tiny treasures...plug it in

okay, so i had to do an emergency tiny treasure post because today is the very last day for $5 wallflowers at bath and body works (online and in-store). the starter sets and the refills are $5 each, marked down from $12.50.

last time i bought garbage bags, i accidentally got the "odor-shield" kind, which smell outrageously disgusting, and i literally got depressed every time i walked into the kitchen and smelled them (i have a sickly good sense of smell). eventually, i broke down and just bought a fresh box, even though i felt bad about wasting. i just can not deal with bad smelling things. can you relate? my point is this: scents are powerful, and can affect our moods in serious ways, don't you agree? and since tiny treasures is all about bringing happiness and luxury into our lives for $5 or less, nothing could be more perfect or appropriate than this.

moving on...i always love things like this in a small space like a bathroom or closet because you get the most bang for your buck...and at only $5, that's a lot of bang for not a lot of bucks. and although TT is very much about indulging yourself when you can, it's not a bad idea to stock up now on stocking stuffers or office gifts, right? in the long run, it's your treasure anyway when you don't have to run around doing last minute shopping.

my personal favorites of the scents available in wallflowers are coconut lime verbena (you might remember my obsession from last summer), lavender vanilla (another perennial obsession of mine), and warm vanilla sugar, especially for the cooler months, which are admittedly hard to think about at this hot, sticky moment.

and i'm totally swinging by to smell eucalyptus spearmint! find your local store here.

some honey living you might have missed:

catch up on tiny treasures ($5 luxuries to give yourself)
my coconut obsession from last summer
if you looooove the smell of lavender...
and if you love the smell of eucalyptus

photo from womans day

tiny treasures...it's the balm

well, i know if you're in the northeast, you're all set with winter. it was fun, it was pretty, got a snowday (or snow week for the washingtonians), and now we're moving on. even if you're in a climate that doesn't freeze the inside of your nose for a couple months of the year, thoughts of spring and summer to come are always a mood lifter, aren't they?

so along those lines, i stumbled upon this week's tiny treasure (for new readers, tiny treasures are personal luxuries for $5 or under) when i emptied out a bag i last used over the summer, only to be happily reunited with my alba coconut cream lip balm, which is an easy choice for coconut lip product category killer. sounds like an awards category at the peoples' choice awards, doesn't it?

you might remember my perennial coconut obsession we discussed last summer, and although there's nothing like indulging in summer-scented products when the season is right, there's a special kind of anticipatory joy that comes with a little preview. the second i put on my long-packed- away balm, i was transported. not to a tropical island or a sandy beach...the real world is a little harder to shake than that...but i was transported to a frame of mind that reminded me that spring is around the corner, and that it will not always be this cold, wet and windy.

in a way, the soft scent (and lovely smoothness) of the coconut cream balm is like a little secret with myself - sort of like wearing pretty underwear even if you're the only one to see it. and what's nice is that it's under $5 and available in most drugstores and many supermarkets too.

if you're not so into coconut, but you still like vacation kinds of scents, i recommend the palmer's cocoa butter swivel stick, also under $5 and as readily available (these are usually found with the other palmer's cocoa butter products in the body moisturizer section and the tube is inside a cardboard package).

the swivel stick is also recommended for blemishes and rough spots, so is particularly welcome in winter when rough elbows and hands are at their worst. this is a great option for men also, since it's so lightly scented.

i think it's really important that we remind ourselves that there is relief on its way from the cold of winter. it's hard to explain in words, but as i've been using the lip balm and enjoying its smell again for the first time in many months, i've felt a real sense of pleasure and comfort.

if coconut isn't your preferred warm weather smell, think about what is and how you can bring it into your life in this last stretch of winter to soften the blow and ease you into a warmer, easier time of the year and way of life. it's a worthy tiny treasure to give yourself.

coconut is the balm

sorry, i just couldn't resist the pun.

