The Brazilian 4 Play from Sol De Janerio

Oh yes, you know I was going to lean into both of my new travel kits for my recent trip. I simply could not resist this Brazilian 4 Play Body Wash from Sol de Janeiro. It was picked up as part of my Bum Bum Jet set travel kit. And again I picked it up because I love the Bum Bum cream but have the tendency to only pick up the bum bum cream when I visit the site. So I thought this would break me out of my standard practice and get me trying a few new things.

And oh am I glad I did.

This Brazilian 4 Play is a creamy body wash that smells almost identical to the Bum Bum Cream. Since it’s from the same line, i shouldn’t be surprised, but I thought it would seem a little more soapy. It doesn’t it smells like the cream.

This body wash foams luxuriously and gives a really good clean. It is also very moisturizing. I know I sound a bit surprised by that as well, but here is the thing. When I try out moisturizing body washes a lot of the time i don’t feel clean. I instead feel as though i have a slight film on me that isn’t really clean.

In fact I usually tend to avoid moisturizing body washes for just that reason. I would rather my body wash leave me feeling clean and then post shower reach for a body lotion than to have my body wash moisturize me and leave me feeling like I just didn’t get clean.

This body wash from Sol de Janerio rinsed away clean, yet when I got out of the shower, I did not want to put on body lotion. My skin didn;t feel like it needed it. The only think I can imagine is that whatever softening agents the body wash uses, either soaked in during the shower or did their job and rinsed off. My skin felt smooth, clean and hydrated without any residue.

I was very impressed.

The scent is pretty strong though so make sure it is a scent you enjoy, because it will be with you a while. I showered at night with this body wash. Dried off, let my hair dry, read for a bit and went to bed. the next morning I could still smell it on my skin. As I got moving that day it faded. However the scent longevity is something to take into account. It is a skin hugging sent so you are not going to walk into a room and people are going to smell it. They would have to be well within your personal space bubble. Uncomfortably far in.

But I could smell it on my skin.

I happen to love the scent so it didn’t bother me, but it is something to note.

For me this is a win. I love the warm scent of the Brazilian 4 Play Body wash and I loved the way it made my skin feel. I suspect when I go back to purchase a larger size of the Bum Bum Cream, a full sized version of this will be joining it in the cart.

Scrub a dub dub, It’s Mario in the tub…

While March Was Sample mania, I found a few extra products in the sample drawer that I thought I would just go ahead and try out to see if a full size needed to be tried. One of these items was the Mario Badescu Skincare Coconut Body Scrub.

Coconut body scrub — buff and exfoliate skin with this exfoliating body scrub containing moisturizing
Shea Butter and Niacinamide Salicylate Complex to balance and exfoliate skin. Exfoliating coconut body scrub in a light gel texture:

– Reveals softer, smoother, healthier-looking skin
– Gentle beads in six different sizes exfoliate and gently scrub skin
– Polishes skin & buffs away dead skin cells
– Features Niacinamide Salicylate Complex (Niacinamide and Salicylic Acid)
– Rich in antioxidants and active skincare ingredients

Shea butter and mango seed butter provide moisturization. Rosehip Oil and Meadowfoam Seed Oil nourish and hydrate. Niacinamide Salicylate Complex (Niacinamide and Salicylic Acid) balances and deeply cleanses pores. Pumice provides physical exfoliation and scrubbing action.
Mario Badescu Skincare

There was enough product in this sample size for two showers worth of scrubbing. When they say coconut, they mean Coconut. The scent of fake coconut scent is strong as soon as you open it up. If you love that sort of thing then you will love this Coconut Body Scrub.

Personally I always find the faux coconut scent a little sweet and it reminds me of the old White Mountain Coconut cakes. So if i close my eyes while I used this scrub I sort of felt like I was showering in a bakery. I’ve had that dream before, it doesn’t end well.

I found the scent a little overbearing in general.

I am however willing to overlook it. I will contain my nightmares of bakery themed showers, mostly by keeping my eyes open in the shower. This Body scrub is very fine grained. It was a very gentle exfoliator on the skin and it left the skin feeling soft and hydrated. Which I am guessing is due in a large part to the shea butter.

I also found I needed less moisturizer post shower when I used this body scrub, which is a nice double win. The heavy coconut scent also remained in the shower. I may have smelled like I was showring in a coconut themed bakery but once I left the shower I did not continue to do so. The scent washed right down the drain.

