Pumpkin Body Butter: WARNING, IT IS BACK!

It's that time of year again.

It is AUTUMN, when all things Trader Joe's turn PUMPKIN, even the body butter.  But please, learn from my mistake.  I tried it last year, I took one for the team.  Here is the review (the product got a higher review than it should have solely because of the good PACKAGING, packaging I am not even sure it HAS anymore since the follow-up body butters at Trader Joe's didn't):

Pumpkin Body Butter Review

Unless you want to walk around this fall smelling like a Thanksgiving candle, just don't do it - don't buy this body butter.

It's baaaaack....

Oh, I am sure there are some die hard fans out there going, "YESSSS - THE PUMPKIN BODY BUTTER IS BACKKKK!", but I ain't one of 'em.

Bleck.

You have been warned.  

200,000 VIEWS and ADDENDUM TO HEAD to TOE Moisturizing Balm

MY BLOG REACHED 200,000 VIEWS!  I knew it was coming – I hoped it would happen before we rush off to Canada (land of nooo Trader Joe’s….) again in a couple of days.  Then late last night it became apparent it was gonna happen OVERNIGHT…  Well, I like to take a photo of momentous times with the blog, and 200,000 is an awfully momentous number, so I needed a PICTURE.  But how?  In the middle of the night??  It was momentous, but not quite momentous enough to stay up ALL OVER and hit “refresh, refresh, refresh” repeatedly until the magic number appeared.  So, I did the next best thing – grabbed a photo in the location where I knew I would be when 200,000 rolled around – in my cozy bed!

WHEEEE - 200,000 HITS!  Who'd a thunk?

HAPPY 200,000 VIEWS, EVERYBODY!

To celebrate, let’s review something, shall we???

Well, instead of a brand new review, how about we do an ADDENDUM to the most read product review ever on this blog – HEAD TO TOE MOISTURIZING BALM (a product which boasts on the lid, a boast which it turns out is completely a lie, of no greasy residue…).  I do not know why or how this particular product review became so popular – it alone currently has 2,901 hits.  You can read the original review here:  Head to Toe Moisturizing Balm

Let's take another look back at Head to Toe Moisturizing Balm,
which got a clunker of a review way back on day 89 of this blog

As the product NAME implies – this is supposedly meant to be used HEAD to TOE – i.e. on your whole entire body.  And as the original review explains, I tried it on every part of my body I could:  my lips, my skin, and my hair.  However, I do NOT have a beard or mustache to try this balm on, so I couldn’t give it a COMPLETE test.

That is, until KARIM and Carrie stayed at our house!!!  You see, they are performers, and Karim has grown an outstanding mustache for their summer tour.  ENTER HEAD TO TOE MOISTURIZNG BALM!!! 

I asked Karim if he would do me the honor of trying it on his mustache, and he was more than happy to.  Here is his review:

“I think it’s ok.  I guess it depends on what your use is for it.  I would give it a solid B.”  (Editor’s note:  it is obvious that Karim does not read this blog.  That’s alright buddy, I will cut you some slack.  This is where I had to explain that I rate things numerically, not alphabetically like a report card…)

Karim is a true PROFESSIONAL - he travels with a mustache comb!!!

“Well, what am I reviewing this on the BASIS of??  What is its PURPOSE??” Karim pleaded.  (Editor here again:  damn, Karim is a serious guy!  I explained that he was reviewing it on the basis of “fly away mustache” (the tin mentions fly away beard, and not being familiar with facial hair I figured if it applies to a beard it must apply to a mustache, right???) 

“If the purpose of it is to STYLE my mustache I would give it a 0.  However, if the purpose is to SOFTEN my mustache and maybe just get it out of my LIPS a little bit, and give it like a SUBTLE SHAPE – I give it a 2.5.  It doesn’t really do much.  It is not a big difference.  It sort of changed the direction of the ‘stache, from down to sideways…  (David noted here that the product might be a good mustache TRAINING TOOL….)  Right – before you are ready for the FULL MUSTACHE WAX.  I would not buy this.”  (Carrie, Karim’s wife, pointed out that you can pick up real mustache wax for around the same price at CVS, thought I would implore you not to rub THAT on every part of your body like this product claims you should.)

