Burt's Bees

It's about time for another post, and it's about time for me to give a shout-out to local heroes, Burt's Bees. Growing up in Raleigh, I was always familar with Burt's Bees because they are based in Durham. My mom knew someone who worked at the factory and we always ended up getting little travel sizes of everything. We got some make-up too. Now you can find Burt's Bees at Target and Wal*Mart, amazing! They were bought by Clorox, and I think some unfortunate crap went down before and after that.

Everyone loves the beeswax lip balm. Its so smooth, smells great, and has the menthol that tricks you into thinking its "working its magic". But I'm in love with the Lip Shimmers. They feel great on your lips and improve your lip's condition at the same time. Unfortunately, most of the shades look horrible on me (and sad to say, probably on other people too). But there are two that I love: Rhubarb and Merlot. Burt's Bees, if you're listening, why not get rid of that ugly white "Champagne" and try something new like a deep coral-red? And really, they're less expensive than buying a tube of lipstick.

But this is news: they just came out with a system of products for acne. If you're interested. I'm skeptical, (as always with acne products), but I signed up to get the free samples mailed to me anyway. We all want to think something natural will work better than the chemicals that irritate your face. They get the salicylic acid from willow tree bark rather than synthetically. Perhaps I will let you know how it worked out in a later post.

P.S. that's Burt.

Target Run

Last Thursday I made a Target run before going to the beach. The results are below.




Neutrogena can be a brand people really love. Also a brand moms really love. I've never really loved their face stuff, but I do love their hand creams and sunscreen. I feel like they really do the job. Dermatologist recommended, Norewegian formula = really tough. I've always loved the regular Hand Cream because it's really thick and in the winter, it really heals dry skin. The problem is it can feel heavy on first application even though it stays on after subsequent washings. I love it, so you can imagine my delight when I discovered this new Fast Absorbing Hand Cream. I don't know how "new" it is, but this is the first time I've seen it. Anyways, it's great! Really light, and on a purely visual level - I love the lighter blue color on the bottle. The smell was the final win over for me. I really liked it, and it feels really summery to me. It's a great addition to my nightstand.






Continuing on my Neutrogena trend, I needed some sunblock for this weekend. I went for Neutrogena's Ultra Sheer Dry Touch Sunblock. I'm really pale so I seriously considered the SPF 85. But I toned it down a bit and played it safe with the 55. The first day with it was fine, but I did get a little red the second day. Which - I think was my fault because I was swimming a lot and didn't reapply as much as I should have. I like the feel of this because it doesn't go on as greasy as most sunscreens - I'm thinking this is the "dry-touch". Also, this has helioplex. I don't know what that means, but it's fun to say.








I needed some new shampoo because I'm running low on the L'Oreal pink Nutri Shine I have. Lindsey, I know you aren't as big of a fan, but I really like it because it makes my hair feel really soft. Then I ran into the new Dove shampoo lines. I'm not familiar with the Go Fresh line because I just like the original or the exfoliating soap lines. I decided to go for the Dove Shine Therapy shampoo because I was in the market for a new Shine shampoo, and they were practically out of this line. That's gotta mean it's popular right?? The only thing that put me off was the brown bottle - it doesn't scream "shine" to me. But they didn't even have the conditioner so I don't even know what I'm missing out on. I really do love the shampoo and the smell. So far it works great. I can't wait to get the conditioner to see the total results.


To end my trip I went with a Burt's Bees Lotion. I needed one, but also I had just been to a friends house, and her house is loaded with Burt's Bees products because her boyfriend used to work for them. Maybe I just wanted in on the Burt's Bees action? I was really just swayed by the new organic part of Target that I'd never seen before. I really love Dr. Bronner's Soaps - the lavender one was on sale in travel-size! But I have a lot of that stuff so I decided to get a full-size Burt's Bees. I went with the Soothingly Sensitive Aloe & Buttermilk Lotion because it smelled good, and I thought it'd be good for the beach. It's a little bit thin as far as I'm concerned - I like lotions that go on a bit more thick, I feel like it's really working if it's more thick. But after using it for a few nights, it's growing on me. The smell is good for bed, and I'm getting used to the consistency.







Something that caught my attention as I was leaving: Softlips. I used to love this stuff in middle school. They were really thin! They smelled good! Hard to resist in 7th grade. I got a dual pack - 1 tube of vanilla, 1 tube of their new rose tint balm. There is a bronze tint as well. I'm usually not a vanilla fan, but it takes me back to middle school when Vanilla Bean was the scent everyone used. It's kind of bland, but nice. I enjoy the rose tint as a summer edition to my lip balms.

Spring Hand Soap

I wash my hands a lot during the day - 3 times just today from the subway commute! Usually I stick with Dial, but I couldn't find the White tea & Pearl kind I wanted for the spring. So I picked up this Burt's Bees Green Tea & Lemongrass soap for the smell and because I like the Burt's Bees products. It reminds me of this old face wash I used to have, so I really love it. The scent stays with me long after I wash with it, and I really like it for this time of year. It makes me feel like I have a backyard even if all I have is an infested raccoon lot next door.