"Made With Love" Event: Great Cakes Soapworks Review and Giveaway Ends 7/24 (US/CAN)

~This post is part of the handmade "Made With Love" event. All giveaways run from July 18th-24th. View all 29 sponsors on my blog and visit additional co-hosts for this event HERE~

About the Designer...

Hi! My name is Amy Warden. I live in the Kansas City area with my hubby of almost 14 years, and our girls who will be in 3rd and 5th grade this fall. I make all sorts of handcrafted skin care items, most notably handmade soaps. I really didn't set out to have a business when I made my first batch of soap almost 9 years ago! I was simply looking for something I could make for my friends for Christmas, and it all grew from there. I feel so blessed to be part of a group of artisans who are very open and supportive of one another. I've become friends with soapmakers from all over the world via the internet, and I truly believe that we inspire one another to be better at what we do. There's nothing more satisfying than hearing feedback from customers whose skin issues have disappeared after switching to my soaps. The creative aspect of designing something that is both beautiful and functional has recently become an obsession for me as well!

Review...

Treat your skin with a trip to Great Cakes Soapworks and enjoy the natural soaps and facial care products that await you. You'll love everything Amy has to offer, and her great knowledge of great-for-your-skin ingredients too!

Since I have pretty sensitive skin, Amy decided to have me try her Creamy Castile Goat Milk Soap to wash my face with. I received this bar almost 2 months ago, and I've used it every single time I've needed to wash my face and I wasn't in the shower at the time. I still need a exfoliating face wash sometimes to ward off blackheads and breakouts, so I use another product in the shower. The ingredients in this soap are SO simple. Just olive oil and goat's milk! My bar seems to be darker than the plain white you see in her shop listing, but no colors (or fragrances) have been added. It's great for sensitive and dry skin (that's me!). This soap suds up nicely, and feels so creamy and luxurious on your face. After rinsing, my face gets that "squeaky clean" feel and you can tell you've washed all the soap off. It's great for removing makeup too! I can definitely tell my face retains some of the moisture from the soap, but I still need a moisturizer after. That's what comes next!

I also received a sample size of the Skin Glow Facial Moisturizer. This moisturizer is fragrance free, and is made with 100% natural or naturally derived ingredients. I feel absolutely safe with this moisturizer on my face, and see no ingredients that are concerning at all! The color orange/yellow color is from the Sea Buckthornberry Extract which is a great anti-aging ingredient. Although just a pea size is recommended, I've found I need to use almost twice that amount to achieve a comfortable feel on my face and neck. If I don't use that amount, my face still feels a little taut, and I'm unable to stretch the moisturizer over all areas of my face and neck evenly. There's definitely a delicate balance as to how much is the right amount for each person, but I love that I've had NO issues with a greasy face later in the day. This moisturizer is great! 

I had never used a bar soap for my face prior to trying this and have been pleasantly surprised by the results. I've found that my skin tone appears more even with maybe a little more "glow", and I've had a little less dryness overall. I think the combination of the soap and moisturizer has been fantastic for my face, and I LOVE how natural these products are. You can't get much better than this!

Check out the information in the Natural Facial Care category for each product. You'll certainly learn lots of great information about ingredients and what's the best product for your skin type too! Be sure to also check out all the handmade soaps, lotions, butters, natural insect repellants and more! I've been eyeing this Grapefruit & Peppermint Foot Scrub!

~Exclusive Event Promotion~

Get 15% off any purchase of $20 or more with coupon code MadeWithLove, good through July 24, 2011!

Win it!

One winner will receive Natural Facial Care: one facial soap and one full-size Skin Glow Facial Moisturizer from Great Cakes Soapworks!

~Amy will assist the winner in choosing the soap that will work best for their skin type~

How to Enter:

I'm using Rafflecopter to facilitate this giveaway! Simply click on "Click for Instructions", complete the task, and then click "I Did This." Then enter your name and email address. Do this for each task you wish to complete! Please note: if you clear your cookies, the form will reset and you will not be able to do daily tweets/votes.

When you're done, go HERE to view all giveaways in this event!

Thanks for entering and good luck!