Quick update! The Safe Cosmetics Act and EGCG.

Hey everyone! Brooke here, and just thought I would pop by to say hi! We both have been really busy, me with the shop (what else is new) and Pili had her love come to visit her for a while (she lives and Spain, and he in India! Talk about long distance love!) So needless to say, now that school is back in session we should be getting more reviews in the next week or so.

I did however, want to take a minute to bring up two things that I felt we should let our readers know. The first, is in regards to H.R. 5786, the Safe Cosmetics Act, a new bill that was recently introduced here in the US. If it is passed as it is currently written, most if not all of the shops you see featured here will be forced to close their doors. Which for us, and the handmade industry, would be devastating. This link will explain a little better what the bill would mean to the industry.

We would love it if our awesome readers would join us in signing the petition protesting this bill. You can do so here. We love the shops we feature here, and are excited to try new ones, so the thought of this bill being passed makes me really sad, and worried for the future of handmade products.

On a bit of a lighter note, I also wanted to shed some light on an amazing Etsy guild that both Pili and I love deeply. They are the Etsy Green and Clean guild. Their focus is truth in advertising, and full ingredient disclosure. The guild consists of Etsy shops that specialize in soap, perfume, cosmetics, and herbal products. I feel pretty confident to say that any shop that is a member of EGCG is a good bet to get amazing products, with amazing customer service. If you check out their blog, you will see that their roster consists of a good majority of out tried and true favorites! They usually have some amazing sales, scavenger huints, and swag packs during the holidays, as well, so keep your eyes peeled.

The reason I bring this up, is because people are always asking me "Hey Brooke, what is a good _________ *fill in the blank*" Nine times out of ten, I refer them to do a search using the term EGCG on Etsy. So say I am looking for shampoo bars, I would type in "EGCG shampoo bars" Or for cupcake lotion I would do a search for "EGCG cupcake lotion". I have a dear friend who is SEVERELY allergic to milk, and anything containing dairy protein. This comes in useful should you have allergies, or sensitivities. Some Etsy sellers omit ingredients or will just not list them at all. This is a tried-and-true way to find what you need, and be confident that you know what is in your product!

Until next post,

May all of your days be filled with delicious bubbles!

EGCG Swag Bag: DressGreen!

Both Brooke and myself have been on a quest of trying to find the PERFECT moisturizer for quite a long time, and apparently we got it sent home, in sample size, with the EGCG Swag Bag!

I have tried a variety of creams, body butters and lotions, from Lollibomb's whipped body frosting that was a bit too thick for me (and somehow ended up leaving my skin a bit dry nonetheless), through some other body butters and whipped body frostings and lotions. Of all the body frostings I've tried my favourites are Spa Therapy's, but they are a bit greasy, and take a lil to be absorbed, not much, but not instantly either, so I just reserve them for the thick of the winter, when my skin gets very dry, and the lotions are nice, but sometimes my skin needs something a bit thicker... picky much, huh?

Well, I got a sampler of DressGreen's body cream in EGCG Swag Bag, tried it and OH LA LA! Thick but not too much, spreads very easily, and best of all, absorbed instantlly!! You might be wondering why is it so important for me, but I don't want to have to wait for the skin to absorb the moisturizer for long, or if in a hurry, having to fight the jeans up cause they get sticked to the legs!

After using up all the sample, I had to ask Brooke if she had tried it, and she had, and not only that, she was as in love with it as I was! Four thumbs up, then!

I decided to go and order the full, 8oz size and although she didn't have the Pomegrante Juice scent at that moment, I went for the Blackberry Sage one, and also decided to indulge myself and get to try her Lip Lush, a lip balm with some colour & shimmer.

The package arrived today, and the body cream is as brilliant as the sample was, and I love this scent too! I want to try the Orange Blossom one next!

The Lip Lush is available in 4 different colours: Sultry, Sassy, Tricky and Lusty. I got myself Tricky, with a coppery brown shimmer, and I must say I love it! I love the fresh smell of it, the taste it leaves, it's not a foodie taste/scent, but smells & tastes nice and fresh, and not one of those waxy/oily tastes you get sometimes in lip balms that contain beeswax or different combination of non-vegan oils. It does give a lil bit of colour and shine, perfect for a lil dolling up for your everyday and informal needs! I'm already planning to get another, as soon as the shop is open again!

