2 Beauty and Body Care Book Reviews

Organic Body Care Recipes: 175 Homeade Herbal Formulas for Glowing Skin and  a Vibrant Self
by Stephanie Tourles

Although this book is put together nicely and has some good information, I wouldn't say it offered me anything I can't find online and some information in the book to me wasn't good for you.  This book has a nice introduction about eating healthy, drinking plenty of water, getting rest - but again all the stuff you can find online. It has a nice listing of how long things last, but not sure I would trust it though.  This book doesn't offer a lot vegan options either.  It has many animal based products in it with no alternative mentioned. The thing that really bothered me and I felt was bad information was that it uses things like borax and petroleum jelly in recipes. Borax while being a natural based product is still toxic and putting that on my skin doesn't sound like a good idea to me. Again the same thing with petroleum jelly - not something I really want to use as an ingredient on my skin when I am trying to move away from things like that. Of course there were plenty of recipes in there that actually were organic non-toxic and using things around your house such as honey or oatmeal. But over all I am not sure that a book that uses borax as something you use on your skin - is a book a trust with the rest of the recipes or information provided.

GREEN BEAUTY RECIPES: Easy Homemade Recipes to Make Your Own Organic and Natural Skincare, Hair Care and Body Care Products
 by Julie Gabriel

I liked this book better but again it has some problems. The editing on it isn't great. There are missing ingredients, words spelled wrong and I read the kindle edition is just a draft of the book and even worse.  It has the use of a product called Cetyl alcohol which is used in one of the first basic recipes of the book as emulsifier is actually an emollient. So the basic recipe in the book doesn't work from the start because of bad information. It also will mention an ingredient or how long it lasts in the description, but down in the recipe it either leaves out that ingredient or has different information all together.  So it can get confusing.

One thing I am looking for also that I can't seem to find a positive answer to is how long products last.  Some books say one thing, another says something different and then some books tell different time frames on the same products.  It just doesn't make much sense.

Out of these 2 books, I did like the recipes in Green Beauty better.  I am not sure I would buy either of these books, but checking them out from the library to take a look at isn't a bad idea. You might find some recipes or information that is helpful.

Make Your Place : A Book Review

I'm a girl who likes to do it myself when it comes to homemaking, gardening, and most anything else for that matter. I like to get hands-on and in most cases I figure I can make it better and usually cheaper than something store bought. That's not always the case but it doesn't stop me from trying.

If like me, you want to get a little more hands-on with things like your cleaning products, body care, first aid, and gardening then Make Your Place: Affordable, Sustainable Nesting Skills by Raleigh Briggs is the book for you.

This adorable book is broken into three sections 1) Health & First Aid 2) Non-Toxic Cleaning & Body Care 3) Gardening. Each is beautifully illustrated and hand-written, but more importantly chalk full of good information.

In Health & First Aid, there are recipes and tips for using essential oils and plants to keep make salves and tinctures to keep your body running in tip-top shape. There's information on which herbs to use for different cold symptoms as well as advice on handling bruises, bug bites, headaches and much more. It's all written in a concise manner that doesn't make you feel like you need to be a certified herbalist to make nature work for you.

Non-Toxic Cleaning & Body Care provides recipes for making natural cleaners out of things like baking soda and vinegar as well as ways to kill things like ants and other bugs that invade the home. The author also gives recipes for things like facial toners and shampoos with a listing of which herbs should be used for different skin types. I found that particularly thrilling because my face is oily but my arms tend to be dry and I can formulate products based on my body type without having to break the bank buying several different kinds of lotion.

The Gardening section is pretty basic but there's a ton of good information presented in a fun and easy to read manner so that even the most experienced gardeners among us will learn something. There's information on companion planting, starting your own seeds, building soil, fertilizing and much more. Again presented in a way that doesn't make you feel like you need to be a Master Gardener in order to grow some tomatoes for your summer salads.

Whether you're an experienced do-it-yourselfer or just getting started you'll find this book full of fun projects and ideas to keep you motivated and learning new ways to keep your nest comfortable for you and those you serve.

Book Review: Homemade

This is a great reference book for the home. I found some things I loved and some things I didn't. But mostly I think it is a good resource to have around the house.

So the things I didn't like first:

* I didn't like that half the book was food recipes. I would have liked more of the cleaners, health remedies, bath products, and such. But I will say that I am sure that many could and would use the food section just as much as the rest of the book.

* It uses the same phrase of it will the ingredients cost pennies on SO MANY recipes. We get it. It could have been used in the intro and that is IT.

