Natural Deodorant that actually works!

Natural Deodorant that actually works!

Hey babes,

I know I posted a couple of weeks ago about a new deodorant I've been using. It's 100% natural and has no harmful chemicals oh and it actually works that's the best part!

Many of you may know that curtain hygiene items are harmful for you. This includes many mainstream deodorants! More often than not deodorants contain products like aluminum which can lead to breast cancer. When I found this out it blew my mind. Why would they put harmful chemicals into an everyday hygiene product? Ever since I found that out I've been searching high and low for a natural deodorant that doesn't leave me feeling too much like a free spirited hippie -you catch my drift-

My first stop was Toms. It's a logical option for a beginner, especially because you can find it at your local target, but it was so wet and after a while the stick had a funky smell not to mention I did too after a day at the office. Yes I said office, no strenuous work required, so imagine after a workout sesh  #terrifying. I wasn't about to be known as the smelly girl around the office, so I went back to the drawing board and found a different option from Lush.

Now I love Lush, but I think, no I know I tried EVERY single deodorant they offer. One left my pits black-FYI-ppl get lighting done to lighten their pits and I'm sitting here making this shit darker WTH is that all about? Another one irritated my underarms and none of them lasted all day. Not to mention none of their deodorants are very travel friendly. I bid farewell to that ship and searched on.

I then came across one that Kourtney Kardashian vouch for an all-natural deodorant called LAVANILA “The Healthy Deodorant”. I checked it out on Sephora.com and it seemed legit. It was in stick form too which was a nice bonus. The reviews looked good and if it's good enough for a Kardashian it's good enough for the public right? WRONG, I used this stuff for a while, but it just didn't last all day like I was hoping for.

At this point I thought I'd never find the right natural deodorant for me and I would be forced to go back to my aluminum filled cancer sticks or be forever known as the smelly girl -I'm a bit extra I know- Neither were an option.

Then while scrolling on Instagram I came across Holly's keeping it real deodorant. Frist I took a look at the ingredients and theirs only 4 -Organic coconut oil, arrowroot powder, baking soda, essential oil (based on scent you choose)- Then I looked at the reviews - which are beyond phenomenal btw- I even did my social media deep dive to see what other people outside of her page thought of the product. People love this stuff, but what really sold me- besides the awesome ingredients- was when an Instagramer I follow did a week long challenge using this stuff throughout her workouts and daily life activities, (sorry I don't remember who it was). I immediately ordered it- I mean what did I have to lose? 

So here is the logistics about this awesome deodorant. First off it comes in 3 scents lavender, Grapefruit, and Sweet Orange. I’ve only tried the lavender and to me it smells great. It comes in a glass container-I know what you’re thinking- but it's small and its pretty travel friendly, not to mention it lasts all day, so I don't need to take it with me. Secondly it's in a paste form. Now don't be scared away, you can apply it with your finger tips or a cloth either way works perfectly fine. Lastly since it's in a paste form, the consistency changes from solid to liquid (similar to coconut oil) depending on the temperature of your place. Mine became pretty liquidy one day so I just popped it in the fridge before I went out the door and it was perfect when I came home.

I have to say this deodorant is literally the best natural deodorant I've tried thus far and as you can tell I've tried a lot. The smell is awesome and the ingredients are amazing because they're 100% all natural! 

Say bye bye to your synthetic filled deodorant and hello to an awesome natural option! 

Disclaimer: I was not gifted this product or asked to say anything about it. Like always I purchased this product 100% on my own and these are my honest and genuine opinions!

Bedtime Beauty Tea

Bedtime Beauty Tea

Hey babe,

This week is really flying by. I can't believe it's almost the weekend! I have so much to do on Saturday it's going to be insane if I actually get it all done. I'm sure most of you ladies already know that my wedding is approaching super fast you'd think that after almost 9 years of being together that 8 months to plan a wedding would be enough time, but it's so not.

In these last 3 months before the big day I'm really trying to concentrate on me and getting enough beauty sleep, taking vitamins and supplements, keeping myself active because every bride wants to look her very best when she walks down that aisle to the man of her dreams, but let's get real who can sleep when their planning a wedding and have a full time job?! I know I can't, but this isn't just for brides to be this is for anyone with a hectic life and needs some much needed beauty sleep- literally and figuratively.

I have come up with a bedtime beauty tea that has been doing wonders for me - I obviously couldn't hold out on you guys any longer!

