Home Spa 100% Natural Shower Spray Review & Giveaway [CLOSED]

The Home Spa Shower Spray is a 100% natural aromatherapy fragrance product from the makers of Thermal-Aid.  I was interested in reviewing these products because I am a firm believer in aromatherapy and I was intrigued by the "home spa" idea.

These sprays are a unique idea and I really enjoyed using them.  I received one of each of the four scents: Lavender, Eucalyptus, Pink Grapefruit, and Tangerine.  The way they work is you spray as many spritzes as you want directly onto the shower stream as the water is running, and the scent disperses and fills your shower.  I liked that there were two calming scents and two energizing ones, so you can tailor them to morning or night showers.

My favorite scent was the Pink Grapefruit.  All of them worked quite well, though, and it was hard to choose a favorite.  I was actually surprised at the strength of the Lavender and Eucalyptus sprays; I assumed that they would be on the lighter side but they gave off quite a good amount of scent.  None of these were overbearing, though.  It's hard to relay scent and scent strength via a blog post, but I'll say that these sprays are strong enough to be noticeable, but are just enough scent to make you feel comfortable.  Since they're sprayed into running water the scent doesn't last extremely long, for me I could notice the scent for 2-3 minutes longer after spraying.  But you can continue to spray into the water stream as many times as you'd like.

Bottom Line: I thoroughly enjoyed using the Home Spa Shower Sprays.  I like that they're made from 100% natural therapeutic oils, and they give off a nice scent that surrounds you with a relaxing spa feeling!

• Learn more about Home Spa Shower Spray at their website
• Connect with them on Facebook

If these sprays sound like something you'd like to try, you can enter to win a bottle in the scent of your choice below (five winners total)!  Enter using the Rafflecopter form after the "read more."

December PopSugar Must Have Review

Back in July when the PopSugar Must Have Bag launched, I was approached by the company to highlight their subscription service.  I turned it down at first because they weren't offering any sort of discount, and I wanted to see how the first few bags were before subscribing (since it's a bit more expensive at $35 a month).  It didn't pique my interest until October's bag, which I think has been their best one to date.  I was hoping to sign up to receive November's, but it had already sold out so my first shipment would be December's box.  I had high hopes, but this box didn't impress me.

Like I said, October and November were so good, so I was hoping that December would follow suit.  The box was a good value if you solely consider the retail prices of what was included, but as a whole I felt that the products were pretty lame.

Before I get to the products, I want to talk about how infuriatingly slow their shipping is!  The shipping is free (well, it's included in the $35), so I don't expect it to get to me super fast, but it shouldn't have taken as long as it did, either.  While I was waiting for my box I noticed some message board posts where people were saying that it seemed like their boxes sat in Sacramento for days before making any movement.  Mine did as well, and it made me wonder if PopSugar sends out the shipping notices when the labels print, not when they actually ship.  In total, it took the box 11 days to get to me in New York.

So after that wait, I was really hoping I would love this box.  I did peek at some spoilers, and I found the items to be not so great (listed below clockwise from top left).

• Bodum Bistro Mugs - A two-pack of double-walled glass mugs that can hold hot or cold beverages.  They retail for around $30 and they are nice, but it's not something I would want or buy otherwise so I was indifferent to them.
• Go Swype - This little wipe is to clean off tech devices, and I'll use it primarily for my laptop and phone screen.  They're only good for about two weeks, though, which is lame; but I'm sure I'll be using it for longer than that.
• Jaboneria Marianella Soap - I do like soaps, so this item was probably my favorite.  The scent I received was "Dama de la Noche," with apple, lemon, and Dama de la Noche bloom.  It's a pretty scent overall.
• Pinch Provisions Minimergency Kit - I read/watched some other reviews where people were pretty excited about this item, but it was another one that I could take or leave.  I was hoping to at least get a fun color like purple or green, but I got taupe.  Again, it's something I'll use, but not something that I really wanted (it contains little emergency items like floss, band aids, etc.).
• Tea Forte Sampler - So many teas.  I am so tired of getting teas in subscription boxes.
• Bogdon's Peppermint Poles - These are yummy and I liked them.
• Rent the Runway $30 gift code - I'll never use this.  I would post the coupon for someone else to use, but it says you have to be a Must Have subscriber to use it.