Do you know what also washed right down the drain? The granules used for a scrub. Sometimes there are scrubs that just leave a textured surface on your shower tiles and seem to be working to exfoliate the bottoms of your feet. Whether these actually dissolved or were just light enough to wash down the drain I honestly don’t know. I do know that I didn’t have to scrub down the bottom of the shower after I scrubbed down myself and I for one will call that a win.

the scent of this body scrub from Mario Badescu may not me by absolute favorite. but the body scrub performed well enough and the scent stayed in the shower so I would definitely consider picking up a tube of this the next time I am looking for a body scrub that cleans, hydrates and washes away clean from both me and the shower floor. Plus there is always the chance that there are other scents available. One day, maybe…

Traveling with Sol de Janeiro

I love travel kits for so many different reasons and Spring is the time when a lot of them come out to play. I think it is to get everyone ready for summer travels, possibly spring break as well. This year there were two that caught my eyes, mostly because I was already on the site ordering from them anyway. This Sol de Janeiro Bum Bum Jet Set kit is the second travel kit that caught my eye and Quite honestly i love everything about it.

While they do have several different travel kits, and indeed you can go on to their build your own travel set and select minis of their products if you want to try them out, I went for this Bum Bum scented trio.

I love the original Bum Bum cream from Sol de Janeiro. To me it smells like buttered popcorn. which is a scent that I will not complain about. However it is also a little more than just body lotion. while it is talked about for tightening the skin on your Bum so that it looks fabulous in a swimsuit, Personally I have found it is helpful on my stomach area.

As I have started to loose weight, I get dimples and stretch marks and all sorts of things I am not too happy with. While I am sure it helps your rear end look great, It’s skin tightening properties are really helpful as I start to slim down. Basically the tightening action helps me out in that department.

Plus it smells like buttered popcorn.

I actually went on the website to pick up another container of this Bum Bum Cream and then I realized that every time I am on the site, I pick up the same Bum Bum Cream. So I decided to branch out and I used the travel kit to do it. The travel kit contains a 50mL container of the Original Bum Bum Cream.

It also contains a travel sized bottle of the body wash in the same Bum Bum scent. I have been wanting to try out the body wash for a while. Mostly because I just really like the scent of the cream and the thought of using it in the shower is just a pleasant one to contemplate. So I am thrilled I get to try that out;.

The third Item in the travel set is a Perfume Mist. It is in the Brazilian Crush Cherirosa #62 which is described as a pistachio and salted caramel. It is a 30 mL sized spray which is more than enough for me to get a feel for the spray. I am curious as to how it will perform. It looks like a body mist, but is described as perfume. So That will be a fun product to play around with. And I love both pistachios and salted caramel so I am eagerly anticipating trying it out.

These three items come inside a clear plastic travel case and I must admit I am kind of excited about it. Although I should probably admit that i will not be using it as a travel case. These little plastic bags are amazing for summer work in the garden. I will take the paper insert out and then put a little bit of ice and a little but of water inside. I will then add an old washcloth and take the bag into the garden. Periodically as I work, I will dip into the plastic bag and pull out the damp and shipped washcloth.

It is an amazing trick and I have to admit I end up doing this with all of the little plastic bags like this. we always have several going each year. I use them when i garden and my babydoll uses it when he mows the yard. Growing up my mom and grandma both used plastic containers or even zip top bags. I find the clear plastic travel bags like this god because they have a little stability so they will sit square and not just deflate. It makes them easier to use. And if you are working in the sun it is really a great way to cool down quickly and make sure you keep heat sickness at bay.

I know that is kind of a secondary use for the bag but I thought I’d share.

It is mostly about the products, but that is just a little side benefit. With each order there is a sample you can pick out and I chose a sample of the Beija flor Elasti-cream. It has a vegan alternative to retinol mixed in which I want to give a go. I wanted to try out the cream but I am always leery of florals. So a sample is perfect for me to try without running the risk of wasted product

As always I love travel kits because it allows me the chance to try products I might not necessarily pick up from a brand. In this case I ended up with one product I knew I loved and two from the same line that I have been curious about for a while but never got around to trying out. Now I get to try them out, AND pack them for my trip this weekend. Kind of a win win for me.

Hmmm, it’s m. Greengrass CBD Head to Toe Cream

One of the things that I find interesting about myself in this post-pandemic world is how much more attention i pay to body lotion. I always used body lotions and hand creams but they were all sort of in the background. Scent was the biggest issue for me. I’ve have lotions that I would put on right after my shower and lotions I would keep in my purse for when they were needed. Occasionally i would decide something had been in my purse for too long and I would take it out, make an effort to use it up and then find another sample size to put into the purse.

