**REVIEW** Arm & Hammer Trash and Dumpster Deodorizer

This isn't going to be a lengthy post. It doesn't take a lot of words to tell you that this stuff works. 

pic is clipped from Amazon

That's the Arm & Hammer Trash & Dumpster Deodorizer.

My garbage isn't usually smelly enough that I need to use a deodorizer in the can. However, I have been eating a lot of fruit and drinking dried fruit tea infusions. The waste goes into the trash or down the garbage disposal and it can cause some serious stank.

I got this deodorizer, not really thinking it would work much better than regular baking soda. I was wrong. This works like some kind of trick. Not only does it work, but it works almost instantaneously, and - this is the best part - I only need to use about 1/16 of a teaspoon in my 13-gallon can.

For some reason, my order info shows this product as being "unscented". There is a scent - a light, fresh, "green" scent. I can only smell it when I am sprinkling the product, then it's gone. 

This works so well that I wanted to try it in other ways. Now when I scrub down my sink, I sprinkle just a pinch of this into the disposal when I run it. I also put a bit into the canister of my vacuum cleaner to get rid of the dusty smell it emits when it's running. I put a little into a small mesh bag to hang over the laundry hamper I keep in the bathroom pantry. I could smell the fresh scent of the product for about 2 minutes. 

This would be a good thing to control diaper pail odors. And probably could be handy to use somehow in sickrooms. I'm just saying.

My brother and his neighbor share a dumpster in between their houses so I told him about this. The dumpster doesn't usually smell but this is a just-in-case for the hot and muggy summer days.

I got this 2-pack at Amazon but, since it's an Arm & Hammer product, I'm sure it's available almost anywhere.

Peace

--Free

My New Hobby (Smells Amazing)

 A while back, I started a page listing perfume dupes. I have a favorite place to buy dupes of Not A Perfume, Molecule 02, and Another 13. The more I thought about those, the more I wondered how hard it could be to make my own fragrances. Guess what? It's not difficult and, even better, it's not that expensive.

I started out with using some ingredients to add to my own store-bought or "brand" perfumes. I experimented with adding cetalox and ambroxan to my favorite fragrances. I have some Ana Abeyedh, Sweet Tooth (the original and the Caramel Dream version), Fancy, Fantasy, etc. I even doctored some of the Molecule 03 dupe from Miraclelayer. 

My results were pretty good for being new at this. Since I love the brand fragrances I wear, I really wanted to play with amping up some of the notes I particularly love. Also, I notice that I get better longevity from the doctored scents. A couple of them have gone from having very weak to medium weak lasting power to being almost eternal. 

I didn't intend for this to be a hobby but I love it. Playing around with the different ingredients and blends is something my screwed up brain can handle. I'm not trying to sell this stuff so I don't really bother to keep but the barest notes of my formulas. 

It's been a long time since I have found something I can do without getting all stressed out and frustrated. When I am playing around with doctoring my fragrances, I don't have to worry about being accurate or messing up anything. (I'm not using heat or volatile ingredients, by the way!)

As for supplies, I'm just using amber-colored glass bottles with stoppered drip tips (I already had plenty around), the pestle and mortar I never used much for anything but appearances, and I got some perfumers alcohol - which is really inexpensive.

My ingredients have all come from Perfumer's Apprentice (so far). As I said, I started with cetalox crystals (for an ambery/woody note)  and ambroxan (which has the same notes). Since then, I have added:

• Ethyl Maltol crystals (super sweet-scented & described as "sugary, caramelic")
• Ethyl vanillin (as strong vanilla scent that is supposed to add the middle/heart notes)
• Fixateur 505E (a woody, ambergris scent - can you see a pattern?)
• 5-Methyl-2-Phenyl-2-Hexenal (has cocoa/mocha undertones)
• Iso E Super® (a woody/floral ambergris scent that adds strength to a fragrance)
• Veramoss (the powdery-mossy scent that I adore in a fragrance)

Some of my favorite perfumes of the past several years have been Glossier's You, JHAG's Not A Perfume, and anything that resembles BR540 (something I'm too "BR4" - or Broke For!). When I looking into it, I learned that my fave scents tend to use a lot of cetalox (or actual ambergris which I cannot afford),  Ethyl Maltol, and vanillin. My favorite note of all in a perfume is a cloudy-powdery-papery one. 