Karim and Carrie in their show "Darlings" - "Peter Pan" from Mr. and Mrs. Darling's point of view.
Check out Karim's mustache!!

Honestly, I thought he was more keen on the balm than that…  But it turns out, even as a mustache styling product, this still sucks.  Oh well, you can’t say I haven’t given this product the complete test!!!! 

Price – $3.99

Rating (average of Karim’s 2 scores -  0 and 2.5):  1.25

P.S. - Karim and Carrie are terrific performers.  If their company, Animal Engine, is in your town be sure to check them out!  They are currently touring the show "Darlings".  Follow them on Facebook here:  Animal Engine

Day 353 - Refresh Citrus Body Wash (with Vitamin C)

Remember when I tried Trader Joe’s “Nourish” shampoo back in November??  shampoo review here  It was amazing and such a pleasant surprise!  I loved it.

So I was really looking forward to using this “Refresh” Body Wash.  The label extolled so many virtues that I could barely contain myself! 

·         “With our unique aroma-therapeutic blend of orange blossoms and grapefruit”

o   Ahhhh, that must mean it is gonna smell INCREDIBLE! 

·         “More than just a body wash, this cleansing formula was developed to nourish and moisturize, leaving your skin tingly clean and silky smooth.”

o   TINGLY CLEAN???  I am in!

·         “This citrus blend is sure to energize you on even your most tired of days.”

o   Helllll-o, who doesn’t need energizing every now and then??

Trader Joe's Refresh Body Wash

So I tried it.  And took the most carefully staged photos of this year long project.  J  I wanted you to see the product in action, mind you, but I didn’t want you to see the USER, if you know what I mean…

Body wash on pouf - here we go!

We are in Florida for the holidays and our house here has an outdoor shower in the backyard.  It is nothing fancy, but it is a greeeeeat place to shower.  Look, here is my view while I wash!!

View from the outdoor shower.  Note:  shower was not ON when I took this photo.  :)  Didn't want to break my camera!

I always beg David not to trim the trees in the backyard too much, cuz I want it to stay private and “enclosed” and greeeeen.  This panorama photo of my shower view also shows 2 of our pride and joys – TRIXIE, the magical fruit cocktail tree we planted this summer who surprised us when we got here this week by having not only BLOSSOMS but A REAL LIVE PIECE OF FRUIT (which I think is a Meyer lemon, my favorite kind of lemon that you can get at TJ’s if you do not have one in your backyard and was reviewed in this blog here ), and you can also see AVA, the avocado tree (not yet giving avocados, she may be barren…) that we grew from a pit and is now taller than me!!

Ava - grown from an AVOCADO PIT - it is working - she is turning into a real tree!!

David and TRIXIE, the Magical Fruit Cocktail Tree.  She is going to actually produce real live citrus fruit!

Trixie blooms

A bee pollinating some of Trixie's blooms.  Lovely!  Nature in action.

FIRST EVER CITRUS FRUIT GROWN BY US!

Teeny tiny fruit-to-be s.

You can see photos of Trixie when we first got here and she apeared in this blog here.  My has she grown!!!

Anyway, let’s look at the product:  I didn’t fall in love with this body wash.  From all the hype on the label, I thought it would smell FABULOUUUUUUS.  In truth, it doesn’t “smell” nearly enough (for me anyway).  It is just sorta slightly citrus, but no “bam” scent.  The NAMES of the scents sound incredible, the label lists:  sweet orange blossoms, succulent pink grapefruit, herbal extracts of chamomile, ginseng, ginger, Echinacea, pure jojoba oil, vitamin b 5.  I mean, all of those scents sound like they if they were poured upon my shower pouf and rubbed into my skin I would float away on a olfactory voyage.  But, alas, it just sorta smells vaguely citrusy.  I don't like my body wash to make me SMELL after I use it, I might want to put on perfume and I don't want my soap scent to compete with that.  But I like it to have some scent as I lather up.  

