About Matcha Tea (a pre-review post)

You have probably started hearing a lot about something called Matcha. In my opinion, it's in the category of About to Trend. Hard and heavy.

I've had a chance to try a couple types of Matcha - one sponsored and one that I picked up at my local health food store. Since I'm going to be posting a review of the sponsored product very soon, I wanted to go over some of the basics about Matcha in general. First thing to know is, there's nothing really "basic" about Matcha. I feel like I'm having to learn a new language just to understand this product.

Let's start with a little of what I am coming to understand about matcha:

• Matcha tea is powdered, but not all powdered tea is matcha. 
• Matcha is also, I believe, grown in the shade.
• Matcha is prepped for serving (to drink) than regular tea.
• Matcha tea is from the whole leaf, the tenderest parts of the leaf, and is often used ceremonially.

To make matters  just a little bit more confusing, in addition to the types of green tea, and types of matcha, there are different grades of the teas. Yikes.

I'm determined to kinda, sorta understand this Matcha tea though. If the terminology doesn't trip me up. Here are some of the different types of Matcha:

• Usucha - or "thin" tea, is from sprouts younger than a certain age. (source)
• Koicha - "thick" tea, is usually more expensive because it comes from rarer tea plants.
• Tencha -  In Japan, this is the only tea that qualifies as"true matcha" and it is made from the delicate shade-grown tea leaf trees. (source)

 So... Tencha = Matcha - though in the U.S., the Matcha we get is most likely never Tencha... Yeah, see? Confusing.

Just to take a break, I took a look at a video of Matcha leaves being processed.



When I applied to review the product that I will be posting on soon, I had never tried any kind of Matcha tea, but I picked up some at my local health food store a couple weeks ago. Since I didn't understand that there are different types of Matcha, I was a little bit confused when trying to choose between the few brands available. I ended up with this one, just because of price and convenience. This brand had three different types so I chose the one that sounded most flavorful.

Then I had to look up what "Genmai" means:

Genmaicha is the Japanese name for green tea combined with roasted brown rice. It is sometimes called "popcorn tea". This type of tea was originally drunk by poor Japanese, as the rice served as a filler and reduced the price of the teas; which is why it is also known as the "people's tea".

Okay. So I got a little bit ripped off as the American trying to experiment with a new trend. Let me tell you, at about a dollar per pack - for 12 single-serve packets (0.03 ounces, or 3 grams, per pack), I wasn't getting a "true" (or even near-true) matcha tea.


At least the labelling was honest. The problem was my own ignorance.
















This, by the way, is what the actual tea looks like:

The texture is very grainy and leaves very little film on the plate I had it on. It felt like a fine sand.

And, for comparison, this is what a true matcha powder looks like:

The matcha powder is vibrant green and almost as fine as talcum powder
It's hard to tell from the photo, but you can see some of the texture difference between
the Matcha powder and the Genmaicha (paler) product

To be fair, the Genmai wasn't awful. I think that any kind of powdered (or grainy) tea is an acquired taste. The Genmai had a soil-ish/dirt-ish taste. I was able to cover that with some of the Chaga nectar I used as a sweetener. I also learned that I could just put the Genmai into other flavored teas or beverages.

I will be posting more about the actual Matcha powder when I do my product review. For now, I can tell you that there is a huge  flavor difference between those two products. Huge.

Doing a little research beforehand literally pays (or at lease saves) when trying something new. In the case of the brand of Genmaicha I bought, I couldn't even do much checking on it when I got home. The website printed on the package takes me to a domain that is for sale. After a brief search, I couldn't even find images for the product. I gave up because, for one thing, I won't be buying the brand again and, for another, I want to stick with trying better quality products. Maybe that Matcha Matcha brand has an actual Matcha tea available, but it wasn't one of the choices when I was shopping.

The main thing to know when using Matcha is that you have to read the labels. Make sure that you are getting the best Matcha available.

Next: I will be doing the review for the first organic, powdered green tea I've had the chance to try.

Peace
--Free

**REVIEW** Pure Lavender Oil by aVo Essentials

While I love essentials oils, sometimes I forget what a the "true" scent of something is. I ordered a vanilla essential oil once and, while it was great in a blend of other oils, on it's on, it was not something I was crazy about. Probably that's because my general idea of "vanilla" was so influenced by all the fake scents used in products. The oil I got was exactly like what I remembered from my mother's cooking.

My idea of the lavender scent was influenced mostly by store-bought products. My one memory of "real" lavender was from flowers that a sweetheart used to give me. Good memories.

When I got the chance to try this, I was excited to see if it matched my memories of the lavender flowers I once loved so much.

Notice the dates of the product. Fresh!

This is a Pure Lavender Oil from  āVō Essentials. (I love when the oils come with a stopper.)

Lavender is one of the scents I like for certain moods. I don't want to smell lavender in my coffee or food, but I love having this one.

Of course, like I said, I wasn't sure what to expect of the scent. I wasn't disappointed at all. In fact, the best thing about this oil's fragrance is that, even though the scent is very distinct (just like the actual flowers), it's not overpowering at all. I had a fresh head cold when I first received the oil and I couldn't smell it at all. Once my sinuses cleared up, I could  tell that I had a "true" oil. Perfect. It really did match my memories.

