March & April 2015 Empties!

Well, hello there. It has been far too long since I've sat down at my computer to blog..or just sat down at my computer at all. Work and life events have kept me insanely busy, as is usually the case when I'm away for this long. In any event, May marks my 3 year blogging anniversary and I do have an exciting giveaway planned. Keep a close eye for that ;).
On to the trash!

Rahua Voluminous Shampoo (sample) - Lilly, from Genuine Glow, was kind enough to send me a care package around Christmas that included this sample. It lathered well and left my hair feeling clean, but I didn't find it miraculous.

Organic Matter Shampoo Level 1 - review here - This is one of my favourite shampoos out there. It's made in Canada, doesn't irritate my crazy scalp, cleans and conditions my hair, lathers well, lasts forever, and is reasonably priced. It has been my go-to for over a year now.

Deep Steep Body Butter in Passion Fruit Guava - This body butter was really nice during the colder months. I liked mixing it with an oil, for extra moisture, after a shower. The scent wasn't my favourite because of how sweet and fruity it was. While it did linger, I actually liked how it smelled after about an hour. The butter itself took a little working in and always left my skin super soft.

Deep Steep Body Wash in Honeydew Spearmint - review here - I love this body wash! This particular scent is my favourite of all the scents available. It lathers well, smells delicious, leaves my skin clean and soft, is affordable, and I find that a little goes a long way. Have already repurchased in a different scent.

*North Hill Soap Company Soap in Sex on the Beach & Blackbeard's Booty - review here - These soaps were absolutely lovely! Sex on the Beach was just the right amount of fruity and worked well for my skin. Blackbeard's Booty was my absolute favourite though. I loved the poppy seeds that gently exfoliated, and the bay rum and nutmeg essential oil gave this soap a delicious spicy kick that I just couldn't wait to be intoxicated by.

*Ella's Magic Balm in My Clementine Darling - review here - This balm came in handy during the polar vortex weather that we experienced a few months ago. My skin was crying for help and this lovely balm came to the rescue! It nourished, moisturized, protected, repaired, and loved my skin.

Meow Meow Tweet Deodorant Cream in Lavender - review here - I forgot how much I loved this deodorant. The texture was whipped, creamy, perfection that easily rubbed into my pits and kept me stink free almost all day. Oddly enough, it didn't irritate my pits this time around. Not sure if it was because the weather was colder and I wasn't shaving as much or what, but I'm glad I got to use up this jar as it wasn't cheap.

Andalou Naturals Apricot Probiotic Cleansing Milk - review here - As I've already raved about this cleanser many times before, I'll just say that I still love this cleanser. It works really well for my sensitive skin and I've already repurchased.

Josh Rosebrook Hydrating Accelerator - This toner is a cult favourite and for good reason. Josh blends gorgeous skin loving ingredients, like green tea, coconut oil, aloe water, neem, vitamins A, C, E and B2, and tops it off with the intoxicating scents of vanilla bean and ylang ylang. While the scent wasn't my favourite at first, I loved it within a week of using it. It was light and didn't linger. This worked to nourish and calm my skin before applying my oils/creams, and worked beautifully to set my makeup. My only complaint is the packaging. Sure it's travel friendly but it looks a bit cheap considering the price and packaging of the other products within Josh's skin care range.

*Mont Echo Nature Divine Creme Divine - review here - Loveeeeed the scent of this cream. As I mentioned in my review, the scent reminds me of something my mom put on her face when I was growing up. As a moisturizer, it was really nice, although using it morning and night for a few days did cause little red bumps on my skin. The pump also stopped working towards the end, making it difficult to get out the remainder of the cream. My favourite way to use this moisturizer was as a hand cream in the P.M. and under makeup in the A.M. 

*Odylique Repair Lotion - review here - Of the three Odylique products that I had the opportunity to try, this one was my favourite. It worked on my face, hands, and body to reduce dry skin, itching, and redness.

