Juice Organics - Brightening Shampoo & Conditioner

I was feeling a little 'green' and decided to try out some organic hair care products. I have fine blonde hair, so, as you can imagine, there's not a lot of life to my hair (no natural body). But if taken care of, it can have shine, which is good. And with the right products, it can even have a little more volume, which I really like to get when I can.

So, organic shampoo and conditioner... how does it stand up? Let's start by saying that Juice Organics Brightening Shampoo and Conditioner doesn't promise anything but brightening. And I did see that. It gave it that summer sun kissed glow, which was nice. But it did nothing for volume, which I can't complain too much about - it did say it did anything for that.

The thing was, it almost seemed like it weighed it down more. It felt flatter than what other products leave it like. Not sure if that was due to one of it's ingredients in it, or the lack of something found in other. Didn't like that too much. The conditioner didn't do too well as a detangler, either. I don't have super long hair, but I do need detangling in my products.

Bottom Line... I won't buy it again. It's not bad, it just doesn't give me everything I want. I guess I've become spoiled with what so many of the other products can d out there, so no I expect that out of whatever I buy. And it I don;t get that, I'm not happy.

King Arthur Flour Gluten-Free Brownie Mix

This was another Gluten-Free mix I was asked to try. I'll save you all the background - you can check out my cookie mix blog entry if you want to see all that. I'm just going to get down to it.

After trying the cookie mix last week, I wasn't naive about gluten-free products and knew a little bit more what to expect out of King Arthur Flour Gluten-Free Brownie Mix. Of course, brownie batter is already pretty sticky... but aside from that, all the other items of interest from the cookie blog applied... sticky, grainy texture, still a yummy batter, and didn't rise like 'normal' brownies. Actually, I take that back... they rose, but then fell again. The final product still looked like a regular brownie, though.

And the taste... these really tasted like normal brownies, through and through. So much that others that tried them never knew the difference. I was impressed! I'm even almost sold on buying these again, 'just because' sometime.

So final verdict on these... winners! Again, something the whole family can enjoy if you have a member of the family that needs to eat gluten-free. These didn't last as long as the cookies, so I can't comment on the storage of them... but for the short time they were stored, they were great!

Biore Blemish Fighting Ice Cleanser

When it comes to cleansers, you really never can be sure what you're going to get until you use it. Sometimes they dry your face, sometime they feel like they do nothing, sometimes you can really feel a deep clean.

The Biore Blemish Fighting Ice Cleanser is the later of them... hence the name.

I've always thought Biore was a great brand... it always seemed to work well, so I expected nothing less when I tried this. It was a good time of the month to try it, too - my normal cleanser wasn't cutting it lately. So it was as good of a time as any to try it out.

It feels just like it says. At first, it didn't seem like anything - I was afraid I'd be disappointed. But then the 'ice' hit and it felt so refreshing! And when I rinsed, it felt even better, leaving that cool feeling behind. And after the two washed I had as a sample, it even helped!

So I might be buying this sometime soon, just to have as back-up. It's nice to find something that you can buy off the shelf at Target and not have to go to a beauty county in a department store for great results!

King Arthur Flour Gluten-Free Cookie Mix

This was an interesting trial for me.  Occasionally, I get to try kitchen products or foods.  So I was intrigued when I got the request the try King Arthur Flour Gluten-Free Cookie Mix.

First off, I can have gluten products, so this product is not necessary for me.  But that also gave me a way to truly compare it to 'the real thing' I would normally make.  I've never (knowingly) had a gluten free bakery product.

So to start, this is just a base.  You can add nuts, chocolate chips, dried fruit, or whatever to it.  I added some chocolate chips and dried cranberries for a little something different.  for those who've never tried a gluten free mix, the powder base you work with is typically a rice flour or tapioca powder or a mix of the two.  As anyone whose been in the kitchen can tell you, those two items can become very sticky.  Which, in turn, makes this a very sticky batter when mixing.  Didn't think much of it until I tried to spoon out the cookies... they didn't want to leave the scoop (and I have one of those snazzy cookie scoops)!

Of course I tried the batter... I know... you're not supposed to.  But I can never help myself.  This is when I noticed the next big difference... a much grainier/gritty consistency.  But the taste wasn't far off from your typical batter.

They cooked up pretty well, though they obviously don't rise like some cookies can.  But when they came out, if no one told me from looking at them, I never would've known they were gluten-free!

Now the real test... how do they taste?  I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised.  They definitely weren't the same as your flour based cookie, but they had a very similar flavor.  And that grainy texture could still be felt, but that may only be because I knew it was there before.

One thing I will note is they didn't store well as long as normal cookies.  I guess the tapioca/rice dries out faster?  Not sure.  But you may not have them around toolong, anyway.

Final verdict?  If you have a family member that can't have gluten, this is a great substitute that the whole family can still enjoy.  I, myself, don't see buying these 'just because' in the future... but that's probably more because I like making them from scratch.  Or just going to the dairy section of the grocery store if time doesn't allow for scratch.  But all in all, this is a product I could get behind.