Bottom Line: This box did nothing to make me want to continue as a subscriber and I cancelled shortly after receiving it.  PopSugar Must Have is a good idea in theory, but for me it's too much to spend each month on items I may or may not use.

December Conscious Box Review

Last month was a little bit rough as far as shipping and some other things for Conscious Box, but they more than made up for it with the December box!  I know that some new members were discouraged by the difficulties they encountered in November, but if you're one of them and you're reading this I encourage you to give Conscious Box another chance.

But anyway, I was really happy with my classic box.  I was going to cancel last month, but I decided not to because I really do love this service and I wanted to stay on for one more month for two reasons: 1. December is my birthday month, and 2. I received my first box last December, so it would mean I'd have been with CB for a whole year.

This box had a lot more variety than the past few, which made me very happy.  Here's what was inside:

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• Truebar - A gluten-, GMO-, and dairy-free bar.  The flavor I received was "Coconut Cashew."  I don't love coconut or cashews, but I'll probably eat this as a breakfast on-the-go.
• NuturMe Sweet Bananas - This is an organic baby food powder.  I don't have any kids but I know people who do, so I will pass this on to someone who can use it.
• 7th Heaven Naturals White Thai Mud Mask - I love doing masks and this one was really nice!  I used it last night and it was perfect for my oily skin, though I'm not sure if it would be too tough on sensitive skin.  It had a nice, light scent and my skin felt tingly and refreshed after.

• Eden Allure Argan Oil - This is the tiny little bottle to the right of the playful wash packet.  I haven't used it yet but I like using argan oil on my hair, so this was a good item to receive.
• Avalon Organics Lip Balm in Soothing Vanilla Rosemary - I'm a lip balm lover and welcome any additions to my collection.  I probably have way more than any one person needs, but at least I know I'll never run out!  I haven't used lip balms from this company, but I have used other products of theirs and I enjoyed them.
• Episencial Playful Wash - I love the packaging on this because it has Eric Carle's Very Hungry Caterpillar.  This is a pediatrician-recommended wash for babies with sensitive skin.  Again, no babies for me, but it doesn't mean I can't use this for myself!
• Lemi Shine Original - This is a cleaner you add to your dishwasher to get out hard water stains on glass and such.  I'll use it eventually, but I'm not in a rush to try it.
• eBoost - I really hate eBoost.  I just don't like the way they taste and I think they're kind of lame.

• 18 Rabbits Gracious Granola - Yum, I love 18 Rabbits granola!  All of their products are delicious and I'm sure I'm going to love this one.
• St. Claire's Organics Ginger Pastilles - I still haven't tried these yet, but I'm planning on eating one or two if I ever get a stomach ache because ginger is great for that.

• Divine Milk Chocolate with Spiced Cookies - This bar was amazing!  I couldn't wait to eat it and it was as delicious as I hoped it would be.  On the inside of the wrapper there's information about the fair-trade farmers from Ghana that produce the chocolate, which was actually a really interesting read.  I'm definitely going to buy more Divine bars in the future.
• Weleda Pomegranate Firming Eye Cream - I don't go through eye creams quickly (who really does, though?) because a little goes a long way, so I'm not going to open this just yet.  I haven't tried any Weleda products but I've heard good things.
• Beanfields Crispylicious! Bean & Rice Chips - These were another yummy snack.  They were nice and crunchy and had a good pepper flavor.  I really enjoyed them and I'm going to look for them in the store next time I'm grocery shopping.

I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do for next month.  I really love Conscious Box, I can't say it enough, but part of me wants to cancel my subscription for a few months just because I've had it for so long, and I feel like I've seen everything that they have to offer.  It's all very good, but part of me wants to use the $20 a month to try other services, and then maybe come back to CB at a later time.  As of right now I'm undecided, so maybe there will be a January unboxing, maybe not!  If you'd like to view my video for this box, check it out below (and please subscribe!):



Bottom Line: After a few so-so boxes, Conscious Box was great for December.  I liked the variety of items and was overall happy to find that most of them were things I would use.

