Well – I polled friends and relatives during this wonderful (and calorie-laden) extra-long weekend and came up with a great offer for the now infamous Cyber Monday. I have to say, somehow it feels like the geeky brother of Black Friday but regardless – it has become a big thing. As usual, however, I digress (and so early in the post too!)

Anyway, here’s the deal -

FREE SHIPPING on ALL ORDERS!

PLUS a very cool bonus:

The first 10 orders will get a FREE 8oz SHOWER GEL (in either Alive, Mellow, Chill Out or Jump Start scent – all fragranced with essential oils, loaded with skin softeners, with rich sulfate/SLS-free suds!)

That’s a LOT of freebies – and all you need to do to take advantage, is go to

www.gardengirlskincare.com

and use the coupon code CYBER when checking out.

Not a bad way to start your week! Great time to get some holiday shopping done – and feel good knowing you’re giving eco-friendly products that are also good for your skin and body. Garden Girl products are always free of parabens, sulfates, petroleum products and phthalates. Best of all – they work great, leaving your skin looking its best.

And don’t forget to grab a few things for yourself while your at it! No one ever said you couldn’t buy your own stocking stuffers. Let’s face it – it’s hard to get family members to get you want you really want! (Although you can always forward them the Garden Girl website URL…) All from the comfort of your couch! And since Dancing with the Stars is over, you have a whole free Monday night Hmmm – I wonder what Brooke Burke is doing now that she’s back home with the kiddos. See? I digress again.

So take advantage of this special offer. It’s only valid until MIDNIGHT Monday night.

P.S. I know we have the weekly One Day Sale – but I can tell you, I won’t have one with more free stuff than this before Christmas! So shop early – and save big!

I have been trying for a couple of years now to find hair care products that are free of my “no-no’s” – parabens, sulfates and phthalates (so I look for products without perfume or fragrance). There certainly is no lack of products out there. Just go to the personal care aisle at Whole Foods.

The reason I started Garden Girl was that I couldn’t find skin care and bath & body products that were natural and worked as well. I knew there must be a way to have products that were natural and effective – and we’ve done it.

Now I’m finding that I can’t seem to find any hair care products that really WORK. But so far – I am finding that natural hair care products just don’t work. I’m not asking for much, either. I just need the products to leave my hair soft, and my scalp clean (my hair is generally normal or a tiny bit dry). But I seem to find natural shampoos and conditioners either leave my hair feeling dry and frizzy, or my scalp itchy or flaky. Not what I’m looking for!

So recently I decided to try Alba Plumera Replenishing hair wash. According to the label, there is only a “botanical fragrance” however I am skeptical that they didn’t use fragrance as well. It’s too strong for just essential oils. The scent was nice and the ingredients list was impressive. But unfortunately, this shampoo falls into that category of looks good, smells good but doesn’t do the trick. It didn’t give a nice lather, and my hair felt dry after using it.

The other product I tried recently was Kiss My Face Whenever Conditioner – Green Tea & Lime. Again, this is a product that has a great list of ingredients with much of them being organic. But this just never felt like it was absorbing in. My hair didn’t feel moisturized after using the conditioner. Instead it felt somewhat dry.

While both of these products met the criteria of being free of parabens, sulfates and phthalates – neither of them did the trick.

Meantime, I will continue my pursuit of good natural haircare. Fingers crossed!

Having been simultaneously intrigued and repulsed by the PediEgg infomercials (not a big fan of feet in general) I finally decided to buy one today to see what all the hype was about. I had heard many people rave about it, but others have said it wasn’t that great.

Well here’s my thoughts:

Pros -

• it does “shave” the dry/rough skin off, and captures it (that’s the ick-factor) in the cute little case
• it doesn’t hurt or seem irritating

Cons -

• if you don’t hold the egg in the exact right angle, the foot shavings (again, ick) fall to the ground – definitely do it over a trash basket just in case
• when I was done, I could tell that a lot of the rough skin had been removed, but my foot didn’t feel smooth and soft until I put my Zippity Do Dah peppermint foot cream on. That’s not just a shameless plug for Garden Girl products, it’s just that my feet felt rough and dry after I was done.

Overall Assessment: I am not convinced it did a better job than my regular foot smoother. And I know some people like to see the results by staring proudly into a little plastic egg at the shards of their skin they just removed from their foot, but it is a bit of overkill for me. Don’t need to see it! Will I use it again? Sure – it’s convenient and now that I have it I’ll feel compelled to use it (I’m not one to waste or discard things – just ask my husband about our bins and bins of baby stuff in the basement). Would I tell others to buy it? Hmm. Not necessarily – unless they are desperate to try something new for their piggies!

If you have another product you are curious about – let me know! I love trying new things – especially if it’s “eco-friendly”!

Been thinking a lot about the things that I have to be thankful for. The world we are living in is getting wackier every day. The stock markets are insane and 401(k)’s are more like 201(k)’s , as my dad likes to “joke.”

So with things this crazy, it makes me thankful for what is solid, secure and comforting. My husband, my children, my extended family and my friends. Having a home that we can afford, secure jobs, and food on the table.

But another thing I am truly thankful for is my loyal customers. It is not easy to have a new company that you are trying to grow during a recession. But my customers are something to be thankful for. You guys are great – and I appreciate each and every one of you. You have made this a year that I am proud of – I’m thankful for the success Garden Girl has had.

So here’s how I can show my thanks – by giving you a deal! This week, I’m giving you a TWO DAY sale – and it’s a good one:

20% off ALL orders - any size!

Woohoo – that’s a biggie, too! Not only can you save lots of money – but you also get an extra day to order! So stock up on your favorites, load up on hostess gifts for the upcoming holiday parties and maybe even get a headstart on some holiday shopping. Or maybe just share them with people YOU are thankful for! And as always – the products are free of parabens, sulfates, petroleum products and phthalates.

