Elabloom Nourishing Facial Oil - Review and Giveaway!

Since I just used my last drop of my vial of Elabloom Facial Oil (time to re-order!!), it's about time I got this post out to you!

If you've been living under a rock, like I have, you may not know that the new "it" things in skin care are "nourishing beauty oils" (been by a Sephora lately?)

Guess who's already mastered this art? Elabloom!

Looking for something to finish your skincare routine? I've found it! I received a great gift from a family friend for Christmas - a bottle of Elabloom Nourishing Facial Oil!

I have tried an oil facial routine before, and have heard a lot about actually cleansing your skin with oil, but this is different. To be honest I was a little afraid of applying oil to my face and leaving it there. But this really absorbs quickly and my makeup goes on great - right on top (I use Bare Minerals). I'll be honest, I totally used this product BEFORE doing my research. But now that I am looking at all the great stuff. I have been using it for a month now, and can attest that it is great for winter weather and plane rides, as well as the low humidity of the West Coast! My face has stayed hydrated and looks refreshed!

AND I thought my bottle was empty, so I didn't pack it for our recent weeklong trip East. Boy, did I see a re-emergence of fine lines! I am grateful for the last dropperful, and hoping I can stretch it until I can reorder. Also, Elabloom makes a BODY oil... I am thinking some postpartum areas would really like to drink that up... :)


Elabloom is 12 essential oils - and that's it. Jojoba and Argan are becoming pretty mainstream so you may already know their benefits, but other more exotic oils in their blend include Avocado (I dig the fruit, but didn't realize it had beauty properties, too), Camellia seed oil (aka. Tea Tree oil, used by geishas - improves complexion!), Boabab (moisturizes and promotes skin elasticity), Sea buckthorn oil (which heals scarring and cares for prematurely aging skin), among many others!!

I also love the concept of the 'bloom date' on each bottle. They make batches fresh to order, which are best used within one year.


What do I do about SPF? I asked the gals at Elabloom what they recommended. They suggesting using your favorite sunscreen right on top, but the Nourishing Facial oil closest to your skin. I admit, I have been skipping this step during these winter months, but the sun came out last week, so I put my 'old' spf 30 moisturizer right on top (after I applied the oil, and brushed my teeth while it soaked in before applying the SPF). Then makeup as usual. The combo didn't feel too heavy or greasy at all.

How long will my bottle last using 2x's a day? The 0.5 oz bottle I have should last 6-8 weeks, given my 2x/day (the recommended) application schedule. The 1 oz bottle usually lasts 8-12 weeks (confused by the math? They say the find that women who have the bigger bottle tend to use more!).

You can bet I will be throwing my bottle in my hospital bag, too!

-----GIVEAWAY!!-----

The fabulous ladies at Elabloom are going to give one of YOU a bottle of your very own!

For an entry into the giveaway, leave a comment here telling us what intrigues you most about Elabloom. Or, if you've already tried it, tell us what you LOVE about it!!

Follow along on our Facebook page for more ways to enter this week!!

Amalou Skin Care Review

AmalouSkin.com

I am still deciding if I enjoy my subscription to Bluum yet (but that's another post). BUT a couple months ago I fell in love with two samples I received from Amalou Skin. When they ran out, and I went back to my regular cleanser it didn't hold a candle to how the Amalou made my skin feel. So I had to order my own full-size versions of their REVEAL and PRIME products.

The Amalou line is the first full service line safe for caring for maternity acne. I can't say that I have/had acne, but I can vouch that it is making my maternity skin feel great - and the folks at Amalou have assured me that I can keep using using the products after Baby Sister arrives. This is also a great choice if you have sensitive skin.

REVEAL is a lightly textured creamy cleanser. By 'lightly' I mean there were a few beads in the smaller-than-a-dime size dollup I used. And the first time I used it, I thought, really? Is this going to do anything. But somehow it does!

