Testing out Fellow Estian Products

So, I adore Picnic Basket Craft's shop. I had a couple items custom formulated for my skin and let me tell you, they are my favorite products to date. They are also affordable for a college student like me!

She sometimes has people try out items that she's planning to put in her shop. I always volunteer, as I love to try out new products that I could see myself potentially buying. It's great because I can test out the product for her and see for myself if it works the way I'd like it to before I commit to buying. (I also just want to say I really appreciate her sending out these samples for all her testers - postage isn't cheap these days!)

I tried out a cream for her about a month ago and the latest is a solid laundry stain bar. It is made of just a few all natural ingredients, which is what I'm aiming for in my home. I do not have any kids so I don't have grass stains or food stains, but I do have grease and 'mystery' stains that somehow appear on my clothing. I tried the stain remover on two of my tops that have become sleeping shirts because they had two mystery grease/oil stains on them (probably from cooking.) One of the shirts, the stain came completely out. The second shirt's stain is not as visible, but it's still partially there. I think I'm going to treat it again and see if it completely disappears this time.

All in all, I think this is a great product. Other stain removers (commercial) obviously didn't take these stains out nor did my regular detergent so for an all natural one to get it out is saying something! I am slowly but surely switching all my cleaners to natural, and this will definitely be something that I'll be adding to the regime.

EDIT: I laundered the one shirt where the stain was still slightly visible again and the stain came completely out. And the same day that I wrote this post, I got butter on one of my shirts while baking. I applied the stain bar and laundered it as usual and the stain came completely out!

DressGreen

Again, with my bath and body addiction I had to try out products from DressGreen on Etsy. All of Lauren's products are 100% natural and free of all that yucky stuff that is found in commercial products.

I placed a rather large order: Coffee Exfoliant, Snow Day Exfoliant, Green Tree Moisturizer, Pomegranate Juice Moisturizer, Orange Blossom Moisturizer, Purifying and Blemish Controlling Body Serum, Toning and Clarifying Facial Serum, and finally the Lusty Lip Lush. I have to say that the exfoliants smell heavenly and work great! They aren't too greasy but leave your skin lightly moisturized. The body and facial serum are my new favorites! I use them on my face after washing as a moisturizer (and they help combat blemishes!). The Moisturizers go on smooth and smell great and the lip lush is just wonderful!

In addition to great products, Lauren strives to provide great customer service. She is very accommodating and lets you know whats going on during the whole transaction. Shipping was extremely fast and everything was packaged beautifully in green tissue paper. She even included a little card explaining her products and some cotton pads for the facial serums! I know as soon as I run out of these products I will be back for more!!!

Morgan Street Handmade Bath and Body Care

If you haven't noticed already, I am a little obsessed with natural bath and body care. In December I emailed Sharon asking her if I could purchase some smaller sized versions of her products because I am always weary to buy full versions of things and then find out that I hate them. I ordered from Morgan Street a full sized pumpkin spice whipped body butter and her cuticle balm and Sharon was kind enough to give me generous samples of her soaps, body scrub, foot scrub, foot soak, and foot salve - much more than I was expecting, and all included with my purchase for free for me to try out!

I was more than excited when I got to use her products, but to be honest, I was expecting the same stuff that I've tried out there before. The first thing that I tried out was the black raspberry vanilla body scrub. This was honestly the first scrub that I've tried that I would have to say was perfect - not too oily that you felt like you dumped a bucket of oil on you but just moisturizing enough that you honestly don't even need to use a cream afterwards.

The next thing that I did was give myself a mini pedicure where I used the foot soak, foot scrub and foot salve. This was really the best combination of products for my feet that I have ever had - I would have to say it was at the same level as what a spa would have, just at a fraction of the cost. My feet are still smooth and and look great even during this cold winter season drying out my skin.

I honestly fell in love with all of Sharon's products and I most definitely will be back again, but this time with a huge order with one of everything (well almost ;) )

Daisycake's Soap

Being a huge fan of 100% natural bath & body care, I had to give Daisycake's Soap a try. Since becoming a member on Etsy a little less than a year ago, I have been drawn to many of the wonderful shops and want to give the most appealing ones (to me!) a try. Daisycake's Soap specializes in just that - Soap! She has a special on her website for a pound of cold process soap that is not a consistent weight, cut or packed beautifully for $14 and free domestic shipping. I decided this would be the best way to try her soaps for a great price. After getting the soaps I was pleasantly surprised to see that all the scents were very appealing to me and they were wrapped in tissue paper with a corresponding card for each scent for me to know exactly what I was getting.

I so far have tried out the Natural Rose Clay Soap and I have to say it's one of the best soap's I've ever used! Daisycake's Soaps being one of the first that I have tried on Etsy, I sort of feel that nothing can really live up to her soaps and that has kept me from really buying any other soaps. I have gotten some samples from some bath & body stores on Etsy but still have not given them a try because I enjoy the Daisycakes Soaps so much!

I really recommend giving Daisycake's Soap a try. As far as general bath and body I have my favorites, but for soap Daisycakes is my favorite, hands down!

Tooth Chips

So, the Rose of Sharon Acres Tooth Chips sounded really intriguing to me. They were getting great reviews and wanting to go all natural I had to give them a try. At first, the $9, 2oz container seems like a lot of money, but when you break it down, it comes out to a mere $2.25 a month and lasts 4 months, brushing 2x a day. The shipping as fast and Monica was really good with all my questions.

As soon as I got my Tooth Chips in the mail, of course I had to try them - and I did. To be honest, at first I couldn't stand the taste of them but immediately felt a difference in the way my teeth felt. They felt super clean, as if I had just gotten a cleaning at the dentists. I thought to myself, I paid this much for the tooth chips, I might as well use them. It has been a little over a month using them and I can honestly say that I got used to the taste and that my teeth always feel cleaner than if I was using regular tooth paste. I even noticed a difference in morning breath...there was no yucky feeling in my mouth anymore!

When I went home for Christmas I had my parents try the Tooth Chips as well. My little sister, who is 6 wanted to try them and she happened to like them. My dad loved them, but my mom had the same reaction as me. The only reason my parents didn't continue using them is because they use an electric toothbrush and they said they would prefer a paste version of the tooth chips.

Overall, I am very satisfied with the Tooth Chips and will continue using them! I am very curious to see what my next dentist appointment will bring!