Oils, Oils, Oils (for skincare)

I'm baaaack!! Vacay was wonderful. I got to spend lots of time with my brothers and sister and nieces and nephews and my crazy-beautiful-sweet sis-in-laws. I swear, I would just look around every now and think, not just what a great bunch of folk I'm related to, but also how hot they all are. Dang! One s-i-l hit a birthday (and it's not her 30th) and she holds down nursing school, fixing meals for the kids, keeping a great-looking house, and going to the gym. And the heffa still looks as good as she did when I met her many, many, many (hahaha) years ago.

Anyway, I didn't shop like a maniac. I did shop wisely. I hit all the local bargain spots and scored a handful of makeup, some boots and.... some oils. Let's talk about these oils.

Here are the ones I picked up at T.J. Maxx and Marshall's:

• Grape Seed (and please don't ask me about that stuff in the sidebars!)
• Sesame
• Sweet Almond
• Avocado
• Marula
• Sweet Orange

My 2 favorites are the Marula (because it made my skin feel amazing) and the Sweet Orange (love the scent!), but those are also the ones I've been using daily. By the way, while the 1 fluid ounce bottles for most ran at $3.99, the Marula was $9.99.

Because I know that for myself and lots of other folk, it's important to know have some info on where our products come from, I did a tiny bit of checking on these oils. Also, I know that quality of oils might vary depending on how they are produced and by which brand. If any of you have more info about these brands, do let me know. For now, I will share what I have so far:

Except for the Marula and Sweet Orange, these oils are from the Little Oil Shoppe (a trademark of Jocott Brands). They are labeled as being "100% pure and chemical-free". I did find that one site gave Jocott a low score when the brand was reviewed. I won't link that here because, while the site was clear on what each rating stood for, it was not clear on why it issued the scores to the brand. 

As far as how the products I bought were labeled, I liked that statements were clear and uncluttered. Each of the items I purchased have one ingredient listed - which lines up with the 100% pure statement. Directions for use are just as clear. There are symbols showing the oils as "not tested on animals" and another symbol I had to look up. That turned out to be the "PAO" symbol, indicating  lifetime of a product after opening. Live and learn, right?

now you know

The labels for the Little Oil Shoppe oils show a PAO of 24 months. 

The front of Marula oil bottle itself is labeled as Sonoma Naturals. Closer inspection of the bottle and the box packaging shows that Dermapeutics is the producer. (Love the oil but that name seems just made up to lure in the hopeful-wishful among us who are obsessive about our skincare!)

Marula

Silly name, IMO

I mentioned that the Marula oil is one of my faves. This is because, after the first 2 days I used it, one of my relatives mentioned how soft my skin was after they kissed my cheek. They didn't just say my skin was soft, they went on and on about it. (It's not like I had hard skin before! Really.) I had noticed a fresher kind of softness myself, but hearing it from someone else is always nice. 

Let me mention now that the Marula oil I bought is actually labeled as "Marula Anti-Oxidant Facial Treatment Serum". 

"Omega rich" caught my eye.

Notice that Marula is not the only ingredient (but it is listed first) 

I'm still learning about oils and how to best use them internally and externally. The ones I've talked about here are, of course, those that I use in my beauty care regimen. I'm looking into some other oils to try for this and for my hair care and body health. I am pretty ignorant of different uses for oils and only just now learned (thanks, Adrienne!) that not every fragrant oil is an "essential" oil. I learned some other stuff too, but I'm still learning more.

If you are like me and enjoy scanning random information, here are a couple places to check out when it comes to oils and their uses.

• I like this site especially
• A directory of essential oils
• Making your own perfume oil
• One place for wholesale oils
• Info from Rocky Mountain Oils
• Plantlife Natural Body Care is another resource
• Some home cleaning and body care recipes
• Mountain Rose is a very popular site
• WebMD on aromatherapy

I really encourage you to be careful when dealing with essential oils for various uses. This goes for when dealing with anything you are knew at are in general ignorance of. I have a close personal friend who is no dummy. She is into all things natural and healthy, and even she had a close call recently. She was taking oregano and learned firsthand that taking too much can stop your breathing! So... careful, careful, careful.