Not too smelly (as in, not quite enough smelly)

And it didn’t bubble up as much as I would like, either.  It just sort of bubbles instead of BUBBLING!!!  Do you get my drift? 

And not many bubbles, either...

The good stuff about it is it cleans my skin.  It is not tested on animals.  It is quite cheap.  And I presume it is good for my skin, too.  oh, and it’s not expensive.

As for scents, I will continue to go out every day and sniff the citrus blooms on Trixie (the magical fruit cocktail tree) and keep wishing there was a way to bottle that glorious scent and bring it home with me. 

As far as this body wash, I don’t love it like I did TJ’s shampoo.  But I don’t hate it.  I guess I just expected more.  But, like they say in the movie “Babe”, “It’ll do, pig.”

If it made more bubbles and had more scent, I wonder if they would up the price?

Price – $2.99

Rating - 3

Day 337 - Ultra Moisturizing Hand Cream Trio

I ran into TJ’s the other afternoon while David waited in the car for me (the parking lot was FULL at the Clarendon store and the attendant was telling everyone to leave, that was a first!).  Anyway, I was supposed to just be running in for a bouquet of flowers for our friend’s birthday (happy birthday, Irma!) but man oh man – they had tons of new holiday products!  Like – GIFT products!  I was, as you may have guessed, more than a  little excited… 

One cool product on the table of amazing stuff was a box of 3 silver tubes of hand cream.  One is Argan Oil, one is Olive Oil, and one is Kukui Oil.  ONE of those is part of a Christmas present for a relative – I will not disclose WHO at the moment in case he/she reads this blog (I am not too worried, I do not think this particular person follows it). 

Such a sweet little gift box of hand creams - how could I NOT stand around in TJ's and drool over them while
 David waited patiently in the car outside??

Each tube is 1 oz and they all contain 20% shea butter.  I grabbed a box and then packed one of the tubes for my recent trip to Omaha.  I busted it out and shared with my nephew Jordan, who was happy to be a guest reviewer.  Thanks, J!

Let me first tell you what I thought of the Olive Oil hand cream – ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.  It was moisturizing without being greasy, easy to dispense from the tube, stayed closed in my purse, and smelled light and fresh.  The lady at the store told me she thought it was a little oily for her but I disagree.  Especially during the cold winter months my hands need cream like this.  An sometimes with hand creams or lotions the scent is so strong that you can’t wear a perfume without feeling “clash-y” but with this light fresh scent you can.  It is a gender neutral scent which I like, too.   it doesn’t make you smell too “girly” or too “manly” – you just smell nice.  I LIKE IT!  I give it a 4.75.

My hands love lotions and creams.

Now let’s get Jordan’s take on it:  “I think this is very nice.  It is creamy, but not too oily.  The scent is something that I am a big fan of.  It is not too feminine, but not too manly either.  It is a nice fresh scent.  It seems to be soaking into my skin quite well.  I would give it a 4.25.”

Jordan examining his hand after applying the Olive Oil Hand Cream.  You can tell by his shirt that the Huskers were playing that day.  But don't mention it to anyone from Nebraska, it was quite a sucky game I am told.

At $7.99 for the trio of hand creams, these work out to only $2.67 per tube.  I think that is WELL worth it.  They remind me of hand creams at L’Occitaine – same sort of packaging and quality, but much cheaper! 

Yes - if your TJ's has these you should grab a box.  Or two.

I believe these gift sets are just for the holiday season, so if you want to GIFT them (or keep them for yourself!) you best rush out and pick up a box soon!!  I am gifting one tube (not Olive Oil, obviously, since I have already used some of that one…) and keeping two.  Oh my, does that not fit the holiday spirit??

Price - $7.99 (for 3 tubes)

Rating – 4.5 (average of 2 raters)

Day 335 - Pomegranate Body Butter

YES, YES, YES.

I was very fearful to try this seasonal body butter.  After all, the last time I invested in a tub of season TJ’s body butter things went horribly wrong…  (See the review of Pumpkin Body Butter here...)  