Like I said, this is not something that I would use in food, but I understand that some people do use actual lavender in the kitchen (mostly for baked goods) and I find that interesting. Of course, keep in mind that this oil is for external use only!

What I have liked using it for is adding it to my shampoos and bathwater. Also, I like to blend it with some of my sweet orange oil to wear as a fragrance. I tried blending it with the vanilla oil I wasn't crazy about that as a wearable fragrance, but I did like it in the bath. Both scents are very soothing. I'm going to play around some more with the different blends. One way I did like using it is to add a drop to the hand sanitizer I carry in my purse. I did it to make the sanitizer smell better, but I later found out that lavender is a natural anti-bacterial.

Even though I loved the scent of my lavender bouquets, I didn't know at the time that lavender can be used for relaxation and stress relief. I realized it after using the oil in my bath water. Again, I think it's the whole "soothing" thing. I do know that it works well to help you sleep. If you apply a dab on your temples (with another carrier oil), it does ease a tension headache.

I've been using mostly coconut oil for as a carrier for this one. The regular coconut oils smells amazing when mixed with this, but if you want to keep the lavender scent undiluted, a fractionated coconut oil works nicely. The argan oils are heavier and, though they don't really disturb the lavender scent, it's more cost efficient to use an FCO for more body coverage.

 āVō Essentials offers a 100%  money-back guarantee, but the product is really good. The price seems a bit high, but the 4-ounce size makes it worth it. Lavender is a potent enough fragrance that it doesn't take much for most uses. Besides, you will need to use a carrier oil for applying to the skin because the lavender oil is concentrated.

There are a lot of other uses I want to investigate. Here are links to some information and usage suggestions:

• WebMD is my go-to for basic warnings and usage notes
• Use as a bug repellant, among other things...
• Anti-fungal, anti-bacterial agent
• Some lesser-known uses
• Interesting general to specific info
• Some recipes for that bottle of lavender oil
• My favorite: Chapped Lip Relief

If you haven't tried lavender oil before now, this is a good one to start with. Because of the product size/cost, multi-use, quality and the brand guarantee, you should be happy with this one.

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.

**REVIEW** Organic Rosehip Seed Oil by Aveya Beauty

I just reviewed another oil by Aveya Beauty that I was pretty happy with, so I was anxious to try their Rosehip Seed Oil. It's certified 100%  organic and there's a 30-day, no-risk guarantee attached.



 The Prime price for the 2-oz bottle (which is plenty) is excellent considering the quality and the no-risk guarantee.








This rosehip seed oil is labelled for multiple benefits (as are most good rosehip seed oils), such as for helping with:

• Anti-aging (I'd think "pro-active" care)
• Wrinkles and fine lines (maybe if you were not pro-active)
• Healing acne scars and burns
• Age spots
• Brittle hair

I do like to be pro-active when it comes to taking care of my skin because (though I hate to say it), I'm a bit vain, and because I don't want to get damage that could cause serious problems. This oil fights a lot of skin and hair issues because of the fact that it replenishes moisture and prevents skin dehydration. That's the basic key to preventing (or alleviating) common skin problems.

By the way, here is some good info on rosehip seed oil, and more usage info here.

This oil is absorbent, and that's important since any oil that just sits atop the skin or hair does no good. I tested this one by washing my hands and letting them dry completely. I then applied some of the rosehip seed oil to a spot on the back of one hand and used a bit of petroleum jelly (PJ) on the back of the other hand. I waited a few minutes to see which product seemed to do best at moisturizing my skin. Here is what the results looked like at each step:

This is my dry hand

This is with the Rosehip and the petroleum jelly just after applying

Rosehip near my knuckles, PJ near my wrist

This is after about a minute and a half

The rosehip was absorbing with no blotting
The PJ is still as heavy as when applied (no blotting)

 And this after about 10 minutes

The rosehip has pretty much soaked in (still no blotting)
The PJ is still as heavy as when applied (no blotting)

I tried to keep my hand in the same position for each photo so that you could get the best idea of how the different oils worked. Of course, I would rather not use PJ on my face but, even on the body, I don't want something that won't absorb. (By the way, for this post, I used a common brand of store-bought petroleum jelly.)

Petroleum jelly (PJ) will obliterate skin "ash", but the problem I have with it is that I can't use it on my hair and I don't really like using it on other parts of my body if I have a more natural alternative. PJ basically only seals the moisture already present in your skin, but it doesn't actually moisturize it. Also, PJ is made up of something called "hydrocarbons" (thank goodness for Wikipedia!) and I don't even know what that really is.

Once again, quality and price are the main considerations when it comes to choosing good products. This one scores on both counts. I also like that I can stand the smell of this one. Ah! Happy days! Rosehip seed oil has its own very special, um, scent. Some people like the stronger scented ones, but I just don't like the particular odor rosehip seed oil has. I was so glad that this one was scented so mildly that I could stand to use it on my face without holding my breath. By the way, the milder scent doesn't seem to indicate a lesser quality.

So, yeah, this one gets a five-out-of-five star rating in my book. This is one of two Aveya products I've used and I've been happy with both.

