I am always looking for a good face wash, and when I received a nice-sized 1.7oz sample of Simple Refreshing Facial Wash Gel in the mail, of course I gave it a try!
First, The Ingredients:
Ingredients: Water, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Propylene Glycol, Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose, Panthenol, Disodium EDTA, Sodium Hydroxymethylglycinate.
Cocamidopropyl Betaine is a synthetic (man-made) surfactant (foam-booster). It can cause allergies in some people.
Propylene Glycol is a petro-chemical used a skin-conditioning agent. It doesn't pose much risk, but many people are against it because it is a petrochemical and could possibly contribute to carcinogens.
Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose is a harmless synthetic polymer that is often used in eye drops. It prevents evaporation, which is what keeps this face wash at a gel-like consistency.
Panthenol is synthetic Vitamin B5, which is used as a moisturizer and lubricating compound.
Disodium EDTA is an agent that binds and removes free radicals and impurities. It is also used as a formula stabilizer. There is a lot of complicated chemistry behind this one!
Sodium Hydroxymethylglycinate is a preservative that is often found in "natural" cosmetics. It is a problem because it is known to often be contaminated with formaldehyde, and is also a known skin-irritant.
So........ WOW! For a brand that is supposed to be "Simple", they sure pack a lot of chemicals into their products! It is a little disturbing for a company that claims to be an expert in sensitive skin to have all these things that are known to cause skin reactions! Kind of scary... and it pays to do your research!!
I found all of my information from ewg.com, or the Environmental Working Group. Many of these ingredients have been contentious in healthy product debates, so I urge you to look them up yourself if you're unsure. I tend to be a little more lenient with products that are getting washed off my skin immediately and therefore don't have the chance to soak in.
How it Works:
I actually like this face wash, believe it or not. The ingredients might be a little dubious, but it does do a good job. The product is a gel that is clear and feels very silky when you put it on. It does not foam, but lathers only a tiny bit. I find that I have to make sure to scrub it into my nose really good to get all the make up to wash off. Sometimes (but not always) I need to use a separate eye make-up remover to get all of my mascara and eyeliner off.
What I like about this face wash is that it leaves my skin feeling clean and fresh without any kind of a weird tingle or "tight" feeling. It also does not dry out my face, which is a huge issue for me as most face washes leave me having to put on a ton of moisturizer afterward. This one, very "simply", does what it is supposed to do.
So I'll leave you to make up your own mind. I might buy this product again if it is on sale, but it probably won't be my main one, as I am still trying to move to more real organic products for my skin.
What is your favorite face wash? What do you like most about it? Please leave me your comments and questions! I love to read them, and I'll be happy to comment you or your blog back! :)
Until next time,
J
*Disclaimer: I ordered this sample from CVS.com. Simple did not contact me or request a review of this product.
This has been a very long and stressful week back at my day job, and I am so glad that it's now a three-day weekend! All I want to do is sit around, eat some good food, and read or watch TV! And what is TV time without a good snack to go with it?
When I got the opportunity to try and review Bare Fruit Cinnamon Apple Chips, I jumped on it. I had never tried these before, but I can honestly say they are now one of my favorite snacks. My husband loves them, too. As soon as we got the bag, we both tried them and couldn't stop eating them! How could these possibly be good for us?
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| My bag of Apple Chips! |
But they are! Right out of Washington state, Bare Fruit Apple Chips are 100% Organic and gluten-free with only two ingredients: Apples and Cinnamon. Plus, a 20 gram serving only has 58 calories!
These apples are specially bake-dried so that they have the consistency of potato chips, and they are just as satisfying without being bad for you! They are delicious as a snack or as a dessert because they are so naturally sweet and delicious. The Cinnamon Apple Chips have the perfect blend of sweet and tart crispness.
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| Bowl of snacks! |
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| Close up! |
You can buy Bare Fruit Apple Chips online at Bare Fruit's Website, or on Amazon.com or Alice.com. Locally, they can be found at Costco, Walmart, TJMaxx, Marshall's, and Whole Foods.
At around $7.50 for a 14oz bag, they seem pricey, but when you consider that there are 30 apples in every bag, it's not bad at all! Apples in my city are currently around $1.49 or more a pound, and 30 apples would cost me approximately $20.00 or more!
You can also "Like" Bare Fruit's Facebook Page for coupons and giveaways! :)
I highly recommend you try these chips if you have a chance! I will definitely be buying some more!
What are your favorite TV time snacks? Would you try these Bare Fruit chips? I look forward to hearing your thoughts!! :)
Thanks for reading!
J
***Disclaimer: Product was provided in exchange for my honest review.
As I've mentioned before, the switch to natural and organic products does not come overnight. I loathe to throw away some of my most treasured items, but others I don't feel so bad. I am starting to go through my collection of products and throw away the ones that are almost gone and have dangerous ingredients and chemicals in them. The following are the items I decided to throw away this week:
1). Generic Eye Shadow from a random Christmas stocking gift a few years ago.
These probably came from the dollar store or some place really cheap, and they have no brand whatsoever. Not that I'm knocking the dollar store, but it's not the best place to buy makeup. I have used these a couple of times, and they are terrible. They smear all over my face and last maybe 1 hour at most. Considering their ingredients aren't listed, who knows what horrors they contain! :)
Why This Topic?
One fact I learned through my research on natural products is that commercial deodorants and antiperspirants have aluminum as their main ingredient, because of its antiperspirant properties. There is much debate out there concerning this ingredient, because it has been stated that it could be linked to breast cancer and Alzheimer's disease. However, many companies and government entities have stated that there is no proven link between aluminum zirconium/aluminum chlorohydrate and health problems.
Even though the danger of aluminum has not been proven, there are still plenty of other chemicals in commercial antiperspirants and deodorants that are not good for us: parabens, propylene glycol, TEA, DEA, tricolsan, artificial colors, and talc.
First... The Lotion Conundrum:
Body lotion... there are so many to choose from! So how do we know which ones are actually good and which are slowly leaking chemical poisons into your body? Wait... lotion has poison in it? I didn't know this before either, but last year, I read a book called No More Dirty Looks, and I learned a ton about what was in my favorite lotions.
I used to be a HUGE Bath and Body Works and Victoria's Secret fan. It was so easy to become addicted to B and B Works because every time you go in there, there is some kind of a sale and incentives for you to come back. In addition, they have great smelling products! However, I find it disconcerting that I can't find an ingredients list ANYWHERE on their website. They tell you the fragrance notes, and feel-good ingredients like shea butter or jojoba, but nowhere can you find a complete list. If they were truly proud of their products, the entire list of ingredients should be in plain sight, such as with Burt's Bees or Tom's of Maine. What Bath and Body Works doesn't want you to know is that they put harsh chemicals such as formaldehyde and parabens in all of their products. Some people are willing to dismiss these and other toxic chemicals as being safe in the small amounts that are in lotions.
However, stop and think for a minute. Where does lotion go? ALL over your body, and it stays there, and absorbs, on a daily basis. I don't know about you, but when I decided to switch to more natural products, lotion was my first choice since most everything else (like shampoo, body wash, etc.) would at least get rinsed off.
(Continued...)