Lauren (DressGreen's owner and one woman show) was also so kind as to send me a sample of one of her facial soaps, that I intend to try this week.

Stay tuned for more reviews of awesome B&B products by Brooke & yours truly!

EGCG Swag Bag: Shower Treat Soap

Alright, I know some of you are rolling your eyes at me, thinking YEAH RIGHT! She is all green, that dirty hippy, of course she would LOVE the handmade laundry soap they sent in the swag bag. But let me tell you a secret. I live with 3 boys, my husband, Greg, who is NOT a fan of handmade AT ALL (makes me wonder...) my 9 year old son Evan, and Gory, who is almost 3 months old. Now, for myself or Gory to try something that is new, and handmade is a no-brainer. For Evan to try something that is handmade, a little difficult, but pretty easy when bribing is involved. But Greg? Not on your LIFE! This is the guy that showers with nothing but Irish Spring (YUCK) and has big brand-name loyalty that is outrageous!

So when I spied that I had gotten some of Shower Treat's laundry soap in the swag bag, I got ALL nervous! I had the soap hearted for who knows HOW long, but did not have the guts to try it yet. I thought to myself "Really, how good can it be? I mean, laundry detergent is just that, heavy duty, strong enough to get rid of the grime of the gnarly boys that I live with, and make it seem to the outside person that they are clean and smell good!" Right? I mean, that is the point of laundry soap, to clean the clothes, and leave them fresh smelling. And that had me worried. What if I try it and it does not work? I have to do the whole load over again, that would suck. Well, let me put your mind at ease.......

This soap works AWESOME! Laura has been making soap for over 12 years, and she knows how to make quality products that will stand up to the rigors of family life. This powered soap is made of simple ingredients, not a huge long list of crap that I cannot pronounce, let alone know what the chemicals are, like in store-bought detergents. So I sat and thought, if we wash our clothes in detergent from the store, and it has all of these chemicals in it, how much is left on our clothes, for our skin to absorb off our clothing? I totally feel safe washing the baby's clothes in it, as well as the rest of the family's!

Now, back to the hubby. Greg is the one that usually does the laundry around here. Do not misunderstand, I said DOES, not fold or put away. But he washes them. So I thought there would be a HUGE problem with getting him to *gasp* try something handmade and new to wash our stuff in. It took some convincing, but finally he caved. Now, I need to forewarn some of you, this is a POWDER laundry soap, not liquid. It is not gonna get all foamy and bubbly (but this will make it compatible for your HD washing machine). But it will gently wash your clothes, and leave them smelling really fresh and clean! There is no need for fabric softener in the dryer or washer, either, it leaves the clothes THAT soft. You can even purchase some with essential oils or fragrance oils in them. In the swag bag there was Rosemary Peppermint. Now...not only did it make my laundry smell amazing, but while the wash was in the dryer, it made the HOUSE smell amazing! Not really strong, but a slight fragrance that was noticeable, and very refreshing! And even more surprising, my husband LOVED IT! He really liked the soap, and the clothes were surprisingly clean!

You can find the laundry soap for sale in their Etsy shop. They offer a sampler set, if you are undecided if this soap is going to work for you, which I would recommend to start off with. Also in their Etsy shop, they have dish soap and liquid dish soap. Those are next on my list to try!

*Thanks to Pili, who took the pictures of her soap for me to use for this review. I can review soaps all day, but ask me to take a picture, and I fail!

EGCG Swag Bag: Mirasol Farm

If you haven't got yourself an EGCG Swag Bag, you surely are gonna be regretting it as you keep on reading the reviews that both me and Brooke are gonna keep on posting.

Today is the turn of Mirasol Farm's Sweet Orange & Calendula cream. When I got the swag bag, I was wondering what sort of a cream it was exactly, a facial cream, a body moisturizer? So I went onto checking the Etsy listing and saw that it was a cream for dry skin that does it all!

I decided to give it a try as hand cream, why specifically for the hands? Well, I'm a nurse, and I can tell you I have quite dry hands because of it. After all that hand washing at work, with not the most skin-safe solutions sometimes, and now with all the recently added alcohol-based antiseptic solutions. They're all great to get rid of bacteria in the hands, which in turn it's better for the patients, but not that good for the hands, trust me.

