The Clean Diva's July and August Picks

I bathe every day. Like most of you, I suppose. However, lately I have been showering at the gym because of my morning work outs. So handmade soaps have been making the journey with me. I have even used some soaps several times. But July turned up a few faves and I'd like to mention them briefly.


I am currently working through a sample of Dirty Loves Clean's soap, 7 Up Poundcake because it is just a work of genius. Vanillaey and cakey and limey and not at all cloying, it just makes me smile in the gym shower. And it goes really well with the Lush Vanilla something or other kinda lotion I bought a few weeks ago.


Speaking of Dirty Loves Clean, I have been abusing the Sweet Tea scent too. I still don't see it on her site, so maybe I need to slow down. But I also just noticed that she is making a McCarren Park lotion that seems like heaven in a jar. Every time I log onto Etsy to link to her site I discover something new that I desperately need. For instance, I just noticed strawberry rhubarb crumble. Trust me when I say that I have not been unsatisfied with a single item from this Etsy seller.

One of my other new obsessions is Nectar by Atlanta based Rinse Bath & Body Co. If you buy one bar of soap this year, this one would be pretty high on my top 10 list. Beyond being from my home state and super cool, the owner of this lovely little company was awesome enough to warn me to let the soap sit a few weeks before using. I did and I have not taken it out of my shower since. Sometimes when I use it, I smell something wonderful and start looking around for the source before I realize that it is ME. The smell stays on your skin all day long but it blends pretty much with any perfume that has even the slightest hint of vanilla. I like to slather on Lush's Vanilla Delite lotion. It makes me want to spend time alone with me, which is always great, right? Yikes, that reads dirty.

My final fave pick over the last little while is by Etsian DeShawn Marie. I have been reading her blog for many moons and she is also a fave of Jackie's over at Etsy Item of the Day. DeShawn Marie wrote a blog several months ago about how her business had once upon a time gotten to be a bit too large and out of control. So she took that control back and made what she wanted out of HER passion of creating. I was so touched. THEN, she wrote a blog about her Jasmine Jubilee soap and how she came to find the PERFECT jasmine fragrance oil for it. Now, if we know one thing about Erin it's that I love love love jasmine. So I bought the soap.

It's fabulous, as is DeShawn Marie's presentation. From the whole day it took me to get my purchase to the little gold box the soap came in, I was completely in love. And I think she has a scent for everyone.

Well folks, lots more to tell but those have been the mega highlights of the past two months.

Round up

So, I have been away from this blog for way too freakin' long. I've been doing some interesting things lately. Tomorrow my life is going to change incredibly. I'll probably blog about it when it is over but until the news is official, I keep the excitement to myself.

However, I am pleased to report that my gluten free life is better than ever. I am down over 30 lbs and working out 5 days a week. Not because I think I have to do it but because I have learned to really enjoy my gym time.

We crowned a new Miss New York. Her name is Alyse Zwick and she is pretty awesome.

I've bought soap. Only one bar from Etsy, which is a CRIME. I also bought a Gabbriella's Sampler, which was awesome. Then again, her samplers always are. Kathleen sent me some soaps but I want to make sure to discuss them in a blog all of their own. She is quite the soap maker but her perfumes and lotions are also to DIE FOR, I swear it.

I finally broke down and bought some soap from Etsian DeShawn Marie. I have read her blogs for months and am forever impressed by her scent descriptions and product pictures but her words on how she formulated her jasmine scent blew me away. So I had to have a bar. More on that in another blog.

At any rate, I've been nutso busy.