Whole Foods bath & body

Christine recently blogged about her favorite edible items from Whole Foods. At her request, I will share my favorite bath and body products from Whole Foods, and a few other items worthy of mention. I've previously blogged about some of the following products, but I want to share my complete list altogether. Nowadays I find many of these items at Kroger and HEB (which is nice when the budget is lean), but I attribute my findings to Whole Foods, for I found these products at the old store on Shepherd 10 years ago. Here we go:

1. Burt's Bees Orange Essence Facial Cleanser. I have sensitive, dry-to-normal skin, but this product is good for all skin types. It seems to heal my skin and leaves it very soft. The only problem is that at our local Whole Foods, this facial cleanser is so popular it is often missing on the shelf, like last night! When this happens I order directly from Burt's Bees - they practice excellent customer service.

2. Burt's Bees Citrus Facial Scrub. I love good scents, yet another reason why I love bath and body products from Whole Foods. This scrub's scent is from Heaven, including nutmeg and clove. When I used St. Ives Apricot Scrub I could only use it once a week or else it would scrub off my face, but I'm able to use the Citrus Facial Scrub 2-3 times a week. A little goes a long way, so it's also pretty economical.

3. Burt's Bees Tinted Facial Moisturizer. You will see a few more Burt's Bees items on my list. The reason is they are the most truly natural products I've found, containing many ingredients I could find in our kitchen, and the products work flawlessly. But they are also a cruelty-free company, and though I diss PETA, knowing a product is not tested on animals is very important to me, and I'm always expanding my search. I mock PETA because they are completely crazy nutcases. And, their acronym stands for: People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. On what do they base their ethics? Ethics are based on Truth - The Holy Bible - not subjective whims. The Bible does not say we must all be vegetarians. Vegetarianism and Veganism are OK, but not a mandate. However, God does say in the Bible that we must care for animals well which certainly does not include torture (Proverbs 12:10). I think some medical animal testing may be necessary, but with current, phenomenal technology & knowledge, torturing bunnies so women can wear mascara & lipstick is idiotic and sadistic. FYI, I will expound on my Biblical cosmetic-animal testing soapbox if you wish; I wrote a high school research paper devoted to the topic. Also while in high school, I lived in a drill team nightmare and vowed never again to wear clown colors nor foundation on my fragile face. Tinted moisturizer is a perfect solution to my foundation aversion.

4. Burt's Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Creme. I keep a tin of it in my purse, and a tin in my bathroom drawer. It is excellent for extra dry cuticles; good for nails, too.

5. Burt's Bees Honey Lip Balm. Their newest lip balm, and now one of my top 5; I LOVE honey, and I love lip balm.

6. Burt's Bees Lip Shimmers. I'm not a big lipstick fan for two reasons: one, it wears off too quickly. Two, there are some nasty ingredients in lipstick such as unnecessary chemicals, various animal body parts, blood, fats - truly, my lips can tell! Sure, I like a burger, but I don't want it to remain on my lips all day. The Lip Shimmers have natural ingredients, even the pigment, and leave a refreshing minty sensation on my lips. I have the color Raisin; I apply to my lips then add a touch of lip gloss. The Lip Shimmers also leave a slight stain on my lips which I love - I pretend my lips are actually that pretty color. I'm also dying to try Burt's Bees Lipstick in Mulberry when our budget permits. Burt's Bees does not offer mascara yet, so I'm looking for a good, cruelty-free mascara - know of one?

7. Burt's Bees Avocado Butter Pre-Shampoo Treatment. Now that I use a flat iron on my hair frequently, this product is wonderful and keeps my hair healthy.


8. Super Lysine Plus Coldsticks. I'm prone to get cold sores which are never welcome. My Mom told me to apply medicated cream at the first dreaded tingle of a cold sore, and to take L-Lysine supplements. Lo and behold, I found this lip balm at Whole Foods and use it not only as a cold sore prevention, but also as regular lip balm. It has a near-perfect texture, and I prefer the strawberry flavor - reminds me of using Chapstick as a kid.

