Product: Cinnamon & Clove Comfort Natural Aroma Shower Steamer from Verikira Naturals

Ingredients: Sodium Bicarbonate, Citric Acid, Calcium Sulfate, Sodium Borate, Witch Hazel, and Essential Oils

Basics: This product is a shower steamer, which means you unwrap the steamer, place it in the far corner of your shower (away from the water), and as the heat and moisture activates the steamer, the essential oils are released into your shower, creating an aromatherapy shower experience.

Company information: Verikira Naturals creates specially formulated products for home and body, using natural and organic ingredients, essential oils, vitamins, minerals, and extracts from flowers, herbs, fruits, leaves, and roots. Verikira Naturals products are certified by the Vegan Cosmetics Organization and they follow the Natural Ingredient Resource Center (NIRC) criteria for labeling natural ingredients and products.

Two nice company perks include their handy consumer Education Center and their Pink Grapefruit Pink Ribbon Collection which supports breast cancer research. They also won a 2007-2008 American Package Design Awards Certificate of Excellence.

[Steamers also come in Peppermint Awakening and Eucalyptus Revival]

What I think:

I really liked these shower steamers. I tested two of them. One when I was healthy and one after I caught this flu I’m dealing with. Both times the steamer was a nice shower addition, but when you’re sick, it’s REALLY nice. I’ve felt terrible for a week, and this made my shower nice and relaxing, even though I’m tired and coughing. Cinnamon is a natural flu and cold fighter, and while of course, the shower steamer didn’t cure my flu, it did relax my senses and thus help ease up the body aches.

Other pros:

Subtle scent: Because they’re made with essential oils vs. chemical fragrance, the scent is subtle, calming, and lingering, without being overpowering. I like heavy scents, actually, and while this was scented enough for my taste, it would also be chill enough for someone not into heavy scents.

Easy to use – no mixing oils, no whipping up anything, just unwrap, and place.

Beautiful packaging – perfect as is for gift giving – no wrap required, thus saving paper resources. The steamers especially are nice, because they come in a long box, that would fit nicely into a stocking OR you could place individual steamers in many stockings or gift baskets.

Bonus – it left my bathroom smelling delicious for a couple of days after I used it. Too bad they don’t make home cleaning products!

No stain – my first steamer didn’t get all the way used up, but it didn’t sit and stain my shower either, it washed away with plain water.

Product cons:

I’m not sure about the recyclable of the box. There’s no recycling label on it. The label, foil, and paper decoration inside the box are for sure recyclable, but the box is an odd material. I couldn’t find info on it, but I’ll still try to recycle it. UPDATE: After posting this I heard back from the company who notes, “The shower steamer frosted box is made with 100% virgin polypropylene which is recyclable and Verikira Naturals tries extremely hard to use recyclable packaging at all times. Also, the crinkle paper inside is also recyclable.“ Nice. So, now we know, and this con becomes a full on pro. 

I think that if you’re really into green living, one whole shower steamer is too much. I take semi-quick showers to save water and the first steamer I used was only half gone by the time I was ready to jump out. My suggestion is to cut them in half. Which is a con, considering they don’t tell you this, but a pro, in that the product lasts longer. The only way you’ll get through one of these per shower is if you take REALLY long showers.

Safety note: These look like brightly wrapped candies. My seven year old son thought they were little chocolate oranges. Because my son is well-past the eat anything stage, I’m not concerned. If you have little ones though, this is a product to keep tucked away.

Cinnamon & Clove Shower Steamer score:

Five out of five pretty trees! I liked these a lot. They wouldn’t be on my list of products to buy right away, for myself, just because I have a basket full of essential oils. However, I would absolutely give these as a gift to someone. Great for birthdays and holidays. I also think that out of the box, they’d make cute wedding, or baby shower favors, along with other treats.

$24 – Cinnamon & Clove Comfort Natural Aroma Shower Steamer

+ Verikira Naturals