Natural Radiance with Burt’s Bees Skin Care Review + Giveaway

by Kate on January 31st, 2011  |  5 Comments  |  Fashion & Beauty, Giveaways, New Year New Mama, Reviews

Our family has long been familiar with Burt’s Bees products. I’m sure if you gathered up lip balms  you could find no fewer than 3 Burt’s Bees laying around here, and we’ve used the Baby Bee wash and lotions on my little ones. When I was searching for a new face care regimen, I was excited to see multiple natural skin care lines from Burt’s Bees.

About Burt’s Bees

Burt’s Bees is an “Earth Friendly, Natural Personal Care Company.” We create natural, Earth-friendly personal care products formulated to help you maximize your well-being and that of the world around you.

To make certain that all our products meet the highest standards, as well as our dedication to ensuring The Greater Good, our products are carefully crafted using ingredients that are the best nature has to offer: beeswax, botanical and essential oils, herbs, flowers and minerals. These safe, effective ingredients have withstood the test of time.

The Right Natural Skin Care Products for You

Burt’s Bees has a number of products lines – from Radiance to Natural Acne to Naturally Ageless – so I checked out the Product Advisor to find the best line for my skin. After four quick questions about my age and skin type, the Product Advisor recommended a combination of products including the Radiance Skin Care Line.

What sets Radiance apart is its featured ingredient: Royal Jelly.

Royal Jelly — Very nourishing, royal jelly is made of nectar, pollen, flower parts, vitamins, minerals, and other natural ingredients. It is a very precious, mysterious substance that honeybees produce for the queen bee.

Radiance Skin Care

For the past couple weeks I’ve been using Radiance Facial Cleanser, Radiance Day Creme and Radiance Eye Creme to make my skin pretty.  I admit that I was happy the Product Advisor recommended Radiance products because I liked the sound of this description from the Facial Cleanser, “While royal jelly, one of nature’s most nutritious substances, helps enhance skin’s natural radiance. Your skin appears brighter and younger-looking, naturally.” While I’m not old, I have noticed fine lines around my eyes and want to fight signs of aging now by protecting and enhancing my skin.

Not enough time has passed for me to tell you that Radiance has reversed all signs of aging (here’s hoping!), but I can tell you that I really like using the products. So much so that I’ve already placed an order for additional products from the Radiance line. All of the products are soft, and by that I mean they are light and gentle and feel great going on. I tend to use cleansers with exfoliant of some sort but I’ve really enjoyed the feel and short term results from the Daily Cleanser.

Both the Day and Eye Creme are lighter and less thick than I expected, and I was a bit thrown off at first. The consistency is really different from other lotions in a jar. It’s thicker than a lotion from a pump (like the Radiance Day Lotion with SPF 15), but more “runny” and less thick than other cremes in a jar. I’m anxious to start using the Night Creme to see how it compares. Even with the thinner consistency, you don’t need much of either Creme to get nice coverage. My skin is so dry – especially during the winter – that I feel uncomfortable without lotion on. It doesn’t take too much for my face to feel moisturized and ready for the day. Like the Cleanser, both Cremes have a very, very faint scent making them very easy to wear.

Shop! The entire collection of Burt’s Bees Radiance Skin Care is available at Burt’s Bees, and select products are also on Amazon. The suggested retail price for the Facial Cleanser is $10, and $18 for Day Creme and Eye Creme.

Win! Burt’s Bees Radiance Facial Cleanser, Day Creme and Eye Creme!

How to Enter: Visit Burt’s Bees and take the quick 4-question Skin Care Advisor quiz. Leave a comment with one of your recommended products.

Bonus Entries – valid only after completing the first required entry. Please leave a separate comment for each you do.

Giveaway ends February 14. Open to US mailing addresses only.

Disclosure: Thanks to Burt’s Bees for providing samples and the giveaway prize. Opinions are my own.

Real Reader Rooms – We Want To See Your Kids’ Rooms

by Kate on January 30th, 2011  |  5 Comments  |  Children's Decor, Nurseries, Bedrooms & Playrooms

Remember last summer when we shared Real Reader Parties during the All Things Birthday event? It was a huge success! We LOVED seeing and sharing your parties so we’re doing it again! This time we’re looking to share your Nurseries, Children’s Bedrooms, and Playrooms.

