I've Gone MINT-al!
About two days ago it dawned on me that I have an insane collection of all things mint. I've always liked mint, but not until recently, did I realize I was taking it a little too far, unintentionally.
I mean... Seriously?
If you've been following me at all, you know that I've been slowing detoxing my beauty products. I've recently run out of some Ojon products I wasn't in love with and wanted to go with a healthier option. Besides Jason, Burt's Bees and Yes to Carrots, this was the only other brand in Walgreens that seemed on the safe side. It doesn't have any of the chemicals I look for to avoid (propylene glycol, SLS, parabens, etc), but it does have a long list of ones I've never heard about... I'm afraid to do more extensive research, because I LOVE the smell SO MUCH! It's a sweet mint smell that is heavenly. I really like that it has tea tree mixed in, as well, since I tend to have an irritated scalp.
Pros:
Shampoo is fantastic - smells great, lathers well. Would repurchase again.
Cons:
Conditioner leaves my hair feeling like straw and is very water-y. This is odd, because I actually have oily hair and tend to go with less moisturizing conditioners. However, I won't repurchase it again.
Whole Foods 365 Herbal Mint Shower Gel - $2.99
This product has no "wow" factor other than it's around $2.99 for 16 ounces! Wow! What a great price for an all around staple item to have in your shower. It is blended well enough with other oils that it doesn't make you feel tingly. I have a few other body washes I use more regularly, but this one is almost out, and I bet you my husband used about 75% of it.
Pros:
Price! Smell. Refreshing; wakes me up in the mornings! Doesn't dry out my skin.
Cons:
Doesn't lather extremely well.
Um... can you tell I like this a bit? I actually chatted about this in my first ever post about my "
Beauty Library!" Peppermint oil (along with citrus and rosemary oil) is one of the primary ingredients in this item I will NEVER live without. I have one in my purse at ALL times. I also keep one in my makeup station to set my makeup. Now that summer is around the corner I know I will use these babies up in no time. They're great to spritz on your face if you're feeling hot, sticky and yucky. You can spray it under your arms, on your chest, on the back of your neck... Anywhere you need to feel refreshed. I typically buy these at Sephora, but I recently purchased the third one through
Birchbox with my rewards points. I only paid $8 + free shipping!
Pros:
Made without triclosan, parabens, SLS, propylene glycol, sulfates, synthetic fragrances, or phthalates. Versatile! Can go with you wherever you need a pick me up. Purifying.
Cons:
None! (Well, maybe I'd save some money if the price was a bit lower). :)
If you read my post about my myriad of favorite
lip balms, you know I'm a fan of EOS. (What beauty blogger isn't?) So, I HAD to get this flavor! I just love holding this little guy. I actually bought it on Easter Day for my very own little Easter egg.
Pros:
Great flavor! No toxic chemicals. Sweetened with stevia! Very moisturizing. Fun shape & fun to apply!
Cons:
Not as thick as most balms (probably to get it to stay in that round shape). A little expensive for a chapstick. You're paying for the shape.
I featured this on my
Sephora Haul post in January and have gone straight to it for a bit of relaxation many times since! Unlike many of the mint items mentioned so far, this really does tingle and effervesce! You can
feel it. Sometimes before bed or whenever I need to unwind, I put a dab on my earlobes, back of my neck and on my forehead. (I have also tried my temples, but my eyes couldn't handle being that close to the mint emissions).
Pros:
Soothing. A little goes a LONG way. Strong and potent.
Cons:
Could sting your eyes if you're sensitive. Also, smell could be too intense for someone sensitive. I personally like it.
Back in the day we used to sell this little gem in the Merle Norman/Brighton store I worked in with my best friend and her mom. We only had the larger sizes (which are like $9 and $34) and we couldn't keep them on the shelves. We had a sink that we would walk women straight over to to sample this, and they'd always walk out with at least one of these goodies. Basically, it's a hand/cuticle/nail scrub. The sugar/granules settle to the bottom and the oils (with significant amount of peppermint oil) are at the top. You scoop it out and rub a little of the mixture all over your cuticles for about a minute and you have smooth, soft, refreshed skin. When I spotted this at Trade Secret on sale I JUMPED on it! It brought back fun memories of my days as a Merle Norman makeup saleswoman.
Pros:
Lasts a long time. Works great! Smells yum.
Cons:
A bit messy - definitely do it over a sink. Contains parabens & artificial fragrance. (Big boo!)
After seeing all the beautiful nails wearing Chanel's mint polish, I chose to go with the cheap version. So far I've been pretty happy with it! It's cheap, and I love the color. Every time I wear it I get a ton of compliments. I have it on here, but I put silver glitter over it to prolong a 6 day gelous manicure. My goal is to get to 10 days with no chips!
Pros:
Fun spring color! Dries quickly. Cheap!
Cons:
Goes on super thick and can get lumpy fast. I have to put it on in many thin layers to keep it from getting squishy. Who hates having sheet marks the next morning after you thought it had dried 6 hours later?? Doesn't have one of those "beads" in it, so when it settles I can't get it to mix back up.
You can find thousands of products that contain peppermint oil, but there is nothing like having the real, living, pure thing. Young Living is a great company that sells oils still living that can be ingestible. Most oils (even at Whole Foods) are typically sold for aromatherapy purposes, only, and cannot be ingested. Young Living's oils can be. Peppermint Oil has been known as the world's oldest medicine. It helps with concentration, alertness, the digestive system, blood circulation, kills bacteria, soothes skin and much more.
This stuff is potent! I once put one drop in a cup of tea and couldn't drink it, because the steam stung my eyes so much. I now recommend sticking with cold beverages if you want to be able to see. If you're like me and have a hard time getting your 8 cups of H20 in a day, put one or two drops of this in it, and it's more refreshing and tastes better. I once read an article of a hiker who put it in his Nalgene bottles to keep up his energy, since it causes your blood to circulate quicker. I've also put a drop or two on a hot rag to apply to sore muscles. There are SO MANY uses!
Pros:
A ton! I encourage you to read up on all the health benefits!
Cons:
None really, other than the cost is a bit high.
And now for my favorite mint product...!
Let's be honest. I have an obsession with LORAC palettes. When I saw this one in Ulta, I couldn't imagine how I could walk out without it. If you read my review of the
Pro Palette then you know how I adore their eye shadows.
They're like buttah!
This is the first palette I've purchased that didn't come with the glorious eye primer. But it did come with a gloss that I kinda like. It also came with a shimmery, chain-ish silver makeup bag/clutch that is "ok." I really just care about these eye shadows.
Instead of being all matte on the top and shimmer on the bottom. The top left matte has some glitter specks in it, where as the top two on the right are purely matte. The bottom three are shimmery. I mean, aren't they beautiful!?
Pros:
Price. Mixture of shimmer and matte. Beautiful, bright blush. Great spring palette with cool tones. Fantastic packaging.
Cons:
Wish instead of a gloss I got another eye shadow primer.
Wow! I just realized HOW.MANY.MINT.PRODUCTS I just talked about. It's truly mental.
What about you? Are you obsessed with coral shades? Lavender scented everything? Vanilla? Please share and make me feel less crazy!
