What’s In My Shower V. 1
A few months ago I posted this shower caddy that I got from Amazon on my Instagram and everyone (I mean everyone) freaked out. I liked having it because it didn't have to hang off of the shower head which means less water hit everything / made it all grimy. In addition, there are a sufficient amount of hooks that allow you to hang anything you need - my bf and I each have our own loofah hook and there are a few others for sponges, mini towel scrubs, and whatnot. I'm really particular about the cleanliness of things and this makes me feel infinitely times better. I also got it with the intention of moving products off the side of the bathtub cause it was really annoying having to maneuver around products getting in and out of the shower. Alas, the caddy is full and I've resorted to still placing products along the tub edges (whoops). Hopefully one day I can design my own bathroom and with it, ample storage with endless photo opportunities :B
Anyways, I thought it would be fun to share the products I have on rotation at the moment since I've been trying to be good about rotating things more regularly. I'm also trying to let go of products when I'm really not all too fond of them anymore. I have so many products to get through that I know my friends may enjoy the products and that means I can work through the endless stash faster.
Top Shelf
The top shelf is where I primarily store all my hair products. I'm a bit upset with myself of how many hair products I have open right now. What you don't see are the few products lining the tub which include a Trader Joe's Hair Mask that I'm testing (side bar: really not a fan and am probably going to pass it on), a lone wolf Not Your Mother's Conditioner for colored hair, and some L'Oreal shampoos that were my favorite in the past (I caved and picked them up at Target, but insanely regretted it after I used them). I loved the L'Oreal shampoos back in the day but after finding out I was allergic/sensitive to sulfur, I've tried my best to cut out products with SLS. I've been going SLS free with most of my haircare for the better part of the last few years and my hair has been so great because of it. I used the L'Oreal duo once and while it smelled incredible, my hair felt dry after and actually became oily within a day - and my hair never gets oily. Even on day 3 or 4 hair.
Anyways - back to my actual shelf. I'm working through the Briogeo Superfoods Duo * (apple + kale + matcha). It's a "greens juice" inspired shampoo which is meant to help nourish and hydrate your hair. Growing up I used to swim and we'd all shower (with swimsuits on!) and I'd see all the products everyone was using. The one product I always wanted to love was the Suave Apple duo - it. smells. incredible. But Suave products just never really worked all that well for my hair and always left it extremely dry and dehydrated. Maybe it was the chlorine, but it wasn't adding back that extra hydration that I needed. Coming full circle, I've been prepping to start swimming for exercise again since I have a pool in my apartment complex that I should take advantage of while I have it. My swim cap and goggles just came in so I'll be hitting the pool next week! It's timely that this duo arrived because it's definitely nostalgic to smell these apple scented hair products. But unlike the products of the past, the Briogeo duo really helps keep my hair soft and moisturized. Sometimes hair products can really weigh down your hair, but with this duo my hair is always light and weightless. It feels really nice - especially with warm weather upon us. It's a bit pricey, but I'm all for good haircare - not just skincare.
Since I put a lot of heat on my hair (regularly blow drying, straightening, and curling), I always like to use a nice hair mask every once in a while. Now that my hair is lightened, I definitely try to do a hair mask at least once a week. One of my all time favorite hair masks has to be the Macadamia Hair Masque - this stuff smells incredible and I'm nearing the bottom of this jar but already have a backup ordered and ready to go. It leaves my hair feeling silky smooth and I love that the smell lingers for around 2 days. Another product I've been using is the R+Co Palm Springs Pre-Shampoo Treatment Masque *. This was definitely a strange concept to me as you apply it to your dry hair before you jump in the shower. It felt extremely weird putting in my hair as it kinda felt like putting shaving cream. But my hair quickly soaked in the product while I tidied up around the bathroom before jumping in. I've definitely used this prior to taking a bath and I find that works well too. You can also use this as a deep conditioner after washing your hair - but to each their own. I'll usually alternate between using this and the Macadamia one. And let me tell you - my hair is always silky smooth and soft thanks to these two products!
Bottom Shelf
This is where it gets a bit more crazy - and I judge myself a little because it's almost all face products. On the shelf (in this photo) I spot 6 different face cleansers - some with different purposes so I don't feel too bad:
- Glossier Milky Jelly Cleanser :: This should come to no surprise to anyone because it's my favorite face cleanser. My bf likes to use this too so we go through a lot of bottles - I'd say one maybe every month and a half or so. We'll never be without it - plain and simple.