To take advantage, simply go to:
www.gardengirlskincare.com

Then when you are ready to check out, use coupon code:
SAVE20

With my most sincere thanks for helping me build this company, enjoy! And may you have a wonderful Thanksgiving filled with family, friends and joy.

Check out the s.i.m.p.l.e blog for a great giveaway of Earthlust stainless water bottles. All you need to do is post on the simple blog which one you like the best and you’ll be entered to win. Good luck!

Aloe Vera is one of those sometimes overlooked ingredients that should really be the shining star! It has been used literally almost forever for its many incredible qualities. It is even mentioned in the Bible in John 19. Now that’s ancient!

Topical uses range from herbal medicinal uses (like healing scars and burns, and soothing sunburns) to general skin care. The source is the aloe plant leaves which are filled with a gel. Aloe largely consists of water but the key components include minerals, polysaccarides, and amino acids. Plus it has vitamins E, C & B.

It’s great to keep an aloe plant around the house for emergencies. They are very hardy (read – people like me who seem to kill all houseplants somehow, can even keep an Aloe plant thriving). And if you get a burn – you have the source right there for immediate relief. I say this from experience. A couple years ago I burned my wrist when a sugar-sauce splattered on it. It was a bad burn (OK I’ll admit it – I felt woozy and nauseous) but the first thing I did was rip open a hunk of aloe leaf and put it on my burn. It was amazing – cooling and soothing. (Then I called my sister the doctor for more advice!)

But I digress. The reason I’m posting about aloe is that I think it’s a good reminder to understand why this ingredient is found in so many skin care products. It is in all creams and lotions from Garden Girl and for great reason. It is an incredible skin hydrator, healer and softener with anti-inflamitory properties. It helps to keep the skin soft and supple by bringing oxygen to the cells which helps to strengthen the skin tissue. It is great for all skin types – and is so mild that even those with the most sensitive skin will benefit from its properties.

So the next time you see Aloe Vera on a label, don’t be quick to dismiss it. It’s there for a great reason. It is a hard-working superstar!

White vinegar! Is there any other “eco-friendly” and cheap product that has so many amazing uses? Here are just a few of the things I use white vinegar for:

• Laundry fabric softener – no more fabric softener sheets. We throw vinegar in the fabric softener compartment in our washing machine. Clothes come out clean and fresh and odor-free. Then I toss them in the dryer with those funky dryer prickly ball-things and our clothes are soft and cushy. Can’t beat it!
• Cleaning shower heads – this may seem like a strange one but since I think we have “hard” water, we get crunchy gook on our shower heads. I put white vinegar in a ziptop bag and submerge the shower head in the vinegar – attaching the bag with a rubber band. Leave it there for a few hours then remove it, brush with an old toothbrush and it’s sparkling clean! Nothing I have ever used for that works as well.
• A drop in the water when I wash my wood floors. I don’t wash them often as water isn’t good for the floors but when we had our house remodeled, I asked the floor guy how to take care of the floors, and he said warm water with a dash of white vinegar. Then barely moisten the mop. Works great!
• Washing windows – works like a charm. A drop of liquid dish soap, a little vinegar and some water. Who needs to buy all that garbage from the store that doesn’t even work as well as this?
• Cleaning the coffee machine – run it through the coffee machine then do a couple rinse runs with plain water. Keeps coffee tasting great!

It’s easy to start reducing the toxins in your home. Even if you just do it one step at a time. Plus – it’s nice when being eco-conscious also means saving money and getting the job done!

Not that it should be a surprise, but a group of advisors to the FDA have cautioned that injected wrinkle fillers should carry warnings about things like “scarring, tissue damage and other serious complications.” There was a brief article in the Boston Globe this morning (thanks Mom for pointing it out!). It said that about 1.4 million women injected animal collagens or chemicals to smooth skin and reduce wrinkles. And apparently the manufacturers are not providing adequate warnings, and instead innaccurately stating that any side effects are “temporary”. Check out the article.

Hmm. Why inject this stuff? It just doesn’t seem right, does it? Especially when there are so many topical options that work great! Like, for instance, Like Magic and Eye Can’t Believe It!! And ours are always free of parabens, sulfates, petroleum products and phthalates!

It’s Sunday night – so it is time for this week’s One Day Sale!

The weekend started with my oldest having a stomach bug – which threw everyone’s plans for a loop! I felt so sorry for him – missing a birthday party he had been looking forward to. And my youngest had to cancel his friend coming over. And my husband and I had to miss the party we were supposed to go to. But it ended up being a nice, mellow, family weekend. Did some early holiday shopping, played games, watched movies, got work done and did projects around the house. And we even paid my niece a visit at Tufts!

So now I’m hunkered down with Sunday night TV and my laptop. Been “tweeting” on Twitter and facebooking. And just watched the fascinating 60 minutes piece on the Obamas. What an amazing couple – they seem very real.

And that brings me to the sale. This week is all about faces! It works like this:

SAVE $10 on your purchase of ANY face product with a minimum order of $50.
That’s a savings of up to 20%!

Simply go to www.gardengirlskincare.com and place an order that totals $50 or more and includes at least 1 face product (face washes, face creams, toner, fruit acid gel, microderm, anti-aging, or kit!)

Then, enter coupon code: FACE to take $10 off your order!

Easy peasy. And your face will thank you for saving it from parabens, sulfates, petroleum products and phthalates!

Have a great week!

Hey – check out this fun mom-blogger site that has some great holiday games and activities for the next couple of weeks. You can win some great prizes! Janice Wehner, our GG consultant in CT is representing Garden Girl so be sure to find her on there too!