We want to feature YOUR child(ren)’s room!

We love to get a sneak peek inside other people’s homes and know you are talented designers. Here’s how you can get in on the fun:

  • Collect several pictures of your child(ren)’s nursery, bedroom, bathroom or playroom
  • Make a list of websites and resources you used to design the room (inspiration, things you purchased, crafty projects, etc)
  • Email your photos and websites to theshoppingmama@gmail.com by February 20

To get an idea of what we’re looking for, check out this post about my daughter’s Butterfly & Flower Nursery. Gathering the info is super simple, will only take you a couple minutes and you have a great excuse to pick up your kid’s room and take some pictures.

What’s in it for you?

  1. There will be a voting competition for the “Favorite Reader Room”! And the winner will get prizes! For reals. Woot. Details to follow.
  2. Submit your room and you get THREE bonus entries in all the Nursery & Children’s Decor giveaways in February!
  3. If you’re a blogger or shop owner, you get a link back to your site.

We’re really excited about this and think it will be a lot of fun. We hope you’ll get on board and submit your favorite kid’s room in your home. Feel free to email or leave comments if you have any questions!

All room posts submitted will be shared and published on The Shopping Mama unless deemed inappropriate or offensive. You must own rights to the photograph and be willing to share them. Feel free to watermark your photos. Detailed rules of Favorite Reader Room contest will be announced soon.

Bethenny Frankel Partners with Pampers to Reward Parents {The Shopping Mama Bethenny Frankel Interview}

by Kate on January 28th, 2011  |  5 Comments  |  Life

Celebrity mom, NY Times best seller and natural foods chef Bethenny Frankel has teamed up with Pampers Gifts to Grow to celebrate unsung heroes: parents! Along with its partnership with Frankel, Pampers announced additional Gifts to Grow reward and the Unsung Hero Awards on Facebook.

“Pampers was the very first diaper Bryn wore and certainly is still a big part of our everyday lives,” commented Frankel. “The Gifts to Grow program lets our family earn points every time we buy Pampers. We love knowing that we’re not only getting a trusted product, but that we are being rewarded for items like diapers and wipes which we’re going to buy anyway. It’s a win-win!”

The Shopping Mama’s Bethenny Frankel Interview

As a member of the Pampers Baby Board I had the opportunity to speak with Bethenny about her partnership with Pampers and all things motherhood.

Aside from the fact that I sounded like a major goober, it was so cool to talk to Bethenny. I thinks she’s hysterical and I’ve loved watching her on The Real Housewives of New York and Bethenny Getting Married?. And of course, I love me some Skinny Girl Margaritas!

Unsung Hero Awards

To celebrate the launch of a new year of Gifts to Grow rewards, Pampers announced the launch of a Facebook contest to reward the Most Valuable Parents from being a Kitchen Commander or Star Photographer to tackling Meal Time and Potty Training. Parents can now also visit the Pampers Facebook page to nominate a friend, family member or even themselves to be recognized as a real “Unsung Hero” by sharing various awards via the Facebook platform. Parents will also be able to receive special incentives and rewards from Pampers Gifts to Grow catalog, as well as enter to win a signed diaper bag from Frankel.

What’s Next for Bethenny?

There are lots of great ways to get your Skinnygirl. Keep up with Bethenny, her husband Jason and their daughter Bryn on Bethenny Ever After premiering on Bravo in February. Her third book, A Place of Yes: 10 Rules for Getting Everything You Want Out of Life is being released March 22, and is available for preorder on Amazon. You can also find Bethenny on Twitter and Facebook.

Connect! Check out Pampers on Facebook to nominate yourself or a deserving parent for an Unsung Hero Award.

I received this opportunity as a member of the Pampers Baby Board. I was not compensated. As always, opinions are my own.

