Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Movie Review - Lady Jane

Lady Jane
1986
PG-13, 141 minutes

For nine politically charged days in 1553, protestant martyr Lady Jane Grey (Helena Bonham Carter) rules England against her will, thanks to a conspiracy concocted by a band of men bent on keeping the crown away from the Church of Rome. But when Princess Mary, the daughter of King Henry, assumes the throne, Lady Jane and her husband, Guilford Dudley (Cary Elwes), are imprisoned and sentenced to die.

As my fascination with the Tudor dynasty continues, I was finally curious enough about this particular part of history that I decided to Netflix this movie that I've passed up many times.  Actually, I first became aware of this brief scandal in that horrible Tudor Secret book I was reading last year.  (Click here to see that book review.)  Now that I'm more familiar with all the people and events of the times, I thought this would be interesting.  Seems like we don't hear much about little Jane's part in it all.

I knew this was an older movie but didn't realize it was from way back in 1986.  Helena Bonham Carter was 20 years old but looked so young, and this was one of her first movies.  Cary Elwes was 24, also looking extremely young, and before his Princess Bride fame.  (Can you believe I have never seen that movie??)

The look of this movie, the music, the feel, was almost like a TV movie.  Not that it was bad, but it made me chuckle a few times.  I've read reviews that rant because this movie was far from accurate.  I guess I don't really know enough about these specific events to know how accurate it was or wasn't, but I suspected there was a lot of Hollywood drama and romance added because this really was a sweet love story played against the stark evil greediness of the adults all around.  The commands and actions of Jane during those few days she was queen seemed very childlike and fictional, but really, did she do anything in those nine days worth noting?  I don't know yet because this is all I know about her so far.


Jane's story is sad whether referring to it factually or from this movie.  For this review I will go by the movie.  She didn't ask to marry Guilford Dudley, and he certainly didn't want to marry her.  No, it was political maneuvering by their power hungry parents that set this match up.  Still it was sweet the way they eventually go to know each other and fell in love.  It was sad how they felt they only had each other to rely on  and how they dreamed of going away.  Jane certainly didn't ask to be queen.  As far as this movie, I don't think she was even aware of what was being plotted.  And how would it feel to be 16 years old and be told you are now the Queen of England, especially in those troubled times?  Crazy.  Did she even understand all the political bull going on around her??  To be thrown in prison only days later, sentenced to death, and executed months later . . . all for something she never asked for, never wanted, never had a hand in?  Heartbreaking, and disgusting to think that their parents put them in this spot.


Whether accurate or not, this was quite a good movie, very sweet and very sad.  And as with all movies of this type, it makes me want to learn more about the real Lady Jane story.  I'm glad I finally gave this movie a chance.  And young Cary Elwes was quite a cutie!


Have you seen this movie?  What did you think of it, or of the Lady Jane scandal in general?  I'd love to hear your thoughts.


(Don't forget to enter my February Giveaway!  Who is your celebrity
Valentine sweety?)

Review - Chagrin Valley Soap


I'd never heard of Chagrin Valley Soap but blog reader 'chickadee' left a suggestion in a comment on another soap review post, mentioning this company.  I looked at their site several times before deciding to go ahead and order.  There are so many soaps from this place that I want to try!  This is an all natural company, using a lot of foodie ingredients like honey, carrots, cucumber, and using essential oils, and natural colorants.  I had a hard time trying to decide on just one bar to order, not to mention all the other things available.  I was thrilled to find they offer sample sizes.  This allowed me to pick a few different things to try.

So what did I get?

If a soap maker has an Oatmeal, Milk, and Honey soap I am most likely going to start with that one.  Whether it's just a fragrance oil scented version, or the real deal with actual milk and honey and oatmeal, it just seems to be a favorite of mine.  So of course when I saw this Goat Milk, Oatmeal, and Honey at Chagrin Valley, I knew this was the one I'd be starting with.  Even though there is no added scent, there IS still a very nice, sweet, almost floral natural scent from the honey and other ingredients.  
I ordered the sample size bar, and even being a sample, it was huge.  It was thin, yeah, but it was like a big paddle of a bar in my hand.  And even though it was big, I quite liked it.  Because it was thin, it felt like I had great control, like I was just scrubbing with my hand.  Of course, if you prefer to cut your bars (I don't), it would be so easy to do with this.  I didn't actually weigh it so I don't know how many ounces it was.

It arrived in a small paper bag with a sticker label on it.  I thought this was cute and practical.  I'm not sure how the full sized bars are packaged.

