Bodycology Scrub/Butter Gift Set

After an anonymous comment left on my previous Bodycology sugar scrub post, I popped into Target bright and early this morning after doing my regular grocery shopping.  And what did I find?

Just as 'Anonymous' said, there were Bodycology combo pack gift sets containing a sugar scrub and . . . a body butter!!  I didn't even know Bodycology had body butters!  Oh happy day!  I saw the Hazelnut scent I already have, and the Coconut Almond, and maybe one more, and then found the Brown Sugar Vanilla that 'Anonymous' had mentioned.  Of course I grabbed it.

Brown Sugar Vanilla is one of my favorites of the Bodycology scents.  It's described as 'The warm blend of vanilla, brown sugar and sensual amber creates a cozy, comforting scent,' and is very similar to Bath & Body Works Warm Vanilla Sugar.  So I was very happy to see this scent in these products.

The body butter is nice.  It's not the light and fluffy type that I prefer, like what I can get in the handcrafted community.  No, it's more of that sort of springy or rubbery consistency that Bath & Body Works has.  It's a little harder to stick your fingers in and scoop some out but it works fine to just run your fingers across the top and sort of gather up what you need.  It's quite heavily scented, so the scent will indeed remain on your skin.  It spreads easily, absorbs quickly with no greasy feel, and so far (I've only been home about 15 minutes, lol) it's leaving my skin very soft and nice feeling.

Now for the heads up if you are at all interested in this gift pack . . . you might want to hurry to your Target.  These will be found in the Christmas clearance aisles.  You know, where they've crammed all the leftover Christmas items and marked the prices way down.  There were plenty of them at my Target but who knows how long they'll last?  The jar of scrub is slightly smaller than the regular single jar you can buy (10oz in the gift set, 16oz regular) and the body butter is only a 5oz jar, but these are still decent sizes, and perfect if you like to change up your scents more often. 

The set was originally $9.99 but with Christmas clearance it is now $4.99.  How awesome is that??  And why did it take me until I was home to realize I should have grabbed a bunch more of these?!  DUH!!!  The regular sugar scrub jar sells for $5.96 at Walmart.  So here I'm paying only $4.99 and getting body butter on top of it!  I have not seen body butters anywhere else yet.  I'm fighting the urge to go back and grab more.  I've warned hubby that if we go shopping anywhere today I *will* need to go back to Target.  He just laughed.

I had first looked in the regular Bodycology section of the store and did not see these sets there.  Did not see separate body butters either.  But I did notice another scent of sugar scrub that I had not seen yet . . . Coconut Lime.  So now we're up to five known sugar scrub scents.  This is one thing I don't really like about the Bodycology website.  They do not show new items.  Well, I can't seem to find them on their site.  When they came out with the new Enchanted Forest scent a while ago (which I really like), I first saw it on Facebook.  It was quite some time, and I'd already bought a bottle of the body mist, before I saw it had been added to their site.  I have not seen the scrubs on their site yet, or even the body butters.  And the other day I saw, again on Facebook, that they now have lip glosses.  I haven't found them in stores or on the site yet.  Guess I should be thankful for Facebook, huh? 

I know the handcrafted community is probably ready to burn me at the stake for venturing back to the bad side.  I do look at the long, unpronouncable names of some of the ingredients in these products and cringe.  I see that these are made in China and I cringe.  I'm not even sure why I'm drawn to this brand.  Part of it is price and convenience, I'm sure.  It gets frustrating trying to find a natural, handcrafted product you really like only to have that shop close or change or discontinue things.  Or, I really hate paying the extra dollars for an awesome handmade lotion that I love, only to find out it's just a pre-made base that the 'handcrafter' simply added scent to. 

Or ok, yeah, I should at least find a natural, US-made commercial brand if it's convenience I'm looking for.

But whatever . . . there are plenty of people out there who aren't concerned with such things, so these posts will be for them  :)

Birthday/Christmas Haul

Results of the quicky poll showed overwhelmingly that you all (well, six of you anyway) love to see Christmas hauls so I'm going to go ahead and post mine.  Since my birthday is Dec. 21 and I did receive several things from that, I've lumped it all together to make this post easier.  Also, you've probably already seen several of these things from my previous posts about the Secret Santa exchange, and the package I got from Ellie.  Oh, and the quality of the photos is not as good as usual because I didn't use my usual set up in my usual spot, and didn't have patience to wait for some daylight natural lighting.