M by Staples Customizable Notebooks: Organization on the Go

by Kate on January 28th, 2011  |  5 Comments  |  New Year New Mama, Reviews

When I got the opportunity to get organized with the new M by Staples Arc Customizable Organization System I couldn’t say “Yes” quickly enough. The opportunity to compile all my scribbles in random spiral notebooks and note pads into one organized system? Yes, please.

About the Arc Customizable System

Arc customizable notebook system is a unique line of notebooks and accessories form M by Staples. It’s ultra-flexible design allows you to add, remove and rearrange pages easily as your needs change. Plus, you can personalize it with your favorite add-ons for a system that’s uniquely you.

My Arc

I’ve been keeping track of my thoughts and scribbles and notes in a Junior Size Leather Notebook. The Notebook comes with 60 pages of lined paper that you can move around how you want. You add on and purchase accessories to customize the Notebook separately including graph ruled paper, project planner paper, to do lists, pocket dividers, tab dividers, page flags and small task pads. The Notebook isn’t a planner and, in fact, there aren’t calendar refills to add to the system. I am a little disappointed there aren’t calendar inserts to make the Notebook a planner and organizer in one. But, I have gotten more use out of it than I expected without the calendar portion.

The Notebook isn’t spiral bound like it looks, and instead everything can be removed and moved around. That is a big benefit for me since it always seems like a new project is a priority and I like to be able to rearrange things. At the moment, the Notebook is as full as it can be and it doesn’t lie flat. I think it might be better if the ring were larger to accommodate more paper, dividers and such.

To be honest, I didn’t check the price of the System until I started working on this review and I was highly impressed with the price tag. I expected it to start at a minimum of $20. I was pleasantly surprised to see the Notebook is only $10 and the accessories are about $2. So affordable!

To Buy or Not to Buy

To Buy… I really like using the Arc Notebook System and love how affordable it is. It’s totally customizable and you only need to buy the accessories that you want to use. All the accessories are effective and you can place them wherever you need them. I recommend the Junior size – it’s plenty big but fits easily in my purse.

Or Not to Buy… I do wish the Notebook System had a monthly calendar accessory so I could use it as a planner and organizer. It’s possible to use the narrow ruled sheets as days of the week – since they’re unmarked – but it would be a bit of a waste.

Shop! The M by Staples Arc Customizable Notebook System is available in Junior size (6 3/8 x 8 3/4 inches) and Letter size (9 1/2 x 11 1/2 inches). The Notebooks start at only $5 for Poly material Junior size and go up to $14.99 for Leather in Letter size. Accessories are available for purchase separately and are $2 to $3.

Thanks to Staples for providing a sample for the purpose of this review. As always, opinions are my own.

The Shopping Mama Facebook Community Resale & Wanted Boards

by Kate on January 27th, 2011  |  5 Comments  |  Life

One of the most rewarding parts of building The Shopping Mama community has been the growth of the Facebook page. I have reached out with my parenting questions, we’ve talked about everything from books to makeup, and of course we share fun links and deals we hope you enjoy. The newest thing we have on the Facebook page, thanks to Malia, is the new Resale & Wanted Boards.

To find the Resale & Wanted Boards, go to The Shopping Mama Facebook page and click on the Discussions Tab. There you’ll find the “Resale Board” and “Wanted” discussions.

How It Works

If you are trying to sell something you no longer need, start a “New Topic” on the Resale Board with the subject of what you’ve got to sell. And, if you’re searching for a particular piece of baby gear or type of clothes, put a listing on the “Wanted” Board. There are general guidelines listed that are helpful if you’re new to this.

Here’s a sampling of some of the items currently listed for sale:

  • Petunia Pickle Bottom Diaper Bags
  • Ju Ju Be Diaper Bags
  • Seven Slings Baby Sling
  • Keen Boots

And, just to be clear so there is no confusion – this is NOT us selling review products. We use our review products extensively and, in most cases, nearly every day so they’re in no condition for resale. When we outgrow items, if appropriate, we donate them. The Resale and Wanted Boards are for our community to find a new home for their gently used baby, kid and mama gear.

Connect! The Shopping Mama Facebook community is over 3,500 strong (and growing)! Take advantage of our community by selling and buying some used baby and kid gear.

