Smile & Share the Health--Body Parfait *Review & Giveaway*

A big welcome to Dawn of BodyParfait on Etsy!

Dawn currently resides in Uxbridge Massachusetts and has for the past 8 years. She isn't a stranger to Massachusetts though; growing up in Bellingham and being a native of the state, she knows it quite well!

"I love dessert and I love body products," explains Dawn when asked about her shop's name. "They both look good, smell good, make us feel good and homemade is always better, in both categories, in my opinion." Hence, Body Parfait!

Selling on Etsy is a nice extra source of income, however Dawn makes her living as a C.N.A and part-time nanny. Having owned and operated her own day care for many years, Dawn decided to close those doors and pursue a new career in the Healthcare Industry.

Aside from taking care of children, she loves to craft and create. "It’s true, I love to make body products, but I also love to crochet, paint and play guitar. Just recently, I started making jewelry. I love learning new crafts; I am self taught in all of them as well. I'm proud of that."

If you look through her shop, she has some absolutely incredible products with pretty pictures and vibrant colors, however the Body Parfait you see came about through medical necessity. It was several years ago that Dawn was diagnosed with a horrible burn-like rash that started on her neck and eventually ended up spreading to the rest of her body! This took over her life and she lived in three separate worlds: one of endless cleaning due to the highly contagious nature of her ailment, one of self loathing for how it made her look and feel and finally one of alienation--"It’s a horrible thing to be surrounded by the people you love the most and unable to touch them or hold them."

Throughout these numerous months of suffering, Dawn had begun reading and researching all about Homeopathic medicine, herbs, spices, botanical, and essential oils. One day, she decided enough was enough!  "I gathered a list of supplies I would need, spent roughly $3,000 and began to formulate and experiment. There were many messes, many (almost) fires, a blown up microwave, several billion burned pots, melted spoons, and weeks of friends dropping by saying, 'what is that SMELL?'"

Through all of that, she ultimately cured her unknown rash and her skin has never felt better!

Advice from Dawn: "My best advice to other crafters/artists would be to do what you love! Don’t make jewelry if you hate it just because you feel this will make you more money than say, crocheted slippers. It will end up showing in your work and it will not see you through the difficult times, such as, learning new aspects of your craft which can be so aggravating!"

Things to keep in mind about Dawn and her products:

*All product instructions, ingredients and information can be found in each listing so make sure to read everything before purchasing!

*Make sure to keep up to date with Dawn by following her on Twitter @BodyParfait and liking her on Facebook!

*For more information regarding shipping, payment information and other important things, check out her Shop Policies Page.

Not only did I get to feature Dawn, her Etsy shop, and her wonderful bath and body products, but she also kindly allowed me to review her Pain Salve as well!

For those of you who don't know, I've been chronically ill for the past 8+ years and being chronically ill comes with a LOT of daily pain; joint pain, muscle pain, nerve pain, headaches, leg pain, back pain...I'm sure you get the picture.

When given the chance, you know I jumped all over that natural pain salve!

The pain salve arrived in a very sweet container with a unique label true to the overall look of Body Parfait complete with a little 'Thank you' note attached to finish off the package.

At first when I opened the jar, I was taken aback by the scent; it was a wee bit strong for me but as I rubbed it into my skin and continued to smell it, I grew to love it! You know you love a particular scent when you open up the jar just to take a big whiff of it every now and again ;)

The past couple of days have been pretty bad joint pain days for me, so, capitalizing on this, I decided to do a little experiment; I applied the salve to my left wrist throughout the day and left the right one salve-less. 

Low and behold, I immediately noticed a difference! It definitely helped the pain and even though the pain came back (as it usually does), I'm so grateful for the little reprieve the salve offered me.

{Giveaway}

1 lucky winner will receive a Body Parfait Bundle which includes 1 Lip Pot,  1 Lip Balm, 1 2.5 oz Body Butter, 1 4oz Body Scrub, 1 Roll on Cologne or Perfume, and 1 Bath Melt!

{The Rules}

1. You MUST use the name and email you want to be contacted with in the Rafflecopter.

2. Contest will run from Thursday, October 18th, 2012 to Thursday November 1st, 2012.

3. Open to US and Canada only-Sorry internationals! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Note: Items in prize bundle may or may not be exactly the same as items shown in the above images and/or items the winner will receive. Dawn reserves the right to substitute any products if need be.

Items in Post:

Soap Set

Bubble Bath Sudd Mudd Clay Body Soak

Large Pain Salve

Disclaimer: I was provided products from Body Parfait on Etsy at no cost to me in order to facilitate this honest review and giveaway. All opinions expressed in the above post are 100% mine and mine alone unless otherwise stated. This contest is open to US and Canadian residents only and will run from Thursday, October 18th, 2012 12:00am central standard time until Thursday, November 1st, 2012 11:01 pm central standard time. The winner will be chosen through Rafflecopter.com and be contacted within 24 hours of the drawing. You'll then have 48 hours (2 days) to claim your prize and send me all applicable information-If I haven't heard from you within that time frame, I will be forced to choose another winner.