Saturday, April 30, 2016

Pampered Skin Collection by Homestead Soaps (Review)




I was recently given the opportunity to try some homemade soap and body care products from Sandra at Homestead Soaps.  As many of you who read my blog frequently know, my family and I are sulfate free and use natural products for our body and home.  We love essential oils, coconut oil, shea butter, cocoa butter, honey, and other wonderful ingredients that nourish our skin and hair.  I was super excited to have the opportunity to select from Sandra's Pampered Skin Collection.  


I received the Sensitive skin set (Honey Neem) and I could not be more thrilled.  The Pampered Skin Collection allows you to choose your set from a drop down menu of scent varieties and includes a lotion (in a pump container), a bar of soap (in a ribbed cardboard box), whipped body butter and exfoliating scrub.  Everything arrived in a pleasantly rustic burlap bag.  














The soap bar that was in my Sensitive Skin set is a special treat, and my FAVORITE item from the entire set.  I asked Sandra what type of soap it was and she told me it was Chamomile and not on the website yet.  She had specifically made a sensitive soap for a friend of hers and I was one of the lucky ones to try it out as well!  I seriously adore this soap.  I use it all over!  I tried it as a shampoo bar for my hair and used an apple cider vinegar and water rinse afterward as our shower water is ultra hard.  (I put 2-3 tablespoons of water in a large container of water).  I had no hair issues such as build up or sticky / greasy appearance or texture.   The soap made my hair clean and soft.  I am sulfate free as mentioned, and so I love finding new product options for washing my hair.  Since going sulfate free and "low poo" 3 years ago, I only need to wash my hair 1-2 times per week.  (I still shower daily.)  I use a natural boar bristle brush (I love my Mason Pearson Pink Brush).  My hair has regulated its own natural sebum (a few years ago) and is well over the transition phase that hair needs to go through when you make it accustomed to less washings.  Over washing the hair and using sulfates and chemicals causes the hair to be shocked and stripped and the scalp tries to over compensate for the stripped oils, thus actually over producing oils and that is why you can have greasy hair despite daily washing.  When I was in high school and college, I washed my hair daily with traditional, store bought, chemical filled, sulfate based shampoos.  My hair would have a slight oiliness by the evening and the thought of going 3-4 days without washing would make me shudder back then.  Now that I wash every 3-4 days, and with very few (and very natural) ingredients, my hair has a softness and is healthier and does not get oily until the 4th day.  I currently wash my hair with soap nuts or an occasional natural ingredient shampoo.   I also do Henna and Amla hair masks.  I was excited to use this bar on my hair.  

I also use this Chamomile Sensitive bar on my face and body.  It smells amazing and is so silky on my skin.  I also use this with my vintage badger hair bakelite shaving brush.  I shave my legs and underarms with a vintage 1960's Lady Gillette safety razor.  This soap has a luscious lather and softens my skin.  I love it for cleansing my head to toe!




I noticed that Sandra has a shampoo bar on her website, and I bet it is equally fantastic!  It contains Coconut Milk and Egg.  How luxurious!


Her shampoo bar contains: Deionized Water, Coconut Oil, Olive Oil, Hemp Seed Oil, Jojoba Oil, Sodium Hydroxide (required to make soap), chamomile water, egg, coconut milk, BTMS (derived from Colza Oil), Panthenol (Vitamin B5) 


The pump bottle of Honey Neem lotion is perfect for keeping on the changing table of my 2 year old's diaper changing area.  I apply this to his legs and tummy in the evening before bed at his night time changing and whenever he gets a bath.  It has a relaxing scent and it is not heavy or greasy.  I found it quite interesting that it contains egg yolk. :) I have used shampoo bars in the past that contained egg (protein).  I use this lotion on my hands as well.  Here are the Key ingredients of this lotion: (Look at all the fine ingredients!)

Water, Sweet Almond oil, Avocado oil, shea butter, cocoa butter, kokum butter, neem oil, chamomile, egg yolk, lavender extract, calendula extract, rosehip extract, E-Wax, goat milk, honey, lavender essential oils, Chamomile essential oils, benzylalcohol-dha.




The body butter came in handy several times when I had severe dry patches on my legs.  As I am in my third trimester (and last month) of pregnancy, my skin has been itchy and dry lately.  The Honey Neem seemed to help with circulation when massaged into my legs and feet, and also softened my dry skin.  I applied the butter at night before bedtime and also used it on my heels and bottom of my feet as well.  








