Anyway -  here is my random mix of favorite things. Clearly it is not comprehensive or exhaustive, but it was fun to create!

• My family (I know that’s obvious but this list wouldn’t be complete without it)
• My friends (see above)
• Garden Girl products (of course!), my personal “must have’s”: You’re Fresh, Even Stephen, Break Free, Nature Nurture, Super Hero serum, Eye Can’t Believe It, Chill Out lotion, Alive body wash,  Simmer Down bath salts, Hand it to You hand cream and Zippity Do Dah peppermint foot cream
• My new VitaMix!
• Our SodaStream soda/seltzer machine
• White vinegar (for cleaning and laundry)
• My tumble composter from Costco (so easy!)
• My husband’s old (2003) Prius – such a great car
• My BlackBerry
• My laptop
• Facebook
• Mineral makeup
• Greek yogurt
• Chocolate
• Banana Bread
• Smoothies
• Gooey brownies
• Hot fudge
• Ice cream (Brigham’s Mocha Chip or Chocolate Chip are 2 all-time favorites)
• Broccoli (seriously)
• Spinach (again, seriously)
• Juicy tomatoes in the summer – especially with fresh mozzarella and basil! (and crusty bread)
• speaking of bread….CARBS (but I try to squeeze in whole grains whenever possible) – especially chewy, crusty bread and pasta
• A big salad with tons of stuff in there – especially if someone else did all the chopping
• Shortcut dinners like all natural frozen potstickers from Costco, Mama Rosie’s spinach ravioli, Bell & Evan’s chicken, Trader Joe’s mandarin orange chicken, Trader Joe’s frozen brown rice, quesadillas, omelettes
• My rice cooker
• My Kitchen Aid mixer
• My favorite cookbooks: America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook, Gourmet cookbook, and King Arthur Flour Cookie Book
• Cooking Light magazine
• Epicurious.com and other online recipe databases
• Food Network
• Any good workout I can find that’s 20 minutes or less and that I can do at home
• Our Weber Grill
• My latex mattress
• Central air conditioning (i know – VERY un-eco-friendly but we do keep it on the warm side)
• Caribbean Sol sunblock
• Caribbean Sol all natural self tanner (nice!)
• Trader Joe’s Powerberries (DO NOT BUY these if you are not already addicted – they are so yummy that they are pure evil…)
• Our pizza stone
• Pizza dough from Russo’s
• Actually – Russo’s in general, along with Trader Joe’s (can’t imagine life without it), Costco, and Whole Foods
• Reusable grocery bags (just seems like an obviously good idea, doesn’t it? and now I have finally gotten the hang of always having them in the car…)

I could do an entire list of my favorite food from Trader Joe’s – actually I think I have in the past? And I know I’ve done a “favorite finds at Costco” Facebook posting. Those are always fun!

Anyway – that’s my random list, for better or for worse. It makes me laugh that it is mostly food – apparently I have a one-track mind…

I’m looking forward to hearing what some of your favorites are!

Then on the Bionic Beauty blog (fun blog – check it out) – they said there was a special offer for Valentine’s Day – you got 2 Blenders plus a bunch of sponge-cleanser packets to keep it fresh. I checked out the site and decided that it was time to try this thing out. (I actually bought the one without the cleansers as I like to use Garden Girl shower gel to clean brushes and sponges.)

So these cute little guys arrived at my doorstep and I was immediately intrigued. I have to say, for some reason I expected them to be firmer – not as soft. But they are very soft and they are AMAZING with mineral powders! I said I had “thought” I was happy with brushes but once I tried this I knew I’d never go back – at least not for the base powders (I still prefer a brush for blush and obviously eye liner).  No more powder messes that have always frustrated me. Plus – the egg shape is perfect for getting different areas covered – the wider ends for the forehead, cheeks and chin – the pointier end for eyes and nose areas. Really – it’s a simple but fantastic little tool.

So I highly recommend getting the blenders – either from PurelyCosmetics or straight from the BeautyBlender website where, by the way, they are still having their special offer! Even if you use cream based foundations or other non-mineral products, check them out – you’ll love them!

First off, the ingredients list is much smaller and appears more natural. Another plus. But the application of the product is totally different from Kiehl’s. As I had said, Kiehl’s goes on thick and a bit clumpy. But it definitely made my short and straight lashes stand out. I would say the Tarte mascara is more, hmmm… refined? It’s not as heavy and the brush has a lot of very fine bristles so after one coat, my lashes are less dramatic than Kiehl’s – but also noticeably less clumpy. So overall, I think I would have to go with Tarte as my “go to” mascara, but Kiehl’s is good when I need to put on make-up fast and am less worried about how natural it looks.

I think I can now put this search on hold. I am happy with Tarte Lash Hugger, and at $18 for a 0.19 oz tube (at Sephora), I will want to use this up before I invest in checking out another mineral mascara.

First, I want to be clear that if there was any possibility of Garden Girl producing an SPF face product I’d do it in a flash. Unfortunately, it is prohibitively expensive for us to do it and here’s why – the FDA has to approve a specific formula because it would be considered an over-the-counter drug.

But believe me, I share in your frustration. I cannot find a face product that I feel good about using. There isn’t one that has ingredients that are even close to what I would want to use.

Which brings me to mineral make-up. I use mineral make-up everyday now because the minerals not only make your skin look flawless, but it has the added bonus of having sun-blocking minerals. So it’s a great safety net.

The make-up I have been happiest with is www.everydayminerals.com. They offer a great free trial kit (you pay only for shipping) and then their full-sized products are very reasonably priced. I love the powders, however some of the brushes haven’t been great and the lipstick seems to dry out my lips so I am still seeking a lipstick (lead-free, of course!) I definitely think they are worth taking a peek at!

So what do I use for sunprotection aside from mineral make-up? I have resorted to Blue Lizard either SENSITIVE skin or BABY (none of the others – as they contain nasty Oxybenzone). Baby and Sensitive are actually the same product – just different names. It does contain parabens which I usually avoid like the plague, but it only has Titanium Dioxide and Zinc Oxide – and it doesn’t stink, it has no added fragrance, isn’t terribly sticky/gooey like some others, and generally does a great job. It was also on the list as one of the best when EWG reviewed sunscreens last summer. So until I find something better (and believe me, I’m looking for suggestions!) – this is what my family will be using all summer.

So check out Blue Lizard – it is available at CVS (and I’m guessing Walgreen’s as well). If enough people were interested, I would consider offering it on my website as well. Let me know!