Posted by Pia
on
3 February 2008
Of late, I have been consciously trying to switch most of my household cleaning products over to those made by eco-friendly companies. After several month's effort, I've become so unused to “chemical smell” that on the rare occasion I do use something full of chemicals, I find the harsh aroma harder to endure than I once did. The difference is really notable. And while at one point in the past, I would have assumed that in order to go 'natural' I would have to lower my expectations for the creativity/enjoyability factor, the new line of household products by Seventh Generation says otherwise.
Seventh Generation has updated their line of products; there are seven scents, and they all sound quite tempting: White Flower & Bergamot Citrus, Blue Eucalyptus & Lavender, Lemongrass & Clementine Zest, Lavender Floral & Mint, Emerald Cypress & Fir, Green Mandarin & Leaf, and Ruby Grapefruit & Herb…
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Posted by Pia
on
15 October 2007
In light of the increasing awareness, discussion and even debate about climate change and the environment, I wanted to take a look at some ‘eco-friendly’ scented house products this month. I confess that I have never been a big purchaser of specifically eco-friendly products as I rarely find them as compelling (both on and off the shelf) as I do their non eco-friendly counterparts. That may only be because I am a willing victim of superior marketing budgets, but often I find the fragrances less interesting as well. There are of course many cases in the fragrance industry where ‘all natural’ is also a top of the line item, but they tend to be fairly pricey.
So starting with the basics, like home cleaning items, I thought it would be great to find products that smell fantastic, are eco-friendly and financially viable. Today I will be reviewing a number of items I purchased online from Earth Friendly Products.
Dishmate Grapefruit Dish Washing Liquid ~ First off, let me say one delight of these products was being able to pronounce their contents, and to count the number of ingredients on one hand…
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Posted by Pia
on
15 July 2007
I have been wanting to continue the spring cleaning theme from earlier — unfortunately, we have to clean in the summer too. The Thymes makes cleaning products (and more) in four scents, and I recently got the chance to try the Dishwashing Liquid and All Purpose Cleaning Spray in Apricot Quince (the other fragrances are Mandarin Coriander, Lavender Bergamot and Kumquat Lime). I was in a bit of a rush when I first opened the package and only had time for a quick sniff. My initial response was ‘yum’! I got a whiff of full-on fruity peachy sweet.
The Thymes website describes the scent as “succulent, tender and overflowing with the luscious orchard aroma of ripe apricots, juicy peaches and sweet cassis balanced with the pleasant tartness of quince…” When I returned to the products some days later, I had time to do a more considered test. I had a load of dishes to wash, and decided to do one half using the Thymes product, and the other half using a Palmolive orange scented dishwashing liquid…
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Posted by Pia
on
29 April 2007
Continuing with the spring cleaning theme of my last review (Dawn Botanicals Uplifting Lemongrass and Orange Blossom), today I'm trying another product I found at my local supermarket: Downy Simple Pleasures Fabric Softener, Vanilla & Lavender. I will take this moment to make a public confession. I'm a 'sniffer'. I am one of those people who furtively (although I have seen people not quite so furtive) unscrews the tops, flips open the lids, sniffs at the seals of any scented product before purchasing it. Fragrance is a deal breaker for me (or I would probably not be writing on this blog), but I have to admit, on both these products I was pleasantly surprised.
The Downy Simple Pleasures line is based on a spa concept and all the products do contain essential oils…
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Posted by Pia
on
14 April 2007
In honor of it finally being spring (hooray!), I decided to devote some space to the scented cleaning products that are easily available in the local supermarket. Generally, I have a horror of the scented candle displays in the supermarket aisles, having learned early on that the so-called vanilla candles smelled suspiciously similar to the gardenia candles, which were in turn not much different than the lilac candles, and I checked out entirely when it came to cotton candy scented products. But of late there has been a trend towards ‘botanic essences’ and ‘aromatherapy’ even in cleaning products and my curiosity got the better of me.
So on a breezy sunny early spring day, when my eye was caught by a few products that I had not seen before, I decided to give them a try. Today’s subject: a dishwashing liquid by Dawn, claiming to be scented with lemongrass and orange blossom and to produce an ‘uplifting’ effect. It is part of their Dawn Botanicals line and I purchased the Ultra Concentrated version…
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