I've sort of broken these down by category, and I will go through them quickly.

 Hubby had gotten me a big gift basket from Bath & Body Works that contained the items above.  The basket was a dark brown, square, wicker type and it had all been wrapped in clear cello and tied with a red bow.  Four of the five items are the Aromatherapy - Sensual line, which is Black Currant Vanilla scent (which I love).  There is a sugar scrub (read review HERE), shower gel, lotion, and candle.  There is also a candle in Vanilla Lavender scent.

I also received a B&BW face mask in Peach Citrus scent, B&BW lotion in new Rio Rumberry scent, B&BW triple moisture body cream in Dark Kiss scent, and B&BW pocketbac (and holder) in Cranapple Crisp scent.  And then there were three Bodycology lotions: White Gardenia, Cucumber Melon, and Cherry Blossom.  I forgot to include the two bars of soap from HurriKayn Naturals that I posted about HERE.  Oh!  And I had also bought that Bodycology sugar scrub for myself (read HERE).

I got the second Secret Circle book (which I'm currently poking my way through), The Host (by Stephanie Meyer), that Mary I book that I posted about and technically wasn't a birthday or Christmas gift but I consider it one anyway, and the new Legend of Zelda game for Wii.

Candy!  Oh my gosh, so much sugary goodness and I haven't even started on any of it yet.  Let's see, there is a box of Hershey's Pot of Gold assorted chocolates, box of Russell Stover French Chocolate Mints, and a Ferrero Collection with what looks like three types of chocolates (one being coconut, yum!).  The big Lifesavers tube is something I bought myself because I saw it was Butter Rum flavor and you just can't find simple rolls of Butter Rum Lifesavers anymore!  I realized later there is an assortment inside the tube but there ARE two rolls of Butter Rum.  Anyway, moving on . . .   two boxes of Sweetarts (which I don't like, bleah), the package of Ghirardelli Peppermint Bark that you've already seen, a holiday KitKat, three tea packets, and handfuls of Hershey's Kisses.

Home fragrance galore!  Most of these I've already written about but I'll go through them quick again.  Yankee Cherries on Snow, and Autumn Wreath candles.  Yankee Peppermint Cocoa, Pumpkin Buttercream, and Root Beer Float tarts.  Two Yankee holiday themed tart warmers.  Febreze Cranberries & Frost candle. Bath & Body Works Sticky Toffee Pudding candle, and mini candles in Dark Chocolate Mint, Hot Chocolate, Salty Caramel, and Spiced Madeleine, and a bottle of fragrance oil in Gingerbread scent..  Sandalwood incense.  Candles By Victoria tarts in Warm Christmas Splendor, Christmas Eve, Christmas Kitchen, and Sugared Spruce.  And finally a green leafy ceramic tealight holder with a pack of Chesapeake Bay tealight candles in White Poppy scent.

Some random things I got were a snow globe ornament, Starbucks mug and cocoa mix, jeweled 'D' ornament, a dancing/singing Mickey Mouse, and a bottle of Febreze in Gain laundry soap scent.  Ha, yes, a bottle of Febreze.  That would be from my son's friend, who we consider our adopted third son, who always buys THE most random things.  That's why we get him coal candy every year . . . lol.  I forgot to include a silly toy that my sister got me, silly and simple and somehow addicting.  It is one of those old fashioned toys that is pretty much just two metal wires (about like coat hanger wire) and a disc with pegs on each side and you move your wrist up and down to get the disc to roll back and forth, up and down on the curved shape of the wires.  Anyone have any idea what I'm talking about?  I have no idea what they're called so I can't even Google to find a link.  Anyway, it is such old fashioned silly fun.  I also received some money, which will probably be used on a new Family Tree Maker computer program.

Clothing is a very awkward area for me as far as gifts.  I hate receiving clothes!  It usually doesn't fit or it's almost always something I won't wear anyway.  And then it becomes awkward with 'Does it fit?' or 'It can be exchanged, you know.'  I received several clothing gifts and, yep, they are all either things that don't fit or that I would never wear anyway.  All except for one . . . the gorgeous VIKINGS sweatshirt that hubby got me.  I love it and it fits!  And it's now replaced my worn out plain blue one that I wear near constantly at home.  As for those other things, I'm undecided.  They will most likely be donated to Goodwill.

