EcoMom Approved Products Review and $15 Giveaway

EcoMom is one of my favorite stores online. They sell an assortment of wonderful natural, organic, and healthy products that they have compiled and tested themselves to help parents make easy, practical and affordable healthy choices for their families. They partner with charities like Healthy Child Healthy World and team up with EcoMom experts in various fields of expertise to share their information for a healthier, more balanced, and sustainable planet and lifestyle for us all. Within their website they have a icon coded system to help you quickly evaluate which products work for your own family.

I was sent samples sizes of these EcoMom Approved Products for free from EcoMom to try out and review: Pangea Organics Japanese Matcha Tea with Acai & Goji Berry Facial Mask, SmartyPants Gummy Vitamins, SKINKiND Microfine Face Scrub for Men, SKINKiND Travel Size Essential Moisture for Men.

I tried out the Pangea Organics Japanese Matcha Tea with Acai & Goji Berry Facial Mask myself and enjoyed it regardless of the fact that I resembled the Creature from the Black Lagoon when I had it on! As you can tell from my facial the product isn't the most attractive color. It is kind of a muddy green and has a gritty texture that spreads on pretty thin and unevenly too, but I believe the good outweighs the bad for this product. My gritty mud monster face becomes radiant and smooth after washing it off. It doesn't seem to irritate my skin or leave my skin too dry. It also helps exfoliate because of the grit and instructions to rub it in circular motions with wet fingers before washing completely off. When taking it off be sure to use a warm to semi hot water on a washcloth that isn't white (this seems to stain and the granules like to stick in the cloth). It also has a very pleasant herbal, minty smell that rejuvenates my skin and perks me up when using it. I just think that it is more like a scrub than a mask. For the price of about $40 for a tube of 4 fluid ounces the price might be a bit steep for some, but the list of certified organic: essential oils, extracts and other ingredients in the Pangea Organics Japanese Matcha Tea with Acai & Goji Berry Facial Mask are extensive (nothing artificial or synthetic in there) and worth every penny. So in a nutshell, to me, this is a heavenly nutrient-rich, all-natural, nature-derived feast for your face.

My kids got to try the SmartyPants Gummy Vitamins. They are an all-in-one multivitamin with eco-friendly non-tuna sourced DHA Omega 3's, Vitamin D, Choline & 12 other key nutrients. They are also gluten and casein free, have no high fructose corn syrup, and only have 5g of Organic cane sugar per serving (that is 80% LESS sugar than in a glass of unsweetened apple juice). I only had a small sample pack of 4 gummies and supposedly all 4 gummies in a daily supply. I am not sure why they couldn't have made just one gummy with all the vitamins instead of having to take 4 although the bottle of 120 then only will last 30 days. I like that they are made with natural flavors and colors from natural sources. Flavors include: lemon, orange, and cherry. These are great vitamins for kids that like gummies and don't like their veggies or fish. They don't taste fishy at all, are chewable, and my kids enjoyed them. They wished we had more. A bottle of 120 that lasts 30 days is about $19.95. Every time you buy a bottle of SmartyPants, they donate to Vitamin Angels so that 2 children most in need recieve a years worth of vital nutrients.

My husband got to try the SKINKiND Microfine Face Scrub for Men and the SKINKiND Travel Size Essential Moisture for Men. The SKINKiND Microfine Face Scrub for Men goes on before a shave and exfoliates the face to battle ingrown hairs and dead skin. I kinda wish they had this product or one similar for when I shave my legs too! This has Aloe Vera gel to cool the skin, natural Bamboo powder to exfoliate, Organic Blood Orange and Vitamin E to provide antioxidant protection to new skin that is unveiled, Cedarwood to tone and decrease acne, and Organic Cinnamon Leaf to bring oily skin back to normal. My husband commented that it has a slight fruity or citrus smell, but nothing overpowering. He said it was easy to apply but to him it felt very abrasive...like sandpaper. He didn't think that it was very pleasant on his face and thought that it wasn't microfine like they had called it. I tried a little on my face and I really didn't think that it was all that bad. He did notice that after his shave with his razor that his face felt pretty smooth and the face scrub did clean the pores and buff away the dead skin. A 100ml/3.4flOZ container of it costs about $29.00 at EcoMom. The SKINKiND Travel Size Essential Moisture for Men goes on after a shave to help moisturize, rejuvenate, and help with post shave irritation. Again this product would be wonderful for the woman after leg shaving. This has Organic Rosehip, Avocado and Jojoba oils to revive the skin; Sandalwood, Fragonia and Lavender as an anti-inflammatory and oil normalizer; Bergamot to control blemishes; and Vitamins A & E. My husband said this product smelled pleasant and has a slight fruity or citrus smell, but nothing overpowering. It was easy to apply and left his face softer than right after his shave. It didn't leave his face sticky or oily and he thought that his face liked the stuff better than the face scrub. A 1.7flOZ bottle of it costs about $18.00 at EcoMom.




