A long time friend, Tanya Coraci, contacted me a few weeks ago in regards to a new, organic health and beauty line founded out of Macomb, Michigan by an acquaintance of hers, Katrina Reid. Naturally, I was immediately intrigued as I am a HUGE advocate of women in business, small business ownership, and well, everything Michigan! And with the current, massive movement towards holistic, organic living I jumped on the opportunity presented to try these new products. Tanya graciously packaged up a TON of samples, and here we are today!
Background
As previously stated, Katrina Reid is the creator and owner of Pure and Simple Organics out of Macomb, Michigan. When Katrina's daughter, now 5, was just a little one, she suffered from eczema patches on her sensitive baby skin. After 3 years of watching her suffer with the skin condition, Katrina decided to take matters into her own hands creating her flagship product: Organic Body Butter! The love of a Mother, who has a love for healthy living, is how this company was founded. Honestly, how beautiful is that?!?! Currently, Pure and Simple Organics has a product lines for Baby, Bath & Body, and Face & Beauty with over 20 items to choose from and growing!
Review
I was given a plethora of items by Tanya to try, so please bear with and enjoy!
Peppermint Lip Balm
Upon first look, I was smitten with the pretty pink color and had to try it immediately as I'm totally a lip balm girl! The hydration felt natural, not crazy wet, and it went on really smooth! Within minutes, the cracked areas on my lips felt softer and a little less noticeable! The scent wasn't overwhelming and the taste was neutral which is a total plus since it didn't entice me to lick my lips like a crazy lady! It is also important to know that it did not take a lot to make my lips feel hydrated. A once over was perfect for a few hours!
Body Butter in Honey Almond
The scent was light and smelled really good as it was a great combination of "warm" and "sweet". The butter just really melted into the skin leaving it feel nice and hydrated without that greasy feeling some body butters leave! I generally have really dry skin and this stuff made my hands and elbows soft after the first use! Honestly, this stuff is amazing and a must have in my opinion!
Body Wash in Honey Almond
The scent was similar to the Body Butter; nice, light and oh so perfect. The body wash had a nice lather, not over the top crazy like other brands, and it left the skin feeling clean without over-drying. DO NOT use a pouf with this stuff though! I crocheted myself a pouf a day or so before I received these goodies and thought I could kill two birds on this one. Nope, epic fail. The body wash doesn't lather up as well and it takes like 5x more than what is really needed. So, using a pouf is a total waste! I had much better luck lathering up the old fashioned way: my two hands! This is also a great way to govern how much of the product you really need to use so you can cut back on waste.
Smoothing Shampoo & Conditioner
If anyone has ever lived with me they know that I am proof that 'Squatches do in fact exist. My hair is stick straight, long, and super thick to boot. For women with this type of hair, it is hard to find an organic shampoo and conditioner that you don't have to use a half bottle at a time to cleanse and condition. I was pleasantly surprised that this shampoo took roughly the same amount as "drug store" brands (for me that is about a half dollar size dollop). The shampoo had a nice lather, light scent, and rinsed cleanly. The conditioner on the other hand took a little more to fully saturate my unruly locks! So, the next shower I took another approach to see if I could stretch the amount of product I had. Amazingly, it totally worked! I shampooed my whole head with focus on the roots and shafts. When going back through with the conditioner, I focused more on the shafts and ends and just ran my hands over the roots at the end. I then let the conditioner set as I went on to cleaning my face and then finally rinsed! It worked really well and my hair felt great afterwards. Bonus, I could easily comb it out AND my hair had a little bit more "life" to it!
Side note: If anyone has ever lived with me they can testify that I am proof that 'Squatches do in fact exist. I shed like a beast and once a month I am certain my husband wants to kill me when he has to pull small animal-like wookies from the drain. On my last day of use, I did notice that the obscene amount of hair loss was a little less than normal. Unfortunately, I didn't have anymore to test this finding further but it is something I am going to be contacting Katrina about to get her input!
Face Wash
I have one word for this stuff.....AMAZING! After cleansing, my face felt refreshed, not tight, and totally clean. There was no filmy residue left over like some other brands leave. It really, really, really felt good and I cannot express that enough. With continual usage, I was able to clear up some break outs and clear up some sores from my "popping and picking" habit. In fact, I actually went to the grocery store the other day and I only brushed on some loose powder before I left. Pretty sure it has been YEARS since my skin has given me that much confidence! In love!