December Daily Dose of Green Review

After reviewing Daily Dose of Green's subscription service in November, I loved the box so much that I signed up to be a full member.  They have a wait list, but I was sent the information to join shortly after putting my name in.  I filled out my profile survey and anxiously awaited my first box; I was even more excited to get this one because I was curious to see what kind of items they would include for me based on that survey.

The box definitely didn't disappoint!  There were eight items total, nine if you include the bonus gift wrap set. I prefer lifestyle boxes because I like getting a variety of items, and this definitely had a lot of variety inside.  Here's what I got:

• Earth's Beauty Lip Glaze in Wild Rose - This lip glaze is a really pretty red, a deep red/maroon.  It's good for a "night" look and I'll definitely use it during the holidays.
• Be Natural Organics Daily Botanical Enzyme Peel - I tried this peel for the first time today and I really liked it.  It's in liquid form and you just apply a few drops to a cotton ball and then pat it onto the skin and leave it there until dry.  It felt tingly at first, but I liked it because I could tell it was working.  What it does is it dissolves the glue-like substances that hold onto dead skin cells so that they can be washed away.
• Nardos Natural Lip Balm in Peppermint - I love lip balms a ton so I can never have too many.  This one is USDA organic and feels really smooth, and peppermint is also one of my favorite flavors.
• Bee All Natural Organic Intense Hand & Foot Salve - This is also in peppermint, and also a product I think I'll really enjoy.  Any kind of natural moisturizer, especially for the feet, gets a thumbs-up from me.
• Farmboy Flapjacks Whole Grain Almond Spice Cookie Mix - I'm so excited to bake these!  Almond Spice sounds absolutely delicious and the bag is a big 12 oz., so I'll definitely get a few good batches out of it.
• Go Naturally Organic Hard Candy - These are super yummy, I'm eating a Pomegranate one right now.  I like hard candies in the winter because the dry air can really make my throat scratchy.  These are handmade and gluten-free as well.
• Daddy Van's All Natural Furniture Polish - This item isn't on my informational card, but it's a Beeswax & Lavender polish for fine wood.  I don't have a use for it now, but once I have my own place I'm sure I'll find a use for it.
• Pet Naturals of Vermont Smelly Cat Treats - These also weren't on my card, but I'm so glad they were in my box!  I was hoping I'd receive them after seeing them on the Daily Dose of Green site, and my cat really loved them, so much so that I'll probably purchase full-sized bags in the future.
• Gift Wrap Set - At first I thought there was something wrapped inside of this, but it was extra tissue paper and a gold ribbon.  It was just a cute extra item, and I already used it to wrap up part of my boyfriend's Christmas present!

If you'd rather watch the unboxing, check out my video below.

Bottom Line: For only $15 (shipping included), I'm very impressed with this box.  I think it's a lot of fun and they included some great items for me this month.  I'm really looking forward to what future months bring!

View more photos after the cut.

December Conscious Box Giveaway [CLOSED]

This December will mark my one-year anniversary of receiving Conscious Box, one of my favorite subscription services!  My first box was actually one I received from them to review, but after trying that box I quickly subscribed and received my first "official" box in January.

Last year's December box

Conscious Box has offered a December box for one of my readers to win, and I'm so excited to give you all the chance to fall in love with their service the way I have!  CB costs $19.95 a month and you can sign up for a regular or vegan-only subscription, and they send 8-10 eco-friendly items straight to your door.

Enter using the Rafflecopter form below.  This sweepstakes is open to US residents aged 18+ only. It begins on 9 December 2012 and ends at 12:00 AM EST on 17 December 2012. One winner will be chosen by random by this Rafflecopter widget and will be notified by email. The winner will have 48 hours to respond, or a new winner will be chosen. All entries will be verified. Conscious Box is responsible for shipping the prize to the winner.

a Rafflecopter giveaway