Green Options

I gained a lot of weight with both of my pregnancies, and one thing I did religiously was drink lots of water and apply essential oils to my belly. The result:  I have very few stretchmarks that are not noticeable. Belli Elasticity Belly Oil is the perfect natural product for preventing stretchmarks during pregnancy.

Belli Pregnancy is concerned about the products women put on their skin while pregnant.

Most pregnant women know that what they put - or don’t put - in their bodies is important to the health of their baby…Most of us slather on layers of lotions and creams every day, but we don’t think about what might be being absorbed into our bodies through our skin. With a growing baby in your belly, this is a necessary concern.  There are many considerations one should take into account for pregnancy skin care products…Some products may contain ingredients that can potentially cause birth defects or fetal abnormalities…Belli is the only company in the world to perform teratology screening of our ingredients to help guard against birth defects.

I have always loved the idea of aromatherapy and at times (headache, extreme stress…) have tried it.  But the idea of having to 1) research which essential oils are appropriate for which need, and 2) buy and combine said oils without coming up with something obnoxious, sounded like more than I wanted to take on.  And even though essential oils can be very beneficial they are also very potent and care needs to be taken when using them.

Not long ago Stancie Wilson reported on Nuworld Botanicals Aromatherapy Personals on her blog Fig+Sage, and I just had to try them.  They are little rollerball vials that combine aromatherapy and acupressure, along with health benefits of antioxidants, vitamins and 100% certified organic essential oils.  Nuworld Botanicals uses a base of 100% certified organic Jojoba oil to dilute the essential oils for safe use.

Hankettes began in 1996 as a small home business in the founders’ attic, making simple handkerchiefs out of organic cotton.  Today, they make and sell some of the greatest in reusable “green” products out there.  And there’s now much more than just handkerchiefs!

What makes Hankettes so great?  There isn’t a single aspect of “green” production that they’ve missed. All their products are hand-sewn.  The cloth is all organically-grown cotton.  Coloured fabrics are either colour-grown or hand-dyed with fiber reactive dyes.  Production is all local, along the Sunshine Coast in British Columbia, Canada.  It’s still at heart a small family business.  Their practices are transparent.  Their website links to “green” information, resources, and even competitors.  And the family itself is a homesteading, homeschooling, compost toileting role model, that truly walks the walk.  They are proof positive that sustainable and ethical business practices can be successful.

Our business truly reflects our lives and enhances the lives of our environmentally conscious customers around the world who purchase our natural based products.

Liz Thompson recently introduced us to Further Soap, a biodegradable soap crafted from glycerin left behind in the bio-fuel making process.  She shares the fascinating story of a husband and wife team who find a way to transform grease from Los Angeles restaurants into automobile bio-diesel and eventually into Bergamot-scented hand soap.

If you thought this “perfect sustainable circle” couldn’t possible get any better…it just did.  For each bottle of Further Soap you purchase on Wednesday April 22, you will receive one bottle free. And you don’t even have to pay for shipping!

Eat some fries, fill your diesel, wash your hands.  How do these three things relate?  They have a common bond through oil.  Not following?  Let’s break it down.

Marshall Dostal has driven a bio-diesel fueled automobile for years which runs on biofuel he makes himself in his own garage from waste oil he gets from some of L.A.’s finest restaurants.  Once drums of glycerin (a byproduct of the biofuel distillation process) began to build up, Marshall’s wife, Megan, came up with the idea of making soap from the glycerin.  And Further Soap was born.

Add to this their signature fragrance, essential oils of Bergamot, Olive, and exotic grasses, and you have one spectacular hand soap.  It is super cleansing and the scent is very fresh and unique.

The His and Hers Special Edition Passion Candles by Illume have got to be the most sensual candles I have ever lit. They smell amazing. The Passion Candles combine the His and the Hers scents into one candle with a completely erotic aroma. These candles smell good before you even light them. Spices, woods, vanilla and sugar are the heady aromas that will fill your senses-truly sugar and spice and everything nice but not just for the girls…guys will love them too.

The Top Five Secrets of Indian Beauty

Slumdog Millionaire is a great movie. Uplifting and heartwarming, without being cheesy. But let’s be honest for about 45 seconds, shall we? Freida Pinto is a total babe. I’m a straight woman and I’m halfway in love with her. Want to know her beauty secrets, other than unfair genes? Here are five, for starters.

1.  Aromatherapy

Most of us know the benefits of aromatherapy, but it’s useful to know the individual benefits of the plants, herbs and fruits used in this wonderful form of alternative medicine. Basil, for example, helps with digestion, while cinnamon acts as a stimulant and lemongrass helps reduce cellulite. Florapathics has an extensive selection of aromatherapy products with prices as refreshing as their ingredients.

With green living, homeopathy and natural alternatives growing in popularity, soap makers are springing up around the world, concocting magical creations of coconut and lime in gleaming, glycerin-infused goodness that cleanse the body, mind and soul. 

Oh, and your hands too!

Growing up in my house, ‘handmade’ soap consisted of my mother gathering up all the remaining bits of bar soap from the shower and bathtubs, tossing them into a container with some water and shaking it up.  “Voila, hand soap!” she would state proudly.  But her objectives were to save money, not create a luxurious lather to soothe and soften the skin.  And, trust me, an acrid amalgum of Dial and Irish Spring was anything but soothing! 

But today’s handmade soaps are a beneficial blend of nourishing nutrients, rich with essential oils and alleviating aromatherapy that care for the skin and calm the senses.  And because they’re chemical-free, they’re an eco-friendly alternative to their caustic counterparts, making them a great way to indulge yourself and the earth.

“In Fiore is Italian for In Bloom…”

Founded in 1999, In Fiore was created out of a desire to recreate the wisdom and traditions of couture European Apothecaries. The founder currently studies in a new program that will merge homeopathy and energy medicine into the blooming In Fiore lines.

Right now, I am longing to try is this VITALE Toning Floral Essence:

In Fiore Vitale is “an aloe-based toning essence with fourteen herbal infusions including chamomile flowers and nettles, and essential oils of cypress, rose, and myrrh that revitalize and

Mandy Aftel has been described variously as, “one of the great living masters of natural perfume,” (Affluent Lifestyle Mag), “the Angel of Alchemy”, (Vanity Fair) and “Couture fragrance … one of Hollywood’s chicest secrets,” (Vogue). We’ll simply call her, “Olfactory Alchemy Genius.” Working out of her ‘Aftelier Perfumes’ store, Aftel is most notable for the creation of covetable bespoke scents, but she also has her own fragrance collection for those who can’t afford her (arguably) more illustrious talents. Believing that synthetic essences have no complexity, mystery or emotional intensity, she hand blends from a selection of more than 500 essences that have been sourced from all around the globe.

Welcome to April Aromatics where natural aromatherapy and perfumery for people, their homes and offices are offered. These products can rejuvenate moods, emotions and one’s state of mind from inside out. Ingredients are all natural, pure, wild-crafted and certified organic whenever possible.

Founder Tanja Bochnig’s expertise is creating exclusive, all-natural scents and customized intuitive perfumes. Her skills are amplified from experiences, — such as witnessing harvesting and distillation by her essential oil suppliers. And it doesn’t hurt that she seems to have an incredible born-gifted nose that is winning her much-deserved admiration.