9. Peppermint oil. Another remedy my Mom shared with me was to drop peppermint oil in my shoes since I never wear socks. It keeps my shoes from stinking to the high Heavens. I've used various brands, but right now I'm using a 0.33 oz. bottle of Aura Cacia peppermint essential oil.


10. Aura Cacia Tranquility Mineral Bath Salt packets. Yet another Aura Cacia product, and the scent, on my sweet Lord the scent: lavender, palmarosa, balsam fir needle, patchouli, and Roman chamomile. It also contains sea salt which is excellent for the skin.

11. Lafe's Natural Hemp Oil Roll-On Deodorant. Hemp - it doesn't get much more Hippie than that! I live in Houston, and during our lovely sauna-summers, I have to use an antiperspirant/deodorant while I'm out and about unless I want to swim in my sweat. But if our weather is nice and cool like today, and/or I'm just working at home, I use Lafe's so I won't smell, and to give my armpits a break from aluminum & other chemicals. Plus, Lafe's is made in Austin, TX - yeehaw!

12. Nature's Gate Rainwater Herbal Henna shampoo & conditioner, and Nature's Gate Chamomile shampoo & conditioner. The henna products have a lovely almond scent and create subtle auburn highlights. The chamomile products smell like comforting baby shampoo and leave subtle blondish highlights.

13. Nature's Gate Fragrance-Free Herbal Moisturizing Lotion. I believe this lotion is intended for body use, but I use it as a facial moisturizer. I hate heavy facial moisturizers and this lotion is perfectly light. The most interesting ingredient is coffee; I don't know what the benefit of coffee is, but it works.

14. Indigo Wild Frankincense & Myrrh Eau de Zum perfume and Zum Rub moisturizer. I adore this Biblical scent, and I receive many compliments. I'd love to have everything Indigo Wild offers in this scent!

15. Olba's inhaler. To be repetitive, I LOVE this product! Allergies plague me from time to time, and I used to be addicted to Vicks nasal spray and inhalers. Olba's inhalers have cured my addiction, and I will never use another inhaler. Olba's is not addictive - I use it every night before bed, when I am sick, and when my allergies flare up. Also, my allergies rarely flare up since I've used this inhaler, I promise.


16. Jason Chamomile Satin Soap (for hands). We keep one by our kitchen sink, and one by our bathroom sink, and it never dries out our hands. A nice, clean scent as well.

17. Traditional Medicinals Female Toner Tea. I love this whole line of herbal teas! This one is particularly beneficial for that special lady time (sorry, guys), but also any other time. My other favorite tea in this line is Organic Ginger which is perfect for various digestive tragedies.

18. Veggie Wash. This is a must-have to wash fruit, vegetables, and salad. I just read on their web site that you can use it to clean cutting boards and counter tops, too! Brilliant.


19. Shoyeido Japanese incense. My favorites are in their Daily Incense line: Kyoto Autumn Leaves and Golden Pavilion which both contain sandalwood and cinnamon. We burn a lot of incense in our home, and this brand is in our top 5. It is fragrant, very light, and ideal for morning.

20. Lifeway Organic Lowfat Kefir. This is basically Super Yogurt, with 10 active & live cultures. One of my favorite healthy snacks is Kefir mixed with various ingredients: Stevia, walnuts, dried cranberries, other dried fruit, and/or Grape Nuts. Kefir is excellent for your digestion system, a great source of calcium, enhances your immune system, helps control high cholesterol, and much, much, more.

I would go on and on, but I'm sure this is all the Granola Fun you can tolerate. Besides, it is time for me to make a run to Whole Foods for more turkey bacon and Kombucha which Christine mentioned on her list. Turkey bacon is currently Johnny's favorite food, and Divine Grape Kombucha is replacing my love of Diet Coke!