- Tatcha The Deep Cleanse * :: I received this a while back and am finally getting around to using it regularly. In general I try not to do physical exfoliations all that much, but when I do this is one option that I reach for. I find Tatcha to have the most gentle exfoliating products and along with the Tatcha Rice Enzyme Powders, this is one I like to reach for. It's a gel-texture with little bits in it that gently exfoliate your skin - and my skin always feels super baby soft and not red/irritated at all. I bought a backup but because it's taking me so long to go through this one, I ended up including it in a giveaway. When I do run out, I'll probably just re-stock at that time.
- Tatcha Pure One Step Camellia Cleansing Oil * :: I had used the mini version of this and fell in love with it. It was one of the first cleansing oils I tried and it definitely left me with high standards for a cleansing oil. It has almost a thick texture (but not heavy thick) that really feels nice as it's worked into your skin. My skin feels soft, refreshed, and clean when I use this one. I've tried other oils that are just too thin in consistency in my opinion that just feel like they're rolling right off my skin without doing much. When a full size of this arrived in my door step, you can imagine just how excited I was.
- Caudalie Make-Up Removing Cleansing Oil * :: Speaking of cleansing oils, this is probably the second cleansing oil to have impressed me. I'm a bit unsure if I like this or the Tatcha one more, but they're both pretty great in my book. The Caudalie one is a bit lighter in texture but still has that same cleansing feeling of being thicker than some other oils on the market. I don't find this one to have a scent, just like the Tatcha one, so it might really come down to brand preference / packaging if you're searching for one. The Tatcha one rings in at $48 while the Caudalie one rings in at $28 - - and they both contain about 5fl oz. of product.
- Mad Hippie Cream Cleanser * :: I talked about this one a bit in my Mad Hippie brand post here, but I've been using it regularly for maybe two months now. I'll admit that I am getting a bit bored of it and find I don't really like cream products all that much once the weather is hot. I just find that gel cleansers feel nicer on the skin - I've been thinking of pulling this one out of rotation and adding it to the giveaway stash.
- Pixi Peel & Polish :: I know this one isn't exactly a face cleanser, but it's a face product and one I like to reach for in the shower. I feel like this one gets a little messy and I like to get in everywhere on my face/neck when I use this. Usually I'll go in and clean my face, reach out to grab a towel and pat dry my face, then go in with this while I have a hair mask in or while I shave. Multi-tasking at it's finest. This one does burn my skin a teeny bit and a little goes a long way. I've actually started using this on my arms and legs before I turn the water on as a way to use up the product. My body skin is looking pretty great I might add!
Resuming with the rest of the shelf are just two body products. I love the L'Occitane Almond Shower Oil and it is my go-to product for using while shaving. If you've never used a shower oil to shave, I highly recommend that you try it because it's way better than shaving creams (cause you can see your skin) and it leaves your skin feeling oh so silky smooth. I had only had minis before this and while those lasted a long time, this one has simply lasted me ages. I think I'll go back to having a teeny bottle in the shower and re-filling that as to take up less space in my already crowded shower. Another product I have is the Commodity Bar Soap * (in Tonka) which is so lovely. I've been trying to finish up my Soap & Glory Clean On Me bottle (you guessed it - down on my bathtub) so I haven't gotten around to really using this. But I love how eco-friendly bar soaps are - you can easily rub this into your loofah to pick up a sud and still exfoliate your body. I do know that this has SLS so I am a bit weary to use it. I know the soap will probably take me a while to use up so I may gift the other bar or two I have away to friends.
A few other bathtub side honorable mentions will go out to my two body scrubs that I currently have on rotation. I'm currently finishing up the Soap & Glory Flake Away Body Polish and am testing out the Sol de Janeiro Brazilian Bod Buff Smoothing Scrub ‘N’ Mask. The S&G scrub is such great bang for your buck and I would always pick up a jar when they had a BOGO sale at Ulta. I have a ton of scrubs in the pipeline to try so after the 1-2 uses I have left, it'll be goodbye for a while. The SDJ scrub/mask is interesting - and while I haven't had the patience to try this out as a mask yet, I do love it as a scrub. It has the classic SDJ scent so if you're a fan, you're sure to love this. This has little gritty bits which feel nice to exfoliate, but not super painful. I would think this would make a great mask (that my body never gets treated to) and would still make a great exfoliator when you rinsed it off - it's the best of both worlds, really).
And that's a wrap on what's in my shower this month. I have a few products I finished prior to this post and some others that are nearing their end, so hopefully I'll have another edit in the next month or two. What are some key products that you always have in your shower?