Honest Essentials Bundle Review // One Year Later

Hopefully it isn't any secret that I love all things eco. (though I don't post about it enough!) I made the decision in college to switch over a lot of my products and habits to be greener and cleaner, and I have rarely regretted any of it! There are still things I am working on, and I am not 100% good at anything. I'm human! I just do my best, and I always strive to do better. :)

You guys DEFINITELY know that I am typically very very busy. We are usually out of the house or entertaining at least three nights a week, we work "full time", and travel frequently. This often leaves me cleaning in a flash, or not having time to run to the health food store for eco cleaners, and not always having time to make my own cleaners, etc. This is one reason I LOVE the Honest bundle.

I am not being sponsored by them, though how cool would that be?! - but seriously, I share my REAL opinions with you guys, always. 

Anyhow, we started our bundle in June of 2015, and after more than a year of bundling, I have a lot to share with you guys. So read on if you are interested!

What is it?

We do the Honest Essentials Bundle (they also have wellness, and baby related bundles). With the essentials bundle you can choose 5 items monthly (mixing and matching), pick when it ships (we do every 6 weeks), and it gets delivered to your door. The cost for this bundle is $35.95 per month (plus shipping), and you can cancel at anytime.

What Can You Choose?

With the essentials bundle you can choose from personal care (shampoo, soap, tampons, bug spray...), cleaning items (detergents, dish towels, dryer sheets, cleaners...), kiddo related (diapers, wipes, creams...), and other "add ons". (Add ons are items that don't fit into your 5 items, but can be added on as an extra item - where you can save up to 25% on each.)

Pros & Cons

Pros: 

• It's really easy. 
• Mixing and matching is convenient and quick.
• You can choose how frequently you want to get your bundles.
• You get an email when it's time to update, you can swap your items easily, and you don't have to think of it again. 
• You know that the company holds itself to a high eco-standard and makes safe and healthy products.
• We have really loved almost every product that we have tried in over a year! That's pretty impressive considering how many different things we have ordered! :) 
• HUGE selection of products that are included in your 5 items. Even huger if you consider the add on items.
• Many products are offered in multiple (natural!) scents.
• Even the shipping materials are eco. They are also good quality - I reuse mine a lot, and it's always easy to recycle as well. :) 
• We often get coupon codes via email to add on a free item, or get a discount added to the bundle. That's always a nice surprise!
• Their customer service is awesome, any time I have a question or concern they are quick on the site chat, and very helpful! 

Cons:

• There have been some concerns related to sulfate in the detergents.
• There have been complaints about the sunscreen. - I haven't had any issues with their sunscreen!
• As just two people, we don't go through many of these cleaners that quickly! So sometimes, we feel like we are getting them too close together. But now that you can get more personal care items, it's been better. I do sometimes wish that we could change it to every 7 weeks or 8 weeks though. - you CAN adjust the shipping date to make it come later though, which is a plus! :)
• I don't love EVERY product I have tried. But I really don't expect to either. 
• Sometimes popular items are out of stock, and you won't be able to add them to your bundle. This doesn't happen often for us.
• I forget to update my bundle sometimes (#usererror ...) 

Bottom Line:

We love our Honest bundle. We get consistently great customer service, good quality eco products, and it fits into our busy schedule. It saves us time and money. While we don't love EVERYTHING about bundling, we do love almost everything. It makes it just a little bit easier to get our chores done, and gives us more time to spend together. That's what's HONESTLY important. :P

I can only imagine that as a parent (someday) this will be AMAZING. Safe diapers and baby products being delivered. Yes, please.

If you would like to try a bundle, or purchase anything from their site, please use my referral link! :)

I would love to share some un-boxings of the bundles, and specific thoughts on specific products if you guys are interested. Would you like to see/hear more?! Let me know in the comments.

Have you tried the Honest bundle or any other bundling service? What did you think of it?

Have you made any eco-friendly product or habit switches in your life? Do you have any goals to? Looking for ideas? Check out my post 12 Easy Ways to Go Green in 2016!