Since I've heard that rosehip seed oil is so beneficial to acne scars and burns, I dug around a little to see why that would be. Apparently, the fact that it's high in certain fatty acids plays a key role. I don't claim to understand the science behind it all, but I can tell you that it does wonders for my skin. I don't think that enough people use it on their lips or on their hair. Actually, I don't use it on my hair as much as I do on my scalp when it gets dried out after from washing or product buildup. I do think it would make a moisture sealer for the ends and edges for natural hair wearers. I do know that it's nice good for adding underneath your lipstick to stop the chapping caused by some of the "long-wear" lip colors.

This is another of those oils that makes for a wonderful cuticle treatment. It goes a lot farther than some of the store-bought cuticle oils that are only for use on the nails and cuticles (and is a lot more cost-effective). Also, it lasts longer than those types of products.

Lots of ways to use this one bottle of oil, so that's just the final Plus.

As with the other Aveya product I use, the one gripe I have is about the tiny printing on the label. Other than that, this is another winner from the brand.

If anyone else has found other ways to use rosehip seed oil, do share with me.

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.

**RECIPE** Oven Baked Chicken & a Salad (with coconut oil)

I'm taking a couple of days off from blogging. My energy level is at an all-time low right now. I think it's a combination of having one cold after another since December and stress/grief.

The matcha tea that I am trying out is helping some, but I could probably be eating better. Never underestimate the power of good nutrition, right?  But it only works if you're consistent. Lately, my diet has consisted of coffee, water, and those crunchy almond bars I get from Walmart.

Yesterday was the first time in a couple of weeks that I've actually spent time fixing a decent meal for myself. Before I take this next couple of days off from here, I'm going to share my recipe for no-fry, crunchy chicken wings with you. Mind you, I came up with this on the fly, using whatever I had in the kitchen at the time because, well, um, no energy to go to the store! LOL

This is for the chicken and a salad on the side

INGREDIENTS: (everything optional except, of course,  the chicken)

• Chicken wings  (I separated the wing from the drum so that I had smaller pieces, but they can be left as whole 1-piece wings)
• Garlic cloves
• Liquid Smoke
• Olive Oil (opt)
• Coconut Oil
• Emeril's (or some other type) of seasoning*
• Panko breading
• Salt and Pepper
• For the salad, I used Spinach,  mushrooms, onions, tomatoes and baby potatoes, but you can use whatever you have. 

INSTRUCTIONS:

• Pre-heat oven to about 325-350
• Boil the chicken in water seasoned with the Liquid Smoke, salt and a little bit of olive oil
• While the chicken is boiling, peel the garlic cloves, slice the onions into rings or strips, and cut the baby potatoes in half. Save the slicing of the tomatoes til ready to assemble the salad later.
• When the chicken is boiled to tender, drain on paper.
• Line a baking sheet with foil and coat with a little olive oil
• While the chicken is still warm, rub on some coconut oil and then season with the Emeril's (or other seasoning mix). Now coat the chicken with the Panko and arrange them on your baking sheet, leaving a little room on one end for your potatoes and garlic
• Put your garlic cloves, mushrooms and potatoes in a packet of foil with a little bit of the coconut oil and some of the seasoning. Set this on the baking sheet. 
• Pop the baking sheet into the oven
• Check chicken, potatoes and garlic every 30 minutes for doneness. Move the chicken around if you need to keep the pieces from sticking to the foil.

When your baking items are done, arrange your salad greens, tomatoes and onions in a bowl. Add the garlic, mushrooms and potatoes to the top. Your garlic will be very buttery and spreadable. Delicious.

This is just a nice, simple meal that is savory and healthier than frying chicken in oil. The salad is a little unusual, but I have a thing for those little potatoes and they are so good when mixed with the salad. You don't need any dressing because the seasoning mixed with the coconut oil is perfect.

And that's one of my lazy homecooked meals. 

*Seasoning is optional. You could mix some garlic powder, onion powder, curry, salt and pepper to make your own.

Now, I am going to go and take a bath and get some sleep. I'll be back with some reviews day after tomorrow or the next...

Peace
--Free

**REVIEW** Fractionated Coconut Oil by Radha Beauty

I've done reviews on a lot of fractionated coconut oils and this is the latest one:

You'll get an eBook after purchase

This is the 16-oz therapeutic grade fractionated coconut oil by Radha Beauty. 

I like this one just fine and it is a great quality oil. It's one of the better ones that I have tried, but the price is quite high (about double what some others go for) unless you get the Prime pricing. If you do snag the Prime price, this becomes more affordable than other quality brands - way more affordable. This one has no fillers or additives and that's a plus. The biggest plus: Radha Beauty offers a Lifetime money-back guarantee. Can't beat that, right?

Another thing to mention about this brand: There is a "no harm to nature" seal on the label. Not only should we be concerned with using natural products that are good for us, but it's nice that we pay attention to the environment.

Now, because of the super-affordable (Prime) pricing, the large size, and the high quality of this oil, you can splurge a little when using it. I've already done multiple posts talking about the benefits of using fractionated coconut oils (FCOs), so let me tell you a new method I've come up with for using it in my skincare routine.

