05/16/2012 6:35 am
Ever since I made the switch from liquid face wash to bar soap from LUSH, I’ve been looking for ways to make my cleanser last. At around $13.00 for a pie-shaped slice of soap, it’s not something I want to wash down the drain every time someone turns the shower on. Should I just slice off a tiny piece each time I wash my face? That seemed like it would be a lot of work. Keep it in a closed container maybe? But maybe it would get mushy.
Enter the Mesh Soap Saver:
- Not fancy-looking, but does a great job.
Photo credit http://www.thegourmetrose.com
I stumbled upon one of these at Big Lots for a little over a dollar. At that price, I figured it was worth a shot. I took it home, grabbed my brand new bar of face soap and cut off a slice about the size of a matchbook. It lathered up wonderfully with just a bit of water. Some days I use just my hands and the lather, and others I like to actually scrub a little more using the mesh. Either way, I get a great clean. With twice-daily washings I’ve been using my same 4oz bar of soap since February, and I still have a nice little chunk left. Each time the little piece in my soap saver runs out, I cut off a new slice and add it in. The bar itself stays safe and dry in my medicine cabinet.
You don’t have to stop at face soap, though!
Have you been eyeing that amazing-looking herbal soap on Etsy? Or maybe a shampoo bar that you’re just not sure how it would work. Maybe you have a cream-based soap that doesn’t lather well in your hands.
At anywhere from $1 to $5, this is not a product that’s going to break the bank. They are available at most stores that sell bathroom or home products, or you can always look online as well. I found tons of different sites that had them. Even hand made ones!
Do you use a mesh soap saver at home? Share your thoughts and feelings in the comments.
05/02/2012 11:17 pm
Last week I had the opportunity to hang out with some other local bloggers and explore a store and a company that I didn’t really know that much about before. J. R. Watkins Naturals has been developing natural products since 1868. I have seen some of the home care items in my Target store before, but that’s as familiar with the name as I had gotten before I stepped into their one and only brick and mortar store, located right here in Orange County.
The Original
Watkins started right in his own home, producing a pain relieving product that he mixed in his own bathtub using camphor and capsicum as the active ingredients. He was so confident in his creation that he offered it with the very first money-back guarantee. It has stood the test of time, still being a popular seller after over 140 years.
The store is decorated with real Watkins relics.
Walking into the store, I couldn’t help but notice the decor. Clean and simple, a classic apothecary look but just a bit more upscale. Behind the register there is antique video footage from the J.R. Watkins factory playing on a loop. The staff are smiling and friendly and extremely knowledgeable and helpful.
Vintage photos bring the Watkins story to life.
The store itself, opened in October of 2011, is located adjacent to the Ferris wheel in the Irvine Spectrum center. How I missed it so many times I can not tell you, but I will say that I won’t be able to visit the Spectrum again without popping in.
One thing I really like about the company is that they aren’t here trying to find the newest fad product to get moms to buy them. If a product is going to join the J.R. Watkins family, it has to be something that is going to be relevant not only right now, but fifty years from now. Just by looking at the specificity of the products carried in the store, you can see that clearly it’s quality over quantity.
The Pink Grapefruit products smell heavenly.
The Sugar and Shea Scrub is a newer product that has been a few years in the making. They made sure to get it as perfect as possible before launching it. I had the opportunity to try it out and immediately fell in love. The consistency is creamy and rubs on evenly. The result is long-lasting soft skin and no dangerous shower floor to worry about slipping on like you would with a standard sugar and oil scrub. The first time I used it on my elbows, which for me are a regular dry and flaky trouble spot. At the end of the day they were still soft and I hadn’t used any additional moisturizer on them.
I can’t say enough wonderful things about the products, the company, or the store itself, and I strongly encourage everyone to stop by and see for themselves the next time they are visiting the Spectrum. The staff there are more than happy to let you try anything in the store if you ask them.
To sweeten the deal, I have a special present for OC Family readers!
Through May 16th, 2012- visit J.R. Watkins in the Irvine Spectrum and spend $10, receive a FREE Lip Tint!
Trust me, you want a Lip Tint. They are divine!
J.R. Watkins Naturals
Irvine Spectrum, suite 219
(949) 754-0664
04/18/2012 8:55 pm
We are all aware of the foods we should be eating to help our bodies be healthier, but did you know that there are foods that can effect the way your skin looks as well? All the acne products in the world can help dry up blemishes, but without proper nutrition, they’ll just keep coming back. Here are a few foods to help keep your skin acne-free.
Avocado – Contains 27% of your daily Vitamin B3 (Niacin). An anti-inflammatory that helps soothe irritated, red blotchy skin due to rosacea or acne. Healthy fats can help to nourish and moisturize dry skin from over-cleansing.
