Fresh Picked Stuff

Karma Organic - Nail Polish reaches a whole new level

2010-12-16T20:21:00.002-05:00

Thought all nail polish was created equal? Think again.

Karma Organic has taken nail polish to a whole new level: organic, no harsh odours (in other words no stink!), and cruelty free. Along with that this nail polish is durable, easy to apply and dries quick as a wink. I have to admit the dry time alone would have gotten me hooked, but add it in with all the other benefits of Karma Organic Polish and I have achieved nail polish heaven.

There are 90 (yes - 90!!!!!!!!) colours available – it would be impossible not to find 1, or 2 or 10 that are just the right shade for every occasion or each piece of clothing in your wardrobe. You can wear a new colour everyday for 3 months and then start all over again. Don’t want to change your colour that often? Wear the same colour for a week or two – depending on your hand habits this polish will last as long, or in some cases, longer than nail polish products that aren’t good for you or the environment.

Chip resistant with a non-yellowing formula, no Toulene, no DBP, no Formaldehyde, safe for pregnant women, kids, cancer patients and allergy sufferers?

Good-bye old regular chemical laden nail polish, Hello Karma Organic.

Nail Polish Remover - without the stink or the toxins?? Possible and True!

2010-12-13T20:52:00.001-05:00

I have to admit that at first I was skeptical.

Nail Polish Remover that doesn’t smell, that’s soy based and will actually remove nail polish? Not to mention that it’s organic, and not harmful to you, your skin, or your nails. Really?

I removed the lid from the Karma Organic Unscented Nail Polish Remover and expected something, anything. A fragrance, a slight smell, but there was nothing. Not a thing. No scent at all.

Okay, there was no fragrance in the Unscented but how was it going to work? The first few swipes nothing happened. “Aha,” I thought, “I was right; this is NEVER going to take this polish off.” But it did. And in record time! Once through those first few swipes with the organic cotton round the polish was gone! Vamoosed, a thing of the past, never to be seen again! And the soy oil left my cuticles feeling pretty darned good too. Not dried out or damaged, just soft and supple. Nice.

Nail Polish remover has always been a pet peeve: damaging, smelly, and guaranteed “bad” to put on your nails or to touch your skin. But what was a girl to do when she wanted to have great looking nails with colour? Thank goodness for the people at Karma Organic and their so savvy use of the humble soy bean.

What other ingredients can you expect in Karma Organic Unscented Nail Polish Remover? Propylene Carbonate, which is an organic colourless and odourless liquid used as a solvent, Tocopheryl Acetate, also known as Vitamin E, and, of course, Soybean Oil.

Karma Organic Nail Polish Remover is available in three configurations: Lavender scented, Tea Tree scented and Unscented. And, as if that weren’t enough, the smart people at Karma Organic also made it 100% biodegradable, non-toxic, non-carcinogenic, free of any petroleum ingredients, derived it from farm crops, and they then packaged it in 100% recyclable glass bottles.

Wow. What’s next? Why organic Nail Polish, of course. Stay tuned.

Neat Freak? Read on.....

2010-09-28T20:32:00.001-04:00

I’m embarrassed to say that I’ve been selling Handbag Organizers at http://www.lovethosebags.ca/ for two plus years and had never tried them out.

I’ve had numerous customers tell me how happy they were with them, how much they loved them, what did they ever do without them, but I had never tried one myself until this week. This week I changed over from a Butler Bag to a Kara James "Grace" Bag (true luxury in a handbag, but that will be a different blog) and decided to pop a Handbag Organizer in at the same time. Wow. The organizer took my fantabulous Kara James Grace Bag to a new level. Don’t get me wrong (as you will find out in a soon to be arriving blog about the Kara James bag) the KJ bag has lots of pockets to hold various items, which is where my cell phone now lives, but the organizer turned the center bag area into a wonderland of organization.

Grace meet your new best friend......

I don’t know about you but I have always found handbags to be disorganized and frustrating. Searching and looking and searching some more is especially aggravating when you’re holding up the line at the grocery store, or the coffee shop or the bank. I have better things to do with my time as I’m certain all the people behind me in the line-ups do too. Enter the Handbag Organizer. What a great idea!

The organizer has pockets around the outside perimeter, the inside and a large center pocket which is perfect for your wallet, eyeglass case and cheque book. What joy to be able to find my keys, lip gloss, pen, notebook, mirror, hand lotion, need I say more? Bliss is what I call it. Pure bliss.