* Not sure all the recipes really do cost pennies. I am not sure all the recipes would work.


Things I liked:

* I like how things are laid out in the book - very easy to follow and find thing. Each section has a list to reference on what is to come in the following pages.

* When using these recipes - you know exactly what is in each product. And they often are less expensive then the commercial brand.

* Such a huge variety of recipes - ketchup, chicken noodle soup, jam, face cream, household cleaners, insect repellent, sore throat lozenges, pet food, craft paste - just so many things you can use around the house.

* There are "helpful hints" and highlighted tips posted through out the book.

Overall I am sure this is a book that many could use and would reference often. I checked it out from the library but will be adding it to my wish list.

Book Review: Simply Green

I am going to do these reviews together since they are very similar books by the same author. These are books I wouldn't necessarily buy but check out from the library. Both give some really creative green alternatives.


Simply Green Parties: Simple and resourceful ideas for throwing the perfect celebration, event, or get-together by Danny Seo

I really enjoyed the photos/styling of this book. I enjoyed many of the ideas. Seo brings the concept to reduce, recycle and reuse upfront in party planning. Very nice ideas about reusing household items or getting items at thrift stores to repurpose for party decor. Many of the ideas are very chic and can be adapted to fit your needs.

Okay so the bad things....There were some things I didn't get why he felt they were green. I mean there shouldn't be a lot of trash after a green party. And he suggested using bamboo paper plates. Now that is more eco-friendly then the plastic disposable plates or regular paper plates...but what would be even more eco-friendly is using real everyday plates. Getting a plain white porcelain plate - and you can plan any party around that. Or picking up odd sets at thrift stores and mixing and matching is always to me a better choice then paper. He also did bottled water. Plastic bottles water bottles....I loved what he did with them making flavor waters but why not pitchers of filtered tap water with fruit in them instead of plastic water bottles.


Simply Green Giving: Create Beautiful and Organic Wrappings, Tags, and Gifts from Everyday Materials by Danny Seo

I liked this book better then the party book. Again I really enjoyed the photos/styling of this book. He really hits the concept to reduce, recycle and reuse over and over. Some nice ideas about reusing household items or getting items at thrift stores to repurpose to wrap your gifts, make handmade gifts and gift tags.

I enjoyed seeing him make bows from the scented perfume cards in magazines. He tore them out very carefully. And then opened up the scented edge. He cut 1/2-inch strips across the sheet, starting at the scented edge and stopping an inch from the end. Then you fold it up accordion style - neatly stacking the strips on top of each other. With a pair of sharp scissors take each strip and curl by pulling it over the blade. The quicker you pull it over the blade the curlier it will get. And then attach to gift. The colors and images on the bow turn into a bouquet of colorful ribbon.

He also used the same concept of curling ribbon by pulling VHS tape out of the plastic tape cassette. And he wrapped a wine bottle in newspaper leaving 5 inches extra on top and cut that into strips and curled also.

Some things I didn't feel looked great. He took an old string of christmas lights to tie around a package but I just didn't think it looked good. I believe it probably could have but I just don't feel it was styled right in the book. Something else I wasn't sure about was that he used the inside of silver foil part of potato chip bags to wrap gifts. He washed them of course and then wrapped so the silver was showing out. But I just wonder how someone would feel opening a gift wrapped in a potato chip bag? I guess if they knew you were going green maybe they would accept it but would they think you were weird? Does it matter to save the environment? I don't know. But I thought it was odd. It looked pretty in the book - just wasn't sure how someone would feel opening a gift wrapped in it.

Overall the book did give me ideas for wrapping and decorating gifts more eco-friendly. I think often people forget repurposing is a green option. I will be posting a few things I did last year to wrap gifts by repurposing containers - nut containers, frosting and even a grated Parmesan cheese container.

Meanwhile check out these links for gift wrapping and especially green gift wrapping...

Gaiam Life - 10 Green Gift Wrapping Ideas

Passionate Homemaking - Frugal and Green Gift Wrapping

Green Package Wrap Ideas

Earth Easy - Gift Wrapping Alternatives

Also I posted these links before but are good ones at the holidays...
Paper bow making - Recycling magazines, old books and scrapbooking paper

There is also a great article on gift wrapping in Simply Service Holiday 2008 issue by marg_it.

Book Review: The Natrually Clean Home

The Naturally Clean Home by Karyn Siegel-Maier

I read the 2nd edition and (which seems from what I could see of reviews)has more recipes. I am not sure what else is different though. So far in all the books I have read on natural cleaning, this one has been the most easy to understand, filled with a lot of useful information and tips. If I had to get one book on natural cleaning, this would be it.

