Updated Simply Rustic Review

08 Sep 2017 Leave a comment

by ecofriendlymamausa in Eco-friendly living, Reviews

My original review of Simply Rustic products was 1st shared in Nov of 2012!. The products haven’t changed all that much, the line did expand a bit over the years. But the things I love about it remain: there is very, very little plastic used in this line. Most of the products come in glass jars or stainless tins. The beloved lip balms do come in a plastic tube, but I’m willing to overlook that for this particular product as I prefer a tube to a tin that I have to use my fingers to apply it from. What has changed with this line? Ownership! I was a bit sad when Amanda, the former owner, let me know she was considering giving up Simply Rustic for a full-time job elsewhere (one that she really wanted & enjoys). Amanda was running the company from Northern WI, my state, so I was sad to know it may leave here. She asked if I’d mind posting the opportunity for someone to take over the business in my group page. I thought it was a long shot, but didn’t mind posting it for her. We were both shocked how much interest there was! At least a dozen people were interested, and eventually a long-time member of my online community took over ownership just months ago. So while I was sad to see Simply Rustic leave WI, I knew it would be in good hands in the Pacific North West (WA state) with Britney. Britney is a former teacher & this shines through in her attention to detail & how she jumped right in & soaked up as much knowledge as she could from Amanda then hit the ground running, making nothing but positive changes to this line! Here is a bit about Britney from the ‘about’ link from the website: http://www.simplyrustic2011.com/about.html

Amanda had certainly been using all-natural ingredients, some local, some wild-crafted, some organic. But Britney has converted to using organic ingredients whenever possible. For each product listed you will see she includes an ingredient glossary down below, where she describes the benefits & purpose for each ingredient selected in the recipe. There is so much great info there & I’ve learned a lot in reading up on some of the oils & butters! She has also expanded the flavor selection of the lip balms so many of us love, offering warm, seasonal selections such as : Apple Spice & Pumpkin Spice! These in addition to a Vanilla Chai, Happy Birthday Cupcake (created for her daughter’s upcoming B-day), and even a S’mores flavored lip balm (created for her Son, who was jealous his Sissy got one created for her)! There is even a new Pumpkin Spice scrub & body butter for those who love that special autumn scent! I know it’s usually a love it or hate it on the seasonal offerings such as pumpkin. Personally, I’m kinda’ neutral on them, they’re not my favorite, but I don’t hate them. My opinion on Britney’s new creations: they still go on very nice & smooth & leave my lips shiny and moisturized. I don’t think I’ll ever find any I love more than the current offerings of pomegranate/coconut/vanilla (my all-time fave), chococate/strawberry & raspberry/lemonade. Those are just soooooo good, they’re hard for me to move beyond & I don’t desire any more than them, they make me happy J She did send me a choc/straw lip tube to compare to what Amanda offered. It had the same great texture, I did think it had a bit more of a chocolatey taste to it vs former batches, which wasn’t a bad thing! Britney said one reason could be because she switched to organic cocoa butter, the flavor could be a little more intense, which is definitely a possibility. My conclusion on the lip balms: they’re still great, and have gotten even better with an increase in organic ingredients & several additional flavors. Britney does plan to keep the seasonal ones around just for a few months, unless they become so loved that y’all can’t live without them, yet to be determined! The kids flavors could make excellent stocking stuffers this Holiday season! She also is offering an unflavored option, by request, for those who desire no flavor, but still want to nourish their lips. She only increased her price by $.50 to $3.50/tube, a great deal & very comparable to other great, safe choices from my ‘approved’ list. The ingredients vary, so check them out in this link here: http://www.simplyrustic2011.com/store/c10/Lip_Tubes.html

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Other products I’ve tried out that she sent me: Revive Body Butter ($15). It smells so good, and the benefits of the oils used are amazing. If you’re used to a whipped body butter, this is a bit more dense. But it truly melts on your fingertips as soon as you touch it & a little goes a long way. As we head into winter, and dry skin season, I’ll be so excited to have this product on hand to nourish & protect my skin! Ingredients in this butter: Fair Trade and Organic Unrefined Shea Butter, Organic Unrefined Grape Seed Oil, Organic and Unrefined Pumpkin Seed Oil, Organic Yellow Beeswax, Organic Carrot Seed Essential Oil, NonGMO Sunflower Vitamin E Oil. E