Side note: I LOVED Jessica Alba's book that came out before her company, read my review of it here if you are interested. :) I found it VERY informative and inspiring!!

XO,

Alexandra

I LOVE 100 Percent Pure!!!

When it comes to makeup I have 2 requirements:

1) It's good for me and the earth. Free of nasty chemicals, non-natural fragrances and harsh ingredients.

2) It does it's job without a ton of work on my part.

And it doesn't hurt if it has pretty packaging :)

Upon a lot of research and investigation I found a company called 100 Percent Pure, and fell in love.

100 Percent Pure is a business dedicated to protecting the earth and our health by using chemical free, natural and gentle makeup, skin care and hair care products. They pigment and scent their makeup with things like fruits and chocolate which leaves you with really gorgeous hues and extremely yummy scents.

I have tried many of their products, and am ordering more all of the time. I thought that since this blog encompasses so many lifestyle topics, beauty might as well be another one! :)

I am looking forward to reviewing specific items in detail. But right now I'll just leave you with a taste of my top 3!

*all images (below) via 100 Percent Pure*

1) Luminous Primer Vitamins + Antioxidants With Resveratrol -$26

This stuff is AH-MAY-ZING. Changed my life. And since I favor tinted moisturizer to foundations, it helps it last all day! :) I cannot completely describe my love for this item. I was over-the-moon about the cyber Monday surprise that made this primer just $10(!!!) with free shipping! HOORAY! Buy it here.

2) Fruit Pigmented Raspberry Lip Butter -$1

This little pot of tinted gloss is so convenient and pretty. I am not a gloss girl by nature, but this is something that I actually use quite a lot! My favorite way to wear it is to layer it over a sheer bright pink lipstick! Plus, I can just throw it in my bag and not worry about it losing it's lid or breaking.. it's very easy. (makeup requirement #2... ) Buy it here.

3) Fruit Pigmented Cocoa Plum Eye Shadow -$15

This is my go-to eye shadow. I wear it quite a bit more than I had expected! I find myself wanting to wearing it to work several (if not every!) day of the week! This color is so gorgeous, a smokey bronzey plum that's not too dark and not too purple... but also not too brown! It's the best of all worlds and I will probably be wearing it for the rest of my life! Buy it here.

So there you have it! My top 3 from 100 Percent Pure. Check out their site they have so many amazing products all of which I feel safe and comfortable using! 

I am excited to start a little bit of beauty blogging here for you guys!

What is your favorite natural beauty product? 

Let me know in the comments!

All for now,

Alexandra 

Envirosax Reusable Bags

Everyone's going greener and greener, and that's great! One of the very easiest ways to go a little greener is to use reusable shopping bags!

Not only are you saving TONS of plastic from being thrown away each year you are often getting a discount on your grocery bill for using your own bags. $0.05-$0.10 isn't much, but it does add up throughout the year!

One of the downsides of using reusable bags is that they are easy to forget. They are often large and hard to carry around as well. Not to mention... they are often pretty boring. This is obviously not the most important part, but who wouldn't prefer the cuter version?

I have found a bag that solves all of these problems for me. They called Envirosax. {shown above} They are pretty, long lasting and extremely compact therefore HARD to forget! I have received my first one as a gift from my mother-in-law over 3 years ago and it is still really sturdy! Since then I have adopted 2 more, which pretty much covers our 2 person grocery needs on the biggest day.

These bags cost about $9 a piece online, which is steep in comparison to the $1 walmart reusable bag, but I hardly EVER forget them because I can roll them up small enough to throw them in my purse!

You can also buy them in packages where you can get more for a slightly better deal {5 for $40 = $8 a piece}. If you live in Lawrence or near Lawrence you can pick them up at Au Marche downtown. 

These bags make great gifts and stocking stuffers! All 3 of mine have been gifts and I couldn't have been happier with them!

We use them not only for groceries but for traveling (makes an extra bag when you need one) and for taking our lunches to work!

What is your favorite eco-friendly product?

