simple.green.organic.happy.

Green living, playful parenting and the pursuit of happiness

Review & Giveaway: OrganicaPure

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organic lotion and shampoo

I think I’ve firmly established that I am super picky about how I spend my dollar these days, and this is a company that is doing everything right.

OrganicaPure’s line of luxurious beauty products— from lotions to scrubs to cleansers— are purposely kept as simple and pure as possible, centering on three ingredients known for their therapeutic qualities: cocoa, aloe vera and honey. Each product’s info page clearly lists the ingredient list front and center, for absolute transparency.

It’s kind of remarkable, that this is remarkable. You know? It’s so refreshing to immediately know what you’re getting, no sleuthing, no fine print. But really this is the way it should work.

In addition, the ingredients page notes that OrganicaPure sources their main ingredients from “ecological and socially responsible means. We go through a rigorous process of identifying producers and distributors who meet our criteria of our highest standards.”

How’s that for awesomesauce?

So now we know that this is an ethical company using fine, organic ingredients with known compound benefits.

The next question is, is it any good?

The answer is yay! Yes! I tried out the Cocoa & Honey Body Lotion and 100% Body Butter, and they were crazy emollient on my dry, cracked hands (I’ve been doing a fair amount of dog washing lately; don’t ask).

The cocoa body lotion is nice and creamy and just feels like a good lotion— no wax, no filler. Jeff used it on his gross plumber’s hands and gave it his stamp of approval. I’ve been using it regularly after washing dishes and whatnot, and it hasn’t caused my very very hive-prone palms to break out.

The scent is light and non-intrusive. I’m pretty neutral about the scent, to be honest. I don’t love it (I lean towards citrus-y scents) but I’m usually very sensitive about fragrance and it doesn’t bother me at all.

Cocoa is an anti-wrinkle agent: It contains powerful anti-oxidant properties that prevent damage to your skin’s elastin and collagen, restoring and maintaining your youthful glow. It also works to moisturize and nourish your skin. Honey is also a gentle, healthy, natural moisturizer. As a humectant, honey helps your skin retain moisture without an oily buildup. Cocoa and honey work together in this luxurious body lotion to gently replenish moisture.

For my money, though, the organic body butter is where it’s at. This stuff hardens in cooler temps, so I literally am just breaking off tiny shards— like fragments of white chocolate— and letting the heat of my hands melt it so it can be massaged in. I can’t think of a better way to explain the hydrating quality than to say it’s like butter, so there you have it. It’s buttery and luscious and you can feel and see the difference in your hands.

Our 100% Cocoa Butter is just that – with no added emollients, additives and fillers. Extracted from world-renowned Mayan cocoa beans, our butter truly represents Organica Pure’s philosophy to revert skincare to its purest form. For centuries, Mayans used pure cocoa butter to protect their skin. Today, use our fast-absorbing butter to reverse the roughest skin and chapped lips, improve the look of scars and lines, and to smooth stretch marks due to weight loss or pregnancy.

At the rate I’m using it (just a tiny shard nightly before bed), this stuff should last me forever and a day. So it’s good that I actually really like the scent, even though it’s stronger than that of the other lotion. It just smells like straight up chocolate and I could just eat it up.

I smell delicious, people.

One lucky reader is gonna smell as delicious as I do! I get to give away an OrganicaPure prize including the two products I’ve featured, the Cocoa & Honey Body Lotion and 100% Body Butter, PLUS an Aloe Vera & Honey Shampoo, so your noggin can smell as nice as the rest of ya.

Our combination of aloe vera and honey will leave you with healthy, lustrous hair. Aloe vera, a natural treatment for dry skin, will soothe your scalp and help to alleviate dandruff. It also provides a gentle deep cleansing for your hair. Honey, a natural humectant, seals in moisture to heal and condition dry, damaged hair.

organicapure lotions shampoo
Just follow the directions below for your chance to win!
This giveaway will end at 12:01am on October 21st.

[Read more…]

Sneaker Recycling (Nike Reuse-A-Shoe)

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how to recycle sneakers

Happiness is neither virtue nor pleasure
nor this thing nor that
but simply growth,

We are happy when we are growing.

–William Butler Yeats

My kids continue to do me the disservice of growing older and getting bigger, despite my polite requests for them to cut that the hell out.

This puts me out in a number of ways, but the one I’m dealing with this week is the fact that the sneakers that I bought last spring no longer fit, in spite of the fact that they were not worn ALL SUMMER LONG. I swear, not even once. Price per wear and maximum value mean nothing to these children.

