Bubble and Bee Pit Putty Cream Deodorant

I previously posted about Bubble and Bee's Pit Putty in the stick form. I thought it worked well, but crumbled an awful lot, which became a pain! Thus, I ended up trying out the Pit Putty Creams. They're like a lotion that you rub into your pits.

After making my switch from chemically laden antiperspirant deodorants to natural deodorants without antiperspirant feature, and from stick to cream form, I am a much happier person... well maybe haha. I do like the cream form better. I find them easier to apply and it absorbs quickly into the skin. You will, however, find that this product can melt into liquid in the heat. It will become a cream again if you put it in the refrigerator. I completely forgot about this while traveling this summer. Once I got to my destination, I popped open my jar to reapply deodorant and half of my deodorant went down the drain of our hotel bathroom sink. I have been more careful since then.

Moving on to the products themselves. I am going to go over the scents I purchased, which is all but two that are currently offered on the Bubble and Bee website.

The scents I have tried are Geranium & Lime, Jasmint, Lavender Vanilla, Lemongrass, Orange Vanilla, and Spearmint & Tea Tree. I listed them in alphabetical order, but will not be reviewing them in the same order.

The first two I will review together because I purchased both in the trial size (0.25 oz for $3.99). The one on the left is Spearmint & Tea Tree. It smells like a stick of EXTRA gum in Spearmint. I don't smell much other than that. There is an odd cooling sensation when applied to the skin that can take some getting used to. This scent, unfortunately, did not jive well with my body chemistry and thus I stunk the few days that I did try it. Thankfully, this was only a trial size.

The jar on the right is Jasmint. The scent is supposed to be a combination of jasmine and mint. Again, like the Spearmint & Tea Tree combo, I found the mint over powering any other scents. I could not smell much jasmine in there at all, which is the scent I was hoping to really come across. The feeling on the skin was also like the Spearmint & Tea Tree due to the cooling sensation on the skin. Both this and the Spearmint & Tea Tree were my least favorite of the bunch, but I've read that many others really like these two scents.

Next up is Geranium & Lime. This has a mini cult following, at least for those who purchase from Bubble and Bee. So, naturally, because of reading all the rave reviews I was excited to purchase this. This smelled good in the jar, but on me it smelled like Salt & Pepper with a touch of unknown.

Lemongrass is overwhelmingly Lemon, which may or may not be a bad thing for some. This scent will definitely clash with your perfume/cologne. This scent was middle of the road for me. It wasn't bad, but wasn't great either. It worked decently well with my body.

Both of the above are in the Orange Vanilla scent, which up until recently was my favorite! It smells like Orange Creamsicle! SOOOOOO Delicious. I think I've gone through 3 of these, but I threw one of the jars away.

Last, but definitely not least, is Lavender Vanilla. This is a new scent that was released sometime in September. You can smell both the vanilla and lavender and it smells AH-mazing! I hope this scent becomes a regular item rather than a limited edition scent. It lasts as long as the Orange Vanilla scent, but works better with my body and body chemistry than any of the other scents. This one is my favorite!


The two scents I did not purchase are Lemon & Clove, and Super Pit Putty (heavy is Patchouli) so I don't know what those smell like and I doubt I'd like them based on their respective descriptions.  I wanted to add most of these do not last too long in the summer so reapplying is almost necessary.

Here's a list of the ingredients in case anyone is curious.
Ingredients: Organic shea butter, organic arrowroot powder, organic coconut oil, organic sunflower oil, aluminum-free baking soda, organic essential oils and/or extracts.










*All items were purchased by me with my own money*

TARTE BB Tinted Treatment 12-Hour Primer with Broad Spectrum SPF 30 Sunscreen

This is a long OVERDUE review, especially since this product has been in the market for some time now. This is the second time I have purchased Tarte's BB Tinted Treatment Primer. The first time I purchased it I was getting into 'cleaner' products. I still am trying to find products with seemingly better preservatives and ingredients overall. The main components I look for when I check the ingredients are: What preservatives are used, if any; Are there any types of glycols--ie: propylene glycol; If there is sunscreen, is it chemical or physical? These are the main things I search for. I do look at all the ingredients in order to assess whether or not I will purchase the item, but the three aforementioned categories are deal breakers. Anyways, I am sure you all don't care much about that let's get on to the product!

Ingredients: Cyclopentasiloxane, Isododecane, Polysilicone-11, Mica, Polymethylsilsesquioxane, Hexyl Laurate, PEG-10 Dimethicone, Polyglyceryl-4 Isostearate, Stearic Acid, Cetyl PEG/PPG-10/1 Dimethicone, Alumina, Triethoxycaprylylsilane, Dipalmitoyl Hydroxyproline, Diamond Powder, Iron Oxides.H696 

The color I purchased is Fair. It's offered in 4 different shades: Fair; Light; Medium; and Tan. Fair looks really light again my darker hands, but Fair isn't too much light than my face. It also helps that this product is pretty sheer. The consistency is mouse-like and feels light on the skin. I have drier skin and do moisturize before applying any make up onto my skin. I have found that this product emphasizes my dry patches. Does anyone else have that problem with this product? I have tried exfoliating before hand and that doesn't seem to help much either. I am enjoying it enough to put up with it, at least until I find something better. 

