You see me haulin'? Summer staples

I did a bit of a haul recently as I needed to stock up on some summer staples and thought I'd combine it all in one post for your viewing pleasure!

The sunscreen sitch:

I'm not quite sure whether it was the climate change, time zone change, or the fact that the expiration date had long passed (woopsies!)...but whilst in California last month my sunscreen declared war on my face. I was experiencing zits like I haven't seen in over 10 years..it was about as welcome as a casual acquaintance asking if they can crash in your studio apartment for the two weeks they're in town.

Torn between finding the lesser of two evils - sun damage or acne marks that will stick around for lord knows how long - I decided to ditch what I had been using and place my faith in Raw Elements. 



I picked up the tinted stick for my face, and as I'd run out anyway, the spf 30 for my body. The ingredient list of both is exceptional. No chemicals and lots of moisturizers and anti-oxidants.  The downside of both is the smell. It doesn't bother me however if you're sensitive to smell, this may not work for you. It's essentially a pretty strong herbally/medicinal smell.  Also of note, the body sunscreen is a bit greasy and takes some vigorous rubbing to apply due to the consistency. For this reason, as well as the slight white cast it lends, it won't be a repurchase. However I can see how this might be a great choice if you're into things like surfing.

After my experience with the tube sunscreen, I was pleasantly surprised by the tinted stick. No white cast and not terribly greasy (although it is by no means matte). Does a nice job moisturizing and so far (knock wood) no skin disruptions. I will warn my fair skinned friends, this is more darkly tinted than I anticipated. I have light-medium skin in the summer and I can just pull this off. In the winter it won't work at all. If you have medium-dark skin, this should work well for you.

Lastly, as I'm always on the hunt for the rare creature I call the tinted, all natural lip product with sunscreen, I snatched up the All Good Lips from Elemental Herbs in Maroon Creek. With an impressive array of colors, ingredients and boasting an spf 18, I'm definitely a fan of this line. The Maroon Creek is a darker berry color and has excellent staying power both in water and out (along with a pleasing minty tingle).

(Tinted Stick) Active Ingredient: Non Nano Zinc Oxide 22.75%

Natural Ingredients:
Organic Sunflower Oil, Organic Green Tea, Organic Black Tea, Organic Coffee, Organic Hemp Seed Oil, Organic Cocoa Butter, All Natural Mango Butter, Organic Beeswax, All Natural Candelilla Wax, All Natural Rosemary Oil Extract, All Natural Vitamin E, Iron Oxides

(Sunscreen) Active Ingredient: Non Nano Zinc Oxide 23%
Natural Ingredients: Organic Sunflower Oil, Organic Green Tea, Organic Black Tea, Organic Coffee, Organic Hemp Seed Oil, Organic Cocoa Butter, All Natural Mango Butter, Organic Beeswax, All Natural Rosemary Oil Extract, All Natural Vitamin E

(Lip) Active Ingredient: Zinc Oxide 10% (Non-nanoparticle)
Additional Ingredients: Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil*, Organic Beeswax*, Organic Calendula*, Organic Comfrey*, Organic Lavender*, Organic Plantain*, Organic Yarrow*, Organic Peppermint Essential Oil*, Non-GMO Vitamin E. May contain: Mica, Titanium Dioxide, Iron Oxides.

Now that I'm beach ready, let's move on shall we?

Allured by a two-for-one special, I recently picked up the Alaffia Everyday Coconut face wash and volumizing texture spray. The face wash was a repurchase, and has been my go-to natural cleanser for the past year. With neem and coconut water, it's a gentle yet effective cleanser and does an excellent job removing make-up without stripping.  The texture spray contains the same two primary ingredients, along with salt, and has been something I've been dying to try for almost a year.  It seems to be less drying than other salt sprays I've tried, but the jury's still out for me on whether my regular hair routine benefits from salt spray in general.

Face wash Ingredients
Coconut (Cocos nucifera) Water, Neem (Azadirachta indica) Extract (aqueous), Papaya (Carica papaya) Extract (aqueous), Saponified Virgin Coconut (Cocos nucifera) Oil*, Decyl Glucoside, Glycerin, Copra (Cocos nucifera) Extract, Lavender Essential Oil.

Texture Spray Ingredients
Azadirachta indica (Neem) Extract (aqueous), Cocos nucifera (Coconut) Water*, Glycerin, Cocos nucifera (Copra) Extract, Phenoxyethanol, Sodium Chloride, Potassium Sorbate, Citric Acid. *Certified Fair for Life - Social and Fair Trade by IMO

Finally we come to the all-important item...deodorant. I've just about run out of my Schmidt's deodorant (discussed here) and while it's done a fantastic job keeping odor at bay without leaving marks on clothing, the consistency is frankly a pain. Thus I'd been looking for a similar deodorant in a more user-friendly format. I picked up the Soapme in Hint of Mint to try and will come back to update on its efficacy once it's been put through its paces (which, considering it's summer, shouldn't take long!).

*Update: the minty tingle upon application is a nice bonus in hot weather. The stick applicator makes applying much easier, however you do need to work it in with your fingers a bit. In comparison formula-wise to the Schmidts, it's a tiny bit less blendable which is the only detractor that I can see, but the odor protection is equally good and I can easily get a full day's protection in hot weather (more if I'm less active). Overall, I'm happy with the purchase.

Deodorant Ingredients: organic coconut oil, arrowroot powder, baking soda, raw unrefined shea butter, raw beeswax and essential oil blend.

I hope all of you are enjoying some fun in the sun.  What are your go-to summer staples?  Comment below!