Happy May everyone! I’ve got a quick round up of some favorite new product finds from April for you today. I just love finding and trying new products but haven’t been able to do as much of that lately so these happen to be products that were found out of necessity rather than just for fun. Like I ran out of shampoo and face wash and saw recommendations for these at just the right time so I decided to give them a try.

You’d think that with staying home with an infant all day every day that I’d have all the time in the world to test out new products but turns out what they say is true – the days pass by in a blur and at the end I have no clue where the time has gone but find that none of it went to me! Except for that precious time I carve out for showering and washing my face. And since these products are part of that routine, I was able to give them a good try.

Andalou Naturals Sunflower & Citrus Brilliant Shine Shampoo & Conditioner

First up is this Sunflower & Citrus Brilliant Shine Shampoo and Conditioner from Andalou Naturals. I saw that Sarah over on the blog: Whoorl recommended them and right after that I saw them on sale for half off at Whole Foods so I thought why not try. It’s more affordable at $9.99/bottle (and especially affordable when on sale!) and easily accessible since I could find it on my regular grocery trip. This duo is formulated to add shine to hair and is good for all hair types. It’s got fruit stem cell complex and citrus that are supposed to brighten hair and sunflower oil that’s rich in vitamin E which nourishes hair and increases strength – all of which make hair healthier and lead to less frizz which = more shine.

I found this shampoo to lather really nicely and rise out well. It leaves my hair feeling lighter and definitely cleaner. The conditioner is a medium consistency and leaves my hair feeling less tangly on the rise out. I like that neither of these has fragrance added, so the light citrus scent comes from just tangerine and orange peel oils – the shampoo has more of a citrus scent than the conditioner. I have only air dried my hair with these so I can’t confirm how it looks after a good blow dry, but I think it adds shine? My hair feels soft and light at least, so that’s good enough for me.

Oxalis Apothecary Facial Cleanser – French Sea Clay + Pineapple Enzymes

I’ve been loving this face wash this month. It’s a borderline oil cleanser but can be used just like any normal face wash. I say borderline oil cleanser because at it’s base is grapeseed oil and castor oil along with aloe vera so it applies without foaming like an oil cleanser and helps remove excess oils similarly but it can be applied to a dry or damp face and washed off like normal. It also has french green clay that helps pull out toxins and pineapple enzymes that are heavy in the vitamin C to help regenerate skin. 

I like that it doesn’t dry my face out, but leaves it feeling moisturized instead. It’s said to be good for oily skin and I would agree since it cleans deeply but doesn’t overdry. I can’t say for sure if it’s made improvements in clearing up my skin because I’ve been doing some other things too, but it certainly hasn’t made it worse. I like to apply this and then leave it set for a minute because it has a subtle refreshing feeling- not cool or cold or tingly but kind of like a small warm breeze came across your face then dissipated. Reminds me of evening time by a beach. My fave. Plus, by leaving it for a minute, the ingredients have a little longer to work their magic. I really like the mild scent of this too (it’s from grapefruit, blue yarrow and ylang ylang) and an added bonus is how pretty the bottle looks sitting on your bathroom counter.

Thayer’s Lemon Blemish Stick

I recently ran out of my go-to spot treatment and as an emergency back-up I decided to grab this when I saw it at Target. At it’s base is Thayer’s know-for-ingredient: witch hazel that acts as a natural astringent to help shrink blemishes. It also includes aloe vera to soothe skin, tea tree oil which is an antiseptic that helps reduce bacteria, and of course lemon peel oil that’s also an astringent & antiseptic agent. It’s an easy roller ball application, although I’d love if the roller ball itself was made of something other than plastic, so is quick to apply as needed. I like that it feels cool upon application, it’s kind of refreshing. The only downside is that I can’t always tell if I got enough product out of the roller because the plastic ball is a little cheapie so it probably leads me to use more than I need to, but whatever. Overall, I could be imagining things, but I feel like it really works. I really feel like my blemishes are reduced in size overnight and that it lessens any redness. 

Clary Collection All Purpose Balm

Love this stuff! My sister got me this for Christmas and I’ve been using it on everything ever since. It’s an all purpose balm that can pretty much be used for any skin soothing need. It’s made with simple ingredients including cold-pressed virgin olive oil, calendula, chamomile, lavender, plantain, and beeswax. It nourishes and protects sensitive and delicate skin. It’s been great for my dry hands, although since it’s a bit thick I used this only at night or just sparingly on cracked skin during the day. I also have been using this on my face on any dry patches overnight and it really seems to help heal it faster.