Happy Birthday!!

My 25th Birthday is fast approaching – it’s on Friday! I’ve always been a huge Birthday person so naturally I’ve already begun celebrating. I have lots of fun dinners and outings all lined up for the week. I’d like to pass my celebratory mood onto all of you so I’ve marked down all of my body butters and shower scrubs in my Etsy Shop off by 20%!

I figured I enjoy indulging and pampering myself on my Birthday so why shouldn’t you? That’s fair, right?

So check out my Etsy Shop and pick up something to pamper yourself with. I promise you’ll be happy that you did!

Have a Great Week!

N-

Kaia Bamboo Facial Cleansing Cloths

Ok so I told you that I think this is my new favorite brand! Kaia Bamboo Facial Cleansing Cloths are a brilliant, 3-in-1 quick cleansing solution that removes all traces of makeup, daily grime & buildup. Inspired by a sustainable clothing designer, not only is bamboo cashmere soft to touch making it perfect for sensitive skins & eye makeup removal, it is naturally antimicrobial and antifungal, requiring no pesticides to grow.

Formulated to bring convenience to our lives with essentially three products in one cloth, these are great for eye makeup removal, facial cleansing & toning. Infused with 8 pure citrus essential oils, organic Canadian honey, sunflower seed oil, oat amino acids, and fatty alcohol that won’t dry skin. Leaves skin feeling velvety soft, non-irritated, no sticky residue & no need to rinse with water.

Made from 100% sustainable bamboo, Kaia Facial Cleansing Cloths are natural, non-harmful, unbleached, biodegradable and recyclable. The container snaps shut to keep the cloths fresh & ready for use, anywhere & anytime you need them. 

These are great. They get the job done AND they’re good for the environment – a double whammy!

N-

Kahina – Giving Beauty

 

Kahina – Giving Beauty is a new organic skin care line with a huge heart! Read the press release below to learn more about this organic, luxe line based on Argan Oil and how it gives back to Berber women in argan co-ops.

“These women can’t even write their own names, yet they produce the most amazing product.  It occurred to me that I could help them while creating a skin care line that really works and that women can feel good about buying.”- Katharine L’Heureux, founder, Kahina – Giving Beauty

Beginning with the Berber women of the argan cooperatives who provide the argan oil for Kahina, the company will donate 10% of the profits of all Giving Beauty products to the women who source the raw materials that form the base of its goods. As her first initiative, based on the wishes of the Berber women of the argan cooperatives, Katharine intends to build a preschool in the nearby village with the money raised through Kahina.

The Packaging Inspiration
As Katharine discovered on one of her visits to the cooperatives, most women of the cooperatives can’t even sign their own names.  She found their efforts to write their names both beautiful and inspiring and decided to incorporate their signatures and marks into Kahina – Giving Beauty’s packaging design.  Katharine chose to pay additional homage to the Berber women by naming her skin care line after the Jewish Berber queen and prophetess Kahina, who reigned circa 700 AD and successfully resisted the first Arab invaders.  Kahina is a heroine to the Berber women and represents empowerment and vision for women worldwide.

Kahina – Giving Beauty’s product line includes:

Kahina Facial Cleanser: Organic argan oil, organic willow bark extract, organic honey and organic papaya extract combine in this gentle cleanser to cleanse away impurities and eliminate bacteria without stripping skin of its natural oils. SRP $51.00 for 200 ml

Kahina Serum: Extremely rich in fatty acids and beta-carotene, this restorative serum utilizes the recuperative properties of organic argan oil, boosted by organic sea buckthorn seed oil and organic coffee oil to heal and rejuvenate skin. Kahina Serum may be used after cleansing, either alone or beneath Kahina Facial Lotion, depending on the skin’s level of dryness.  SRP $65.00 for 50ml

Kahina Facial Lotion: This light, unscented moisturizer combines high concentrations of 100% organic argan oil with other naturally beneficial ingredients, including sodium hyaluronate and organic shea butter, for a truly effective facial moisturizer for all skin types.  SRP $59.00 for 50ml

Kahina Argan Oil: 100% pure argan oil – the ultimate beauty secret and the very heart of Kahina – Giving Beauty.  Light and non-greasy, pure argan oil absorbs easily to give skin a radiant glow.  This multipurpose wonder may be used to replenish moisture loss on face, hair and body. Kahina Argan Oil treats acne and other skin conditions naturally.  SRP $79.00 for 100ml

Self described skin care junkie Katharine L’Heureux began her search for the perfect skin care regime at the age of 12 while rummaging through her mother’s cluttered bathroom cabinet in San Francisco. Her search ended over 30 years later on a journey to Morocco which has led to the creation of Kahina – Giving Beauty, her new organic skin care line  intended for women like her who are looking for a simple organic skin care program that works and that women can feel good about buying. Kahina, which is based on 100% organic argan oil sourced from the women’s cooperatives of Morocco, is the first line of products to be released under the Giving Beauty label.  Giving Beauty will source key ingredients from women’s cooperatives around the world and donate a portion of the profits to the women who work to provide the raw materials for Giving Beauty products.

The Purest Skincare for Naturally Beautiful Skin
Argan oil, naturally rich in vitamin E, essential fatty acids and antioxidants, is known for its rejuvenating and anti-bacterial attributes. Women of Morocco have used it for generations to combat the dry desert air and reduce the signs of aging.  Kahina – Giving Beauty has taken the natural goodness of Moroccan argan oil and made it even better by formulating it into a luxurious line of organic products that leave skin radiant and contains no harmful ingredients.

