A Few of My Favorite Things

 

I love to enable (and be enabled by!) fellow stitchers by sharing designs and stash and goodies I find, but today is something new. I'm not sure why it has never occurred to me to share other things, but I recently had to do a re-stock of a few of my favorite things and it dawned on me I should share! 

So today, skincare! We all have our tried and true favorites, and these are mine. I've been using them for years on my sensitive, very dry skin. Mind you, these are not fancy formulas with the latest trendy ingredients taking the interwebs by storm. They're simple, old fashioned products made by small American businesses. One of the recipes is over 250 years old! I know we're in the age of 25-step skincare routines, and if that's what you enjoy and you love the results, more power to you! Me? I would have to take a nap halfway through! Basic products for a basic girl!

Soap from Connecticut 

Several years ago I went through a long season of extreme stress and my skin went absolutely haywire. It was so red and inflamed it looked like I had been burned. It was awful and nothing I tried soothed it. I had been buying lotion from this Connecticut goat farm for a while but hadn't tried any of their soap. I added one of these Sensitive Skin face bars to an order to give it a try. I don't know whether it's the goats' milk or the clay or both, but my skin loves this soap. It didn't happen overnight, but it saved my skin. 

Créme from Montana

This Wool Wax Creme is a super thick formula made in Montana from the lanolin in sheep's wool (obviously you'll want to skip this if you're allergic to wool). This stuff is amazing. When you put it on, it can feel slightly tacky at first, but if you keep rubbing it in, it melts into your skin and creates a moisture barrier. Sheep are waterproof and so are you! Seriously, it stands up to showers and handwashing better than anything I've ever used. My skin has begun changing over the last year or so (you ladies of a certain age know!) and it's even drier than ever. This heavy duty creme is keeping it soft and protected. It's too heavy for the face, but it's great elsewhere. The shop I linked has a little 2 oz. tub if you just want to try it. It's available from several shops that sell Montana-made goods.

Eye cream from Wisconsin 

This. THIS is my holy grail. A 250-year-old moisturizer. It's from a historical apothecary shop on Etsy. I have tried and enjoyed a number of goodies from this shop, but this "pomatum for wrinkles" is my absolute favorite. I use it as an eye cream. I have to be careful about the moisturizer I use on my face as it seems to prefer something light, even though it's quite dry, so I don't use this all over my face, but it's the best eye cream I've ever used. This shop also offers tiny sample sizes of a lot of their products, so you can try out lots of things and see what works for you.

Those are three of my favorite products that suit my skin wonderfully well. I've been reordering them for years. Everyone has different skincare needs and preferences, and the nice thing about all of these is that they're not expensive like so much of the skincare products these days. If you try one of them and it doesn't suit you, you haven't wasted a lot of money. If you try something and love it, you can help me keep these small family businesses going!

If you have a favorite product from a small business, share it in the comments! I would love to check it out!