Some I liked better than others but they weren’t really an item that I thought too much about.

While I still tend to think of my post shower body lotions more in terms of both scent and hydration, hand lotions now have much points to pass if i am going to consider them usable. And while this m. Greengrass CBD Head to Toe Cream is technically a body lotion, It’s size and dispensing method make it more of a hand lotion for me. I did use it on the rest of my body, but it is subject to hand lotion checklists as well, mostly because it is easy to keep on my desk.

I actually have to say that is one of the things I like. It is a stand up pump bottle that can sit on my desk. It makes it easy to have on hand and to use. Tubes of hand cream get pushed into drawers a lot. I actually cleaned out my desk drawer last week and found three open tubes of hand cream i thought I finished. So the small pump actually works for me in a desk top setting.

But let’s look at the lotion…

We use a proprietary process for delivery of our cannibidiol molecules, which allows for better and faster absorption. Our isolate CBD is THC-free, US grown, and encapsulated for maximum effect. Our CBD-enriched products are made with elevated, carefully selected, high-quality skincare ingredients to for a 360° approach to wellness.Our unique formula uses 100 mg of THC-free encapsulated CBD for better absorption. It’s also packed with high performance ingredients for intense hydration, exceptional moisture plus soothing and calming benefits. Great as a daily facial treatment | moisturizer or for challenging spots from head to toe. For all skin types.
m. Greengrass

Now here is the thing. This 1 oz/30mL container is full size and retails for $45. While I needed one pump to cover each arm from wrist to elbow when I used it as an all over body lotion it took a large amount of the product in the bottle in one use. It does claim that it can be used as a facial moisturizer and I have been known to spend far more than $45 on a moisturizer before.

I tried it once as a facial moisturizer this week and simply didn’t like it. It did not provide enough moisture for my face and it was slightly sticky. It did absorb very quickly but for me this was not a facial moisturizer.

The stickiness was a factor elsewhere as well. The cream went on smoothly and whether my skin was wet or dry when I applied it was irrelevant, the cream quickly absorbed into the skin and left no greasy residue. There was a slight sticky film left on the skin though. Almost like a light waxy residue.

It was very slight and to be honest, I didn’t mind it so much on my legs or my arms. it was mostly my hands that had the issue and after applying the body lotion i did find myself washing my hands off. And oddly enough reaching for a different hand lotion after washing my hands.

With the rest of my skin I did notice that my skin was noticeably softer and more hydrated the longer I used it. For me this presents a bit of a conundrum. And this is because it is such a small bottle. it is not a facial moisturizer or a hand lotion. it really is for all of the other parts besides hand and face (even my feet did well with this lotion). After each use the dry spots of my skin were softer both after use and later. Repeated use showed progression results. Which is kind of the goal with all skincare. But the full size is a one ounce bottle. If it were a large 12 ounce bottle this would be a completely different tale. But with this size bottle you are looking at two, possibly three full body applications before the bottle is empty.

I shower daily and so this $45 bottle would last only three days. The cream I used for this photo was the last product in the bottle. It is a good cream and I could see getting it to spot treat really dry and calloused areas. If you were working on one area that might be hard to hydrate to the same level as the rest of your skin then i can see picking this up for that sort of use. It is not a head to toe cream in the sense that you should use it head to toe, even though it works very well that way. It is simply not a feasible use for the product. I can’t recommend it for a body lotion but I think if you are looking for a spot treatment, this would certainly be something to look into.

If I were to get a second bottle then I would certainly use it. I like the ingredients and I can see why the cost of such good quality ingredients is so high. I just don’t think it is practical for me to purchase such a small amount if I wasn’t specifically treating one problem area. m.greengrass makes a great body lotion, but it just isn’t practical for me to use it on a daily basis.

Using the Ancient Clay Earthy Soap

I have seen advertisements for this Ancient Clay Earthy Soap for a while now. I don’t know if I am on some list or if an algorithm caught me in it’s web or what. But it seems like they are stalking me. It is a light stalking though more IG stalking and less every available media outlet. It was certainly not the intense version that the Sauvage campaign did. That one appeared so often I started having dreams where Johnny Depp and a pack of wolves were lurking on the edge of my dreams. They were not part of any of the dreams just sort of lurking in the background.

