Dr Hauschka: Au Natural

Now this isn't exactly design related, but I never said I would stay on track 100% of the time. When I find something I like - I must share!

Reluctantly I strayed away from using Proactiv as my primary skin care regimen. I say reluctant because I really do like what the product has done for my skin, but with the growing concern and hot topic of chemicals and toxins, I knew that Proactive was not on the "green" list nor any where near it. So after trying a few organic face washes out and not being entirely happy, I decided to try Dr. Hauschka's line after hearing great reviews about their products and how natural they truly are. I will say this though, I didn't try them at first because they are a little higher in price and I am kind of a cheap-skate when it comes to paying for beauty products...let's face it, I'd much rather spend my $ on a new home accessory or a new pair of shoes ;)

I have been using the Cleansing Milk face wash for about a month now and am really pleased. You can read all the ingredients, it has a nice mild scent, and it leaves my face feeling fresh. And even though I paid a little more, I am finding that it is lasting a long time. I now may even try out some of their other products. I recently reread the ingredients on my "natural/organic" toner and saw there are parabens in it - the nerve! So I must sadly move on.

You can purchase their products directly from their site (linked above), a local Whole Foods, Beautyhabit.com or a multitude of other stores in your local area will carry them as well.

Oly Studio: Accessories You Say?

Oly Studio is largly known for their high quality uniquely designed furniture. What isn't as widely known is they offer some great accessories for both the home and personal. I love their shagreen clutches and purses. I have the grey clutch myself and it is great for an evening purse that can go with casual or dressy in a cinch. They also come in a mens and womans wallet. So chic!

Korres Skin Care: The Greeks Did it Again

Now that the sun is starting come to out (theoretically in Seattle anyway), it's time to hydrate that skin and give your gams a healthy glow. My husband and I are in to finding natural, chemical free products. We try to forgo the standard chemical laden products as much as we can so I am on the constant hunt for natural products that still deliver results - this is no easy task! We have found that even the ones that claim to be organic truly are not - ugh! Such liars!

At any rate, I came across this brand, Korres, at Whole Foods a while back and have been loving their body butters...and the bonus? You can actually read AND understand all of the ingredients!! I use the body butter as an every day hand lotion since I have pretty dry skin to begin with, and they make my skin feel so soft and delish!!. My favorite scents have been the Yogurt (I keep this one on my desk) and the Guava (I have this in a travel size for my purse). Be sure to read the ingredients on their other products however. Just because one product of a natural product line is free of the "bad stuff", this does not mean that their entire line is free of them. I have learned the hard way and dropped some cash thinking I was getting an organic product. A rule of thumb is: if you don't know what the ingredient is or can't pronounce it, it probably is a chemical of some sort.

You can find Korres at Sephora, Nordstrom and as I mentioned above, Whole Foods.

As a side note, when I brought the Korres lotion home, my husband gave the instant stamp of approval since he is greek to the nth degree and believes that the greeks pretty much invented...well everything ;)