By the way, if anyone is looking to make their own dupe of BR540, this is a video that lists a "recipe". I might try that one day.

Once I realized how affordable it is to amp up my existing perfumes and even make my own concoctions, I decided to whip up a few of them to give as gifts this season. I found some beautiful decorative glass bottles on Amazon and I'm going to be gifting them to loved ones. Of course, I had to get a set of small amber bottles to send the perfumes in because the cute bottles are mostly for show.

So I'm thrilled to have a way to amp up my existing perfumes or, eventually, make my own from scratch. Right now, I'm just loving the longevity of the doctored scents. I have some White Diamonds that I never wear because it's just not quite right for me. I mixed it up with some cetalox and ethyl maltol and it is so yummy I can't stand it. Also, I can spray my wrist and throat once on the morning and still catch the scent when I wake up the next day.  (By the way, this is the link to the video of the BR540 recipe someone presented.)

Now I have to go and get some rest. I'm totally wiped of energy this week but I sure do smell good!

Peace

-- Free

No Words Needed

Found this on Drudge and still shaking my head...

It links to 

**REVIEW** A DEEP Dupe for BR540

( First, a disclaimer. I have only ever smelled the original BR540 on a test strip.)

Guys, I have talked about Miraclelayer more than once. I love their Ambergris Musk (a dupe for JHAG's Not A Perfume) and I also love their 13 Aromatics (a dupe for Another 13) just as much - maybe even a little bit more.  (The only one of their dupes I don't like is Aromatic 04 (for Molecule 04) and that's fair because I don't like the original.)

However...

They sent me a sample of their BR540 dupe called Crystal Power in early September and, while I liked it, I wasn't immediately impressed. So I tucked it in my purse and forgot about it until around the first of this month when I was digging around for a lip balm. Well, the maceration was magical.

This is now my favorite dupe. The longevity on me is not as long as I'd like but that's normal for my dry skin so I spray my bra with it. The projection is amazing. I'm pretty sure that this stuff would have had eternal longevity on my 40-year-old skin. Shame. Still, it's so good that I want more.

So this is not going to be a long drawn-out post. All I really want to say is that for the price, I can indulge in this dupe every now and then. I can't even think about buying the original BR540. Even if I could, I would not. I'd rather have groceries and clothing! I wouldn't even want someone to buy it for me as a gift. I'd rather put the money toward a phone or a used car...

For the dupe-searchers who love some BR540, this is another one to take a look at. Also, keep in mind that Miraclelayer has free flat-rate shipping on all orders.

Peace

--Free

DISCLAIMER: In my September 2023 order, Miraclelayer included a free small sample of Crystal Power. I purchased all other items with my own money.

**CROSSPOST** Thinking About the Lord's Prayer

This is a Crosspost from my other blog.

I am trying to pay more attention to things in life because I have tended, in the past, to rush through. I noticed this about myself when I thought about the Lord's Prayer.  I have been saying this prayer (both before and after I accepted Christ) since I was a child.

What I am trying to do now, each time I say the Lord's Prayer, is to be aware of what I am saying. I really want to better apply the words to my life and keep them close to my heart. Here is how I now think of the lines in the prayer:

"Our Father who is in heaven, (Because He is in heaven - not some imposter living here on earth)

Hallowed be Your name. (Do I reverence His name? Do I keep it holy?)

Your kingdom come. (Not "kingdom now" as some people want. I need to be sharing the gospel and spreading the Word so that more people will be ready.)

Your will be done, (Sometimes, I resist this and want what I want instead of wanting what God wills. I need to know that His will will be done - whether I want it or not.)

On earth as it is in heaven. (Again, His will is the final authority. I need to want this for my life.)

Give us this day our daily bread. (Not bread for today and tomorrow - which may not come for me - and not riches and wealth and health abundant. Just my daily needs. He has always been faithful in this. )

And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. (This is the big one for me! I have to remind myself over and over to forgive as I have been forgiven. And I think of the Parable of the Unforgiving Debtor in Matthew 18:21-35.) 

And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen."

I think the main thing for me is to realize that God really is in control - of my waking and breathing and the existence of all of us. We have free will but He is in control.

So, yes, I really do need to be more - what is the trendy word? "mindful"? I need to not take living for granted. 

Peace

--Free

** I am in no way a Bible scholar or expert. This post is just to show my experience as a Christian who is trying to be better today than I was yesterday.