Beauty and the Book

Anyone who knows me, knows that I am a avid book reader. None of the insane people in my house seem to understand that I'd rather read a good book than have their company (just kidding of course). Since I love books so much it's simple to figure out why I am a fan of Latherati Soap. Julie, the (I want to say "Librarian") owner of Latherati Soap combines the love of bath with the love of a good book. Every item she sells is inspired by a good book.



Since Latherati Soap is a fairly new shop, the line is still growing. Soaps dominate the selection but there are also lip balms as well as perfumes and sugar scrubs. I love the book connection, I think it's one of the cleverest ideas I've seen on Etsy in awhile (in the Bath & Body category). The labels remind me of those old book plates my parents used to use, you know the ones that announce that this book is part of the Library of.... If you have no idea what I'm talking about then you're too young, don't worry about it. Just understand that the packaging is cool ok.




I had gotten a soap called "Orchard", which (as it says on the site and label) is inspired by "Cider House Rules." There are other clever names like "Golden Ticket" and "Kimono" (if you don't know what books inspired these then you need to go to the library stat). It's obvious that alot of thought went into the creation of Latherati.





"Orchard" as you can see from the photo, reminds you of a fall apple orchard in its coloration. It smells like clean crisp apples but not overbearing and not perfumey like some can be. This is just straight good old apple. This soap lathers up quickly and very well. I've tried some soaps that don't seem to lather much as all but not Latherati soaps. It lathers well and rinses very clean. No sticky or dull residue on the skin. We like that in our soaps people. $5 per bar.









I also have one of the lip balms (called Lip Lusters here) called "Matchmaker", inspired by "Emma.". It's a strawberry flavor which is very true to what you expect in a strawberry. Not overly sweet but just right on the money. The balm holds up very well in either warm or cold temperatures. I like it when it doesn't get all melted in my pocket. And, I like it when it doesn't get all hard or gritty from being outside in the cold. All in all a very good lip balm. $3.50 per tube and comes in plenty of other flavors.


So, all in all, I like Latherati Soap. ! The prices are on par with most other beauty makers I've seen. I love the themes and hope to see much more in the future. Come on Julie, you need some stuff inspired by "Tales From Margaritaville" and "Interview with the Vampire." :-)

And the Winners Are.......

Finally! I have finally completed my judging for the Best of Lip Balms contest. I judged and re-judged and re-re-judged. All of the Indie Etailers who submitted entries..whether they won or not..should pat themselves on the back for making such great products. But, alas, all of them cannot win. So here are the winners and be sure to visit their sites and get some of these great lip balms!

First Place

There were two lip balms that just stood out above the rest. Both of these are fantastic!

Fluid all natural Swimmer's salve by epli

This was just amazing. The ingredients are all natural with some "butters" I had never come across before (I actually looked them up). Fluid had such a smooth application and never got "melty"..even outside in the hot weather*. It never felt heavy, powdery or waxy. The flavor, to me, tasted like some version of bubblegum..there's Kiwi oil and Menthol in the balm so I'm assuming that's where the flavor came from. Fluid lasted a long time. Most lip balms lasted about 20-30 minutes but Fluid lasted alot longer. And, it stayed on during showering and eating/drinking. My lips felt really good from using this one. Fluid runs you $5 for a tube at epli's etsy store. But, the fact that it lasts so long without reapplication means this will last you alot longer than the average.

The Plaid Mushroom's Original Lip Balm

Another fantastic lip balm. Very smooth application, no gritty feeling. It was soft without being melty (again even out in the heat it did not get melty) and there was no hard feeling, you don't have to warm it up to get it on your lips. The original flavor has just a hint of peppermint, good for those guys who don't like all the flavors. No waxy, powdery or heavy feeling when you apply it. And, just like the epli lip balm, this one lasted a good long time. My lips felt soft and smooth and very well moisturized. The Plaid Mushroom's lip balms cost $3.50 per tube and there are other flavors. I also received cherry and the flavor was not overbearing, it was just right.