One last gift is the beautiful snowy blue background theme you see on my blog right now.  The wonderful Lynda has once again worked her magic and I thank her sincerely.  

And that is my Christmas haul.  I was spoiled this year, and with some really great things too!  My thanks go out to so many people!!  If you're interested, you can see a TON more family Christmas pics HERE, in the Facebook album I created.  Hope you check it out. 

Now it's your turn!  Show me your holiday hauls!  *waits excitedly*

Christmas Haul . . . Or No?

Short and sweet . . . do you fine folks like to see Christmas hauls?  Or do they come across as bragging?

Feel free to comment here or simply vote in the poll to the right. ----->

**Edited to add - Results of the quicky poll were 6-0 in favor of Christmas hauls, so I will get to work on that now.**

A Yankee Christmas

It seems to have been a Yankee Christmas for me.  Not only did hubby surprise me with some really nice Christmas gifts from the candle store, but we also popped in there the day after Christmas to check out their big clearance sale.  So let's see what I got, shall we?

First I had opened this adorable fall themed tart warmer.  How stinkin' cute is that?!  Back in the fall I had been browsing the Yankee website and saw a bunch of awesome warmers, but they also had huge price tags.  It was fun to look at them but I would never pay those outrageous prices when my $4.00 Walmart cheapie warmer serves its purpose just as well.  Never thought I'd get one as a gift!  As I was admiring this I had commented to hubby that I'd seen some really nice Christmas ones on the site too and that we'd have to go check out the clearance sale.  He just nodded slightly and had a sort of blank look on his face.  Since I had another box waiting to be opened I glanced at him again, laughed and said "Or did you already . . . "

And sure enough, it was one of the Christmas themed tart warmers!  Again, how cute is this thing?!  I am so sooo cheap and practical that I would never dream of buying such things for myself.  Hubby, on the other hand, sees things on more of an 'Might as well enjoy life' level.  In his mind, if I'm going to be melting tarts anyway, why NOT have the nice warmers?  We used this one right away on Christmas Day and it worked fine.  The bowl holds about the same amount of wax as my regular warmers, and I like that it detaches from the stand so I can just pop that into the freezer to remove spent wax instead of trying to shove the whole unit in.  It is quite a bit bigger than my regular warmers but luckily it still fits in the spot I needed it to go.  So fun!

I also received some candles.  Hubby got me two from Yankee, and my son's friend (our 'adopted' third son) got me the Febreze one you see in the picture.  The Yankee ones first . . .   I got Cherries On Snow, which I don't see on the site but is described as 'An enchanted, sparkling blend of bright, juicy cherries with sweet almonds and an icy freshness.'  The name of this is very familiar to me so I must have seen a review of it somewhere.  The scent is very nice, very cherry.  The other one I got is Autumn Wreath and is described as 'There's a cheerful fall welcome in the spicy warmth of autumn leaves and cinnamon apples.'  This scent is definitely apple, but the spices make it warm.  A very nice fall scent.  I wonder, will the scent still be good if I wait till next fall to burn this?  Maybe I should just burn it now while the apples and spice of the holiday season are still fresh on our minds.

I'm not sure why AdoptedSon got me a candle but he sure scored big points with it.  LOL!  It's a limited edition holiday candle in Cranberries & Frost scent, 'As the wintry freeze creeps in, a delightful berry presence adds a welcome tartness.'  Not a very good description, huh?  I don't know if the 'frost' note is vanilla or what but this is a very nice scent, mainly cranberry but something soft and sweet mixes with it.  I like it!  And if he thought he was being funny by getting me a 'crap' gift, as is his usual tactic, if backfired this year.  Hehe!

I thought that since hubby had gone out of his way to go to Yankee, that surely there would be some tarts at stocking stuffers but nope.  Not a tart to be had.

So then I had seen online that Yankee's big year end clearance sale was starting the day after Christmas.  Since hubby and I were both off work and had planned to be out and about anyway, I suggested we stop by Yankee and see what we could find in their big discounts.  I also needed to check for some clearance fragrance oils for someone.  It wasn't until we were walking into the store that I found out this was an outlet store, and the regular sales didn't apply here.  *SIGH*  Still, pretty much everything in the store was 50% off . . . except, of course, the oils I was looking for. 

