Some Favorite New Things

Most things that I find that I adore, I add to the offerings at the store. A perfect example is the Envirosax, which I bought everyone I knew as Christmas gifts last year before I even knew that I could buy them wholesale.

However, some great items just don't fit in with the store collection, so I thought I'd share some new favorite things with you here.

First off, this is my new aluminum water bottle by Laken. I'm ditching bottled water (so awful for the environment and expensive), and trying to drink more liquids at the same time. Enter this beautiful bottle, which is lined in a food-grade ceramic coating. Made in Spain, and I bought mine at Second Ascent in Ballard.

I'd heard people raving about mineral makeup for a while. The natural, chemical free concept really appeals to me. Then I got sucked into a QVC presentation of the popular mainstream brand. (I've always been entranced by infomercials and product presentations.)

I emailed that company to find out about their brushes, and was disappointed that they use animal hair such as pony, ox, and goat in their Chinese-manufactured tools. (Those hairs aren't harvested by shaving the animals folks.)

After doing some Googling, I found Alima Cosmetics, a small company based nearby in Portland, Oregon. This stuff is high quality and fun to use. Those little containers above are samples that I ordered to find my perfect color on my first order.

For under $2 you can test colors before committing to a full quantity. Those little bags are free samples the company sends with each order. Alima boasts cruelty-free brushes and a container recycling program. I'm glad I hunted around to find a unique alternative to the mainstream brand.

My last endorsement doesn't require a photo. Once I started using my Envirosax bag for all of my purchases, I stopped accumulating (OK I'll say it) poop bags for Otis. Not to worry, those clever Europeans have invented BioBags, 100% biodegradable bags.

Now I just keep a couple of these opaque bags in my purse and I'm a good neighbor. These bags and their contents can even be put in your Seattle yard waste bins. I ordered mine from drugstore.com, but you can find these at many pet supply stores.