All for now,

Alexandra

ACURE Organics: The Perfect Skincare Line

*Welcome! I know that this post is still really popular, even though it was written in 2012! I'm delighted about it, and I wanted to let you know that I still use these products today, 5 years later, and I'm still not being paid by ACURE to recommend them! Thank you for stopping by!*

The beginning of this is dense, but stick with me! Its VERY important and you get to the good stuff when you scroll down I promise! :)

If you are like me your skin is not perfect. {this already sounds like a Proactiv commercial... don't worry its not..} I had acne from the time I was 11 or so until the present. I have always struggled to find something that works for my skin. I've now found it, and I couldn't be happier.

...a little bit of the story...

Before our engagement party in June 2011 I was offered a free facial from a popular skin care brand. The consultant was extremely nice and the products looked great. I got swept up in wanting to be a part of a group and a company that had so many good values. However along the way I realized that what was IN the products reflects a big part of that company's values. My face started to feel sticky after I used the products, some even hurt a little. So I decided to look up the ingredients and was truly disappointed with what I found. Full of parabens and chemicals that can't be easily translated into something recognizable. I was really torn on what to do. I had made this great connection with the consultant as well as another person and I didn't want to ruin it. I really believed in some of the things that the company implemented, but the ingredients were too important to overlook. I just couldn't get my skin accustomed to something so bad for me and bad for the environment.

So I sent it all back, cleared my head {heh, heh}and went to the Merc, our local health food store. There I was in a daze, I had no idea what to look for in natural skin care products, but I needed to just dive in. It was then that I stumbled across ACURE organics.

and now I am in love.

ACURE organics is made in Florida by a family owned company with some great morals. ACURE products are all made from natural ingredients {no parabens, synthetic fragrances, sulfates, thalates or artificial colors} and contain some fair trade and organic ingredients as well. They do NOT test on animals. Their packaging is made from Post consumer recycled content. They donate much of their proceeds to charities that focus on cancer research, including Bright Pink.

I was really blown away by the wonderful values of this company!

Here is what I bought & Why I like it: 

Facial Cleansing Gel superfruit + chlorella growth factor

Great Cleanser!! Its light and foamy! Removes makeup and dirt really really well! Lasts a really long time, you only need a small amount to effectively clean your face. Its a bit pricey for the size but again, it lasts a LONG time because you don't need to use a lot each time. 

{this picture was taken after 5 months of use!}

Cost: ~$15

facial toner rose + red tea

This toner really really helps my skin. I am really fair so I tend to get pink and red splotches, this toner is fantastic!! Plus I like the smell. This is going the fastest for me.. but I think I use more than I need to... ;)

Cost: ~$16

seriously firming facial serum

This is a product that I bought separately after I had started the entire line, but its quite possibly my favorite part! Its a really nice oil {you only need a tiny tiny bit!} that firms your skin. I'm only 21 so I really don't have very many "fine lines" but I do have some acne scars etc. This serum is full of antioxidants and antinflammatories that really firm my skin in these trouble areas and I can actually see a BIG difference in the appearance of my scars! This stuff is magic! {but not full of hormones or plastic-y chemicals!}

Cost: ~$23

 Oil Control Day Cream

This is a really great moisturizer for day! Its light and keeps oily skin under control {great for summer}. You only need one little pump from this tiny bottle to cover your entire face, so like the cleanser it lasts a while. This doesn't leave your face sticky! The one downside is that if you use this after the firming serum it takes away some of the oil in it. So I would avoid the area you added the serum to, or just use the serum after.

Cost: ~$19

chlorella growth factor + pomegranate night cream

This night time moisturizer is really great. Its thicker than the day cream and helps firm your skin as you sleep with their chlorella growth factor. Again, one little pump from this small bottle covers your entire face. Bonus: your face isn't left sticky!

Cost: ~$20

superfruit + chlorella eye cream

This is the product that I have bought most recently. I bought it because I had been wearing more eye makeup and it was starting to irritate the skin around my eyes when I removed it. This cream is really nice. It really reduces puffiness and redness under the eyes. It also reduces fine lines which is a bonus. You only need a TINY bit each time, which means that this will last a long time like the cleanser. 

~$19 

So overall I spent $112 on 6 products, that are lasting a LONG time! So far MORE than worth it!