WIN IT:
Sarah from EcoMom has generously offered $15 for anything in their store for one of my readers to win.

Mandatory:
1. Go to the EcoMom webpage and tell me by commenting on this post what your favorite item in their store is besides the ones I mentioned above.

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11. Comment on one of my regular (not giveaway) posts. (1 extra entry per post you comment on)

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13. Tweet this: @finamoon: @ecomom #WIN EcoMom $15 Gift Card #giveaway http://bit.ly/q1D8Ym (Daily Extras are Available)

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Make sure you leave me your email in all posts so that I can contact you. Don't forget to leave a comment for each task and the correct amount of entries for each task. This contest ends on Friday September 16, 2011 at midnight (GMT-08:00) Pacific Time (US & Canada). This Giveaway is open to all 18 years and over in the U.S. Only!!

DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: Thanks to EcoMom for providing me this promotion information, free product, and giveaway free for my readers. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for doing this review and giveaway.

Skin Free Review and Giveaway

Skin Free is a company that boasts that their skin care products: are all natural, have vegan ingredients, no perfumes, no petroleum products, no harmful chemicals, no steroids, no colorants, no greasy feeling, no animal testing, and are cruelty free. Their products are recommended for individuals with: extreme dry skin, skin or fragrance allergies, psoriasis, dermatitis, and / or eczema.

I love exfoliating scrubs and body butters so I picked their Skin Renewal System to test and review. It includes their Sweet & Smooth Sugar Scrub and their Whipped Tamanu Body Butter.

I tried the Sweet & Smooth Sugar Scrub first which was placed in a clear plastic bag for shipment. I was happy that this was done because it had leaked oil out of the container and into the bag instead of all over the box it came in. I decided to store it in the refrigerator because it looked like the contents were melting and separating. Once I decided to try it out it was a hot day and even though there was still an extra step to mix it together that it doesn't have in the directions it felt really good on my face. The chilled mix of sugar, olive oil, sweet almond oil, glycerin, and Sodium Hydroxymethylglycinate (a preservative that is used in small quantities and so shouldn't irritate your skin) was invigorating. It polished my skin deep down smoothing away any imperfections and dull, dry skin. Besides the face it can be used on the rest of the body, especially the hands for an instant manicure and rough areas of the elbows or feet.

The Tamanu Body Butter has distilled spring water, shea butter, tamanu oil, olive oil, sweet almond oil, emulsifying wax, stearic acid (a waxy solid made from vegetable fats and oils), essential oils of grapefruit and geranium, and Sodium Hydroxymethylglycinate (a preservative that is used in small quantities and so shouldn't irritate your skin). It smells very distinctly of the geranium essential oil. So, if you don't like flowery smells or are allergic just take that into account. My son, Jaedan, is apparently allergic because when my husband and I tried the body butter he started sneezing nonstop until he left the room where we were. Regardless of that little setback my husband and I really liked the Tamanu Body Butter although maybe they could have had two varieties of Tamanu Body Butter...one with the geranium and one without. Tamanu is a plant that Polynesians prize for its healing and protective properties. The oil is used by them for everything from minor abrasions to severe sunburn and major skin infections. Tamanu oil has a unique fatty acid called calophyllic acid that stimulates cell growth. It also contains calophyllolide which has antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. The Tamanu Body Butter felt very nice going on my skin and rubbed in well. It made my skin extra soft and it felt as though it was smoothing out my laugh lines on my face.

I felt as though I was at a spa having a relaxing treatment done when using these products!

Skin Free is having a Buy One Get One (BOGO) free promotion with select Walgreens and CVS stores! Buy product at select Walgreens or CVS & Skin Free will send you a free product.

Win it! Julie at Skin Free is giving one lucky reader a $30 gift certificate for products at Skin Free.

Mandatory:
1. Go to the Skin Free website and tell me what products you would like to get with your gift certificate if you win.

Additional entries:
1. Subscribe to my blog by email and let me know. (2 extra entries)

2. Become my fan on Facebook. (1 extra entry)

3. Blog about this giveaway on your blog and provide me with the link. Make sure you have the link to this post and Skin Free in your blog entry or it won't count. (2 extra entries)

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5. Technorati my blog and let me know your link. (1 extra entry)

6. Follow me on twitter and retweet this: @finamoon: @skinfree WIN: Skin Free Skin Care $30 Gift Certificate http://bit.ly/DsVR4
(Daily Extras are Available)

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9. Become a Skin Free follower on Twitter. (1 extra entry)

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Make sure you leave me your email in all posts so that I can contact you. If you subscribed by email, blogged about this or faved me on Momfaves leave 2 entries saying you did. This contest ends on Friday September 4, 2009 at midnight (GMT-08:00) Pacific Time (US & Canada). This Giveaway is open to U.S. AND Canada only!!