Hubby was pointing out all the tart warmers and I think he would have bought about ten more if CheapDeb hadn't been along.  There were some cute Easter/spring ones though, I will admit.  Then he was looking at all the big candles while I was headed to the tarts.  Ok, now I remember swearing that the next time Yankee tarts were $1.00 a piece I was going to stock up.  Well, they were $1.00 a piece that day.  And I got none.  I even stood there telling myself 'You should get some.  You should do it.  You should just stock up.  You know you should.'  Hubby passed by me at one point and agreed that now was the time to grab a bunch.  But I didn't for several reasons.  I don't like that you can't smell their tarts through the wrap.  We tried to go find candles of the same scents that we could actually sniff but that became a back-n-forth hassle.  Also, I don't think outlet stores have the full range of scents.  I was seeing mostly Halloween, fall, Christmas leftovers, and some generic common things like lavender and lilac.

I found the three oils I needed to get  . . . Garden Sweet Pea, Home Sweet Home, and White Christmas.

And we ended up getting a few candles there were, oddly, all coffee scents.  I guess we're sick of the holiday scents, huh?  I had found ONE candle in Hazelnut Coffee scent, 'A full-bodied blend of java suffused with macademia nut, vanilla, and cocoa bean.'  This is yummy!  We've been burning this daily and it scents the house wonderfully.  We also found a small jar candle in just plain Coffee scent, which I don't see on the site but it's sort of a creamy coffee scent.  And we found Cafe Au Lait in a small jar candle, and thought it was more of a straight up coffee scent than the actual Coffee one, although the site describes it as ' . . . rich, fresh brewed coffee topped with milk froth and a dash of cinnamon.'  Must be the cinnamon adding what we thought was the coffee 'sharpness.'  Still, all three are very nice, very homey.

We also got a wick trimmer, again something I never would have bought myself when a pair of $.99 fingernail clippers has been doing the job just fine.  He said he finally realized maybe I was right about trimming wicks when he was buying the Christmas gifts and they trimmed the wicks at the counter.  Silly hubby, must have thought I was being picky and anal all this time.  Well, about the wicks at least . . .

I think this Yankee outlet store might be hubby's new favorite place.  I'm pretty sure he would have spent way more money if I hadn't been along.  And I'm wondering if more gifts in the future will be from here . . . which I'm totally ok with!

Did Yankee Claus drop any goodies down your chimney this holiday season?

Haul - Creamery Creek

Last week I posted, wondering if I should order from Creamery Creek or not.  I am trying not to buy any soaps for a while but they were having a holiday special and they're top on my list of shops to try next.  All of my Evil Enabler Blog Friends felt I should go for it, and I had said I'd think about it.  Well, obviously I went for it.  LOL

Since I first stumbled across handcrafted goat milk soap from Goat Milk Stuff, the other big one I kept hearing about was Creamery Creek.  And what I always heard was nothing but good.  So why had I never ordered from them?  I don't know.  When I was still a soap maker I was so into the whole YouTube soap community . . . which is quite cliquish . . . that I think I sort of had blinders on.  Once I gave up soap making, and started phasing out of that YouTube crowd, I started revisiting shops that had been pushed aside.  This is what brought Creamery Creek up to the top of my list for when I wanted to start buying again.

I ordered on Tuesday morning and got my package in Saturday's mail.  Pretty darn good considering it was during the Christmas rush!  I had tried to keep my order to one bar because the holiday special was a free shaped soap with any purchase, so I knew I'd be getting a second bar.  But I just couldn't decide on ONE!  One thing I like about this company is that their scent list remains consistent, with enough variety to let you have some fun but not so many choices that you get overwhelmed.  And if you find one you like, you know it will most likely still be there when you go back for more.  Funny then, that I ordered two of their brand new scents.

Oats 'N Marmalade is described as '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 have heard about Creamery Creek soaps is that the scents are on the lighter side.  I don't know how it will be in the shower but sniffing it out of the box the scent is plenty strong.  I don't mean it's overpowering, not at all.  I'm just saying that I'm having no problem smelling it.  This one is very nice, a spicy but sweet unisex scent that will be a refreshing change after all the heavy fall and winter scents we've been working our way through lately.