As for finding these oils at a good price (and quality), I am going to be checking lots of different sites and doing some research. My local health food store is reputable but can be very pricey. Still, I wanted to share this info with you guys and stir up some interest. (I sure wish I had been using all these oils and potions about 25 years ago!)

Anyway... Now that I am back from the vacay, I am catching up on reviewed products. This is what I came home to:

TONS of stuff... ~sigh~

And more is coming every day. That's the beauty of Tomoson - which I will be doing another little review of soon.

Peace
--Free

P.S.:
If you are interested, here is more info on cosmetic labeling:
http://www.fda.gov/Cosmetics/Labeling/Regulations/ucm126444.htm

Also, be sure to check out this wonderful posting here: http://wholenewmom.com/health-concerns/essential-oils/. Matter of fact, the entire Whole New Mom site looks interesting.

L'Oreal Is Looking For... YOU!

Just got an interesting letter from L'Oreal. Remember back when I scored this wonderful Thank You box full of goodies from them?

Yep.

I joined their consumer panel because I like the idea of letting brands know my preferences and opinions on products. Brands like that because, well, they want to market what will sell to their customers. Or that's my take on it.

L'Oreal's consumer testing site is where I go to apply via survey for the chance to test out various products: hair care, makeup, skin care, etc. Believe it or not, I received my Thank You box even though I have never been selected to test a product for them.

The other day, I got an email from them showing interest in attracting more consumers to the panel - especially consumers of color.

Wow.

How long have I been griping about not being able to find enough quality beauty and hair care products in the right shade or for the texture of my hair? I'm really glad that brands are taking notice of the diversity among all women. Even Caucasian women will tell you that it's often hard to find a flattering shade of makeup for their skin tone. None of us women, no matter our race or ethnicity, are dolls with a set skin color or tone, right? We are various shade of peach and pale, umber, amber, ebony, ivory... ~cue a song here~

Anyway.

This is the letter I got from them (minus some of my personal information):

Dear TRUDY,

Thank you for being a valuable part of our L'Oreal USA's Consumer Participation Program. We hope you are enjoying your experience.

If you have not had the opportunity to qualify for one of our studies, please don’t give up! Remember to log on often as we update our studies on a daily basis. Many of our studies have specific qualifying attributes to ensure that we produce the best skincare/hair care and cosmetics worldwide.

We are hoping you can help with referrals.....L'Oreal USA's Consumer Program is looking to grow our database for "WOMEN OF COLOR" to participate in studies.

If you know of anyone who is not in our database and would like to join our program who are African American, Afro Caribbean, or Hispanic/Latino, please forward the email for them to join by clicking on the link below to complete our "JOIN NOW" survey.

https://consumertesting.lorealusa.com/survey87.asp

To all NEW panelists joining our program: Once you click on the link below and join, please allow 2 - 3 days to receive a "Welcome" letter with your Panelist ID and Password to log on to our website to view available study opportunities.

We look forward to your participation.

If you have any questions, please contact our toll free number 1-888-866-4953 or e-mail us a consumertesting@rd.us.loreal.com and someone will respond to your questions or concerns.

Regards,

L'Oreal USA-Sensorial Testing
Terminal Avenue
Clark, New Jersey 07066

Nice, huh?

So, ladies - if you are interested, get over there and get signed up. Tell your friends about the opportunity.

Peace
--Free

**REVIEW** Ultimate Travel Pillow

Ha! This travel pillow from AirComfy Travel is NICE. I get exactly why they call it "The Ultimate" Travel Pillow.

Since it arrived while I was out of town, I didn't get to test it on my plane trip. No worries, though. I put it to the next best use I could: I took a nap with it while waiting for my sister to get out of clinic. I'll be using it for that more than I will for plane travel anyway. Was it comfy? Um... yeah! I fell asleep, sitting straight up in the passenger seat for about 35 minutes. Woke up to find the cute tech guy smiling at me. (All I could think was, "Please, God, don't let me have been looking haggard!")

Comes in this handy carry bag with clip-hook

Here's what I like about this pillow over the other travel pillows I've seen:

• It's not just for travel. You can use it just about anywhere. It can also be used for back support (think: office chairs for 8+ hours a day) 
• Deflates for storage. No heavy bulkiness. So easily portable for stashing at the office, in your car or for carrying onto the plane or car ride. 
• Comes with a carry case that clips onto your bag, backpack, etc.
• Self inflates (though you can breathe more air via the tube for extra-firmness).
• Easy cleaning (by wiping with a cloth).
• So comfortable and has just enough "squish" to it even when firmly inflated.

