LUSH Bubble Gum Lip Scrub

LUSH Bubble Gum Lip Scrub is so awesome. Not only does it smell great, but it tastes great too. It's a bubble gum pink sugar scrub infused with moisturizing oils that helps to buff dry skin from your lips to keep them soft and lush. The Bubble Gum scent smells just like their seasonal Snow Fairy scent, and it's great in a scrub. The formula works without being too harsh or abrasive, and you don't need water to rinse the scrub away, you can literally lick it from your lips! This scrub works very well, and doesn't leave a greasy film on your lips afterward. It leaves your lips feeling smoother and is great to use before applying lip balm and lipstick. You can get a container of this great scrub at LUSHusa.com for $8.95!

Review: DM Designs Jewelry by Doron Merav

A few months ago I found this wonderful jeweler on Etsy, that creates gorgeous silver and gold jewelry in a variety of gorgeous textures and styles. Doron Merav, has been creating jewelry for most of his life. He resides in Israel, and has been working with metals and creating jewelry since he was a young boy. His styles are modern and gorgeous, using different shapes and styles to create pieces that are more like wearable art! He creates pretty rings, necklaces, and even makes custom designs that are both beautiful and make great gifts as well. Doron was nice enough to custom create a gorgeous necklace for my mother! He created a sterling silver pendant engraved with my name and my sister's naem, along with our birthstones. The Hands in the Sand Pendant is truly a wonderfully made piece of jewelry. The silver has some weight to it, and this is far from a filmsy or cheap piece. Doron's work is very high quality, and each piece is made with a lot of patience and time. He can make the pendant in gold, silver, or gold plated. He can add one or two names of your choice, and he can even add small birthstones next to each name. So unique and one of a kind!

Each piece of jewelry comes in a sweet wooden gift box! I really love the packaging, because it's sustainable and is very eco-friendly, as you can re-use the box, and there isn't any plastic or both packaging to throw away. The box is perfect for gift-giving also. My mom really loved the necklace, and people asked about it also, because of the unique look of the piece. The pendant is meant to look like hands in sand, and it's such a lovely piece.

Doron is very talented at creating jewelry, and his prices are fantastic also. I've seen a lot of gold plated and silver plated jewelry and even brass jewelry online go for very high prices, even from certain high-end brands, and it confuses me why anyone would want to spend so much money on costume jewelry when they could buy a piece of quality jewelry that is handmade. I would rather spend money on a piece that can be cherished for a long time to come.

Here are a few other pieces from Dorono that I really like:

14K Gold Horse Pendant - $190

Parched Earth Sterling and Zircon Ring - $120

Light Beam Gold and Turquoise Earrings - $100

Silver Acorn Sterling Silver and Tahitian Pearl Pendant - $110

Soar Sterling Silver Stud Earrings - $85

Personalized Stamped Pendant - $100

Doron is also a sculptor and knows a lot about shapes and architecture, so a lot of his designs fuse both beauty and nature with modern shapes and prints. You can check out Doron's Etsy shop DM Designs to see his full collection: http://www.etsy.com/shop/doronmerav

Dune Jewelry

I love all things beach and ocean and sand. I recently saw this gorgeous line of keepsake jewelry from Dune Jewelry, that allows you to have a piece of jewelry custom made with sand from the beach of your choice! You can send in your own sand from your favorite beach, or choose from a list of beaches that they already have sand from. Awesome idea for a couple that gets married on a beach, and wants to use some of the sand from that way and turn it into a wearable memory to cherish. They offer a variety of different designs, as well as different necklaces, bracelets, earrings and rings. I got a gorgeous Sandglobe Necklace filled with sand from one of the best surf spots in the US...North Shore, Oahu Hawaii! The sand is protected by a glass-like finish that creates a dome over the sand. The sand shows on both sides, and is surounded by a band of sterling silver. It's so pretty!

The jewelry comes in a recycled cardboard gift box, and it comes with a little card inside that tells you where the sand came from (in case you purchase the item as a gift for someone!). The necklace is even nicer than I was expecting! It's such a lovely piece, and can be worn dressed up or down. It's very well made, I can't wait to wear it to the beach! An awesome gift for a surfer, swimmer, or just anyone who loves the beach. A wonderful wedding keepsake, or bridesmaid gift too! This necklace only cost $52, which is a great deal for sterling silver and custom chosen sand of my choice! If you already have sand from your local beach, or a vacation, they will gladly take the sand after you send it to them and create your custom piece. If you don't have sand, or you'd like a piece made from sand from a beach you don't have access to, check out their beach list! They have a lot of beaches from all over the world already in their supply.

I also like these earrings that they have:

This Sandbar necklace comes on a leather cord and could be unisex!

You can check out the entire line of wonderful custom sand jewelry at DuneJewelry.com, they offer great customer service and fast shipping as well!

LUSH Dirty Toothy Tabs Solid Toothpaste

I love that more companies are creating sustainable packaging for their products, so in turn, a lot of companies are utilizing solid products like shampoo, conditioner, perfume, and other bath and body items. LUSH has brought a lot of fun solid products to the market, including their awesome solid shampoos, but most recently they also created solid toothpaste! Their line of solid toothpastes are called Toothy Tabs, and they come in a variety of flavors/scents. The tabs come in a recycled cardboard pull-out box, that is small enough to fit in your purse or suitcase. You simply take one tabs crush it between your teeth, then wet your toothbrush, and start scrubbing your teeth. Scrubbing creates a toothpaste lather that cleans your teeth and freshens your breath.

I tried the LUSH Dirty Toothy Tabs, they are round a white and about the size of an Altoid mint. The tabs have a minty Spearmint flavor and scent. They also have baking soda and neroli oil to help whiten and cleanse your teeth and mouth. I love that these tabs are perfect for travel! Perfect to put in your suitcase when traveling, and it won't spill or get messy by squishing out of the tube. These rock! They are a lot different than regular toothpaste, they don't create as much lather, and they aren't as strongly minty...however, that doesn't mean it's a bad thing! A lot of lather does not mean a lot of clean, lather is from foaming agents, not from a good cleansing. Also, most toothpastes have harsh chemicals added to give it that type of cleaning power, sometimes being too abrasive for teeth. I like the more natural ingredients in these tabs! These are awesome for every day use, but I definitely plan on grabbing some more of these next time I travel! You can get a 0.03 oz box of toothy tabs for $3.95 at LUSHusa.com or your local LUSH retail shop.

LUSH Fresh Farmacy Face Cleanser

I adore the fresh handmade cosmetics from LUSH. Their soaps and cleansers are awesome. One of my favorite facial cleansers from their line of bath and body products is LUSH Fresh Farmacy. This soap is great for sensitive skin! I have some facial redness, and this soap is chock full of calamine, which helps calm and sooth skin. It's also mild enough for all skin types, and it doesn't leave my face dried out like other facial soaps can. The soap comes wrapped in LUSH packaging, and the soap itself can be used as a bar soap that you rub between your hands to create a lather, or it can be cut up into smaller pieces that you can use for facial cleansing.

I like to use this soap with a Clarisonic face brush! The formula creates a nice lather on the brush, and it produces a nice amount of foam as well. This soap also has chamomile in it, which is known for it's calming effect. It contains various oils, including lavender. The soap has a light scent that is appealing, and the soap it itself is a light pink color. The cleanser does contain SLS, for those who steer clear of products with that additive. I do really like this cleanser, because it works well on my skin, and it's gentle enough for every day use. You can find LUSH Fresh Farmacy Facial Cleanser at LUSHusa.com - if you're not in the USA, check out LUSH.com!