Lemon Drop is described as 'Lemon Drop is a happy fragrance that combines zesty citrus notes of Italian lemon, yuzu, mandarin with lychee, orange blossom and ginger flower, then adds sensual undertones of oak moss, caramel, and white santal.'  You would think this would be pretty much a straight up lemony scent, right?  So when I read that there was oak moss, and caramel, and other things in there, I was intrigued and had to have it.  This is a two tone bar and I don't know if both sides are scented the same but I am picking up way more scent from the tan side and almost nothing on the white side.  And I think this would fall into that lightly scented category that people talk about.  I do detect traces of lemon, but the overall scent is just a light, bright mix of nothing specific.  It could be a unisex scent, and would be a great scent for morning.

The bars from Creamery Creek thick and chunky but fit the hand nicely.  The website states they are between 6-6.5oz, and they are only $5.00 each.  That is a great price for the size you are getting!  They come with a paper cigar band style label and no other wrap, which I like.  (Ok, I admit I adore a pretty package but in the end the less waste we have the better.)  If you look closely at the pics above you might be able to see the bars are stamped.  One has the goat logo, and the other says 'Beautiful Skin' with some flowers and the company name.  Very cute extra touch.

The holiday special was if you typed in the word SNOWFLAKE in the comments during checkout you would receive a free shaped bar of soap.  From looking at the pictures on their blog, it looked like some were small and some were big.  Luck of the draw maybe?  Not sure.  I screwed up when I was placing my order, and missed the comment box, so I emailed them right away and included the code and admitted my goof . . . and they honored it anyway.  Yay!  (I think the special runs through Jan. 1.)  My free bar is the green one on the right.  It is a decent sized (probably 3-4oz) star, sun, flower, something shape in Siberian Pine scent.  Described as 'As pure and fresh as a new Christmas Tree blended with natural ground vanilla bean to create this wonderful scent,' it even has little dark bits of ground vanilla bean in it.  I quite like this scent!  A tart in this would be great for Christmas!  It's definitely pine, but it's very nice and soft so maybe that ground vanilla bean really is adding to it.

I also received a small sample piece of Chai Tea scent, which I was thrilled to see because that is one I was also considering getting.  'This delightful spicy blend is the perfect Chai Tea!! Its complex blend of spices - with a touch of vanilla - is the epitome of what Chai Tea is,' and it definitely is a chai tea scent.  Oh, it's so yummy!  This will be in my next order for sure!

It took me a while to get around to them but I am glad I've finally ordered from Creamery Creek.  I look forward to trying these first soaps!

Have YOU tried Creamery Creek yet?

Review - Bodycology Sugar Scrub

I usually buy myself a little something for Christmas and this year it was Bodycology's new sugar scrub.  I'd actually bought this well before my disaster with the Bath & Body Works Scrub of Death, but I could not try it because it was a Christmas present.  It was in my head those several days in between 'Ohhhh, what if it sucks like that other one???'

I've tried several of the Bodycology products and have liked them all but with my mood swings between 'I love Bath & Body Works!' and 'I love all natural handcrafted!' this brand keeps getting passed over.  You can find Bodycology pretty much anywhere . . . Walmart, Target, Kmart, etc.  It's very affordable too.  So when I saw they now have sugar scrubs, I was super excited.  It's a 16 oz. jar, and costs $5.97 at Walmart.  I saw three scents: Apricot Mango, Coconut Almond, and Hazelnut.

I bought the Hazelnut scent.  It smells yummy, strong enough to be pleasant in the shower but not overpowering, and I don't think it lingered on my skin, which is fine if you like to use other scents in lotions or sprays afterwards.  The consistency of this product was on the more liquid side, but not totally oily and runny.  You can easily scoop some out and get to your body without having it run all over before you get there.  The sugar granules are small and gentle, but last plenty long enough to get a good scrub.  The oils left my skin feeling soft and moisturized but didn't leave me feeling like an oil slick.  My bathtub did not become slippery, maybe because the consistency is so workable that most stays on your body, not running down all over the floor of the tub.  That was a huge plus.

I am a fan of this scrub!  I will definitely get the other two scents.  They are convenient to get for me and highly affordable, and they seem to work just fine.  It is not all natural, which sucks, but I'm not hardcore on that rule anyway.  If I do find a natural one I like in the handcrafted community I will probably give it a try, but for now I'm happy with the Bodycology scrub.