  

Not gonna lie - I was really nervous to try this after my experiment with PUMPKIN BODY BUTTER failed miserably...

But hey, I didn’t want to let one little mishap spoil my love of body cream/lotion/butter…  I wanted to GET BACK ON THE HORSE and try another new product!!!  So I nervously asked at the Trader Joe’s customer service counter if perhaps they had an open tub of this that I could try a bit of…  Turns out they DIDN’T, but the woman I asked had been wanting to try some herself and was more than happy to grab one and open it up for me.

Nervously, I put my finger in and pulled a plop of the white cream out.  I rubbed it on my hands.  And I went in for the SMELL TEST, the area where the Pumpkin Spiced Body Butter had failed oh so miserably…  Would this Pomegranate Cream smell like a Christmas pie of some sort???  A candle?????

Pretty label, but would it have a pretty SMELL????

My nose was pleasantly surprised – IT SMELLED GOOD!!!  So I bought a tub and took it home with me to give it the ultimate test – the all-over after shower body cream test!!!

I am pleased to announce that this body butter PASSED THE TEST!!! 

It’s lovely!  The texture is nice, it is quite thick.  The coverage goes on well – it is not heavy or greasy.  The scent is very delicate and pleasant.  I realized that even though I like to eat pomegranate seeds, I have no metal/olfactory idea of what POMEGRANATES smell like.  If this cream is any indication, they smell clean, fresh, and light!!!  And what I like about it is that it smells good, but it is a light enough scent that I feel perfectly find putting a different scented perfume OVER it and I do not feel like I have competing smells going on.

I really like this product.  I am so happy I grabbed one.  It reminds me of a body butter that I really like from Sephora (Sephora brand) that David sometimes treats me with as a Christmas gift. 

They had quite a few the day I got mine - I hope there are more because I may "need" to pick up another one...  

I would give this TJ’s Pomegranate Body Butter a score of 5, except the ONE THING I liked about the Pumpkin Body Butter, the cool lid that you could pop off the middle of instead of having to unscrew the whole thing, that part is MISSING on the Pomegranate version.  It just has a stupid old fashioned screw on/off lid.  Oh Trader Joe’s – whyyyy did you not use those cool lids on this holiday scent??  They rocked.  I need to take off a bit in the score for that oversight.

Great price - you won't find a tub of nice body butter at this low price in fancy stores like Sephora.

I recommend you pick up a tub or two of this the next time you are at Trader Joe’s.  It is really well priced, too.  Word has it they will sell out quickly, so chop chop!

 Price – $5.49

Rating – 4.75

Day 317 - Nourish Spa Shampoo

I tried to go into testing this product with an open mind, but I must admit, I sort of expected to not like it.  My experiences with Trader Joe’s toiletry items have been, welllll, let’s just say “hit or miss” (does anyone remember Head to Toe Moisturizing Balm way back on day 89???? ( tragic review here ).  But a friend told she really likes this Nourish Spa Shampoo, and I ran out of my other shampoo, so I thought, “What the heck??!!” and picked up a bottle.

What the heck!  Why not try it??  It is day 317 of 365, it is basically now or never!

There are a few of things I need to point out before I review the shampoo:

1.       The friend who recommended it to me has very different hair than I do.  She is African American.  I don’t know much about hair other than what is on my head, but I DO know that many stores have separate hair product shelves for Caucasian hair and African American hair…  So when she recommended this for me, part of me thought, “Joi are you NUTS?” and the other part of me thought, “Joi, this could be hilarious!” but no part of me really thought, “Oh great!  A shampoo that works perfectly for JOI will also work perfectly for ME!”…

This is ME.  

This is JOI.  She loves pageants. 

2.       I am NOT picky about my shampoo.  My last bottle took me an eternity to get through cuz I got a great deal on what seemed like the world’s biggest bottle of shampoo at BJ’s (which is like Sam’s Club or Costco).  It was some Herbal Essence crap.  I am also not above using the tiny hotel shampoos when I travel.  Don’t judge. 

