Essential Oils for Healing

Review by Lisa VanWilliams

If you are looking to move away from medical and pharmaceutical solutions to more natural cures, Essential Oils for Healing by author Vannoy Gentles Fite is a great place to start for the beginner. Learn how to treat ailments like sunburn, dry skin, anxiety, repel insects, & reduce sore muscles all naturally with oils. Over 400 ailments and recipes can be found in the book, with all subjects in alphabetical order.

"There is not an illness in existence for which there isn't a plant that can potentially offer relief."

Oils can be expensive, but so are prescriptions. Vannoy goes on to say that essential oils are "just as effective -or more effective - in treating illness as man-made chemical drugs". For example, a 15ml single of lavender oil from Doterra (http://doterra.com/US/en) for goes $28. Lavender oil is one of the most popular oils, and it has been around for thousands of years because of it's number of uses and benefits. A few drops go a long way.

Sunburn? Try this recipe from her book:

Vannoy resides in Texas and has been a herb gardener for over 40 years, and she's also a certified aromatherapist. She goes over the basics about the do's and don't of oils, the 10 most popular oils, then she breaks down the oils and specifically what they treat. She also gives a list of resources where she recommends buying the oils from (reputable companies). Beware of knock off oils as they are abundant. The book will be available for sale July 5th, 2016 for $22.99. You can find it on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/Essential-Oils-Healing-All-Natural-Everyday/dp/1250082609

Ulta Beauty Summer Essentials

Review by Lisa VanWilliams

Here are a few Ulta Beauty Summer Essentials any girl could use to brighten her day. When I walk into Ulta, my needs go out the window and I am like a child in a candy store. I want everything, my eyes wander as fast as they can, I want to look at all the details, and then I my dream snaps back into reality as I'm usually with kids in tow and quick decisions need to be made. The store can be overwhelming with the massive amounts of products and choices. We are going to focus on a few brands they have available so it's not so mind-blowing.

Ulta sent me some of the hot brands they carry to check out. Here's a closer look at Butter London Nails, Whim Nails, Too Faced Peanut Butter and Jelly eye shadow collection, Fiona Styles Mascara & Eye Veil, and it Cosmetics Bye Bye Pores.

The new Too Faced Peanut Butter and Jelly palette has GREAT reviews. It goes for $36 and it's a creamy and decadent eye shadow collection that has nine matte and shimmer shades. It also comes with a 3 step "How-To" glamour guide if you need help creating looks. It smells fab and the colors are incredible. I prefer the lighter shades (Banana is my fav base) but the darker colors are wonderful for creating more dramatic looks. Plus, the case is adorable. This is my favorite so far.

Butter London has a full line of high fashion cosmetics created for the catwalk. I checked out the nail polish in Yummy Mummy. This is a cool beige shimmering nail color, that's a great neutral for all Summer long. The line is 8-free and they go for $15 a bottle and they have tons of popping color options.

Fiona Stiles offers a full line of cosmetics and she is also a top celebrity makeup artist. Take a closer look at the Radiant Aqua Eye Veil that goes for $22. The Veil has pretty good reviews and it's a pretty innovative product. The shadow is a crease-resistant cream eye shadow. It's a little messy to apply but wipes off easily. I tried the Galaxy Way which is a dark smoldering and shimmering color, great for creating dramatic looks. It can be layered or worn alone. It comes in six shades. I also looked at the Limitless Lengths Lash Sculpting Mascara for $16 which was designed to create extreme length, and separation, and definition. The packaging is great, the wand is easy to use. Two coats and I am good to go. If you go one more brush than necessary, it will clump, so go easy when applying to avoid Tammy Faye look.

It Cosmetics makes Bye Bye Pores and over 1,000 people gave it a 4.2 out of 5 rating. They are saying YES to this finishing powder that won't make you look older. It costs $24 and it's a Poreless Finish HD Micro-Powder that will give skin a truly airbrushed look. Cheers to blurring out the imperfections! It you don't want a cakey piled on look, this has great texture and appearance, and it's not heavy.

Lastly, we checked out Whim. Nails. Whim is the Ultra brand of nail polish. They offer 58 colors with a base and top coat system, and they go for $10 a bottle. Party Perfect is a bright festive pink color and Tea Party Proper is a lilac purple.

All of these items can be purchased and found at Ulta. To order, or find a location near you, please go to: http://www.ulta.com/

Trust Fund Beauty

Review by Lisa VanWilliams

Going Commando this Summer? Check out this hip line of summer colors."Put a Ring on It" was recently featured in Stylelist Canada as a must-have makeup product of the year.The polish has a 10-free status so consumers with health issues and skin sensitivities can keep stylish.Safe for children and pets too!

Trust Fund Beauty offers cruelty free and vegan luxury indie cosmetics with an attitude. They have lipsticks, gloss, and tons of  popping nail colors. Some of the nail polish names:Going Commando, Hot in The Hamptons, Ritch Bitch, Just Talk to My Lawyer, Resting Bitch Face, & Bye Felicia. They also offer sets and mini sets of nail colors. Fun names and I can totally picture Cher from the movie Clueless right now loving these up.