But I digress. I have seen quite a number of ads for this Ancient Clay Soap and then received a bar in the Kinder Beauty Box. I will say that I did put off trying it for a while. Not because of the commercials, but because of the scent. This sample of the Soap is in the scent Rover spring and the scent that wafts off of it is quite intense.

Delight your day with splashes of River Spring, a blend of Coconut and Green Tea of essential oils, and let the fresh aromas of earth and ocean lead your day. Ingredient Benefits: Ionic Minerals (Pure Calcium Montmorillonite Clay) contains more than 57 trace minerals to help stimulate skin cell renewal. Shea Butter is full of vitamins and fatty acids to help nourish and moisturize the skin. Coconut oil helps remove dead skin cells and dirt away from the body. Its anti-inflammatory properties can help calm down and prevent redness, swelling, and irritation • 100% Vegan• No Sulfates• No Paraben • Gluten Free
Ancient Clay

I do not get the scent of coconut or green tea from the bar when it is sealed in the wrapper. I did get a heavily perfumed scent that reminded me of my grandmother’s scented soap dish. You know those soaps that were in little shapes that you are always told are for guests and that you were never ever to touch? Yeah that is what it smells like. Not entirely what the official term for that scent is because as soon as I smell it, it is the fancy soap dish smell in my head. Heavy perfume leaning in the floral direction with no individual flowers that can be picked out.

I will admit that the scent caused me to put it to the side and not use it for a while. Finally I decided it was time to go. Mostly because I ran out of soap and had this to hand. Once the wrapper was off there was a brief burst of scent from the soap and then it settled down. After the soap was wet, there was even less scent. I lifted my hands to my face (I always try soaps on my hands instead yo faking them straight to the shower, I figure if i have a reaction, isolating the reaction rather than have it cover my whole body is a better plan.)

I had no reaction to the soap so it has been moved to the shower. A it is a sample size, it disappeared very quickly. The scent that remained after the soap started to be used as a very light floral It was still the floral that was overpowering in the package, but it was like once it was allowed to air out most of the scent dissipated.

What remained was a really good bar of soap. The lather was not it’s strong point, but it did get a little sudsy. more importantly it rinsed off clean and left my skin feeling really soft and hydrated. Which I am thinking is the shea butter effect. I know this is a bath and body soap but I think I would rather use this as a hand soap. It felt really good on dry over worked hands. While my hands still suffer from the hand sanitizer dry out, I am also soon to begin the spring garden work. That always takes such a massive toll on my hands. I think having a bar of soap like this around in the bathroom where i wash up post garden activities would not be a bad addition to my spring routine. I am glad I finally tried out this Ancient Clay Earthy Soap. I am even happier that the intense scent of it faded to something barely noticeable while still leaving my skin soft and fabulous. For me this is a definite repurchase.

A FAB Duo…

I’ll be honest, I have received several items from First Aid Beauty that were labeled KP. For those of you who have seen KP on things and wondered what on earth it was, according to the May clinic the official definition is….

Keratosis pilaris (ker-uh-TOE-sis pih-LAIR-is) is a harmless skin condition that causes dry, rough patches and tiny bumps, often on the upper arms, thighs, cheeks or buttocks. The bumps usually don’t hurt or itch. Keratosis pilaris is often considered a common variant of skin. It can’t be cured or prevented.
Mayo Clinic

They have sample images to show what it looks like in case you are wondering if you have it. I don’t which is why I always passed on anything labeled KP on to someone else. When I looked at the FAB website though The Bump Eraser Body scrub just looked like a body scrub and the Smoothing Body Lotion looked like a body lotion. And after a brief walk through the ingredients list I decided to give it a try. The Bump Eraser Body Scrub is described as…

A body scrub that sweeps away dry, rough bumps associated with KP, strawberry skin and booty bumps to reveal healthier looking skin that feels exceptionally smooth. Safe for sensitive skin, this fast-acting body scrub uses Glycolic & Lactic acids, at a combined level of 10% AHAs, to help resurface skin’s top layer + Pumice to physically exfoliate, helping improve skin’s texture and smooth away bumps, roughness, and scaly areas, also known as chicken skin + buttne.
FAB

I took the Body scrub into the shower with me. The Tube contained enough for three showers worth of body scrubbing. I went with an every other day approach which is what I generally do with body scrubs unless they are intensive, then I go once a week or even once a month depending. This was designed for sensitive skin so the every other day approach worked well.