They’re also hard on their clothes and shoes— Cass, in particular, has never met a mud puddle she didn’t like— so I wouldn’t dream of dropping their stinky hand-me-down sneaks off at a thrift shop. Trust me, no one wants to inflict these things on their kids unless as creative punishment.

But, I hate to just throw the things away. I tend to hang on to my own old sneakers until they start to fall apart— they start as regular old sneakers, then become “walking dogs in the dark” shoes, then rain shoes, then gardening shoes, then Jeff takes them as cutting the grass shoes or general “dirty job” shoes. (It’s somewhat handy to wear the same shoe size as other family members.) This isn’t a viable option for the kids, though, since they plain ol’ just don’t fit anymore.

We’ve already talked about how you can recycle your Crocs, and after a little research I’ve found you can recycle crusty kicks too with Nike Reuse-A-Shoe. Bring up to 10 pairs to a collection site (or start your own shoe drive, has to be approved by Nike first) and your stinky sneaks will be ground up along with the company’s manufacturing scrap to make “Nike Grind,” used in track & playground surfaces, gym tiles, outdoor tennis and basketball courts, pads for indoor synthetic & wood courts, and some Nike products.

Collection sites appear to be mainly outlet stores (full list here) and if you don’t have a collection site near you, you can mail in too.

I sort of love when I find out I can recycle things I hadn’t before. Know of any other shoe recycling programs?

 

Fashion Friday: Back to School Shoes (yes, my kids wear Crocs)

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punk rock girl

Give a girl the correct footwear
and she can conquer the world.

-Bette Midler

Speaking generally, I don’t do back to school clothes shopping. 12 years of brown plaid uniforms made me cynical about the marketing hype surrounding brand-new wardrobes, dictated by the start of the school year. Why buy new stuff when last year’s duds still do?

I’ll wait until the season changes and we can assess what the kids actually need (and since their choices are sure to be swayed by what the other kids are wearing, we may as well see what’s on the hit list this year).

The exception is the shoes. I don’t think my kids wear closed toe shoes at all over the summer months, and every year as August draws to a close they attempt to stuff their soles into sneaks that have miraculously gone at least two sizes too small.

It’s all that fresh air and sunshine, I guess. And giantess genes.

Good news: this year, the transition from summer to fall doesn’t mean putting away summer comfort, at least for kids. Crocs has released a new line of “school approved” kicks, suitable for the gymnasium and playground. The Crocs Back to School kids’ line is school-approved on the outside (meaning close-toed and close-heeled), but have the same comfort in the inside. And they’re super-cute, with 13 new high-top and low-top styles for kids (boys and girls) from K-8.

I ordered Cass the metallic-purple-on-black argyle version of this one. ARGYLE, people. I love it.

crocs for school

For me, this means:

  • no more having to buy rain boots for the kids to slog to the bus stop in, only to have them change shoes as the bus pulls into sight.
  • No more having to wash sneakers after playing in the mud, and then going to bed to the thump, thump, thump of shoes in the dryer.
  • No more days on end traveling from shoe store to shoe store trying to find something comfortable for all-day, everyday wear for my big-footed children (two with abnormally long, narrow feet; one with square, wide feet).

Confession: I’m a recent Croc convert; I thought they were ugly as sin when they first arrived on the scene. But I truly love their wash-and-wearability so I can allow the kids to play outside and get dirty with abandon. And after purchasing a pair of my own for gardening and latenight dogwalking, I can’t deny the comfort factor. (Mine are the toning Skylar flats.)

AND, here’s where they fit into my eco-sensibility: not only does one pair do the job of three pairs of shoes for younger kids (rain shoes, dress shoes, and mucking-about shoes), but they are easily recyclable. Some Crocs retail stores will take them off your hands directly, or you can send them to Soles4Souls, who will clean them and give them a “second life” by donating to people in need of shoes throughout the world.

Given that just about every kid around has a pair, consider setting up a donation drive at your school or community center!

One more thing.

Not only is Crocs keeping summertime comfort in your shoes all year long, they’re giving away a 4-day, 3-night “summer break” for 4 people to San Diego. The prize includes round-trip airfare, a stay at an oceanside family-friendly hotel, tickets to local attractions, car rental and $200 fun money. You can enter to win on the Crocs Back to School microsite but frankly I’d prefer you just cross your fingers and toes that I win 🙂

Check out the line-up in this video: click on any of the shoes and you’ll be taken to the shoe’s page on the website. There’s a hidden “Easter egg”— find it, click on it and see what happens. Here’s a clue:

crocs for school

 

 

Your turn.

How do you handle back to school shopping?

Have you gone to the Croc side?

 

Thank you to Crocs for sponsoring this blog post. Please click here to learn more about Crocs’ new Back to School line. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective. All opinions expressed here are my own.