Posts Tagged ‘fragrance’

Review and GIVEAWAY: Harvey Prince AGELESS Fragrance

12-27-2011 ** Categories: Health and Beauty, Product Reviews / Tags: ,

This giveaway is now closed ~ Congratulations, Sujaan!

I recently received a set of fragrances by Harvey Prince to review. While great for all seasons, I found these scents to be a great pick-me-up for winter. Just a dab lasts all day long and best of all, all of their fragrances are completely free of parabens and toxins. As a mom, having a totally safe go-to scent is important, and I love that I can confidently recommend this brand to my readers.

Who is Harvey Prince?

Our mother is our inspiration: she radiates warmth and turns heads wherever she goes. Harvey Prince is a salute to breathing magic into every moment, and taking on every day with confidence. We hope your new fragrance will bring out the magic you have inside of you.

Harvey Prince fragrance review

Harvey Prince scents are crafted using high-quality, eco-friendly ingredients. Most mainstream perfumes are loaded with chemicals – When you see “fragrance” listed on any product, that term is completely unregulated and is often the most toxic component in beauty items. Harvey Prince fragrances contain NO parabens, phthalates, PCBs, BPAs, GMOs, or sulfates. I am constantly cuddling my son, not to mention nursing and sharing a bed with him, so having a safe scent is very important to me. (Those chemicals can stay in your body for years – It is recommended that you start avoiding them before you even think about trying to conceive. They are especially dangerous for little developing bodies but by no means safe for adults either.) I love that Harvey Prince cares about their customers and the environment as well as their product. The result is a guilt-free everyday fragrance.

I spent a few weeks sampling six of Harvey Prince’s fabulous scents and trying to determine my favorite. After lots of smelling and much deliberation, my husband and toddler helped me decide on my fave fragrance. (Sebastian loves to smell things for me – He even has a baby sign to ask for a sniff.) It was close, but our top pick was… AGELESS.

About Ageless

You can read more about the science of Harvey Prince anti-age perfume – I just love the way it smells! The scent is mostly light, slightly fruity and floral, but just musky enough to smell grown-up. Ageless uses pink grapefruit and mango to counteract smells of aging, and also carries notes of jasmine, tuberose, ylang ylang, and sandalwood.

Harvey Prince - Ageless

Why did I spend so much time choosing my favorite Harvey Prince fragrance? Because I am giving away a bottle!

Win a bottle of Harvey Prince’s AGELESS anti-age perfume

Win a bottle of Ageless by Harvey Prince!Harvey Prince is giving one 1.7 oz bottle of Ageless anti-age perfume to one Alternative Housewife reader!

To enter: Leave one comment per entry. Mandatory entry must be completed for any other entries to count. I will randomly select the winner at the end of the day – Midnight PST – on January 9, 2012. Start off the new year with a lovely new safe & eco-friendly perfume!

Mandatory entry:

- ‘Like’ Harvey Prince on Facebook and/or Follow Harvey Prince on Twitter. (You may do both for two entries – Please leave one comment for each.)

Extra entries (optional):

- ‘Like’ Alternative Housewife on Facebook.

- Tweet about this giveaway with a link back to this post. (You may use the button at the bottom of this post.) You may tweet once per day up to five total tweets.

- Share this giveaway on Facebook. (You may use the button at the bottom of this post.)

- Follow Alternative Housewife via RSS. (You will no longer be able to follow via Google Friend Connect as of March 2012 so please switch over to another method to avoid missing a post!)

That’s up to 10 entries per person – Be sure to leave a separate comment for each! Good luck and thanks for reading.♥

I received a set of Harvey Prince scents for the purpose of this review – All opinions are completely my own. This giveaway is sponsored by Harvey Prince.

EdenFantasys for sexy spring cleaning and gift giving

05-30-2011 ** Categories: Uncategorized / Tags: , ,

This is a sponsored post but all opinions are 100% my own.

If winter is the time for love, spring is all about lust, and EdenFantasys has the perfect accessories for a summer romance in the making. Their products also make for fun and sexy gifts. This month I purchased a goodie bag’s worth of toys and body products for one of my very best girl friends and I am happy to report that she was thrilled with them. I placed the order for her birthday and the discreet package arrived at her door just two days later with standard shipping – That is great service!

Every order comes with a free toy so my bestie received two vibes, as well as some Silky Sheets body spray. I know that all friends aren’t as comfortable sending this sort of gift, and EdensFantasy does offer a lot more than just adult toys.  They sell all sorts of lotions and potions as well as scented aromatherapy candles that would be the perfect accent to your spring cleaning!

Sex toys - EdenFantasys adult toys store

The Importance of Organic: Beauty Products

07-29-2010 ** Categories: Home Design and Decor / Tags: , ,

We often talk about the importance of eating organic, but many women slather on beauty products as often (more often?) as they take in a meal. I’ve always loved eating clean organic produce simply for the way it tastes and feels, but being pregnant gave me a reason to be even more diligent. As I was re-accessing my fridge, I also took a hard look at my beauty routine.