All listed items are the sole responsibility of the lister and/or purchaser. The Shopping Mama makes no promise of quality of product or experience.

zulily is One! Celebrate with a Discount Code

by Kate on January 27th, 2011  |  5 Comments  |  Shopping

If you’ve been following The Shopping Mama on Facebook or Twitter for any time, then you’ve likely see us share a deal (or ten) from daily deal site zulily.We love the huge variety of awesome sales and products and great customer service zulily offers.

To celebrate their birthday, zulily has a Birthday Shop with cute birthday apparel and fun birthday gift ideas.

Melissa & Doug Birthday Bundle ($25.99), Dr. Suess Happy Birthday Puzzle ($9.99), Just Jen Birthday Tee ($12.99)

Tiny Prints $40 Store Credit for $20! Use it to get some adorable personalized kid’s Valentine cards.

Primigi Boys and Girls Shoes. How cute are the Brown Edgar Boot ($54.99) and Pink Choate Penny Loafer ($47.99).

Shop! If you haven’t joined zulily yet, you must! Click to accept our invitation to join. Celebrate zulily’s birthday with this exclusive deal for The Shopping Mama readers: $10 off a purchase of $50 or more with code ZFSTBDAY10. Coupon code is valid until January 31.

Charlie Banana 2-in-1 Reusable Diapers: Giveaway

by Malia on January 27th, 2011  |  5 Comments  |  Giveaways, New Year New Mama

You knew we wouldn’t bring you an interview with Gaëlle Wizenberg, CEO of Charlie Banana™, without bringing you a giveaway too. And here it is, your chance to win your own revolutionary 2-in-1 reusable diaper from Charlie Banana. (Did you miss the interview? You can read it here.)

Charlie Banana is an international, luxury brand of modern cloth diapers and healthy baby products, including a 2-in-1 Eco Diapering System, a cloth diaper with a reusable, washable insert or a 100 percent biodegradable, disposable insert.

Charlie Banana diapers are my personal favorite style of cloth diapers, the pocket diaper with snaps, with an added twist. With the addition of a biodegradable (made from wood pulp), disposable insert, you can easily take your Charlie’s on the go without worrying about the mess. Just slip in insert, use, and toss the insert. The cover gets washed and used again. Much less waste than disposables and completely biodegradable.

Charlie Banana offers a full line of reusable products including cloth diapers, swim diapers (love these), and cloth wipes (okay, love these too) and more. All of the products are chlorine, perfume, and chemical free, which keeps babies dry and rash free. Only 100 percent certified organically grown cotton is used with the entire product line, including the lining of the Swim Diapers.

To Buy or Not to Buy

To Buy… Charlie Banana international man of mystery diapers are a high quality product that will make a great addition to your New Year, Greener Mama resolutions. If you love snapping pocket diapers like I do, you will love Charlie Banana.

Not to Buy… The same feature that makes Charlie’s a diaper I love, may make them not for everyone: the snaps. Not everyone loves snapping diapers (although I don’t entirely understand how they could not), so you may want to try before you buy or start with one or two until you know if you prefer snaps or Velcro.

Shop! One of the cool things about Charlie Banana is that the products are so accessible. You can find them for $19.99 (less per diaper if you buy a set) at Target.com, Amazon.com, Babies-R-US, CharlieBanana.com and authorized retailers around the world.

Win! A Charlie Banana 2-in-1 Diaper!

How to Enter: Visit Charlie Banana and check out all their great products. Come back and tell us your favorite.

Bonus Entries – valid only after completing the first required entry. Please leave a separate comment for each you do.

Giveaway ends February 9.

Disclosure: Thanks to Charlie Banana for providing the giveaway prize and sample diaper. Opinions are my own.

Thursday Giveaway Linky

by Kate on January 27th, 2011  |  5 Comments  |  Giveaway Linky, Weekly Features

Happy Thursday! Thanks for stopping by to link up and browse giveaways. Make sure you enter the Sweet Paper Lane $50 Shopping Spree so you an send some sweetness for Valentine’s Day.

While you’re linking up giveaways, head over to Baby Loving Mama.

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