This year one of my goals was to expand my natural cleaning products. And this book gave me plenty of recipes to use and try. Often I see recipes on the web and other resources that use the same 3 ingredients over and over - baking soda, borax and vinegar which are all great ingredients but I wanted something to smell good but have properties that clean and disinfect. And this book gave me those options. MANY options. It includes those basic ingredients you see everywhere but also introduces herbs and essential oils and that was just what I was needing.

This book includes an introduction section that includes benefits of natural cleaning, safety issues, which herbs to use, how and why, how to get started (supply lists) and then a chart of herbs and the beneficial properties. After the introduction the book is divided into section on what to clean and then many many recipes to go with each section. Such as it has a section on the kitchen so has dish soap, automatic dishwasher soap, sink clean, de-greaser (which is something I have been looking for), all-purpose cleaner and so on. Another section is just on floors and carpet which includes an all-purpose citrus wall cleaner and simple rug and carpet deodorizer. In between all the recipes there are many cleaning tips.

Other sections:
The Bath, the laundry, wood care, cleaning metals, clearing the air, the garage and basement, the garden and landscape and the home office.

It also has a resource list.

Some favorite recipes:
Lavender Lift Automatic Dishwasher Powder
Country Spice Scrubber
Herbal De-greaser
Mold and Mildew Prevention Formula
Lavender Soft Scrubber

Some other recipes I want to try:
Thyme Carpet Steamer Shampoo
Herbal Mists - Air Fresheners
Floor wipes and all purpose wipes that use cloth wipes so they can be recycled (washed and then reused)
Laundry soaps

I would start out with just a few recipes that use the same oils so you aren't investing in lots of oils. They are expensive but I do need to say they go a LONG LONG way. The only oil I had before getting this book was tea tree oil. I have used it in a cleaner for my bathroom for the last 2 years and you can't even tell from the bottle that I have used any. So just start out with a few and then build up and they will last you a long time.

** I read a few reviews saying they were the same recipes over and over again just changing the essential oils and herbs. And that is probably accurate. But I didn't know anything about essential oils and herbs so this helped me know which would give me the properties I needed in cleaning. It gave a combination of oils and herbs and how to use them - which I would have never known without reading this book.

Book: Home Hints and Tips

Home Hints and Tips by Rosamund Richardson

Product Review from Amazon - "The first in-depth book on "green" products for the home, Home Hints & Tips offers hundreds of tested tips that are safe, gentle on the environment, affordable, and easy to implement. Straightforward without being preachy, the book covers all aspects of natural home management, from designing and building to decorating with natural materials, as well as ecosafe cleaning and laundering methods, recycling, gardening, cooking, and personal care and health."


I will tell you this book freaked the hell out of me. It freaked me out because it goes into toxins that are in your house right now....the paint, the carpet, many cleaners and pesticides and so on and so forth. Not like I really didn't know it but reading about what they do which the book goes into a little bit freaked me. But after freaking, I calmed down and I really enjoyed it the book. Enjoyed it for all the useful information it did give me. I think some of it is a little bit out of the average persons budget. But there were workable ideas and tips. The set up of the book is very visually appealing too. Broken into good segments.

The book gives information on having a green home: conserving water and energy, decorating, cleaning, laundry and recycling. It goes beyond the home though to healthy natural/organic eating, personal care such as understanding labels for your personal care products, natural health remedies, baby care and also working from home. So it is a tiny book that covers a lot of information. It is a book I would like to have on my bookshelf.

Book: Natural Cleaning for Your Home

Natural Cleaning for Your Home: 95 Pure and Simple Recipes by Casey Kellar

I think the book is put together nicely with photographs and recipes for natural cleaning. But I was mostly disappointed with the natural cleaning recipes the author offered. There were some good alternatives to using store bought harmful chemicals, but she used some harsh chemicals to me and not a natural cleaning supply. Again good alternatives to Fantastik, Windex or the likes. But ammonia and bleach aren't natural and are harmful chemicals. The author's alternatives to what we can get in the supermarket would be considerably cheaper though even with ammonia or bleach being used in some recipes.

Other things I didn't like : there weren't enough recipes, she used things that really aren't easy to come by in a smaller town and some of the instructions weren't clear or as descriptive in use as I would have liked.

The book did give me some recipes that I hadn't heard of before and want to try. So it was worth checking out from the library just not owning.