I really liked this soap!  As always, I used this in the shower with a mesh bath puff, and my water is very hard (country well water) so results may vary for you.  This soap exploded into an immediate big bubbled froth in the first moments of using it on my body.  It then settled down into a thicker, creamier lather that easily lasted until the end of my shower.  The scent was noticeable, even for being an 'un'scented soap.  It rinsed easily and left me feeling very soft and moisturized.  

There is oatmeal in this soap, quite a lot of oatmeal.  I really liked it when the bar was large, it felt like a really  nice soft-scratch rub down (if that makes any sense?!), but as the bar got smaller the oatmeal felt scratchier and did become uncomfortable.  I ended up throwing the bar away before the end because it just got too rough, and that's too bad because I loved this soap.

As I do with all soaps I buy, I tried it on my face to test for dryness or tightness.  I had to be careful because of the oatmeal, and ended up lathering it on my little face scrubbie instead.  I did notice some extreme itchiness around my nose afterwards but I'm not ready to blame the soap.  I had also tried a different lotion that morning and may have had some left on my hands when I applied my regular face cream after washing.

Even with those minor setbacks, I loved this soap.  I'm looking forward to trying some other varieties next time.  The website says their bars are 6.5-7.5oz, and sell for around $7.35, depending on ingredients.  The sample bars are $2.60 each, and it looks like you can get a sample bar in any of the soaps they have in stock, not just limited to a few choices.

There are many other products on the Chagrin Valley website . . . shampoo bars, lip balms, scrubs, butters, dog soaps, and others.  It took me a while to decide what else I wanted to try.

Since I've been all about sugar scrubs lately I just had to try one of theirs.  This is the sample size of the 'All Natural Whipped Body Sorbet Sugar Scrub & Wash.' It is preservative free and even contains some of Chagrin Valley's own soap.  When I first opened the jar and looked at this I was disappointed.  I thought 'Ugh, it's one of those really dry, crumbly ones.'  But I was wrong!  While it is a more dry consistency than my favorite scrub type, it was not crumbly and hard to use.  It was 'wet' enough to scoop some out with my fingers and easily handle it where I needed it to go.  I was also surprised that what appears to be very large grained sugar was actually very gentle.  The sugar dissolved nicely, not too fast, but also not too slow in that you're scrubbing forever or washing it all away, and it was not harsh at all.  It was also  nice that the Chagrin Valley soap in there turned this scrub to a creamy wash as it was worked with.  It wasn't a bubbly lather like using regular soap, but it was more than just oils holding the sugar in the scrub.  I really liked that.  My skin felt fabulous afterwards, without feeling oily, and it did not make my bathtub slippery at all (as scrubs are often known to do).

Although it lists lemon, bergamot, lavender and eucalyptus essential oils in the ingredients, I really couldn't tell you about the scent of this scrub.  I thought it was unscented so I didn't pay much attention, although there was a subtle, lemony scent while using it.

I would order this product again.  A full jar is 10oz and sells for $12.95, but there are 1oz sample jars available for $3.00.  I used my entire sample jar in one shower but that might have been overkill.  I was just gungho to be trying something new.  The prices may seem high but remember, these are preservative free, all natural products.

I also ordered a sample size jar of the All Natural Whipped Shea Body Butter because I'm always looking for a good body butter/lotion.  I debated between the whipped shea and the whipped cocoa butter, and don't know why I picked the shea.  It looks so light and fluffy on the site and in this picture but as soon as I opened it I knew I wouldn't like it.  This is more of a 'hard' consistency, not hard like a balm or a solid lotion stick, but hard in that those apparently fluffy peaks are stiff and you have to sort of crush and scrape your finger across to get the product.  I've had this type of product before and it's just not the kind I prefer.

Let me say though, this product works great.  Why don't I like it then?  Well not only is it the slightly hard consistency that I don't prefer, but it is also the type that leaves you greasy for a short time until it finally absorbs.  Once the greasy is gone, the skin wherever you've applied it super soft and moisturized but if you're like me and just don't prefer this TYPE, then you won't like this product.  I thought maybe I could use it up on my feet and knees in the mornings after my showers, not have to worry about the greasy feeling there, but no because it's still greasy on my hands afterwards.  I'm going to try using it just to dab on my cuticles, see how that goes.  Again, not a bad product . . . just be aware of the type of product it is.

I had ordered the unscented version but there is still a natural almost nutty aroma that comes from the unrefined shea butter.  You can also order scented versions.  A full jar is 4oz and sells for $15.00/scented or $14.85/unscented.  There are .5oz sample size jars available for $4.75/scented or $4.50 unscented.

Shipping was fast, I had my order within days of ordering.  There were no samples or anything in the package.  I don't know if they just don't send samples or if it was because I'd only bought sample sizes to begin with.  I can't say anything about customer service because I haven't contacted them for anything, just placed my order without any questions.