I like using the exfoliating scrub on my heels and ankles, as it is gentle yet effective.  I just love the locking jars that the butter and scrub come in, they are so cute and look nice on my shelf.  I am excited to reuse them as well! 

Ingredients in the scrub: Deionized Water, Coconut Oil, Palm Oil, Olive Oil, Soybean Oil, Sea Salt, Walnut Shells, Palm Kernal Oil, Shea Butter, Wheat Germ Oil, Sodium Hydroxide, Potassium Hydroxide, Stearic Acid, Aloe Vera Gel, Glycerin, Jojoba beads, White Sugar, Brown Sugar, Goats Milk, Silk Amino Acid, Sodium Lactate (derived from beets), Fragrance, Benzylalcohol-dha (eco-cert preservative).


I really liked this Honey and Neem Sensitive skin set.  The fragrance is noticeable, but not overpowering.  It is an invigorating aroma.  This set did not irritate my skin or breathing.  It is definitely a skin nourishing and healing set.  


I also was sent some smaller samples of the same items but in Jasmine fragrance.  The Jasmine is a floral scent with a musky aroma.  Jasmine is said by some to provide a calming, stress relieving, and almost sedative effect when worn or used in aromatherapy.  I liked this set, but am absolutely loving the Honey Neem set more (it really is helping my dry skin), and especially am fond the Chamomile soap!! (I am quite thrilled about it, can you tell?).  






I was quite pleased with my experience with Homestead Soap and Spa.  I am excited to see what Sandra comes up with next.  I hope she puts the Chamomile Sensitive soap on her site permanently.  I particularly like the looks of her Calendula Chamomile soap, as Calendula is one of my favorite skin loving ingredients.  I love how Calendula heals irritated skin and repairs it quickly.   

Her Calendula Chamomile soap contains Deionized Water, Coconut Oil, Palm Oil, Olive Oil, Soybean Oil, Rosehip Oil, Palm Kernal Oil, Shea Butter, Calendula, Chamomile, Wheat Germ Oil, Sodium Hydroxide, Egg, Goats Milk, Silk Amino Acid, Sodium Lactate (derived from beets), Fragrance.



I am also betting that the Charcoal and Kaolin Clay bar is another wonderful option as well.  It contains Deionized Water, Coconut Oil, Palm Oil, Olive Oil, Soybean Oil, Palm Kernal Oil, Shea Butter, Wheat Germ Oil, Sodium Hydroxide, Egg, Goats Milk, Charcoal, White Kaolin Clay, Silk Amino Acid, Sodium Lactate (derived from beets), Fragrance.


    For more information and to stay up to date on new products from Sandra's Homestead, you can find her on Facebook and Twitter.


    Please follow me on:

    Facebook for updates to this blog, reviews, and giveaways.  For updates on new posts, you can subscribe to me on bloglovin.  I would love it if you would visit me (subscribing makes me so happy) on Instagram and Twitter.

    I received these items complimentary for my honest review and no other compensation was provided.



    DISCLOSURE: In order for me to support my blogging activities, I may receive monetary compensation for a product review and/or link to any products or services from this blog.  I am always honest in my opinions and never promise a positive review.  I only recommend products or services that I feel are beneficial to my family and my lovely readers.  I enjoy testing out items and giving my readers an honest and descriptive account of how a product functions.  My personal experience or view of an item may differ than yours.  



    Tiny Drops of Honey is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. You pay the exact same price for any and all products you order through my links, but I receive a small commission.  I am a stay at home mommy and any commissions I receive help support my little ones. 
























    Sound Intone Foldable HD850 Headphones Kids or Adults Review






    I was recently sent some headphones for review. I am not fond of the ear buds / in ear phones as they are frequently uncomfortable, cheaply made and get lost easily. I never can put them into my ears in such a way that they feel normal. I love using the padded, over the ear headphones. I realize the in ear ones are popular with those individuals who are mobile with their music and work out at the gym or go running, but since I am mainly a homebody with my 2 small children (soon to be 3) I prefer something more comfortable and do not find padded headphones bulky for my particular usage.







    I received headphones from Sound Intone.  The model I have is HD850 and they are said to be perfect for children and adults.  I selected the "light blue" which in person is a lovely mint hued blue green, similar to an aqua and almost leaning towards Tiffany style blue.  The headphones are lightweight and nicely padded, with an adjustable headband.  I am able to pack these easily and have decided to take them along with me to the hospital next month for my cesarian as I will be there 4 days and may have some down time.  These are attractive headphones and priced well as under $20.  You need to keep in mind that these will not be comparable to $60-100 headphones, but these will be suitable for travel and basic home usage for those who want something affordable, trendy and easy to replace if they get lost or broken.  The cable is braided fabric and seems like it will be durable with frequent bending and pulling (in cases where a child is using this or those who are not so careful with their storage of cords).  These come in 10+ color choices (the listing says 12 color choices, but Amazon currently shows 10 available).  

