Nix the Stink, and Cancer Causing Toxins: DIY Organic Room FresheningSpray!

Who doesn't like coming home to a fresh, aromatic smelling home?  Or a little spritz in the bathroom after, you know... 

Anyone who knows me personally can attest to my love for anything and everything that smells delicious.  To be honest, I am a reformed room fragrance JUNKY. However with more and more studies showing the horrific ingredients and their effects on the health of you and your loved ones, it's a good choice to give up the goods.  

Read this write up at: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/exposed-cancer-causing-toxins-found-in-air-fresheners.html .  If, like me you feel disgusted by the history of your own inhalation of these products, but really hate the idea of no home fragrance, mix up one of the recipies below, and create your own organic aromatherapy sprays!  

Head to the dollar store, grab a few spritz bottles, and get mixing!


Ingredients:

Yield:1Cup Units: US | Metric

Basic
1 cup distilled water
8 -10 drops essential oils, of your choice

Deodorizing Room Spray
6 drops bergamot essential oils
1 drop eucalyptus essential oil
2 drops lemon essential oils

Pet Deodorizing Room Spray
6 drops cedarwood essential oils
3 drops tea tree oil

Apple Pie Spice Room Air Freshner
6 drops cinnamon essential oils
3 drops clove essential oils

Orange Spice Room Air Freshner
5 drops orange essential oils
2 drops cinnamon essential oils

Mood Lifter Air Freshner Spray
4 drops chamomile essential oils
3 drops orange essential oils
2 drops ylang ylang essential oils

Stress Reliever Air Freshner Spray
4 drops lavender oil
3 drops rose essential oils
2 drops clary sage essential oils (optional)

Sleepy-Hour Relaxation Air Freshner Spray
4 drops lavender oil
3 drops chamomile essential oils

Directions:
1 Basic: Pour the cup of distilled water into the spray bottle.
2 Add the drops of essential oils and shake very well.
3 Cap the bottle, and allow to sit for a few hours before using.
4 Shake the bottle before each use to evenly distribute the scented oil throughout the water.
5 Use the label to describe what sort of air freshener each bottle is.
6 And be sure to use the fine mist setting on your bottle, so the spray will be distributed nicely in the air.


Happy spritzing!

Read more on this recipe at: http://www.food.com/recipe/essential-oil-room-air-freshener-spray-recipe-92820?oc=linkback

Baby Bunting

So, a lot has happened since my last post.  We moved into a new house for our growing family, I was whisked away to London, England for an amazing 5 star week in w1, had a fairy tale proposal from my prince charming at Stonehenge (of course I said yes), and I had a baby.  Yes, the last few months have been a thrill of a ride.

We welcomed our new addition, Lina, on August 22nd.  I had been labouring for days, and finally she came at 4:52 pm that perfect August evening.  I persevered through it 100% natural, no ANYTHING to help save some massage techniques, tranquil music and the crushing of my fiance's hand.  I will post my birth story later.

Anyway, I have A LOT to write about, new loves, dislikes, postpartum shopping sprees, and parenting highs and lows.  Look for new posts this week on: eco-conscious cleaning, make-up reviews, cloth diaper reviews, and a look at some of my postpartum splurges to accommodate my poor body in that awkward phase of getting back to normal.

xo

DIY Complexion: Magic Eraser! Brightening, Skin Lightening Miracle!

Hey Guys!

It has been a while since I've had any time to post, but I promise to make it up to you with a segment of posts focusing  on....natural DIY at home beauty 'potions' (everything from Vit-C Serum, to non-toxic sunscreen crafted by your very own hands!).

If you are looking for a brighter, clear complexion with visibly reduced freckles/acne scars/age spots then these recipes are for you! Be fore warned though, due to the eraser effect on surface marks, it will also lighten and brighten your skin tone...if your faux baked in complexion is something you pride, this WILL fade it.  Take that as a sign to cut the damage at lease to your face, get it glowing naturally with these masks, and if anything, apply a good self-tanner instead (I have a review a few posts below) and feel confident in skipping foundation for an even complexion.

Below are the first recipes of this series of posts.  They are both simple, natural, and made with things most of you will already have in your kitchens.

HONEY, SUGAR + LEMON
This recipe is a completely toning/ resurfacing exfoliant mask.  Due to the acidity of the lemon, I wouldn't do it more than 2x per week, especially if you have sensitive skin.  The honey and lemon are natural lighteners, and the honey addition calms down the sting of the lemon juice on your pores.  This is sticky! Please put your hair back with a hairband to keep stray strands from sticking to your face.  Wash away to reveal a yummy face!
In a small bowl mix:

2 tsp honey (preferably organic for all ingredients)
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp sugar

Stir the first two ingredients until a thorough viscosity throughout. In the palm of your hand, or in a separate dish, mix the sugar and just enough of the liquid mixture to create a scrub paste, and work that into cleansed skin in circular motions for about 1 minute to slough off dead skin cells.  With out rinsing, apply the remaining liquid mixture to your face, again in circular motions until the sugar has been refined and you feel you have good coverage.  Let the mask sit for 10-15 mins, and rinse off using luke warm water.  Pat dry and apply a moisturizer.  Use this mask weekly to reveal a brighter, 'spotless' complexion!

