{ the vitamin store }

Does anyone else identify with being on a never-ending quest to try out new products? My situation is slightly different--I'm just always on the hunt for the ingredients. 

Product-hopping has never been hugely successful for me. As it happens, I have very fussy hair and skin. (I could see how that'd be sort of a good thing; in theory I'd never buy anything I knew I couldn't use. In reality, however, my cabinet is full of things that have been used exactly twice. I feel weird about returning used conditioner, so I just sort of let it be down there for a thousand years or I regift it to my mom.) 

Over time, my focus shifted to trying to make my own skin and hair products. That's been much more successful. If you can believe it, it's cheaper, too--which means I get to try out way more ideas before running out of money. (Seriously, I've seen conditioner for $40 before. Will it turn my hair into spun gold? If so, perhaps I should actually stop writing this and go purchase a bottle.) I was actually thinking about writing a post about the "recipes" I've tried so far later this week, mostly on the off chance that anyone with similar issues happens to be reading this! A lot of the ones I use right now seem to be quite gentle while still effective, which can be entirely helpful for someone who struggles with being easily irritated.

On the day I took these pictures, I happened to end up at the vitamin store with my mom. Apparently, that's her new favorite place to hang out because she's gravitating toward homeopathic remedies for some of her health issues. I got to come along while she scoped out some Calm tea (proceed on that stuff with caution, by the way) and it turned out to be a gold mine of things to try out! I picked up some organic shampoo and conditioner along with a small bottle of emu oil. I was a little skeptical at first, but I've been experimenting with quite a few oils over the last few months and was curious about this one.

It was probably one of the best decisions I've ever made. I'm excited to see what else I can do with it!

It also didn't hurt that this vitamin store was located in the cutest plaza ever. It's part of a bunch of little local shops, and they're all set up in this pastel yellow Victorian-looking house. The whole area used to be full of places like that, but they've all shut down in recent years. Across the street, there used to be a similar, smaller house that sold fantastic ice cream. Mom and I were hoping to find some, but it had evidently been out of business for some time. We walked around to see what else there was; unfortunately, all we found was an olive oil shop and an expensive-looking photography studio. My mom was nice enough to take some pictures of my new dress for me, though!

Dress: Seashell We Dance? (swap, sold on Modcloth for awhile!)

Belt: It's actually just a long strip of lace.
Shoes: Chelsea Crew

I'm excited to try coming up with more posts--some days, it seems like it's difficult to think of anything to talk about that would be remotely interesting to anyone. Still, I'm eager to share the results of the emu oil and hair products with everyone, along with some of my favorite recipes. What products have you found that worked best for you? I love hearing from people who aren't hindered by sensitivity--some of the available options out there look like they can do great things for your hair and skin!