    These have a sharing feature where you can plug your headphones into the sharing port, and another individual can listen to music with you.  There is a 3.5 AUX output where you can connect another headphone, such as traveling with children and they are watching a movie on a tablet.  You would need two pairs of headphones, and connect one to the tablet and one to the headphones so they can share the sound.  I have to tried this feature as my 2 are age 5 and 2, and neither have been introduced to tablets yet (we like them playing with toys and are not excited to rush into tablets where they would be sucked into looking down at an electronic device.)  We have a dvd player in the van and so any movie on the screen is just watched without headphones.  This sharing feature is nice and I can see how it would be popular and useful.  

    The headphones have a built-in microphone and remote control button designed to allow the user to answer and end calls.  This is another feature I do not use, but it is a nice option.  The headphones work well for my simple usage, and have held up in the short month i have tested them.  For the price I would recommend them.

    I received these complimentary for review and no other compensation was provided.

    Please follow me on:

    Facebook for updates to this blog, reviews, and giveaways.  For updates on new posts, you can subscribe to me on bloglovin.  I would love it if you would visit me (subscribing makes me so happy) on Instagram and Twitter.






    DISCLOSURE: In order for me to support my blogging activities, I may receive monetary compensation for a product review and/or link to any products or services from this blog.  I am always honest in my opinions and never promise a positive review.  I only recommend products or services that I feel are beneficial to my family and my lovely readers.  I enjoy testing out items and giving my readers an honest and descriptive account of how a product functions.  My personal experience or view of an item may differ than yours. 


    Tiny Drops of Honey is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. You pay the exact same price for any and all products you order through my links, but I receive a small commission.  I am a stay at home mommy and any commissions I receive help support my little ones. 






































    Thursday, April 28, 2016

    Led Candle Flameless Candle Review






    I love using candles, but with a 5 year old who loves to twirl and dance around, and a 2 year old toddler who bounds from one end of the room to the next, safety is definitely an issue. Lately we have been loving using faux candles that are lit by LED lighting and batteries. I have a few different varieties from delicately vanilla scented to unscented. They all are made of a plastic and real wax mixture. I had yet to try one with a timer and so was excited to be sent one complimentary for review.  

    My 2 year old uses one of these as a night light every night and often we forget to turn it off in the morning (which "burns" through batteries like crazy). A timer feature really would help and I was excited to try this immediately. Unfortunately this candle does not come with its first batteries and the size is one we do not normally purchase or keep on hand. I was able to get C batteries a few days later and began testing this out.





    The candle is small at 3 inches diam x 5 inches height, but the perfect size for a nursery, child's room, or a small table. As mentioned, the candle runs on (2) C batteries and features both a 4h and 8h switch.  This is made with real wax with some plastic components, and from a distance, has the basic appearance of a candle (with some obvious differences). I like that this can be set to automatically turn on / off at the same time on the next day.  It would look a bit more realistic if you put a small glass saucer underneath it. :)




    I am packing this with me for use in the hospital next month for my cesarian birth.  I will be there 4 days and this will be a calming lighting effect for the room when the new baby sleeps with me.  I like the candle and although I miss using actual candles with a real flickering flame and essential oil scents, this one is a nice option for those with pets or small children.

    This is available on Amazon.







    I was sent this for an honest review, and no other compensation was provided.  

    Please follow me on:

    Facebook for updates to this blog, reviews, and giveaways.  For updates on new posts, you can subscribe to me on bloglovin.  I would love it if you would visit me (subscribing makes me so happy) on Instagram and Twitter.





    DISCLOSURE: In order for me to support my blogging activities, I may receive monetary compensation for a product review and/or link to any products or services from this blog.  I am always honest in my opinions and never promise a positive review.  I only recommend products or services that I feel are beneficial to my family and my lovely readers.  I enjoy testing out items and giving my readers an honest and descriptive account of how a product functions.  My personal experience or view of an item may differ than yours.  

    Tiny Drops of Honey is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. You pay the exact same price for any and all products you order through my links, but I receive a small commission.  I am a stay at home mommy and any commissions I receive help support my little ones.