3.       I have horrible hair.  It is the thinnest, most fine hair you can imagine (and no, in this use I do NOT mean “fine” as in, “Oh I hope Joe wins Survivor this season – he is so fiiiine…” I mean “fine” as in “Wow, you can’t even get a barrette or bobby pin to stay in your hair without slipping out because it is so F-I-N-E…” fine.  I have always had this crappy hair.  Look, even when I was a KID I had bad hair.  Oh sure, my Toni Tenille hairdo was amazing, and my pig tails that each contained about 5 hairs really rocked, but still…  Again, don’t judge.

Age 6, with the Santa I played with every Chrsitmas.  I thought my hair looked soooooo pretty in curled pig tails.  

Rockin' my Toni Tennille 'do and stylish high waisted pants by my friend Monica's
flocked Christmas tree that I coveted every year

4.       My stylist recently moved.  And I do not mean “moved to another salon” I mean MOVED FROM ONE COAST TO THE OTHER.  Rhiannon abandoned me.  And my hair looks horrible right now!  It is so shaggy.  And it is all her fault!  I neeeeed her.  What’s a girl to do??  Sigh.  Anyway, I mention her here because I want you to see how gorgeous HER hair is.  She has, in my opinion, perfect hair.  It doesn’t even matter what color she makes it – it is always amazing.  Plus, she is nice.  Damn you Rhi, why did you have to MOVE?

Isn't her hair AMAZING?  And, like, the opposite of mine. Sigh

CAPTIVATING

5

5.       I once shaved off my hair.  My mom had colon cancer and was going through chemo that made her hair fall out.  So 3 of us in the family shaved our hair in solidarity.  And you know what?  I had no idea how liberating that experience would be.  I loved it.  If you have ever considered it and not done it, go for it.  Trust me on this one – it is sorta life changing.

David and I after shaving - Kansas City

6.       And finally, my last “hair point” before I review this shampoo, I really like short hair.  Once a niece or nephew (I can’t remember who) asked very genuinely, “Aunt Susan, why do you have hair like a BOY?”.  The question didn’t hurt my feelings or offend me.  I loved that it was a teaching moment.  I DO NOT HAVE HAIR LIKE A BOY.  Because there isn’t “boy hair” and “girl hair”, just like there aren’t “boy toys” and “girl toys” or “male jobs” and “female jobs”.  There is HAIR (and no hair!).  I have hair.  I was glad to be able to model that to that child.

Ok enough hair talk – onto Trader Joe’s NOURISH SPA SHAMPOO.

Look, it's cheap!

Guess what?  I LIKE IT!!!  It really makes my hair feel clean and shiny.  It is not overly scented, though it does have a slight scent that I cannot figure out what it is.  (Note – David, who normally doesn’t even notice smells, noticed the scent of this when he tried it and he didn’t like it.  But his opinion will not be counted in this review J ).

Simple bottle, good shampoo (NOTE - I think the packaging may have changed a bit recently but it is till the same shampoo)

The bottle says “balanced moisturizing, safe for color treated hair, contains argan oil to smooth and shine, and enriched with botanticals”.  It does not contain laurel/laureth sulfates.  The conditioner I am currently using also has argan oil, and the combination of the two is making my hair super shiny these days!

TJ's Nourish Spa Shampoo in action!  It doesn't bubble up all that much, but it makes my hair feel clean!

This shampoo is not tested on animals, which is cool.  And it is super cheap, especially when compared to salon brands (sorry Rhi!).  I often buy styling products at the salon but usually pick up shampoo other places.

Overall, this is a GOOD SHAMPOO.  It cleans, doesn’t dry my hair, makes it shiny, and is cheap!  OH YAH! 