There’s more: the organizer comes in three different sizes: large, medium and small, in three different colours: red, silver and black. I used medium silver in my KJ Grace bag and it was a perfect fit!

One of the best things about the organizers is the ease of moving things from one handbag to another. The handles make it so easy! You just simply lift it out, with all of your stuff inside, and move it from one bag to another. Wow. What innovation!

Organization never looked or worked so well.

Arganat Products combine argan oil and clay in a skin care line that works!

2010-09-10T20:18:00.021-04:00

I always check any product that goes onto my skin at the Skin Deep website. Skin Deep, Cosmetic Safety Reviews, offers insight into hazard ratings for personal products. Products are rated between 0 (not a hazard) and 10 (a high hazard). The ratings are further detailed to show what effects the product can have on your overall well being, and what illness and/or disease each ingredient may contribute to, like cancer or sterility. Not surprisingly, on a scale of 0 to 10, Arganat products all rate a 0, without any added warnings or concerns. I was impressed. No hazard warnings means the Arganat product line lives up to its all natural claims, but how would it perform as a cleanser, anti-wrinkle booster and anti-aging enhancer?

The two main ingredients of the Arganat line are Argan Oil and Clay.

Derived from the nuts of the argan plant, argan oil is considered to be nature’s anti-aging skin food. It improves skin’s overall health, reduces the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, strengthens elasticity, and protects against stretch marks. Moroccan women have traditionally used argan oil as the basis of their beauty routines. They apply it to their skin, hair and nails. Being rich in vitamin E argan oil is a major anti-oxidant, and the presence of triterpens (I looked this up in the Online Dictionary, but it is not a word Merriam-Webster recognizes. Therefore I am going with the meaning listed on the Arganat site and other sites that sell argan oil products), gives it a restructuring role. Argan oil has the benefits of olive oil, grape seed oil, avocado oil and almond oil, combined.

The clays used in the Arganat product line are green, white, red and yellow. These clays are sun-dried and aged. Clays are absorbing, antiseptic, and healing, and have long been used as skin enhancers. Clays go on in liquid form which allows them to work by penetrating into the cracks, creases and pores. They are then able to grab onto dirt, grime, dead skin cells and oils that cause damage to skin. Some clay based products, like Arganat’s Daily Care for Face and Neck, are intended to dry while on the skin. This drying effect aids in pulling out impurities from pores, thereby offering them a deep cleansing.

During the day you can follow the Daily Care for Face and Neck with the Anti-Wrinkle Treatment. Rich in Argan Oil and Clay the Anti-Wrinkle Treatment is a terrific moisturizer for eyes, face and neck. Squirt it on two cotton pads (organic preferred) and lay on your eyes. I love this because I get 10 minutes to do NOTHING but RELAX while my eyes get a terrific treat. After 10 minutes you can moisturize your face and neck with the same cotton pads you used on your eyes. Just move them around in a circular motion.

The evening routine is almost the same as the day. Follow the Daily Care with the Anti-Wrinkle Treatment, let the treatment dry and then follow with either the Power Cream (this cream is wonderful! I’ve used it on dry itchy elbows, cuts and as a night time moisturizer) or with the Fountain of Youth Serum. Heaven. One thing I will caution about is that the serum has an ever so slight fragrance, which isn’t unpleasant or pleasant it is just “there”. That aside, the serum is great and on my 50+ skin it’s a miracle worker!

Arganat also carries a facial mask that, because I have normal to dry skin, I use once a month. The oilier your skin the more often you can use it – up to 4 times a month. The Scale Preventative Facial Mask will leave your skin clean, refreshed, and pampered. Round out the routine with an Anti-Wrinkle Treatment.

The products in the Arganat line combine to give you great skin, while lessening the appearance of lines and wrinkles. They are recognized by PETA for being cruelty free, listed in the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics and are listed with Living Toxin Free.

Arganat is a Canadian Company.

Workout Time!

2010-09-05T12:57:00.017-04:00

Love to work out but hate going to the gym? Enter the world of exercise DVDs. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of workout DVDs available. How to pick one that will be effective at trimming you down, toning you up and motivating you all at the same time? Enter the world of Jillian Michaels.