WARNING mini rant ahead...

I know this product has 'BB' in its name, but let me tell you it is so far from what would be deemed a true BB cream. A real BB cream would be somewhere in between a foundation and tinted moisturizer in terms of coverage. Additionally, it has ingredients to benefit the skin. It's purpose is also to hide of blemishes, moles and freckles included. Many tinted moisturizers have been re-branded as 'BB' creams or 'CC' creams and it's incredibly irritating because the BB creams in the states are not the same as the BB creams in Asia. Yet, they're being marketed as the same, which is misleading to consumers. The only two brands that I have found sold in places such as Sephora that produce BB creams that come close to a close to what BB creams are supposed to be are Dr.Jart and Boscia. 

*Item was purchased by me*

Lifeway Kefir Strawberry Drinkable Yogurt

I received a voucher from influenster for a free bottle of Kefir's Drinkable Yogurt. I ended up choosing the Strawberry flavor. It was delicious. I typically do not like the texture of non-drinkable yogurt, but this was actually delicious. The strawberry taste did not taste artificial or odd, but like actual ripe strawberries. I like that this can also be consumed, oddly enough, by some people who are lactose intolerant, which was great for my boyfriend.

*Product was provided by Influenster for my opinion and in no way affect my thoughts and feelings towards the products*

Palmolive Soft Touch Product Review

Earlier this year I decided to give Influenster a try. If you don't know what Influenster is, it's a review site that randomly (at least to my knowledge) chooses individuals to send products to. They require that that these products be reviewed. I received my first Influenster box this week and it included 2 full sized bottles of Palmolive from their Soft Touch line, Coconut Butter and Vitamin E, and coupons.

Normally, I do purchase Palmolive, but not from this line. I was pleasantly surprised to see this when I opened my door because when my boyfriend washes the dishes he does not use gloves :(. I normally wear gloves when I wash dishes, but I wanted to the 'soft touch' claim to the test. The past few days after receiving this dish soap, I washed my dishes several times without gloves. I can report that this soap does pass the 'soft touch' test! It left my hands smooth and soft without drying them like normal dish soap would. I would still recommend wearing gloves, but for those who don't this may be the option to go. I wanted to also add that this was still equally effective at getting grime and grease off of my pans and dishes.

The Vitamin E one smells like standard Palmolive. I have yet to open the Coconut Butter so I can't comment on the scent yet. 

*These products were provided by Influenster for my opinion and in no way affect my thoughts and feelings towards the products*

Spring Mystery Box and March Boho Glam Intro Box from JULEP

I know this is a long overdue post, but here it is ... the March Boho Glam Intro Box and Spring Mystery Box lumped into one post.

I'll start with the Boho Glam Intro Box. I got the intro box for a penny plus $3.99 for shipping, which is a GREAT deal.

What was in the intro box:

Robin Nail Vernis: Claimed to be a "Robin's egg blue creme". This color is adorable and just all around beautiful. This was the main reason I chose the Boho Glam profile over the others.

Stefani Nail Vernis: Stefani is a "gold flecked grey metallic" color. This only added to my decision to go with the Boho Glam profile. It's a nice grey.

Julep's Instant Warming Foot Scrub: I typically don't, probably should, tend to my feet other than my toes, which is why this was gifted to my mom.

Verdict: This was a great intro box for both the price and the polishes included! If you want to join Julep Maven (click here) and get an intro box for FREE, use the code FREEMAVEN at check out.


Moving on to the Spring Mystery Box...

What was included in the Spring Mystery box...

Julep Daylight Defense SPF 30: If you follow my blog or have read my other posts I have been trying to move towards using more natural skin and make up products. This would include switching out chemical sunscreens for natural sunscreens. Julep's Daylight Defense does include Zinc Oxide, which provides a physical barrier, but the remaining three active ingredients, Octinoxate, Oxybenzone, and Ensulizole, provide chemical coverage. This was gifted.

Emery Board: I was happy to see this as my current one desperately needs replacing. This is a basic emery board and works just fine :).

3 Milk Chocolate Eggs: Fairly self explaintory and they were delicious.

1 One Step Polish Remover Pad: I still have not used this yet, but I will try it the next time I need to remove my polish. It sounds convenient.

3 Hair Ties: These are always handy to have around for a low braid or ponytail and the colors are so bright and obnoxious! I love it!

Ashley Nail Vernis: This color is a sunset orange opalescent color. It is very eye catching.

Lauren Nail Vernis: Described as a "hot tropical pink creme". I love hot pink nail polish and it will be addition to my collection.

