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!

Busy busy weekend so now I am draining my brain with Desperate Housewives again. LOVE that “fall back” time change. I always appreciate an extra hour of sleep!

This Monday’s special is an exciting (and fun) one! Not only does it involve FREE PRODUCTS – but you can choose what you want for your bonus.

When you spend $75-$125 you can choose ANY PRODUCT valued up to $25 for FREE! That includes: Oasis for Faces, You’re Fresh, Even Stephen, Pucker Up, all Body Lotions and Shower Gels, Baby lotion or wash, Smooches or Hugs (4 oz), Hand it to You (4 oz) or Zippity Do Dah.

OR

When you spend more than $125, you can choose ANY GARDEN GIRL PRODUCT for FREE! Yep – that includes Like Magic or even our newest products like Break Free and At Long Last. Anything!

To take advantage, simply go to http://www.gardengirlskincare.com/ and place your order. Then in the Comments section, write in whatever free product you want. EASY! And don’t forget, if you work with one of our consultants, please be sure to write their name in the Consultant’s box so they can get credit for the sale.

This is a great way to get yourself something extra, try a new product or even start getting some holiday shopping done – Hand it to You for a teacher, Pucker Up Coconut for a babysitter, or Chill Out for a stressed-out co-worker

This offer is packed with “free’s” – paraben-free, sulfate-free, petroleum-free, phthalate-free and just FREE-free. Wahoo!

Enjoy and have a great week. And if you’re keeping score on the BPA (bisphenol A) in plastics debate, check out the posting below.

But most of all – don’t forget to vote on Tuesday

I’m sitting here in a food coma from celebrating my mom’s birthday (Happy Birthday mom!) – my sister made her famous sour cream chocolate cake with the yummiest burnt sugar frosting that is so addictive. Mmmmm.

Consequently, my brain is functioning solely on sugar so there’s not much productive going on. To add to that – I spent the last hour wasting the few functioning brain cells on Desperate Housewives. I can’t figure out if Gabby really did gain weight or if it is just in the costuming? Anyway – that is why I have come up with zero creative ideas for the one day sale.

Instead, I’m going to rely on a the fan-favorite FREE SHIPPING!!

So this is the easy way to save – no restrictions. Simply FREE shipping. So shop til your heart’s content at

www.gardengirlskincare.com

and order your favorites, start some early holiday shopping, get some housewarming gifts for the upcoming holidays or try some new products. Feel good knowing that the products are paraben-free, sulfate-free, petroleum-free and phthalate-free!

Then use coupon code FREESHIP to have the shipping cost removed from your order. If your order is $100+, then you get a straight discount of $7.99 (shipping is already free for orders over $100).

Have fun and have a great week! Happy Halloween!!

Hope you all had a nice weekend. This was the first weekend of full “back to fall” schedule in our house. Soccer, golf and BBQ’s. Fun!

For this week’s One Day Sale, we’re going back to basics, with a little twist. The twist, is that you can choose your deal:

$5 off ANY order (no strings)

OR

$10 off an order of $75 or more

Use it to replenish what you’re running low on – or try something new! And the best part, is that you know any product you choose will be free of parabens, sulfates/SLS, petroleum products (petrolatum, petroleum jelly, mineral oil etc) and phthalates.

Questions about products? Want to know ingredients? How to use something? What works for your skin types etc. ? Never hesitate to ask. Just email info@gardengirlskincare.com and you’ll get an answer.

Ready to order? Simply go to:

www.gardengirlskincare.com

and use one of the following coupon codes:

5OFF (for $5 off any size order)

or

10OFF (for $10 off an order of $75 or more)

Enjoy and have a great week! Don’t forget to read some of the past postings on this blog (aside from the one day sale ones) – and feel free to leave your comments!!

It’s Olympic time! I love watching all of the competitors doing what they have been training for all their lives. It’s so impressive (particularly since I lack even a hint of athletic ability). So they have inspired me to offer a $5.00 discount on ALL orders (no minimum). Hopefully you’ll see the connection between the Olympics and the offer

So here’s what to do to take advantage -

go to:

http://www.gardengirlskincare.com/

fill up your shopping cart, then use coupon code:

AUG11

It’s that easy to save on Garden Girl’s paraben-free, sulfate-free, petroleum-free and phthalate-free products. Happy shopping!!

Well, I’m going back to watching the women’s uneven bars. Sadly, right now they are on a streak of “issues” with each performance – hopefully they are going to pull it together!

Have a great week !!

Sweet stuff this week! Maybe it’s because it’s my husband’s and my 12th anniversary today (which we spent at the Red Sox game with our boys and friends – where we just so happened to have gotten engaged 14 years ago, but I digress….) – but I’m in a sweet mood.

So what’s the scoop this week? Well – we are excited to let you know that we now have our sweetest products in BIGGER sizes! By popular demand, our Hugs vanilla body butter and Smooches chocolate mandarin body butters now come not only in a 4 oz. jar, but now also in an 8 oz jar.