PRIME is a 'tonic' to be used after the cleansing step. It is not your typical astringent step, and is described as leaving more of an herbal layer behind to 'balance' your skin. I admit, my 'before' routine was a cleanser and then a thick night cream. I never actually followed the 'tonic' step of a skincare regimen very well. In this line, though, this step isn't stinging. And after a swipe of a cotton ball, there was never any dirt leftover, so I know my skin was really clean (for once).

Amalou also offers GLOW and RESTORE, their moisturizing and night time treatment options. I've not tried these yet, but still loved the effects of the first two steps combined with my thick night cream or SPF day moisturizer.

Two slight negatives I will point out:

Price - Amalou is not your drugstore skincare line. It is a little more pricey. But if you are like me, you are probably already spending a decent amount (or willing to) because really good skin is worth it.

Shipping -  At the time I ordered, the only shipping option was via UPS, and it seemed pretty expensive to be so slow. my order took a week to arrive and cost ~$15 to ship, and the items aren't bulky. When I asked Amalou about this, they said that though they'd had issues with them before, they were working to add a USPS shipping option soon. I checked back at the time of this post, and there is now a USPS option for $11 to my address.

To help with both of these, Amalous does offer promotions from time to time, so if you are interested keep following them on Facebook!

** GIVEAWAY!!**

AmalouSkin will send one lucky reader their REVEAL and PRIME products!!
Leave a comment here about what you look for in a skincare routine! And of course, keep following on the JBabyThoughts Facebook page for other ways to gain entires!! Ends 1/18/13

* Congratulations Kristina V.!!!**

*Disclaimer - I was not compensated for this review, nor was I provided with any product samples for my personal use. These are my honest opinions. AmalouSkin is providing their product to the winner of this giveaway.*

Reusable Squeeze Pouch Review!!

The cute Squooshi packaging
(and my anxious toddler's hands!)

My 2 year old loves puree pouches. We use them sparingly for a few reasons, though. 1 - they seem to make him 'go', 2 - they are a lot of packaging waste for a quick shot of snack. To solve problem #2 I started looking around for some reusable pouch options and came across two: The Sili Squeeze (with Eeeze model) and Squooshi!

I decided to try them both at the same time, and do a head-to-head comparison:

The two items arrived on my doorstep just a day apart from each other, the Sili first. My son seemed to know what to do with it (since the nipple is very bottle like) but lit up when I told him that we would put 'applesauce' in it (his term for all flavor combos of purees... and sometimes even yogurt). I had perused the websites of both companies, and was excited to see that Squooshi had a blog that, though new, had several recipes (upon further research, I see that Sili's website has some recipes, too). So the next morning, I grabbed the un-carved pumpkin from our front porch from Halloween and blended it with apples and spinach to make our first toddler puree, filled our 'citrus'-colored Sili and we headed to the playground, with the toddler begging to eat the applesauce along the way.

As soon as we set foot on the playground he inhaled the pumpkin puree. He did need some help getting the last bit out of the pouch, but he often does with even the disposable models. The rubber on this is very pliable and allows you to get almost everything out. I was quite pleased with our first experiment. My husband did point out that the orange color we got + the green-hued filling made the pouch appear brown, which was a slight turnoff (light-colored fillings we've tried don't seem to have this issue). I read online further that we could also put the next day's oatmeal in the pouch, since we were getting up early for an hour drive to spend the day with Thomas the Train. I hadn't thought of oatmeal in a pouch!

Squooshi smoothie for breakfast!

When we got home, our Squooshi package was on the front porch! I admit, the packaging is rather nice to receive (to keep in mind for gift-giving) with a modern white box, and a little linen drawstring bag inside that holds the pouches and caps. My son instantly recognized what the pouches were and wanted to hold them. He was giddy with the cute animal designs, too. The package contained 4 pouches, 2- 4.5 oz pouches and 2-3.5 oz pouches, with 4 total different animal designs (lion, bird, panda, and walrus). I got to work again on a fruit-yogurt combo from the Squooshi recipe card that came with the pouches, and put them in the freezer.

Sili at the playground!