Lush's Angel on Bare Skin  - review here - Despite what some people within the green beauty community think about Lush, I love that they support and promote various causes. While they aren't the most natural, they do have a handful of clean products. Angels on Bare Skin is incredible and lives up to my green standards. This gem of a cleanser is gentle enough to use in the colder months on (my) dry and sensitive skin. I find that my skin is less flaky, I have fewer breakouts, and a more even tone and texture when I'm using this cleanser.

Corpa Flora Eclat Citrouille - review here - This incredible smelling oil has been a staple in my skin care routine for a long while. It's just an amazing, amazing oil and I'm sure you're all sick of hearing me talk about it.

*SBT Seabuckthorn Oil - review here - LOVE. That's all.

*DeVita Italian Tomato Leaf Mud Masque (sample) - Meh. This mask was less than impressive. It didn't burn but left my skin red as a tomato, as the name suggests. My skin didn't look or feel any different, besides the redness.

Living Libations Healthy Gums Clay Toothpaste - review here - Of the three toothpastes from Living Libations, that come in a jar, this is the best tasting one. It's fresh and worked really well to keep my teeth clean and gums happy. My hygienist even asked what I was using! The only downside is that it's expensive and not as easily available as I would like. For reference, a jar lasts about two months with only me using it.

Clean Well Hand Sanitizer - This stuff is soooo good! When I was doing aesthetics, I would get eczema on my hands and this sanitizer did not irritate it at all. It does smell like thyme but doesn't linger for too long. Sadly, Clean Well is no longer available in Canada.
*Zuzu Luxe Dual Powder Foundation in D-10 - review here - This was a fantastic foundation. It offered great coverage and never looked cakey on my dry skin. The shade range isn't too bad either, they offer shades for light to dark skins, of course there always room for more shades though. The thing that irritates me the most about this foundation is that refills are not available in Canada. Why!? Isn't that the point of offering a refillable compact? Because of that, I have not repurchased.
Sante Brown Pencil in No. 2. - I can't believe that I haven't reviewed this pencil yet. It is perfection. It is the perfect shade of brown for someone who doesn't lean red or warm, it's just brown. It lasts almost all day, but can wipe off if your face is oily or sweating. Already working through another one and have a backup.
Benecos Lip Gloss - This gloss is being tossed after discovering that one of the first ingredients is talc. Talc? Really?? Ridiculous. It also contains carmine and lanolin, if you're wondering. Since the ingredients are not on the packaging, I trusted the brand and picked up this gloss. After using it a handful of times, I decided to look up the ingredients. What a let down.
*Sappho Foundation Brush - This brush fell apart on me, the ferrell came loose and fell off. Despite that, this was a fantastic foundation brush. Sappho has since come out with new brushes.
*PR SAMPLES

Sniff This: Poppy Jane Candle Co.

Candles have never really been by thing growing up, despite the fact that my mom was (and still is) a candle hoarder. Within the last few years I've gone from not caring about candles, to being obsessed with the candles from Bath and Body Works, to not being able to stand them (BBW candles) anymore. So, began my journey into natural candles; pure essential oil fragranced, beeswax/soy wax, cotton wick, hand poured with love candles. Although I haven't tried many different brands, I can say that the few I've tried did not fragrance a small room, let alone a house. My assumption was that natural candles suck. Plain and simple. That was until Poppy Jane Candle Co. came into my life.

Poppy Jane Candle Co. was launched by Erin Lundeen exactly one year after she and her sister said goodbye to Fig+Sage--the blog that brought them international recognition within the natural products industry.

With a love of all things natural, a DIY attitude and a firm belief that quality is much better than quantity, Erin started making all-natural candles as a hobby that quickly turned into something more in the winter of 2013. She began sourcing, blending, concocting and testing the most natural ingredients she could find into truly pure aromatherapy candles. And thus, Poppy Jane Candle Co. was born. 