Now, I have asked my friend Joi who recommended this product to me to do a guest review, and here is what she said:

“When I decided to go with my natural hair in the spring of 2012, I opted to use only non-alcohol based products.  Searching for these gave me a slew of options with brands that would break my wallet.  Some products I tried left my hair either dry, feeling unclean or a frizzy mess.  My biggest concerns were finding a product that was a reasonable price, sulfate free, and left my hair clean and moisturized.  While in Trader Joe’s one day I decided to try their Nourish Spa Shampoo and holy moly, it was love at first lather.  Their shampoo gets nice and sudsy, cleanly rinses from my hair and leaves it soft and tangle-free with a fresh sweet scent.  The best part thought, is the price is a whopping $2.99 a bottle, which makes the 30 minute commute to my closest Trader Joe’s worth the gas.  I usually stock up on several bottles a trip that last me 6 – 8 months.  Trader Joe’s Nourish Spa Balancing Moisturizing Shampoo is 5 out of 5 in my book.”

Well what do you know - it really IS a good shampoo for all hair types!  We both really like it.  I suspect you will like it, too, and it won't empty out your wallet.  It sure is easy to do the math and average our two scores together - we both gave this product a 5!

Price – $2.99

Rating - 5

Day 144 - Lemon Kitchen Hand Soap

First off, why a special soap for the KITCHEN…  Aren’t your hands equally as dirty when you wash them in, oh, I don’t know, the bathroom??   Sure, your hands may be touching things with strong ODORS in the kitchen – onions, shrimp, etc – but does that warrant a specialized SOAP?  It just seems so, so, so…  LIMITING I guess! 

Natural, nice scent, and soapy - what more can you need?

But that philosophical point aside, this Lemon Kitchen Hand Soap is good.  It is lemon without being overly scented, and the lemon smell is FRESH and not FAKEY.  It makes a nice lather, too.  And the PUMP on it is great!  Nice squirt mechanism.

The label is sort of funny – it has a “G” monogram on it, and I wondered if it was made by someone other than Trader Joe’s or what.  But no, the “G” seems to be God’s monogram, as around it, it says “Next to Godliness”.    Classy – this is like GOD’S soap or something!

Lemon Kitchen Hand Soap in action - tough shot to capture!  Had to rinse and dry my other hand to work the camera!  :)

One last point, I also like the COLOR of this soap.  It is a nice pale yellow.  The label tells us it has lots of nice stuff in it – coconut oil, lemon peel oil, and earth salts – so it must be good for us, eh?

Price – $3.49

Rating – 4.5

Day 140 - A Midsummer Night's Cream

I ran out of lotion.  We are in Florida.  We went to a new Trader Joe’s for us - the one in Orlando!  I was verrrry tempted to buy the amazing lotion I purchased recently (which I do not currently have with me) that got an awesome 5 star review on day 120 (Lavender Hand and Body Lotion).  However, I have a commitment to this blog, and it means one new product review per day.  So purchasing NEW things is a requirement!  And it was in that spirit that I picked up this Midsummer Night’s Cream (well, I really liked the name of it, of course, and that made it easier to choose this and not the Lavender one, too…).

Very reasonable price - check out the signage - this is from the ORLANDO, FL TRADER JOE'S

Anyway, this cream says it is the “extra dry formula”, and they ain’t a kiddin’!  By “extra dry” I think they mean “you want this if your skin is made of cardboard”.  This is toooooo moisturizing.  I know, I know, that sounds impossible!  How could something possible moisturize TOO MUCH?  Try this cream and you will understand what I am trying to put into words. 

It is not that it is GREASY, per se.  It is not THICK, per se.   It is just, well, TOO DANG LOTION-Y!  I put it all over my body after my shower yesterday and today and both days I just feel like I have a COATING on me.  I use lotion every single day, so I KNOW lotion.  And let’s just say, this one is not on my list of favorites.

A bird's eye view of the cream

Then I thought, perhaps since it is called A Midsummer NIGHT’S Cream that it was only meant to be used before bed (at night) as an extra emollient extravaganza or something!  So I read the label, which clearly says, “For best results, it should be massaged thoroughly into the skin morning and evening, and as needed”.  Well, I tried to give them the benefit of the doubt!

It says it is an herbal blend with aloe, and I have been in the sun, so perhaps this will be good for my skin.  It is unscented.