Are you familiar with the Bodycology line?  As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Review - Bath & Body Works Sugar Scrub

I received a jar of Bath & Body Works Aromatherapy line sugar scrub for my birthday.  It is in the 'Sensual' line of the Aromatherapy products, which has a black currant/vanilla scent.  The jar is 13oz and is priced at $16.00.

I've been curious about sugar scrubs for a while now, have tried a few from the handcrafted soap shops I've ordered from.  I used to think scrubs were just a waste of a product to get you to buy more things.  Thought they were for high maintenance girlie girls who have to primp and preen.  But after trying the few I have, I think there really is some purpose to scrubs, and I really do think they work.  I get rough dry patches now and then, and have found scrubs really do polish and smooth such spots.

When I saw this jar in my birthday gift, I was super excited.  I didn't even know Bath & Body Works HAD sugar scrubs?!  The scent of this is fantastic . . . which is a good thing because hubby also got me body wash, lotion, and a candle in this scent.  Unfortunately, that was all I liked about this product.

First of all, it is the super liquid-y type of scrub.  I don't like the drier, crumbly scrubs but this is to the other extreme.  You scoop your fingers in and have to hurry it to your body because it's already running out of your hand.  Next, I found the sugar granules too large and too harsh.  They lasted a long time, which is good, but they were so large and hard and rough that it was like grinding your skin away.  I was already finding this experience an unpleasant mess when I was suddenly slipping and sliding all over my tub from the extreme oiliness.  True, it's rather common to have such products make your bathtub slick but others I have used have still been tolerable.  With this one, I was practically hanging on for dear life and moving around as little as possible.  I feared for my life when it came time to step OUT of the tub because I knew the remaining foot would want to go sliding, and it did.  Good thing I was clinging to the towel rack on the back of the bathroom door!

I will admit, my skin was smooth after using this scrub.  However, there was SO much oil.  I had noticed when I was trying to rinse off that there was still such an oily residue all over me, and the tub.  I grabbed my shower pouf and tried to lather up with my current bar of Beguile soap (which lathers like a dream!) and could barely get anything.  While drying off I couldn't help but wonder what kind of oily mess the towel was going to be.  And even after drying, my skin was slightly oily.  Maybe I just used too much of the product??  I don't know.  It was so hard to get anything workable out of the jar because of it's near liquid consistency.

The tub remained rather slippery even after I rinsed it for a while with really hot water, and even after the menfolk of the house took their showers, and it was still slicker than usual the next day after taking my next shower.  Not good.  Even the jar has stayed an oily, slippery mess on the outside, not matter how many times I rinse it with hot water and wipe it with paper towels.

EPIC FAIL, Bath & Body Works.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this product . . . if you've tried it, if you've been considering it, or even just scrubs in general.  Any good (and affordable) ones you'd recommend?

Merry Christmas!

They Said No Snow . . .

We've been having a very mild winter here in Wisconsin.  Ok, yeah, I know that technically winter has only just begun, but you know what I mean.  They've been telling us all week in every weather forecast that it will not be a white Christmas.  So when I woke up in the wee hours of the morning to the sound of a snow plow going down our road I was thinking 'Whaaaaaa . . . ?'

When I got up later and happened to glance out the window as I stumbled my way downstairs, I actually smiled and giggled like a kid at Christmas.

And once the sun was up enough for me to go outside and take some pictures, this is what we had . . .

 

Looking out from our back porch, towards the garage.

So then I just went around the yard and took a few more pics to share . . .

 

Looking towards the front yard, from by our back porch.

 

Looking across our side yard, down the road towards our neighbor.

  

Looking across the back property.  This is always a cool scene when the snow is just right.

 

My little bird feeder area.

 

This horse and buggy used to light up but the mice in the garage seem to find it appetizing and now it doesn't work.  (You can see an older pic of this actually lit up . . . HERE.)

  

One of our lighted deer herd.  This is the only glamor deer, all gold and sparkly.

  

Mini flag by our back porch.

  

Cute little door greeters on the back porch.

 

Cute little sled hanging by the back door.

Merry Christmas!!

(This snow will not last because our temps are supposed to be in the mid to upper 30s from now through Christmas.  In fact, this was already starting to melt a bit by the time I was taking these pictures.  And now, in the late afternoon, we have enough left to see that it has snowed but it's going fast.  Oh well, it boosted the holiday mood for a while anyway!)

