Samantha on the Prairie

It's a holiday weekend so I'm taking things easy. Tonight, I browsed my ever-growing Amazon Wish List to see if I still want everything on it and add a few things. If you're curious, here are some things on my lists, most of which I'll never buy, but I love to make lists of interesting products. Skincare and Cosmetics EltaMD Facial Cleanser  and EltaMD PM Therapy Moisturizer I absolutely love my EltaMD AM Moisturizer, so much that I want the PM formula and cleanser. Optimum Care Essential Nutrients for Dry Scalp I bought a small package of these at Sally once. My scalp felt so much better, but I never get around to ordering more. Jan Marini Age Intervention Retinol Plus I'm on the hunt for a retinol product to try and this is a good company with a solid product. I'll order it eventually, hopefully sooner than later. Sewing and Crafts Couture Sewing Techniques I browsed this at Barnes and Noble. A great overview of couture techniques. Dritz Tailor

I can't remember exactly when we made the switch to SodaStream . It had been around a while but I was quite hesitant to try it. I'm picky. I pretty much like Diet Coke. I'll have an occasional regular Coke when I have a migraine and since I live in a Pepsi-dominated restaurant area, I'll suck it up and order Pepsi when out. My husband had pushed for a while to buy a SodaStream because he's not a huge soda drinker and is more open-minded about flavor. He drinks a lot of plain fizzy water and likes the idea of controlling what goes in the water to avoid sugars and sweeteners sometimes. Buying 12-pack La Croix waters each week is expensive, about $250-260 per year! I was spending about $200 per year on Diet Coke at home. So my husband figured if the cost of the unit, the gas, and the syrup is less than $450 per year, it's a worthwhile investment. This plan did assume we wouldn't buy any brand name sodas or waters going forward, which isn't our reality.

Disclosure: I got this product as part of an advertorial. When I signed on to review one of InstaNatural's products for hair, nails, and skin, the company was super nice and sent three products to try: an argan oil, rosehip seed oil, and a Vitamin C serum. I'm familiar with argan oil and serums, but rosehip seed oil was totally new to me. For review purposes, I stopped using my preferred Vitamin C serum for a few weeks and solely relied on what InstaNatural sent me. I did try other argan oil products during the last couple weeks, but not at the same time I used InstaNatural. My husband admitted to borrowing the rosehip seed oil this week, so I'll share his thoughts on that product too. InstaNatural Serum and Oil Products 100% Pure Certified Organic Argan Oil InstaNatural emphasizes the benefits of using their  pure argan oil , which is chemical and preservative free. This is a product the company suggests for skin and hair, using it as a moisturizer, anti-infla

Disclosure: I got this product as part of an review opportunity.  I have crazy frizzy, wavy, thick, obnoxious hair. Thanks to generous use of hair products and a flat iron, I don't normally look like my hair is nuts, but it really is. Remember this before picture from an earlier post? That's what I look like after air drying. It's much worse blown dry. I try round brushing but round brushing ones own hair is tricky. I simply don't have enough arms. My hair is so frizzy that I'm always trying new products to tame the madness. My stylist swears by Aveda's Smooth Infusion product line and Moroccan Oil, but I still struggle to get those fabulous salon results at home. HSI Professional sent me a sample of their Argan Oil Leave-In Hair Treatment . As a leader in heat styling products, I had high expectations of their oil leave-in treatment. I tried first on damp hair and then on dry hair. I tried styling flat and leaving frizzy. The flat iron seemed to

Want to try eSalon? Let me refer you and  get $10 off your first order . Subscribe to their service and your first order is just $9.95 plus shipping! __________________________________________________ Disclosure: I switched the order of two eSalon posts because the old one keeps coming up in search results when I'd prefer my readers find the new post first. Since August 2013, my opinion of eSalon has drastically changed. I've had the pleasure of touring their facility and having a personal color consultation and application at their headquarters in Culver City, CA, and their team has gone above and beyond to help my parents and my sister each customize a color to try. While I'd prefer you read the newest post which features my trip and color experience, I will continue to host the old post below. __________________________________________________ Below is my original review of eSalon from August 2013: After seeing ads online for a while, I decided to try  eSalon .