

Most of the time, those little sidebar ads on Google and Facebook are useless to me, and I find them easy to ignore. Once in while, however, something that actually does relate to my interests will show up, and I might even click though to the suggested website. Greenheart Shop was one of those recent clicks for me. I spent a few minutes browsing the website for this Chicago-based “eco-fair trade non-profit shop,” and ended up ordering two scented body products by an “artisan” brand called Anti-Body.
All the products offered by Anti-Body (“anti-poverty, beautiful body”) feature fairly traded ingredients, paraben-free formulas, minimal packaging, and fragrances blended exclusively from essential oils. I opted for the Petal line. (Other scents include Lavender, Lemongrass, and Patchouli Eucalpytus.) Anti-Body’s Petal fragrance is a mix of geranium and ylang ylang, two notes that are often acquired tastes: geranium is sharp and greenish, almost more of a vegetal note than a floral note, and the oil of the ylang ylang flower can smell rubbery and a bit animalic. I can’t think of any other body products that pair these two distinctive essences, but I’ve been enjoying the combination…
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Posted by Robin
on
3 May 2011
Still shopping for Mother’s Day? Check out part 1 and part 2 if you missed them.

From Penhaligon’s, a silver-plated solid perfume compact in the Bluebell fragrance…
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Posted by Robin
on
19 April 2011
Mother’s Day is Sunday, May 8. Get shopping!

From Jo Malone, the limited edition David Hicks collection: a candle in Lime Basil & Mandarin (above left), Pomegranate Noir (right) or Red Roses (not shown). $65 each, 200 gr…
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Posted by Jessica
on
27 February 2011

Mayron’s Goods’ line of body products caught my eye immediately with its packaging: the bold lettering, bright red borders, and 1950s-style illustration of a delivery man and his van are upbeat and distinctive. Although most of Mayron’s Goods’ nature-based lotions and potions were created with babies in mind, these labels are refreshingly free of ducks, peapods, or naked infants clad in flower petals; moreover, the products themselves are suitable for anyone who needs gentle, lightly scented skincare or just prefers to use products without ingredients such as synthetic fragrance, parabens, sodium lauryl sulfate, or DEA (diethanolamine).
In the final weeks of this long winter, I’m finding Mayron’s Goods’ Tangerine Massage & Body Oil especially soothing and effective on my dry, rough arms and legs. It includes an assortment of botanical oils for moisture and it sinks quickly into the skin; even more importantly, it has a tangerine-mandarin fragrance that feels like orange juice for the soul. Chapstuff for Cheeks and Lips, my other favorite from the line, is a balm blended from cocoa butter, beeswax, soybean oil, and other natural ingredients. It smells like oranges and milk chocolate…
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Posted by Jessica
on
16 January 2011

Velvet & Sweet Pea’s Purrfumery is the creation of Laurie Stern, a perfumer who blends her artisanal fragrances from carefully selected botanical ingredients. I first heard about this small company from Trish at Scent Hive, who recently shared some trial-sized amounts of Velvet & Sweet Pea’s Face & Body Frostings with me. Fancy body creams are everywhere these days, and it takes a little something extra to impress me, so I’m glad Trish put these products right into my hands. They definitely need to be felt and smelled to be appreciated fully.
Velvet & Sweet Pea’s Face & Body Frostings in Orange Blossom and Kashmir Rose are both concocted from a base of organic jojoba oil (infused with Tahitian vanilla beans), organic shea butter, virgin coconut oil, and organic oils of marula, avocado, red raspberry seed, rose hip seed, sesame, safflower, and vitamin E. Orange Blossom Whipped Face & Body Frosting is fragranced with neroli essential oil and blood orange oil. Its scent opens with a clean, bright neroli note, one of the nicest I’ve smelled in a body product in ages, and it turns more citrusy as the product warms on skin…
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