I started using the cream as a night repair cream for my hands, since it's a thick cream that takes a lil to be absorbed, so you can't really apply it and continue typing in the laptop or doing other things without leaving a bit of a residue. But it is an amazing cream, very rich and highly moisturizing! And it also has a fantastic frangance, from the essential oils of calendula and sweet orange, and I have to say I love love love the scent!

My hands wake up in the morning feeling much better and softer! And of course, since it was a 2 oz jar, it's gonna last quite a while!

If you have dry hands too, or need an extra punch of moisturizing and soothing, for a pregnant belly or very dry skin, you need to give this cream a try!

EGCG Swag Bag: Right As Rain Creations

As Brooke already told you, we both marked our calendars to make sure we could grab one of the fantastic Swag Bags by the EGCG Etsy Street Team.

When I got it, I was amazed at the amount of products and the size of them! Very generous-sized samples, and some full sized too! I started my way to trying them all, lil by lil, and also, my way to taking pictures of them all!

One of the very first things I started using was the Peppermint Foot Cream, by RightAsRain Creations. I had been looking over Etsy for a moisturizing & refreshing foot cream, and had a few of them in my favourites, so when I got this one, it couldn't have had a better timing!

It's a 2 oz wide jar, so you can dip in without fuss, and the texture is thick but creamy, and non-sticky. Doesn't leave a greasy residue in your hands after applying it, and a lil does go a long way! After checking her shop, I saw it was one of the two sizes she offered, so it was not just a sample!

Since first try I've fallen in love with these cream! It goes on smoothly, smells so refrenshingly of peppermint that all of you, not only your feet, feel rejuvenated! Once applied it gives a very cooling feel, which is perfect for tired feet! I can't wait to use this after a night out wearing heels, cause it has worked great on my tired feet after a long night at the ward!

I've loved this cream so much that I'm already looking at buying the two available sizes at her shop, the 4 oz for keeping at home, and the 2 oz for travelling purposes!

If you're looking for a cream to soothe and cool your poor tired, dry, mistreated feet, this is it my friends!

First of MANY EGCG reviews! Sweet Creek Herbs soap!

So, Pili and Iwere REALLY excited to hear that the Etsy Green and Clean Guild was going to be offering their swag bags again for spring! We both marked our calenders, and waited patiently. Well, in the meantime, the EGCG also announced that as a promotional event, they were going to be sponsoring an Easter egg hunt, where you go through participating shops, and search for the hidden eggs in the listings! (hearting stuff along the way, of course!). So not only did I WIN one of the Easter egg prizes, but I also ordered a swag bag and they both arrived on the SAME DAY! Talk about a fun filled night! I sniffed and tested my way though some of the goodies, took some pictures, and started making a list of items that I was going to review. I had never heard of Sweet Creek Herbs before any of this, and I got an unscented olive oil bar in one bag, and a chamomile shampoo with silk bar in the other!



Well, you all know me, I see unscented and I think "HEY! I can use this on Gory! He can test it!"I don't even know where to start with this soap. The pediatrician had told me at Gory's 1 month check-up that using olive oil on his skin may help with his dry, problem skin. This kid is allergic to EVERYTHING, from laundry soap, to diaper wipes. So I tried out the soap on him to see how it was gonna fly. I LOVE this soap! It goes on smooth, there is not much lather, but it almost melts into the skin. It is not "oily" but more like the consistency of an ointment in dry bar form. Gory's skin is not a heck of a lot better, and I am now using it on my dry legs! I really have to say, that this soap is almost like a miracle for dry, rough skin! I even told my husband, I was SHOCKED at how much this soap has helped both of us! Really, it is pretty amazing!



The shampoo bar, on the other hand, well. I am probably not the best person to test that one out. I tried it, but with my SO severely damaged hair, it literally made it feel like wet noodles. The smell of it was AWESOME, but the way it made my hair feel was not so good. I am thinking of making Evan try it on his gross head, maybe it will smell better then his gross 9-year-old boy smell!



There will be many more EGCG reviews to come, as this is the first of many, but I literally HAD to run over to tell you all about this AMAZING olive oil soap that Sweet Creek Herbs makes! You will be pleasantly surprised!