East Vanity Bath and Body Co. Review and #Giveaway

 When I was in my early twenties, dirt poor and barely able to afford my own apartment, I didn't have a bath tub. It was a fate nearly worse than death, seriously, it was awful. I had a tiny little shower the size of a very small closet. One could hardly even turn around in the damn thing. I remember pining for a good luxurious bath, chock full of bath products. That, I would say to myself, is the dream. An apartment with a bathtub. I finally got one after I married my husband and moved into a real grown up apartment, and I have sworn since that I will never settle for a place without a tub again.

A nice hot bath is one of the few free, effective relaxation methods that one has at one's disposal once you start pumping out kids, and even so they're far less common than they were prior to having kids. When I have a bath, I like to do it right. I pour myself a glass of wine, and I'm sure to use some delicious smelling products- which is where East Vanity comes in.

East Vanity is the (cleverly named) venture of a young East Vancouverite named Calla Medrano. At only 13 years old, Medrano designed a line of bath bombs, soaps, and lotions, and ended up finding them in such high demand that she was able to turn her craft into a lucrative business. She uses exclusively high quality, "body positive" ingredients, and crafts each product by hand. All of her ingredients are listed under each product, so you know exactly what you'll be putting onto-and therefore into- your body.

Calla’s creativity and commitment to nourishing body and soul is evident in each unique and nurturing item.

- From the East Vanity website.

Medrano was kind enough to offer me the product of my choice to try out. Choosing from her array of available products was no easy feat, but I ended up going with her Aromatherapy Eucalyptus Bath Bomb. 

The bath bomb arrived to me vacuum sealed, so that when I opened it up the fresh scent of eucalyptus came bursting forth. It was a lovely natural scent, not overly pungent as some bath bombs tend to be. I used it on a night when my husband was out and my kids were asleep- perfect for some me time. I poured myself a glass of wine, ran myself a hot bath, and dropped my bath bomb in.

And man, did a nice half hour ever follow. The bath bomb fizzled away, leaving behind a nicely concentrated version of the same subtle eucalyptus scent. Medrano describes the product as "decongesting and uplifting," and I'd say the descriptor is highly accurate. I can imagine this would be perfect for use during a cold, as the eucalyptus oil gently cleanses your sinuses as you inhale the fresh scent. I wish I'd had a bunch of these while I was pregnant with my daughter and suffering from the worst cold I've ever had but limited as to what medications I could take. This would be a totally safe and natural way to lessen that stuffy sick feeling. It's also just wonderful to use while perfectly healthy, however, as I found out.

I expected the aromatherapy features from the name and description of the product, but what I didn't expect was the effect it had on my skin! When I got out of my bath, my skin was left feeling totally buttery soft and moisturized, a feeling that lasted well into the night. 

I'd definitely call myself a convert, and a big fan of East Vanity. Next I plan to try out the Love Rose Bath Bomb. If you're at all interested in shopping locally and supporting a young artisan, particularly for Christmas presents, I'd highly recommend checking East Vanity out. The products can be purchased via The East Vanity website or Etsy site for really reasonable prices. Alternatively, you can visit Medrano in person and say hi at the Artisan Christmas Craft Fair or Kensington Community Craft Fair, both upcoming in Vancouver (information can be found on the East Vanity site).

Or (and here's the fun part!), you can enter to win one for yourself right here! Medrano has generously donated a second Eucalyptus bath bomb like the one I tried for one lucky reader to win. Go ahead and enter to win via the Rafflecopter below. Giveaway is open to residents of Canada/US only (though it must be noted that Medrano ships worldwide).

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The One Where We Met Thomas the Tank Engine

Despite outward appearances, C really did have a great time. Honest.

You can stop looking, folks, you've found him: The one little kid on the planet who doesn't like Thomas the Tank Engine, my son C. This has always been totally bizarre to me, as he's completely scary obsessed with trains. When they had the little train in the mall at Christmas time he demanded we ride it at least once a day, lest he rain chaos and pandemonium upon the household. The dreary January day that train was finally dismantled was a terrifying one. C's second birthday will be held at a miniature train track in three weeks, and is completely train themed. "Choo choo" were amongst his first words. And yet, every time I turned Thomas on, he would watch for a few minutes and inevitably get bored and demand Frozen for the 6,091th time. Nevertheless, when my friend Sunshine of Transforming the Now offered our family tickets she had won to A Day Out With Thomas, there was no question whether we'd take her up on them. C may not care about Thomas, but a fun day out as a family with tons of activities was guaranteed to be a hit regardless.

The event was held at the West Coast Railway Heritage Park in Squamish, BC (an hour outside of Vancouver). We woke up ridiculously early, and after bemoaning via my facebook status that I used to sleep til noon and play video games all Saturday, we were off. The drive kind of sucked. Not because it's a painful drive or anything, but because we were stupid enough to tell our 2 year-old that he was going to go ride a train before setting off. By the time we arrived into Squamish, he had decided we were horrible lying liars, never to be trusted again. He was whimpering and moaning in the backseat "traaaaain, traaaaaain" as though he were physically in pain. Luckily, he forgot about our betrayal pretty quickly upon arrival.


He will never be this happy again. Until the next time we let him ride a train.

We had a bit of time before our scheduled train ride, so we proceeded to explore "Knapford Station," which the park had been transformed into. It was kind of ridiculously cool, no lie. There was a ton of stuff for kids to do. Our first stop was to get Thomas temporary tattoos. These babies were made of some sort of otherworldly ink, cause C's STILL hasn't come off nearly a week later. We looked at tons of old steamer engines, skipped a magic show (more appropriate for slightly older kids), and met Sir Topham Hatt himself.


Not even his first celebrity- C has also met Nichelle Nichols and Mickey Mouse.

In no time at all, we had used up the free time before our train ride. We headed over to get loaded onto Thomas! We got seated into our little car, complete with table, and it was time to go. Volunteers wandered up and down the aisle, telling jokes for the kids and passing out "Junior Engineer" certificates. C was pretty pleased. I actually found the train ride itself the least satisfying part of the day, it only lasted about 20 minutes and went forward and back, but such is life. It was still pretty cool.

After getting off the train, we were ushered into a little tent where we were able to write a letter to Thomas (or any of his friends). The big bonus to this feature would be that after you mail the letter in the little Sodor post office, your child will actually receive a response from Thomas in the mail a few days later! When other than holidays and birthdays do kids ever get mail, not to mention from their television heroes?

We hit up the face painting station and did some playing with the many Thomas train sets available for kids to check out, but it was becoming pretty apparent that nap time was imminent. After a brief trip to the gift shop, where C chose a purple train named Charlie as his souvenir, it was time to head home. But first, to collect C's prize! When you first arrive at the event, you're given a map where you can collect stamps at the different activity stations. Once you've acquired all stamps, you can hand it in at the exit for a prize. I was pretty impressed by what the little prize was, too: A little Thomas made out of a couple of Mega Bloks! By the time we got back to our car we had so many little toys, stickers, tattoos, and activity books that C was definitely set for the ride home (of course he promptly passed out from all the excitement).

All in all, a huge success. Worth the drive, worth the whining, and a ton of fun. I definitely plan to check out the next event the railway holds, a Halloween train. I'll even go as far as to say that it's worth the new obsession....C has demanded to watch Thomas pretty much every second of every day since. My "This household has gone __ days without watching Frozen" sign is up to 3, guys. 3. Thanks, Thomas and Friends.


Yes, I actually have one.