Vendor Spotlight: eden.

$9.99 Travel Pack from eden. -- Awesome value!

Tonight we introduce to you the miracle that is eden.  Eden. provides gentle, natural and pure body products for men and women with plenty of unscented options for those who don’t want any fragrance, but would like soft, supple skin in the dead of winter.  Having used the lotions and lip balms myself, I have to say they definitely don’t leave a residue.  Here are a few products from eden. that would make great stocking stuffers or you could throw a few in a gift bag for a real treat!

Café Latte Lip Balm, $3.50 from eden.

The lip balm is delicious – we have ours in rosemary mint and it’s damned near impossible to keep from eating it right off the stick.  Ok, actually it’s not impossible, but the flavor’s good enough that I’d totally let people think that’s what I do in the privacy of my own home.

Unisex Shaving Bar, $4.99 from eden.

Do you know what the grossest smell in the world is?  It’s the smell of Barbasol, or anything remotely like it.  It’s a step down from “axe” in my book.  So!  Make sure to throw one of these in your favorite arm candy’s stocking (be they a he or a she) to make sure your face smells like a face and your legs smell like legs!

Cedarwood Sage Lotion, $11.99 from eden.

Cedarwood Sage lotion is the ‘table lotion’ we have on our shared workspace at work.  It’s hard to keep it in stock, sometimes people put it on their hands when they’re not even dry, just to get the smell on them.  Light, airy, but still seasonal, woodsy and rustic this is definitely a favorite.

Come visit Elise from eden. and all the rest of us at The Big Chill Holiday arts, crafts and vintage sale at 10 Mayo Street in Portland!  Saturday, December 3rd from 10am-4pm.  Yes!

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Vendor Spotlight: The Herbal Revolution

Good afternoon, everyone!  What with drawing up the floor plan, the systematic poster-ing of Greater Portland, and all kinds of press shenanigans (good ones) going on you can imagine I’ve been a little strapped for time.  Luckily!  The Herbal Revolution, owned by herbalist Kathi Langelier, is a company I’ve written about before after purchasing a number of Kathi’s products.  So without further ado, the Herbal Revolution product review (first published on my Little Eye Designs blog):

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I first met Kathi at the Handmade Holiday Fair in Biddeford in December.  We joked about how it’s always so expensive to travel in state and have to stay in a hotel if you want to be somewhere longer than just a day trip.  Then we volunteered each other our ‘spare spaces’ in our houses whenever one was longing for a change of scenery.

While I’m a ‘city girl,’ The Herbal Revolution quite naturally has its home in Lincolnville, ME, where excellent things grow in gardens and forests.  Kathi harvests and forages the herbs and plants needed for her products and makes good use of them without gross chemicals or stuff that makes my skin all red.

Better Than Botox in Action!

The first product I bought from Kathi was the Better Than Botox clay mask ($9) which is more than a bang for your buck.  The jar itself is pretty sizable, but the contents are powder, not pre-mixed, so by adding your own water (or yogurt, lemon juice, tomato juice or whatever else works for you) you can get the consistency and longevity out of BTB that you’d like.  Above is a picture of me looking so excited for how great my skin would feel in a little bit.  The kelp powder tingles as there is mint and rosemary mixed in the clay and it has a very light, pleasant smell.  The mask also includes nutritional yeast for acne prone skin (that’s me!)  When I wash it off my face feels younger, fresher, and definitely more firm.  Yay to 10 minute, natural face lifts.

After making some Etsy sales last week and a Paypal balance burning a hole in my pocket I revisited The Herbal Revolution as a repeat customer.  I bought a St. John’s Wort oil (for pain relief in my bum!  Sciatica boo, herbal remedies yay) and a small pot of Rose Lotion.

The Rose Lotion ($8) is light and smells exactly like you want it to.  Feminine, breezy and subtle.  The lotion itself is not pink, but a buttery yellow and that’s super refreshing.  Not all roses are pink, people!  And I don’t need any dye in my product to make me more convinced it has roses in it.  Kathi done good.  This little pot is portable and a tiny bit goes a long way (like a pea size for my whole face or two pea sizes for my leathery old man hands).

Kathi recommends using the St. John’s Wort oil ($12) with her St. John’s Wort tincture ($11)which (Thanks, Kathi!) she sent me as a special gift in my package.  Although it tastes herb-y I mix the tincture (20-30 drops) in green tea and apply the St. John’s Wort Oil to my rear end which, for any of you who know me, is constantly ache-y.  I’ve recently begun massage therapy and am retraining myself to sleep in a proper position but the St. John’s Wort battery combining forces with a heating pad don’t hurt, either!

