ML Interest Tag: formaldehyde

The 6 Best of Oprah’s Favorite Things for Kids (& 5 for Moms to Splurge on, Too)

by Karly Wood

Even though it’s not officially winter, Oprah’s Favorite Things officially kick off the holiday shopping season as we all clamor to get our hands on some of the media mogul’s go-to products. This year, she’s mixing things up and all 107 of her faves are on Amazon!

We’ve rounded up the best of Oprah’s picks for kids—and a few mom-friendly items for yourself. You deserve it!

Oprah’s Favorite Things for the Kids

Little Feminist T-shirt

Love Bubby's onesies and T-shirts make great gifts this holiday. This Little Feminist ($28) shirt will also be quite the conversation starter! You can shop more fun slogans and designs on Amazon!

Kid Made Modern Arts and Crafts Library Set

Creative kiddos will love the Kid Made Modern Arts and Crafts Library Set ($40) that comes with over 1,250 pieces, including pom poms, pipe cleaners, sequins, felt and more. The best gifts require imagination and this is definitely a winner.

Jeanne Simmons Animal Hats

Courtesy of Jeanne Simmons Accessories

Keep kids warm this winter with an adorable Animal Hat ($24) in tons of fun options. These soft beanies come in animals like koala bears, owls and monkeys. The soft acrylic is itch-free and very stretchable for kids three years old and up.

Letters for a Year of Gratitude

Oprah's pick for Letter for a Year of Gratitude ($16) is perfect for staying positive throughout the year. Teach your kids to always be grateful by telling loved ones how much they love them! This book is filled with letters that can be torn out, written on and sealed with the included stickers. All you need is a stamp! 

Cece DuPraz Children's Custom Artwork Tote Bag Gift Set

With a Cece DuPraz Children's Custom Artwork Tote Bag Gift Set ($94), kids can create their own design and Cece will embroider it on a canvas tote bag. Each gift includes a wooden box filled with 12 colored pencils, a pencil sharpener, a ruler, a pack of 5 sheets of 5"x7" paper and an illustrated card with ordering instructions. Once your masterpiece is done, upload your custom artwork (instructions included) to the website and get you bag in 4-6 weeks.

Burt's Bees Baby Family Jammies

Made from 100% organic, GOTS certified, breathable cotton, Burt's Bees Family Jammies ($13-40) will make the perfect outfit for your Christmas cards! Sizes range from baby to adult and they currently come in 6 patterns––good luck picking just one!

Oprah’s Favorite Things Just for Moms

Guilty Pleasures Ultimate Lacquer Stash

They don't call this gift set Guilty Pleasures ($160) for nothing! This 24-pack of gorgeous nail lacquers are 8-Free: no added formaldehyde, formaldehyde resin, DBP, toluene, camphor, ethyl tosylamide, xylene or TPHP. Not only can you indulge in some pampering, but you can rest easy knowing they're chemical free, too.

Floating Pearl Hoop Earrings

Dress to the nines for all those upcoming holiday parties with a pair of these unique floating pearl hoop earrings ($99). Pearl options include gray, white, yellow and gold and made Oprah's list two years in a row. You know these are good!

Women's Gisele Two-Piece Long Sleeve & Pant Pajama Sleepwear Set

We know, $120 for pajamas is definitely a splurge but you spend half your life asleep, so isn't it worth it? These pajamas have been described as "sleeping in the clouds" with the spandex and modal material that makes them super soft. They comes in tons of colors so there's a pair out there just waiting for you.

Maya J Strong Bracelets

If you want to feel empowered, strong and brave then you need a Maya J Strong bracelet ($38). The dainty bracelet packs powerful messages, and come in gold and silver options.

Library of Flowers Bubble Bath-Forget Me Not

Save this Library of Flowers Bubble Bath ($36) for a night alone. It's made with cocoa butter and green tea, and we hear it smells heavenly. All you need now is a glass of wine!

 

––Karly Wood

 

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Gear Up! Back to School in (Local) Style

by Kelley Gardiner

If you’re looking for extra credit for your back-to-school shopping, buy local. There’s more to it than jeans, tees and dresses — look for backpacks, lunch bags and more. When you’re out there looking for school supplies, skip the big box stores and grab something practical, unique and locally made.

