shak-shuka

Dr Dewy Hauschka

If you're anywhere in the Northern Hemisphere, you'll feel my pain: dry, cracked, even chapped skin on every part of your body. You can slather your body is oil or cocoa butter, but my face has been so dry lately (thank you climate change for making this the coldest winter in 100 years of Dutch history!) that I look like a plaster or mummy coming to life.

Literally every time I go out, I bring Dr Hauschka's Rose Day Cream with me. It is the ONLY thing that keeps my skin looking moisturized, dare I even say dewy (on days when the heat is not cranked up to the tropics at home)? The smell is divine, as if you've just gathered 1000 rose petals and slipped the natural wax of them off onto your face. No nasty fake rose "Grandma-esque" smells here. All natural, the tube is recyclable, biodynamic agriculture - Dr Hauschka is the face of green beauty products. Lately since my hands have been chapped too, I've also been slathering on the Hand Cream, and the handy tube is just the right size to slip into your bag so when you go to shake hands with someone, they don't mistake you for a reptile!

Dr Bronner's to the Rescue

It is with great excitement that I get to share with you the news that we now carry the Dr. Bronner brand at Shak-Shuka! Having been a long-time fan of the famous Magic Castille Soap and its many many uses, we thought it would be a perfect addition for the eco-friendly family. Dr. Bronner has really stepped up their eco credentials with now being fair trade, organic, biodegradable, and now carries a children's line fthat's equally great for sensitive folks as it is fragrance-free.

So if you haven't ever tried Dr. Bronner's products, the Magic Castille Soap is one of the first products you HAVE to try. Why? Because it can be used in a million ways, but according to the packaging, there are actually 18 uses that Dr. Bronner thought the soap was a suitable substitute for. Here is just a shortlist of the many ways that the almond/peppermint/lavender/baby liquid soap can be used:

facial cleanser
liquid hand soap
bodywash
bubble bath
shampoo
shaving cream
toothpaste
mouthwash
denture cleaner
mint deodorant
massage oil
baby oil
sun tan oil
toilet cleaner
car cleaner
laundry soap
dishwashing liquid
pet cleaning

I'm not quite sure about how it holds up as a deodorant or a massage oil, but I can personally vouch for it's effectiveness in the household, for the pets, as a shampoo/body wash, and I have even used the peppermint as a toothpaste one time (it was a camping trip - please don't ask). If 18+ ways of using a soap isn't your type of thing, there is a luxurious Body Balm, Lip Balm or Bar Soap that'll get you addicted to Dr. Bronner's in less than, say....18 seconds?!

Resurrection for Hands (+ Sinks)

Slightly embarassed, I'm sharing a (dirty) secret with you: I love the look of luxurious bottles next to the sink to leave guests with the impression that we are more glamourous than we are really in our daily life. Currently we have an unexciting lavender hand soap in an equally mundane pump, and it gives off more of a crunchy hippy rather than fantabulous vibe.

I actually saw this hand soap first in a magazine, and under intense scrutiny, I realized that it was from own of my favorite natural brands: Aesop. I've written about my love of the Australian brand Aesop, but nothing can compare to my love of anything from the "Resurrection Aromatique" range of body care: my obsession numero uno for our new house being a bit bottle of the Resurrection Aromatique Hand Soap next to each and every sink. Not only does it emit a certain amount of apothecary-esque cool, but it also rinses off beautifully and leaves the most wonderful herbilcious scent afterwards. So yes, I am petty in that I love the look of the bottle as much as the contents, but everybody needs hand soap, so why not treat yourself to the very best looking there is?

Phyto-refic Skin

Embarrassing as this is to say, it's not even October and I've already started turning the heat on at night. I am a sucker for sleeping in a toasty warm environment, and I pretend like I carbon-offset during the day by not using any lights and unplugging all my electronics (does that count? probably not but I tell myself it does).....

Besides punishing the environment with my thermostat-thumping habit, my skin is also paying the price. I tend to have red, blotchy skin when the air gets warm and dry - some may even call it the beginning stages of rosacea (think Bill Clinton's nose). I prefer not to think my skin is that bad, and I am over-the-moon ecstatic that there is a product out there for blotchy-skinners like me: Skinceuticals Phyto Corrective Gel. It may look green and funky in the bottle, but a few drops of this before your moisturizer and the cucumber and thyme cool and soothe normally irritated skin. Skinceuticals has always been one of my favorite brands, and now even more so since I'm getting to a "certain" age and starting to get serious about the war on aging - from corrective to preventive, Skinceuticals has got a natural pharmacy in a bottle!

