Bath Time!

Okay, I have a new obsession. This happens once every so often. As I've posted about before, I love LUSH. Like, I'm kind of addicted to it. I can't remember the last time I took a bath without a bath bomb floating along side me. Anyway, last week as I was browsing through my other obsession, Etsy, I decided to look into homemade bath bombs. I can't believe it had never occured to me to research this before! Where's my tardy slip?

I came across a TON of shops selling bath bombs. Most of them, unfortunately, were a little too boring for my taste. I like my bombs colorful, fun, and as glitzy as possible. Luckily, I did find a few shops that were offering bombs that are just my type.

Keep in mind, this is not a review by any means. I haven't even ordered any of these yet. I just thought I'd share my findings with you, and maybe some of you have tried them and can give me some feedback before I buy anything. With Lush, I'm familiar with all their products and it's a brand I trust. These are all new to me, so I obviously want a little more info before I go on a buying spree :)

Now this first one is the cutest one. These bombs are adorable, the name is adorable, it's all just too adorable.

 

Feeling Smitten. How cute are these Cupcake Bath Bombs?!

They are made right here in the USA and are Paraben and Sulfate free! They also come in delicious scents...Mint Condition, Vanilla Cake, and Pink Bliss sound especially yummy.



Although I came across this shop looking for Bath Bombs, what really caught my eye here are these Layered Cupcake Sugar Scrubs. Obviously the packaging on these are just too cute to handle. I would be tempted to eat them, I'm sure of it! The Yellow on is Lemon Custard. The Blue one is Mai Tai. I think I'll eventually end up purchasing the Mai Tai just because of the description on the website. Hints of lime, orange, papaya and passion fruit? Yes please!

 

 

The best part of this shop? It is budget friendly! With the exception of maybe one item, everything is under TWENTY DOLLARS!

 

 

Another shop that really impressed me was Antoinette's Bath House.

 

 

This one is even more affordable, and just as adorable! They offer a huge array of bombs and other bath products. This bomb is right up my alley! I love funfetti... mix that into a bath bomb and I'm officially sold!

 

They also have a wide range of Bubble Cakes! I would post my favorite but honestly, I love all of them. You have to see these for yourself! They have the Funfetti Vanilla in Bubble Cake form and several other lovely, glittery, beautiful cakes. I can't wait to try these babies!

 

I've gone ahead and posted the links for both of these shops down below, as well as some other Etsy shops that I found. Not all of them carry actual Bath Bombs, but they are all bath related and that's good enough for me!

 

If you've tried any of these brands or bombs before, please let me know! I'd love to hear what you thought of them!

 

Feeling Smitten
Antoinette's Bath House
The Bathtub Bakery
Sheri's Soap Opera
Smooch Bath and Body
LoveLee Soaps
Two Flamingos 





Marj's Naturals Review!

I was going to write this review a few days ago, but I decided to test some of it out at the pool yesterday and out on the town last night. So now that I have been testing these products over the last week and a half I'm ready to write my honest review!

Marjorie, who runs Marj's Naturals, graciously sent me these products specifically to review for you all, and I'm so happy she did, because this is a brand that I can really get behind. Not only are these products really well made, they are also cruelty free and they are free of any harmful ingredients. These products are like dessert for your skin!

Upgrade Complexion Face Primer. This is so wonderful. I know some girls skip on the primer, I'm not one of them, but I don't judge. Some people don't apply primer before makeup because they feel they don't need it.. or that foundation will do the same job. This product will change your mind! It's not like the other primers you've tried before! This one has a pearlescent finish and light reflecting ingredients! I'm obsessed. You smooth this silky primer over your skin and it totally transforms your complexion. It not only makes your skin look bright and awake, but it gives you such a beautiful glow. I'm almost exclusively a tinted moisturizer kind of girl, but I put this on for the first time and said to heck with TM. This is my new go to. It just makes you complexion look so beautiful and dewy. It also contains vitamins A and E, so it not only looks great, it's great for you!

 

 

Next up is my new FAVORITE lip balms. Oh my goodness, you guys, these are delicious! Marjorie was kind enough to send me the lip balm TRIO. They are all 100% natural, handmade, and they all contain ingredients with healing properties. I'll give you her description of the three balms, and then my opinion:

*Honey Lemon - citrusy lemon paired with sweet honey makes this lip balm a perfect treat for your lips. Ingredients: Shea butter, Olive Oil, Sunflower oil, Sweet Almond oil, Honey, Tocopherol (Vitamin E), Beeswax, Lemon essential oil.

*Mango Orange - sweet, citrusy, refreshing flavor, extra moisturizing, softening and hydrating. Ingredients: Mango butter, Olive oil, Sunflower oil, Sweet Almond Oil, Honey, Tocopherol (Vitamin E), Beeswax, Sweet Orange essential oil.

*Choco Mint - with a gentle and mild, sweet, fresh minty-chocolatey flavor. Ingredients: Cocoa butter, Shea butter, Tumaco Cocoa powder, Honey, Virgin Coconut Oil, Tocopherol (Vitamin E), Spearmint essential oil.

