Cost: ~12.00
By: Meg
I first found out about Andalou Naturals from an article profiling Renee Loux, the creator of this Natural Beauty line. I was eager to try their products but at the time I read the article, no stores near me carried them yet because they were so new. However, I came across them a few weeks later at the perfect moment.
I was in a Whole Foods Market in our neighborhood and I was desperate to find a natural acne treatment with a little more umph than the one I was currently using. I just come back from a trip and had a HORRIFYING break out, I think because I was exposed to cigarette smoke the whole trip.
The spot treatment I usually use for little unexpected dots was not cutting it at all. I was even thinking of (gasp) buying one of those drugstore brands I used in my high school days...I needed industrial strength!
While looking through the body care department at Whole Foods, I saw they now were carrying Andalou! I reached for their acne treatment and I found just what the doctor ordered. Andalou carries a spot treatment that is mostly natural but still contains Salicylic acid, an ingredient used in many conventional acne treatments. Desperate times call for desperate measures, so although the treatment contained something a little less natural than say, tea tree oil, I was ready to try it.
I applied the treatment to my breakout morning and night for three days. It comes in a small tube and actually has a pleasant smell. I dabbed it on and let it soak in a bit before applying my normal moisturizer. I did get a little tingling in the area after it was on, but you now how people say "that's how you know it's working"? In this case that's how I felt - reassured that it was going to get this job done.
I didn't see immediate results like I hoped I would. Day one my skin actually looked a little worse. Day three though, my skin looked much better! The spots I had had shrunk and were no longer red and attracting attention. I was so happy to have found this and even happier that I didn't have to break my devotion to natural products in order to find something that works great.
Andalou seems like a great company and I look forward to trying more of their products soon. They have a website that is still under construction right now, but hopefully in the near future that will be up and running. For now, look for their products at your local Whole Foods Markets.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Bar Soap Bonanza
By: Meg
A few months ago, Megan and I attended a Green festival in San Francisco. The two of us were looking for some new green beauty cosmetic companies to try out. We found some really great emerging companies and we visited the tables of a few of our old stand-bys like Dr. Bronner. We came away with some great ideas to green-ify our lives and a bag of samples.
Many of the companies presenting at the festival specialized in all natural Bar soaps.
I have not used a bar soap since....well probably, since I still had baby teeth. I remember the severe drying effect they had on my skin as a child. I had not really ever considered using bar soaps again but when you put a free sample in my hands, watch out!
That night I pulled out a sliver of soap from a company called Green Girl. They are a new company with some really great moisturizers and baby products. I was eager to try out the soap, which smelled a bit lemony and a bit lavendery. The soap had a small amount of what looked like seeds embedded in it too for exfoliation (I regret not asking what exactly they were). I was so happy with how great my skin felt after using it. It did not feel dry or rough or flaky at all. I also smelled pretty great! After that I couldn't wait to try more bar soap. I'm officially a convert.
I went on Etsy.com which has become a great clean beauty resource lately for me and found some really great bar soaps, which I bought for friends and fam. The bar I bought for Megan was infused with Argan oil and she just raved about how soft it made her skin.
Below I have listed some bar soaps we LOVE with a short description of why we like them and where you can purchase.
Heliotrope San Francisco
www.HeliotropeSF.com
or 1515 Church St.
San Francisco
Fig and Cardemom Bar
Ok both of us took one whiff if this soap at the green fest and could not believe what we were smelling. We just stood at the booth with a bar up to our noses for a good 10 minutes. This scent is ideal for men, in fact, every man on earth should smell like this. I bought a bar for the Boy Friend and ......WOW I have to restrain myself. This would make a great gift for the guy who has everything.
Green Girl Soap
www.GreenGirlSoap.com
All Soaps
Upon revisiting their website, I realize I have no idea which bar we sampled from this company! However, everything we smelled and tested at their booth was fantastic. All their soaps re made with natural, organic ingredients like olive oil and avocado oil. Their scents are all natural too, no perfumes of course.
Body Time Berkley
www.BodyTime.com
or 1942 Shattuck Avenue
Berkley, Ca
Lavender Eucalyptis Bar
I was given a small chunk of this bar soap to take home from the festival. The combination of lavender and eucalyptis is very refreshing. I think this bar is probably the most moisturizing of all the ones I have used. They have many other wonderful scents too. Body Time does use animal tallow in their soaps, so they are not vegan.