Price - $3.99

Rating – 2.5

Day 120 - Lavender Hand and Body Lotion

I rarely buy toiletry items at Trader Joe’s, but because of this blog have started trying them.  And I have not always been met with great results…  (See Day 89 – Head to Toe Moisturizing Balm…)  But after that minor fiasco I got back up on the horse and I am glad I did!  This lotion is really nice.

Because it is lavender, and because I have previously been led to believe that lavender is a scent which relaxes you (or is it makes you sleepy??), I have been using this lotion only at bed time.  I have put some on my feet and hands every night the past few weeks. 

The SCENT is the most amazing part.  It smells so good!  The lavender scent is strong but not overpowering.  The description on the bottle says it has sunflower and lemon, too, and the lemon might be what gives it a bit of a “zing” in the scent.  I really like it.

Pretty bottle, terrific scent, and a great feel!

It also feeeeels nice.  It goes on easily and leaves my skin smooth and silky but not at all greasy.  Since I was going to write this review I just put some on my hands (I know!  In the middle of the day!  I hope I don’t fall asleep…) .  But my point is (and I do have one) – my hands are not slimy at all!  I am tapping away on my keyboard without fear of getting grease on my laptop.

Oh – I should also point out that the lotion dispenses very nicely.  I have had other lotions that are hard to get out of the bottle, but this has a very good pump. 

This product is good all around.  I will buy more when this bottle is empty.

Price – $4.99

Rating – 5

Day 89 - Head to Toe Moisturizing Balm

Yeah…  Ummmm…  Not so much…

I think I was a bit mis-lead by the NAME, but my bad for not reading the fine print before purchasing. 

But hey – we were visiting a Trader Joe’s in a city we had never been in, La Jolla, California, and I was excited to see a product I had not seen before!  So don’t be too mad at me for this incorrect purchase.

Here’s the deal – it is NAMED “Head to Toe Moisturizing Balm”.  To me, that meant like a body butter balmy sort of thing that I could use as something similar to LOTION, which I use a ton of.  Sounds perfect, right???

Pretty little tin, no??

But my first clue should have been the size of the TIN…  It is only 2 oz.    How much “head to toe moisturizing” action are you gonna get out of a mere 2 oz?? 

But really, I should have read the fine print.  Right there on the top of the tin, in teeny tiny fancy letters, it says, “This moisturizing balm works wonderfully on chapped lips, dry elbows and knees, heels, over-worked hands and cuticles.   It’s also great for fly-away hair or even fly away beard!”

Don’t get me wrong – I like a good multi-use product.  But a product you can put on your LIPS and also your HAIR seems a bit, welllll, stretching it… 

Not only does the sign say "NEW", it also says "exciting"!!  :)

So I set about TESTING it.

I have tried it on my lips – works fine.

I have tried it on my legs after shaving – it is awkward…  It is a hard balm in a tin, much like some hair goo I have had before and really liked.  It is hard to get OUT of the tin – I had to dig a finger down into the goo and pull a hunk up, then rub it between my palms before applying.  Basically, I was a gooey mess just from trying to moisturize my legs.

I tried it on my hands, but no thanks.   I mean, I USE A BOATLOAD of lotion and hand creams, but this is too gooey to be functional.  You just want to wash your hands after you get it put on, and that sort of defeats the whole purpose of having put it on in the first place, no?

And, just for the sake of this blog, I tried it on my hair.  (Oh the things I do for this blog…)  It worked quite well on my short, spiky doo. 

Not bad as a hair product!

For the record – I do not have a BEARD to try it on so I cannot attest to whether it would be good for “fly away beard” as advertised.

If you want it for a hair product, go for it.  At $3.99 it is cheaper than most.  But if you are buying it expecting to be able to actually use it from HEAD TO TOE like the name says, you are going to be disappointed.

NOTE:  This product review has an ADDENDUM!!  I found someone with an amazing mustache to help me by trying it out!  See his opinion here:  Head to Toe Moisturizing Balm Addendum
Price – $3.99

Rating – 1.5