Anxiety Relief Essential Oil Blend

Phytopia oil blend has the most pleasant smell! I’m not even a huge fan of all the flowery smells, but Vanilla and Sweet Orange tone out Geranium and Rose. All the ingredients are organic. It was a nice surprise, because usually when something is organic, the package screams about it. Phytopia product is modest about its quality. However I don’t have to be! I used it on and off for over a week, and can definitely say that my sleep is deeper and less interrupted after neck and shoulder massage from my wife. I work 60 hours a week, and it’s very difficult to take the mind completely off the work when I’m at home. This sweet oil blend just takes my mind to vacation places, and I’m having the sweetest dreams. It fulfills all the promises that Phytopia advertises.

Anti-Cellulite Cream

Instanatural Anti-Cellulite Cream is one of my favorites. I love the nice smell, I love the pleasant texture, I love the neat color. This lotion makes my skin feel very soft and smooth. Not only does it reduce the appearance of the cellulite, but also tightens the skin. It’s perfect for older women whose skin has already started aging. I like that it doesn’t have any extreme hot or cold effects on the skin like many other creams. Yes, the heating effect might be pleasant in winter, and cooling might be nice in summer. But sometime I just need a break. I don’t always want to stress my skin into some extreme temperature. So far this has been very pleasant relaxing experience with obvious positive results.

Posture Corrector

I have a desk job and spend between 8 and 12 hours with my laptop every day. As much as I try to be conscious of my posture I can’t control myself for such long period of time. I’d catch myself hunching every now and then. It results in back pain and poor posture overall. This is how the Notre Dame hunchback became a hunchback. I wanted something simple and easy to use, something over the counter and I chose Yosoo Back Posture Corrector. It took me a while to figure out what goes where, but as soon as I did everything went exactly the way I wanted. I think anyone XS-L size can use it. I’m not sure how you can stretch it though. If you are not used to back braces you might want to start with wearing it only for a couple of hours a day. You can increase that amount as your body gets used to the corrector.

Mattifying Toner

InstaNatural is one of the best toners I have ever had. It’s great for oily, combination and normal skin. I would not recommend it for sensitive or/and dry skin. It has a little burning effect that won’t be a big deal for normal skin, but would irritate instantly the sensitive skin. Clay is what makes unique and significant difference. My skin became matte immediately, and what’s most importantly it stayed that way all day under my makeup. The skin felt fresh, never too dry. It’s the perfect toner. It’s dual face, so be sure to shake and mix it well.

Bouchard Belgian Chocolate

Bouchard has been making chocolate since 1931. It has been acquired by bigger companies a couple of times, but it didn’t reflect on the flavor and quality of their signature Napolitains chocolate series. Belgian chocolatiers have a good reputation around the world for a reason.

I tried the dark chocolate. It has 72% of cacao. To give you an idea Hershey’s dark chocolate contains 45-50% of cacao. Plenty of cocoa butter ensures that glossy finish translates to a beautifully smooth mouthfeel. The chocolate melts slowly at first, taking a moment for the flavors to start to come
through. Bouchard Napolitains chocolate is very smooth, fruity and bitter. It is not grainy and doesn’t have the acidic undertone like many other chocolates. It’s definitely not chocolate that you pig out on. It must be slowly savored. Save it for the stressful day and relax at home with a glass of red wine and two chocolates.

Herbal Sleep Tea

I have troubles letting go of my work day and forgetting all the daytime stress before going to bed. I keep playing over and over in my head this meeting and that conference. I end up sleepless till midnight and then broken in the morning. I don’t like taking pills unless unless I absolutely have to. I just want a little help from Mother Nature. Herbal Sleep Tea from Cuppa Magic has been my solution lately.

This tea blend is quite strange. It almost tastes like it doesn’t have a taste. I don’t know how to explain it. Water has more taste than this tea. It’s not a good or a bad thing. It’s just something that I have never experienced with teas before. I’m an avid tea drinker. I have a giant tea collection and my own herbal garden. I had no idea that you can achieve this strange effect by blending together so many herbs with distinctive taste. The ingredients are quite amazing: rosebuds, licorice, spearmint, orange, chamomile, mint, saffron, basil, rosehip, ginger root, lemongrass and fennel seeds.

Wine Rack

I got this wine rack from Bella Vino. It looks very cute on the photo, but not so much in the real life. If you are looking for a cheap solution to store your wines, this would work for you perfectly. If you want something more upscale, increase your budget. Mine came with some scratches and one stake too short. I still made it work though and it wasn't too difficult to hide the defects.