Infusium 23

This is a product that goes way back - been around for awhile.  I remember trying it back in high school/college.  They recently revamped it.  Or at least that's what they're telling us.

My biggest qualm with it way-back-when was the consistency... like water.  It was hard to actually keep on your hair and I felt like I wasted more down the drain than I got on my hair.  Might have just been my perception.  So my big hope for the 'revamped' Infusium 23 was the consistency was a little thicker.
I tried the Infusium 23 Moisture Replenishment Leave-In Treatment.  Well, much to my disappointment, the consistency was not any thicker.  Well, not much, anyway... not enough to get excited about.  There was still a lot of dripping.  But I brushed it in the bet I could and avoided too much mess.

Now, I only had one use.  I can't say I saw much difference in my hair after one use.  Maybe a full bottle/multiple uses over a period of time would give great results.  But this... considering there are products out there that you CAN see results after one use, I'd go for them, instead.

On the plus side for Infusium 23, they have shampoos and conditioners now that compliment their leave-ins, and that might help the ultimate results, as well.  I didn't have those to try with my leave-in, so I can't comment on them.  But from this single sample of leave-in only, I'll stick with some of my other leave-ins.

Burt's Bees Radiance Day Lotion

You may find I post a lot of facial lotions on here.  It's because I'm determined to find one I'm in love with.  I've found eye creams, night lotions, lip treatments, etc. that I think are great and I love them, and I've even found day lotions that I like... but I haven't found 'the one' that I can't live without.

Enter Burt's Bees Radiance Day Lotion.  I know there are a lot of Burt's Bees lovers out there.  I do like some of their products, too, but I'm not totally convinced about the overall brand.  So when I got this sample to try, I once again tried to open my mind about it and the brand as a whole.

First off, it's SPF 15.  Good, but not great in the realm of facial sunscreen.  Unfortunately, like most lotions that have sun protection, it goes on like sunscreen (I've found very few that don't act like a sunscreen when applied), which I hate.  It feels greasy and takes forever to absorb.  But it does smell nice.  But the greasy/stickiness just stayed around on my skin too long.  It didn't feel  like it absorbed until I put my foundation powder on... which I makes me assume it was my powder that did the absorbing, at that point.  No telling, I guess.

So the search for 'the one' lotion will continue because his definitely is not it.  It didn't feel as if it really did anything extraordinary for my skin and, in fact, I think it even irritated it the first day I used it (the sample was big enough for more than one day's trial).  So a "no-go" on this for me.

Pangea Organics Facial Cream

I have really been back and forth on this one, and I'm still kind of on the fence.  But I have enough thoughts on it to make a post... maybe this'll even help me out, one way or another.

What's in the name says it all... "Organic".  And I think that's the only thing that has kept me wishy-washy about this product.  Because it's organic, it smells organic, which isn't always a smell one can deal with in the morning.  It has a list on organic ingredients that do great things for skin, from grape leaves to ginger and peppermint.  All those mixed together give it its own unique scent, which some days I kind of like, others I just grin and bear it.

But I can't argue the fact on how it works - it is a great moisturizer and I can see and feel a different when I use it.  So in that respect, it's a great facial cream.  Though it doesn't always absorb easily, which I found odd.  Sometime, it seemed to have that 'sunscreen effect' where it just leaves while streaks across your skin instead of absorbing.  But if I kept rubbing it in, it'd get there.

Unfortunately, I can really set a bottom line on Pangea Organics Facial Cream.  I like it, but I don't.  Luckily, this was one of the products I got in a Birchbox, so it's a premium size sample, and I still have more to try.  Which I will continue to do until it's gone.  Pangea Organics has a full line of products, and I hope to try some more out to get a feel for the brand.  

I guess if I had to set a bottom line, it'd be that unless you're dead set on organic products, there are other moisturizers out there.  But if you want organic products, this could be a good product for you.  I know... not much of a one way or another type decision.  But I think you get the drift.

Garnier Moisture Rescue Refreshing Gel

I'm never sure about any kind of gel moisturizer.  In my past experience, I've just never liked them.  But I tried to go into this product with an open mind.

Well, despite my trying to be positive, I didn't like it.  The gel part, to begin with, felt sticky going on, and it seems to take awhile soak in/dry.  It did smell good, though, so that's a positive.  But after getting past the 'gel' part of it,I pushed on through the rest of the day to see if the 24-hour moisture was really there.  I applied the rest of my make-up, as usual, in order to truly test it in 'real' conditions.

My skin is not very dry to begin with, luckily.  It can get dry in the winter, but we're not there yet.  So I was a little disappointed when my skin seems a little dry and tight about halfway through the day.  It felt more like a dried gel then it did a moisturizer.

I can see where this might be better for someone who has slightly more oily skin (or maybe my skin is drier than I thought).  But for me at this point in my skin's life, it's a no-go.  I'll stick with my lotions.