 

I loved all three! I always have trouble with balms and glosses, especially at work. It's a little warm at work, and after a few hours my lips are always sticky... Not with these. They go on so smooth and silky. You honestly don't even need a gloss over these, they give you just enough shine that you can pull them off alone, but not so much that you looked like you caked on layers of gloss. It's perfect. I can wear these ALL DAY long and they never give me that sticky feeling after a few hours. The Choco Mint was my favorite, it smells delicious, it tastes delicious, it's just an all around win. But seriously, these are all great. My roommate, who is a male, loved the Mango Orange. It's not as strongly scented as the other two, so he felt a little better about wearing that one out lol. Honey Lemon is scented exactly like you would home. It is so fresh and clean and summery. Also, I did wear my choco mint to the pool yesterday. I have issues with chapped lips, especially in the summer time. This stayed on through all my swimming and sunbathing! When I left the pool after four hours, my lips were just as soft and moisturized as they have been since I started using these babies! I highly, HIGHLY recommend these balms. Use them all day and even at night before bed, and I promise, your mouth will be so soft and beautiful! I most certainly going to keep these in my beauty collection from here on out, because after using them for over a week, I already can't imagine my life without them!

Since we are on the topic of lips, I'll share with you another lip product! Moroccan Mystique Lip Veil in Desert Jewel. This is such a great shade. It's just a hint of color, and it's perfect for summer! I have worn this everyday since receiving it. I love that a little goes a long way with this. Just a little bit, and you have the perfect glossy pout with enough color that you don't even need to layer it over a lipstick! I also love that it has SPF in it. Like I said, I struggle with dry chapped lips in the summer, and this gives me that extra protection I need. The other shades she has created are equally as beautiful...I, for one, can't wait to get my hands on Sand Storm and Mirage!

 

 

She also sent me a hair product! I wasn't expecting this, but as with all her product, I was very pleased! This is Shine Coconut Amla Revitalizing Hair Treatment. If you've read some of my previous posts, you'll know I have a crazy mess of hair growing. It's all over the place, frizzy, and big. It is not often I find a product, especially a hair treatment that works for me, but this one did much better than I anticipated. Her decription says:

For their to-die-for shiny hair, Indian lovelies give themselves a weekly coconut oil scalp massage to promote growth and wash away tress stress. Treat yourself to this extraordinary Indian oil blend of Coconut, Amla, Henna, and Avocado—each vitamin-enriched oil with its own agenda for taking the guesswork out of luscious locks. Coconut Oil, with its essential fatty acids, rejuvenates tired hair, while Amla Extract (Vitamin C) and natural Henna add volume and shine. Tiny grape seeds offer oil that protects and helps prevent free radical damage—the result is a more tamable mane. Rich in Vitamin A, Avocado oil penetrates to nourish the scalp, encourage healthy hair growth and quench dryness (a trick overseas women have relied on for years).

This really does make your tresses look so shiny! I've tried a few other shampoos and serums for shine, and maybe one in five will work at all. I was pleased that this is another to add to my collection. It smoothed my hair down enough so that I didn't have to flat iron it last night before going out! Sounds silly, but that is a big deal for me! My hair is naturally very wavy and, as much as I love my waves, I don't often go out with them in full force because I can't handle the frizz! This treatment made it possible to wear my natural hair! I've also noticed that after a few treatments, I am having a lot less trouble with tangling. After the shower, and when I first wake up, my hair is always a rats nest. Just a mess of tangles and frizz and static. After two treatments I noticed a huge difference! I woke up this morning and probably could have gotten away with out brushing it!

Lastly another fave! Let me just say, I am ADDICTED to natural soaps. I have them all over the house. I never but soap at the store anymore, only handmade. They are almost always better. Strawberries and Cream Soap with Shea Butter. At first glance, I was thinking this is just a handsoap with an amazing scent and a cute design that will look great in my bathroom. This was a great surprise. This soap is actually a wonderful FACE bar! It has worked wonders for me! First of all, this does the job of about three different products in my bathroom cabinet. It contains Rose Oil, a natural astringent, that tones your skin and also helps to keep wrinkles at bay! Best of all the Strawberry has properties that do two jobs. It not only exfoliates the skin, making it look smoother and brighter, it also TREATS ACNE. This cute little bar of soap tones, exfoliates, treats breakouts, prevents wrinkles, and strengthens skin tissue! It's a little miracle bar! This is another product that has definitely earned a forever place in my routine. She also has several other face bars that sound equally as impressive. I can't wait to try them!

So that is my honest opinion. I honestly believe, if you try any of these products, you will be as impressed as I am. Sometimes, with handmade, natural brands, the products are cheaply made.. or they just don't work. This is a really strong brand. I hope to see Marj's Naturals grow and grow, because it is well deserved.

To view other products or to place an order: Marj's Naturals

Etsy Shop: Marj's Naturals