We forgot to pack a frozen smoothie or oatmeal for our trip the next day (I was especially sad, given the county-fair-like food options at our train event - this would have provided a much better option), but we did have some for an after-nap snack when we got home! I found the Squooshi's easy to give a quick scrub with the bottle brush, but there were a few more nooks and crannies in the Sili, so we wanted to run it through the dishwasher (which is allowed). Drying the Squooshi was a bit tougher, but I wedged the green cap in the zip-lock-like opening to allow some airflow, and later put some freshly washed ones on the dishwasher tines as the other dishes were drying. If you keep a bottle drying rack on your counter, this would be another convenient place to dry these. All options worked just fine.

Every day this week, I packed a frozen banana-strawberry-orange-Greek yogurt - kids' echinacea smoothie  in M's lunch - replacing his usual yogurt!

- Ease to Fill: at first I was frustrated with spooning smoothies into both models, until I realized I could just pour our concoctions right from the blending cup. The threads on the Squooshi tend to catch a little more, but its not a deal-breaker - just wipe before you zip it up.

squooshi smoothie as a snack at the kids' museum!

- Ease to Wash: The Sili Squeeze can go in the dishwasher after disassembling, but the Squooshi is an easy rinse and once-over with a soapy bottle brush. We do a pretty even mix of both for our regular dishes, so neither is more or less convenient. You do have to reassemble the Sili before using it again (much like a baby bottle- put the collar on the pouch before filling!! I did find that out the hard way!), whereas the Squooshi is ready to go.

- Fit and function in little hands: M needed zero help and zero instructions to break into the Squooshi. This may be a drawback if you rely on your kid having to wait for your permission before starting in on a squeeze pouch (we know the imminent dangers), but in our case, we find this a positive. On the other hand, the M tried to take off and put on the cap of the Sili and had an explosion in the car one day. It does take some firm pressure to snap the cap on, and to a toddler this can also mean getting a grip on the base while you do so... and spilling the contents.

- Price: One 4oz Sili is $7.99. A 4-pack of 4.5 oz. Squooshis are $19.99. For the price, you certainly get more of the Squooshi's. However, the Sili's certainly seem a little more substantial (not sure if that also means they will last longer?). I've only been test-driving for a little over a week, so I can't say how long I think the Squooshi's will hold up (Our Panda seems to currently be missing already... and I hope that since it looks so much like the store-bought versions, that it didn't get tossed in the trash at school?).

- Sizes: The Squooshi comes in 3.5 and 4.5 oz sizes. The Sili comes in 4 oz and 6 oz sizes. For our two-year-old, the 4 and 4.5 oz sizes seem to be perfect. We may enjoy the 3.5 oz more when Baby Sister arrives? Or the 6oz for older kids or grownups?

a look at the inside of the Squooshi (from the bottom)

- Durability with Toddler & Likelihood to Explode/Leak: the toddler was more than happy to help me test here - and I didn't even have to ask! He squeezed the Squooshi while I filled another and promptly dropped it on the floor, and later anxiously massaged it in the car waiting for the green light to eat it. He twirled the Sili by the string that held the cap to the bottle... and then promptly flung it by accident. Everything stayed in tact. Nothing leaded.  No leaks or holes.

- Options:  Squooshi's work with the Boon Spoon, in the same way store-bought squeezes do. In fact, they will soon be releasing their own version. The Squooshis currently come in 4 cute animal designs - two for each size. The Sili offers two nipple types for their pouches - one with a star "no spill" tip, and one "with eeze" tip which is more like the store versions, and easier for kids to figure out. The newly redesigned cap keeps either from leaking into the cap. Both sizes of the Sili come in 4 colors: Red, Orange, Blue, and Green.

I am excited to soon test out some other more grown up ideas for squeeze pouch fillings including mashed potato-veggie and sweet potato combos and oatmeal!!

** note: Squooshi supplied their product for our family at no cost, but requested honest feedback on our experience. Keep an eye out on Facebook for a giveaway where you can get a set for free, too! **

*** giveaway is now closed ***