Oysters – Contain Zinc. Affects sebum production to reduce acne.
Mushrooms – Contains Riboflavin (B2) which is good for skin repair. Helps reduce damage from acne and rosacea.
Flaxseed Oil – 1 tsp provides 2.5g Omega 3s. Hydrates dry skin and dilutes sebum to help prevent acne.
Green Tea – Rich in antioxidants and an anti-inflammatory chemical called catechins, which helps to combat free radicals.
Lemon Juice – Vitamin C brightens skin from the inside and acts as a natural bleach and can be used to fade sunspots and freckles from the outside.
You don’t have to just eat them, either. They’re also effective when used on the surface of the skin as well.
Acne Reducing Face Mask
Mix together one small avocado, 1t flaxseed oil, 1t lemon juice and 1t honey.
Avocado provides the antioxidants and reduces redness and inflammation, flaxseed moisturizes and reduces sebum, lemon juice brightens skin and fades acne scars, and honey kills bacteria.
03/14/2012 4:36 pm
Thanks to a mixture of lack of sleep, children, and genetics, my under-eyes are looking rather blah these days. Using eye cream helps of course, but I still need to do a bit of covering up if I don’t want to look like I haven’t had a full night of sleep in years. (Even if it’s the truth.)
Some days I just don’t feel like covering my entire face up with makeup. As a matter of fact, I prefer to go mostly makeup free if I can. I am proud of my skin and I don’t want to always cover it up. Here’s how I get a refreshed look with minimal product.
I do really like my freckles!
I start with my blank slate. Notice the yellowish and dark areas under my eyes. I don’t find them flattering at all. I grab the three things I need:
- My best foundation.
- A powder in a shade lighter.
- A basic mascara. (None of that crazy thickening lengthening stuff.)
With my finger or foundation brush, I spread my foundation around the entire eye area. Make sure to blend it right in with your skin so you don’t look funny. Next, I take an eye shadow brush and go over just my under eye with the lighter-colored powder. The last step is to apply a quick coat of mascara, just because my eyelashes usually look like they’ve disappeared after the first two steps.
All done!
It’s so quick and simple, and once I’m done I can go run my errands without feeling like I should just keep my sunglasses on inside of Target.
- Looking a little more refreshed.
Do you have any little tricks you use to hide dark circles?
02/29/2012 9:17 am
Every store proudly displays the company mission statement.
Have you ever been to LUSH? Up until last month, the only one even remotely close to me was in the Anaheim Gardenwalk. They just recently opened up their newest location in Fashion Island, and I couldn’t have been more excited to check it out.
I didn’t have a lot of experience with the brand, so I was thankful for the helpfulness and knowledgeability of the staff there. I went in with specific skin concerns and came out with products to treat them.
Quite a variety of face care products.
Every LUSH product is handmade, and even boasts a sticker with a picture and name of the person who made it. They use fresh fruits and vegetables and ethically sourced essential oils. It can’t get more fresh than buying an all-natural face mask right out of a little refrigerator. You almost feel like you’re in someone’s cozy kitchen rather than a retail store.
A pampering experience.
If you’re not convinced, an employee is happy to demo a product with you right there in the store. From face to body to hand demos, you can try out just about everything.
Make it a girl’s night out and take advantage of LUSH’s private after-hour parties. $25 per adult and $10 per child gets you great service, the store all to yourselves, and a gift card in that amount to spend on products!
This store has become a regular stop for me, and I feel like there is always something new I need to check out. You can check it out too. The new store is located in Fashion Island, just across from the Bebe store, near the Atrium Court.
For more information on new products and upcoming events in the area you can follow @LushNewport on Twitter.
02/01/2012 8:25 pm
Image Credit: Stuart Miles
One item that I always have on me is a pack of face wipes. I don’t mean baby wipes, though I usually have those too, I mean the gentle-cleansing, vitamins-added, makeup-removing kind of face wipes. I am absolutely in love with them, because they are my favorite kind of product. They are a product that multitasks. As an insanely busy and pregnant working mom, my purse tends to “collect” things, and I am constantly having to purge it. I like items that serve more than one purpose, because that’s less I’m carrying around. So what do I do with facial cleansing wipes?
The obvious use: Wiping my face. I always wash my face at night, but not necessarily every morning. Your skin produces natural oils and if you wash it too often, it can freak your face out and become extra oily. As a person with super oily skin, the less I wash it the better. But wiping my face with a moisturizing cleansing face wipe not only gets rid of dirt without over drying, it makes me feel refreshed and makes it a little easier to apply my makeup.
Cleaning up. I find myself rushing from place to place, and I’m often putting makeup on my face in a parking lot with my rear view mirror. The problem with doing my makeup in the car is that I don’t have a sink to wash the makeup off my hands. Baby wipes are okay, but they aren’t so great at getting foundation off your fingers. Facial cleansing wipes are made for removing makeup, and they work like a champ on hands.