Every night I've been boiling up a cup of water for my lavender tea. Now lavender in general is known to be a relaxing herb. I like to use it in it's essential oil form when I'm feeling stressed so why not drink it in my time of need- right? I leave the jasmine tea bag in the water to seep and I mix in a teaspoon of sun potions He Shou Wu. I already raved about this stuff in my last post, so If you want to read all about the benefits check out my beauty smoothie post. - I told you I'm really into beauty these days :-p

I promise you I've never slept so good nor have I feel asleep faster then when I drink this tea. Not to mention I was having a few stress breakouts and when I woke up the morning after I drank this tea my breakouts looks so much better. Of course results will vary for everyone and I'm not saying that this is a magical beauty tea, but it works for me and as a bride to be I'm loving every drop of it!

Hot water+Jasmine tea+1 teaspoon of He Shou Wu= Bedtime Beauty Tea

Give it a try for a week and let me know how you like it!

Beauty Smoothie

Beauty Smoothie with He Shou Wu

Hey babes,

I've been whipping up so many different smoothies for the past 5 years so I'd say I'm somewhat of a smoothie connoisseur. I've tried all types of mylks, juices even waters to get the perfect base. I've obsessed over frozen fruit to liquid ratios to get that awesome ice cream like consistency. I've also played around with proteins and supplements to create filling and beneficial smoothies that are actually enjoyable.

My new favorite smoothie to make I've dubbed the "Beauty Smoothie". I call it the beauty smoothie because first of all it's such a beautiful pink color, but also because it has He Shou Wu in it. I'll get into details about this supplement later, but it's kind of a biotin, only WAY better. For those of you that don't know what biotin is, it's taken for your hair, skin and nails aka beauty. 

I heard about He Shou Wu while doing my research on the brand Sun Potion. Which I heard about through Jeannette aka Shut the Kale up. I was in the market for a new biotin supplement and when I found this one it seemed perfect. It claims to help promote collagen, stop premature grays, that alone sold me on this product, but I dug deeper and found out that He Shou Wu is a Superior Blood and Longevity Tonic. WHAT?! yes please, and as claimed on the sun potion website it has a history of use as a longevity, anti-aging, blood-building, beauty, & rejuvenation food. Regular consumption of this herb may do the following:

• tonify and nourish the blood, hair, skin, nervous system, sexual center, shen (Spirit), and Jing (primary essence/life force)may help reduce cholesterol
• a tonic for the endocrine glands
• may help improve stamina 
• good for resistance to cold
• promotes red blood cells
• enhances immune function
• increases antioxidant activity 

Yes, Yes and Yes I'm all about all of those things who wouldn't be?? 

Once it came in I wanted to start experimenting with it and what better way to do that then whipping up a smoothie aka the Beauty Smoothie. I choose raspberries for this smoothie bc they have so many health benefited including Healthy Tissues and Blood Vessels: Raspberries are full of Vitamin C which helps repair skin tissues and aids in cell regeneration of the skin, bones, ligaments and blood vessels. They also help  aid in weight loss, Raspberry is low in fat and high in fiber, so they’ll fill you up without weighing you down with extra calories. They’re also full of water and potassium which will stave off dehydration and all the unpleasant side-effects that accompany it. 

I chose to use bananas in this smoothie too because not only do they give that perfect creamy consistency, but Bananas Contain Powerful Antioxidants which is perfect for any beauty regimen. 

 Recipe :
1 sliced up frozen banana
1/2 of frozen raspberries
1 cup of cashew milk
1 teaspoon of He Shou Wu

 Directions :
Place everything into your Vitamix / blender and MIX MIX MIX
Until you see that everything is well combined. you know you have the perfect smoothie when you have a pretty four corner design that stay there even when the blender is turned off. 

Get your Fo-cation on!

Hello my loves, how's your winter treating you? I know I for one wish I could jet out to the Bahamas for a few days to escape this winter weather. The worst part is everyone I know is jetting off to Hawaii or Punta Cana even Bora Bora to holiday while I'm stuck in NY freezing my you know what off. 

Are you in the same boat? If you answered YES! Then I have the perfect remedy for you and I call it a fo-cation.   Here are a few things you can use to pamper yourself to give you that, "I went on vacation glow".

Hydrate your under eyes. This is a quick and easy way to make you look and feel more awake! Apply any eye patch, my favorite are gel eye patches, and leave them on the the recommended time. 