My Current Shampoo: Yes to CucumbersI started by switching to brands I trust for shampoo and lotions, my top choice being Yes to Carrots. Their website discloses all ingredients and I have found the company more than willing to interact with myself/consumers. Since becoming pregnant, I have also developed a love for Earth Mama Angel Baby products.

I feel like I’d be lying if I didn’t mention the huge “emergency” bottle of Tresemme shampoo under our sink, but the majority of products – and especially any we have brought into the home in the past eight months – are choices that I am proud of. Like with food, every change counts. Chemicals in beauty products are in small amounts (it’s why the companies get away with it) but build up with each toxic product you use. If you aren’t sure about a particular product, I encourage you to look it up, even if the brand has a ‘green’ reputation. Also: The words “organic” and especially “natural” are not regulated, so look for products marked as “USDA Certified Organic” to avoid greenwashing.

Buzzword: Paraben-free. Why are parabens bad? “Parabens imitate the chemical makeup of our hormones and can cause the body to over react or react to the chemicals which it thinks are hormones and consequently won’t produce enough natural hormones for the body to properly function.” (Examiner)

I’d heard awhile ago about the Cosmetics Database but was kind of scared to try it before this week, and for good reason – the results are scary. Knowledge is power but that doesn’t mean it’s pretty. For instance, I spent the better part of 2004-2005 slathered in The Body Shop’s Mango Body Butter. Even Burt’s Bees, which I had trusted wholly in the past, doesn’t score great, and neither do LUSH products. I don’t take necessarily take all of the ratings at face value but I think they’re worth considering, and I’ll definitely be avoiding any products rated above a 6 (especially while pregnant / breastfeeding).

SJP Covet Fragrance

The last big hidden toxin in my bathroom is fragrance. Seeing my fave SJP Covet fragrance rated at a toxic 10 on Cosmetics Database is an eye-opener, so my next mission is to replace my (and the husband’s) scents with healthier alternatives. I’m not going to toss my remaining parfum but rather save it for special occasions and use sparingly (and not buy them again). It is no surprise that perfumes and colognes are so toxic, as it is the fragrance in most bath and beauty products that makes them so unsafe.

Some products require possible toxins as their active ingredients (many acne products, for instance) but it’s hard to justify having even possibly hazardous chemicals in body wash and perfume. Like with the food industry, the fucked up part is that truly safe products are the exception and there is no rule that toxic products carry any warning.

Some products don’t have a comparable organic and/or natural substitute, but using those that do I can feel the difference (in my hair, skin) as much as you can feel the difference when eating clean and organic, which is a much bigger motivator for me than fear.

How much do you worry about what you put on your body? What are your favorite safe/organic beauty products? Any products you can’t live without even though you know they likely contain toxins?

Aromatherapy for Mood

01-11-2010 ** Categories: Home Design and Decor / Tags:

Your environment is a reflection of yourself and vice versa.  On top of a clean home, the scents that surround you influence both your own mood and the impression left on your guests.  Aromatherapy can be used to treat depression and stress, and has even shown to be effective on dogs!  Pamper yourself, your family, and even your pet with the aromas below.

Chamomile & Lavender are good for treating stress/anxiety, and for sleep or relaxation. Chamomile is slightly fruity, and I prefer the scent to the taste of chamomile tea.  Lavender is floral, and great for bedtime.  A quality lavender candle will fill an entire room with scent.  Light near your bed half an hour before it’s time to sleep (but don’t leave unattended).  Lavender has been linked to lowered blood pressure and decreased muscle tension.

The above scents are also great for treating depression, as is Sandalwood.  I recently discovered sandalwood when my mom gave me a set of sandalwood tea candles as part of a gift. Woody and fruity, it’s now one of my favorite scents.  Sandalwood and Jasmine are said to be romantic scents.

Citrus and Minty scents are ideal for energy and mental clarity. They also provide your home with a ‘clean‘ feeling, which is why many cleaning products are scented and marketed as Orange or Minty Fresh.  (When it comes to choosing cleaning products, I suggest Citra Solv, which I’m sure I’ll post more on later. It gets through anything, and I don’t mind getting it on my bare hands or using around my pup!)

Citrus scents Peppermint, Lemon, Orange, and especially Grapefruit are all stimulating scents. One of my favorite smells of all time is simply Gap Scents So Pink. Orange Spice Black Tea is great for a mood boost on hot or cold days.

I find that minty smells can provide a boost of energy or a gateway to sleep, depending on when applied. I’m pretty obsessed with Tiger Balm and everything like it. Camphor gels or pain patches on the back of my neck are the perfect pick-me-up when I’m sitting at the computer for long hours, while I’m also a fan of menthol and lavender nasal sprays before bed.

More on Candles…

Some candles seem really pricey, but good ones can burn as long as 40+ hours, and the best candles require less burning time to put off a lingering scent.  Yankee Candles are famous for their potency, and sometimes you can find them at outlet stores such as Ross or TJ Maxx for as much as half off.  Otherwise, they sell for around $20 each. Bed, Bath and Beyond has a great selection.

The Kardashian sisters at Dash are working on a candle collab with For Every Body that will include soy-based, eco-friendly candles and soy sprays.

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