Stamp of Approval: Things I should have stocked up on

When I found out we were leaving NY, I planned on stocking up on my favorite natural things and toiletries. I imagined going to Whole Foods and grabbing 3, 4 or more of each item, and filling a box with them, then opening the box in Zurich, happy and relieved that I wouldn’t run out of my faves for a little while.

Unfortunately, because of a series of things I never did manage to stock up. And now here I am, running out of my favorite things, and wondering if there’s a place that ships overseas where I can find all these items. (Also wondering if it would be worth the import taxes I would no doubt pay, since I got charged $50 on my recent purchase of  a pair of Tory Burch flats.)

One more thing to look forward to when I go to BlogHer10: filling a suitcase with all my faves

1. Burt’s Bees blemish stick: the best blemish spot treatment, bar none. Including much more expensive ones from fancy brands. (I won’t name names.) And it’s completely natural! Now, if I could replicate it, I would. Mind you, it would probably cost me a fortune because of all the essential oils, while this is only about $8 at Whole Foods, and only $3.50 on Amazon.com!

2. Avalon Organics shampoo and conditioner: conventional shampoo has too much junk. Natural shampoo doesn’t lather, which means someone with thick hair like me end up using half a bottle for every hair wash (= annoying AND expensive). Finally, after trying dozens of shampoos, I landed on Avalon Organics. Their products don’t contain parabens or other toxic preservatives, nor are they too perfumy – they are scented using essential oils, so their scents are always lovely, never overwhelming. And my hair seems to love their shampoo and conditioners, especially the Lavender set (nourishing) and the Peppermint set (revitalizing). I always bought mine at Whole Foods, but doing a search online I just found that Amazon has it for the same price, $6.30 per bottle.

3. John Masters Organics Linden Blossoms face creme cleanser and Vitamin C anti-aging face serum: the face cleanser is gentle, fresh, light and non-drying, which makes it great for all types of skin. I especially love it because I have sensitive combination skin (I know, nuts) and it’s hard to find a cleanser that is light and delicate enough; plus because it is non-foaming, this is perfect to use with the Clarisonic.
The Vitamin C serum I tried one time that I had run out of my absolute favorite face serum, the Amine Complex Face Lift by PerriconeMD (why do the names all sound like they are for people who need suspenders to hold up their cheeks, like bulldogs??), which I’ll tell you about another time and I didn’t want to shell out the $100 for a new 1.7oz bottle. This serum is also excellent, light and citrusy, and I definitely notice a a difference in my skin when I use it every night: more even skin tone, smoother skin, and the lack of sleep doesn’t show as much Both available at JohnMasters.com and Whole Foods, for $22 and $30 respectively. (P.S. They both say “for dry/mature skin”, but I have neither, and I love them.)

4. Pacifica Mango and Pink Grapefruit natural perfume: I am allergic to synthetic fragrance. One time my upstairs neighbor plugged in a Glade and I had an asthma attack going out to get my mail. But I’m an Italian woman, and I love wearing delicious-smelling perfume. The perfect solution presented itself when I found Pacifica: their perfumes are made using only essential oils, so they don’t bother me. My favorite is the Mango and Grapefruit, which smells fresh and citrusy, and a little sweet (but not so much that it’ll make you nauseous). All Pacifica perfumes are available in solid form (perfect to pop in your handbag) or spray, with matching soy candles if you are so inclined
The spray perfumes I only found at Whole Foods, but the solids and the candles are avilable also at Sephora and select Target stores.

5. & 6. Yummy natural lip balms like Ganache for Lips  and the clear nourishing lipgloss by Alba: I love lip balms. But they have to really work: they have to leave my lips soft, and they have to smell nice, or even better, delicious I found that lip balms without oil derivatives but based instead on nourishing and moisturizing ingredients like real cocoa butter and good oils (almond, jojoba, etc) seem to work best. My favorite part of Whole Foods was walking down the beauty isle and grabbing a new lip balm (ok, one of my favorite parts, the food wasn’t half bad). Ganache For Lips is a line of natural lip balms that make your lips super soft and smell like dessert. They contain real chocolate among other (all-natural) ingredients, and the only downside is that if you have a toddler, he or she will probably start munching on your lip balm if he gets his little hands on it (Stella has enjoyed a few herself). I told you about the Alba clear lipglosses here already, so let me just say how much I have been missing my pineapple-coconut one, which is the perfect everyday gloss and makes your lips incredibly soft (and kissable )

Now all I need to do is bribe one of my friends to shop for me at Whole Foods

What are your must-haves? The things you bring along everywhere, on business trips, vacations?