Acure Energizing Body Lotion Review

Wow... so yeah I 've been on a little bit of a hiatus. I apologize for the long absence, but my day job has been eating up all of my time! I am back now and my new goal is to have a new post at least once every two weeks while I'm working. Once I am free for the summer, I will be posting much more often!

Anyway, on with the review! Last fall I won a bottle of this wonderful lotion from Jasanna over at MunchTalk. It is called Acure Energizing Body Lotion in Mandarin Orange + Mango. It's just lovely! The lotion is more like a cream:  it is very thick and not greasy at all. It feels very nice on my dry, winter skin and seems to last for most of the day. It has a very light fresh orange smell; it reminds me of tea! 

My bottle of lotion.

It's the consistency of a body cream.

Review: No Miss Cosmetics Liquid Eyeliner and Mineral Eye Shadow

It's time to review a couple of products that I absolutely love, since my last couple of product posts focused on the negative. Now for the positive!

I was extremely lucky to win the No-Miss giveaway that my friend Robin over at Toxic Beauty held last month. I received the Liquid Eyeliner in Brown Oxide, the All Natural Eye Shadow in Tallahassee Tan, the Mascara in Black, and the Lip Gloss in Lyons Lexi. This review is only for the Liquid Eyeliner and the Eye Shadow, as I haven't opened the other products yet! :)

No-Miss is an all natural cosmetics brand out of Boca Raton, Florida. They use only natural ingredients, no dyes or harsh chemicals, and are completely cruelty-free. 

I have to say that this eye shadow is the best I have ever used, and I'm not exaggerating. I've never used a mineral eye shadow before, and it was amazed at how smoothly I was able to apply it and how long it lasted. The color, Tallahassee Tan, is absolutely gorgeous.  It's a very shimmery tan color, and it is lovely for day or night. I wear it by itself without other colors and I have gotten compliments. 

So shiny, I couldn't get a good picture of it!

The liquid eye liner took some getting used to, since I was a strict pencil-user up until this point, but I am sold now! I'm so glad I got the brown because the black would have been too harsh. The liner dries very quickly and lasts all day. The only (very small!) complaint I have is that sometimes I have to twist the cap all the way closed and then open again to get the right amount on the brush. If I just stick it in the bottle to get more, it comes out with too much on it! 

Eye open and closed.

Hopefully you can see how pretty and shimmery this is! I didn't do too bad with the eyeliner this time, either!

If you are looking for a natural cosmetics brand, I highly recommend trying an eye shadow or other product from No-Miss. You won't be disappointed!

Have you tried and do you like mineral eye shadow? I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts!

Thanks for reading!
J

The First Five Products to Change When Making the Switch to Natural and Organic

When I first decided to start the process of moving to more natural products and foods, I was overwhelmed. So many brands and products that we see and use everyday in our lives are actually not all that good for us. I honestly didn't know where to start, especially since I couldn't afford to just throw away everything I had and buy all new products! 


I thought about it and did some research, and realized it's okay to start small. The most important thing is to begin. The following is a list of what I believe to be the first and most important items to change when you are thinking of moving to natural and organic products. 

My collection of natural products so far: J.R. Watkins lotion, Sunflower Market Brand shampoo and conditioner, Naturally Fresh deodorant, EOS lip balm.

1. Body Lotion - Most commercial and well known lotions (I'm looking at you B&BW, VS, and St.Ives) are filled with nasty carcinogens like formaldehyde, parabens, and petrol chemicals. Body lotion gets rubbed all over your skin and stays there to absorb into your body all day long. Who wants all those toxins on their skin? First and foremost, change your lotion. 

2. Deodorant - Like body lotion, deodorant gets rubbed into your skin to stay there all day, and it's some of your thinnest, most sensitive skin as well. Chemicals in deodorants and antiperspirants have been linked to cancer, Alzheimer's disease, and reproductive problems. 

3. Lipstick/Lipgloss - Lipsticks historically have contained some of the deadliest poisons, including lead, and you're putting that on your mouth where you will inevitably ingest it throughout the day. Also in many lipsticks are proplyene glycol and retinyl palmitate, two substances that have been linked to infertility. Did you know that the artificial colors in most commercial lipsticks are tested on animals? Just another reason to swap this product.

4. Fragrance - Did you know that perfumes are protected under a special "trade secret" law that allows them to avoid revealing all their ingredients? Like lotion and deodorant, fragrance is sprayed on your skin and stays there all day, not to mention we inadvertently breathe some of the particles into our lungs. Just a couple of the hazards include diethyl phthalate, a chemical linked to sperm damage, and linalool, which causes respiratory disturbances and attracts bees to boot! 

5. Shampoo and Conditioner - Like the products above, shampoos and conditioners are full of harmful chemicals, including harsh detergents that just aren't necessary unless you haven't washed your hair for quite some time! You rub these products into your scalp, which means they have the potential to seep into your head. Better to find a natural shampoo that works for you!

Is there a product that you think should be in this list? Let me know! Are you planning on, or have you already made, any product changes? What are they? I'm looking forward to hearing from you! 

Until next time,

J

References:

No More Dirty Looks

The Daily Green

EHow

Environmental Working Group

Other posts of mine you might enjoy:

The Quest for a Natural Deodorant

Body Lotion

My Favorite Toothpaste

I selected this post to be featured on Healthy Living Blogs. Please visit the site and vote for my blog!

The Quest for a Natural Deodorant, or, The Stinky Pit Conundrum Part 1

Why This Topic?

One fact I learned through my research on natural products is that commercial deodorants and antiperspirants have aluminum as their main ingredient, because of its antiperspirant properties. There is much debate out there concerning this ingredient, because it has been stated that it could be linked to breast cancer and Alzheimer's disease. However, many companies and government entities have stated that there is no proven link between aluminum zirconium/aluminum chlorohydrate and health problems. 


Even though the danger of aluminum has not been proven, there are still plenty of other chemicals in commercial antiperspirants and deodorants that are not good for us: parabens, propylene glycol, TEA, DEA, tricolsan, artificial colors, and talc. 

Body Lotions and a Weight Loss Update

First... The Lotion Conundrum:

Body lotion... there are so many to choose from! So how do we know which ones are actually good and which are slowly leaking chemical poisons into your body? Wait... lotion has poison in it? I didn't know this before either, but last year, I read a book called No More Dirty Looks, and I learned a ton about what was in my favorite lotions. 


I used to be a HUGE Bath and Body Works and Victoria's Secret fan. It was so easy to become addicted to B and B Works because every time you go in there, there is some kind of a sale and incentives for you to come back. In addition, they have great smelling products! However, I find it disconcerting that I can't find an ingredients list ANYWHERE on their website. They tell you the fragrance notes, and feel-good ingredients like shea butter or jojoba, but nowhere can you find a complete list. If they were truly proud of their products, the entire list of ingredients should be in plain sight, such as with Burt's Bees or Tom's of Maine. What Bath and Body Works doesn't want you to know is that they put harsh chemicals such as formaldehyde and parabens in all of their products. Some people are willing to dismiss these and other toxic chemicals as being safe in the small amounts that are in lotions.

However, stop and think for a minute. Where does lotion go? ALL over your body, and it stays there, and absorbs, on a daily basis. I don't know about you, but when I decided to switch to more natural products, lotion was my first choice since most everything else (like shampoo, body wash, etc.) would at least get rinsed off. 
(Continued...)