Yep – that’s twice as much sweetness – you’ll be able to slather it on without worry about running out. And this body butter is really a sweet treat. The shea and aloe butters are rich and hydrating – this is more than a lotion, it’s a deeply hydrating and nourishing butter. Your skin will be eating it up (so to speak). Best of all – the scent is derived from a flavor oil that is PHTHALATE FREE! And as always, our products are free not only of phthalates, but also parabens, sulfates, and petroleum products.

Our 4 oz. jar of Hugs or Smooches is $16, and we are now selling our 8 oz. jar for $26 – a great deal! And want to hear what makes it even more delicious? Today’s special offer is that you can get an

8 oz. jar of either Hugs or Smooches for the price of a 4 oz. jar
SAVE $10!!!!

Now, because we are having the website worked on and there are still quite a few (ahem…) issues that I’m trying to have them fix, it’s going to work like this. Simply go to the site and visit:

http://www.gardengirlskincare.com/bodybutters.html

You’ll notice that there is some funky stuff like “Product #131 8 oz.” – just IGNORE that (it’s possible they will have fixed that by the time you do this, but if not – just ignore it!)

Instead, simply add whichever of the two (or both!) that you’d like to your cart – it will add a 4 oz jar but we will send you an 8 oz jar. Wooohooooo!!!! Please note, however, that the limit is 2 jars (2 of any one scent, or one of each).

So enjoy a sweet treat and don’t be surprised if you get a little more attention when you wear Smooches or Hugs. They are so yummy that loved ones might want to snuggle a bit more!

Well Happy Father’s Day to all you dads that read this (ok-there’s not many, I’m guessing aside from my husband and maybe my dad…).

Today’s one-day sale is simple and straight-forward -

$5 off any purchase.

Just a little special treat for your Monday. No restrictions.

Feet need some help during sandals weather? Get some Liven Up peppermint bath salts to soak your feet, then Pucker Up sugar scrub to soften the rough spots, and Zippity Do Dah peppermint foot cream (SO yummy) to keep them soft and looking fab in your flip flops or sandals.

Or maybe your legs and arms need some reviving? Use our Body Lotions (Chill Out, Jump Start, Mellow or Alive) or body butters (Smooches or Hugs) to get your skin in perfect “show off” shape!

Don’t forget – all of our products are free of the nasties – parabens, sulfates, petroleum products (including mineral oil) and phthalates.

Whatever you need, you’ll get a nice bonus of $5 off to get you started if you order on Monday

Simply go to:

www.gardengirlskincare.com

and use coupon code

JUN16

when you are checking out. As always, happy shopping and enjoy your week!

Geesh – you’d think after living in New England for 38 of my 40 years I would have gotten used to the wacky weather here. But this weekend was wild – 60’s cold and rainy on Friday then high 90’s, sunny and HUMID on Saturday and Sunday.

So to cool off – I’m thinking a cool, relaxing soak in the tub would be nice to beat this heat. That’s why today’s special offer is a:

FREE 8 oz Chill Out Body Wash with any order of $35 or more.

Chill Out is our rich sulfate-free, phthalate-free, paraben-free body wash with an intoxicating blend of mandarin orange and grapefruit to relax your senses and chill you out. And why not make part of your purchase the matching Chill Out lotion? As with all of our products, that too is paraben-free, petroleum-free, phthalate-free and sulfate-free. They are both scented naturally using only essential oils.

To get this offer – all you need to do is place a $35 order
at www.gardengirlskincare.com (go to the Bath + Body section to find the lotions)

- you don’t need to add the Chill Out body wash to your order. Instead, when checking out in the COMMENTS SECTION write “FREE CHILL OUT”

Voila! It’s that easy. And if you’re not experiencing a heat wave right now, just wait – I’m sure there’s one around the corner!

Have a great week!

Hi all! Here’s a great big offer for you – to keep your shining (but not shiny!) faces happy and glowing. It’s simple:

Spend $100, and get

Your Choice of a FREE: Oasis for Faces face wash for sensitive skin, You’re Fresh face wash OR Even Stephen toner

“How can I take advantage of this freebie”, you ask?? Simply go to

www.gardengirlskincare.com

And order whatever makes you happy, totalling $100 or more (don’t include the Freebie Product in the order). Then when you check out, in the COMMENTS section, simply write which of the 3 products (You’re Fresh, Oasis for Faces or Even Stephen) you’d like for FREE!!

Don’t forget, our products are all free of parabens, sulfates, petroleum products (including mineral oil), phthalates, added colors and chemical fragrances.

As always – happy shopping!

GEEEESH is spring EVER going to get here? Today was one of those miserable New England days – dreary, rainy, and cold. Yuck. It really irks me – it would be so refreshing to have a warm day. I’m not even asking for 70 degrees – I’d be happy with mid-50’s! Fingers crossed we’ll get there this week.

Anyway – enough complaining. Onto this week’s special! This week, we are celebrating “the basics” – washing and toning! The offer is:

Buy a Face Wash (either You’re Fresh or Oasis for Faces) and get
Even Ste(pH)en Toner at
50% off – that’s a $9 savings!

It’s easy – just go to:

www.GardenGirlSkinCare.com/facecare.html

and add either Oasis for Faces or You’re Fresh to your cart, then add Even Ste(pH)en as well. Feel free to continue shopping . Then when you are ready to check out, use coupon code: