Crystals and crystal infusions in beauty products are big right now. For someone like me who incorporates crystals into virtually every aspect of life, I couldn't be more thrilled. There are some great products on the market. Check out offerings from Herbivore and Aquarian Soul, for example. Both have a host of high quality, natural beauty and skincare offerings that are either infused with crystal essence or contain crystals.

Lotus Wei is another beauty company offering combinations of organic botanicals and crystal essences focused on natural beauty with a spiritual self-care component. One of my current favorites from Lotus Wei is Joy Juice, a combination of flower essences (including jasmine and lotus), citrus essential oils (including sweet orange), and red garnet gem essence. The result is a bright, happy fragrance that lifts my mood and smells really, really, really good.

Joy Juice comes in various forms, including a mist for body and home (pictured), an oil, a serum, and an elixir. Whether you wish to wear it as a personal fragrance or you want to spray it in your environment, Joy Juice does seem to offer a pick-me-up. It's my current favorite fragrance. I highly recommend it. 

Whhhhhaaatttt? Gemstones in a facial mask? How could I not try this stuff, right? I love Herbivore's products. They smell great, they work well, a little goes a long way, they contain natural ingredients with essential oils, and their ingredients are ethically sourced.

I use several of the skincare products from Herbivore, so I was excited to try the Brighten mask, which contains tourmaline, pineapple and papaya enzymes, and rice powder as its primary ingredients. It smells great, glides on my skin, rinses away easily, and it truly does exfoliate and brighten. My skin is smooth and glowing, especially when I use it with a few of Herbivore's other products (I'm partial to the Phoenix facial oil, the Moon Fruit Super Night Treatment, and the Pink Cloud Rosewater Moisture Cream. I also love their gemstone rollers, which I keep in the freezer and use in the morning to give my skin an all-over glow.)

I can't say enough good things about Herbivore, and I'm especially exited about the Brighten mask because who doesn't want to slather gemstones on their face? Their prices are reasonable, their products smell great, and they truly work. I haven't come across an Herbivore product I don't love yet. Definitely five out of five stars for everything I've tried from their product lines, and I especially love this mask.

No unboxing video this month. I decided watching my hands unwrap crystals with my camera barely holding focus just wasn't that exciting, even for a FB live video.

So instead this month, I offer a photo. As a quick reminder, this is a $16 monthly subscription called the Tamed Wild Crystals box, which you can find on CrateJoy. Actually, I see it's gone up to $19 per month - but still a good deal.

This month came this pretty, good sized specimen (about the size of my hand) that is agate and some druze. It's really pretty, and this is the first large crystal they've sent. 

Typically the subscription is lots of smaller stones, so I was happy to see a larger specimen, and I like what they've curated this month. It isn't something I would traditionally pick out for myself, but I'm super glad to have it. Along with it were these two smaller stones and the purple seer stone. All in all, it's a good box. I originally tried a three-month subscription, but I suspect I'll keep going because I like their choices and it's affordable and a good way to add stones to my collection I might not choose for myself. I definitely recommend it.

Subscribe to this box here.

I love these little hand-made terra cotta chakra aromatherapy discs from Soul Candy by Amy Logan Life and Art. Put a drop or two of your favorite essential oil blend on the white part, and it holds the scent. You can place them around your house, use them to meditate, or carry them in your pocket. The scent lingers and if you place them near you (such as at your desk), you'll notice your favorite aroma throughout the day.

​The stones are $39 for a set (on sale for $25 now), which includes 7 discs stamped with each of the seven chakras and glazed a corresponding color. It's a cute, creative, and portable way to have your favorite aromatherapy blend with you wherever you go.

The subscription crate I decided to try for December is the Enchanted Crystal Crystal Variety Box, which is a $58 per month subscription, which the description says will include 4-8 crystal or mineral specimens and a crystal grid cloth plus extra mini crystals. There is also a $16 subscription that sends the "crystal of the month." 

The crate arrived well packed with each crystal individually wrapped and labeled. The image to the right is everything that came in the box (with the labels for clarity). Starting in the upper left corner and going around clockwise: 

• Amethyst cluster
  
• Quartz and calcite geode
  
• Aragonite crystal
• Selenite egg
• Fairy quartz point
• Pyrite cluster
• Garnet
• The mini crystals including 3 amethyst points, a Madagascar quartz point, green jasper, and orb agate
  
• In the center is a Lemurian seed quartz point with chlorite inclusions
• The crystals are all sitting  on the small, printed cloth, which is Metatron's cube.

All of the specimens arrived in good condition, and two (the fairy quartz and the Lemurian seed quartz) are somewhat rare. The selection is good with a few interesting specimens (all are on the small side; just as a point of reference, the aragonite cluster is about the size of a quarter), and the value is probably close to the price of the box if I bought each crystal retail (or a little less than that - but when you add shipping costs, it's pretty close to what I'd pay to buy them all online individually and have them shipped to me in one box).

If you don't have many crystals and you'd like to have a collection come to you without going to a crystals shop, then this box may be a good way to build up your collection with decent quality crystals curated by an expert, and I like the included grid cloths each month. I'll try the subscription for another month just to see how it differs from month to month, but for me part of the joy is going to the crystals shop and picking them out one at a time. If you don't have a nearby crystals shop, then you may really enjoy this box.

I love essential oils and essential oil blends and use them daily for various purposes. While I enjoy making my own blends, I'm always on the lookout for products that are special or interesting. 

There are a lot of essential oil products out there, and it was by happy accident that Frequency Positivity essential oil blend found its way to me. It came in a subscription crate from Goddess Provisions, and I can't even begin to tell you how much I adore it (although since this is a review, I'm certainly going to try). This essential oil blend smells juicy and delicious and inhaling its aroma makes me incredibly happy. Plus, come on, it's essential oils infused with crystals.

The blend is a mixture of lemon, orange, lemongrass, peppermint, rosemary, and clove bud oils, and it also contains golden jade (jasper stones). The scent is beautifully balanced, uplifting, and yummy. I put a few drops in a diffuser stone at my work station, and throughout the day, I catch enticing whiffs of its aroma, which instantly lifts my spirits. The seller is on Etsy, and the prices are reasonable (under 10 bucks for a 15 mL bottle). If you're looking for an essential oil blend that lifts your spirits - or one that simply smells delicious, I highly recommend trying this one.

It's a nice little crate of crystals for only $16. Find it here. 

I have several oracle and tarot decks because when I do readings for myself or others, not only do I randomly draw a card, but I also randomly draw a deck (or have the person I'm reading randomly draw one). For me, this really helps focus the reading. I'm always excited to check out new decks and add them to my collection. Still, with multiple decks, the Osho Zen Tarot is both my oldest and my favorite. I like it so much it's the only tarot deck I also have on my smartphone. 

The cards are beautifully illustrated, and they have a lovely and positive (Zen) focus. I have the app, which is $7.99 on iOs and Google Play, and it is totally worth the cost. The app will randomly draw a card for you every day - you can set the time (I like 8 AM), and it will send you a push notification that your daily single card reading is available. I use this as a daily point of focus. On the app, you can also select multiple single-card readings with different focuses, or there are several layouts, as well.

Osho has a few other decks (both hard copies and apps), and I have all of them. None live up to the beauty of the art and the simplicity of the concepts in this deck, however. I notice the deck seems to be out of stock everywhere; I hope it hasn't been discontinued. But if it has, the app is still available. You can also do a free daily card draw or spread by visiting the Osho website.  I highly recommend you do. 

Cost: $7.99 (app), about $25 (deck), or free (online)
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars (only because the deck may be out of print)

Funny (but true) story. I was doing a reading for a friend who often has unusual events occur in his life. He randomly drew this deck, and then randomly drew the card The Master. ​While I typically use only a single card as the focus for the reading, occasionally I have the person draw a second card from the same deck for clarification. I asked my friend to draw a second card with the first card still sitting face up on the table where we could both clearly see it. He pulled out another The Master card. What's funny: I've used the deck for years, and it only had one The Master card. Later, I checked the deck again, and it contained only one The Master card. So that's weird, but apparently that day, the deck was sending a very powerful message to my friend.