The Robin Hood of Hair Color

Since most of my Monday posts revolve around things that I want for the house, that means that other aspects of our non-domestic needs have been scaled back considerably. We've all had to tighten our bootstraps and make do without certain luxuries we've been accustomed to, but I think in the end that's good for us to learn to appreciate what we already have and then once we can do those things again, we'll appreciate it that much more. Right?!

My own personal sacrifice that I've made is not going to the hair salon as often as usual. Yes, I do get my haircut, but not the cut/color/spa experience I've grown used to. Luckily on my last visit to the salon, my hair stylist gave me something to help maintain my hair color from going to rusty/brassy which he knows I hate. My hair is naturally brown but as time goes by, it turns the color of metal left out in the rain. But this amazing new product from Christophe Robin (the same maker of the Creme di Citron I raved about a while ago), called Ash Brown Shade Variation Treatment (also available for all other hair colors too), has saved my life since my last visit to the salon. Made from liqorice extract and other natural-based ingredients, I use this treatment once a week in place of my shampoo/conditioner routine, leave it on for about 30 minutes (yes I stop the water and get out of the shower!), and then rinse out. It literally tones the red down and creates a wonderful brown hue that wasn't there before! Although the Shade Variation Treatment doesn't come cheap, it's much cheaper than repeat visits to the hair salon, and just might get me to be able to stretch one more month away from my stylist. He won't be pleased but our bank account will be!

"Acqua e Sapone" Face

In Italy they have a saying for girls who have that fresh-face look - "acqua e sapone". I just adore that saying, and wish it referred to me more often. I love the idea of having a squeaky clean look that even if it's a bit innocent and sweet for me in reality, it gives me a sense of simplicity and innocence.

Even though I'm not that close to "acqua e sapone", I do however have a pretty simple regimen every morning and night that uses acqua (water) and sapone (soap): Weleda's Almond Cleansing Lotion. I love the smell of almonds (even though it reminds me of cherries?!), and the cleansing lotion is super gentle for my sensitive skin, and really does help remove eye make-up (one less product to buy to remove eye make-up). Surely you've heard of Weleda if you have ever visited a health food shop or "natural" store, as they are one of the biggest brands around, with a wide range of hair, face, bath and body care products based on biodynamic agriculture. Best of all, the last time I was picking up some Almond Cleansing Lotion, it is now a carbon-neutral product. That made me stock up and really want to support the great products and work Weleda is doing. The only glitch I find with the Almond Cleansing Lotion is it's in a (recyclable!) aluminum tube, which makes it nearly impossible to get all of it out, but if you have one of these handy-dandy Tube Wringers (also great for Dr. Hauschka products which come in the same kind of tubes), then it's a 100% eco product!

Marvis-lous Toothpaste

We're back! Did you miss us (web)universe?! Although we missed writing and sharing eco-info, it was nice to take a well-deserved break. Everybody's got to re-charge their batteries sometime! This summer we were fortunate enough to get away to Italy, where I lived for a few years many many years ago. It was great to take my own family to places where I used to go with friends to shop, eat and just aimlessly walk for hours (which all ended in a search of gelato, of course). In fact, it must run in the family as Baby Shak-Shuka ate ice cream at least once a day. No joke!

Since today is my obsession of the week, it would have to be one of my coveted items that I always stock up on when I go to Italy: Marvis toothpaste. Based on an "antique" (sounds weird if you're talking toothpaste, but it works!) formula, this toothpaste brings the minty freshness like none other. I can't deny that one of the main reasons that I love Marvis toothpastes is the gorgeous apothecary-worthy packaging. In fact, since being at home, I don't even mind having all the tubes that I bought laying around the bathroom (thanks to Baby Shak-Shuka!). Best of all, this time around I discovered that Marvis comes in more flavors than I remember: there's Classic Mint, Jasmin Mint, Paradise Fruit, Aquatic and Ginger Mint. One flavor for (almost) every day of the week, and they please the mouth as much as the eyes......ah, now that's refreshing!