The scrub itself is like a very fine grained sand. It scrubs well and rinses off clean. It does leave a scrim of sandy matter on the bottom of the shower. It actually feels a bit like you have just jumped into the showier after spending a day at the beach. it does a good job exfoliating your feet during the rest of the shower, but I did have to rinse out the rest from the shower floor after I was finished showering as there was some that didn’t get swept down the drain. That could be because of my drain, but the end result is that these are not dissolving particles. They remain once the scrub is washed away.

Personally I really liked the scrub and I felt it did a good job. It is not a moisturizing scrub so I knew I was going to have to have a moisturizer after using it. Luckily I had the First Aid Beauty Smoothing Body Lotion to go with it.

I decided to use it after my shower as I would any body lotion. It is a thinner white cream that takes a little bit to absorb, but absorbs tolerably well. It is an okay body lotion. There was nothing I noticed about ti that was special or really memorable aside from it’s scent.

And the scent wasn’t pleasant. To be honest it had a scent that was a little like standing water. That sort of slightly musty scent that standing water gets. That is the closest thing I can think of as a description. The tube was sealed and it has no expiration date on it. I don’t think it has gone off. I think that is the scent.

The body scrub has the exact same scent, but the difference is that the scrub does not remain on the skin. It is there and the scent is lighter, but it also leaves as the scrub is rinsed off. The Body lotion remains. It is not a strong scent, it is very light. It is just no pleasant. If the body lotion were spectacular, then I would be able to get over the scent as it does fade away after about an hour. But the body lotion is just a general body lotion. it is fine, but not really something I would reach for or get excited about. And so the scent doesn’t make me want to reach for it.

The scrub on the other hand, I don’t mind the scent so much, partially because it does wash away pretty quickly, but partially because it is a really good body scrub. If you do suffer from KP then you might have different thoughts. If you are just looking for a really good, gentle body scrub I think this First Aid Beauty Bump eraser is a really good one to reach for, And while you will need a moisturizer after a good scrub down. I would recommend getting a body lotion other than the First Aid Beauty Smoothing Body Lotion. There are much better ones out there that you could pair with this fantastic FAB Body Scrub.

My Favorite New Travel Item

Let me introduce you to my favorite new travel item, The soap Sheet packet from SOS Studios on the Shop Miss A site. I know soap sheets are not a stunningly new item in the world, they have been around a while. However this is my first real experience with them.

I picked this set up from Shop Miss A a while back when I went and just decided to order a whole lot that interested me from the site. As pretty much everything is a dollar it is a shopping spree where I got a lot for very little money. And I found several items I will most certainly be ordering again.

To be honest, I slipped this set of soap sheets into my order simply because I was curious. I’d heard of soap sheets bet never tried them/. The Shop Miss A site had many scents to choose from and I went with the Peach. And to be fair the soap sheets smell like peach. Slightly. Mostly they smell like soap that might have once been placed next to some peaches.

The sheets are thin and feel a bit like wax paper. I put one in my hand and then added water. The sheet starts to dissolve almost immediately. one quick hand rub and the sheet dissolved into bubbles. I rubbed my hands together, washing them and then rinsing them off.

Any peach scent went down the drain with the suds and my hands were just left freshly washed. I suspect that would happen with any scent that you tried these soap sheets in. Some might be stronger than others but i am pretty sure it is the soap that will count.

It is just soap. It isn’t a moisturizing soap, nor is it a terribly drying one. I did end up using hand cream after using the soap, but as after washing my hands I generally sprayed hand sanitizer on them, the lotion was more to do with the hand sanitizer than the soap sheets.

While I was traveling for Thanksgiving and this did let me avoid the mostly empty soap dispensers in the restrooms on the drive. While I was home I ended up washing my hands a lot more than when I was here. There were several children with stick fingers around, mostly because we had a make your own caramel apple event on the Saturday post thanksgiving while several parents went out shopping. There were also several people who had recent operations moving in and out of my visit so the washing and sanitizing was intense. Beyond that, this was an amazingly useful product to have on hand, not just for the trip but in everyday life.

I may have purchased this set of soap sheets from Shop Miss A on a whim, but it is now one of my favorite items and I will be stocking up so that I can keep one in my purse, one in the car and one in my travel kit. Sometimes it is the simple things that make all the difference.