 Photo courtesy of Crafty Wonderland

Eco Lunch Bags
Reusable lunch bags are all the rage in Portland’s schools, so let them choose their favorite design. Eco Lunch Bags by Little Lark are made from recycled cotton fibers, and include rope handles, easy for little ones to carry and open themselves without help. They also come with kid-friendly graphics, like robots, horses and ice cream cones. $22

Crafty Wonderland
808 SW 10th Ave.
Portland, Or
503-224-9097
Online: craftywonderland.com

Photo by Amanda L. via Yelp

Waterproof Backpacks
The founder of Black Star Bags was a bike messenger in Portland and, after not being able to find a waterproof bag that he really liked, he decided to make his own. Fast forward eight years, and Black Star Bags is still going strong. These waterproof bags might cost more than you’re used to spending, but they’re made to last for a long, long time. Even better, if you have any problems with the bags, you can take them back to the store for repair. They also carry cute panniers, which are roll-top bags that hold a lot and fit securely on a bike rack. $170

Black Star Bags
2033 SE Hawthorne Blvd.
Portland, Or
Online: blackstarbags.com

Photo courtesy of Buy Olympia

Daydream Notebooks
Not only is the artist, Jill Bliss, living in our neck of the woods, but some of these gorgeous Native Flower notebooks feature Pacific northwest flora and fauna, if you fancy a notebook with butterflies or herbs to write homework assignments and doodle some daydreams. While you’re at Land, pick up some local, handmade wax crayons for $11. $9.95

Land
3925 N. Mississippi Ave
Portland, Or
503-451-0689
Online: landpdx.com

Photo courtesy of Queen Bee

Zippered Coin Purse
Queen Bee’s canvas, zippered coin purse is perfect for those little items, like lunch money, wayward barrettes and chapstick, that get lost at the bottom of a cavernous backpack. Plus, the little bird design is really cute and zip closure make it easy for little hands to close themselves. Queen Bee also makes wallets, messenger bags and bag sizes in between with designs ranging from simple gingko leaves to staid tone-on-tone stripes. $16

Queen Bee
3961 N. Williams, Ste. 101
Portland, Or
503-232-1755
Online: queenbee-creations.com

Photo courtesy of Non-Perishable Goods

Crayon and Pencil Wraps
How cute are the Non-Perishable Goods wraps that are made right here in Portland? Downright adorable, and they’re sewn to last as well. These wraps will get your art supplies around in style, and as long as your kiddo doesn’t lose track of it, they should last throughout their school years. $30

Spielwerk Toys
3808 N. Williams Ave.
Portland, Or
503-282-2233
Online: spielwerktoys.com

Photo courtesy of Luau Wraps

Sandwich Wrappers
Luau Wraps makes reusable, sandwich wraps that are free from PVCs, BPAs, phthalates, formaldehyde and lead. You can feel good about packing healthy lunches in healthy material and your kids will feel great about showing off the cute designs on organic cotton. Get free shipping for orders over $50, or find a list of nearby vendors on the website. All bags are 100% made in Portland. $7

JJ Jump Clackamas
9057 SE Jannsen Rd.
Clackamas, Or
503-723-3600
Online: jjump.com

Do you have any favorite go-to back-to-school items made here in Portland? If so, let us know in the Comments below!

–Kelley Gardiner

 

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3 Spa Sanctuaries for a Mother-Daughter Day

by mikaela walker

Salons and spas used to be one of the last bastions of peace and quiet for stressed-out adults, but now these doors are opening up to allow, gasp, kids. Don’t worry, you can still get your spa on sans kids, not everywhere admits them, but if you want to take your mini-me along to get her tootsies sloughed and buffed you can. We found two spots in the city, and one that’s totally worth the drive, that have specific treatments for kids, or allow them to tag along with you and get treatments from the regular menu.

Not Your Mom’s Salon

Sharkey’s Cuts for Kids
Bond with your daughter over manicures and hair-dos at this Upper East Side salon. They offer a mother-daughter package, starting at $74.50, that includes a shampoo and blowout for you and shampoo, blowdry and a simple hairstyle for her, along with manicures for both. All of Sharkey’s haircare products are either certified natural and organic or chemical free, and in the end, not only will your hair look good but also, it will smell like a piece of fruit or a yummy slice of cake. To paint those pint-sized tootsies, Sharkey’s uses non-toxic Piggy Paint. And if she asks, “Please Mom, may I have day-glo nails with sparkly flowers?” It’s no problem! Whatever design your daughter wants, she gets, unless it’s something super challenging like the face of a One Direction member on each nail.