Rolling Pin

I love home-made ravioli and was in a desperate need for a new rolling pin. This time my choice fell on this rolling pin from Lasten. It’s not too big, not too small. I think 11 inches is a perfect size for the rolling pin. I made a ravioli type of dish with it today. The trick about the dough that I needed for it was that it had to be super stretchy and super thin. I didn’t add enough flour to it in the beginning because I didn’t want to make it too thick and ruin the whole recipe. So the dough was a little runny and very sticky. I put some flour on my working surface, some flour on the rolling pin and got to work. I was so excited to receive this item for free/a discounted price in exchange of my honest and unbiased review.

The rolling pin was perfect. The dough didn’t stick to it at all. It was very easy to use. It’s very convenient to hold it. I don’t have any blisters on my hands like with my old rolling pin. Everything was smooth and easy. Having been made from wood it is very pleasant to the touch.

Earl Grey Green Jasmine Tea

Teaveli tea is a high-quality product. It’s organic. It’s hand-picked. It’s delicious. I love loose tea and Earl Grey Jasmine mix would make a lovely addition to my collection. I received this item for free/a discounted price in exchange of my honest and unbiased review.

I like my tea strong and used two tea spoons of the leaves per 32 ounces of water. I also forgot that I made it last night and it steeped longer than usually. It was super nice and strong this morning. The Jasmine flavor is very faint, like a hint. Green tea flavor prevails. Since my tea turned extra strong, it tastes like something in between of black and green tea. Very interesting. This tea is perfect for summer. You can chill it in the fridge. It quenches the thirst very well. You can also drink it fresh and hot and it will keep you nice and warm during the winter.

Tea Filter Bags

I love loose tea. I have a very nice herbal collection. I have been drinking herbal loose teas since I was a little girl. I personally don’t care if a little part gets into my mouth. However my spouse can’t stand to have a piece of herb being stuck to the inside of her teeth. On the other hand I can’t stand commercial pre-packaged filtered tea infused with artificial badness. Gross. We both found that the tea filter bags is the perfect compromise for our tea habits. I was so excited to receive this item for free/a discounted price in exchange of my honest and unbiased review.

I chose the tea bags by Musings because they are made from recyclable and biodegradable paper. They are also compostable. We have a nice little garden and we love composting. Our soil loves getting tea leftovers.

You can put up to four tea spoons of tea in the filter bag. I only put two tea spoons since I was using strong black tea. I closed the tea bag by pulling the strings in different direction. I put the tea bag in my electric tea pot and boiled it. I forgot to take it out last night, so it was steeping all night. It didn’t do any damage to the paper. It’s as solid as it was yesterday. Very good quality.

Castile Soap

I make my own soap and facial cleansers. This Castile Soap is taking my hobby onto a new level. Now I am making my own body wash and shampoo. I chose Natural Way Organics Castile Soap because it doesn’t have any additives, any smell, anything artificial in it. It’s a pure and healthy as a Castile Soap can possibly get. On top of it all, it’s organic.

There are many ways to use it beyond making your own beauty products:
- All Purpose Cleaning Spray. The ratio should be 1 part of Castile Soap to 16 parts of water.
- Produce Wash. Add a quarter of tea spoon of soap into a large bowl of water and rince your veggies thoroughly
- Hand Soap. Use 2 table spoons of Castile Soap per 8 ounce bottle. Mix in your choice of essential oils. I made mine with Bergamot essential oil. Fill the rest of the bottle with clean water, preferably bottled drinking water. Shake.
- Shaving cream. Dilute one part of Castile Soap with two parts of water.
- Organic pesticide for your garden. I personally have a slug problem in my garden. I found recipe to do the job best. 1 teaspoon of castile soap, 1 teaspoon of pine essential oil. Mix with water in 24 ounces bottle.
- Pet shampoo. Apply directly.
- Floor Cleaner. Mix half a cup of Castile Soap in a 3 gallon bucket of water
- Laundry detergent. Dissolve 6 ounces of baking soda, 1 cup of Borax (optional) and 2 ounces of finely grated sea salt in 2 cups of warm water. Pour it into a gallon container and mix with one cup of Castile Soap. Add a tablespoon of an essential oil. Anything citrusy, lavender or eucalyptus would work best.
- Foot bath. Put one tea spoon of Castile Soap in your foot bath, add 8 drops of tea tree essential oil
- Mouthwash. Add one tea spoon of Castile Soap into a 16 ounces bottle of fresh water. Add 10 drops of peppermint essential oil. Shake and enjoy.