Review - Beguile Soap

Beguile is a handcrafted bath and body product shop that I used to confuse with Haunt and often thought of together with shops like Haus of Gloi and FuturePrimitive.  When I realized Beguile was an Australian shop I sort of sighed and figured I'd never order.  But wait!  FuturePrimitive is a UK shop and I have ordered from there several times, so why not try an Aussie soap? 

I ordered three bars . . . Milk, Honey, and Ritual.  Coming all the way from Australia did take a bit of time, but I was prepared for that, and it was still rather quick considering.  Once the conversions are all figured out, I think Beguile's bars are around 4.5oz, and cost right around $6.00.  I think she must have been having a sale at the time though because my receipt shows I paid $5.10 per bar.  Shipping was high, as was to be expected coming all that way. The bars each come in a clear biodegradable plastic baggie with a tag/label tied on.  These bars are so cute, sort of a compact, chunky bar with big lazy swirls on top.  I also received two small samples in my package.

The only bar I have used so far is the Honey one.  On the site it's listed as Honey 'n Oats, but mine is just labelled as Honey, although the ingredients do show there is ground oatmeal in there too.  The only scent in this one comes naturally from the ingredients, mainly the honey, and even then there really isn't much to smell.  But that's ok because it's an all natural bar.  I would feel differently if it was *meant* to have fragrance.  The other ingredients are fairly simple, and that's all fine by me.  As I've said before, I'm not convinced adding oodles of 'fancy' ingredients really do anything.

I used this Honey bar in the shower with a pouf, as I always do.  I tend to rub the bar on my body first before lathering up the pouf, and let me tell you . . . this baby explodes into lather with the littlest of effort!  The oatmeal is not scratchy, and was a pleasant bit of scrubbiness before doing the bulk of my showering with my overly sudsy pouf.  I *LOVE* lather, so this bar was a joy to use.  I know the common saying is 'Lather does not equal cleansing,' but give me lather!  It was sad to rinse it away but when I finally did it rinsed easily and I did not feel any dryness or tightness afterwards.  Being an unscented bar, I didn't pay attention to whether there was a generic 'soap' smell or not while in use.

Overall, my experience with Beguile has been very positive.  It's really too bad this is a shop so far away and shipping is a killer, because this is one of the better soaps I have ever come across.  If you are an extreme soap connoisseur, always looking for something new and fine to try, I would absolutely recommend this shop.  I would definitely order again as a treat to myself.  I'm not sure how often Beguile has sales or specials but it might be worth it to keep an eye on the site and snatch some bars at those times.  There are also scrubs, body oils, herbal balms, and wax tarts available.

And if you're already a Beguile user, I'd love to hear your thoughts.  What should I try next time??

A Small Haunt Soap Review

Haunt is a handcrafted soap company with a wildly popular cult following.  I had been curious about this shop for a long time, loved the look, the style, and was intrigued in general.  But this is one of those shops that you can't just pop over to a website and order when you feel like it.  No, this is one those shops that only pops up with sales every now and then, and only the fastest internet connections have a hope of ever getting anything.

But still, the Haunt fans seem to believe so strongly in this shop that I finally decided give it a shot when the last sale happened.  Of course I didn't get anything, and that only added to my changing opinion of this shop and others like it.  (These 'only open for a day here and there' shops, I mean.)  Some time later I won a blog giveaway and part of the prize package was a bar of Haunt soap in Cinnamon Girl scent, the same product I'd been trying to purchase.  Well, alright!  I could finally try this and see what all the fuss was about!

The bar is a decent size, on the thick and chunky side, which I was glad to see.  According to the Haunt site bars are approximately 4.5oz and sell for $6.50.  That's kind of pricey, but I tend to be cheap, and I know it's getting harder and harder to find handcrafted soaps for under $5.00 lately.  The ingredients in this soap are average, not a bad thing as I'm not convinced so-called 'high end' ingredients do anything more than common stuff.  The bar came with a beautifully designed cigar band type label.  I don't know if it originally came in shrink wrap or anything, because I  had gotten it from someone else and not directly from Haunt.  The scent was nice, not overwhelming but enough to know it was there.  Again, not sure how strong it was to begin with because I don't know how old the giveaway bar actually was.

