Giveaway! Honey Almond Nourishing Body Cream + Coconut Body Scrub

As you may know, I recently became an independent consultant for alex + von and I just keep falling more and more in love with products by 100% Pure, the brand I specialize in. I'm so excited to offer this chance for you to try them too, whether you already love 100% Pure or have never tried their products.

ABOUT 100% PURE
100% Pure formulates synthetic-, fragrance-, paraben- and toxin free beauty products. They use the most concentrated formulas possible without the use of water, thickeners, emulsifiers or any other fillers. Inspired by her garden, Susie Wang created 100% Pure's cosmetics line to complement her healthy lifestyle. Made with pigments from fruits and vegetables along with nature's best resources, 100% Pure marries all-natural ingredients with high-end cosmetic formulas to create beauty in a class of its own. 100% Pure is the first and only cosmetics colored from antioxidant rich fruit and vegetable pigments (patents pending).
100% Pure products are never tested on animals. It is the company’s mission to help and save animals. They have rescued and placed 21 dogs in loving homes last year alone, as well as provided financial aid to those who need medical aid for their pets. 100% Pure's long term goal is to open up an animal sanctuary to further help their mission to help animals.

In this giveaway you can enter to win a set of 2 full-sized body products by 100% Pure - Honey Almond Nourishing Cream and Coconut Body Scrub.

Both products are all natural, 100% vegetarian, gluten free & delicious smelling. :)

A winner will be chosen on Tuesday January 31. Use the Rafflecopter form below to enter. You can tweet the giveaway daily for the whole week, but don't forget to come back and click your entry in for it to count. :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Parabens - What's the big deal?

Today's article is a guest post by Laura Griffin, makeup artist and beauty blogger at Applied Glamour. She reviews products and comes up with amazing tutorials for her blog, so be sure to check her out! Great to have you, Laura! xo

By now it seems like everybody and their mama is aware that parabens are bad, bad, bad and should be avoided as much as possible. Yay for awareness! Yay for making healthier choices! But have you ever wondered exactly WHY we’re avoiding this chemical in our personal care products? What are parabens, anyway? Are they really that dangerous? How can they be avoided? 

Parabens are preservatives meant to extend the shelf life of your health and beauty products. They’re found in cosmetics, shampoo, pharmaceuticals, lotion, shaving cream, and scads of other items you and your family probably use every day. Because these products can eventually “go bad” or spoil just like food, parabens are added to prevent bacterial and fungal growth. They’re extremely cheap and highly effective, which explains why they’re ingredients in practically every personal care product. 

Although controversy exists on just how harmful parabens really are, they have shown the ability to mimic the hormone estrogen. Estrogen is known to play a role in the development of breast cancer, and very low concentrations of parabens have also been found in breast cancer tumors. While current research has not found a direct link between parabens and breast cancer, these studies also fail to show that parabens are entirely safe. There is virtually no data on the long term effects of paraben use. Basically: they may cause cancer, or they may not. We’re really not sure what the effects are right now. Since the studies are so inconclusive, many consumers have chosen to avoid parabens altogether, or at least as much as possible. Considering mercury was not officially banned as a cosmetic ingredient in the United States until 1990 (!!!), they may be absolutely right to eschew parabens!

Luckily, there are paraben alternatives available and more and more companies are beginning to use them.

Leuconostoc is one such alternative; it’s a naturally occurring peptide with antimicrobial properties similar to parabens. Danish company Symrise launched another alternative in 2010 called Hydrolite 6 that has also been proven to increase the moisture in skin. Skincare is most definitely a science, and one that is improving all the time!

If you’re concerned about the potential and unknown effects of parbens, the most important thing to do is check the ingredient labels of your products. Look out for methyl, ethyl, propyl, butyl, and heptyl forms of parabens and be aware that words like “natural” and “fresh” can be slapped on anything, regardless of contents. Don’t be misled; read the label first!

So what do you think? Should we be concerned about parabens? Do you make an effort to avoid them?

Blossoming: maturing or developing in a positive or healthy way.

For awhile now, I've been trying to figure out where this blog + business are going. I haven't really been able to put my finger on what it is exactly that I want out of all this, or how I can best use my skills to provide value here on Everblossom. I'm starting to get it, you guys.

The focus here is on natural living. And I also sell a few skincare products. Some of you who have known me longer know that I don't sell as many products as I used to. This isn't really an accident.

I really love making natural bath and body products. But the truth is, there are so many great companies doing what I'm doing already, and they are doing it better. I don't mean this to sound self-deprecating - I'm completely at peace with this fact. Production for me is more of a hobby that my full-blown passion. I'm a writer. I'm happiest when most of my working hours are spent writing. So, I'm going to be offering natural & organic products in a whole new way, as an independent consultant for alex+von.

I'm not going to stop making my own handmade products all together. I plan on keeping my Etsy stocked with serums and I'm also developing a line of baby care products this year. The focus is on hardcore quality, not so much quantity.

There are going to be some changes here on the blog as well. I'm hoping to have more contributors come on board this year, for one. You will also notice that the subject matter here is going to expand quite a bit. Right now the focus is on physically caring for our bodies and the planet, but there will be a shift toward overall wellness, since caring for ourselves and each other spiritually is incredibly important too. A third change you'll see here is more work from others in the handmade community. Until now, Everblossom has really been a one-woman show. I hope to see it blossom (SEE WHAT I DID THERE?) into a community of like-minded creators.

Thanks for coming along for the ride. Some of you have stuck with me for years, and some of you have started reading in the past few weeks. You are all so dear to me, more than I could ever say. I know you're going to love what's in store here.