This was in NEW ITEMS. Verdict? It’s handy, handy, handy to have in the kitchen. Made of cotton and cellulose. They’re like a thin sponge. Absorbent. Reusable. “Ideal replacements for paper towels ” = Eco. We’ve used them for washing dishes, cleaning countertops, wiping cabinets. Large at about 8 inches square but just leave them like that as you can easily fold it up in half or quarters. They seem durable. They come five in a package ($4.99 so figure about a buck apiece, not too bad. Hopefully one will last at least a month or so? We’ll see. I even found another use that these are perfect for: namely using it to open a jar (one on the top and for really tricky jar, another on the bottom.
“Wife Approved” (she gave these a thumbs up. These are good and I would buy again along with TJ’s Amazing Cleaning Cloths which sell for $2.99. Those are also super handy, and when they wear out I used them for rags, floor cleaners, etc.
I loved the idea and the design when I saw this waiting on line at TJ’s to check out. It’s a little tote bag which is a tote bag! It tucks into itself to look like a miniature Trader Joe’s bag. Unzip it and it unfolds into a full size grocery bag made of nylon (strong). Small enough for your purse or pocket. It was $2.99.
Seen at Trader Joe’s NEW ITEMS. “Italian Sparkling Mineral Water” $1.99 (25.3 oz bottle)
Interesting. Compares with to say San Pelligrino? I didn’t try it yet but then I like and drink NYC tap water (well known to be good water!) My wife is the “only bottled water” one.
“Invigorates with Peppermint, Eucalyptus and Tea Tree botanicals”.
With much of the U.S. going through a bad spell of hot weather, especially the South and SouthWest now I am re-posting this as a “public service”. Trader Joe’s TEA TREE TINGLE body wash is a must have for hot weather! If it’s hot where you are you owe it to yourself to get a bottle of this for your shower. I can not begin to tell you how refreshing it feels to scrub your body with this stuff. As soon as you put this on a wash cloth and put in on your skin, you will instantly feel better and 100% more refreshed.
TJ’s Tea Tree Tingle body wash contains tea tree oil, peppermint, eucalyptus, rosemary and other natural essential plant botanicals all of which make for a super refreshing and invigorating wash.
It has a terrific smell and I’ve even found its great to add some when I am washing out my gym clothes. It’s great for getting the smell out of sweaty gym clothes.
Certified Organic. Trader Joe’s sells this for just $3.99 for a nice huge 16 oz bottle. Trust me, you will love this to make yourself feel refreshed during hot weather.
All of Trader Joe’s versions of body butter are good. My wife and I love the smell of their Pumpkin Body Butter which might be seasonal?
However I have to admin that this new one, Trader Joe’s BRAZIL NUT Body Butter, seems even better though than the other one’s. This has the addition of oils from “Bertholetia Excelsa Seeds” (aka Brazil Nuts) plus other ingredients from Brazil, like Acaî and Guarana. When we compared the Pumpkin Butter to this Brazil Nut Butter, this one has a creamier feel. It’s just a dollar more than the pumpkin body butter.
I even read online somewhere that this very reasonable TJ’s product ($6) is being called similar to a crazy expensive brand called Bum Bum Brazilian body creme which is something like 5 times the price of this one… Honestly I wouldn’t know about that, however my wife and I both thought this body butter was very creamy and smooth and it made our skin feel smoother and smelled terrific.
Trader Joe’s BRAZIL NUT BODY BUTTER is $5.99 for 8 oz. TJ’s also has two other related Brazil Nut products, a body wash and a body scrub. My wife and I said we’d buy this again.
“Thick, rich, and smelling of summer, this mega-moisturizer is crafted with an impressive list of ingredients, including coconut oil, shea butter, açai extract, guarana extract, and, of course, bertholletia excelsa seed oil—a.k.a. Brazil nut seed oil.”
NEW ITEM: Trader Joe’s “Cleansing and Conditioning Hair Wash” – “Gentle + Moisturizing. Generally Suitable For all hair types. Detergent & Paraben Free. Non-Foaming. Grapefruit Mint Scent. Reduces tangles, buildup, frizz and dryness. Enhances texture and volume. Reveals soft and shiny hair. Get more days between washes. No conditioner needed”
DIRECTIONS: “Wet hair. Coat all hair with hair wash. Massage in vigorously. Will not foam, and feels more like a conditioner. Rinse very thoroughly. No need to use a conditioner”
So this kind of seems that is is neither a shampoo nor is it exactly a conditioner… its something in between the two, they call “hair wash” and is something that you use between shampoos. My wife says she uses it after washing her hair as a conditioner (?) and she gave this a thumbs up (note, she’s tough to please with hair products). Now most conditioners say something like “leave in for three minutes before rinsing” This stuff doesn’t mention anything like how long to leave it in, therefore I assume that means you can rinse it out right away. No waiting!. This is something men like as we are well known to hate having to wait three torturous minutes for our conditioner to work. All kidding aside, this stuff seems to work, it has a pleasant scent, it has some ingredients that sound good, such as evening primrose, castor seed oil, sunflower oil, aloe leaf, soy, wheat and corn proteins, and flower extracts. I would buy it again but this is kind of unusual so its every man (or woman) for themselves on this “hair wash”. The nice thing is Trader Joe’s will give you a refund if you don’t decide you didn’t like it. How many stores do that?!! It’s $4.99 for the 8 oz tube.
TJ’s sells these bottles of liquid hand soaps in three different scents. This one is “Pink Pomelo Grapefruit” and it has a really nice citrus-y grapefruit smell. They also have a Lemon version, and that one says “Kitchen Hand Soap”. Not clear on why only the Lemon one would be for the kitchen / hands. Looking at the ingredients they seem more or less the same to me. My wife however specifically told me to get the her the Lemon “kitchen” version, for her in the kitchen. In fact, when I bought this Pomelo grapefruit one home for what I thought would be a nice little variety in our kitchen she looked at me like I was crazy and then told gave me a very clear “No Way” to this Grapefruit one for the kitchen. Why? It doesn’t say “Kitchen” on the label and the Lemon one does. I see the grapefruit one says it has Jojoba and Argan oils which I would think would be good for hands, no? The Lemon one doesn’t include these Argan or Jojoba oils, but then what do I know? Anyway all the 3 kinds of TJ’s hand soaps are good, make lots of lather and smell great. These go for $3.99 each for a large pump bottle (17 oz.). I would buy it again.
Trader Joe’s Rants & Raves (mostly raves, a few rants) 
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