Pages

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Review It Wednesday -- Wildwood SoapWorks







A couple of months ago, I won a bar of soap. As I sent my address to the company, I added a note about how I review things on Wednesdays on my blog. Would they like to add anything for a review, I asked. They apparently liked the idea and a few days later, I received a package with the soap I chose for a prize (Ice Storm), along with four other items. Surprises like that always make me smile!

So here is my take on the products I received, at no charge to me, from Wildwood SoapWorks.

First, is the soap I won. I was able to choose, so I requested the Ice Storm, which contains the following ingredients: saponified organic oils of: extra virgin olive, coconut, palm fruit, high oleic sunflower, shea butter, castor bean, and jojoba; distilled water, peppermint and spearmint essential oils, blue poppy seeds, and rosemary oleoresin extract.


Yummy. The scent of this soap is invigorating and simply lovely. I've been using it for over a month now, and am pleased to say the scent is as potent as it was when I first received it. Oftentimes, a soap will have a marvelous scent initially, only to lose it after several uses. This is not the case with the Wildwood SoapWorks soap.

The blue poppy seeds, generously sprinkled throughout the bar, add a nice exfoliating texture to the soap, although at times it is a bit abrasive. I would not suggest using this on sunburned skin, for example.

To complement my soap, the kind folks at Wildwood also sent me the Ice Storm Lotion Bar. Again, the minty scent is wonderful. The lotion is in the form of a solid cylinder that pushes up with a twist of the bottom of the plastic bottle, similar to a solid deodorant bar. Again, there are all natural and safe ingredients: organic shea butter, organic beeswax, organic jojoba oil, organic high oleic sunflower oil, a proprietary blend of therapeutic grade essential oils and vitamin E.

I have mixed feelings about the lotion bar. I love the scent and the packaging is convenient for travel. However, I find the bar to be a bit sticky when trying to apply it to my skin. But ... I love it for my heels! When my heels are dry and I don't have time to soak my feet in apple cider vinegar, I can do a couple of swipes with the lotion bar and go on my way. It's great for that! It works well to soften elbows, too.

I also received a small .5 oz. tin of Healing Balm, listed as a natural antiseptic ointment, made up of extra virgin olive oil, natural beeswax, goldenseal root, myrrh powder, echinachea, black walnut powder, calendula, tea tree essential oil, and lavender essential oil. Again, it has a pleasant scent. Quite honestly, I haven't had much of an opportunity to try it out. No cuts, no burns. I have tried it on mosquito bites and found it does not relieve the itch. My husband, on the other hand, used it after shaving and was happy to report zero razor burn!

Bill also gave the bug spray a try on a hot, humid day when the bugs were threatening to take him down as he worked in the yard. Success! And with the "Buzzed" Natural Bug and Tick Spray, he wasn't walking around smelling like a citronella candle! The natural blend of essential oils with a proprietary extract, repels mosquitos, ticks, gnats, no-see-ums, black flies, green head flies, chiggers, and other insects. Since it is in a fractionated coconut oil base, it doesn't sweat away or stain clothing. My husband does reapply it throughout the day if he's outside for an extended period of time.

So, for the most part, it works. But we were unhappy to discover that it isn't particularly effective at night when the mosquitoes are on a rampage. However, our property borders the woods where deer bed down for the night, and an occasional morning or afternoon, so ticks are a concern. And it's safe enough to spray on the grandkids when they're playing in the yard. This stuff is essential in anyone's home where ticks are a potential problem!

Finally, we love the additional bar of soap that Wildwood SoapWorks sent to us! The Gardener soap is "A sweet penetrating aroma of eucalyptus and Sage essential oils. Blueberry seeds, corn meal and extra fine pumice are added for gentle exfoliation." We keep this soap by our stationary tubs in the basement so we can give our hands and thorough, and fragrant, washing after working in the yard. This is awesome stuff!

Wildwood SoapWorks offers a wide array of natural products, using only certified organic, plant-based oils. Even the colors are obtained from the use of ground herbs, vegetable purees, or root infusions. Check out their website to see the list of products for baby, bath, pets, and more! Plus, there's some eye candy for the ladies!

As if the review package wasn't generous enough, Wildwood SoapWorks also offered to send a Gardener's Package to one of you! How nice is that?

So, enter to win and a package just may be on its way to you in a week or two. The Gardener's Package includes:
  • Gardener's Soap
  • Solid lotion
  • "Buzzed" Natural Bug and Tick Spray 

Just enter below, and Good Luck!!





a Rafflecopter giveaway

24 comments:

  1. I love their lavender. Would love to try the gardeners soap! It's on my to try list from them!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Lime in the Coconut sounds like it would smell amazing!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I'd love to try so many of them! Tangerine and sage sounds good.

    ReplyDelete
  4. It's not exactly a flavor, but I would SO love to try the insect repellent! We're going camping this weekend and I'm going to be making my own insect repellent with tea tree oil, but I'm nervous that if it doesn't work, I'm going to end up resorting to commercial products while we're gone this weekend! I'm from Minnesota and the mosquitoes get pretty awful up her. Not to mention that they've been carrying some nasty viruses (my cousin was just in the hospital for nearly a week with viral encephalitis from a mosquito bite). I absolutely don't want to have to use commercial products, but if it comes down to it, it would sadly, end up being the lesser of two evils. Keeping my fingers crossed that the recipe I'm using works wonders!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, good luck! We've found that having bowls or jars of apple cider vinegar sitting around really helps. You could try that in addition to your homemade repellent. Let me know how it works out for you!

      Delete
  5. Lemon Verbena appeals to me the most.
    gourdsrmylife(at)yahoo(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  6. I think the blood orange one sounds nice but there are a couple of others ones I saw that sounded really nice too. Hard pick.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Congratulations, again, Marci! Enjoy the package!

      Delete
  7. Replies
    1. Sorry you didn't win, Chastity. But I hope you'll consider buying the tangerine soap. Their soap really is amazing.

      Delete
  8. Tangerine sounds like it would be awesome as well as the grapefruit!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I love citrus as well. Sorry you didn't win :(

      Delete
  9. Replies
    1. Sorry you didn't win, Jennifer. I hope you'll consider purchasing the wanderlust from Wildwood. Their soap really is amazing.

      Delete