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You may have noticed that I’ve never really written about my “beauty routine”. That’s because I sort of . . . don’t HAVE a beauty routine. I wash my hair once a week with baking soda, I wash my face with plain water, and a few times each week I’ll soap up (and shave) my armpits. Other than that, I don’t use lotions or potions or products. And for the most part, I don’t miss them.

However. A few months ago I received an email from a representative at Juice Beauty, asking if I’d like to sample some of their line. And where I would usually shoot back a polite “no thanks!”, this time I had to pause. Because here’s the thing: I don’t know if it’s from becoming a mother, or turning thirty, or just the dry air up here in the Pacific Northwest. Maybe it’s all three. Maybe it’s because I’m such a stress case. (Ha!) But whatever the cause, the results are clear: my face could use a little lovin’.

OKAY SO HERE’S THE THING! I know that “laugh lines are love tracks” and all that happy hippy jazz. I know that “natural is beautiful” and that the hypocritical patriarchy teaches us that men will blossom with age while women will wither, and I’m not supposed to care about my fine lines and impending wrinkles and Oh, Oh! how vain I must be.

But whatevs. We only get a few precious trips around the sun, and I’m all about maximizing pleasure on mine. Because feeling like I look good* makes me feel good, and confidence allows me to have more fun. Period. (*my definition of good, mind you, not anybody else’s)

And that was good enough for me. I said yes.

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Juice Beauty

Part of maximizing pleasure, for me at least, is feeling like I’m making positive choices and doing my best to work towards a better world. Cheesy, I know, but it’s absolutely inseparable from who I am (believe me, I wish I could turn it off – that’s probably a whole other post – another time!) So even in the pursuit of vanity, it was important that I keep in accordance with my ethics.

Juice Beauty was borne out of necessity, when the founder became pregnant and couldn’t find any products that both a) met her high standards of quality, and b) actually worked. So she did it herself. Yay DIY! You can read the whole story here.

The company offers a range of products, targeting everything from oily skin to dry skin, to sensitive skin care and sunscreens. They also have a makeup line which I’m dying to try! (2012 will be the year I actually make an effort with makeup – again, another post!)

And for me? This is an excerpt from the email I sent to Shankar, their Managing Director, after he contacted me:

“I’m especially interested in “wrinkle” creams/facial care/anti-aging face products, that sort of stuff. On my blog I promote living as naturally as possible, so I tend to just skip most beauty products entirely – shampoo, conditioner, body lotion, etc. I don’t use that stuff at all, so I wouldn’t feel right reviewing it.

I haven’t used any products on my face or body in about a year. My body is fine, and my skin seems hydrated and happy. But I feel like my face is sort of dry and showing a bit of age. I used to use eye creams and stuff, back in my “chemical cosmetic” days, and unfortunately, they worked! Now, I want something like that – something that can give the same results but that I can feel good about rubbing into my skin every day.”

And this is what he sent me:



The Stem Cellular Repair kit, which includes Booster Serum, Repair Moisturizer, and Repair Eye Treatment.

I used this system daily until it was gone, and all I have to say is: THIS STUFF IS AWESOME. In the middle of winter (dry air, no sun), in the middle of the holidays (lots of sugar and processed foods), my skin looked amazing. It looked the kind of amazing that it looks like after a few weeks of all-raw in the middle of summer. Over Christmas, Damian’s grandma kept telling me “You look positively radiant!” and “You’re complexion is just amazing!” and “I just can’t get over how incredible your skin looks!”. Like, over and over. And people have been saying that to me a lot lately.

Dudes, if that’s not a testimonial then I don’t know what is.

The only sad part is that I ran out a few weeks ago and now my skin has slipped back into its standard winter slump. I need to re-up. Oh Juice Beauty, I miss you so!

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There are a few downsides I should mention if I’m going to give a well-rounded review. Cons:

1. The scent is very strong, so much so that the first time I used the product, right before bed, it actually interfered with me getting to sleep. It’s not a bad smell necessarily (sort of lemony), it’s just very strong and I found it a bit cloying. To be fair, I hadn’t had a scented product on my face in a LONG time, so that may have had something to do with it. Regardless, I just switched to using the products in the morning instead. I got used to the smell pretty quickly; problem solved.

2. This stuff ain’t cheap. And the portions are pretty small. For something that’s SO healthful and works SO well, I understand why it costs a lot and I do think it’s worth it. Still, many of us live on tight budgets so I thought it was an important point to mention. This stuff is amazing but it’s not exactly budget-friendly.

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All in all, I adore Juice Beauty and consider myself a convert. I’m thrilled to have an anti-aging cream that does its job, but that doesn’t rely on nasty toxic ingredients. As far as I’m concerned that’s a dream come true!

EDIT!
After posting this review, and with so much interest in the comments, I recieved this email from Lauren over at Juice Beauty:

“Please share with your readers that they will receive a free full-size Organic Facial Moisture Concentrate + Free Shipping for orders $30 or more with promo code BONZAI

Promo will be valid only through the end of January!”

Wahoo! I’ll definitely be taking advantage of this generous offer (birthday present to myself, w00t!), and I hope you guys enjoy it too! Also please know, I don’t get any commission for this, or anything shady like that. I just really dig this company and I’m happy to have found something natural that WORKS, and I want to share the love.

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