7 posts tagged “bath and body product o' the month”

Typically when buying bath products I am drawn to sugary food scents like dulce de leche and buttercream frosting, but lately I've been wanting something cleaner and simpler, something that smells pure and natural...and I found just the thing: Chidoriya Hinoki Bath and Shower Gel. Hinoki is Japanese cypress, and this blend of hinoki and camellia oil is all natural, amazingly lightweight and clean rinsing, and imbued with a fresh, green, woodsy scent that feels both purifying and refreshing. The product is also suitable for guys because it has a masculine edge--nothing fruity or floral about it. Plus, it's nice that all the ingredients are botanical and natural, so no guilt over chemical pollutants and industrial compounds. I got my Hinoki Bath and Shower Gel from B-Glowing, but many other beauty websites carry it as well.

My hair is sometimes the bane of my existence: wispy thin and prone to winter static and dryness; straight and flat to the point that one hair stylist told me it's the straightest, most curl-resistant hair she has ever seen. Clearly I did not win the genetic lottery on this one. So, after hearing all of the media hoopla about the line of products call Ojon, named after a South American native tribe known as the people with the glorious hair, I decided to give the Ojon Hydrating Thickening Conditioner a whirl. Rich, thick, goopy, cheerfully lime green, and smelling faintly of fresh mown grass, this product actually worked for me! Suddenly my limp locks got all shiny and bouncy and happy again, even in the depths of winter. This stuff is pricy, so I only bought the small sample size, but I don't need to use it every day to keep the desired effect. I will consider buying this annually as a restorative winter splurge item. For those of you who might be able to afford a little more, there is a companion shampoo too, and everything is available online at www.ojon.com. You can also order some through www.sephora.com.

As always, this bath and body product review--like all of the others posted on my blog--is generated from my own random experiences, and no one is compensating me to say nice things about this product.

Well, due to working 2 jobs at once and general fatigue, I have not blogged about the bath and body products for some time, but I do have a few new ones to tell you about that are my recent favorites:

A. I've mentioned them in 2 previous posts now, but in case you don't ever read those posts, my favorite new bath product is the line of bath teas by Lavender Moon, which you can purchase at the Newberry's Antiques store on Potomac Street in Brunswick or online at http://www.lavendermoonsoap.com/. These handmade bath teas smell nice and subtle, rinse clean, and relax you after a long, stressful day. My favorites are gardenia and honeysuckle.

B. If you want to smell like Hawaii, try Ile de Tahiti Moana Body Wash with Tiare Flower. I love all things tiki and tropical, so I was immediately drawn to this product, and I adore the intense, sugary scent, which lingers nicely on the skin without being overbearing or cloying. I got mine at Bath and Body Works.

C. Summer's heat and humidity makes me break out on both my face and elsewhere, so I need an effective yet gentle scrub to keep it at bay. I finally found my wonder product (it definitely delivers on its promises, and it even leaves my nose feeling soft and silky), but I have to warn you, it's pricy. It's so expensive I can't afford the full size, but I went with the small size, and let me tell you, it works great without overdrying the skin. I will at least buy a small size Murad Acne Body Wash every summer--a little bit goes a long way, and one tube should be enough to get me through the worst of the hot season. (Budget back up: St. Ives Apricot Scrub.) 

So, I'm supposed to tell you about 1 product per month, so I have officially caught up to....March. OK, so my goal is to blog about 3 more bath and body products by the end of June. Can I do it? Umm, I'm not sure. I have endless amounts of bath and body products I love, but time is the critical factor. We'll see what I can pull off.

For those of you whom have been reading my monthly Bath and Body Product o' the Month reviews, you know that I am always on the lookout for lotions that sink in quickly without leaving any greasy residue. I finally found an affordable one that you will be able to locate at nearly any general drugstore or mass merchandiser: Johnson's SoftLotion 24 Hour Moisturizer. It's cheap, it absorbs uber-fast, and the powdery scent it leaves behind is very light and subtle (and that scent dissipates quickly, making this product appropriate for either gender or for people who hate strong scents). Now that summer has finally changed over to autumn and the humidity around here is starting to fade away, I'll be toting this stuff everywhere to avoid the dreaded dry, scaly "alligator hands."

I hate how most sunblock feels on my face. It doesn't matter what the brand is, whether or not it is labeled "dry touch" or "fast absorbing" or "lightweight"--all I feel is grease. And more than once in the past, sunblock has migrated into my eyes, temporarily blinding me, which can't be good. So when I heard about Peter Thomas Roth Instant Mineral SPF 30 powder, I was excited: finally, a sunblock that would not make my face feel like a oilslick. Happily, the product has worked even better than I expected--it feels great, it truly works to prevent burning, and I don't look like I have a powdery mask on. The container is mess-proof, fits easily into a small purse, and has a fluffy kabuki-style brush on one end to dispense the powder. Although this product is a bit pricey at $30, I have pale Scandinavian skin that freckles and burns easily, so I consider good sunblock to be an important investment (also in part because my father got skin cancer on his nose, so I need to be extra careful). Because this product truly delivered on its promises, I'm going to try out some other Peter Thomas Roth products later on when I can afford to experiment with them a little.

On the high end: Bumble and Bumble Surf Spray, around $14 a bottle. I got mine at O'Hair Spa and Salon in Frederick. My hair is pin straight, and almost nothing gives it lasting texture, but this spray actually worked and gave me touchable, beachy waves that lasted all day without any unwanted crunchiness. The next morning I brushed out the waves, and my hair still looked good and felt good. I've tried other "beach head" products before at lower price points, but none of them worked--now I know B&B Surf Spray is worth the money.

On the low end: On a business trip, desperately seeking travel-sized shampoo and conditioner of a better quality than the Jhirmack in my cut-rate Holiday Inn room, I came across Pantene Always Smooth Shampoo and Conditioner and gave it a whirl. Afterall, Pantene products often do well in polls in beauty magazines, so I figured it was a safe bet for dealing with my straight, semi-damaged hair. Still, I didn't expect the product to actually deliver any noticeable shine. To my shock and amazement, people immediately started complimenting me on how shiny my hair was. These products were probably the best under $5 hair product investments I have made in a long time.

For months I have been trying to find the perfect matte, pale pink lipstick to match my skin tone to help me create a sort of mod, 1960s Edie Sedgwick/Chick-on-a-Vespa kind of look. I had read over and over in fashion magazines that MAC "Snob" pink lipstick was a "universally flattering" tone, but I didn't believe it. Plus, I never seem to be near any MAC stores to try it out.

But when MAC ran one of its recent "free shipping for online orders" promotions, I gave Snob a try. Now I am addicted and in love, and I might not ever buy another pink lipstick again. The lipstick is matte and smooth without being overdrying, and it goes on neatly, even when I smear it on without a mirror. The shade is kind of a pale, blue-toned pink, and it stays on forever, even through lunch.

The first day I showed up to work rocking the pale-lips-with-dark-eyes look, I got lots of compliments, so I guess Snob is a flattering tone for me afterall. While it's pricy at $14, this lipstick will probably last me many months, plus I finally seem to have found "my color," so it's worth it.