Funny "me" note: When it's inflated, it reminds me of an eye mask! 

Out of the case...

expanding... expanding

Beautiful!

The strap to secure to seats if wanted

Little air tube to inflate and adjust firmness

This is probably the easiest review I've ever done. The Ultimate Travel Pillow is not just for "travel" (as in planes), but is great for my car naps (while parked, guys, not driving), and the times when I'm going to be sitting in a clinic for hours. My sister has already agreed to take it to dialysis with her to see if it makes her time in the chair more comfortable. (She's heard my car-napping story, so she probably just wants to have my pillow.)

It's just such a cute, handy little pillow that I fell in love with it during my nap. Since I wanted to test it in every way I could, I sat in different types of chairs (car and waiting room). The waiting room chairs had lower head rests, so I used the pillow's strap to anchor it, then just leaned back and prayed that another cute guy didn't wander by to see me looking like I'd passed out. By the way, I'm not recommending that anyone slack off at work, but... This would be a great "nap time" pillow for the break room. Don't blame me if you get busted sleeping on the job! (Should I even mention that I also tried resting my head on this pillow by leaning it against the bedroom wall while I watched TV? Still comfy...)

Like I said, this is a easy review. If I could, I'd just tell you how comfy, cute and convenient this pillow is in ten languages.  Those are the best three words to describe this: Comfy, Cute, Convenient. 

I don't think you will need to use this, but there is a 100% money-back guarantee. 

Peace

--Free

DISCLOSURE:

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Tales from the (End of) the Vacay

What happens when you take grown siblings and throw them together for a few weeks? And throw in kids and friends and a little bit of holiday time?

• You act like you're teenagers again, not middle-aged 
• You will have so much fun that you kind of forget that you aren't still teenagers
• You don't even want to act like adults because, well, that's no fun
• You will argue a little, fuss a little and gossip a little
• You will laugh and tease and giggle a lot
• You will kid your sis-in-law about the Rock (private joke there!) and she will never get the beauty of your love for Keanu or Kevin Spacey, but you will love her anyway (the poor, sad, deluded woman...)
• Some nights you'll sit up until dawn because you don't want to miss a minute
• Some of you will drink too much, eat too much, say too much
• You will wander a strange city in a borrowed or rented vehicle (Okay, that was just me!)
• Their will be some tears as you remember the loved ones who aren't still here
• Their will be lots of smiles and great memories of those loved ones
• You will marvel over the fact that the kids you saw "not that long ago" are driving, wearing makeup, dating, graduating high school, going to college, falling in love, dealing with heartbreaks, heading into adulthood and not being the "little kids" they were a minute ago.
• In the middle of all the togetherness, there will be some stress, crankiness, pettiness, and love. There will be lots of love.
• Your crops on Farmville will be neglected (Okay, again, that was just me)
• You will hope that your mother and father can see from Heaven what a wonder they have left behind in their kids who are still brothers and sisters.
• You will be thankful for the storms and trials that your hearts and bodies have made it through and you will know that it was love that brought you here.
• You will learn all over again that these people are people you want to smack, slap, yell at and judge - but are the same people you'd die for, kill for, and reach up and pull down stars from the sky for.

I know how lucky I am, how blessed and favored by God. I have people in this big and sometimes cold and frightening world who love me. I am never going to be alone, forgotten, forsaken, unprotected or unattached. Not as long as I have this big, crazy, dysfunctional, beautiful, amazing family of mine. And they are mine forever, God help me!

Peace

--Free

P.S.: Chubby, we love you and we wish you had been here with us. I think that maybe you were.

Tales from the Vacay

Last night was the first night that (almost) all of us were under one roof for the evening. It was madness. And I loved it.

We are almost all together. Repping Alaska, Colorado, Texas, Maryland, California, and our host city of Arizona.

Sisters....
the one on the left wants to be
an astronaut. One of the right is just
spacey! LOL

Repping the AZ

She's going to kill me for this one!

DJ went wandering the halls
when he got bored with adults

He found the laundry room
but couldn't escape!

