Birch Tree Naturals (Etsy)

The website: http://www.etsy.com/shop/BirchTreeNaturals
"Skincare found in Nature" handmade in Wasilla, Alaska.

I placed an order last January and was quite pleased with the service!

The Experience (10/10):

1.  Great turn-around time (TAT).  I placed my order January 8, got my confirmation of shipping (CS) Jan 11 and products arrived shortly thereafter. (These are handmade, so I assume she had a batch already made up??)
2. Excellent Communication. Meaghan emailed me asking questions about what I like and whether I wanted the old or new version of her coffee scrub.  She's super friendly, easy, and great to work with!  Would totally order from her again based just on this!
3. She offered samples for freezies!
4. Pricing is reasonable and affordable 
5. Labels show list of ingredients, but the paper used fades very quickly and wrinkles if it gets slightly wet.
6. Super A+ for good, mostly-organic ingredients!

The Products:

Wild Horses Body Butter in Twilight in Forks (2/10):  
Pretty much a "meh" scent.  I definitely don't get a feeling of twilight; there are no earthy or evening tones.  It honestly smells like a tamed down version of Mulberry (see below).  I bought 3 of these body butters because they contain horsetail (the plant), which is very high in silica.  Horsetail works wonders on brittle dry nails, and as a lifetime nail biter, I need all the help I can get!  I was hoping that these would be a replacement for LUSH's The Soft Touch, which got discontinued Summer 2010, but alas!  These have been pretty disappointing.  I haven't seen any improvement in my nails and the texture of the lotions is uncomfortably greasy.  Now, I love thick lotions that take a second to sink in since my legs tend to get terribly dry living in the desert, but this just never absorbs.  I've tried using this as a foot lotion under socks before bed and it's okay.  Just okay.  My feet do feel softer, but they're still a little slippery when morning comes.  I figure I'll use up the rest of it this way.

Wild Horses Body Butter in Mulberry (1/10): 
This one got the lowest rating because the mulberry scent in this lotion smells so much like children's cough syrup that I just can't use it.

Wild Horses Body Butter in Pumpkin (4/10):  
I'm a big fan of pumpkin smells and this one is acceptable.  Nothing amazing, but certainly acceptable.  Out of the 3, I've used this one the most. This one got an extra star since the boyfriend likes it.

Coffee Scrub (7/10):
Quite nice!  Super scrubby and moisturizing.  A little oily, but it worked for me.  I wonder if I would have liked in as well in a more humid climate though.  This is made with actual coffee grounds, so you have to love the smell of coffee to use it!  I used this for morning showers to help wake me up.  I got the old formula, without almond oil, so I can't speak to her new formula.  On the plus side, scrubbing and using products that naturally have caffeine helps temporarily reduce the appearance of cellulite! Of all the products, I may order this again.

Oatmeal Bath Soak (3/10):
Very soothing in the tub!  Oatmeal is great since I'm fair-skinned, prone to sunburn, and fairly sensitive to chemicals.  This soak helped speed my recovery from a sunburn on my lower arms (always use Luke-warm water if sunburnt!).  This didn't get a higher rating because the oatmeal flakes just kinda sat on the surface and didn't dissolve enough in the water. It still worked, but I've found better.

All in all, this was a very pleasant etailer to work with, and although I wasn't crazy about her products, I would recommend at least trying her out if you're curious!