The new products are good for me, good for the earth and my skin looks and feels great! 

I have been using them for almost a year and I could not be more pleased! I am still using the original bottle of almost everything!

If you are interested in ACURE organics, check your local health food store or click here to buy online.

For a list of things to avoid in your skin care products click here.

If you have any questions feel free to ask! The health of your skin, body and of the earth are very important! So don't take your products lightly!

A great way to start is to switch your products as your run out of them, {rather than buying a whole new line} your skin and the earth will thank you!

I have since bought a few more of their products that I will be blogging about soon! Stay tuned! :)

All for now,

Alexandra

Preserve Toothbrushes (and Why They Rock)

I've previously blogged about preserve products and most recently about their razors. For those of you who missed those posts here is a quick idea of what preserve products are/do. Preserve products are made out of recycled yogurt cups and other recycled plastics. They can be mailed back to the company when you are done with them and then will be made into park benches, picnic tables and the like. Preserve toothbrushes are normally priced, very cute and easy to send back! 

Here is an instructional!

My Old Preserve Toothbrush, Ready to be Sent Back.

Brand Spankin' New Toothbrush!

(Its Pink!)

Open "Here" 

Pull out your fancy new toothbrush!

 Look! There it is!

 The Toothbrush Package has a Free Mailer on it! 

(How Convenient!) 

Slip the Old Toothbrush Into the Package/Mailer.

 Seal it Up With Some Tape!

Stick it in the Mail! 

(This is Our Mail Basket at Miller)

(In Your Case... You Will Probably Have to Find Something More Official than a Basket!)

So There You Have It! ;)

Preserve toothbrushes are cute, easy to use and super eco-friendly. They are cheap and easy to find at most Target stores. 

I recently learned that you can go to preserve's website and order a yearly toothbrush service! For about $13 you can have preserve send you 1 toothbrush every 3 months for a whole year! That's quite the deal.. and you can mail them back to recycle them as always. 

Need a New Toothbrush? Go Get A Preserve One!

xxxxxx,

Alexandra

First Eco-Product Switch of 2011! {Preserve Razor!}

In a recent post I suggested and reviewed some of my favorite Earth friendly beauty and hygiene products. I mentioned Preserve Toothbrushes and how amazing they are. {made of recycled yogurt cups, mail them back to recycle them, easy to find, inexpensive in comparison} As I looked at Preserve's website for pricing information on their toothbrushes I found out that they also make razors! Woohoo! {they also make BPA free plastic plates etc}. I needed a new razor anyway so I headed out the the Merc {our local health food store} and picked up my very own preserve razor! I used my LAST disposable razor for the last time today! So I thought I would document it! :)

 Ordinary Wimpy Disposable Razor.

 Done! In the trash you go!

 Cute new preserve razor that is good for the environment! {Color: Pear Green}

 Probs WAY too excited about my new razor.. but that's me. :)

The preserve razor heads come with 3 blades and each razor itself comes with 2 razor heads in the package! Great for men or women. They also come in about 10 colors which is fun. Ranging from Magenta to Gray. So excited to use it! 

Now you understand the extent of my eco-nerdiness :)

Alex

Earth Friendly Product Swaps and Reviews

I have made it a goal for the past two years to use some of my spending power to support the environment (and my own health) by purchasing environmentally friendly versions of the products and items I purchase. 

Obviously this can often be more expensive. Organic food is extremely expensive and the other eco-friendly products are sometimes more expensive as well. I can't afford to be a Merc member or buy all organic food/clothes etc. But I can slowly switch over many of my products as I finish them to make more earth friendly choices. In my experience its usually worth the extra money, especially if its something that you don't use up as quickly. 

Since I don't have my own home/apartment I am mostly talking about hygeine and beauty products right now. So here are a few of my favorites and why! I will tell you what they are, why I like them, why they are good for the environment, approximate price range and give you a link to a website where you can purchase each item. However many if not all of these items can be purchased at Target, Health food stores and the like. :) 

Here we Go!