HONEY+MILK 
This recipe is a toning/brightening mask that you can use any day of the week.  It is not as astringent on the pores and a great moisturizer.  The natural enzymes in the milk and honey work wonders for your skin, you can also make a larger batch and add it to bath water for an all over body treat! This will also help to fade freckles and lighten and brighten your skin.






In a small bowl mix:

2 oz milk
2 tablespoons honey (again, preferably organic for all ingredients)

Mix these ingredients by gradually adding the milk to the honey.  You want to get a 'honey cream' colour, and thicker viscoscity.  You may not need to add all of the milk. Apply to a cleansed face in circular motions until well saturated.  Leave this mask on for 15 mins, and rinse off with luke warm water, pat dry, and apply a light moisturizer.  You will be left with glowing skin, that gets better every time you use this remedy!

When Good Hair Goes Bad: Lemon + Conditioner, A Recipe to Save Disaster!!!

Have you tried to make a colour change at home, and ended up with a ghastly cast on your hair? Think you need to bleach, colour remove or throw more colour on top to fix your flaw? Think again, and try this natural remedy with stuff you can find in your fridge and shower!

My account:

I thought it would be a FABULOUS idea to tone down my obvious blonde to a more subtle, natural colour at home, on my own...with boxed dye. This will come as absolutely no surprise to anyone that knows me.  After the recommended 10 minutes, my beautiful vision washed away in the bathroom sink to reveal a terrible grey cast on my once goldie locks.  With a trip to London, England on the horizon, and frazzled elderly hair on my head, I quickly sought the advice of search engines for a recommendation on something I could do to reverse this catastrophe.

  It was on this search I came across missmassacre . net 's experience on YouTube with blonde-gone grey locks, and the results she got with using this handcrafted remedy.  I was amazed at the results, and couldn't believe that in my 10+ years of tormenting my hair I had never heard of or tried this recipe to fix disaster.  

Before-GREY!

After-Honey Blonde! :D

This can be used to remove/tone down at home mishaps on any hair colour from haywire blonde, to sharpie marker black.  It is not recommended to remove red hues however.

Lemon + Conditioner: A Recipe for Disasters!

3/4 cup lemon juice

1/4 cup conditioner (I used Aussie Moisture Repair, but anyone will do)

Mix the ingredients until well blended and SATURATE dry, freshly erred locks (mine had been dyed about 9 hours prior) with the mixture. Leave on hair 30 mins-1 hour (I left mine on for 2 hours).  Rinse hair and follow up with a conditioning treatment if desired (I used an Argan deep conditioner).

The colour should be lifted or toned down to a much more appealing hue.  My hair was left the colour I had wanted to end up with in the first place!  A golden/honey blonde as opposed to light bulb bleach, then grey.  It was also was left in much better condition.

  If you have ended up with that obvious fake black hue, and wish to not have such a harsh, 'I just coloured my hair with a permanent marker to cut down on cost' look, this will remove that hard black and leave you with a more natural raven appearance

Strike Gold! Bath and Body Works, True Blue Spa: Bronzing Self-Tanning Lotion

I had certainly never considered Bath and Body Works when it came to sun care, and when my eyes grazed over the tube of True Blue Spa: Bronzing Self-Tanning Lotion in Strike Gold ($16.00 CDN in store), I had to add it to my itinerary for the day.  I have never been a fan of self-tanning...I have always found it a smelly, orange catastrophe.  I can't stand the 'tanning' smell after effect that every other product I have tried left on my skin, and the orange/streaky cast that I had reminiscent of a certain "guidette" as a result.  In the past, I had no quarrels with hopping into a tanning bed...beat me over the head a million times with the health concerns, vanity and quick satisfaction always won in the past.  Alas, my developing second child held me back from that impulse, and the thought of going all summer pale and potbellied led to my purchase.

I tested out a small area on my hand, to test the consistency, and smell of course. The lotion is more of a gel, dark brown in colour with tiny gold flecks through out.  It has a light beachy scent to it, and blends incredibly well upon proper application.  It leaves an instant sheer glow so you can see where you're applying, and the maximum colour level develops by 4 hours. The lotion left absolutely NO streaks, and NO tanning smell!  I can apply it in the morning and head out for the day with no worries.  It gave me a beautiful, natural bronze; no orange streaky mess.  It is buildable, I applied it 2 days back to back and got the level of colour I wanted....not Jersey Shore dark, but a nice tone of olive bronze.  I'm sure if you were to consistently apply after showering for a week you'd have a deep, dark colour.  I will continue to use this product in lieu of sun beds in the future, the thought of approaching my 30's with terribly aged skin doesn't sit to well with me.

As with any self-tanner, or tanning in general, please be sure to apply to exfoliated skin post shower, and use a moisturiser.  I am loyal to The Body Shop's Body Butter 98% of the time, but use what ever works best for your skin and preference to maintain and develop a canvas to envy.

I also nabbed these candles on a BOGO deal for our new home to give it an alluring beach scented atmosphere.

The nesting phase of pregnancy + preparing to settle into a new environment= I should probably hide my wallet.