April Eco-Emi and Lots of Goodies!

Lots of goodies this month from Eco-Emi!  I'm really enjoying being introduced to so many different products with an eco-consciousness.  From cosmetics to skin care to food and household items - such a nice range and the quality has been really good so far.

April's box contained 6 beauty items and 5 food items plus assorted promotional cards (with discount codes) describing all the times.  Also included was a really informative "Pacyderm Paper" describing the efforts of project Maximus to convert elephant dung into stationary and paper items so that elephant and man have a greater chance of living in peace together in Sri Lanka.  The thought behind this if that if elephants are viewed as revenue generating, then farmers will not kill them when the elephants interfere with agriculture, the main industry there.  The pink paper with the elephant on it is an example of the stationary produced, it's actually quite pretty.

Now for the beauty products!  Shea Radiance Whipped Shea Butter with Kalahari Melon Seed Oil has a really cool texture.  I think it had melted a bit during shipping but it still had bubbles in it.  I was able to pour it from the jar into my hand but it has since solidified a bit and is now like a frothy mousse.  It applies so smoothly and does sink into skin almost immediately.  The fragrance is not anything I can identify - slightly nutty and pleasant.   This is a fair trade product and uses shea butter produced by women in West Africa, with 10% of profits going back to their co-ops.

Also included was a 3.5 gram container of golden bronzer from Lauren Brooke Cosmetiques.  This may actually be one of her foundations, but it will work as a bronzer on my skin tone.   These are natural and organic and she includes some interesting ingredients such as raspberry, neem and olive extracts.   A regular sized foundation (13 grams) sales for $30 so this sample is an $8 value. 

Next up is alabu Baby Me Goat Milk Soap for sensitive skin.  This soap is made with pasteurized goat milk, olive oil, cocoa butter and other natural oils and is supposed to provide special hydrating ability to help restore a youthful look to dehydrated skin.  Sounds like it will be a good facial soap!

Continuing the trend of soothing sensitive skin is Wildly Natural Seaweed Soothing Body Wash in Eucalyptus & Peppermint Scent from The Seaweed Bath Co.  This company was founded by a sufferer of psoriasis who, after much personal trial and error and research, discovered that seaweed is a natural remedy for skin conditions like psoriasis and eczema.  This body wash contains bladderwrack seaweed and Kukui and Neem oils.  Looking forward to trying this.

I also got a Burt's Bees Lip Shimmer in Plum.  I've been a fan of Burt's Bees for eons, having discovered them when I went to school at UNC-Chapel Hill.  Lots of gift shops in the area carried Burt's Bees long before it hit the national scene in a big way since the company headquarters are located in Durham. 

Also included was a natural toothpaste in Vanilla Mint with Goji Berry by Dr. Collins (not pictured).  I haven't had much success with the few natural toothpastes I've tried, but this I like!  My teeth feel super clean and the taste is quite pleasant.  This has lots of cool ingredients such as CoQ10, Aloe Vera, Teat Tree Oil, Magnolia Bark, and contains no preservatives, artificial ingredients, fluoride, or sodium lauryl sulfates.  I will be getting a larger tube of this.

The food items were a fair trade organic raw honey, a packet of Yerba Mate tea, a delicious sample of Enchanting Chai Bites of Bliss Spiced Chocolate Bark, Enchanting Chai Gourmet Finishing Sugar, and Enchanting Chai Catalyst Gormet Enhancer.  The spice mixes made the box smell delightful!  Most of the items came with 15-20% discount codes.

I'm loving Eco-Emi!