made from earth {giveaway}

(This giveaway is closed.) Ladies and gentlefolk, let’s talk skin care, shall we? I know we usually talk about yummy breads and baked goods around these parts, but for today, I’d like to talk about my face. Bear with me.

You see, my skin is not the best skin in all the land. It has taken a good beating over the years thanks to my lack of care/knowledge on how to properly treat it. Only in the last few years have I really started to pay close attention to how the sun and air and other elements affect my face, and I especially paid attention when I had a facial a few months ago and the esthetician showed me under some strange blue light how much all the things have been affecting my skin. Oof.

So when Made from Earth, an organic and holistic skin care line, contacted me about reviewing their products (and more importantly, offering a couple of them to all y’all for FREE… but we’ll get to that in a second), I was all over it. Yes. Please help me with my face.

First of all, let’s chat about my usual face routine. I typically wash my face in the mornings and evenings with Pond’s face wipes (a little habit I formed in college, mostly because I’m lazy but also because they really do clean my face), then follow up with a lightweight moisturizer. And that’s it — besides applying makeup (with an SPF). I’ve found it to be the best regimen for my face because it is crazy sensitive to the elements and to the seasons. But it’s not a perfect solution for my skin, as I’ve still had many a breakout.

While they were no means the miracle cure for my skin, swapping my usual face wipes and moisturizer routine for the Green Tea Cleanser and pH Equilibrant Moisturizer every morning was a wonderful change of pace, both for me and my face. I loved it because the cleanser smelled so fresh and was so gentle on my skin; and the moisturizer was light and didn’t leave a film or oilyness on my face, as some heavier moisturizers tend to do. It performed especially well under my makeup, and the best part? I really did feel like it evened out my skin tone and cleared up blemishes over the few weeks I used it. Magic combo, right here.

I’ll be honest — I didn’t get to use the aloe vera treatment as much as I’d hoped to, simply because it’s winter here and I’m indoors often and it didn’t come in handy too much. That said, I loved the feel and the smell of the product and will definitely be giving it a try once Minnesota decides to finally gift us with some warmer, sunnier weather. As for the Vitamin C moisturizer… ohmylawd. I loved it. It’s definitely heavier than the pH equilibrant so I only used it a few times a week after I showered, but I loved every time I used it. Not only does it smell like chocolate thanks to the cocoa butter in it, but it’s so smooth and it feels so cooling and refreshing on your face that you almost feel like you’re having a mini spa day. Also, may I remind you it smells like chocolate? Because I kind of loved that.

I usually paired up my post-shower routine with this aloe and jojoba creme therapy for my body, and the Vitamin C moisturizer for my face. I usually use an organic shea butter lotion for my body anyway, so I didn’t feel like there was a huge change by using this cream, but nonetheless, I loved using it. It definitely kept my skin moisturized all day, even in the cold, dry winter air. What I do love about it most, though, is the “therapy” aspect of the cream — over time, the antioxidants and antibacterial properties from the highly concentrated amounts of aloe vera and rooibos tea leaves found in the product can help attack free radicals from harming your skin. So while run-of-the-mill body lotions tend to just focus on moisturizing your skin, this one is doing double duty. Kind of neat, methinks.

I also tried their soaps — hello, blood orange and lavender and OATMEAL SPICE (which smelled like a warm, fresh cookie) — and their lip balms, and I enjoyed both. Though I do love my body wash over soap and my trusty Burt’s Bees, these products were a welcome change for a while. I did kind of miss my old regimen with these, though. I’m just not a bar soap kind of girl, and I love the tingly feeling I get on my lips from Burt’s Bees. Weird, maybe, but it just feels like an old friend I can’t shake.

In any case, I loved trying the Made From Earth skin care line and I can honestly say I’d recommend it to anyone looking for a cleaner, more holistic and healthier skin care regimen. If nothing else, it helped me to pay better attention to my skin and the potential long-term effects my current skin care products may have. I also just felt like I had a mini spa session every time I used them, which was pretty great. And again, one of their moisturizers smelled like chocolate, sooooo… there’s that.

But enough of my babble; let’s get to the good stuff! Made From Earth is gracious enough to offer one of you lovely readers two of their products as a gift: the Vitamin E & Citrus Shower Gel (which is made from organic citrus fruits and therefore probably smells awesome) and the Organic Aloe & Jojoba Creme Therapy.

And for everyone, they are offering a 15 percent discount for the next six months on any of their products using the code girlversusdough. SERIOUSLY. You have no excuse not to see what you’re missing.

Here’s the giveaway rundown. To enter, please visit Made From Earth’s website, Facebook page and Twitter page and tell me in a comment below what product you’d love to use most.

And that’s it! Contest ends on Thursday, April 11 at 11:59 p.m. CST. Winner will be announced Friday, April 12.

Update: Dishing Up the Dirt is our winner. Thanks for playing, everyone!

Disclosure: I received Made From Earth products for review purposes only. All opinions are my own.