Second Place

I had another tie for second place. Trust me I compared them over and over and these two just couldn't beat each other out.

My Lip Stuff

My Lip Stuff has some amazing flavors..well they have over 400 flavors. I was sent Rainbow Sherbet and Pineapple Upside Down Cake**. Both had fantastic flavor. They were right on the money and true to the name. I was more impressed by the Rainbow Sherbet...I love rainbow sherbet and this lip balm tastes exactly like the real thing. My Lip Stuff's lip balms had a wonderfully smooth application and never got melty. It's soft, soft enough that you think it's going to melt but it doesn't. It lasted a little longer than average but not as long as the first place winners. All natural ingredients in here too! Prices start at $2 depending on whether you get a tube, pot, specialty balm (charity, personalized labels etc). There's even a Lip Balm of the Month club.

Lily Gulch Soaps Aromatherapy Lip Balm

So smooth, this lip balm just glides on and hugs your lips. No grittiness or hardness. Again, soft but it did not melt in the heat. My lips felt wonderful and refreshed. Now these are more "grown up" lip balm flavors. Flavored with essential oils & absolutes. I was sent Rosewood Mint and Chamomile Orange. All natural ingredients too. I really loved the Chamomile Orange..I'm a tea drinker and it tastes like a fresh cup of tea. Really wonderful. Like the My Lip Stuff, the Lily Gulch lip balm lasted longer than the average but not as long as the first placers. A tube will run your $3.50 and there over 20 Aromatherapy flavors to choose from. Excellent product!

Third Place

Ok, get mad at me but again there was a tie here too. I re-judged these several times and aside from the flavors they sent...one just couldn't beat out the other.

Karess Krafters

Karess Krafters sent me Lavanilla and Mango flavors. I really loved the Lavanilla. It's got that touch of vanilla in a field of Lavender. It sounds weird for a lip balm flavor, but trust me, once you try it you'll realize that it's really good. Smooth application with a not too soft, not too hard texture. It didn't leave my lips feeling waxy and it didn't feel heavy on the lips. Lips feel soft and supple. This lip balm lasted just a bit longer than average. The Karess Krafters lip balm is $2.75 and uses all natural ingredients.

The Mom Lady's Beauty Booty

The Mom Lady is a fairly new etailer based in Alaska. I was sent two lip balms in A Lil Tipsy (wine cooler) and Cherries Jubilee (cherry & vanilla). The "A Lil Tipsy" was my favorite and no it did not get me tipsy...it's a flavor oil people lol. Very smooth application on the lips. The lip balm holds it shape well and never got soft or melty. It's a pretty sturdy lip balm but I found it didn't need to be warmed up to make the application easier. It seems like you would have to warm it up but it actually just glided on nice and easy. Like the Karess Krafters, this balm lasted just a little bit longer than average. The Mom Lady has 10 flavors right now and a tube will run you $3.

Honorable Mentions

There were a few lip balms that although they weren't in the top three spots, they do deserve mentioning.

Moody Bee: Made from beeswax in Canada (they have their own bees!). This was just a wonderful lip balm with a nice peppermint/vanilla flavor.

Kaylala: They sent me this Mango Honey Peach lip balm in a pot. The flavor in this was just incredible. The smell from just opening the lid will just send you to heaven.

Bidwell Botanicals: The Spun Sugar flavor is very very yummy. If you like a sweet strong flavor..give this one a try.

Bath Desserts: They use Hemp Butter which really adds a good moisturizer to the balm. The peppermint gives your lips a nice little tingle.

* I judged every lip balm (one per day) both at room temperature inside my house and outside during very warm weather. All of the lip balms were judged in the same way.

**If an etailer sent me two lip balms w/the same ingredients..I judged them together. If an etailer sent me two lip balms w/different ingredients, I judged them separately.