While I've been using most of my carrier oils in combination with fragrant essential oils (as DIY perfumes, for instance), on my skin or hair (as moisturizers), and the like, I came up with a different combination this time. For a scrub. Or, actually, several types of scrubs: for face, lips, and hands/cuticles. I came up with the idea after using some solid coconut oil, baking soda and peppermint oil to brush my teeth. Here are the "recipes" I've been using for the various scrubs using the FCO:

For Lips:
In the palm of one hand, combine about a 1/2 teaspoon of FCO with about 1 teaspoon of baking soda and mix it to a paste with one finger. Brush this across your lips (gently) with your finger. RInse your lips and apply some balm or another (heavier) oil to keep them soft. (By the way, I've been reading about people using a little peppermint oil as a natural lip plumper, but I didn't want to put the peppermint on my lips right after doing a scrub.)

For Face:
Using a little bowl, mix about a tablespoon of baking soda with enough FCO to make a paste. Dot your face with a couple drops of a heavier oil (I like using argan or castor oil), then dab on the paste and massage (again, be gentle), concentrating on places where you have dry or scaly patches or blackheads. You don't need to overdo the massaging. Rinse with slightly warm water to make sure all the baking soda is gone then pat dry. Apply a little bit of argan, castor or rosehip oil if you want. What's nice with this is that the oil left on your skin will be warm and moisturizing. Personally, I avoid my eye area. Also, I don't know if this would work if you have skin that's in breakout mode. I have sensitive skin and I haven't had any problems. I like doing this before bedtime so that whatever oil I use afterwards can work overnight to keep my skin hydrated.

For Hands/Cuticles:
I use the same mix as I do for my lips, but I like to add a little bit of lemon oil or tea tree oil. Also, I'm a little more aggressive in massaging my cuticles and hands than I am with my lips or face. When you rinse your hands, you might like letting them sit for a while in warm water before blotting them dry.

Just play with the different combinations. The nice thing is that you don't have to worry about chemicals or other additives. I can't wait to do a foot treatment using the FCO/baking soda mix. I might add some peppermint to the mix when I do that.

So, this fractionated oil by Radha is really good for all these consistent uses. Plus, there is the best thing about fractionated coconut oil - that it doesn't stain fabrics. No reason not to slather it on after a warm shower or bath to lock in some moisture. I haven't used it yet for brushing my teeth, but I might give it a try. At any rate, the price  and the size kind of takes away any excuses you might have for not pampering yourself more often. And that lifetime guarantee just tops the cake.

Be sure to check out other products by Radha Beauty.

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.

**REVIEW** Caribbean Roots Black Castor Oil by Aveya Beauty

Remember back when your mom or grandma made you take a spoonful of castor oil every so often? No? Okay, maybe that's just me. And I will never forget how I hated seeing that spoon coming at me!

If you are too young to remember stuff like that, then I have to tell you something: no matter how I hated it, I have learned that Mom and Grandma knew what they were doing. Castor oil is one of those things that is good for you, inside and out. My elders used it as a moisturizer, a "hairdress" (treatment), a lip balm, and a remedy for constipation. Being young back then, I wanted nothing to do with it. It tasted horrible and, besides, I preferred the cute little tubes for my lip balm.

Flash forward all these years and I'm back on the castor oil. I still haven't gotten a taste for ingesting it, but I have discovered the benefits of using it externally. I'll get to that in a minute. For now, let's talk about this:

Aveya Beauty produces this Black Castor Oil that smells better than what I remember from my childhood. Actually, I have tried a couple other brands of black castor oil since those days so I can compare this one to what I have used before. Looks like Aveya has some other quality products I'd like to try (I'm already trying another product of theirs).

I'll cover some more castor oil info in a moment, but about this one:

• There is the faintest of scents to it (you'll see why this matters to some folks in a moment)
• It's one of the first "heavier" oils that I've been able to use right out of the bottle without having it just sit on top of my skin. It soaks in so quickly that I carry it in my purse use it during the day. If I wait just a few moments, it has absorbed enough that it doesn't smudge papers or clothing.
• I love what it does for my hair. Applied to damp hair, it seals the ends so that I don't get so much frizz once the hair is dried.
• Because of the nice absorbency, I can use this on my face without getting a lot of buildup. Best thing is, it makes a really nice oil cleanser if I mix in a little bit of fractionated coconut oil and use wipe with a baby wipe.
• After I had been using it as a hand moisturizer, I noticed that my nails and cuticles were getting a lot of the benefits. At their driest, the sides of my nails get that ashy white look from the dead and damaged skin because I wash my hands a lot. I'm planning to do a cuticle scrub with this oil, using it and a little bit of baking soda and an old toothbrush. Then, I will re-moisturize with the oil. Can't wait.
• Speaking of scrubs, I have been using sugar and another oil to exfoliate my lips. After the next lip treatment, I'm going to balm up with this castor oil. I plan to do a heavy coating of the oil and let it rest a while before I smooth it into my lips.
• Because I am noticing that it doesn't take a lot of this oil for regular uses (even the above lip treatment shouldn't take much), I'm happy with the size of the bottle. At first, I was wishing it had come in a little bit bigger size for the price, but it's working out to be a good value after all. (By the way, the label even instructs users not to use more than needed. That's a nice change from the old "wash-rinse-repeat world" method used to keep consumers coming back for more.

