I CAN'T STOP PINING FOR COCONUT!

All I want is the scent of coconut. In everything. It reminds me of the warm weather I KNOW will be here soon. It is sensual, but natural, and makes everyone feel happy and relaxed. At least that is what I feel when I smell it. So.... I have been oggling these awesome coconut scented goodies from The Body Shop (which is a great, long time cruelty-free company that I should patronize more often). I need to go.

1. Coconut Bath & Shower Cream ($11, 8.4 fl oz)

2. Coconut Body Butter ($20, 6.9 oz of moisture intensity)

3. Coconut Body Scrub ($20, 6.9 oz)

4. Coconut Milk Body Lotion ($13, 8.4 fl oz)

5. Coconut Perfume Oil ($16, 0.5 fl oz)

6. And if I want my apartment to smell de-lish too, Coconut Home Fragrance Oil ($7.50. 0.33 fl oz, and right now it's buy 3 get 1 free!!!)
Obviously the Body Shop sells a variety of scents in their products, but I have been accused of having tunnel vision before, and right now I am looking down a long, coconutty tunnel of tropical relaxation. Ahhhh. I want it all now!

Dreaming of swaying palms on a Monday morning

Perhaps it is the fact that I am sitting in my office on a beautiful Monday morning, but all things coconut or otherwise tropical sound especially appealing to me today. I must say that I have been very impressed with everything I have bought from Alba (http://www.albabotanica.com/) so far, including my weeklong night cream experiment, so while perusing their website this morning, this product sounded divine ($11.95 for 20 oz)

Their Coconut Milk Cream Body Wash, from their Hawaiian Spa line, sounds soooo relaxing and good for my skin, with cocoa butter, shea butter and flax, safflower and borage oils, as well as coconut and aloe, all packed in to 7 fl oz of tropical goodness for only $8.95! WOO HOO!

This sounds de-lish as well - their Passion Fruit Bath Salt (also from their Hawaiian Spa line) is a blend of epsom salt and sea salts combined with passion fruit, pinapple, mango, vanilla and papaya extracts (and some hibiscus too!) for what sounds like a really really nice bath experience.

I am also currently completely addicted to Alba's Terragloss in Bloom (42 oz for $5.95)
This substantial but subtle gloss is once again a perfect shade of JUST SLIGHTLY blushed pink, totally natural looking and soothing to wear with lots of shea butter and vitamin E in it. Plus it smells like vanilla (good vanilla, not bad vanilla). Yesssssss......

Time to test

Ok, so at lunch I had to go to CVS to pick up a new nightguard so I stop grinding my teeth, and while there I grabbed a couple more things as well.



1. Mineral Makeup: First I picked up the NYC mineral makeup powder I blogged about earlier. Then, for good measure, I grabbed the Revlon version of the same thing in "fair", just so I could compare the two. I put the Revlon one on in the car after I left, and at first was sort of frustrated because as most loose powders are, it was a little messy. But that is just klutzy me, probably. I looked in the mirror and thought it pretty much looked like powder, but I realize that I put it on a half day old face, which is not the best testing ground for this sort of thing. Once I got back to the office though, I checked it out in the mirror in the bathroom and it does look smoother and more substantial than regular powder, but without the makeup look of foundation. Not sure yet, must experiment. I will let you know.



2. I also needed a new night cream, and wasn't yet decided on what I wanted, being relatively new to high tech night creams (for years I avoided them for fear of breaking out). So after perusing the aisle, I settled on Alba's Sea Plus Renewal Cream.

This retails for $14.95, which was within my budget (some nightcreams are insanely expensive!), and I like that it includes Alpha Lipoic Acid (derived from vegetables), avocado and kukui oils, and their unique Marine Complex (several kinds of algae extracts), which I secretly think I dig on all the more because I am a pisces. HA! This is my first non-Proactiv high tech night cream, so we shall see how it goes. I dig Alba's other products, however, and their cruelty free, nature-based stance combined with their ok prices. Sweet.

These are a few of my favorite things....

