I still can't believe how fast water boils in my electric kettle!

Our sweet neighbors have given us unlimited access to their abundance of citrus. It's the best.

Avocado and sweet potato sushi are a dream team if I've ever seen one.

Have you experienced the convenient awesomeness that is an electric kettle?

Oh, and here are some links to get your weekend started right!

• 4 Simple Detox Tips for the New Year
• 10 Essentials for a Successful Detox

p.s. My instagram username dawngwimes. Do with that information what you wish.

Today’s giveaway was made possible by Made From Earth. If you’re searching for cruelty-free skincare products that never contain parabens, synthetic preservatives, colors, and fragrances, then look no further than these guys!

Made From Earth sent me four great products (pictured above) to give to one lucky reader, and they are as follows-

1. A 2 oz. bottle of Three Berry Organic Face Serum- Christina was over the moon for her Made From Earth Vitamin Enhanced Face Firming Serum, and my Rosehip+Hibsicus Serum has my skin looking positively radiant. With its organic ingredients and antioxidant power, this Three Berry Serum has the potential to be equally dreamy.
2. A deluxe sample of Pure Aloe Vera Skin Treatment- Hopefully my review of this wonderful moisturizer says it all.
3. A tube of Citrus Fresh Lip Balm- Short lists of familiar ingredients, simple scents, and exceptional performance!
4. A tube of Vanilla Lip Balm- Above applies. I reviewed both lip balms here.

To enter this giveaway, like both Made From Earth and Turby and John‘s facebook pages. Leave a comment on this post afterwards with the name of your current moisturizer (if you use one).

To earn additional entries, leave separate comments on this post after doing each of the following:

• Follow Made From Earth and Dawngwimes (that’s me!) on Twitter (worth 1 entry).
• Tweet about this giveaway (worth 1 entry).

Entries will be accepted until next Tuesday night (May 31st) at 9pm central time. A winner will be chosen randomly and announced next Wednesday morning (June 1st) at 10 am. Be sure to include your email address with each comment so I’ll have a way to get in touch with you if you’re chosen.

Good luck everyone!

This giveaway is now closed. Click the link to see the winner!

As my product reviews have become more in depth, I’ve grown accustomed to reviewing a single product at a time. I find it’s easier to be thorough this way. However, after trying my two new Made From Earth Lip Balms, I decided to review them together. They’re so similar in performance, ingredients and price that it just made sense.

Ingredients (provided at madefromearth.com)-

Citrus Fresh Lip Balm- “Organic Sunflower Oil, Organic Beeswax, Organic Jojoba Oil, Organic Essential Oils of Orange, Lemon and Lime, Vitamin E, Rosemary Extract, Organic Calendula.”

Vanilla Lip Balm- “Organic Sunflower Oil, Organic Beeswax, Organic Jojoba Oil, Organic Vanilla Essential Oil, Vitamin E, Rosemary Extract, Organic Calendula.”

I couldn’t locate these products in the Cosmetic Safety Database, but the short lists of familiar ingredients did a fine job of speaking for themselves. Still, I’ve linked to the individual ingredients above. Unsurprisingly, none of the ingredients have hazard scores above a 2. Since these products are meant for my lips and will inevitably wind up in my stomach at some point, ingredients with low hazard scores are especially important.

Some great things about these products:

1.  They’re free of parabens, sulfates, synthetic fragrances, and synthetic coloring agents.

2.  They’re cruelty-free.

3. They contain organic ingredients.

Product Descriptions(also provided at madefromearth.com)-

Citrus Fresh Lip Balm: “Citrus Fresh tastes like a delicious mix of lemons, limes and fresh squeezed oranges. This organic and chemical free lip balm contains vitamin-rich sunflower seed oil and protecting beeswax to avoid a chapped lip texture to aid the production of collagen in the lips, with the sweet taste of oranges. Citrus fruits have been proven to have detoxification properties due to the high concentration of vitamin C. In topical form, they can help to alleviate skin problems, and when used on a regular basis, protect the skin from sun damage and aging.”

Vanilla Lip Balm: “Warm. Calm. Relaxing. Organic ingredients with vanilla designed to soothe and calm your lips. For all vanilla lovers, welcome home.”

Price- $3.99 for each 0.15 oz. tube

Performance- These lip balms are both great; they moisturize my lips for hours at a time. While they don’t provide any tint or gloss (and I shouldn’t expect that of them since they’re not tinted or a lip gloss), they still leave my lips feeling soft and looking healthy. I probably wouldn’t wear this lip balm if I were trying to look fancy, but it’d be perfect to wear to bed, around the house, or while working out…I guess it’s comparable to sweatpants: comfy, great and necessary but not appropriate for all occasions.