They sent me some colors to check out for myself. I applied 3 coats of "Going Commando", and it goes on easily and smoothly with a quick drying time.The wand is longer than I am use to, but no fear! I like it and would recommend the brand. The names are rad and they have a broad spectrum on the rainbow to pick from.

Samara Granofsky started the line in 2014 to honor her late mother who had endured cancer. Chemo treatments had made her moms nails weak and Samara wanted to create products that would minimize toxic contents. She also wanted to create a fun ethical brand with a sense of humor to show that you can be ethical, beautiful and sassy all the time. The products are made in the USA & EU and the company is headquartered in Canada.

Trust Fund also offers a subscription plan for 3 months, 6 months, or 9 months where you will receive either a lipstick, nail polish or another product with free shipping.

You can find out more about the company and order here:
http://trustfundbeauty.com/

Acai Bowls

Lisa VanWilliams

Acai (pronounced ah-sah-EE) Bowls have become very popular over the past few years and unless you have been to Brazil or been hiking around Hawaii, you probably have not had the opportunity to try one of these. You can easily make your own variety of this healthy breakfast bowl in your own home. The acai berry is a delicious fruit packed with tons of health benefits. A typical acai bowl is a mix of berries, and then it's topped with oatmeal/granola, fruit, peanut butter or almond butter, and whatever other healthy goodies you may want to load on top. People use a variety of things like flaxseeds, chia seeds, hemp seeds, fresh fruit, dried fruits, honey, coconut, goji berries, cacao nibs, and nuts. Others like to add in coconut water/milk, almond milk, soy milk, juice, or frozen bananas.

Acai berries are full of antioxidants, fiber, and heart-healthy fats. It is a cross between a blueberry and a grape and they are said to have a chocolate/exotic cocoa taste. They are harvested from the Amazon River Basin of South America.

There are a few places in Connecticut you can find these, and one of them is a food truck in Madison, CT called Bowl'd Creations (Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/bowldcreations/) and they are getting great reviews. Otherwise, you can find acai bowls at juice bars or smoothie spots.

Whole Foods sells a 4-pack of single serve acai for $6.99. These are a healthy, delicious snack for anytime of day.

Here's the mix we used:

Blender
2 acai packs
2 frozen bananas
1 cup+ almond milk

Toppings
coconut shavings
fresh pineapple, strawberries
granola
and I added some almond butter to mine

Parrot Polish

Review by Lisa VanWilliams

If you are looking for some fun hot summer colors you need to check out Parrot Polish. They have 107 insanely unique colors to pick from and they have options like thermal, flake polish, glow in the dark, and multi chrome. Color names like: Hocus Pocus, Hon-Cho Lo, Red Crayfish, and Key Lime just sounds like a party for my nails waiting to happen. They are 100% cruelty free and 5-Free maker, plus you would be supporting various charities and organizations. Prices range from $7-$11 depending on color/effect.

Parrot Polish was started in 2014 by David and his wife Sonja due to his wifey's love & addiction for polish. David is Truck Driver by trade out of Florida and told me he "Drives all night, Parrot all day", and I thought that was pretty inspiring. They got their name and inspiration because they also have a love for Parrots and Parakeets and they wanted to create a way in which they could contribute to charities and rescues. David does not limit his donations to just birds, he has recently made donations to Police charities and children's causes.

David was kind enough to send me 3 colors to check out for myself. I tried Hocus Pocus, Back From The Dead Red, and Ocean Currents.

I also asked David what his 3 most popular colors are with his customers right now and they are all thermal polishes:
#1) Black Magic
#2) Sea Foam
#3) Tranquil Water

The thermals are really cool and they change color before your eyes...great fun for tweens and adults!! So if you haven't tried any out yet, order some from Parrot Polish and you won't be disappointed.

Back From The Dead Red

Back From The Dead Red is a multichrome with a gold, purple to copper hue. It's very reflective and it changes colors as you move like an ever changing shiny rainbow..very cool & different.

Ocean Currents is a green to blue thermal polish and Hocus Pocus (one of my fav Halloween movies, I had to) is a green to purple flake polish.

Sonja also hand makes little heart soaps that come in the shipping boxes sometimes (what a treat!). They help with packing by keeping the bottles secure from moving around while being mailed.

The polishes go on smoothly and it has full coverage in two coats. The quality is really nice. I originally came across the brand when my niece (a self-proclaimed nail polish addict & hoarder) recently posted a picture on social media. I would recommend the brand. It's fun, new, different, and the color options are plentiful!

Parrot Polish has just started selling to Singapore and Russia. He is actually running a contest in Russia to see who can do the best hand drawn nail parrot. He says there is incredible nail art talent there. So, you can follow them on the links below to check out the competition.

Parrot Polish and David have a great reputation and it was a pleasure to try out the polishes. I will definitely be ordering more of these.