Michaels reputation as a tough girl trainer from the “Biggest Loser” is well deserved. But, if you’re looking for a workout routine that delivers in a short period of time and don’t want to spend hours at the gym, then Jillian is the girl for you. Follow her exercise routines and you will lose weight and feel great.

No excuses about equipment or space limitations or even time constraints - all you need to workout with Jillian is a set or two of hand weights, a mat and between 20 and 60 minutes. Who doesn't have up to 60 minutes to do something good for themselves?

Jillian has numerous exercise DVDs available: 30 Day Shred, Banish Fat Boost Metabolism, No More Trouble Zones, Yoga Meltdown, and available Sept. 7 is Shred It with Weights. Add in The Biggest Loser workouts and you can build a great collection of fitness DVDs that will give you huge results in a record period of time.

My husband (yes, he works out with me) and I started out with Jillian’s 30 Day Shred routine. There are three levels, each consisting of a 20 minute workout. We did each level for approximately 2 weeks before moving on to the next. Jillian guarantees results in a short workout routine, in a short period of time, and the 30 Day Shred lives up to her promises.

The 30 Day Shred was our DVD of choice for about three months before we started including some of her others into our schedule. From the 30 Day Shred we moved on to Banish Fat Boost Metabolism. This is a fairly intense (intense for us 50 plusses) cardio routine that lasts for approximately 60 minutes including the warm-up and cool-down. We now incorporate seven different Jillian Michaels DVDs into our schedule: 30 Day Shred, Banish Fat Boost Metabolism, No More Trouble Zones, Yoga Meltdown, Biggest Loser Last Chance Workout, Biggest Loser Cardio Blast, and Biggest Loser Power Sculpt. Each DVD offers the opportunity to work on a different part of your body in a different way.

Want great results quickly? Keep your body wondering what you are going to do with it next, don’t let it get used to one workout, one routine, one way to work your muscles. Changing it up will give you great results, making each workout efficient and worthwhile. Work on cardio one day and weights the next. Working this way you can work out every day. Cardio gives your muscles time off of weights for the repair stage. Your muscles need to repair to build themselves into lean fat burning machines.

Remember to eat well (think fruits, vegetables, lean protein) and keep with a routine. The easiest way to make sure you stick to it? Set aside the same time each day for your workout. Don’t let anything come between you and that time for yourself. It’s hard being everything to everyone but you can’t be anything for anyone if you aren’t looking out for yourself first. Exercise and eating well are the best ways to take care of yourself so you can take care of everything else.

Oh, and in case you're wondering I lost 25 pounds and my husband lost 14 over an 8 month period. We watched what we ate, stuck to a routine, and laughed all the way to the weight loss bank. Believe me if we can do it at 50+ you can too.

Olivier Soaps - An All Natural Piece of Skin Care Heaven

2010-08-29T12:56:00.002-04:00

Interested in your overall wellbeing? Looking for natural beauty products that deliver the goods? Try the products at Olivier Soaps.

Olivier’s product line is varied and versatile: women, men, babies, they cover us all.

Specifically for women is Femme, a luxury line of products that offers wholesome ingredients in a format that works. Femme has you covered from head to toe: shampoo, conditioner, body soap, body scrub, body toner, facial washes and moisturizers. Each product contains its own unique blend of natural components providing the right mix of ingredients to clean, tone and moisturize. Personally I LOVE the Multi-Cream. It’s rich, thick and oh so moisturizing. At night I use it on my face and neck and during the day it becomes my eye cream.

Need an all-over body moisturizer? Try the Derma-Latte. Olive Oil, Sweet Almond Oil, Essential Oil of Calendula all come together to give you the silky, smooth skin you always knew you had, but hadn’t yet found. The Derma-Latte (and other Olivier products) can be personalised via essential oils with the fragrance of your choice. I always choose unscented simply so the essential oil doesn’t clash with my perfume.

Guess what? They also have soap that you can use as a shave cream. Oh and guess what else? It actually leaves your skin softer than using any shave gels or creams on the market (believe me I have tried them all). Oh, and shave creams and gels are full of chemicals. Not so with Olivier's Kelp Soap. No chemicals here, just natural ingredients providing smooth skin and a soft shave.

They have it all, it’s all natural and it's all Canadian.

Olivier Soaps is also a proud signer of The Compact for Safe Cosmetics.