Of course there’s touch ups. If my eye makeup decides to stray, I always have a wipe handy to make myself look proper.
Last but not least, they are great for cleaning off your makeup brushes after use. It’s important, especially with eye makeup, to clean your brushes after every single use to avoid spreading bacteria. Once again if you’re in the car, you don’t have a sink handy. The wipes get all of the gunk off, so you’re ready for the next application.
Do you use facial cleansing wipes? What other ways do you use them?
07/30/2011 10:42 am
“Less is more.” This is a phrase that I said often to my customers. First of all, it is important to wear moisturizer on your face, but I will get into more detail with that another time. The mistake that people often make, is the amount that they use. After observing many customers slather creams on their face, it started to bother me a little bit.
Most face creams, especially the expensive ones, are highly concentrated. Some people don’t want to shell out the money for a tiny little tube of cream that looks like it will be gone in a matter of weeks, and understandably so. For some of my customers, money wasn’t really an issue, but I saw them return way too often for a new tube of cream. While many salespeople might love the idea of customers coming in frequently to buy more products, I feel that it’s dishonest. I wondered if some salespeople might even encourage their customers to use more than necessary. But most of all, incorrectly using a product can result in not getting the desired effects.
Most people generally use a dime-size amount. I am not sure why, but this seems to be the go-to measurement. My advice is to start with a pea-size. Squeeze a small bit of the product onto the back of your hand. With a fingertip, take a dab and work into your forehead, then take another dab and move to a cheek, continue around the face until the product is gone. With eye cream, you need even less, just a tiny dot on the back of the hand again, dab with the finger, then pat under the eye .
With some hair products, but not all, this applies as well. Serums, shine creams and leave-in conditioners do not require a lot to be effective. In fact, using too much can leave hair greasy or weighed-down. Squeeze a very small amount, pea-size, into your hand, rub together, and work into hair starting at the tips. You should not put these types of products onto your roots or scalp.
Not only will your products be more effective, you will be saving money by not having to replace them so quickly. If you feel you aren’t using enough, just use a tiny bit more. It’s much easier to squeeze a little more onto your hand than it is to try to put it back into the container.
04/30/2011 4:08 pm
One thing I love about the Spring and Summer are the hair accessories. The hats and scarves go away and the flowers and headbands come out again. I like to have lots of different clips so that I can mix and match with different outfits, changing it up each day. The problem is that buying hair accessories can get kind of pricey. I try to be frugal where I can, so I found an easy and quick way to make flower clips without spending more than a few cents!
What you need:
I found these flowers at the Dollar Tree, and there were about 8 of them in the bundle for $1. And the bobby pin, well I have tons of those.
Step one:
Pull the flower off the stem so that you just have a little nub on the back.
Step two:
Slide the bobby pin over the nub until its as snug as possible.
Step three:
Secure in hair.
Step four:
Make awkward faces in your bathroom and take lots of pictures.
Repeat as many times as you want with as many flowers as you want!
04/23/2011 11:27 am
Thank you to all who entered! A winner has been chosen.
Congrats to Terry! I will be getting a hold of you so we can get the prize sent out to you. Enjoy!
04/09/2011 3:48 pm
A while back I mentioned a dry shampoo product that I was absolutely in love with. Well, here it is!
It’s called Shampowder.
Shampowder was invented when Jayne Polan, a busy, working woman, started experimenting with healthy ways to keep her hair looking great each day. After reading in a magazine that sprinkling a little baby powder on your roots between shampoos is a good way to keep your hair fresh, she tried it, but soon found it was too messy and left her roots looking a little white. Soon she started experimenting with pigments and different methods of application. After two years of trial and error, Jayne came up with the perfect formula, and an easy way to apply it. She started mixing it for friends as gifts. Word spread and soon everyone wanted some Shampowder.
The Shampowder applicator is incredibly easy to use. Just pop the brush up and dab on your hairline and roots. After that I just fluff my roots a little with my fingers and go. It’s so freeing to be able to wear my hair down on those in-between-shampoo-days.
Shampowder rocks because…
Instantly freshens hair
Absorbs oil
Adds body
Pigmented powder blends naturally with all hair colors
Exclusive brush applicator delivers the perfect amount of product exactly where you want it
Enhances manageability
Light vanilla scent deodorizes hair
Less washings equals healthier hair
Giveaway!!
One random reader will win two bottles of Shampowder in their choice of shades. Keep one and give one to a friend, or keep them all to yourself. That’s for you to decide!
How to enter:
Leave a comment telling me what you do with your hair in between shampoos.
One comment per person, giveaway ends 4/15/11, US only. Prize will be shipped by the company directly.