2 brothers, 1 sister, a sis-in-law and a niece
#Ohana

Nephews and girlfriends
and video games

Hope they aren't talking bizness
#realtors & #brokers

 Tonight is the biggie. I missed the morning's Turkey Bowl games (I mean, 7 in the morning! Really?)

Our last bit of family made it in at noon and midnight. We are now complete (except for the couple of us that couldn't get away from work and school... :-(

Let the Thanksgiving pre-fam events begin.

Peace
--Free

Vacay Stories 1

When my sister and I landed and were still sitting on the plane at Sky Harbor, first thing I saw when I turned my phone back on was a text from my niece: "I'm here! Made it to the airport by myself without getting lost!"  (She is here as a visitor too.)

I texted back that she'd have a little bit of a wait. As a wheelchair passenger, my sister boards ahead of everyone else but has to departs the plane last. When we finally got off the plane and were assisted to the gate, we are both anxiously looking for our niece. I don't see the my niece but I see the bright green shirt of her son - the infamous "baby" D.J.

The "boys" still can't get over how big DJ is

Yes, he getting big, and he is bigger than most about-to-be 3 year olds!

If D.J. is there, my niece must be nearby, but instead, I see one of my big brothers. Then I see another of my big brothers. YAY!!! Finally, I see my niece. We all run and do the hug-hug, love you-love you thing.

I tell my niece what a nice surprise - making us think she had come alone when she brought the boys too. She smiles but kind of rolls her eyes. I get the full story on that later from my other niece:

When my niece, C.C., said she would be picking us up at the airport, the boys told her they were going to the airport instead. (C.C. had just traveled ahead of us a week earlier. The boys haven't seen us in a while.)  C.C. insisted. The boys said nothing else. The day of our pick-up, the boys took off work, went to breakfast together, then showed up at the airport a whole hour early. Just to be the first ones there!

C.C. was outdone, but we all are still laughing at her.

It's been a good time so far.

D.J. has discovered that one auntie has a piano

He knows how to flex his fingers before "playing"

And their dog, who is skittish around him (unless D.J. has food)

Most of us are mid-age adults (who regress about 20 years in maturity when we get together)

Family. I don't always like them, but I love them all to pieces.

Peace
--Free

(I wish I could fix the photo layout, but... I'm on vacation)

**REVIEW** Power Bank Charger (for cellphones)

I'm going on a short trip soon and, as always, I worry about my phone dying while I'm in flight. Last time I travelled, I was using a mobile boarding app and I didn't notice that my battery was going low until I was in line for the boarding call. I ended up trying to hook up to an outlet for a quick five-minute charge before I had to leave the gate. Stressful.

I'm extremely forgetful and anxious, so I keep all kinds of apps on my phone: lists, notes, reminders, alarms, etc. And I have to check on these all the time. My phone battery hates me. I'm sure it does. I have chargers all over my car and the house. Some people walk into places looking for a good seat or the best view. I could walk into a bank in the middle of a robbery and I'd still be looking for the nearest electrical outlet.

So... When I saw this, I could only think of how perfect it is for anyone who is always running down their phone battery. In other words: me.

Instructions could be better (not everyone has used one of these before! lol), but I really like it. Today was my first use. It was showing a partial charge when I got it & did not take very long at all to charge to 100%. REALLY love that I can press the power button to check how much juice is left. When I hooked it up to my phone to charge it, that process was faster even than charging the Power Bank. This is going to come in handy for when I am travelling b/c I hate worrying about my phone dying while I'm in flight or standing in line to board. I got the red color & it's nice-looking, tho somewhat larger in size than what I expected

Still... purse/pocket sized

UPDATE:  Well, I go to really put this to the test on our way here to AZ. The charger worked great! Not only did I use it for my cell phone, I also used it to keep my tablet in use. It didn't fill my tablet's charge, but it still kept it going for a good 20 minutes. It might have gone longer, but I had to disconnect to board another flight.

Also, just because I was curious to know if it's possible, I learned that I can charge the charger by usb to my laptop. This was not recommended by the label, but... Now I know.

Peace
--Free

Why Leave NOW???

I'm getting packed for the sibling reunion in AZ & when I looked outside a couple hours ago, this is what I saw:

That's not ice rain or melting snow. That right there is a summer kind of rain shower...

