The Perfect Gift for Moms or Moms to Be

Recently, I was introduced to a new subscription service for moms like me...moms who care about being healthy, about the health of their children, about the health and wellbeing of our earth.

That subbie box is Ecocentric Mom.

 

What is Ecocentric?

All Natural Mask with Only ONE Ingredient!

Sometimes when you read through the ingredients list of beauty products, you can feel like you need a PhD in chemistry...trying to figure out all those weird sounding ingredients.

Even with some "Natural" products, it can be tough, because some natural ingredients can have really scientific sounding names.

But with a new mask I just tried out, there's only 1 ingredient, and it's all natural: Moroccan Lava Clay (Argile).

Hot Flashes, Night Sweats & Mood Swings, Oh My! Help!!

**UPDATED...BELOW**
Even though I haven't quite reached my 42 birthday, my hormones have been getting wackier and wackier over the last couple of years. For about 8 months I've been having hot flashes. Not fun, but totally manageable for me. I just grab up whatever's near by and fan myself wildly for the minute or two it occurs, then life goes on.

But...

But!!!

Then I started having night sweats!

VERY not fun.

 

Being awakened several times a night feeling like you are in the pits of Hades simply does not make for a well-rested, happy person come morning!

Hello Internet!

Going Natural For Cheap?! Radha Skincare's WorkHorse Duo of Organic Oils to the Rescue!

As previously mentioned, I'm trying to slowly convert more of my life to natural, organic and sustainable products.

I can't do it all at once, because that would be costly and a bit emotionally painful (goodbye to most of my current makeup!)...but I can do little bits here and there.

 

I recently found a few GREAT products that fit into my plan BEAUTIFULLY.

5 S's for a Successful Shorts Season

Here are 5 S's

to help you have a more successful

Spring & Summer Shorts Season:

 

1.) Shave Cream.

Shorts show skin. Best if it's not hairy skin!

I've tried lots of shaving creams, foams, gels, lotions, etc. We are all different, but I've found that I truly like shave lotions/creams best.

They provide close, comfortable shaves, while moisturizing the skin better than most of the others. I like EOS and Skintimate, but Skintimate edges out EOS thanks to the packaging (EOS, as a pump, will end up leaving you with a lot of cream at the bottom that won't pump out, while Skintimate, being upside-down and a squeeze-type, will completely empty out with no problems).

 

2.) Shaving Razor.

Dove Clinical Deodorant vs. Secret Clinical Deodorant

Here in the Deep South, things are already heating up.

And I sweat like a man.

Yes, yuck.

In the warm months, I switch over to "clinical strength" deodorants.

I compared Secret Clinical and Suave Clinical a while back. You can check that out HERE.

This time around, I wanted to see what the difference might be between Dove Clinical and Secret Clinical.

Every Woman Needs a Great Razor

Spring is here and where I live in the Deep South, we're already in shorts and even bathing suits on some days.

 

It's an unwritten rule that you MUST spare all others from having to look at hairy legs (or any other parts that ought to be shaved). So even though I shave year-round, I tend to shave a lot more as I wear less clothing. That requires a razor.

Garnier Triple Nutrition Dry Oil: Any Good?

A sample was provided by BzzAgent for consideration.

All opinions are 100% honest and my own.

 

Beauty Oils are all the rage.

On your face, on your hair, on your body.

They clean, they moisturize, they treat.

Many are all natural, too.

The BIG thing about them: they are usually multi-taskers.

For example, Josie Maran makes a 100% Argan oil that I really like.

I can use it on my face to hydrate at night.

I can use it on my lips to treat them when they are rough or dry.

I can use it on my hair while wet to seal the cuticle...and sparingly while dry to smooth and add shine.

It's all natural, does a lot & takes up only a little bit of medicine cabinet real estate.

BUT, it's really high-dollar.

When BzzAgent offered me a free bottle of Garnier's Triple Nutrition Miracle Dry Oil, I was ready to see if it would be as good as my Josie Maran for less than a third of the cost.

Carol's Daughter Shea Souffle, Excellent Body Cream

Way back in October of last year, in my Glossybox, I received a nice large pot of Carol's Daughter Coconut Shea Souffle.

 

I'd heard of the brand, which touts its "naturalness". I'd never tried any of their products, though.

Does Shaving Cream Matter? Which One Is Best?

I never thought much about shaving cream until I got a sample of a high-end shave cream in one of my Birchboxes a while back.

 

Honestly, I always bought the cheapest shave cream/gel I could get, sometimes even using men's shaving cream (Barbasol!) because it was so much cheaper. If I could score a sale on "femininely scented" shave cream or gel, all the better. But it really didn't matter much.

Then came my run-in with First Aid Beauty (FAB) Smooth Shave Cream.

 

My first thoughts: "Oh, great. Shave cream. *sigh* Why couldn't they have sent me some makeup instead?"

Dry Summer Skin? True Blue Spa is AWESOME!

I'm at the pool with the kiddos nearly every single day. After all, staying in an RV leaves you with limited options! As I started spending more and more time out in the sun, and in the chlorinated pool, my skin began to dry out. I had been fighting it with my usual skin moisturizer, Victoria's Secret Body Butter. It was doing a decent job, but then I ran out. So, off to The Falls Mall in South Miami. Very pretty mall, by the way. See pic way below.

I decided I wanted a coconutty type smell this time. Victoria's Secret didn't have an intense moisturizer (no body butter) in the Coconut Passion scent I craved, so off to Bath and Body Works.

There, with a friend's help, I discovered the True Blue Spa line.

Don't Sweat It! Clinical Deodorant Showdown (updated!)

It's REALLY hot down here in the Deep South. We're already kickin' mid 90's. Seriously.

Combine that with the fact that I am a natural-born sweaty-girl, and you've got the probability for an unpleasant situation. I decided to try out the new "clinical strength" deodorants to see how they perform.

Now, straight away, I'll tell you that I don't have any special scientific means for gauging their performance. I applied Suave to my left underarm and Secret to my right each day for a week. I'm going by the wet-factor and the sniff-test. I know...I know...you can officially be grossed out now.

Well, if I haven't lost you already, I can assume you're still here because you WANT to know how well these work. So let's get right to the point.

First, let me say that this is subjective. Different people's bodies have different chemistry (I assume), so what works for one person may not work as well for another. That said, I'll tell you how these worked out for ME.

I used Suave Clinical Protection (Powder Fresh scent) and Secret Clinical Strength (Ooh-la-la Lavender scent).

Suave weighs in at 1.7 oz for $4.99 at Drugstore.com

Secret weighs in at 1.6 oz for $7.29 at Drugstore.com

I observed that both of these have the same active ingredient - Aluminum Zirconium Trichlorohydrex GLY - with both having 20% of it. They only differ slightly in the "inactive ingredients". But they do differ. Maybe that's why they differ slightly in performance, too?