Fun fact: I have used my souffle cup sample twice a day for a few weeks and I am still not out. pretty sure I may still have another couple of weeks left in it! As with many of these products, the reoccurring theme is "A little goes a LOOOONG way!"
Anti - Aging Serum
I am new to the anti-aging market of products so this was a fun one to try. I applied this serum at bedtime and it went on really smooth. After application. my face never felt greasy or oily and it gave great hydration. Fortunately for me, I haven't developed many fine lines so it was hard to tell if this actually had any sort of impact on those! As a moisturizing agent, it worked wonderfully for me. This is also another product that doesn't require a lot to get the job done!
Coffee & Cocoa Face Scrub
Have you ever found a product that you just want to fill a bathtub with, submerge yourself, and drink wine straight out of the bottle with multitudes of candles lit?!?! Well, if you haven't I have and this is my dream product! As a huge coffee and chocolate lover, the smell of this was right up my alley. When using, the aroma is totally invigorating which gave me a great start to my morning! The grounds were very fine so the skin didn't get beat up during the exfoliation process. After rinsing, I did notice that my skin felt a little "filmy" for lack of a better word. I followed up exfoliation with the face wash and my skin felt perfect! Use the two products back to back once a week and you'll thank Katrina later! Also, this product falls into the category of a little goes a long way!
Deodorant
When I opened my little cup, the smell was so delicate and powdery it made me feel all girly and smiley. After my shower, I applied the product directly to my underarms and it soaked in nicely. The lingering smell was not overwhelming, but very pleasant and the product left my skin feeling soft. However, if you are of the 'Squatch variety like myself, this product is not for you. After a few hours, my personal brand of "stank" was raging in all its righteous glory. My husband even made a comment about something smelling ripe around me (he thought it was the Monster) and I had to inform him that sadly enough, it was me. I was hoping that continual usage would improve effectiveness but, this was not the case. After three days usage, I HAD to go back to my clinical strength, aluminum laden, antiperspirant stench stopper!
UPDATE: It is confirmed that this does work well for normal, not overly sweaty people! I had my bestie try this out and she said it worked perfectly for her!
Stretch Mark Cream
This is another product I was totally impressed with. I applied the cream every night before bed so it could really soak in and after a week of use, I could visibly see a difference in my "Monster Marks". For me, this is something of a miracle. My child was over 9lbs coming out and I gained over 50lbs with her. At this point in life, I have essentially given up on having any sort of decent looking tummy ever again! However, being able to see the marks fading was impressive and such a wonderful uplifting experience. For any woman that has stretch marks, I would look into this stuff! This was one of those products I was sad about when I used my last application!
Headache Stick
Over the last few weeks, my husband has been out of town training. This has left me alone to finish my last semester of college, run a business, maintain a blog, train a puppy, not allow the Monster to die, not lose any of the cats, and essentially to not let the house burn down or blow up! Needless to say, tension headaches have been a daily occurrence in my life. The headache stick has a nice minty scent that isn't overwhelmingly powerful like Vick's or similar products. It easily rubs into the skin, just like all of the other cream products mentioned, and doesn't leave a greasy feeling afterwards. Using alone didn't take my headaches fully away, but it the smell did relax me enough to let go of some of the stress. On some of the "bad" days, before I went to bed I applied this to my neck, shoulders, and tip of nose to help relax and soothe the stress away and to help my slightly stuffy nose while I slept. Last but not least, it doesn't take a ton during application!
If you would like to know more about Pure and Simple Organics, Tanya Coraci is happy to help! She can give you any and all information concerning products, ingredient lists, sales and specials, hosting a party, or even becoming a part of the team (remember new company here!). You can contact her through her Facebook page or send her an email at mailto:[email protected]. As always, please feel free to leave comments or questions and I hope you enjoyed this review as much as I!
Photos courtesy of Pure and Simple Organics website (intro photo) and myself (gallery photos).
At no time, nor will I ever, be paid by a company to give my opinion!