rise and shine

She also included a Rise & Shine! Body Scrub ($12), it has become a favorite of mine for sure. I LOVE coffee. I love the smell of coffee. I’m just a 1-2 cup/day drinker, but I love it. This scrub has coffee grinds in it & oh my goodness, it’s such a full sensory experience. I rarely bathe in the morning, usually evening, and this has helped give me a pick-me-up on more than once occasion, my second wind to keep me up those extra couple hours I need after getting the kids to bed (on occasion, often I crash with them). Here’s what Britney says about it: “There is a coffee shop in Sequim called Rainshadow Coffee and they sell the most amazing smelling fair trade and organic coffee beans. I used these ground beans to make the Rise and Shine! Body Scrub. It smells wonderful and it feels so good on your skin, especially after the shower. No need to moisturize after the bath or shower.” And she’s right, this product exfoliates, but also hydrates so, so well. You do not need any moisturizer after you get out of your bath or shower. It comes in a 4 oz glass jar. Full List of Ingredients: Fair Trade Demerara, Organic and Fair Trade Coffee, Organic Grape Seed Oil, Organic Cocoa Powder, Fair Trade, Organic Cocoa Butter, Organic Castor Seed Oil, NonGMO Sunflower Seed Vitamin E Oil.

I will update this review when I’ve had a chance to use the rest of the products she sent, which are from the face line. I don’t have much of a face routine currently, usually a hot wash cloth & my nightly moisturizer, but I do want to give the products Britney sent a try as full routine. I have tried the face/body wash & as it says on the bottle, a little DOES go a long way! Seriously ½ a pump was more than enough to wash my face, it lathered incredibly well! Here’s what Britney said about the face wash: “This product is one of the many reasons we bought Simply Rustic. This was a new product that came out right before Amanda sold the company to me. I don’t think many customers knew about it or had a chance to try it. My husband LOVES this face wash. When I started talking to him about the idea of possibly buying Simply Rustic, he said that we had to do it to keep using the face wash. It smells awesome, cleans our skin so well and the bottle lasts forever. Just half a pump goes a long way. There are so many benefits to the ingredients of the African Black Soap (listed below). It is awesome!  Ingredients: Raw African Black Soap with Shea Butter (Wildharvested and Unrefined Shea Butter Fruit, Coconut Oil, Wildharvested Palm Oil, Cocoa Pod Ash, and Water), Organic Glycerin, Witch Hazel (alcohol free), Organic Frankincense Essential Oil, Wildharvested Rosewood Essential Oil and Organic Guar Gum . Comes in a 4oz glass bottle with pump cap!

The face care regimen she suggests is this (and she included all products for me). I intend to start using all 3 products & give them a full month trial & will update y’all on my thoughts. I expect nothing but a good experience!

Suggested routine:

1: face wash

2: toner (she sent me Dancing in the Meadows). Britney’s comments on her toner: “After washing your face, get a washcloth or cotton round (whatever you use), and apply the Dancing in the Meadow face toner. I love this step. The toner smells so good and makes my skin feel like anything that was left behind is being wiped away. It’s really pretty too. Those are calendula flower petals floating around. The toner is alcohol free so it won’t dry your skin.”

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3: Dusk til Dawn Serum + Face Oil: From Britney: “This oil is the first product that I bought from Simply Rustic and I love it so much. I love that my face still feels moisturized when I wake up in the morning. The smell makes me happy and the benefits to my skin are amazing.” Serums + Face Oils available in a 1oz Amber Glass Bottle with Dropper Cap. Need a little more umph with your facial care? The Concentrated Serums + Face Oils are packed full of anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory and graceful aging benefits plus vitamins and minerals. Yes, you can use this as the moisturizer part of a skin care routine. Dusk til Dawn has heavier oils so if you have normal or oily skin this would probably work better for you at night. In the winter, I can use this one as a daytime moisturizer. Serums + Face Oils are designed to penetrate deeper layers of the skin compared to a facial moisturizer. Don’t want to give up your moisturizer? You can use both…cleanse your skin, use toner or not, apply the serum and let absorb and then apply the moisturizer. Have frizzy hair or fly-a- ways? A few drops applied to palm of hand, rubbed between hands and smoothed through hair will tame both.”

In conclusion, thank you for taking the time to read my thoughts on this line that has been on my ‘approved’ list for several years now. I truly love the dedication, motivation, inspiration that accompanies small(ish) lines like Simply Rustic. I know many of us like supporting the “little guys” with our dollars. By purchasing from Simply Rustic, your dollars are truly going from one family, to another, and we all benefit by voting for safer products being created with the best possible ingredients.

