This week’s giveaway is brought to you by Kim from Sunstone Soap. All of Kim’s all-natural soaps are free from “animal fats, hardeners, deodorants or chemicals that can be drying to your skin.”

Not only does Kim care deeply about the ingredients that go into her soap, she never tests on animals – only friends & family! – and donates a portion of all sales to animal welfare organizations or Families of Spinal Muscular Atrohpy.

Sunstone Soaps come in fabulous scents such as green tea & fig, pink grapefruit & lemon, and rosemary, mint, & lavender. A few weeks ago, I reviewed the honey cinnamon soap in the “treat yourself on the cheap” feature.

This week, you have the opportunity to win 3 bars (scents based on availability) of Sunstone Soap! Here’s how to enter:

• you must be a resident of the US.
• visit Sunstone Soap and browse around. Choose a favorite scent or other product (moisturizers, bath goodies, doggie soap…) and leave a comment here to let Kim know what caught your eye.
• to gain an extra entry, spread the word about this giveaway! You can use the Save/Share button below to share this post on Facebook, Stumble Upon, Twitter, or your favorite site. Leave another comment here when you do!

This giveaway ends Sunday at noon. The winner will be selected at random and notified by email on Monday. Good luck!

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Fortunately for me, my love of herbal medicine coincided with a need for more nourishing, non-irritating products for my sensitive skin. I was more than delighted when one of my first teachers taught me the relatively simple process of making facial or body creams at home with simple kitchen tools. It seemed such an esoteric art, but happily, it’s not. Women have been making their own facial creams for centuries, benefiting from the gifts of the botanical world all around them! You too can benefit from the healing properties of herbs, the nutritive power of our botanical allies, and the pure luxury of chemical-free facial products.

The following outlines the procedure for making a simple facial cream that is made more special by the addition of infused herbs.

First: Choose your herb! Fortunately, there are lots of herbal allies for making a skin cream that will be helpful in addressing any skin care issues you might have. The world of botanical allies in skincare products has really reached the forefront of mainstream products in recent years, including the use of medicinal mushrooms, antioxidants like green tea, and the healing powers of herbs like calendula. [Read more →]

Moisturizing Body Balm

Today’s featured artisan is Nicole from Nicki Leigh Bath & Body. Nicole began crafting handmade bath & body products last April. She began selling on Etsy in August and has already seen much success!

Nicole is inspired by her families needs when creating new products. Whether dry, sensitive, oily, or break-out prone, she takes the various conditions of her family members and strives to create products that meet their unique needs. Lucky for us, these needs mirror our own and we can reap the rewards of Nicole’s hard work!

She says, “I am currently working on a way to make a gentle body wash that will not cause my sensitive skin to break out.  I thought it was normal for my skin to itch and burn all the time after a shower or a bath.  It’s all I have ever known and never questioned it.  However, now after being in this business for 8 months, I can see that it is a skin condition in reaction to something I am using on a regular basis.  So far, I have not gotten my formula to work the way I would like.  However, I am going to keep working at it until I get it just right.”

Gingersnap Lip Balm

Missing the holidays? Carry them with you everyday with this scrumptious Gingersnap Lip Balm. Speaking of lip balm, are you an addict? I know I’ve gone through periods of being utterly addicted to lip balm. Here’s an article Nicole wrote explaining why this happens and why her balms are different – and did I mention, vegan-friendly!

Gentleman's Bay Rum Soap

But of all the products in her shop, Nicole couldn’t live without her body balms. When asked what item she would purchase in her shop she answered,