If you like shopping for unique or unusual beauty treats, this week's newsletter is for you. I've spent some time online shopping independent sites like these to find goodies outside the "mainstream," and what fun it is! Whether you want something new and different for yourself, or you are starting to think about Mother's Day (just 3 weeks away), I hope you find these reviews to be a good starting point.

Skin Market Shower Gel ($6.95 for 8oz)
As shower gels go, this one has great lather that rinses easily and leaves a subtle scent behind, but be careful what scent you choose. Of the three options, I selected "Pure Joy" nectarine-basil, but after using it for a week, I returned it for "World Peace" snow flower with the hope that it would smell better. It's not that nectarine-basil is bad, but I couldn't help feeling like I was washing with pesto! The basil smell is so overpowering it's like rubbing the herb all over yourself. I hoped it would be an acquired scent, but it's not. My second choice of snow flower is *much* better. It's soft and subtle with just the right level of flower power.

Skin Market Body Washer ($9.95 for 16oz)
I'm honestly not sure why Skin Market offers this in addition to their Shower Gel - both are excellent additions to your shower and come in a decent selection of scents. The two main benefits I see with Body Washer over Shower Gel are the size (BW is twice the size of SG) and the choice of scents (BW comes in amber, french lilac, herbal pine, kiwi, peach, sea breeze, tangerine coconut, and fragrance free), but all in all the two products are very similar.

Skin Market Boomerang Face Scrub ($9.95)
In a recent Skin Market order, I picked up a jar of this scrub, but no sooner did it meet my face than it headed right back to Skin Market. The texture seemed fine - grainy without being rough - but something in there gave my skin a very uncomfortable burning sensation. I tried using it less often, with less pressure, but nothing helped. Too bad, since it comes in cool scents like cucumber (the one I tried), kiwi strawberry, peach, pineapple, springdew, and watermelon. If you are looking for a good scrub and like the idea of a choice of scents, maybe see if they can send you a sample first...

Skin Market has lots of great (other) products, like my personal favorite Body Whip (now in tempting new grapefruit, tangerine, mango, blackberry, blueberry!), at SkinMarket.com and in their stores in Arizona, California, Colorado, Massachusetts, Nevada, and coming soon to New Hampshire (check their site for details).

Carol's Daughter Mimosa Hair Honey (2oz $4, 4oz $7, 8oz $12)
A few months ago when I picked up a bottle of Carol's Daughter Body Milk, I also selected this styling product for my hair to basically tame frizz and add shine. My fine hair always looks so dry and parched after blowdrying (despite all the heat protection treatments I use), and most of the lotions and shine products I've tried just make it look oily or stringy, but Hair Honey is different - it adds some moisture back without the greasiness. It also smells amazing, thanks to its blend of rosemary, lavender, sage, red clover, chamomile, nettles, roses, beeswax, cocoa butter, shea butter, and essential oil of sweet orange with fresh peach and peony fragrance oils. The product is fairly solid, like a balm, so I just shave a bit off with my fingernail, rub it between my hands and work it through my hair. You can use it all over or just to tame a flyaway or two, plus it's also nice for refreshing your hair at the end of the day if you are going out. I bought the two ounce jar several months ago and it barely looks like I've used any, so you are definitely getting your money's worth here.

You can find more great handmade body and hair goodies at CarolsDaughter.com.

Soap Quarry Shampoo and Conditioner ($6.50 each, 8oz)
Here's another little company making handcrafted soaps, bath goodies and a variety of other indulgences. I've been enjoying their chocolate-mint shampoo and conditioner in my shower for the last few months and just can't recommend them enough. The shampoo has gentle cleansers and aloe - the consistency of it reminds me of aloe vera gel - while the conditioner is rich and moisturizing without leaving the hair limp or stringy. Both are great for any hair type and come in tangerine, coconut cream, mango-kiwi, rosemary-mint, chocolate-mint, lavender, peppermint, raspberry, lemongrass & ginger, and unscented.

You can see more of their products, like a to-die-for chocolate milk bath, at SoapQuarry.com.