Scent- The Citrus fresh lip balm smells a little like Mountain Dew and a lot like lemon/lime. When I mentioned wearing these lip balms while working out, I had this one in mind. It’s so fresh and bright and seems like an appropriately active scent. The Vanilla lip balm is a more warm and relaxing scent. I’ve worn it to bed several times and can totally see myself wearing it while napping on the beach.

Rating- Each lip balm earns a rating of 8/10. I’m subtracting 2 points from each because I wouldn’t hate something slightly more versatile (maybe something with just a little tint), but the ingredients and price are both ideal.

Would I purchase these items again? Sure! I’d also really like to try the Blueberry and Spearmint Lip Balms.

*These products were provided by Made from Earth; the opinions were provided by me.

1) I actually just ordered this concealer from Sephora (along with my favorite blush in the entire world). The ingredients in both products aren’t the absolute best, but they certainly aren’t the worst. Also, I’m not one to cover blemishes with concealer (clogging pores to cover blemishes seems counterproductive), but I cannot wait to say goodbye to my morning time sleepy undereyes.  Spending sixty dollars never felt so good.

2) These totes are adorable, and we can always use more grocery-getting bags!

3) I’ve seen this little guy countless times while checking out at Walmart and am always drawn in by the cute and interesting shape. I plan on buying a Smooth Sphere in sweet mint when I run out of my current chapstick.

4) Danielle already has a KitchenAid Stand Mixer, and this citrus juicer attachment would make juicing grapefruits, oranges, lemons, and limes a much easier task. No more balancing the handheld juicer on a coffee cup!

5) I’d love nothing more than to fill my bathroom cabinet with these beautiful organic cotton towels.

Sources: Concealer, Totes, Lip Balm, Juicer, Towels.

Is there anything special you’ve had your eye on lately? Tell me about it!

Ingredients- (provided at drbronner.com)- “Organic Lemon Juice, Organic Shikakai Powder, Organic Coconut Oil, Potassium Hydroxide, Organic Olive Oil, Organic Hemp Oil, Organic Jojoba Oil, Organic Lemon Oil, Organic Orange Oil”

This product gets a satisfyingly low hazard score of 1 from the Environmental Working Group’s Cosmetic Safety Database.

Product Description (also provided at drbronner.com)- “Our organic conditioning rinse is nourishing and effective without synthetic ingredients, and is certified by the same National Organic Program that certifies organic food. The USDA logo is your guarantee of organic integrity.  Organic Shikakai [“Shee-kah-kye”] powder comes from the seed pods of the small South Asian tree Acacia Concinna, and is widely used in India for soft shiny hair. Organic lemon juice, used traditionally in the west, rinses and tightens hair shafts for excellent manageability. Organic coconut, olive and hemp fatty acids moisturize for luxuriant hair.”

Price- $9.99 for eight ounces, which seems to be pretty standard for an all-natural conditioner.

Performance- The directions on the bottle suggest pouring two caps full of the product into a cup of water, pouring it over your head, and then running your fingers through your hair. I’d suggest combing your hair with a comb before you do any of this, especially if you tend to have a nappy head like me.  As long as I comb beforehand, I have no problems with these instructions.  Otherwise, it’s a pretty painful process. This rinse makes my hair feel super soft, which I obviously love. It also makes it smell delightful, which I’ll talk more about in a second.

Scent- The scent of this product is my favorite part!! It smells exactly like a big bowl of fruity pebbles sitting beside a sliced orange.  I might continue using this product even if I didn’t like the way it made my hair look, and I’m aware how ridiculous that sounds. What can I say? I’m a big fan of fruity pebbles (but I don’t allow myself to eat them, since I’d basically be eating a bowl of sugar).

Rating- 7.5 out of 10. I subtracted 70 points because I miss the 70 hairs that I ripped out of my scalp while combing in the conditioner with my fingers the first time I used it. I subtracted a .5 because it makes me want a bowl of fruity pebbles, and that’s an unhealthy habit to develop (regardless of how much I love fruity pebbles and the scent of this conditioner).

And as promised, here’s a sick picture of my hand that is covered in poison ivy:

The scabby area just below my fingers was covered in blisters yesterday. I think the steroids are doing their job.