Disquieting Designs

Recently, Megan from Disquieting Designs, got in touch with me about her bath and body products. Being that she is also from Pittsburgh, we consoled each other in the Steelers Loss and she sent me some samples of her wonderful products.

N0w, I've said before, that I love soaps that don't smell like soap. Even some of the best smelling soaps out there can still have that "soap" smell after you lather up. Not so with the Pink Grapefruit soap I received from Megan. It was a nice pink color and lathered up really well. The fragrance was citrusy with a smidgen of floral, very nice. And, that fragrance remained during lathering. That is always a plus for me. The soaps are $5 a slice.

Megan also sent me one of her solid lotion bars in Toasted Marshmallow. The fragrance was light but nice. Now, I am not partial to lotion bars myself. Some of the ones I've gotten in the past were either difficult to maneuver or hard to hold. This one, however, is in a tube! Maybe there are more stores out there that do this, but this is the first time I have seen a solid lotion in a tube. Much easier to use and much better at getting my skin moisturized. This was really useful on those knees and elbows. $6 for a tube of the Toasted Marshmallow and $8.50 for Lavender.

Lastly, the Lip Balm. Megan sent me one of her shea lip balms in Peppermint. Peppermint is always a good lip balm flavor and I love it. At first the lip balm was a little hard, but once it warms up it is as smooth as silk. I used it for a few weeks and I thought it was pretty good. I'm a lip balm addict so when I can apply one that lasts for a good while, I'm happy. And Disquieting Designs lip balm lasted. The lip balms come in 7 flavors and cost $3.50.

There's alot more to Disquieting Designs that I will probably have to try and post again. I'm always a sucker for bath and body products. Take a peek and see if you find something new.

Dancing Dingo Dances into My Life

Awhile back, I received an email from Dancing Dingo regarding their products. I was more than happy to try them out and of course post my review. I was sent some amazing body products including their Shea Butter Hand Cream, Shea Butter Lip Balm, Cocoa & Shea Butter Hand & Body Lotion and a Temple Blend Aromatherapy Oil (which came in the most beautiful little bottle). I'd like to personally thank Kathy at Dancing Dingo for her generosity.

The Shea Butter Hand Cream is by far my favorite. This cream is like silk. It's thick and rich but just glides onto the skin and absorbs very quickly with no greasy feel. I've been using it at night on both my hands and feet. It makes my skin feel soft for quite a few hours. And, my hands and feet are the worst dry skin areas I have, especially in the winter. The fact that my hands have stayed soft and supple really means alot. Usually, this time of year, my hands are dry and look like 60 year old hands. This cream really improved the feel, look and texture of the skin on my hands. I am very impressed. The ingredients include Aloe Vera gel, Sweet Almond Oil, Shea butter, Jojobal oil, cocoa butter, coconut oil and lavender essential oil. I have really taken a fancy to Lavender lately and this cream has a nice, light Lavender scent. A good sized jar of this lovely stuff will run you about $10, but you need to realize that you don't need to use alot each time. A little bit is more than enough. I love this stuff!!

The Cocoa & Shea Butter Hand & Body Lotion is not as thick and rich as the cream. But, I really like using this during the day. I only used the thick cream at night or when my hands were really bad. It's a less intense which I used and still use throughout the day. I have a 2 year old so I'm always changing diapers and using hand sanitizer. To counteract that sanitizer dryness, I kept the pump bottle of this lotion right next to the hand sanitizer. The scent I received was Rosemary Mint, and it is such a refreshing and energizing fragrance. It's a really good pick me up during the day when I start to run down (I have all boys and I get run down!). An 8 oz. bottle is $11 and a 16 oz is $20. I've been using it for a few weeks now and I still have a good amount left. Even though it's a less intense moisturizer, a little bit is still all you need to refresh your skin instantly.