St. John’s Wort is also indicated for depression.  Mainers, I’m looking at you.  It’s been freezing cold for near three months now, fresh snowfall has lost its nostalgic charm and we’re playing the ‘can we make it to April with that much heating oil?’ game.  So:  you’re depressed.  Even if you don’t admit it I know you’re climbing in to bed with a book at 7pm and snoozing by 8.  I know you’re ordering delivery for the second time this week and it isn’t even Wednesday.  Depression has many relievers – this just happens to be my favorite one right now!  Also look at my awesome teacup in that picture up there.

The St. John’s Wort Oil is distinctly herby but the odor is only apparent when you stick the vial up your nose (don’t do that).  Plus, after a few days the aroma is actually growing on me!

Babies and Springtime are the best.

I’m really quite psyched to have found something natural (and effective) right here in our home state.  Kathi’s products leave my skin feeling great and my derriere comfortably soothed.  I’ve got my eye on Calendula Oil next because I don’t think there is much of anything in this world that is more soothing than calendula.  Maybe it’s because all our Mommies used it on us as babies.  Maybe it’s because it smells distinctly and undeniably like Spring.  Either way you slice it, you’ll be hearing from me soon, lady.

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It should be added that Kathi from The Herbal Revolution has begun an herbal CSA – for a flat, one time fee you will receive monthly products from THR… just like a farmer’s market, but for your face/hands/body instead of your table!  Send her a message from her Etsy shop to find out more.

The BIG THAW Arts, Crafts and Vintage Sale will be held on Saturday, April 16th from 10am to 4pm at the Mayo Street Arts Center at 10 Mayo St in Portland.  We can’t wait!

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Vendor Spotlight: eden.

Well, well, well — what a beautiful day in Portland, Maine!  At the end of a long week there was no better way to wind down by meeting up with Elise Loschiavo of eden. to go over her pure, natural, light, delicious products for her vendor spotlight feature.

Sunset lip balms, pretty!

Eden lip balms are nearly weightless, Elise had brought Lavender Mint and Grapefruit Vanilla for my sniffer.  Oh man!  Delicious and mild.  So, I was partial to the lavender mint seeing as today is the first day a fashionable lady could walk around town in a skirt with no tights – it’s got a spring-y, herb-y scent without throwing too many flavors at your kisser.  The grapefruit vanilla is great for people who are partial to fruitier flavors, and mid-summer it’s something to pack in the beach bag to prevent chapping in the salty wind of our rugged, Maine beaches.  An added bonus? Eden balms are made with shea butter, cocoa butter and apricot kernal oil to moisturize.  Jojoba oil, too, is infused with calendula which is that awesome herb in baby lotions.  If it’s good enough for babies it’s ok on my lips!

Practical note I learned later:  the packaging for all of Elise’s products is simple and easy to find in a huge, jumble-y purse (note:  mine.) not to mention the unique shape of the lip balm tubes, an oblong circle, more complimentary to one’s natural lip shape and easy to find with searching fingers.

Citrus Harmony Body Lotion

On to the lotions/creams!  Elise has been working on a ‘travel size’ lotion, a great product for craft fairs while shoppers are trying to budget so they can get a little bit of something from everyone.  The price point is less than half of the larger, 6 oz. size and is great to throw in a clutch, keep at your desk at work or give as a little gift to friends.  Doesn’t Citrus Harmony just sound totally perfect for the coming warm weather?  Of course get the larger size if it’s going to be your home stash – a little goes a long way but don’t you want to smell edible all the time?

Lavender Bergamot Bath Salts

With a wide variety of products like bath salts, lotions, lip balms and more you’ll undoubtedly find something you love at the Eden. table at The BIG THAW.  Everything Elise creates is made lovingly in small, controlled batches so no detail is missed.  I’m so in love with the following quote from a VERY satisfied Eden. customer – an excellent note to end on!  P.S.  — if you have any flavors in mind that you don’t see in Elise’s shop don’t hesitate to get in touch and see if it’s something she can make and have ready for you the day of the fair!  After 45 minutes of chatting I’ve learned very quickly she’s an enthusiastic, adventurous, open-minded lady.  Loves to try new things!

Shea Butter Hand Cream

“I have to tell you how great the shea butter hand cream is. I have had an unusually difficult winter with splits in both thumbs and my right hand pointer finger. As a seamstress, you can imagine how painful it is to work. I went to the dermatologist who said to use liquid Band-aid in the cracks, Neosporin and gloves at night, and another type of hand cream often during the day. I was having only moderate success, the splits would heal for a day or two, but when I banged my thumb on something or would sew for several hours …the split would come back. It was more than a quarter of an inch long on my right thumb and I feared it would keep going. Occasionally, it would bleed if I hit is just right. In just two days of using your hand cream product, my splits have healed and new skin is growing in and over the splits. The hand cream is truly amazing and it feels wonderful when applied. I keep the container by my bed, but I need to order more to have in my kitchen and purse!!”

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