Friday’s Favourites – A Gorgeous Body Butter, Something Gentle for Your Clothes and A Drink With Zero Calories

This week’s edition of Friday’s Favourites is a mixture of body care, something that’s gentle but yet great for your wardrobe and something that just oozes lushness and coolness without the calories .

I’m a fan of body creams and lotions. No idea why but I just love it. I’ve always applied body lotion since I was a teenager – despite it being hot and humid in Singapore. Somehow, that was my little luxury in life. It started with the Johnson & Johnson’s baby lotion. I used to love the soft scent of baby powder, but with the feel of silky (ok thick) lotion instead of the dusty powder. Then as I grew up a little, it progressed to other body lotions. My love affair with body creams then morphed into body butters when I came over to Australia. Somehow the dryer atmosphere warranted me to have something somewhat thicker – yes, any excuse really to delve into the realm of body butters with luscious fragrances! Body butters from Body Shop became the next “must-have” thing for me. But somehow it stopped. No idea why. I switched back to body creams and lotions and tried quite a number as I went along. My most recent favourite body lotion was the one by Garnier, their Garnier Body Intensive 7 Days Conditioning Lotion range, especially the Cocoa Butter. The scent, is gorgeous, but the feel of the lotion is just right, not too heavy and gives you the right amount of moisture for your skin. Then when that ran out, I was lucky enough to be given EcoStore‘s Body Butter to try out.

EcoStore Body Butter

I’ve shared my love for EcoStore‘s products previously on my final Friday’s Favourites for 2011. Their shampoo and conditioner have now been hijacked by Miss 10 who, has Eczema. She loves the mild scent and the fact that it doesn’t cause her scalp to itch. The body butter is just like their shampoo and conditioner, in that it too is free from any chemicals and nasties. Unlike most body butters I’ve tried, the one by Eco Store, while being thick in texture is not greasy. It absorbs almost as soon as you apply it onto your skin, with a subtle yet fresh lemon scent. That is because of the shea butter that’s amongst the main ingredients of this body butter. It is rich, yet non greasy and is closely aligned to our regular body temperature. My jar of body butter is now completely empty, no thanks to Miss 10, who shares it with me. But for a jar of 250g that lasts for 2 months between 2 people, I think it shows how much a little can go a long way!

EcoStore Laundry Powder

Another favourite is their laundry powder. You know how usually when you buy laundry powder that is supposed to be eco-friendly, you either a)end up with clothes that are not that clean b)detergent that smells disgusting c)something that you suspect isn’t that eco-friendly because you tend to sneeze a lot when you open up the box. Well, I was a bit iffy about trying this out because of the above mentioned reasons, but, was pleasantly surprised that it didn’t make me sneeze when I opened up the box. I was advised to use about 3/4 of a scoop (that was provided) to do one load of washing. It has a very light lemon scent so, that ticked one of my boxes. The next test was the ability of this laundry detergent to do its job – clean the dirty laundry and with 3 kids, yes, you have a lot of dirty laundry! It passed that test too! Besides dispelling all three unwanted properties, what I love about it is the fact that the scent doesn’t overpower your clothes like other detergents do! You know how when you use the normal laundry detergent how your clothes have this really strong scent – from the perfumes included in the detergent of course. Well, that is another one of my pet peeves. While they leave clothes smelling nice, they tend to overpower and your perfume often have to fight to win the battle of the lovely scents. With this particular one, I’m glad to say that I didn’t need to overload myself with perfume to drown out the fresh, clean scent. It didn’t hurt that it doesn’t harm the environment either.

Pedras Sabores range

Finally, something that not only I have been enjoying but also my family – and yes, I have to ration this or else they’ll finish it up before I can get my fix. Thanks to Brand Meets Blog and Kids Business, I was invited to the launch of Pedras Sabores; a range of flavoured mineral water from Portugal. To be perfectly honest with you, I’m not a huge fan of mineral water. Never have been and I usually ask for tap water when I’m out. The carbonation in mineral water often puts me off and with the flavoured ones that are on the market, the added sugar and calories make me just turn to soft drink instead, because, it’s about the same really. During the luncheon, we got to try out the range of Pedras Sabores mineral water. The first of three flavours I tried was the Pedras Framboesa and Ginseng, which translated is Raspberry and Ginseng. I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that there was hardly any carbonation, only a very slight one…like tiny bubbles on my lips and not in my throat or tummy. There was just a hint of the raspberry taste, not an overpowering taste like those in soft drinks. The reason for this is that unlike carbonated waters, the carbonic gas that is present has actually been derived from the natural spring. Another added benefit is the fact that this range is low in calorie with GI with no added sugars, so is great for the family too – which is not so great for me. Means I have to share – bummer.

Other flavours include Lime and Hortela (lime and mint) and Limao and Cha Verde (lemon and green tea). Each flavour has its own benefits too. For instance Raspberry and Ginseng is great for mental and physical performance, and both the Lime and Mint  and Lemon and Green Tea are purifying and anti-oxidising. Whatever it is, I don’t really care because a) they all taste great and b)they are low in sugars and calories! You can also mix your own mojito with the Pedras Sabores range, but honestly, why would you? I tried the Lime and mint, and honestly, it tasted like vodka lime without the alcohol! So great for those who are not into drinking alcohol. The Lemon and Green Tea tasted like lemonade, but without the horrible high level of carbonation or sugars. If you’re interested in trying their range out, simple contact them directly.

Keep your eye out for next week’s special giveaway that features products from EcoStore!
 
*I was given the above products for consideration in accordance with this site’s Disclosure Policy.

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