am enjoying with this triclosan cleanser as opposed to others. Eventually I may experiment with cheaper brands. I am knocking off one star for the ridiculous price.
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Skincare - Body -Weleda - Lavender Body Oil
Zedar 1/6/2008 10:03:00 PM
Way better than body lotion. I like that it comes in a glass container instead of plastic with thalates (sp) and its ingredients: Sweet Almond (Prunus Dulcis) Oil, Sesame (Sesamum Indicum) Oil, Lavender (Lavandula Angustifolia) Oil, Fragrance (natural essential oils), Limonene, Linalool, Geraniol, Coumarin
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Conditioner -Nature's Gate - Natures Gate Organics Fruit Blend - Mandarin Orange and Patchouli
Zedar 1/4/2008 11:30:00 PM
I knocked off a star because this contains potentially cancer causing petrochemicasl.
I have fine, long, blond, highlighted hair (oily roots) and have been going through conditioner like crazy (1 tube per week) trying to keep my hair from looking totally fried. My hair is mostly straight, but the part near my neck is curly/frizzy and I get awful flyaways.
Like at least one other reviewer, I used this product with other products, so let me explain: Yesterday night I used for the first time Better Botanicals Herbal Hair Oil. This morning I washed it out with my favorite shampoo, Beauty Without Cruelty Daily Shampoo. Then I used two other products for the first time: the Nature's Gate Mandarin Orange Patchouli conditioner that I am reviewing here, as well as Giovanni Direct Leave-In Weightless Moisture Conditioner on the ends and a few other places as a detangler while I was combing my wet hair (bad to comb wet hair, I know).
Although I can't say exactly which of these products did it, my hair looked and smelled amazing today. It was smooth, shiny and bodiful.
The Nature's Gate conditioner smells somewhat like Lush's Karma fragrance, but it is a little milder. I have to admit, I am not a big Karma fan, nor a big fan of patchouli, but for a patchouli fragrance, this smells really good and even better combined with the products described above. I kept smelling my hair today because it smelled so good and natural, unlike a lot of the conditioners that I have been using. I will try to update this review based on my continued experimentation with this product, but so far it gets a big thumbs up from me, particularly in conjunction with the other products I described above.
Caveats: I imagine the fragrance of this product might be a bit strong for some people, or you might just not like it (fragrance is soooo personal) and if you have long hair like mine, you may want to use a little detangler like I did. Also, the bottle is the same color as the Nature's Gate Pear and Red Tea body wash, so be careful not to get the two confused.
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Shampoo -Beauty Without Cruelty - Daily Benefits
Zedar 1/1/2008 1:58:00 AM
NOTE: I had rated this shampoo 5 stars, but I knocked one serious star off because it contains the petrochemical chemical ethyl hexyl glycerin, which is a form of Ethylene Oxide that reacts with other personal care ingredients to produce 1,4-Dioxane, which is known to cause cancer in the State of California (not to mention it is tested on animals and this is a BWC shampoo) (see products tested at http://www.organicconsumers.org/bodycare/DioxaneResults08.cfm - unfortunately, this product was not tested) This is really too bad since all of the other ingredients in this shampoo are great. That's why I continued to use Daily Benefits and other BWC shampoos daily for several years. However, I just discovered Nature's Gate Biotin shampoo, which is even better than the BWC shampoos, cheaper, and I don't think it contains petrochemicals (still researching this). If you like Daily Benefits, give the Nature's Gate shampoo a try - I think you will like it better.
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Blush -Fresh - Ivory Dust
Zedar 12/28/2007 10:24:00 PM
I wish I liked this as much as everyone else does, but it truly does very little for me and you don't get much product for what you pay for. I will not be repurchasing this product. I have extremely pale skin with cool undertones that tends to get ruddy (red). I was concerned that Ivory Dust would be too warm for my skin. Maybe it is, but subtley so. If I don't use it with a pinker blush, it just makes me look pale and washed out. (As an example, NARS Orgasm works much better as a blush for me.) True, Ivory Dust is not garish on light skin, which is what a lot of reviewers liked. However, I think the shimmering and highlighting properties of it are obfuscated by a lack of contrast when applied to light skin. I imagine this product works better on darker skin as more of a brightener or highlighter, although in reading the reviews, it sounds like a lot of the fans of this product have similar skin to mine. Go figure.
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