You can purchase these great products via the website:  http://www.simplyrustic2011.com/

You can also purchase Simply Rustic via my Eco-Friendly USA One-Stop Shop order, I do 3/year: Feb, May & Sep, the Sep order opens next week! Details for that here: https://ecofriendlymamausa.com/buying-clubdeomy-poofy-organics/eco-friendly-usa-buying-club-2/

 

My Natural Remedy Collection

06 Sep 2017 Leave a comment

by ecofriendlymamausa in Eco-friendly living, Resources

It’s that time of year again: the start of cold/flu season. Many of you sent your kiddos back to school in the last week or 2, and with that comes the sharing of lots of germs. The question has started popping up: what do you do for immune boosting and limiting time spent sick? So I decided to go through my home & pull my various remedies. Some will definitely not apply to your needs, some may. I am NOT a doctor. I am a Mom who seeks out natural remedies to boost my kiddos immune systems & treat their symptoms whenever possible, resorting to conventional medicines as a final resort as needed, and sometimes they are needed. Also, we are generally very healthy. We have no known allergies or sensitivities. Many months go by that we take nothing more than our probiotics, and even those are rarely on a daily basis.  My Mom is the nurse in our local Complimentary Medicine Clinic, so she’s a wealth of info for me as needed. I hope this helps give you some ideas as to things you may want to have on hand in your natural medicine cabinet. You’ll notice I don’t mention dosages below. I’m hesitant to recommend dosage because again, I’m not a doctor. I’d like you to research that further and consult your own trusted sources to determine that.

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Back Row L to R:

Boiron Chestal kids/adults: I absolutely SWEAR by this cough syrup & when I shared last winter many others chimed in that they do too. Kids can use the adult version in smaller amounts too, so if you want just 1 go with the adult, I have 1 of each & never go without it. It worked very, very well on my kids nagging nighttime cough last year: http://amzn.to/2xaMYJa

Culturelle for kids probiotics: Definitely shop around, you can find it on sale via Vitacost & other outlets from time-to-time. My food co-op had it on sale a few months back & I bought several boxes for quite reasonable: http://amzn.to/2w714X1

PB 8 adult: I take these, I get them from Vitacost (my food co-ops sells them too but they’re a lot more expensive there). They’re very reasonably priced & I feel sufficient for my needs. I know there are a TON of probiotic options out there!  We also drink kefir & eat sauerkraut to get a variety of good bugs. Vitacost has sales a LOT! https://www.vitacost.com/nutrition-now-pb-8-supports-digestive-health

Traditional Medicinals Echinacea Plus Elderberry Tea: I brew some up anytime the kids complain of not feeling well, at the 1st sign of symptoms, as well as just from time-to-time for general immune boosting. Kids love this tea with some raw, local honey as well! http://amzn.to/2vLoeHf

Metagenics Ultra Potent C: http://amzn.to/2gLXLm1

Redmond Clay First Aid (hydrated bentonite): I’m not seeing the hydrated clay on their site currently, but you can get their dry powder & add water to make your own paste. I also add the powder to my homemade toothpaste. https://redmond.life/shop/redmond-clay-powder-10-oz/

Poofy After Sun Spray: One of those products you hope you don’t need, but it’s amazing for sun or any type of burn: https://ecofriendlyusa.poofyorganics.com/products/1016-after-sun-spray-organic.aspx

Poofy Everything Salve: TRULY good for everything! Bug bites, stings, burns…. https://ecofriendlyusa.poofyorganics.com/products/1156-everything-salve-organic.aspx

Pictured below, the generic, bulk pellets: It’s awesome to be able to buy homeopathic pellets in bulk, definitely saves money & reaffirms what an alternatively-minded area I live in when I can get these over the counter at my pharmacy!

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Front Row L to R:

Hyland’s Calcarea Fluorica: used to target teeth remineralization: http://amzn.to/2xOpjLF

Hyland’s Calcarea Phosphorica: also used to remineralize teeth: purchased on Amazon, not seeing it listed currently, my food co-op also sells many of the Hyland’s remedies.

Chamomilla (generic): I used these when my kids were teething. My local pharmacy stocks many homeopathic remedies in bulk!

Kali Bichromicum (generic): again from my local pharmacy. For cough symptoms, I can’t remember if it was for dry or wet cough, that definitely matters as you’d want a different remedy for a dry cough vs a wet one.

Nux Vomica (Boiron): I swear by this remedy for bellyaches, we never are without it! My kids ask for tummy pellets if they’re not feeling well!

Four Elements Echinacea: Pretty sure I got this at my food co-op. I add this to their elderberry syrup concoction when giving it for general immune boosting.

Montana Farmacy Japanese Knotweed: purchased at my food co-op for my Son’s Lyme’s symptoms.

Hawaii Pharm Cat’s Claw: purchased at my food co-op for my Son’s Lyme’s symptoms.

NutraMedix Stevia:  Also for Lyme’s symptoms, purchased via Amazon: http://amzn.to/2gMdYYs

Cough Care: Mountain Rose Herbs, not currently seeing it listed….

Nature’s Answers Milk Thistle: from my food co-op, great for healthy liver support. This looks like a good option via Amazon: http://amzn.to/2gNDPz1

Herm Pharm Myrrh: Bought when I was dabbling in making my own mouth wash, then Poofy came out with theirs & I’ll never use anything else. But it also lists immune boosting properties so I’ll try to incorporate it there. Bought at my food co-op.