There is one gripe I have, but it has nothing to do with the quality of the product. It's the printing on the label. Other than the front, all the other print is so small that I actually had to use a magnifier app to read it... Seriously. And the label includes some good info - such as suggestions for how to use the oil and/or mix it with other products. 

To save you some squinting, here are the benefits listed on the label:

• Increase hair growth
• Thicken hair that's starting to thin
• Reduce and prevent hair breakage
• Eliminate dry hair
• Make hair fuller and shinier
• Deeply condition and moisturize hair and scalp
• Prevent dry scalp
• Boost your hair's overall growth.

Some of that is a bit repetitive, but it matches what I have been reading about the benefits of castor oil. One other thing I'd like to point out is that I don't personally find there is much difference in benefits between a good "regular" castor oil and a good JBCO. That's just my opinion though and other people might have a different take.

If you are buying via Amazon, Aveya discounts a limited amount of this product on a monthly basis, so there's your chance to give it a try. (The Aveya site offers what they call an "iron clad, bullet-proof guarantee".)

Now here goes some more general information about castor oils:

If you have checked out castor oil recently, you might notice that there are a few popular types out there:

• Castor oil - has a yellow-ish coloring unless it's filtered to a clearer shade.
• Black castor oil - gets its dark color from the ash of roasted beans
• Jamaican black castor oil - I don't know for a fact but, since not all JBCOs come from Jamaica, the name comes from the process, which is, I am guessing, a Jamaican invention. (This Aveya black castor oil, for instance, is a product of Haiti.)

 By the way, Black Hair Information offers up a wonderful history and some info on castor oil & JBCO. Glad I found BHI, which is now bookmarked.

The big difference in castor oils, other than the color, is the smell. The JBCO has a odor that a lot of people don't like (I do). BHI describes it perfectly as having the scent of burnt seeds.  "Regular" castor oil has a faint, well, oily scent, in my opinion, but lots of people claim it's odorless. Even though the JBCO does have a smell you might find unpleasant, I found that the odor dissipates very quickly. As for ingesting castor oil, it's not my favorite thing to do but, like I mentioned at the start, my elders were big on getting a little bit of it into the body for, um, cleaning things out... LOL

Here are some links to more info:

• Covers most of the benefits as listed on the label
• Interesting to see what the Times of India site says
• Some not-so-common uses
• Home Remedies lists some uses and warnings
• Black Naps (love that name!) has some great info about using castor oil on natural hair

Sure hope I gave you some good info - or lead you to it - if you have been thinking about using a castor oil in your beauty routine.

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.

**REVIEW** Lifeguard Mini 1 Portable Charger

Cellphones. Agh! We've chained ourselves into having them, using them, and never being able to be without them. They are convenient and, for some of us (me!), they have replaced landlines and radios. And if it's not our cellphones, it's our tablets, right?

Convenient, convenient, convenient. Until the batteries runs down. Agh!

For the longest time, I carried a plug-in charger with more care than I do my checkbook. I actually had a cute little cosmetics bag just to hold my charger. Having a cellphone battery run down is not even that big of a deal in most cases. I repeat: In. Most. Cases.

This is the charger next to the laptop Spacebar.

However, in some cases, I have ended up 1 - looking selfish (running over someone to beat them to a free outlet in an airport boarding lounge); 2 - looking crazed while baby-talking the charger to "charge faster, faster" so I can dash away as soon as my boarding group is called or; 3 - just about having a nervous breakdown when I realized I am boarding a flight with my phone only charged to 12%...

Now we have portable chargers. Ahhh...What a relief.

This is the second charger I have tried out and 1 of 4 or more that our family has around.


That right there is the Lifeguard Mini 1. It's small enough to share a cosmetic case with my lipsticks. Nice. Real nice.
(And, yeah,  sorry for the angle... Blogger is acting a fool & not placing photos in their original orientation).

The first time I charged it (out of the box), it took just over an hour and a half. That seemed like a long time, but this is a portable charger that's supposed to hold a lot of juice. I read that some people let theirs charge up overnight, but not me. Too impatient.

Next test, charging up my tablet that has been completely dead for about three weeks. How'd the charger do? Well, I had intended to time how long the charge-up took, but I fell asleep. Next morning, my tablet was charged to 100% and the Mini1 had enough juice left to charge my phone (from around 86% to full).

Wow, right? And wait - there's more!

My bad photo.
This comes with a USB connector
and instructions

After juicing up my dead tablet and my almost-full phone, the Mini1 still brought my bluetooth headphones from a Medium charge to High. There was more juice left (according to the lights), but I can't tell how much...

Now, because this charger is so awesome and packs so much juice, I am not really bothered by the one thing that could be considered a negative. That one thing is that there is no display on the Mini1 to show what percentage of charge it's holding. The indicator on the Mini1 will show Red when it's plugged and being charged up for use. When it's full, the light goes out. Once you plug the Mini1 into your phone or other device, the indicator light shows Blue.