Pamper your paws! Fist exfoliate them, I really enjoy sea salt by lush cosmetics. Once you've done that use a hand mask to soften your winter skin. The one I'm loving late like is golden handshake by lush. Follow the directions on the packaging and watch the texture of your skin transform.

Next up add some color to your life! I know I'm NY winter is all about dark nails, but we're on a fo-cation remember? Give your nails a bright color like these pretty shimmering shade of blue from Essie.

Now get some rest! What does everyone do on vacation? They relax, so close the blinds or put on an eye mask and get some shut eye even if it's for 15 mins. As long as you wake up naturally I promise you'll feel more energized and ready to take on anything.

Once you wake up lather your dry winter skin with an illuminating lotion. My favorite is the Iuminizing body lotion by Jouer Cosmetics. It will brighten up your skin and give you that sun kissed glow!

Follow these steps to an instant fo-cation. I mean they always say fake it till you make it right? So go on a mini fo-cations once a month or once a week. Make people wonder why you're always wearing that vacation glow!

Tony Moly Product Review

TONY MOLY PRODUCT REVIEW

Hey loves, I hope your new year is going well! Mines been good so far, but the stress level has kicked up 10 notches just thinking that I have less then 6months to go before the big day. I can definitely tell my body is reacting to it through my face, so I've been on a skincare kick lately.

I didn't include tony moly products in my favorites because I received them as a gift from my fiancé this past Christmas, he knows me all too well. Since they were new to me I couldn't add them in, but they're quickly becoming one of my beauty favorites. 

I've only played around with the masks from their line so far, but I can really see a difference in my skin. My favorite part is that I can actual feel them working when I have them on. Some sheet masks you put on and you don't feel anything happening. That's not the case with the tony moly masks. You put them on and you feel your whole face tingle. I personally like that because I feel like it's working and actually doing something. 

The first item that I tried was the wine face mask. It's supposed to help with enlarged pores. Now I don't really have big pores, but when I put this mask on it was tingling and I felt like it was working. I left it on for the recommended 20mins and when I took it off I felt like my face looked "cleaner". What I mean by that is it seemed to have minimized the look of the pores around my nose and my overall face looked brighter. I should also note that the mask had a grape smell too it which I didn't mind I thought it was a cute touch. 

Up next was the under eye patches and let me start out with saying that I'm obsessed with under eye patches. I love how they cool your under eye area and give you the appearance of looking more awake. Once I opened up the packet I was immediately excited because they're gel patches. For those of you new to the sheet mask/ skincare world there are two types of masks. First you have the cloth like sheet mask which are good, but my absolute favorite are the gel masks I love how they feel on the skin so silky and luxurious. Okay getting back to the eye patches. I put them on and left them on for the recommended time. Once I took them off, my under eyes felt very hydrated and looked brighter. This was a huge plus for me because I was feeling a bit under the weather when I tried this product out and my skin needed the extra hydration especially with this cold New York weather. 

The last product I tried out from them line was the nose strips. Let's get real we all have have blackheads on our noses who doesn't? I know that I have a few that no matter what I do they will not budge. That's why when I saw his 3 step nose strip mask set I knew I had to give it a go. First off you have to prep your face. I cleansed it usually combo, but stopped there. I didn't add any toner, oil or cream to my face. You apply step one and leave it on for 15-20mins this is just a regular sheet nose mask. I didn't feel my nose start to tingle and it had a pleasant berry smell to it. The next step was my favorite, the nose strip! So you wet your nose similar to the Biore nose strips. You apply it to wet skin and let it sit. Now I haven't used a nose strip in a while, but this strip seemed to be much stickier and had stronger grip. I left it on passed the recommended time because I felt like it wasn't dry enough yet. Once I felt like it was completely dry I ripped it off from the corners and it definitely took it a ton of blackheads on the sides of my nose and a couple in the center, but didn't put a dent in the ones that always bother me. Now after this step my nose felt very raw and dry, so I was happy that theirs was a step 3. I was even more excited that it was a gel nose mask. Once I applied it to my nose I felt instant relief from the dryness. It immediately added moisture back into that area and helped close up the pores that the strip opened up. 

Now while I had a decent experience with this mask it's not something that I would do all the time. When using nose strips your opening up pores on your nose and leaving your skin susceptible to more blackheads. If you have bad blackheads on your nose that will not budge give this a try, but don't overdo it.