Josiah’s Germ Fight Blend for diffuser: You can select Fir Blend if you have young kids in the home. I also use Josiah’s Atomizing diffuser. This 2 oz bottle lasts me an entire cold/flu season: http://www.josiahsoils.com/store/p353/Germ_Fighting_Blend_%28Previously_%22Germ_Fighting_Thieves%22%29.html

Josiah’s Oils  Germ Fight Blend Diluted: I use this topically at the 1st sign of symptoms. Kids know to ask for it & rub it on each other’s spines even! For the very youngest kids, select the Fir blend. At 4 & 6, my kids are using the regular blend now: http://www.josiahsoils.com/store/p349/Germ_Fighting_Roll-On_Blend_%28Pre-Diluted_and_Ready_to_Use%29.html

Josiah’s Oils Sniffles Blend: Slightly different than the germ fighting blend, I keep on hand for when I hear them start to sniffle. You can get it concentrated for the diffuser or select roll-on from the drop down menu for topical use: http://www.josiahsoils.com/store/p390/SNIFFLES%21_%28gentle_for_big_%26_lil%27_noses%29.html

Cold Bee Gone: Some use this as a preventative, others at 1st sign of symptoms: http://amzn.to/2eLqOpg (also available via my buying club for $9.95)

Front, center:

Bach Rescue Pastilles: I purchased these at my food co-op before we flew to Mexico. Many swear by Rescue Remedy, it comes in liquid & other forms, and for pets even: http://amzn.to/2wHP4Nv

St. Claire’s Tummy Soother’s (they also make throat soothers): purchased via Mountain Rose Herbs: https://www.mountainroseherbs.com/search?page=1&q=tummy+soother&utf8=%E2%9C%93#product-1576

 

Not pictured (I’m sure there’s more I’m forgetting):

— I make elderberry syrup in the fall going into winter. I add wild-harvested dried ginseng & goldenseal powder (harvested by my Hubby. This is our go-to elixir for immune boosting. I do 3-4 days on, 3-4 off for general immune boosting. If they’re coming down with something I will give it twice/day for a couple days. I get 1# of dried elderberries from Mountain Rose Herbs for $14.50, this is enough to last all cold/flu season. I’ve adapted Wellness Mama’s Recipe (add ginseng & goldenseal as mentioned above, remove ginger & cloves as it made it too spicy for my kids): https://wellnessmama.com/1888/elderberry-syrup/.  You can also buy the syrup already made (MRH is currently N/A, but they have extracts), just make sure you’re not getting additional unwanted ingredients in the syrup. Dried: https://www.mountainroseherbs.com/products/elder-berries/profile.

Humidifier! We heat with wood, and it makes for a very dry environment in the fall & winter months! We went with this one, it is made in China unfortunately but I love that it doesn’t get things wet at all around it! I’m going on my 3rd winter with it now!  http://amzn.to/2yldRqs

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–Arnica— I’m out. I get what my food co-op has, will comment when I re-stock!

–Poofy’s Vapor Rub, there is a blend for under or over 5 years old, I need a fresh tub to start this season off with: https://ecofriendlyusa.poofyorganics.com/search.aspx?searchterms=vapor

 

–Epic Dental Xylitol Mints. I’ve been working on Remineralizing my daughter’s teeth for a few years now & give her these mints 1-2 times/day after brushing: http://amzn.to/2wFZ9fo

 

In conclusion: am I saying you should run out & buy 1 of everything in the picture? Heck no! I’m just giving you some ideas & showing you my collection based on the needs of my family. Mountain Rose Herbs is an amazing resource for tinctures, elixirs, remedies of all sorts!

***Mountain Rose Herbs, Josiah’s Oils, Poofy Organics and Cold Bee Gone are all vendors in my upcoming buying club. You can purchase what you need from each of them (a total of 29 vendors offered in total) and have it all shipped to you in 1 flat/regional rate box! https://ecofriendlymamausa.com/buying-clubdeomy-poofy-organics/eco-friendly-usa-buying-club-2/

 

9/23/17, I added this kit to my collection! http://amzn.to/2xBB5v7

 

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Being prepared makes me a happy Mama! Someone asked about a good kit last week, and I recommended Boiron because that’s the name I’m most familiar with. I learned about this brand, Helios, and they come highly recommended. They hand-dose their pellets vs using machines like the bigger companies. The company is based in the UK but I felt good supporting them vs Boiron or Hyland’s….Yes, this was $69, but for 36 remedies that’s less than $2 each!! Many of these are ones I use regularly, others are new to me & I’ll be reading up on them more. They list a 5 year expiration date, but they really never go bad if stored properly (out of sunlight & away from moisture).