Beauty Blog

If none of you out there have ever been introduced to Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soap…the day has finally arrived. This stuff is amazing, strong, but amazing. I’ve been using Dr. Bronner’s for a few years now, and was introduced to this after a facial piercing phase I went through in college. It’s just a very pure, all natural form of liquid soap that cleans gently but thoroughly. I have a lot of friends that use this soap and love it. It’s basic, and gets the job done. It also comes in neat little bottles that you can bring with you on travels. I only recently started finding the tiny travel sized soaps and mine came in super handy this weekend while I was away. Now, ideally I would love to bring my regular face wash, toner, and luxe bar soap on my trips–but this can be such a hassle. Anyone of you who travels frequently will understand. So instead, I took a little risk and only brought my travel size Dr. Bronner’s, and I used it in the shower, and on my face. It will leave your skin squeaky clean so use sparingly, but it’s a perfect way to simplify your travel beauty routine by bringing this all-in-one. This specific formula comes in several different scents (all natural oils of course), and the peppermint is a popular choice among many. My personal favorite is the almond, it smells sweet and soft.

Dr. Bronner’s 18-in-One Hemp Almond Pure Castile Soap, $1.59

If you wash your face with this soap, try your hardest not to get it into your eyes–since it is pure castile soap, it will sting (just like any other soap would.) On the label you will find the thing that might fascinate newcomers the most, which is the eighteen different uses for this soap: one of them includes washing hair with! A wise thing to do is try a small version of this stuff before buying a big bottle–it comes in a few different sizes. Other scents include lavender, rose, peppermint, tea tree and eucalyptus. Dr. Bronner’s is totally eco-friendly, biodegradable and is packaged in post consumer waste. The organic oils it is made with include organic olive, palm, coconut, hemp and jojoba. This also makes for excellent hand soap in the bathroom. This would also make a great gift for Christmas or just something to stock up on before holiday traveling.

Ahh, Childlike wonder…I often find myself amused with things that are intended for 5 years olds, like drawing hand turkeys and making snow angels. Apparently craft projects are no exception. This week I decided I would make Shrinky Dink necklaces* for my friends with the faces of their pets (it didn’t seem as creepy when I was doing it).

All you need to make your own is: directions, shrinky dink paper, a inkjet printer, a hole punch and a toaster oven.

*Not responsible for your friends thinking you are a animal loving freak.

(Source: A Fashion and Style Blog from Punky Style)

(I thought this was too cute, and I personally love unique hand crafted gifts always!! - Michelle  )

While in the land of Smarter Beauty Blogs:

• Showering Etiquette 101 -When guests use your Louffah it’s BEYOND personal, it’s bleepin’ GROSS! 
•  Dear Santa, All I want for Christmas is the following Beauty Products… 
•  Fish Oil - So Good for your Health, So Bad for your Breath 

One of the perks of blogging is having a public forum to vent. Well this is one of those posts!

I think I have kept mum about the following issue for long enough. What I want to discuss with all of you is what you think the proper decorum is for guests who come or sleep over and use the shower. Which alone is of course not a big deal, my issue is when they bogart all your expensive shower products and/or use your LOUFFAH!

Am I taking crazy pills or is that not crossing the intimacy line?! I chalk that right up there with using my toothbrush for pete’s sake! 

Here’s the back story. I have a handful of girlfriends (and my younger sister) who take advantage of my beauty product addiction and use my shower as their own personal beauty testing cubicle. It use to annoy me but I have learned to deal. What I do now is hide the really pricey scrubs and shampoos before my sister comes over, lest she bogart $60 dollars worth of Bliss products. I swear the girl will consume half a bottle of shampoo in one shower trip, I really think she stands there and dumps the good stuff on the floor just to spite me.

PLUS - I think the following is just plain rude, gross and wrong! (Btw, this applies to male visitors as well)

• when you see hairs that are NOT yours in your shower razor
• when your louffah is moist and sudsy after they leave the bathroom, indicating direct use from a stranger
• the brand new body scrub you just opened is suddenly half empty and you can feel the granules lining the shower floor (indicating someone went product testing crazy at your expense)
• little”ummm” hairs stuck to your bar of soap (barf)

I readily admit, I am a tad OCD-ish! But I honestly don’t think my requests are a lot to ask. Is it? Ugh! Just thinking about it makes me shudder. All I keep thinking is the parts of my body that my louffah touches and the parts of their body the louffah touches! Add germs to that line of thought, and rashes, and flesh eating bacteria, and.. and…and… *screams!* GROSS!!!

Am I wrong here guys? What are your “SLEEPOVER-SHOWER-DON’TS”?!