bright ocean - Thinx

notablySmitten loves supporting Thinx, whom we have written about here. Now they have added new colors to their collection, including their Ocean shade which comes in a total of five styles. It’s everything you want in an underwear! It’s moisture-wicking, breathable, and will never feel soggy. Your days of worrying about leaks is officially over. Have your period in style.

Thinx was made to pay it forward through advocacy, education and access. With your support, they’re able to help young girls gain education on their changing bodies as well as provide them with period products to help them finish school. They empower all bodies and the young women who embrace them!

the golden compass - The Brave Collection

Never get lost again with The Brave Collection’s Compass Chain Necklace. The beautiful piece is handmade in Cambodia with gold vermeil. The artisans are mothers and people with disabilities that work in exchange for fair wages and access to healthcare.

Jessica Hendricks Yee founded The Brave Collection after witnessing a small Cambodian country struggle to rebuild after genocide. By launching her company, she gave many local artisans a chance to create beautiful pieces of jewelry in exchange for fair wages. In addition to that, the company donates 10% of their profits to fight human trafficking in Cambodia. 

We are so Smitten!

get moving - Thinx

You no longer have to feel worried, anxious, or limited when it’s that time of the month. Thinx Underwear now let’s you feel sassy, capable, and worry - free. Thinx brings you period underwear so you can completely ditch your tampons and pads – which ultimately end up in landfills and contribute to pollution. Made out of moisture – wicking cotton, it’s leak – resistant and traps odor. The best part is it doesn’t feel wet or soggy. It’s just like regular underwear but better!

Thinx was founded in 2014 to break the period taboo. Their line of underwear offers a variety of styles from hi - waisted, hip huggers, and even thongs. They’re incredibly absorbent and easy to wash. Thinx has partnered with PERIOD and launched their United for Access Campaign in order to fight for free access to period products to students across the U.S.

clean up for christmas - B.A.R.E. soap

B.A.R.E. Soaps’ message really says it all: “Good For You, Good For Others”.  Made with all-natural ingredients and on a mission to provide a sustainable sanitation programs in Uganda and India, B.A.R.E Soaps certainly are good for everyone.

Their soaps are never tested on animals, and are beautifully made from Organic Saponified Oils, Goat’s Milk and Essential Oils.  20% of each sale are reinvested directly back economic development, bringing short-term relief like shoes, medical attention, and sanitation, and establishing long-term solutions like sustainable farming and employment for women.

The mission of B.A.R.E Soaps becomes clear after learning just two simple but staggering statistics: UNICEF estimates a child dies from diarrhea every 30 seconds in underdeveloped countries, and that a bar of soap can reduce diarrhea born diseases by 40%.  To combat this very real and fully preventable threat of disease, B.A.R.E Soaps has partnered with Children’s Hope Chest and Point Community Church to help families in Kaberamaido, Uganda since 2012. In 2016 they expanded their mission’s reach include Kalwa Slum, India through a partnership with Sundara Fund.

warm up your man - UNICEF

Founded in 1946 by the United Nations to provide food, clothing, and healthcare to children, UNICEF is one of the most well-known charitable organizations for children in existence today.  Their mission of education, safety, nourishment, and healthcare for children globally has been tirelessly reached by creating countless education and health initiatives.  To keep children’s rights and safety on the global agenda, they “strike a balance through research and practical solutions” by providing staggering statistics and life-changing results in some of the most vulnerable populations.  In addition to their ongoing yearly efforts, UNICEF was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1965, and established the World Summit for Children in 1990.

With a tireless history of helping the most at-risk children on a direct level, UNICEF has stepped into the digital age by establishing their UNICEF Marketplace.  Created in 1999 as a modern way to help save children's lives, UNICEF partnered with NOVICA to reach artisans in Asia, Africa, and Latin America.  They have created a proprietary infrastructure to support the artisans as well as the children of UNICEF, bringing items like this Blue Chakana sweater, sent directly from the Peruvian artisan, to a global marketplace for the very first time.

Yes, Smitten.

hands and hearts...and suds - Hand in Hand soap

It is so wonderfully simple: you buy a bar of this luxurious soap, and provide soap and clean water to children in the developing world.

In 2011, Bill Glaab and Courtney Apple read a substantial article that stated 5 million children die each year from water related illnesses. After much research, they learned that 45% of these deaths could have been prevented with simple hand washing alone. They decided to create a utilitarian product... that could save lives as well. Thus, Hand in Hand was born!

You can buy directly from their site. Or, you can find Hand in Hand...at Target!