The Shea Butter Lip Balm is to my lips as the Hand Cream is to my hands. I received a 1/2 oz pot filled with lip balm in Mandarin Orange flavor. The flavor is just right, just enough of that orange to make it perfect. It's not too strong but not too weak either. Like the hand cream, this lip balm is like silk on my lips. I found that I only need a tiny bit of it each time. Ingredients include: Sweet almond oil, shea butter, cocoa butter and organic Carrot Seed extract (a new ingredient to me in lip balm). Now, I received a pot of lip balm..but on the site you can buy it in the tube form for $3.95. I just perused the flavor list and I really gotta try the Pink Champagne..that sounds too good not to.

A good amount Dancing Dingo's products are Vegan and PETA approved. There's nothing artificial in the ingredients, and that's always a plus for me. There is quite a large variety of products there also including products for baby, products for your pooch and home fragrance. I am truly sold on the Hand Cream and the Lip Balm, so I have a new etailer I plan on being loyal to.

Juniper Tree Naturally: Bath Gelatos

In the September Little Black Box I had a coupon to Juniper Tree Naturally for BOGO on their Bath Gelatos. BOGO!...How could I resist that. You know me by now..always looking for a good deal.

I love Bath Bombs (which are what these are) because they just smell so darn good in the tub. Usually they're made of Sodium Bicarbonate (baking soda to you all) that gives them the "fizz", citric acid, coloring and fragrance. Juniper Tree goes a little further by adding not only Shea Butter but also Coconut Oil to these Gelatos. I can attest to the fact that you will leave that tub and not even need any lotion. Your skin will be well taken care of.

The fragrance selection is really nice. There's 29 different fragrances to choose from. I got Pink Grapefruit & Sugar Cane, Night Cap, Strawberry Cotton Candy and a few others. This is a very large bath bomb and the cost is only $4. I've seen bath bombs of this size go for up to $6. Plus I had the BOGO coupon so I got a bunch. Very nice!

I had also gotten a sample of their lip balm in my LBB and let me tell you...it is really really good. Now, I have alot of lip balms on hand right now and this one (which is all gone now sniffle) just went on smoothly. I didn't have to reapply as often as I usually do. The flavor I got was Chocolate Butter Cream and it was fantastic. The Lip Balms at Juniper Tree sell for $2.75 which is about an average price from what I've seen for online lip balm.

I do highly recommend the Bath Gelatos. Make sure you have some of those magic erasers..they work wonders at getting the residue off your tub when you're done.

Soak in the Hemp

A couple of weeks ago I got an email from Christie at Bath Desserts. I took a look at her site and I got to tell you it intrigued me. All of her bath and body products contain Hemp seed oil. I've never used a product with Hemp seed oil before.

Here's what the site says about Hemp seed oil:

"Hemp seed oil is the most nutrient dense plant oil on Earth, made up of 80% essential fatty acids that naturally match the skin’s own lipid ratio. This property, unique to Hemp seed oil alone allows for a non-greasy, deep cellular hydration treatment, promoting a healthy and youthful appearance. ...Hemp seed oil has an ideal 3:1 ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids, perfectly mimicking the needs of the human body. The reason hemp is so effective is because of the essential fatty acids (EFAs) it contains. More than 75% of the EFAs in hemp seed oil are poly-unsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), and are known for their excellent moisturizng properties. "

Interesting facts that I did not know at all. So I told Christie I'd love to try out some of her products.

What I received was really cool...she sent me a Pineapple Fizz Ball, Body Melt Truffles, Peppermint Lip Balm, Sugar Scrub and Body Butter.

I was really impressed with the Fizz Ball and the Body Melt Truffles. The Fizz Ball is just like a bath bomb but has the hemp seed oil in it. As soon as I stepped into the tub, the moisture of that hemp seed oil hit me immediately. The tub water was just infused with it and my skin felt silky soft right away. No other bath bomb type product I've used has ever done that..very impressive! There are 5 ounce Fizz Balls that cost $5 and 10 ounce (gosh that must be huge) for $10.

