Mineral Sunscreen: Reviewing Block Island Organics

Summer camp was approaching, which meant the dreaded question: What should my child wear?

Not clothing, mind you. Sunscreen.

As I've become more and more conscious of what we put in and on our bodies, I realized that one area we haven't truly touched in our family is the kind of sunscreens we put on our bodies. Frankly, I relied mostly on price.

Recently, I had the chance to review a mineral suncare brand called Block Island Organics. They are introducing a line of sunscreen products for babies, children and adults, and I was excited to try it for our week at Girl Scout camp. 

Block Island Organics sunscreens are promoted as being non-toxic and mineral-based (zinc and titanium), as opposed to chemical based, and include a zinc-only Baby SPF 30, an SPF 15, SPF 30 and SPF 40 product.  I also appreciated the products are non-comedogenic, vegan formulated, paraben-free, phthalate free, nano particle free, artificial fragrance free, non-eye irritating, not tested on animals, made in the United States and highly rated by the Environmental Working Group.

The kids and I tested the sunscreen through sweat, swimming and sun. It didn't have the greasy feeling a number of sunscreens do, and while if we weren't careful in rubbing it in we were a bit whitish, we didn't come home with a sunburn.

While it was a bit more than what I've typically paid for sunscreens in the past, Block Island Organics gave me the freedom from worry about whether my children would be sunburnt and about what I was putting on their skin.

Checking out Miessence Hair Care (review)

Dry yet frizzy at the ends. Fine and too often limp. That is where my hair has ended up - a mop of hopelessness.


So I was given an offer to try out Miessence's hair products, and I was skeptical. Sure they were made of mostly organic ingredients. Yes, they were green. But could they actually make a difference on my hair?

Surprisingly, YES. After trying out the Desert Flower shampoo and Shine Herbal Hair Conditioners for two weeks, I've seen more of a difference in my hair. It's less dry at the ends. Has a little more life to it. And I don't feel as resigned to throwing my hair back in a ponytail just because it won't do anything else.


The Dessert Flower shampoo is mild enough for daily use or use for babies and children. Ingredients include Yucca juice, organic avocado oil to hydrate damaged ends, and organic herbs to add sheen and body to your hair.

The Shine Herbal Conditioner includes moringa seed oil from Tanzania, organic herbs and organic apple cider vinegar. I loved that it didn't weigh down my hair like so many conditioners do and yet still did its job!

If you're interested in checking out Miessence, they have a great deal this September. Place a single order of $100 or more through Ely Organics (an independent representative of Miessence) and receive a 20% discount on your $100 order, 20% discount on all future purchases and member specials.