Feel Free to Bring the Kids

Dashing Diva
Are you a dashing diva? If so, then take yourself and your mini-diva to the nail salon of the same name. Try their Spoiled Diva Manicure and Pedicure and get “white-glove” treatment; after all, you deserve it. Your little diva can get a full manicure and pedicure, lotion, massage and all, not just a polish change, though they offer that as well. Worried about those nasty nail polish toxins touching your precious little snowflake’s skin? Not to worry – for a bargain price of only $3 more you can choose to use Deborah Lippman polishes, which are toluene, formaldehyde and DBP free. Little Diva manicure prices start at $12 and pedicures start at $15; the prices increase as your kids get older. Don’t want to have to travel too far with all of your infant/toddler paraphernalia and kids in tow? Dashing Diva has six salons in Manhattan and three in Brooklyn, so chances are, you have one nearby.

Worth the Trip

Spa Castle
Servants waiting on you hand and foot, closets full of gorgeous clothes and drawers full of royal jewels – wait that’s not your life; you aren’t the queen and your kids are not heirs to the throne. But you can feel like a queen for a day and your kids can feel like mini-royals at Spa Castle in College Point, Ny. At five stories high and with 100,000 square feet of soothing space, this has to be bigger than any spa you’d find in the city. Inside, you will find lots of pools, including a kiddie pool and a hydrotherapy pool, hot tubs, hot and cold sauna rooms, a salt sauna and a fitness center. Whew! Can you say that list three times fast? There are also treatment rooms where you can get regular spa services. Kids under age 16 can get regular mani-pedis and they’re allowed full use of all the aforementioned services. It’s a flat fee of $45 per person to enter the building, and specialty treatments are additional. You might have to do some fast-talking to get your kids to go, but we are positive once you get them there, they won’t want to leave.

Where do you go when you need a spa day? Know any other great place to relax with your kiddo?

— Mikaela Walker

Photos 1-3 Courtesy of Sharkey’s Cuts for Kids NYC, Photo 4 Courtesy of Spa Castle

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Shout Out to Grace Welch, founder of Patemm Diaper Pads

by Jacqui Boland

Shout out to San Francisco mom Grace Welch. We wrote about her cool diaper pad back in August. Turns out we weren’t the only fans.

The Green Parents’ List has just come out with their list of top ten products Baby & Kids product (among their rigorous criteria, items must be in compliance with the strict lead, phthalate, and heavy metal content restrictions of the US Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA).

Turns out, Patemm pads are not only stylish, they are PVC, PHTHALATE, LEAD, FORMALDEHYDE, LATEX, and BPA-FREE and proudly made in San Francisco.

Pssst…they make great baby shower gifts. Way to go Grace!

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Julep Nail Parlor

by Jacqui Boland

You’ve Got Nails

An experience at Julep Nail Parlor is as much about what you don’t get as what you do get.

There’s no funky-formaldehyde-salon smell, thanks to toxin-free products, from lotions to polishes. There’s no risk of hygiene-related mishaps, thanks to the use of hospital-grade sterilizing equipment used on all metal implements. (Anything that can’t be sterilized is sent home with you in a goody bag.) There’s no chance you won’t get to sit next to your mom/girlfriend/daughter. Specially designed chairs are meant to be moved and grouped according to who you want to hang out with. And there’s no hushed salon silence. Instead, there is chatter, laughter, music –the undeniable sounds of female bonding.

Such is the vibe former Starbucks exec Jane Park was going for all along. She created the Julep environment as a place where women could gather, socialize, connect and get great eco-friendly manicures and pedicures. Julep’s always had good promos – such as Mommy Mondays, where childcare is provided; and Chick Flick Thursdays, where you can watch a movie with your galpals. The latest twist in the plot is the Julep Membership Club. Among the offerings are the Frequent Filer program (get a service for three times and the fourth visit is free) and the PDQ club, where you pay for a service and for the rest of the month, get the same service at a significantly reduced price. And there’s the coveted Key Club membership ( limited to 50 members per parlor), which gets you unlimited services for a monthly fee. Park says the Membership Club is a way to take the Julep community to a different level. “We want to let women do the services they want to do, and enable them to do it more often.”

Julep Nail Parlor
University District (Across from U Village)
Downtown Seattle
Bellevue
Gig Harbor
www.myjulep.com

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