 When I got up this morning, it was because it was too hot to sleep. I was throwing the window up and angling the fan right at my spot in the bed.... It's NOVEMBER. Seriously, Nature?

I'm not complaining. There are so many things I dislike about winter:

1. Cold weather
2. Snow
3. Ice
4. Crazy, reckless drivers
5. Cold weather
6. Snow...

I put the cold weather and snow twice because they are the two things that make me hate winter AND mornings. If the car is parked outside, I have to go and shovel it out, shovel it off, defrost the windows, and warm the interior. It's a good twenty-minute job sometimes. 

But not this winter (yet)!

This morning, I stepped out to prep the car and almost fell on my butt. Not because it was icy, but because it was so warm my body went into shock. I didn't even bother to warm up the car. No need wasting gas on that, right?

It was 41 degrees when I took this photo. In NOVEMBER. In Alaska.

If you think I'm complaining, I am - but not about the weather. My thing is, we are leaving tonight for the sibling reunion in Arizona. So... we maybe should have planned that for January? When the weather might actually be more Alaska-like?

Peace

--Free

**REVIEW** Weight Gurus

So excited when this Digital Body Fat Scale by Weight Gurus arrived. Not that I'm excited about my body fat, but... I need to know. Lord knows I need the motivation. This scale looks like it's going to really bring the motivation.

I haven't been 120-anything for about fifteen years!!!

First thing, let me tell you what a beautiful scale this is. It's the first scale I've ever owned that looks like it enhanced the decor of my bathroom! No pushing this one out of sight when I'm not using it. I'm keeping this bad boy on display. And that's okay because it can be customized for up to 8 users. (That's not an invitation though!)

Since my excitement might be contagious (and I hope it is), let me add that there are some folks who should not use this. The product box is clearly marked with some warnings:

• Never to use in combo with medical electronic implants (such as pacemakers)
• Not for use by kids under 10 years of age
• Not for use by pregnant women

Paperwork enclosed with the scale advises further:

• Not for use with medical devices such as artificial heart/lung support systems or portable electronic medical devices such as an electrocardiograph
• Not to apply weight of more than 400 pounds on the scale

Now that I've gotten that bit out of the way...

Remember I mentioned how beautiful the scale is? Well, that photo up above doesn't really show it off. When I was trying to photograph (with my horrible skills) the scale to show you how thin it is, I captured this:

All you can see is the messy room's reflection!

Thing is so shiny, I could use it to do my makeup. 

What I was trying to capture was not the messy man-cave I was in, but how thin the scale is from the side view. Like this:

See the edge of it?

And, yes, it comes with batteries (cue the singing angels) so you don't have to worry about that.

Okay, so I fell in love right away with the design of the scale. My next step was to see how easy (or not) it is to use. Here's how that went:

Set up instructions were good. The scale has Select Mode with up and down arrows for you to choose User Number, Gender, Athlete (or not), Height, Age, Weight Mode and - of course - Weight. I did everything correctly on the first try except I realized I had somehow skipped past the Weight Mode. Also I had not downloaded the Android App (**** or for Apple) which is needed to scan the on-scale barcode and to sync my phone. 

I downloaded the app and then attempted to check my errors with the "Weight Mode" set-up.

Ahhh!!! I found another reason to LOVE this scale. There are 2 ways of checking your weight. You can go "traditional" and get a pound/kg weight reading, or you can go what they call 'weightless' (or what I choose to call 'highly motivational') and get a progress reading. As in + or - changes in your weight.

Setting up the app was not as easy as setting up the scale. The app was probably only confusing to me because I have a problem retaining instructions long enough to apply them. Other people might have no problem. Once I did get the app going, I had no trouble changing the scale to the Weightless Mode. Of course, I won't get any progress readings for a while. 

There's not much I don't love about this scale. Actually, there is not one thing I don't love about this scale. It's a great-looking device with a lot of useful features. One of the most important features is the price. The cost for this one is at or even lower than scales I've seen in local stores. Also, there is a 100% guarantee, a 5 year warranty, and help via the company's local offices, email or phone.

Anyone working toward a goal with their weight is going to benefit from this one. I already talked myself out of eating a donut, and Homer Simpson has nothing on me when it comes to loving a good donut.

Peace

--Free

DISCLOSURE:

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.