Do I wish that there was a better/quicker way to know how charged up the Mini1 is? Of course. But does that bother me much? No sir. See, another portable charger I have used does have the display to show how charged up it is. That's nice, but the other charger doesn't pack the charging power of the Mini1. I'll take more juice over a better indicator any day. Anyway, the work-around is simple: just plug in the Mini1 to see if the Red light indicates needing a charge. Or, better yet, just make sure to always keep the Mini1 charged and ready to go. That is pretty much the point of any portable charger...

So, even though the Mini1 is slightly heavier than another charger I've used, it's about the same size (fits into a pocket or tiny purse, etc.) and yet it packs a ton more charging juice. And that really is the main point.

The only thing I would change about this is the color I got. I now wish I had gone for the pink or silver one. That's the chick in me.

Now, to get to get to the nitty gritty, this comes with an 18-month money-back guarantee. Notice on the product page that you can choose to get the Mini1 that includes a lightening cable or not (for a few dollars price difference).

This is a charger that packs a lot of power, so out of the 4 that are being used in our family, this is the one that I like best so far. Just that pesky little no-display issue...

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.

*REVIEW** Skinology Argan Oil for Hair, Face, Skin & Nails

There are lots of argan oils out there (and I've tried a bunch of them), but this was the first one labelled for such specific use:

 This is Skinology's "Pure & Natural Certified Organic" Argan Oil for hair, face, skin and nails.

Now, to be honest, I believe that any argan oil can be used for the hair, the face, the skin, and for the nails. That's what most beauty consumers do use the oil for in the first place. Though I'm sure there are other uses I don't know about, so far, those are the only uses that I do know about.  (I have heard of people taking the oil internally, but I won't be trying that for myself.) I think the main thing that separates one argan oil from another are the same things that separate any type of products: quality and purity. At the end of this post, I will look at some of the terms used on the label but, for now, let's just talk about how this oil worked for me. (And, by the way, heed the product warning of not using if you are allergic to nuts! Not a ha-ha, but seriously...)

I really liked that this oil absorbed so well - not just coating my skin with an oily residue. A bigger test of how well it absorbs was that I was able to use it on my (kinky/curly) hair and it didn't weigh it down. (I applied it lightly to my damp hair, especially the ends. I'm going to keep using it this way once I trim my ends to see if it helps the condition of my hair.)

Like I said before, all of the argan oils I've used have been for the same purposes, but I can tell that this one does work better than some others.When I replaced my Solar Oil by using the Skinology on my nails and cuticles, I was able to get a lot of moisture out of the tiniest dab of the argan oil.

The other ways I tried this out was to moisturize the edge of my hairline. I tend to get a lot of dryness there since it's a spot I don't concentrate on when I use face creams in general. That gave me the idea of using the argan oil on my face after doing a mask treatment. I just applied small dabs of the oil (especially around my eyes, on the chin and on the forehead), patted it on and let it rest before I rubbed in my regular moisturizer. You know how dry your face can get after doing an exfoliation or mask, right? This method of moisturizing worked so well, I'm going to make it part of my routine.

So, while I'm generally skeptical of elaborate claims on product labels, I have to admit that the Skinology lived up to my highest expectations for an argan oil. Not only does it work really well, but the Prime pricing is great. On top of that, there is a full, no-questions asked, keep-the-bottle, money-back guarantee. By the way, I have used other Skinology products and they have all been of the same good quality.

Now, here is that other info I promised. Try not to nod off while reading it. If you use oils in your beauty routine, this is good stuff to learn about.

The part of the product description for this oil that interested me the most was the "Triple Extra Virgin Cold Pressed" statement. Let's break that down a bit. I couldn't quickly locate information specific to argan oil, but I'm looking at how the USDA (pdf file link) defines terms for olive oils.

• Virgin olive oils are the oils obtained from the fruit of the olive tree solely by mechanical or other physical means under conditions, including thermal conditions, that do not lead to alterations in the oil, and which have not undergone any treatment other than washing, decantation, centrifugation, and filtration...

I didn't find any mention of "triple extra virgin" at that source. When I looked for definition of "cold pressed", I checked out the Wikipedia article on olive oil for an idea of what it means for that oil to be cold pressed:

• Cold pressed or Cold extraction means "that the oil was not heated over a certain temperature (usually 27 °C (80 °F)) during processing, thus retaining more nutrients and undergoing less degradation".[43] The difference between Cold Extraction and Cold Pressed is regulated in Europe, where the use of a centrifuge, the modern method of extraction for large quantities, must be labelled as Cold Extracted, while only a physically pressed olive oil may be labelled as Cold Pressed. In many parts of the world, such as Australia, producers using centrifugal extraction still label their products as Cold Pressed.

Okay. So there you go. If any of you know anything about oils (especially that whole "triple virgin" thing) please share!

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.

Do you Chaga?

Today*, when I visited the Center (Farmers') Market of Alaska-grown products in our Sears Mall, I didn't intend to spend a penny. Actually, I was only at the mall to pick up a few grocery items from Carrs-Safeway... Yeah, well. Send me near a mall and watch what happens, right?

I'm glad I got detoured and took a look at what the vendors had to offer. I discovered something interesting. This:

These are both nectars made from the Chaga mushroom/fungus. Apparently, this is something that grows all over Alaska (and other places, of course) on birch trees. 

I've been in Alaska almost as long as I have been living. Why did I not know about this?