Erin is a native Californian, born and raised on the Central Coast. She, her husband and their 3 children {Sören, Anika Jane and Märit Poppy} love spending their days soaking up the sunshine, geocaching, gardening and enjoying the great food & wine culture in the area. Erin and Karl work as a team, working on all design aspects of the business. Erin sources the raw beeswax from a local beekeeper, hand-blends the top-quality essential oils and pours the candles in small batches in their workshop. Every candle that leaves our workshop is a labor of love, made with the best ingredients we could find.

Up until a few months ago, Poppy Jane only shipped within the USA. When they began shipping to Canada, Erin contacted me asking if I wanted to try out their products and provide feedback. I was basically a happy little guinea pig. Erin sent me the *Aromatherapy Candle Travel Tin Gift Pack ($35 USD/3 x 4 oz candles) and it arrived within a week or so. Talk about fast shipping! Aside from the beautiful packaging that it came in, the tins themselves are adorable and great for travelling with, and the candles actually fragrance an entire room but are not at all overwhelming or overpowering.
Description: Here it is! The perfect way to give Poppy Jane as a gift or a sampler to find out which PJ scent is your fave. Includes your choice of three of our 4 oz. travel tins. A better value than buying each candle separately and all packaged up in a kraft box with polka dot tissue paper!

Breathe Deep: This aromatherapeutic Breathe Deep candle is designed to clear your head and energize your mind. We blended refreshing oils like Eucalyptus and Peppermint and added a woodsy touch of Rosemary and Tea Tree with a crisp citrus note to top it all off. The result is a truly pure candle that is sure to wake you up and open up your sinuses while enhancing mental clarity. So go ahead, take a deep breath.

Obsessed! Seriously, this candle smells in-freakin-credible!! The description is spot on, in terms of the scent, and I find that it really does open up my sinuses when I'm stuffy. My favourite time to burn this candle is while I'm doing yoga. After all, in yoga it's all about the breath. Breathe Deep, namaste.

Sleep Tight: This special blend was created to promote calm and relaxation before bedtime. Lavender essential oil promotes relaxation, lemongrass essential oil helps facilitate deep rest and calms the mind while marjoram essential oil can help relieve insomnia. Our favorite ingredient in this candle is Roman Chamomile which does all of the above--it is our all-time favorite essential oil!

Oh yes, how could anyone not have at least one candle loaded with lavender and/or chamomile to burn right before bed? I love lavender, so I had hoped that this would smell more like it than it actually does, however, the blend of all the essential oils is just lovely. Personally, I smell the zest of the lemongrass and the chamomile more than the other oils. It's beautiful before bed and have burned it several times since receiving it to help me sleep.

Gin +Tonic: When it's not apropos to pour yourself a stiff drink (say, during a hectic work day or at noon while you're home with the kids) we have just the solution for you! We've blended juniper berry, lime and other delicious citrus oils together to create an uplifting and refreshing aroma, then added it to our creamy blend of 100% pure soy wax and beeswax. The result is a cocktail in a can, minus the impaired judgement. Cheers!

Cheers is right, my friends! My life (both personal and work) has been a hectic work day for the entire month of March. I've been on the go non-stop and so, to avoid actually drinking, I've been burning this baby. Even though it's called Gin + Tonic, sniffing it makes me want a vodka lime. Actually, just thinking about it makes me want a vodka lime. Vodka lime anyone?? While the lime really stands out here, the marriage of juniper berry and lime is perfect and great for anyone who likes an uplifting citrus scent.

I'm so impressed with these candles. They have exceeded my expectations and raised the bar for natural candles. Thank you Lilly (Genuine Glow) for the introduction and thank you Erin for giving me the opportunity to try them. Sadly, shipping to Canada is absolutely insane. I find that's always the case when a brand begins shipping here, however, that's no fault of theirs as shipping to/from/within Canada is ridiculous. I truly love these candles and if shipping wasn't so crazy, I'd without a doubt pick up a couple of full sizes. If you live in the USA, go buy these right now. Just go.

Get them here: Poppy Jane Candles Co.

*Products provided for review consideration. All opinions are entirely my own.