It is your purchases that keep these programs running & we thank you for your continued support!

It's a giving thing...rosemary lavender soap - Kahina Beauty

Sometimes soap smells so good you want to take a bite!  While I don’t recommend eating soap, I do endorse the Rosemary Lavender Argan Soap from Kahina Giving Beauty! 

Katharine L’Heureux, the founder and CEO of Kahina Giving Beauty, discovered the amazing properties of Argan Oil after a 2007 trip to Morocco.  She launched Kahina Giving Beauty in 2008 with the goal of supporting the indigenous women and culture of Morocco, protecting the environment, and giving back.  

The impressive and difficult process that the Berber women of Morocco go through to extract the oil from the Argan nut is often undercut by pressure for low-cost oil - often this is achieved by paying unfair labor wages and harvesting oil from low quality nuts.  Kahina Giving Beauty works with cooperatives that pay living wages and source nuts from healthy trees.  

Kahina Giving Beauty gives 1% of its annual revenue to organizations that directly benefit the women and families of South Morocco.  To achieve this, they work with local GNO’s with missions that support the women and families of this region, namely Education For All and High Atlas Foundation.  

In addition to all the goodness Kahina Giving Beauty does by ethically sourcing their oil, this soap comes wrapped in a beautiful, colorful printed paper - perfect to gift to yourself or others!  

Super Smitten!

the best soap ever - Noodle & Boo

I was a buyer for a tiny boutique in Minneapolis a couple of years ago ...and when a rep for Noodle and Boo came in one day, I was smitten instantly. All of their products smell deee-licious, and the packaging is delicate and pleasing.

Noodle and Boo's Believe Honey Bar will more than just bathe and moisten your skin: 100% of the profits from the Believe Honey Bar will go to the Circle of Love campaign.

Circle of Love, created by Noodle and Boo, raises awareness and funds for the Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV/AIDS (PMTCT) programs in Africa. Ensuring that babies born to HIV-positive mothers will not contract the virus because moms will receive the necessary immunizations and care they need.

This yummy beauty bar is formulated with natural ingredients to soothe, moisturize and refresh the skin as it cleans. They have created a non-soap formulation that washes off thoroughly, leaving skin thoroughly soft. It also rebalances your skin’s natural pH to help keep your skin moist and not tight.

~ Shea butter, honey and a myriad of vitamins - splendid!

~ Clinically-tested and hypoallergenic - ideal!

~ 5.75 ounce bar - generous!

~ Arrives in signature box - lovely!

Addicted and Smitten!

beautiful black birds - The Bird Project

The (exquisite) Bird Project soap was born in 2010, after the extraordinarily tragic BP spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. Tippy Tippens, a design expert and social entrepreneur, was living in New York at the time of the catastrophe and felt the desire to help. After many visits, she decided to relocate to New Orleans and start her (very cool) business, Matter Inc.

Matter Inc. is devoted to “making the world a better place by making meaningful products that matter.”

These delicate, black, bird-shaped soaps are made with natural, locally sourced ingredients: biodiesel glycerin, fair trade olive oil, aloe, activated black charcoal, and exude a light cypress scent…evocative of the bayous of Louisiana.

Soon, wash after wash, the black bird melts away to reveal a white, ceramic memento, handmade by Louisiana Clay.  A marvelous symbol of the creatures affected…a lasting token of life, restoration and hope.

The best part is that 50% of the profits go towards the Gulf Restoration Network and International Bird Rescue.

The artistry of the bird…to be cradled in the hand, caressed and cleansed is just brilliant symbolism and an extraordinary literal expression.

I am Smitten with these sumptuous soaps.

put your money where your lips are - Yum Balms

Who knew that an attractive little tube of delectable shiny lip balm could do so much good in the world? Jody Weiss did! 

In 2002 Jody created an all-natural cosmetics line called PeaceKeeper Cause-Metics, the first cosmetics line to donate 100 percent of all profits (after taxes) to women’s health and human rights organizations.

Their focus is to help bond the exceptional, fortuitous women of this country, with the women who by chance of birthplace, have been born into a world with challenged resources and opportunities. 

Jody’s own personal journey is a potent and inspiring one!

She’s also conceived an efficient way to participate effectively as a philanthropist with PeaceKeeper, and help end the cycle of poverty and exploitation for millions of women and girls around the world for just a dollar a day!

Please check out the rest of the Cause-Metic line: Mega Balms, Lip Sticks, Glosses and Nail Polish. 

Smitten.