Chaga is something that many indigenous people use as part of their diet and natural medicinal needs. Native Alaska peoples are very aware of the Chaga mushroom and its benefits. Okay. I not only have lived here most of my life, some of my family is Native Alaskan.

Once again, why did I not know about the Chaga mushroom? Well, probably because I didn't pay attention to everything that this dear woman tried to teach me while she was still here on earth:

In her 60's, she would walk for miles like she was 15 years old!

That's Marie. She's the grandmother to some of my nieces and nephews. I should have listened to her That woman could go for walks from one end of town to the other, just because she could. She could outwalk a teenager! Anyway, Marie, I am paying attention. Finally.

So, about the Chaga mushroom, tea, nectar, etc. There are many benefits. Here are some links for more information:

• The history, uses and benefits
• Targeting specific health issues with Chaga
• Anti-oxidant comparison chart
• Eartherbs has some good info
• Some detailed information on the mushroom
• Talk about this being the mushroom of "immortality" (?) Okay...
• This explains why Chaga mushrooms look the way they look

I haven't looked through all this information myself, but I did get an overview of the benefits from a couple of the vendors at the Farmers Market. I didn't get any of the tea because I wanted to start with the nectar. The vendors explained that I can add the nectar to my tea, coffee and cereals. That's an easy way to get started with something I wanted to ease into using.

Since am fighting immune problems, I decided to invest in a jar of the nectar from the first place I stopped at. Then I ended up getting upset with myself for not checking a stall further down. Different shaped jar, but same amount (just around 5oz) of the nectar for half the price. What I realized a few days later is that the more expensive nectar was also much thicker in texture and had a richer taste. I suspect it had more Chaga than the cheaper brand...

Now, about this Ch-ch-chaga. (You knew I had to do it. And I'm silly from being sleep-deprived. Forgive me.) As with anything, we have to be careful to check with our doctors to make sure that something we ingest doesn't interact badly or interfere with any prescribed medicines or medical conditions. That said, I'm not thrilled with the last doctor I saw and I am looking for a new G.P., so I've gone ahead and used the nectar. I haven't had any negative reactions that I can tell and I've had a couple of labs done since then to check my blood and urine.

Before I get to the various pieces of info I did check out online, let me give you my take on the taste of the 2 nectars I purchased. 

The $10 nectar is plain and sweetened (I can`t remember with what, but here is their Facebook page, if you want to ask). It`s pretty yummy. When I taste-tested it on a spoon before I bought it, I expected it to taste like a flavored honey. At room temp, it looks just like honey but with heavier caramel color. It has the texture of honey. I was surprised that it tasted so much nicer than honey. To me, the taste was sweeter and richer. Like the difference between whole milk and cream. When the vendor was suggesting different ways to use it (in coffee and tea and on my oatmeal or cereal), I remember thinking that I could just keep licking it right off of a spoon. (And I have done this a couple of times since I got the nectar.)

The $5 nectar is with honey and ginger.  It has the same room-temp constency (maybe a little thinner than the other nectar) and it`s lighter in color. You can taste a hint of the ginger and lemon flavor, but they are not overwhelming. (I actually accidentally used it in my coffee and, surprisingly, it was fine.) I have also eaten this one right off a spoon. I`ll get to that whole "off the spoon thing" later.

When I commented before about the differences in pricing, I hadn`t had a chance to notice the nectars after they had been refrigerated. The more expensive nectar was thickened 5-fold. The less expensive one was about the same consistency it had been at room temp. It was a tiny bit thicker, but not nearly as much. I don`t know why this is, but I am going to do more research. I mean, is it because there is more Chaga in the $10 item? Or is it because the other item has ginger and lemon added? Curious, right? (By the way, my nephew - who is half Alaska native - told me that this is because there was more Chaga extract in the thicker nectar. Get what you pay for, yes?)

I have learned a bit from digging around online and talking to a person I trust.

The person I spoke  with (I will call her "May") is a Native Alaskan who respects her heritage and has been practicing the use of natural resources from the land. She told me that her people have been using Chaga since forever. They appreciate the antioxidant powers and healing aspects of the Chaga Mushroom. It still amazes me that this nectar was made using a mushroom that I have grown up seeing yet never paid mind to. I have family members who are natives of this land and this is the one thing none of them ever brought up. I realize now that I probably was just not paying attention.

May explained that the Chaga she uses grows on the sides of Birch trees. She said that they are odd-looking and easy to recognize (hard to mistake, as with some other fungi, berries and plants). 

She described them as looking a little like they have a beard. This is when they are ready for picking. And, weirdly, the mushrooms are hard like wood when they are picked and stored. When you hear "mushroom", you`re probably thinking soft and spongy. (When I saw one of the mushrooms displayed by a vendor, I did think it was just a strange-looking piece of wood. That`s what it looked and felt like. If I had been more coherent, I would have noticed that the item was one of the mushrooms the nectar had been made from.)

I forget the rest of what May told me, but she did advise that I could pick my own Chaga Mushrooms and make my own teas. (I will be talking with her later so I can take notes and update this post.) I also am going to speak with a good friend who will probably be able to help me with making nectar from the mushroom.