Tokyo Factory
www.Etsy.com/shop/TokyoFactory
All Soaps
This is an Etsy shop run by a soap maker from Japan who now lives in the US. I took notice of her shop when she was donating all the profits from items sold to the Red Cross to benefit the Japan Earthquake Relief. I bought a bunch of bars for my Mom and one for Megan and our Resident Expert Emily. Everyone got different "flavors" but everyone just loved thiem. They look very pretty so they make great gifts and they are ultra moisturizing. The shop has different soap all the time. The inventory fluctuates often so keep checking if you don't see something that strikes your fancy.
Zum Bar
Mint Bar
Sold at many whole health stores and retailers by the OZ.
www.indigowild.com
I use this soap every day. There are so many things I adore about it. It looks pretty, it makes my skin feel great and refreshed, and the smell of this soap is INCREDIBLE (I am tempted to eat it). If you can find this at a store they are sold in huge soap blocks and customers are invited to cut off whatever amount they need. I think that is very conventient. Zum Bar makes a huge array of scents and they all smell great, but the Mint one is just unbelieveable.
A few months ago, Megan and I attended a Green festival in San Francisco. The two of us were looking for some new green beauty cosmetic companies to try out. We found some really great emerging companies and we visited the tables of a few of our old stand-bys like Dr. Bronner. We came away with some great ideas to green-ify our lives and a bag of samples.
Many of the companies presenting at the festival specialized in all natural Bar soaps.
I have not used a bar soap since....well probably, since I still had baby teeth. I remember the severe drying effect they had on my skin as a child. I had not really ever considered using bar soaps again but when you put a free sample in my hands, watch out!
That night I pulled out a sliver of soap from a company called Green Girl. They are a new company with some really great moisturizers and baby products. I was eager to try out the soap, which smelled a bit lemony and a bit lavendery. The soap had a small amount of what looked like seeds embedded in it too for exfoliation (I regret not asking what exactly they were). I was so happy with how great my skin felt after using it. It did not feel dry or rough or flaky at all. I also smelled pretty great! After that I couldn't wait to try more bar soap. I'm officially a convert.
I went on Etsy.com
Below I have listed some bar soaps we LOVE with a short description of why we like them and where you can purchase.
Heliotrope San Francisco
www.HeliotropeSF.com
or 1515 Church St.
San Francisco
Fig and Cardemom Bar
Ok both of us took one whiff if this soap at the green fest and could not believe what we were smelling. We just stood at the booth with a bar up to our noses for a good 10 minutes. This scent is ideal for men, in fact, every man on earth should smell like this. I bought a bar for the Boy Friend and ......WOW I have to restrain myself. This would make a great gift for the guy who has everything.
Green Girl Soap
www.GreenGirlSoap.com
All Soaps
Upon revisiting their website, I realize I have no idea which bar we sampled from this company! However, everything we smelled and tested at their booth was fantastic. All their soaps re made with natural, organic ingredients like olive oil and avocado oil. Their scents are all natural too, no perfumes of course.
Body Time Berkley
www.BodyTime.com
or 1942 Shattuck Avenue
Berkley, Ca
Lavender Eucalyptis Bar
I was given a small chunk of this bar soap to take home from the festival. The combination of lavender and eucalyptis is very refreshing. I think this bar is probably the most moisturizing of all the ones I have used. They have many other wonderful scents too. Body Time does use animal tallow in their soaps, so they are not vegan.
Tokyo Factory
www.Etsy.com/shop/TokyoFactory
All Soaps
This is an Etsy shop run by a soap maker from Japan who now lives in the US. I took notice of her shop when she was donating all the profits from items sold to the Red Cross to benefit the Japan Earthquake Relief. I bought a bunch of bars for my Mom and one for Megan and our Resident Expert Emily. Everyone got different "flavors" but everyone just loved thiem. They look very pretty so they make great gifts and they are ultra moisturizing. The shop has different soap all the time. The inventory fluctuates often so keep checking if you don't see something that strikes your fancy.
Zum Bar
Mint Bar
Sold at many whole health stores and retailers by the OZ.
www.indigowild.com
I use this soap every day. There are so many things I adore about it. It looks pretty, it makes my skin feel great and refreshed, and the smell of this soap is INCREDIBLE (I am tempted to eat it). If you can find this at a store they are sold in huge soap blocks and customers are invited to cut off whatever amount they need. I think that is very conventient. Zum Bar makes a huge array of scents and they all smell great, but the Mint one is just unbelieveable.
Back to Blogging!
Well folks, Megan and Emily and I have once again gotten away from our beloved blog. We love posting and reviewing and informing our readers about all that is natural beauty. Without boring you too much with the minutiae of our lives, we have all been really busy!
We are all going to do our best to keep this thing interesting and up to date. Thank you to our readers!
-The M Squared Team
We are all going to do our best to keep this thing interesting and up to date. Thank you to our readers!
-The M Squared Team
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