Toms of Maine Natural 24 Hour Odor Protection Deodorant in Fresh Apricot

This deodorant is great. And I was skeptical about natural deodorants thinking that they wouldn't work but this one works for me and smells great. Plus it uses so many great ingredients that are much better for me and the earth and best of all it doesn't have aluminum in it which has been linked to many health problems including breast cancer in women! It also comes in several other wonderful scents and unscented varieties.

Price: ~ $5-7

Purchase Online, here.

Toms of Maine Whitening Toothpaste

This toothpaste is easier on the environment(maybe not the very very easiest but much better than normal toothpaste). It has a nice minty flavor and doesn't leave your mouth full of slimy residue. Seriously I used some of Kyle's normal toothpaste when I forgot mine one day over the break and I had really really rine a lot to get all of the residue out. 

Price: ~$5-6 

Purchase Online, here.

Preserve Toothbrushes

Preserve toothbrushes are amazing things. Basically its a normal toothbrush made out of recycled yogurt cups and new nylon bristles. They cost about the same as a regular toothbrush. The bristles are good for your teeth and dentist approved (I asked mine). The best part about these toothbrushes is that when you are done and buy a new one you can mail back the used one (in the wrapper from the new one) to the company and they will recycle the plastic once again! Postage is paid and everything!! I really really love these toothbrushes! And they come in multiple cute colors :) You can find them in the Lawrence Target and I'm sure other common stores.

Price: ~$3-4 

Purchase Online, here.

Kiss My Face Shampoos and Conditioners

Personally so far I have only tried the "Whenever, Frequent Use" kind, but I'm sure the others are just as amazing. This particular shampoo/conditioner set has the most lovely lime-green tea scent. Its super fresh. It leaves my hair soft and clean (no soapy residue in my scalp). And my bottles lasted me quite a while! So it was worth the cost! The best part is that it is made of all certified organic ingredients, with no animal ingredients and is not tested on animals!!  

Price: ~$5-6 per bottle

Purchase Online, here. 

Burt's Bees Beeswax Lip balm in Peppermint

This lip balm is a classic. I tried it once and never went back, nothing works on my lips besides this lip balm. It smells great, moisturizes well and isn't too shiny. There really is not downside unless you are concerned about the use of beeswax. Burt's Bees while not organic still uses many "natural" ingredients (almost all) and makes even these tubes recyclable!100% natural.

Price: ~$3-4

Purchase Online, here. 

*note

I have tried they honey, pomegranate and SPF versions as well but don't like them nearly as much. But that could just be me. :) 

Burt's Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream

This stuff is so awesome. Waxy, yummy smell and moisturizes my often dry and flaking cuticles. It last forever as well. And because this is in a waxy form you can put it on and do things immediately you don't have to wait for a lotion to dry or anything. 100% natural.

Price: ~$5-6 

Purchase Online, here. 

Burt's Bees Coconut Foot Cream

I could talk about the wonders of coconut all day. I'm obsessed. But this foot cream is ridiculously awesome. It super thick and moisturizing. The best time to use it (I think) is before you go to bed, apply it liberally and then put on thick socks and go to sleep! In the morning you will feel moisturized! :) Lasts forever.98.6% natural.

Price: ~ $9

Purchase Online, here. 

Final Word: Most all of these product containers can be easily recycled. All can be found at local supermarkets and health food stores. None of the companies test on animals. All are priced reasonably and last for a long time. And they are all companies that strive to put as many organic and natural ingredients in their products as possible keeping the chemicals and aluminum out!

I think that is all for now! The rest of my makeup/hygiene supply is pretty well stocked (since forever) basically a lot of Christmas gifts etc that I don't want to waste so until some more of them are gone this is it for my earth friendly product list. However I think razors will be next because as I was searching the preserve website I noticed that they make razors in addition to toothbrushes!!! ( I hope that they are also carried at Target!) Another goal I have is to try making some products, skin masks, scrubs etc. (but I will write about that later!) :)

If you would like to search for companies that do/or do not test on animals here is the website to use! Its good to know and it has shaped the way I buy my products!

What are your earth friendly product goals? And what are your favorite products?

Alex