like many, i am obsessed with coconut-scented products in the summer, and because i have spent many asummer purchasing and using said coconut-scented products, i have narrowed the market down to the few products – some old, some new - that pack the best coconut punch for the best value, though i am still always on the lookout for new additions and improvements. for me, these are the summer standbys –small, perennial indulgences that make me feel like summer is here and i am a part of it.

the best thing about finding a stable of similarly scented and complementary products is that they can all be used together in whatever combination you want. it’s one of the things about summer i love most – everything is more casual and less planned - and i love having a scent wardrobe that reflects that sensibility in the summer months.

the best balm product in the coconut category is the coconut cream lip balm from alba. i find myself switching off between that and palmer’s swivel stick, which is not actually coconut scented, but cocoa butter scented, and also really summery and amazing smelling. they are both under $4 and are readily available at drug stores and even supermarkets, which makes them very easy to stock and restock as you need them. i find them to be almost entirely interchangeable, which is great because i know that wherever i am, i have one that i’ll be happy with – in the car, in my bag, on my nightstand, and it doesn’t matter which it is.

the only real differences to me, aside from the alba having a more dead-on coconut smell, is that the alba is a little waxier while the palmer’s is a little creamier. really, though, they’re both blissful. also, the palmer’s swivel is designed for use on blemishes and rough spots as well, though i’m sure you could use the any balmy product the same way. regrettably, neither has added sun protection, which is a problem for some, but they can serve as a great base for a lip product that does, with color or without.

as far as shampoo and conditioner, i have two favorite products. the first is organix, and i like both the coconut milk and shea butter scents. last summer, i used the coconut milk shampoo with the shea butter conditioner to make sure it didn’t become a sickeningly sweet coconut situation – there is something mild about the shea butter scent that tempers the sweetness of the coconut nicely.


but this recession, i mean this summer, i am very impressed with the suave tropical coconut shampoo and conditioner and it is often on sale for under $1 -- yes under $1. it smells really good and fresh, and has a surprising staying power, which i don’t find to be the case with most of their products (as in their coconut body wash, for example, which smells only when you sniff it directly, and then it ends up inside your nose). note: suave bottles are some of the ones that look prettiest with no labels, and the labels kindly peel off very easily.

the best new coconut product i found this year is from bath and body works – the coconut lime verbena scent. they no longer make their standard “exotic coconut,” which i loved, but now find a little heavy and sort of uninteresting compared to the new variation. it smells amazingly summery and fresh, and offers just enough of that familiar coconut scent to be noticeable, without being overwhelming (like my winter patchouli obsession can tend to be). according to their website,it has notes of lime, kumquat peel, mandarin, muguet, and sheer coconut water. even the description makes me want to go to a sandals resort. i have the anti-bac hand gel, body lotion, hand cream and body spray. the lotion and cream absorb quickly and have a smell that literally lasts for hours. the body spray has considerably less staying power, but it smells so pretty and is totally portable (especially split into two smaller spray bottles, one in my makeup case), that i use it as a freshener a few times throughout the day for a fresh hit of fragrance. they make an actual perfume as well as plenty of other products in this scent, but the combination i have suits my needs well for now, and the whole ensemble was under $25 because they were buy two get one free.

the other product i am enjoying this summer is the coconut perfume oil from the body shop. while you’d think an oil would pack the most fragrance into each drop, it is surprisingly light, and picks up beautifully on the notes in the coconut lime verbena body lotion (unlike the body shop's other coconut products which i find totally underwhelming). if you wanted a pure coconut oil, you could get that at a place that sells and blends oils, like my favorite jean turmo in woodstock.

for people less into the uniform, layered coconut smell who might prefer to mix with some other scents, i have found that the body shop’s mandarin orchid scent mixes well with coconut, as does their papaya scent. additionally, the st. ives swiss vanilla or shea butter body washes smell wonderful in a similarly tropical but milder way. in fact, most products with the shea butter scent mix perfectly with coconut.

in any combination, these products smell like what could only be described as “vacation.” need i say more?