Holiday Bundle: Soap and Glory

Each year without fail I pick up some sort of Soap and Glory Bundle. What is kind of amusing is that each year my purchase is driven by one factor. I look at all of their packages and bundles and then I purchase whichever one has the full sized Heel Genius inside of it.

I know, not the best decision making process. However it is mine. This isn’t to say I don’t like the other products in the bundle. This $40 gift set for example comes with several products I like.

Pinkly the Best Includes:

Clean On Me Hydrating Body Wash 500ml

The Scrub Of Your Life Exfoliating Body Scrub 200ml

The Righteous Butter Body Butter 300ml

Hand Food Hydrating Hand Cream 125ml

Heel Genius Foot Cream 125 ml

Face Soap Clarity Face Wash

Reusable Soap & Glory white and pink tin

The Clean on me Hydrating Body Wash and Scrub of Your Life are two products I purchase for my shower every so often. I like the scent and the effectiveness. The scrub of your life is quite exfoliation-tastic, although not overly harsh on the skin. Because of the exfoliation I can’t use it daily, but for a couple of times a week it is fabulous.

My mother loves the Righteous Body Butter and Hand Cream so those two items will be passed on as stocking stuffers. I have never tried the clarity face wash from the brand so i am looking forward to giving that a go. and truthfully the Tin is going straight into my laundry room. I have a collection of dryer balls, which I absolutely love, but I need a container to corral them in and this will quite frankly work perfectly.

So nothing in this gift set will go to waste.

But I did purchase it for the Heel Genius Foot Cream.

I am posting about this as part of the Holiday Gifts posts not only because this and many other Soap and Glory Products and Bundles make great gifts, but as a reminder that sometimes great products do not have to break the bank.

This Heel Genius Foot cream costs only about $7 and it is the best foot cream I have ever used. It is a drug store product although my local Walgreens tends to run out of this on a regular basis so picking it up is always hit or miss. Hence the reason I specifically make a point to pick it up at the holidays. I do a lot of walking and my feet really take a beating. I have tried a lot of pricier items but in the end, i always come back to this. I have forgotten about foot care for several months and then realized suddenly that i am going to be wearing open shoes where people will be assaulted with my heavily calloused feet and rolled in this Heel Genius for an emergency rescue.

An hour before bed, when I am settled and reading in bed before sleep, I will slather my feet with this cream and pull on a pair of socks. (I can’t sleep in socks for some reason so I take the hour before bed to do this and then peel the socks off just before sleep.) Three nights of this and my callouses are softened, A week and my feet are soft and hydrated. Every time.

Sometimes we get caught up in the new and expensive and we forget the old reliable, and inexpensive products. This is a reliably good product and it deserves to be remembered. And if you can get a squadron of other nice products at the same time, even better.

This year, for me, The Heel Genius was found in the Pinkly the Best Holiday set from Soap and Glory. (Surprisingly though on the official website it is not listed as included in the kit so that may just be a US version.) Each year this is a treat to myself and each year I really enjoy it. It is my self care moment before the craziness of the holidays arrives. Some of the products I will pass on to those I know will love them but most I will keep for myself. It is Happy Holiday to me and I am well pleased.

Holiday Shopping Guide: Molton Brown

I know the holidays always seem to come faster and faster each year. Typically I like spreading my holidays out, however before the holiday, comes the shopping for the holiday. For me, my family is scattered pretty much around the globe at this point. So some gifts I pick up, wrap and get the chance to deliver in person while others I order, wrap, and then pack up to ship back out to other destinations. It means that I try to get my shopping done as early as possible. Adding in that everyone has supply chain issues these days and shipping is often delayed, it makes shopping a little early a good idea.

So if you are shopping now or planning your Black Friday/Cyber Monday holiday domination, I thought I’d go into a few of my favorite brands and take a look at some of this year’s holiday offerings.

Molton Brown is a long term favorite of mine. And while There will no doubt be ,more Black Friday/Cyber Monday Deals, currently they have a 25% off site wide (T&C apply) sale going on for those looking to stock up early. For a long time I simply ordered their Rhubarb and Rose body wash and didn’t bother branching out into the other scents. Then I received a couple of travel sized scented body washes in subscription boxes and liked them so much that I had to try a variety of scents.

One of my favorite things to get is the Stocking Stuffer Collection (usually $50, currently $37.50). I tend to pick this one up every year actually. I admit I usually keep one, but the rest of them I parcel out into various stockings. It works out really well because some family members like heavily spiced items, others like fruity scents, some like florals and others are citrus fanatics.

