Recently, a good online friend sent me a wonderful package of stuff from Daybreak Lavender Farm. She's been using one of their facial care lines for her rosacea for a while and is a big fan.

And now I know why.

Two of the products she sent me are absolutely wonderful. The Rose N' Rhassoul Gentle Oat Cleanser smells great (a nice, natural rose scent), feels great on my face, lathers up in a comfortable, non-drying way, and rinses clean. My skin looks fantastic after using it for two weeks--not out-of-this-world, this-is-a-miracle fantastic, but really good. I like it enough that even at $35 a jar I am seriously considering buying myself some more when the sample my friend sent runs out.

The second product there is no question about--I will buy it when I run out. It's the Deluxe Shea Intensive 5x Body Moisturizer. I'm not being hyperbolic here--this is the best body lotion I've ever used. It's made of great ingredients--goat's milk, unrefined shea butter, aloe gel, whole oat infusion, glycerin, old comb beeswax, essential oils--and feels wonderful going on. I have no idea what it is scented with, but it's a great smell. What's best, though, is that it's super-whipped, making it really really moisturizing AND fast to soak into my skin. It's the first body cream I've found that moisturizes me enough for winter and doesn't leave me feeling greasy. The website says it "positively melts into your skin" and it does. It's not cheap either--$30 for 8 oz--but a little goes quite a long way, and it's worth it.

The one major criticism I have about Daybreak Lavender Farm's products is the labels--they look like they were run off on a Xerox machine. Given the price point at which they're selling their products, I think they should do a better job with making them look as luxurious is the package as they feel to use. All said, though, that's a small thing. I'm very thankful to the friend who turned me on them!

I got a package from Lush today. I gotta say, it was disappointing. I mean, I'm sure I'll enjoy the things I ordered (and I'll let you know about that), but in general, when I opened the box and saw what I got for my $80 or so, I was kinda "eh."

Why? Because other people do it way better. One of those people is Kate Von Wagner from bath not bombs. A few weeks ago, I ordered her you-pick half dozen bath bombs. $16 for 6 bombs. I got the following scents:

• sooth: lemongrass + lavender


• tempt: ylang ylang + pink grapefruit


• winter wellness: rosemary + eucalyptus + lemongrass


• change: ginger root + lemon


• suck it, cramps: clary sage + chamomile + ginger root


• glee: sweet orange + bergamot

So far, I've used glee, suck it, cramps, soothe, and winter wellness. And they're all awesome. They are smallish bombs, but they pack a full-size bath punch. The scent combos are spot-on, the amount of scent is just right, they're all around perfect. The only thing I could wish for is that there were more scent combo options available. Still, I'll be ordering another half dozen in the near future.

I have recently not been wanting to make my own bath products (after packing all of my supplies up to move I haven't had the urge get it all back out and make a mess again yet). I have, however, been really wanting baths and taking them on a near-daily basis. So, of course, I needed bath products. Excuse in hand, I started shopping.

The first place I tried out was Moon's Harvest Bath & Body Shop. Moon's Harvest is a Texas-based business. I don't see a biography page on the website, but the feel, at least, is that of a small business. The selection is fantastic, with a huge fragrance list. Given that list, I had a hard time narrowing down my order and ending up with a cart containing thirteen bath bombs, the "bag of marshmallows" collection of bubble bars, and a single blueberry lemon with butter ball bomb (that's the one you see int the photo here).

My order was received and confirmed quickly. I received a Click N Ship confirmation six days after ordering, and my order arrived two days later. The packaging wasn't great--the bombs were all nicely individually shrink-wrapped and labeled, but they weren't well-padded and two of them were disintegrated during shipping (making for a very nice smelling garbage can).

For the total I paid ($78.50 plus $8.95 shipping and handling), it was a huge haul. The bombs are large enough that they could easily be split and used in two baths, and they're only $3.50 each (compare that with Lush's bombs, which are much smaller and start at $4.65). The bubble bars were $27.50 for the package of 10 3.5 oz bars (again, probably usable for two baths each, though I gorge out and use a whole one). Bought individually, they're still a pretty reasonable $3.50 each. The only spendy thing was the butter bar bath bomb, which was $5.50. My order also came with a large free bottle of Lather Up Body Wash.

The products are a lot of fun to look at--clearly, Moon's Harvest isn't afraid of dyes, as everything is brightly colored. What's great, though, is that even though things color the water, nothing has colored my bathtub. I don't know how they're managing that, but it's a big bonus. Everything has also been really skin-friendly, moisturizing, and pleasant to use. The bubble bars create a ton of bubbles, the bombs fizz and fizz. My favorite product is definitely the bubble bar with the melt inside--it's genius. First you get the bath bomb fizz power, then the soothing cocoa butter goodness of a melt. Makes for a great bath.

Scent-wise, I was thrilled with some of the choices I made and less excited about others. The blueberry lemon was unexpectedly nice. The lemon and fig was also fantastic. The lavender lemon doesn't work quite as well for me--something about the lavender is a bit too strong. I was also not a huge fan of the snickerdoodle, which just smelled sort of generically sweet. The general scent profiles seem to be well-done though--nothing reeks of perfume. And there are a ton more appealing-sounding scents I didn't try with this order, so the ones that I didn't care as much for can easily be replaced.

There are also products I didn't try this time that intrigue me. Bling bath desserts are combination milk bath/bath bomb/bath melt, which can't possibly be a bad thing, so I'm definitely going to try one of those next time around (the iced pear scent sounds wonderful). They've also got cupcakes, which are huge bath bombs shaped and decorated like cupcakes and individually boxed--wouldn't that make a great gift for a Secret Santa or a stocking? I think I'd also like to try the sugar cubed, which is exfoliating sugar scrub in a cube form (another stroke of genius I haven't seen elsewhere).

All in all, I definitely recommend Moon's Harvest. The value for quantity and quality is excellent, and they have a ton of choices, which is important for the jaded bath consumer. I'll be making another order in the near future.