The Body Melt Truffles are incredible! First of all, they come in this box and it's set up just like a box of chocolates. Then when you open the box these little goodies look just like truffles from the chocolate shop. After a shower I took one of these truffles and smoothed it on my skin. One truffle is good for an entire body application. It went on smoothly and really felt good. I've had lotion bars before and some of them are hard to use and get going. These flowed easily over my skin and left it feeling silky soft. Really really incredible stuff. I'm hoarding the rest now because I like them so much lol. The Body Melt Truffles go for $15 for 6 of them and remember you only need one for your entire body (I guess if you're the same size as me though) and the moisture lasts a good long time.

Even the lip balm is fantastic. It's got really just a few simple ingredients. It's made with Hemp seed butter, mango butter, beeswax, vanilla and peppermint oil. You can really get that peppermint tingle on your lips. Plus a little goes a long way and it lasts a good long time. I found that this lip balm lasted longer than my other ones that I've bought from Indie Etailers. Now if Christie could put this is a tube form, I'd be in heaven! The lip balm costs $5, but like I said a little tiny bit goes a long way so this will last you alot longer than you think.

I'd like to thank Christie for letting me know about Bath Desserts. ( I always love finding out about etailers that I haven't found yet. ) So, go ahead and go soak in some hemp...seed oil that is.

Drop That Chapstick and Pay Attention: Lip Balms

Until recently I just bought Chapstick or Lip Smackers by Bonne Bell. I'm a lip balm addict and have been for years. Then I learned that most of these name brands use petroleum products as a main ingredient. How gross is that? I mean I never realized that that is what was in a product I use 10 times a day. I have been putting that into my body. Even Sephora has petrolatum as the first ingredient on their Lip Butter..and I just bought a 3 pack back in December!!! UGGH!

Don't fret my friends. I have learned much from my e-tailer friends and I'm here to help. There are plenty, and I mean plenty of Indie Etailers all over the place who make all natural lip balm/lip gloss products. And, in just about every flavor you could possible imagine. I currently have a great stash in chocolate mint, peppermint, bubble gum, green tea, cinnamon bun, Tequila Sunrise and a bunch more. A few I got in sampler boxes like The Lemming Central Sampler and The Crafty Cube and some I just went searching for and bought.

Here's a list of ingredients that I got off all of the labels. This doesn't reflect just one but all of them so there's going to be different combinations for different makers. They all have their own recipe and use different ingredients.but you can see what you're getting is good for you.

Olive Oil
Beeswax (seems to be the base for a majority)
Vitamin E (in many of them)
Sweet Almond Oil
Shea Butter
Cocoa Butter (in a few)
Coconut Oil
Mango Butter
Castor Oil
Meadowfoam Seed Oil
Sweetener
Natural Flavoring or just "flavoring"

See what's missing: petrolatum or white petrolum!

Now some of them may seem expensive when you go shopping. The average seems to be $2.50 per stick or $3 for a pot (I prefer the stick but the pots are ok, like I'm gonna turn down good lip balm sheesh). MOst of the ones I have bought personally, I got 3 for one price which was ok. But you have to consider what you are putting onto and into your body. I know you can buy a Chapstick for 99 cents at Target..but in the long run you might want to spend a little to keep those chemicals out of your body!

Here's a list of stores I know that sell Lip Balm. The ones with the "*" by them I have personally tried. You can also search on etsy.com for "lip balm" and I'm sure you'll be up to your eyeballs in lip balm choices! Happy balming!

http://www.fosterscreations.com *

http://www.flourcitybakery.com *

http://www.mi-spa.com*

http://www.inkristinesshower.com (Lava Gloss) *

http://www.madgabs.com*

http://www.thornappleridgesoaps.com*

http://www.sbsteas.com

http://www.gudonya.etsy.com* (Bubble Gum, good flavor!)

http://www.martinsvilleemporium.etsy.com * (good but needs stronger flavor)

http://www.baglunchco.com

There are probably many many many more out there. Like I said, search on etsy and I'm sure you'll get a days worth of searching.