So the sampler stocking stuffer set is really handy.

I also generally pick up at least one of the holiday baubles because it never fails that after I have finally thought i picked up every item I need on my list there is always one Secret Santa or family friend gift that I some how forgot.

And given how much help so many people have been this year with my mother’s surgery, I will be picking up a bunch of these as extra holiday thank yous this year. The Holiday Baubles are usually $15 for one and are currently $11.25. While I will be getting a few of the individually packaged ones I will probably also get several of the three pack holiday sets (usually $49 for three but currently $30). My plan for those is to just have a basket and let people choose the scent they like best.

One thing I love about Molton Brown is that while they put their regular scents of shower gel and body lotion sets out for the holidays, they also have special holiday scents available. This year they have Merry Berries and Mimosa, vintage with elderflower (which might not be strictly a holiday scent but as my dad used to make elderflower wine and always brought out a bottle around the holidays, I always associate with the holiday scents), Jubilant Pine and Patchouli, and Festive Frankincense and allspice.

You can pick up sets that have just the holiday scents, such as the trio of bath gels to the right, or you can go for your favorite scents. If you are looking for something that is slightly floral but has a sweet tart scent to it, then I would suggest the Rose and Rhubarb. If you like something with a bit more of a clean fresh scent than I would lean more towards the Costal Cypress and Sea Fennel. Currently the one I am absolutely loving right now is the Heavenly Gingerlily. It is slightly spicy with a slightly floral note. And like all of Molton Brown’s products, foams beautifully and rinses away cleanly while leaving beautifully soft skin behind.

As always they did release an advent calendar this year but alas it is currently out of stock. I am hoping they will bring it back by the time Black Friday rolls around. I believe that is what they did last year. I remember seeing it was sold out, then on Black Friday got a notice that it was back in stock and by Saturday afternoon when I went to see about purchasing it, it was out of stock again. As it looks like a great way to try a variety of their products I can see why it is so popular.

For me, I love the brand and the products. I also love that while I have several people on my Christmas list who have sensitive skin, no one has ever had any problems with any of the Molton Brown products. I do have two relatives who are very scent sensitive so they tend to get bath time gifts from another company because of the scents (Molton Brown is quite potent in the scent department), but the formulas are great for all skin types. In addition to stocking stuffers and making sure everyone has a little holiday scented fun at bath time, I like the fact that Molton Brown’s products are always nice gifts but not to personal to give to work acquaintances at Secret Santa Gatherings, or your mother’s church friends who made sure she got to doctor’s appointments on time. They are just nice all round gifts and this time of year is a great time to stock up on them, whether it is for a gift or just yourself. I can already tell you, there is at least one Heavenly Gingerlily product heading into my own shower in the near future.

Enjoying a shower with Kueshi Naturals

This Kueshi Naturals Vanilla Shower Gel was a new product and a new brand to me when it appeared in a subscription box. I am never opposed to getting shower gels in subscription boxes. I like using them and often I will end up using them when I travel. The main reason is that my usual body wash is from Olay. The scents vary based on what seemed to catch my eye when i went shopping. And while I love Olay (enough to keep buying it) the bottles are kind of big. So what i do, especially as we start rolling into fall and winter and Holiday travel looms, is to try out the body washes and other shower gel type products and if I like them enough set them aside for travel. Mostly because they are more compact than the Olay bottle.

And they are there.

this Kueshi Naturals I tried out and then took with me to my mother’s house where it was the bathing product i used for the two weeks I was staying with her. Normally I would post a little blurb about what the company claims for the product and maybe look at a couple of the ingredients. However this product was very difficult to find. I found it posted on Mecari and other resale sites but it was not listed on the Kueshi naturals site. (The link above will take you to the main page for the brand).

I’m guessing because it says limited edition on it, they no longer have it in stock. Which is a shame. The vanilla was a nice light scent that wasn’t overly sweet or cloying, which is sometimes difficult to do with vanilla scented products.

The shower gel foamed well, rinsed clean and was a pleasure to use. I thought about not posting about it, because the product seems to have disappeared from the brand site, but as it is the first item i have ever tried from the brand I decided to go ahead and post a few thoughts about it. The main reason is that because of this shower gel I am more interested in trying other things from the brand. This Vanilla shower gel was very good and I enjoyed using it. If the other products from the brand are anything like this then I will definitely be giving their products more of a try in the future.