Sun Relief in a Tube

When the weather is nice, we don't take it for granted around here, and spend every last ray of sun outdoors. Normally I am not a "outdoorsy" kind of girl, but it's as if my body drags me outside to get some Vitamin D. This weekend was exceptionally beautiful so we hit the beach and spent the whole morning building sand castles, eating french fries and flying our first kite!

I think I was a bit arrogant thinking that the Dutch sun wasn't very warm or powerful, so I only put my trust Neal's Yard Lavender sunscreen on the top of my body and face, but not my back or legs. Oops, learned that lesson quickly. Sun is sun is sun, no matter where you are! I'm not burned badly, but let's just say I'm mildly "crispy". My first course of action? Dr Hauschka's After Sun Lotion. One step up from cutting your own aloe vera and schmearing it all over your body, this all-natural lotion is like SOS for sunkissed (or burnt) skin in a tube. With the first application (because I applied MANY times thereafter) I could feel the sizzle fade away and the calm scent of Dr Hauschka's trademark scent of gentle Rose Canina and Sweet Almond. Best of all, after the first or second day of application, it somehow transforms my otherwise toasted skin into a toasted brown color which makes me look downright Californian! My miracle soother in a tube, this After Sun Lotion is right next to my Sunscreen in the medicine cabinet.

Priti Hands + Feet

 

It's officially summertime which to me translates as "better get your mani/pedi done or you'll feel like a T-Rex running around". I love/hate this time of year where I feel more obliged to take care of my appearance because, well, there's more of me to see (usually I hide out in boots, jeans and slouchy sweaters the other 9 months of the year). Surely I'm not alone, so I'll share with you some of my summertime grooming tips.

No surprise, I'm officially addicted to Priti NYC's nail polish and soy remover which not only last forever, but also have the most neutral, even dare I say sweet smell (I think it smells like a cherry or a flower). But new to the Priti NYC family of products is the almond cuticle oil, 2-in-1 base/top coat and the glass nail file. First off, my cuticles on my fingers are always in the worst shape possible, and with a few drops of this almond cuticle oil, which also contains ginseng, my cuticles look back to normal. Once my cuticles are in shape, I feel brave enough to attack the nails themselves, and the glass nail file is so unbelievably gentle, even my fragile nails don't break and splinter like they do with normal files. Then, I slide on a coat of the 2-in-1 base/top coat which not only keeps my nails from yellowing, but also when I go to remove the polish, it makes it really easy to remove (am I the only one who has the most porous nails possible so that polish gets stuck to them for ions?!!). A few slicks of my favorite non-toxic Priti polish and I'm ready to go. Feeling half human again, the streets are safe again thanks to my gang of Priti NYC nail goods keeping my fingers and toes looking tip-top!

The Crème de la Crème of Shampoos

One of my favorite things after I go to the hairdresser is to catch my reflection in any, and every surface. Dirty car windows, shop windows, spoons - you name it. I feel like I'm invincible with my helmet hair of perfection. The smell wafting from my hair hypnotizes me into a sexy siren state and I hate to put head to pillow in fear of losing my new found sense of hair-confidence. Then I wake up and catch a glimpse of myself and it's all downhill from there.

Luckily my hairdresser sent me home with some goodies to help keep me and my head feeling high-o-mighty. One of them is the "Rolls Royce" of shampoos - Crème Lavante au Citron by Christophe Robin. This is no ordinary shampoo ladies, and it's not a simple wash-n-go type operation, it requires a bit of effort (leaving it on, requiring a bit of prep time) but the results are totally worth it. Made especially for colored hair (what, who, me?!), it really does help to maintain the color if you use it every 4 times you wash your hair. And the smell - oy - the smell! Thanks to the lemon zest extract, the crème au citron not only smells divine but works as an exfoliator on the hair, leaving it completely clean. Lemon, camomile, and St. John’s wort extracts combine to prevent the loss of the artificial pigments used to color hair and, also, to rebalance your hair’s pH. Your color stays rich and brilliant, your hair is once again soft and silky, and your scalp is soothed and relaxed. Once you’ve begun to wash your hair with this product you’ll have no desire to use any other. Since you invest so much in the color process, it only makes sense to invest a little in the post-op process. Totally worth the splurge, because like they say: "you're worth it"!