In the end, I think I will order from Chagrin Valley again because there are so many other soaps on their site that I want to try.  And I thank blog reader 'chickadee' for the suggestion!

Chagrin Valley Soap . . . WEBSITE
Chagrin Valley Soap . . . FACEBOOK

(Don't forget to enter my February Giveaway!  Who is your celebrity
Valentine sweety?)

Review - Creamery Creek


I've been aware of Creamery Creek since way back in my earliest days of discovering handcrafted soaps.  Reviews I'd seen on YouTube or in blogs were always raving but for some reason I always bumped other shops to top of my Must Try list.  That was remedied about a month ago, finally.

My actual order was for two bars of soap, Oats 'N Marmalade, and Lemon Drop.  However, they had a special posted on their blog at that time, a free 'shaped' soap with every order so I also received the round green soap you see in the picture, and that was in Siberian Pine scent.  I also received a small sample piece of Chai Tea scented soap.

The soap I will actually be reviewing is . . .
'This scent is nostalgic, tart, and spicy, not sweet like a regular orange. It is rich without being to heavy just like traditional orange marmalade. We have added ground oats for a gentle scrub.
We think this scent is just dreamy!'

One thing I'd heard a lot about Creamery Creek soaps is that they are light on scent.  When I first received my order I was happy to find this wasn't the case at all.  All of the bars smelled so nice, not overpowering, but definitely enough to know they had plenty of scent.  This one in particular is a very, very nice orange scent.  As the descriptions says, it's not a regular sweet orange.  There is a very nice, softly spicy note to it.  It's a unisex scent, and perfect for a morning shower when you need a bit of a pick me up.  When I finally started using this bar in the shower though, it was really hard to notice that scent.  I still detected a subtle pleasantness but it was more like the generic soapy scent you get with handmade soaps.  Now for ME it was fine because I prefer to get my scents from lotions or body sprays AFTER my showers, but if you are someone who loves highly scented soaps, this is probably not for you.

I used this soap in the shower, with a mesh shower puff as always, and it might be worth noting that I live in the country and have very hard well water.  Creamery Creek bars are more of a thick chunk, a good size to hang onto.  It lathered quickly and easily, and while it wasn't tons of lather, it did last through my shower.  It rinsed easily, and left me feeling clean and moisturized.  I felt no dryness or tightness.  It even eased some of the winter itchies I'd already been having.  This particular soap does have oatmeal in it but it is finely ground and not at all scratchy.  I even used this bar directly on my face and felt no abrasives or irritation. 

Creamery Creek is goat milk soap, which I prefer.  Bars are 6-6.5oz and are $5.00 each, which is a GREAT deal.  They can ship 1-10 bars for $5.70 in the US, and will ship internationally.  They are a family business located in Utah, raise their own goats, and have been making soap for over 10 years.  Most of their soaps appear to be naturally colored, or have very little color added, and I like that.  Some of the really brightly colored soaps out there scare me!  I want to wash myself, not rub dye all over my body. 

Creamery Creek ONLY makes soap.  You won't find lotions or fancy scrubs or perfumes on their site.  They do not use lard, as that other popular family goat milk soap business that I call my sentimental favorite does.  These soaps use a basic formula of 'Olive Oil, Coconut Oil, Palm Oil, Castor Oil, Avacado Oil, Shea Butter, Soybean Oil,' which might make them sort of average in the eyes of some but I find them to be just fine.  There are plenty of scents to choose from, including fragrance oil scents and some essential oil scents, and even a couple unscented options.  Their scent lineup has remained pretty steady in all the time I've browsed but never ordered.  Just before the holidays they added some new scents.  I was so excited to see something new that THAT is probably what really made me finally order.  But I also like that things don't constantly change here.  If I find a favorite, I know I can go back for more and it will most likely still be available.

Shipping was fast.  I ordered on December 20, right in the holiday rush, and still got it just a few days later.  Customer service is decent.  I'd screwed up during the checkout process and didn't get the coupon code entered but when I emailed immediately after to explain, they replied to my email and still honored the coupon.  Earlier in the fall when I had emailed asking about scents, I received replies to my questions usually within the same day.  And you know how I feel about small businesses not answering their emails!  lol

Overall, I am pleased with my Creamery Creek experience.  I don't know why I waited so long to order but I'm glad I finally have, and I definitely will order again.  I would absolutely recommend them to anyone who is looking for natural, handmade soaps to try.

Creamery Creek . . . WEBSITE
Creamery Creek . . . BLOG

(Don't forget to enter my February Giveaway!  Who is your celebrity
Valentine sweety?)