All Kahina – Giving Beauty products contain high concentrations of 100% organic argan oil combined with other beneficial organic and natural ingredients for a luxurious and highly effective regimen. They are formulated according to EU organic standards that guarantee the highest measure of responsibility toward consumers and the environment. All products are 99% natural and use organic botanicals whenever possible. Kahina – Giving Beauty never uses parabens, synthetics, sulfates, petroleum, GMOs, animal byproducts, artificial colors or fragrances.

Giving Beauty Skin Care Brightens Future For Women Worldwide
In Morocco, home of the argan tree, law dictates that the Berber women who live in the argan region are the only ones allowed to extract the oil from the nuts of the tree.   For most of these women, this work is their only road to financial and social independence.   Cooperatives have been established with the support of the Moroccan government to help these women, most of whom are illiterate. These cooperatives, like the ones where Kahina – Giving Beauty sources its argan oil, provide fair compensation and resources for the women who harvest the oil, including literacy and women’s rights programs.

Environmental Commitment
Kahina – Giving Beauty’s commitment extends to the environment as well. By contributing to the thriving argan industry, the local Moroccan population is given a reason to preserve the argan forests, which have been reduced by half in the past 10 years mostly because of impoverished shepherds and farmers who cut down the trees for firewood.

All Kahina – Giving Beauty products are formulated with organic ingredients whenever possible and manufactured in an eco-friendly, carbon-neutral facility. Kahina – Giving Beauty’s outer packaging is created from 100% post-consumer waste and made in a wind-powered facility, and its bottles are made from recyclable violet glass. Kahina – Giving Beauty offers a 15% discount on product refills to clients who return their bottles to be reused.

Kahina – Giving Beauty will be launching online at kahina-givingbeauty.com, as well as in fine boutiques 

I haven’t tried these products out yet but they sound fabulous! And what an interesting story!

N-

Truly Smitten Thank You Cards

I love these cards. I want to buy them and think of random reasons to write thank you notes to everyone I know. I just can’t stop looking at them. I’m thinking about buying them now and just saving  them for a year and a half until after the wedding. Or maybe I can use them as thank you cards for Safiya – hmm, I like that idea. Anyway, if you like them as much as I do check out Truly Smitten’s Etsy shop.

What do you think? Are you as smitten as I am or am I overreacting?

N-

Kaia House Speak Freely For Humanity Lip Balm

 

I love a good lip balm. And I’m big on giving back. So Kaia House’s Speak Freely for Humanity Lip Balm is the new love of my life. Kaia House will donate a dollar from each purchase to humanitarian organizations. The Speak Freely balm is flavored with organic vanilla and made with 87% organic ingredients. It glides on smooth and soft PLUS it has SPF 15 (y’all know how I feel about sunblock.) This balm is perfect for smoothing out dry lips or can be used under lip color. I love it.

Have you tried it yet? Have you tried any other Kaia House products? I think they’re my new favorite brand! What do you think?

N-

New Shea Butter Soaps!

I’ve made some new soaps! I’ve been experiementing with different oils and butters in an effort to make the most moisturizing soaps and am quite pleased with my new Shea Butter Soaps. They’re made with Pure Shea Butter, vegetable glycerin, avocado oil, coconut oil, apricot kernal oil, jojoba oil (my fave), safflower oil, castor oil and vitamin E.

I’ve scented them with Mango Tea, Jasmine Neroli, Basil Nectarine, Bergamot Lemon, Lavender Rosemary, Rice Flower & Shea, and Pure Shea (unscented). My personal favorites are Mango Tea (that’s no surprise, I looove anything mango) and Rice Flower & Shea (which has such a sweet, delicate scent).

Right now I’m making them in a button mold so they’re about 3 oz each and would make phenomenal decorative soaps. They’re priced at $3.00 or $2.50 each if you buy more than 1. I think they’re just as cute as can be but I’m probably just a wee but biased! What do you think about them?

Check them out at my Etsy store and let me know what you think!

N-

Sigg Water Bottle Teams up with Aveda

Anyone who knows me knows that I adore my Sigg water bottle (mine is similar to the one picture but with cherry blossoms on it). And Sigg is giving me yet another reason to love their water bottles – they’ve teamed up with Aveda to produce a special bottle for Earth Day:

SIGG, makers of the original Swiss reusable water bottles, are committed to changing consumer dependency on plastic bottles by raising awareness on water issues across the globe.

To kick start the activity in the run up to Earth Month in April, SIGG has provided reusable bottles to a number of models backstage at London Fashion Week, to encourage them to go plastic-free. This has enabled them to set an example and prove that it IS possible to live without plastic!  SIGG believes that behavior change at high profile events, such as this, is key to educating and encouraging the consumer to give up plastic and thereby reducing the amount of plastic waste that goes to landfill!

This year, SIGG has collaborated with Aveda to produce a special AVEDA AND SIGG FOR EARTH MONTH 2009 bottle, to be sold at their salons and stores across the country, as part of a new global initiative that acknowledges the daily struggle of over one billion people around the world who do not have access to clean water.

This will encourage participants in the Aveda Walk for Water* campaign, on the 22nd April, to carry and use their bottles on the walk and then to keep them and reuse them in their everyday lives afterwards. The walk is intended to raise awareness as well as funds for the Global Greengrants Fund charity, to provide grants for community based water projects around the world.

 “With the AVEDA AND SIGG FOR EARTH MONTH 2009 bottle you can make a fashion statement and an eco statement all in one bottle, whilst raising money for charity!” claims Steve Wasik, CEO of SIGG.

Check out www.mysigg.com to snag your own super chic water bottle.

N-