Aveda Me This, Aveda Me That!

I must say, I'm a sucker for a good natural beauty product. With all the studies showing how parabens that are found in most beauty products can lead to breast cancer, I am of the opinion that the less of these products I use the better. When I discovered Aveda a few years ago I liked the company and tried some of their hair products, but wasn't that impressed. However, I'm changing my tone. While I'm still not super impressed with the hair care line, I do love the facial care line and the body care line. Let me tell you about some of my Aveda fav's.

First, there is the Aveda Body Polish . This is an exfoliating scrub that slightly foams. It is made out of walnut shells, kelp, aloe, and lavender, so it definitely brightens your skin, but leaves it smelling nice and clean. An 8.5 oz. tube costs $23, but lasts a long time. I only use this scrub about once a week, but it could be used more frequently. It leaves my skin very soft and takes off any dead skin that is there. This is a MUST for summer, since we have to exfoliate more skin in the summer months!

Second, my new find at Aveda is the Eye Shadow Transformer. This little bottle of liquid works as a primer or a transformer meaning you can use it before you put on your eye shadow to ensure your color stays all day (and it really works to keep the color, much better than the MAC primer!) or you can use the liquid to mix with a darker eye shadow creating a paste you can use as eyeliner. This primer is made from organic palm and larch tree extracts meaning what you put on your eyes will be natural! And, the application brush works very well. It is $25, so a little pricey, but if you wear eye shadow daily, it is worth it.

Third, I love my Aveda Salon! I go to Orpheum Salon in Pasadena, CA. This place has great service with a laid back atmosphere, which is fabulous. My last hair color consisted of bright red highlights and I love them, but we all know how quickly red fades. So, my stylist (Allison) made me a personalized Aveda shampoo. She used the Aveda Brilliant Shampoo, but added in the reds she had colored my hair with so I can replenish the color a little bit each time I shampoo (which is only every 2-3 days!). No one should wash their hair every day! Along with my personalized shampoo, Allison recommended I use the Blue Malva Aveda Conditioner to keep some of the purple tones in my highlights. So, this is the combo I currently use, and I'm loving it!

Fourth, I love the essential oil line offered by Aveda. Currently I have the Lavender Fleurs Oil and the Sandalwood Oil. Both are pure pressed oils that smell amazing! The oil can be applied to the skin directly, put in a bath, or mixed into your lotion. These are called Singular Notes on the Aveda Essential Oils line.

They also have mixes that you can check out as well. But, more importantly, at any Aveda store you can have them personalize your Aveda Body Lotion with these oils, or mix them into the Aveda Pure-Fume spray. Right now, I have the Pure-Fume personalized with Wind Tones that incorporates some Clove Oil and Rose Absolute Oil. Very light and fresh for summer!

Finally, I just became an Aveda Pure Privilege member. The membership was $10, but you accrue points each time you purchase Aveda products. These points rack up quickly because they constantly send you opportunities to get double or triple points with minimal purchases. After only being a member for a couple of months I already have enough points to redeem for a $50 spa treatment at any Aveda salon! But, even better, the membership puts you on the Aveda mailing list for SOOOO many free samples! I think this is what I love the most about it. Even if you only redeemed the samples, the $10 membership will pay itself off in no time! So, I say Aveda me this, Aveda me that! I will try it all!