a new soapbox

i am not a crunchy hippie anti-chemical lady. i so wish i was, but i am just not. before i had kids, i had visions of being miss cloth diapers, chemical-free, organic everything.

in reality: there are 3 unopened packs of biodegradable diapers in our "garage sale" pile. we tried one with judah and they were AWFUL compared to evil, toxic, nature-bomb pampers. i realized we couldnt do cloth diapering be cause our kids go to preschool/daycare. and while i did manage to buy only organic jarred baby food for both kids, it was mostly because i stocked up during BOGO sales and used coupons...otherwise, i can just never justfy the extra cost to myself.

my parents became all-organic a few years back, and have loudly and often touted the benefits of this lifestyle. i have seen movies, read many articles and even a few books about the chemicals and crap in our food, homes and cleaning products and i cringe dutifully at the yucky stuff that's out there and vow to never go back.

but you know me (do you know me? hi, i'm keight), i have a hard time with moderation. i tend to go all or nothing. and with this thing, the all was just too much for me to think about, keep up with for longer than 10 minutes, and afford. so i landed on almost nothing.

my big argument is usually, "well i ate/drank/used all that stuff all of my life and i am okay." but the fact is that i am still in my 20's and who knows how any of those things might play out in my health in the future.

so here i am. knowing that there is probably a more natural and less chemical-soaked way of living, but kind of copping out and being too lazy/cheap to really be vigilant about it.

but some things are too big and glaring to ignore.

my buddy raechel took over a small business in october, Nourish Organics. she and another member of our half-marathon team, her cousin-in-law olivia, adopted this awesome, thriving, business when its creator found it was taking too much time away from her family. it actually used to be "nourish baby organics," but the girls decided that everyone's skin deserves yummy, natural, safe products...not just the babes!

so when rae announced her new ownership of the business, i wanted to support her loud and proud, so i made an order of all the bath washes. there was a big sale, i got free delivery since i was going to see raechel soon, but mostly i just wanted to support my friend in her new endeavor. i thought that would probably be the last time i bought anything since we have a stockpile of coupon'd un-organic washes and soaps that we use daily.

i figured that these smelly-good washes from Nourish would just be for special occasions. i.e. pre-business time for the grown ups or for if the kids were extra stinky.

and then this article came across my radar a few weeks ago. the hugely iconic and trusted (used by us since birth on both kiddos) johnson & johnson's baby shampoo was found to have a few known carcinogens in it. okay! so, you probably wont catch me grinding my own flaxseed meal or milking free-range goats, but i DO draw the line at rubbing cancer goo into my children's scalps.

i just kept thinking about their soft spots and how fast the chemicals probably traveled to their brains without the resistance of cranial bone! it makes me a little sick.

my attempt at conveying "eighty-sixed" using the few remaining characters from our bath toy set.

so! it looks like buying organic shampoos and washes wont be such an exception going forward, after all.

so when raechel asked if i would like to do a review and giveaway of some Nourish stuff, i was all on board now that i really feel convicted about using organic products to clean my family.

since i already had all 3 washes and and lavender oil (which i won by running 93 miles in a month for our race-training), raechel sent me the coconut and eucalyptus balms to try.

so when you add these to the washes i had and the lavender oil that i won for running 92 miles in july for race training, i have almost the entire line of products.

here's my take:

Nourish is a great looking, well thought out, designed and presented product. the washes came shrink-wrapped with screw-on caps and had the pumps included separately in the box to avoid explosions or leakage in transit.

all of the packaging and materials are so slick and awesome that i feel like i will never want to throw them out. i plan to accommodate this urge by becoming a very specific kind of hoarder.

WASHES:

lavender-i genuinely didnt like it at first. it has a strong smell when you're using it that reminds me of evergreens. but i totally changed my opinion when i washed layla with it out of necessity one day and i realized that when it dries the scent is not christmas tree-ish at all. the smell that lasts on your skin is actually really delicate and floral yummy. i use this one when i want to smell girly and pretty. layla gets this one during her few and far between baths and she will still smell great DAYS later.

coconut-first off, you HAVE to shake this one before you use it like the directions say. it separates into two different liquids when it sits. this one is SO coconut and tropical smelling that i was almost hesitant to use it in the fall for fear of clashing seasonality, but use it i did. it too smells way stronger in the tub than on your skin later on. i use this to wash judah's hair (and my whole self) and it works great as a shampoo on his lush locks. it does make me want to eat my own skin when i get out of the tub though. consider yourself warned.

sweet orange- probably my favorite of all. this one smells amazing start to finish. plain and simple. i am a citrus kind of gal and this one just nails it. this one works on the whole family since it's just clean and crisp and not gender-specific.

and they just came out with a peppermint wash that i dont have (yet). it's limited time only, for the holidays, and i cant wait to get my hands on it. i LOVE peppermint! and that red label is calling to me.

BALMS:

the eucalyptus balm is billed as a chest rub, a la vick's, but i seriously cant restrict it to just that. it smells so farking amazing that i just want to rub it all over my person. i had to write raechel to make sure that it was okay to use everywhere and not just on the chest. it doesnt have that crazy overwhelming menthol feel/smell that most chest rubs have--this is the most relaxing, gentle, calming smell known to man. rubbing it on my hands and feet is like a mini spa day. confession: i rub it on the inside of my nostrils like a big freak just so i can smell it for as long as possible. i want to apply this directly to my brain.

the coconut balm is a warm little tropical getaway. i used it on judah's winter chapped cheeks and a few random patches of dry skin on layla and they disappeared straight away. its not greasy, the only thing it leaves behind is moisturized skin and smell-good goodness.

the only cons of the balms are that i wish they came in large sized tubs as well. i find myself wanting to stick all of my fingers in to scoop out the treasure and with the little pots they come in now, i can only get one or two.

so here's my verdict:

i really wanted to go with "A-plus" but i didnt have the letters for it.

raechel and olivia are in a giving mood. here's what they are lavishing upon you:

DISCOUNT (valid now through friday 12/2):

everyone will get 15% OFF your entire Nourish Organics order when you enter the code dukes15 at checkout

like this!:

GIVEAWAY (ends at noon on thursday, 12/1)

one lucky reader of putapuredukes will win a $20 store credit to Nourish!

to enter: you MUST be a follower of this blog (using the widget in the top right sidebar) and leave a comment on this post telling me which product in the Nourish shop you are drooling over most.

*if you win the drawing and are not an official follower i will have to pick another winner. dont let this happen to you! sorry i am a greedy stickler!*

only one entry per person. i will announce the winner on thursday morning.

the (well-nourished) end