Ok, so I will confess. Here is my plan. Now that I have this blog, I can't wait to spend hours online and in stores seeking out the best new (and old) beauty and fashion finds for you! You will be immensely impressed, and many people will realize what a wide array of product options they have open to them in this day and age, and will check my blog regularily with a hungry look in their eye, pining for the latest news. Ok, so I'm thinking big. :-)


In the meantime, however, having made an effort to buy only cruelty free whenever possible for a while now, I have managed to find some gems that are already a staple in my home. I will now share them with you...

(At the top of my list for so long was Tresemme hair care products, because they were supposedly cruelty free, were TOTALLY cheap, and work great, but I recently found out that Alberto-Culver apparently DOES test on animals. So no Tresemme, St. Ives, or Alberto VO5 folks. Bummer)

But on to the fun stuff :-)

1. PROACTIV SOLUTIONFor years and years, I had bouts with breakouts. Nothing insane, but once I got into my 20's I felt I had paid my breakout dues. So I tried a ton of things, but nothing was great. Then a girlfriend of mine recommended proactiv to me, and she was so enthusiastic about it I broke through my fear of informercial-releated products and ordered some. And... it is GREAT! My skin is no longer an issue ever. It is in the best condition it has ever been in. AND, proactiv states on their website that they do not test on animals, so I'm good to go. :-) The price is so worth it with this product, and when you think about it, it actually breaks down to like 20 bucks a month, which is not bad at all.

2. REVLON COLOR STAY FOUNDATION

For many sad years I didn't know that Revlon was a cruelty free company. Then, one fine day, I was informed of this, checked on it, and the heavens parted :-) I love Revlon. They have quality products for decent prices all around. This foundation is a great mainstay. It doesn't go on too heavy, doesn't clog my pores, and keeps my face fresh all day long. I also love their Color Stay pressed powder too.

3. REVLON COLOR STAY NAIL ENAMEL

Ahhhh... the perfect nail solution. I don't have a dishwasher, and I'm a little bit of a germaphobe, so my hands are in soapy water far more often than I would prefer. Most other nail colors, regardless of the amount of coats, are chipping within a few days. This 2-pack from Revlon is available in a bunch of great colors, and when used with the sealer shine stays PUT for me for at least 2 weeks. Seriously. This was a miracle find for me.


4. ALMAY MOISTURIZING EYE MAKEUP REMOVER LIQUID

I've playing the field with my makeup remover for a long time. I like to wear eyeliner and waterproof mascara every day, and shadow on many a day, and having spent a nice chunk of change getting laser eye surgery a few years back I have been on a quest to find the perfect remover that will take off everything easily enough to not have to stretch the delicate skin around my eyes with too much rubbing, but that is gentle enough to not irritate my eyes. I picked this up at the drug store about a month ago, and, just like that, my search has ended. Voila! Seriously, if you wear eye makeup at all, GET THIS PRODUCT. Your eyes will thank you. And Almay (which is owned by Revlon) has been cruelty free for a long time.

5. NIVEA VISAGE Q10 ADVANCED WRINKLE REDUCER EYE CREME

This is such a great basic eye cream. It's totally reasonably priced (as opposed to what most eye creams cost!!) moisturizes like crazy, and has sunscreen in it. This is the only day eye cream I ever use anymore. I'm actually still looking for a good night eye cream, so if anyone has a good suggestion, shout it out! Really, everything Nivea makes moisturizer-wise is fantastic. There is a reason why they have been moisturizer staples for so long - they work extremely well! And Biersdorf, their parent company, is, of course, cruelty free.

6. BURT'S BEES LIP SHIMMER in "RHUBARB"

Burts Bees, an eco and animal friendly company, has these great lip shimmers I discovered last year. I have actually been about 50/50 on the colors I've purchased so far (do NOT get the frosty ones), but the shade called "Rhubarb" is THE perfect pink flush that looks natural, but not too pink. AND they tingle on your lips with a healing feeling that is great! I go through this stuff like candy.

That is just a few staples to start with, but each one is well worth your time and effort, take it from me.