by Anne Podlesak
I was sent a lovely little box of Notable Gnome products to try out. Geared for folks who work with their hands, these products are made with all natural ingredients, many of them 100% vegan, are lightly scented and non-greasy, which makes them perfect for the dry winter months when your skin can use a little TLC.
I sampled four scents on the Lotion Bar. This is a blend of beeswax, several oils, cocoa and mango butter and a fragrance oil. They come in a cute little metal tin and are palm-sized solid lotions. All you have to do is rub the star-shaped bar between your hands and the warmth will soften the bar to allow the product to start to soften your skin. I found just a couple of rubs was all I needed to have enough product to generous moisturizer my hands, but after rubbing them together, the oils absorbed quickly and there was no sticky residue or slick feeling. The scents (I trialed Eastern Amber, Fig, Hidden Gem and Lavender) are all soft and subtle. Nothing overpowering and I liked all of them very much, although the Fig was my personal favorite.
I also trialed a small scent stick, which is about the size of a typical lip balm tube. Made with a similar set of base oil and butters, this came in a soft Jasmine fragrance. You could throw this into your purse for a touch-up of scent, as the scent is slightly heavier, although still not cloying, than in the Lotion Bars, and lingered a bit longer. The bonus is that you can use it as a cuticle stick, or for super-treatment for cracked fingertips.
Finally, I trialed a tube of Orange Dream lip balm. This vegan formulation goes on completely non-greasy, but is VERY moisturizing. The subtle orange fragrance is nice and not overpowering. It is smooth and not shiny, but softens immediately. I believe this is the only fragrance currently available, but others are in the works.
If you live in a dry climate like we do here in the high desert, dry-weather moisturizers, lotions and lip balms are a must, but the lovely, soft, silky feel of all these products would make them winners no matter where you live. The non-greasy formulations are wonderful to use for any hand-crafter who needs to take care of their hands!
Notable Gnome can be found on the web, here: http://notablegnome.com/.
As with all our reviews, this is my personal opinion of these products. Your mileage may vary. I was not compensated monetarily in any way for providing this review, but was sent complementary samples of the products to trial.