Camille Nail Vernis: Camille is a clear nail polish with glitter. I am not a huge fan of glittery nail polish unless it's New Year's Eve. I ended up gifting this.

Verdict: This box was a pleasant surprise. It brightened up my day with the chocolate and burst of color throughout the box. I was pleased with this box.

Sea Salt Mystery Box by Julep

I was so excited when I saw the three potential colors for the Sea Salt Mystery box and ordered almost immediately after I received the email.

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WARNING! Rant below... if you do not want to read this please skip to the photos. 

The reason for my disappointment was not the underwhelming box itself, but due to some of the colors included. As you can see, I received Meryl, Gunta, Lauren and Sadie. Sadie is the Sea Salt Finish polish in Black. This was fine since it is a 'Mystery' box you don't know what colors or what items you're getting, which is completely reasonable. I also received Lauren in my Spring Mystery Box. I was also fine with another Lauren because, at least, it's a summery color that I would be able, to rock come summer time. The two remaining colors I received, Gunta and Meryl, are what I was irked about....both colors are from 2012. Not only are they from 2012, but Meryl is from Feb 2012's Mystery Box and Gunta's is a Trina Turk Fall 2012 polish. My problem is that they're not even Summer or Spring type colors. If Julep had included colors from their 2012 Spring and Summer collections I would have enjoyed everything more so than I am now. When I received this box it felt as though they were rummaging through polishes that they needed to get rid of and decided to include those rather than colors that would have been exciting and relevant for Spring and Summer months.


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Items I received:

Toe dividers: These are always nice to have around when giving yourself a pedicure and I am definitely tired of wasting paper towels every time I want to do my toes.

Emery board: I received one of these in my Spring Mystery Box and am happy to see another one. I don't go through these too quickly, but it's always nice to have a spare.

Pomegranate Body Creme: Initially, I was excited to try this product. However, after checking the ingredients I found that it contains Phenoxyethanol, which is something that I have been trying to avoid. This item will be gifted.

Meryl Polish: This polish originally graced Julep Maven boxes around February 2012. It is claimed to be the "the perfect neutral, a sophisticated grey creme". It looks like a decently standard medium grey color and will come in handy come Fall.

Gunta Polish: Gunta is from Julep's Trina Turk Fall 2012 polishes. It is described as "Trina Turk Fall '12 elevated royal blue creme". Cobalt blue is supposed to be one of the "it" colors, along with emerald, for 2013. It's definitely a true royal blue.

Lauren Polish: Described as a "hot pink tropical creme". I received this box in my Spring Mystery box also. It's a pretty color that will be great for Spring and Summer months. I'll probably gift this to someone as I already have one.

Sadie Polish: Julep says it's a "black lava sea salt finish". I am excited about this particular polish. I am hoping to find Madeline (pink blush sea salt finish) also.



Verdict: I will likely order another Mystery box to really decide how I feel about Julep's Mystery Boxes all together. I will say I did like my Spring Mystery Box. So they're 1 for 1.










*Disclaimer: I purchased subscription with my own funds and am not being paid to provide review*

Boscia's Super-Charge Overnight Moisture Review

I recently picked up a second tube of this until I find a more natural option. I originally discovered this item, at Sephora, about two months ago when my cheeks and chin broke out into a rash from a Caudalie moisturizer. This was a gentle enough moisturizer for my face and was, and still is, incredibly hydrating. There is a light, refreshing scent but it quickly dissipates after applied. My skin has been drier during the winter and, more recently, spring months so I apply it both day and night. In the morning I apply this before my tinted moisturizer. 

Overall, I definitely like this moisturizer, but as I mentioned above I am looking for a more natural option. I have high hopes for a moisturizer I recently purchased from Rainwater Botanicals, via Etsy.com, until then this is my HG moisturizer.

Ingredients: Water, Glycerin, Dipropylene Glycol, Dimethicone, Caprylic/Capric/Myristic/Stearic Triglyceride, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Butylene Glycol, Glyceryl Stearate, Phenyl Trimethicone, Macadamia Ternifolia Seed Oil, Hydrogenated Castor Oil Isostearate, Squalane, Cetyl Palmitate, Sorbitan Stearate, Stearic Acid, Polysorbate 60, Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Extract, Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria) Flower Extract, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Extract, Epilobium Angustifolium Flower/Leaf/Stem Extract, Citrus Aurantium Amara (Bitter Orange) Flower Extract, Glycine Soja (Soybean) Protein, Hydrogenated Lecithin, Beta Vulgaris (Beet) Root Extract, Haberlea Rhodopensis Leaf Extract, Yeast Extract, Lavandula Stoechas Extract, Lactobacillus Ferment, Sodium Hyaluronate, Carbomer, Potassium Hydroxide, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, 1,2-Hexanediol, Caprylyl Glycol.









*Disclaimer: This item was purchased with my own money*