You can find out more about Parrot Polish and order here:
http://www.parrotpolish.com/home.html
You can also order some colors on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Dbeauty&field-keywords=parrot+polish

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/ParrotPolish/?fref=ts

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/parrot_polish/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ParrotPolish?lang=en

Dodo is a rescue that resides at Snowflake Pet Center in Milford,CT and he is modeling Ocean Currents

Still Life in Rio Eau De Parfum/Olfactive Studio

Review by Lisa VanWilliams

Still Life in Rio is the newly launched 2016 fragrance of Rio de Janeiro for men and women. Rio is also the home of the Summer Olympics. Still Life is a celebration of life and Dora Baghriche-Arnaud created this intoxicating cocktail of Yuzu, ginger, mint, & lemon essence. Then it hits you with a warm blend of rare peppers, coconut water, finishing off with rum, and dry woody Brazilian Copaiba essence.

They were kind enough to send me a bottle of the perfume to sample for myself. It's an intoxicating new spin on citrus and I have never smelled anything like before. This will be my Summer go-to perfume. If your looking for a Mother's Day present or you just want to change up your scent with the changing of the seasons, this is a wonderful choice and I would recommend it. It's expensive but it's worth it. The smell will last all day and linger into the next morning.

Olfactive Studio is a fragrance brand that intersects the art of photography with the art of perfumery. Flavio Veloso is the Brazilian photographer that took the mesmerizing photo of the bay in Rio, and they also include a post card size photo inside included the box of parfum. It goes for $195 for 100ml, $145 for 50ml, and you can also sample it for $4.

The 100ml comes in a large black thickly padded box. The bottle is a beautiful thick glass and it's topped with a mother of pearl type of cap.

 

Top notes: Yuzu, Elemi, Peppers: pink pepper, black pepper, Sichuan pepper
Heart notes: Star Anise, Galbanum
Base notes: Dark Rum, Cedarwood, Ambrox

You can purchase Still Life in Rio at Barneys:
http://www.barneys.com/Olfactive-Studio-Still-Life-in-Rio-Eau-De-Parfum-100ml-504560486.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&cmpntype=pla&campaignid=345630315&adgroupid=27680611395&campaign=[PLA]%20-%20Product%20Types%20-%20Tier%203%20Eastern&adgroup=Women%20-%20Beauty%20-%20Fragrances&product_partition_id=138685828361&product_id=00505045604874&k_clickid=cf72315f-5d6a-4f7a-b7e7-ad98e4acaf74&gclid=CMSTlojywMwCFcYehgodo0cA6g

Twisted Lily carries the full size parfum as well as sampler size:
http://twistedlily.com/shop/eau-de-parfum/still-life-in-rio/

You can learn more about Olfactive Studio here:
http://www.olfactivestudio.com/international/slir

Ecco Bella - All Natural Organic Beauty

Review by Lisa VanWilliams

Ecco Bella translates to "Behold Beautiful", and Sally Malanga started the whole company because of her disgust with the use of animals for product testing.  She now has a full line of organic & cruelty free beauty products and a percentage of profits is donated towards non-profit agencies like: Friends of Animals, Primarily Primates, Mylestone Equine Rescue, Bringing Awareness to the Suffering of Animals, and Animal Place. The line is mostly vegan (a few items contain carmine), paraben free, gluten free, and they use Flowercolor which is earth minerals infused with flower wax so it's suppose to last longer on your skin. If your looking to check out some chemical free cosmetics, here's a great place to start.

They have a great palette of eyeshadows, lipsticks, smoothers, glosses, & pencils. They also have wonderful little black refillable compacts so you can mix and match color combo's. The products do not come in cases, but it would be a one time purchase (the cases are around $10 each). Ecco Bella also offers skin care products, body care, hair care, and parfums.

They sent me a few products to check out for myself. My pick of the bunch is the Natural Blush in Wild Rose ($15.95 case not included). A little goes a long way, and it lasts for hours. It comes in seven shades total if you need something lighter or darker. It's a strong color that goes on easily. Normally, I have to go over my cheeks a few times to get my desired look, but this worked in one swipe.

My next pick is the Flowercolor Lipstick ($19.95). We tried Latte which is a medium brown. It goes on smoothly with no feathering and it lasts a while. Total of 17 different colors to pick from whatever colors would look best on you.

The Natural Eyeshadows ($14.95) in Clay and Fawn are great neutral colors for any base or daytime look. I applied one coat on in the morning and it did not last very long. So, I applied some more on thicker around noontime, and it held out for the rest of the day. Great colors, just go heavy for longevity. It you like very natural, one coat would be fine.

Lastly, we tried the Flowercolor Mascara ($19.95) which is a lightweight mascara. It comes in brown or black. We tried the black. It's great at not clumping, it provides great length, and it lasts all day. I could not achieve much volume, but the length is there. I like this for daytime wear as I prefer a more dramatic volumized look at night. It has a dainty little brush and it's easy to apply to every lash (even in the nooks).

Ecco Bella is available several locations, and you can search the store locator to find the one nearest you here: http://www.eccobella.com/store-locator/

You can also order all their products directly from their website here: http://www.eccobella.com/