From searching around online, I have learned that Chaga is not any kind of a mystery to any culture who does pay attention to nature and its benefits to health and wellness. Note some of the info in the links I provided earlier.

I have learned that you can ingest Chaga as a tea or a powder (to add to food and drink); you can add the nectar to almost anything that you want to sweeten. Now that I know I like it in general, I'm going to give the tea a try. By the way, I saw the Chaga items flavored in many ways: root beer, lemon, ginger, peppermint, etc. (I will stick with my lemon-ginger and the plain sweetened flavor for now.)

What I can tell you now that I have been using this for a couple of months, this stuff did increase my energy. I was having one of the roughest weeks of my life and was just ragged out with fatigue. Coffee only works until you get all jittery and sick of it. The nectar was something that I could eat right off a spoon or add to some tart juice (think Cranberry) and it gave me energy that felt more like a second wind than a caffeine hurricane. It didn't give me the shakes, irrita-bitchies or make my heart raise. I just felt like I could get through the next few hours. Of course, I had to crash at some point, but I really appreciated the little boost when I needed it.

NOTE: I first started this post way back in, I think, October. I had to update some of it so forgive me if the post is disjointed. Also, I have since gotten some of the tea in a concentrated form. I add a couple teaspoons of it to my green teas, coffee, or I just make a hot Chaga tea and add some of the nectar to sweeten it. Right after Mike's passing, I wasn't eating for several days at a time and I think drinking the green tea and Chaga kept me from just dropping on my face.

Peace

--Free

**REVIEW** MeasuPro Blood Pressure Monitor

Couldn't wait to do the review for this, but I have to tell you up front: This post is just for people who have to be serious about monitoring their blood pressure. 

Unfortunately, I am one of those people. Due to my genetic history, my illness and, partly, my previous lifestyle habits, I have crazy blood pressure. At one point I had readings with numbers that looked like they were indicating the amount of people who are irritated by Kanye West. (Just kidding, K.W. Don't sue me.) Thanks to good docs and some lifestyle changes, I am more often running numbers in the range of almost-usually-normal. Unless I spend too much time around certain people!

All joking aside, I did have systolic readings in the high 200's. Seriously. Almost dead seriously.

The best thing about my getting this nasty sarcoidosis (other than living through it) is that it forced me to get medical care. Part of my care includes being treated for my blood pressure issues. My part of that care is to regularly monitor my BP in between doctor appointments. This is a machine that's going to make that a lot easier:

Official name: BPM-20A Digital Upper Arm Blood Pressure Monitor and Heart Rate Monitor by MeasuPro.

Big name for a seriously good monitor. Here's some of what it features:

1. Provides accurate measurements of your blood pressure and pulse rate.
2. Records for 2 separate users.
3. Has a bright LCD display with separate touch buttons for each individual user. 
4. Records up to 120 blood pressure readings (60 readings per user) with date and time memory recall. 
5. Graphical readings are classified in five different levels.
6. Displays are color coded to represent the reading's level of hypertension. 
7. It also calculates and averages your blood pressure based on the last 3 readings and detects irregular heartbeats and any arrhythmias.
8. Arm cuff fits upper arm circumference of 23-32 cm. 

As soon as I unboxed this, I was impressed by how solid and sturdy it is. It's not uncomfortable heavy, but it doesn't slide all around when you sit it on a surface to use it. Also, the cuff is made so well - good fabric and design. For anyone who uses a digital BP monitor, you know how annoying it can be to have the hose disconnect, right? Well, this one attaches securely in a twist-lock fashion.

Of the 8 features I listed, the ones I like best are -

• #4 because I'm forever losing those little BP record-keeping cards the doctors have me use
• #6 because, for some reason, I pay more attention to the colors than I do the numbers, and
• #8 because, well, that's just freaking awesome and it's not something my math-stupid brain would do on its own.

I've decided that, since no one else in the house monitors their BP, I'll use the 2nd-user function for when my meds change or something. Of course, I'll still also record as User 1 to keep the averaging functions straight.

Like I said, this is a monitor for someone who needs to be serious about tracking their BP. Because of all the actually useful features, it's a much better buy than other monitors I've gone through in the past couple of years. One of those other machines was so annoying that, during a prednisone rage, I threw it against the wall when the air hose kept pulling loose. (I'm not proud of that, but I'm honest!) The dang thing was so lightweight that it didn't even damage the wall... 

I forgot to mention that this came with batteries.

There is a spot on the back to connect a DC plug, though the machine didn't come with one. No problem. One of the old machines I'm discarding has one I can use since the plugs are standard.

Basically, this is the best monitor I've used. A lot of times when I review a product, I'll like it a lot with no plans to purchase in the near future. This is one time that I can say that I'll always want to use this particular product. I notice that the brand also has a wrist monitor BP reader. That might be interesting for people who can't use their arm for a reading. My sister, Mike, has a fistula and that would have been a better choice for her. Bottom line though, this brand has truly impressed me with the quality of the monitor they let me review.

As for the price, I've paid the same (or more) for other monitors and they didn't have all the features and weren't anywhere near the quality of this one. So, it's worth every penny of the non-Prime price, but if you do have Amazon Prime, it's a must-have.

Once again, the link to the product is here and it comes with a 2-year manufacturer's warranty. 

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.