cavendish soapworks

[photo courtesy of Cavendish Soapworks]

I'm not the only one that has felt crummy since last summer. Around the same time I visited the Hotze clinic, my sweet Mom had surgery on one foot, then the other, and last month she had shoulder surgery. She and I both recover best with treats - who doesn't? So after her shoulder surgery (more painful than her feet), I sent her a few little things from Cavendish Soapworks:

-Very vanilla lip balm.
-Perfect pumpkin soy candle.
-Honey oatmeal soap.

I must confess that while browsing that Etsy shop, I also purchased a few things for myself. Not the most selfless purchase, I know:

-Brandied pear soy candle.
-Lip balm trio - three flavors of my choice. I selected spiced chai, sweet orange & honey, and very vanilla.

My Mom loved all of her scented items, and I loved mine. In fact, while burning the candle in our living room, Johnny walked in and said, "What's that candle? I like it." Now you know - brandied pear is unisex. Truly, Johnny does not compliment all of my candles. The lip balm is a Godsend for me. A classic symptom of low thyroid is Sahara-dry skin, and boy howdy, I've got parched skin and lips. That justifies my addiction, right?

My hands-down favorite lip balm is by a local honey maker, Wendy Reed. Her orange blossom and honey-hemp lip balms are full of real, local honey, but since I can't eat honey right now, I figure slathering it on my lips is not a good idea. When I read the ingredients of Cavendish lip balm, I knew I hit the jackpot:

Apricot kernel oil, palm kernel oil, coconut oil, beeswax, cocoa butter, castor oil, vitamin E, flavor.

That is very similar to Wendy Reed's formula which is ideal for my dry puckers. I'm not a big fan of artificial flavors, but even so, Cavendish's ingredients are mostly natural. I've tried all three flavors ~ each smell wonderful and moisturize perfectly. If you put a maraschino cherry to my lips and forced me to choose my favorite, I'd have to select sweet orange & honey. But really, all three are great. Oh - and the oval-shaped tube is genius. It seems easier to apply than a typical circle tube, FYI.

Now I've got my eye on buttercreme and coconut lemongrass - maybe in a cute metal tin next time. Yes, Mom, I'll buy more for you - to celebrate no more surgeries this year!