What song do you sing when you’re washing your hands? Normally, I sing “Happy Birthday” to Keanu Reeves two or three times to keep it simple (because Keanu ?), but sometimes I veer into Prince territory (“She wore a raspberry beret, the kind you get at a secondhand store. Raspberry beret, and if it was warm she wouldn’t wear much more. Raspberry beret. I think I love her.”)
I would wear his blue suit with clouds in a heartbeat to Trader Joe’s.
’tis a sign of the (pandemic) times when one gets their thrills from testing different hand soaps… Seriously, the bar for my amusement is set so low now!
So…I like to try new hand soaps, and right now I’m into Baylis & Harding Goodness Natural Handwashes, a new line of vegan liquid hand soaps at Target.
They smell fancy! The scents have notes, base notes, middle notes — the whole shebang — and they lather up into big, luscious bubbles. Think Molton Brown, but at a drugstore price.
They’re made in the UK and don’t contain parabens, silicones and dyes. The suggested retail price for a huge 16.9-oz. bottle is $5.99 (although here in the Bay Area, apparently it’s $7.39).
From Target.com:
“Baylis & Harding Goodness Oud, Cedar & Amber hand wash is inspired by nature with carefully blended plant-based formulas. Using only the finest, natural and organic extracts and essential oils to deliver a 98% naturally derived formulation that is vegan, 95% biodegradable, packaged within a 100% PCR (post-consumer recycled) bottle. Dermatologist approved (mild & gentle) and made in England with love, Baylis & Harding’s Goodness natural hand wash line is also dye free, paraben free, silicone free and uses a mild coconut-derived surfactant as an alternative to SLES, making it SLS/SLES/ales free.”
The different scents are surprisingly complex, like you’re having a perfume experience every times you wash your hands. For example, Oud Cedar and Amber, one of my faves, smells like an expensive, handsome man driving you to work in his new car with leather seats. And the Rose and Geranium instantly transports you to teatime in an English garden blooming at the height of spring. So nothing basic, scent wise, here.
Scent notes:
- Oud, Cedar & Amber: Woody and aromatic with a blend of citrus fruits with herbal notes and strong woody undertone.
- Lemongrass & Ginger: Top and heart notes of ginger and lemongrass blended with black pepper, citrus and bergamot. Nutmeg and cinnamon add a spicy undertone.
- Rose & Geranium: A zesty top note of lemon blended with rose, geranium and rich amber.
- Sea Kelp & Peppermint: Top notes of peppermint, green tea and sea salt, combined with sea kelp and grounded by base notes of cedar and amber.
The bevy of bubbles rinses quickly, leaving your paws squeaky clean and lightly scented. Good stuff, and super affordable, too.
Pack your bags (literally)
Thanks guys for sharing where you live and why you love it yesterday in the comments. I really enjoyed it! Apparently, I’ve been talking non-stop about leaving California enough that El Hub thinks I’m pretty serious about it. And ya know what? I think I am. I know it’s not going to happen RIGHT THIS SECOND, but I’d like to leave within the next few years. I don’t think I can endure many more fire seasons without turning into a walking ball of anxiety.
Not that anything right now is normal anywhere, but fire season here, on top of the pandemic, is working my already frayed nerves. Like today, I wanted to take Connor to play in the park, but there are two big fires within 20 miles of us (the LNU Complex Fire and the Point Reyes Wildfire), and the air quality is poor. It smells like a campfire outside.
Also, on my to-do list this weekend: packing our go-bags in case we have to evacuate. Super uncomfortable, but it has to be done, because you just never know living here.
I’ve been using these two lists I found online as guidelines:
Do you think it would be silly to set aside some camping gear? I keep thinking about where we’d go if we had to evacuate, because I just don’t know. Everyone we know has been isolating themselves with their families. I guess we could pitch our tent in my parent’s backyard? I have absolutely no idea.
With that…I really don’t want to leave you on a weird note, I swear! Things are currently not dire where I am (knocks on wood). We’re fine. I would just rather be prepared than get caught totally off guard.
I’m pretty happy all things considered. ? Just glad to be here, healthy with my family and a roof over my head.
Take care of yourself, k? And have a good Friday.
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
P.S. TGIF!
omg those lists. I feel like it’s necessary to memorize them because who has time to read it when you have a 15-minute warning. O_o
I practically have the hurricane emergency kit list memorized for this reason. But really, where are we gonna go, up Tantalus??
The oud, cedar, & amber scented soap seems like a formulation for a Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab fragrance! I want to try those; diluted they would make nice body wash scents.
Happy Friday!
Oh God Karen, now I’m anxious (I know you didn’t want to cause it, but it was inevitable), please be safe and get everything ready if need to evacuate. I thought earthquakes were bad, but at least they don’t happen (hopefully) every year.
About those hand wash, I’ll see if I can get them here; I’m all about perfumed hand wash.
20 minutes away sounds pretty close for a fire! You are wise to have an emergency bag on hand! I’m sure it will be hard to make the move when you finally decide to, but not dealing with the threat of wildfires will bring some much needed peace of mind!
Set aside the camping gear. Better to be over prepared. And taking concrete action helps with anxiety. Positive vibes and best wishes to you and all of those near the fires.
Wow, Karen, I am so sorry that this is how you are going to spend your weekend! But I do not blame you, I would be doing the same thing. I spent my childhood in Lafayette, in the East Bay, and I remember my mom spraying down the roof and yard because the hills behind us were on fire. Fortunately, they got the fire stopped in time, but I cannot imagine the fear of having to flee in a hurry! My heart breaks every time I see these poor people who have lost everything. My biggest fear would be being away from the house and not being able to get back to my house in time to get my pets out. It is tragic all the forest land and wildlife that have been lost. I really hope you leave California, Karen, there is so much bad stuff going on out there right now. My husband and I have said we will never go back there, even to visit. The cost of living, all the natural disasters, and all the social problems they are having, especially in San Francisco and L. A., I cannot imagine living there now. Please stay safe and get prepared. I will be keeping you in my prayers.
Hi Karen! Oh I want to leave CA, too! My hubby and I have been talking about it and we are even considering another country. The wildfire anxiety has become an annual thing since 2017- I just found out that I was pregnant then. My brother who lives in Green Valley area in Fairfield had to evacuate but thank God their house did not burn down. 2018, 2019 and now in 2020- same panic and worry. It gets to you so I can sympathize with what you are feeling. I am grateful that our area has not been in the areas of the wildfire but we had the scare of our lives from the refinery burning down last year in Benicia. Now we have to brace ourselves with another round of thunderstorm this weekend…
Anyway, I will be praying for you and your family’s safety and wellbeing.
May the force be with you. XO
I think you’re always best to be prepared so I’m all for your packing. Plus, it’s just nice to have everything in one spot when you decide to actually camp for fun. 🙂 I’m sorry to hear that the fires are so close; it would stress anyone out. I hope the firefighters will be able to keep them contained – and hope it rains like crazy for a few days to help them out.
Did you add any new possible places to live to your list? What does El Hub think? Is he just sort of “go with the flow”, or does he have anywhere in mind?
Eventually global warming will make nowhere ‘safe’.