So, how did it perform?  I used it in the shower with a pouf, which is how I use all my soaps.  It lathered nicely after a bit of work to get it started.  The lather was sort of a light, small-bubble type which was nice but it didn't quite last long enough.  It rinsed away easily and didn't feel drying.  The scent was barely noticeable in the shower.  Every once in a while I'd get a whiff of something like cinnamon but overall I couldn't detect much.  The bar is quite hard and didn't seem to get overly gooey or melt-y as I used it.  It was a pleasant enough shower experience.

Overall, I found the Cinnamon Girl bar of soap from Haunt to be . . . average.  There was nothing wrong with it, but I've had better.  And because it was about the same as a lot of handcrafted soaps out there, it makes me wonder why people jump through hoops to get this stuff when they can go to just about any other shop and get what they want, when they want.  Even if you do manage to snag something from one of the Haunt sales, you still face the ridiculous turnaround time of something like eight weeks or more.  I've been watching the updates since that last sale and there have been shipping delays after delay after delay.  With hurdles like that I would expect this soap to be something really special, something above average.  Maybe then I could understand the thrill.  But for me, no thanks.  I will not be bothering with Haunt again.

Birthday/Christmas Combo Package

If you don't know Ellie yet, you need to get yourself over to her YouTube channel (pepper19882007) and check her out.  She is a Bath & Body Works guru, but also has the occasional makeup tutorial, and I've gotten to know her over the past year.  We both have birthdays close to Christmas and we had been talking at one point about what a bummer it can be when people feel the need to just clump the birthday and Christmas together like we won't notice or care.  So I knew quite a while ago that I would be sending her a birthday package and a Christmas package . . . funny that it ended up being sent together, thus clumped together anyway.  LOL  (To be fair though, I had them in separate gift bags within the mailing box!)

Well, I received a package from Ellie today . . . right on my birthday, yay! . . . and when I opened it . . .

Oh my gosh, this girl spoiled me!  I was laughing when I saw this, and seriously spoke "Oh my god, Ellie!" like she could actually hear my reaction.  It was like a bottomless box as I was pulling goodies out!

There were indeed two cards in there, one for Christmas, and one for my birthday, but beyond that nothing is designated as to which day it belongs too.  In this case, it doesn't matter.  LOL

As mentioned, she is a B&BW guru so it was no surprise that there were B&BW goodies.  The variety of those things was an interesting surprise though.  She sent a tube of 'triple moisture body cream' in Dark Kiss scent (her absolute fave).  I *need* this right about now because my itchy spots are coming back in this colder, drier weather.  She also sent a face mask in Peach Citrus scent.  I think these are new to B&BW, and this will be fun to try.  I laughed out loud when I saw she had included a mini bottle of Rio Rumberry, part of the new tropical (?) line coming early next year.  She'd done a video about these and I'd mentioned this was the one that caught my eye the most.  There is a little PocketBac (and holder) in Cranapple Crisp scent.  And there is a room spray in Island Nectar scent.  I've been so submerged in warm, spicy, holiday scents lately that I'm actually quite looking forward the return of these lighter, fruitier scents.

Candles AND tarts!  Oh, happy day!  The big candle is Sticky Toffee Pudding, from B&BW.  I already have this one but it's such a great ooey gooey foodie scent that it's no problem at all to have a duplicate.  She also included four of the mini 'preview' size candles, which is cool because A)I melt them as tarts, and B)I'd been told they were no longer going to making these.  She sent Hot Chocolate, Spiced Madeleine, Salty Caramel, and Dark Chocolate Mint.  There were also three tarts from Yankee included: Pumpkin Buttercream, Peppermint Cocoa, and Root Beer Float.  YUMMMMERS!

She also sent a package of incense because we're both all about home fragrance and she just recently started playing around with this form.  I think this is sandalwood scent, and it will probably go to Ty since he's the one who has been burning incense.  And then there are three packets of tea because I've mentioned here and there that I'd like to get into drinking tea.  There is a Spiced Apple Chai, a regular Chai, and an English Breakfast Tea.  I will definitely have to give it a decent effort now.  There was also a bunch of Hershey's Kisses scattered throughout the box.

So how fun was that?!  I thank you like crazy, Ellie, and then I thank you some more.  It was fun acknowledging our birthdays together, and I look forward to many fun new videos in the coming year!

THANK YOU, ELLIE!!!