essential oils « ((little fat notebook))

Posts Tagged ‘essential oils’

Prospurly April 2016 review

laelene Posted in reviews, subscriptions，Tags: boxes, coffees, drinks, essential oils, face masks, flowers, pictures, plants, products, prospurly, reviews, salves, seeds, serums, spring, subscriptions, teas

04 May 2016

Oops, I almost forgot to write about this one! It’s been here since the weekend and I opened it up, but then got distracted with the busy work week.

Prospurly is just under $45 per box (with code for 10% off your subscription – use my referral links from this post) and comes with artisan foods, bath & body items, home products, and other sustainably crafted items. Boxes are sent monthly with no option to skip. They offer a referral program that earns you free boxes.

Holy Schmidt Coffee Co. Costa Rica Rio Jorco – Alas, I’m not a coffee drinker so this will have to go to someone else. I don’t know much about coffee, but I like that this is ecologically responsible.

Heather Lane Cosmetics Hand & Cuticle Salve in Garden Blend – This is a great item for spring. I like the unique ingredients, like plantain and mallow leaf. It’s wonderful for the rougher skin you might get from working outside or even washing dishes. My cuticles will be very happy with this!

The Moontree Jasmine Rose Cleansing Facial Serum – How cool! I love the actual flowers and petals floating in the serum and I’ve never had a cleansing serum before. I guess it’s sort of like the cleansing oil I use. I didn’t really smell the flowers though, so I wish they’d added some essential oils for an extra boost. I enjoy rubbing it in and feeling it sink in, softening my skin.

Rishi Tangerine Ginger tea – Totally saving this for school, when I think I will be drinking tea all the time (at least I’ll try). This one’s herbal so I’ll keep it for drinking before sleeping.

Lotus Natural LifeBlends Essential Oil in Allergy – This came at the perfect time. I was having an awful time with allergies I developed recently and I needed everything I could get that would help alleviate the discomfort. This roll-on helps with sinuses and it just feels soothing to apply to areas that I’m itchy too.

Free Mountain Seeds Wildflower Seed Bombs – Perfect for Earth Day and spring in general, these seed bombs will be fun to plant! It’s so exciting to see something sprout and grow, though I’m not good at keeping things alive beyond that initial stage. Still, these will be great to use when I want an assortment of flowers. I’ll probably save most until I’m done with school and have a place to garden. I wonder if my mom would like them…

The Moontree Blush & Blossom Rose Clay Mask – I like how this mask smells and having it in powder form makes it easy to bring along. I love that I can mix it with things other than water, like honey or yogurt. That sounds like fun! I look forward to trying that out.

I enjoyed this box and found many items to be very timely for the season. I’m not sure I’ll be able to give this subscription up! What do you think of this month’s box?

[This post contains affiliate links. Signing up through them helps support my subscription and I’d be ever so grateful. 🙂 All opinions are my own and I received no compensation for this review. I just purchased this box and wanted to share what I got!]

Prospurly March 2016 review

laelene Posted in reviews, subscriptions，Tags: bath bombs, beeswax, body butters, boxes, candles, charcoal, essential oils, face washes, prospurly, reviews, subscriptions, tea, trinkets

02 April 2016

It was a battle getting the key to work on the mailbox compartment for packages at our place. For some reason the postperson always puts my packages in box #2, which takes about 5 minutes to get open each time. I was then very happy to find this box, which had some heft to it.

Tops Malibu Flying Magic Butterfly – How adorable! You wind this up and place it inside a book or card so when someone opens it, a little butterfly shoots out. Make sure you point the butterfly towards the top of the card or book so it doesn’t hit the person. I found it shot out more than flew out, but was really fun to play with.

Essential Living Foods coconut chips – Oh my, what a massive bag of coconut chips! I definitely have to take this to work since I’m still working on the one I got from Yogi Surprise. I can barely remember to eat yogurt for breakfast, much less add these chips to them, so this is going to be slow going. With my colleagues’ help, they can make quick work of these. This was the surprise treat in the box, which seems to be a new thing they’re doing.

Vicara Good Morning essential oil – I’ve never had essential oil with ginger, so this is a unique one for me. It vaguely reminds me of some dishes we cook with ginger, in a good way. It’s not overwhelming as you might think and there’s a warmth to the scent that I wasn’t expecting. I like it!

Menagerie Charcoal face wash – This is fabulous! Tea and charcoal? Just the kind of ingredients I enjoy most. I love how this smells and the very slippery texture it has. It’s fun to use and I definitely need some more charcoal in my life.

Nuun All Day healthy hydration – These are perfect for me to bring to work. Who doesn’t like watching bubbles? Plus I could use a boost in vitamins and hopefully energy too. I haven’t been sleeping well lately so it’s hard to have energy late in the afternoon.

Enchanted Storybook Japanese Cherry Blossom bath bombs – I got a whiff of these as soon as I opened the box for pictures. They have a nice sweetness to them and a gentle fragrance that I enjoy. It’s going to be fun to use these in the bath! They also happen to be my favorite color. 🙂

Enchanted Storybook Japanese Cherry Blossom body butter – I’m not really sure what a body butter vs a lotion should be, but I’m used to body butters being thicker in consistency. Since this is not as thick, I’ll use it more like a lotion. It almost has a perfumey quality to it and I really enjoy smelling my hands after applying it. It absorbs really well and instantly softened my skin.

Crystal’s Candles beeswax votives – You know, I was just reading about how beeswax candles burn clean so this is perfect timing. They’ve got a slow burn and should last awhile. I look forward to using these and I wonder how much of a scent they will give off. We’ll see!

Happy birthday to Prospurly! I wish I’d known about them from the start because I really would have enjoyed it all along. Oh well, I’m happy to have a subscription now! What do you think of this month’s box?

Yogi Surprise December 2015 review

laelene Posted in reviews, subscriptions，Tags: boxes, essential oils, pictures, products, reviews, scrubs, subscriptions, teas, yogi surprise

15 December 2015

This is always the first box to arrive each month, which is always exciting. I like the mixture of products they sent this month.

Yogi Surprise is just under $36 per box (with code for 20% off your subscription – use my referral links from this post) and comes with yoga gear, skincare, food, and other lifestyle products. Boxes are sent monthly with no option to skip. They offer a referral program that earns you free boxes.

power yoga: The Card Set – I haven’t really tried yoga at home, except for one time I led Panda through a sequence and he got tired only half an hour in! I’m not much into watching videos, so I think these cards would be a great way to go through a session. I haven’t practiced yoga in about a year, yikes!

Aura Cacia Clove Bud comforting essential oil – Now I’m not quite sure what clove buds look like, but the scent is definitely a warm type with a type of spice to it. In reading the instructions, I think I will use this for my freshening up my compost bin and garbage disposal. I never would have thought to use it for that, but that’s really cool! If I dig up some of the other essential oils I received from my Homegrown Collective boxes, I can make a nice body rub with grapeseed oil and a mixture of essential oils. But that will probably not happen soon, since I’m pretty great at procrastinating these kinds of projects.

Real Beauty for a Cause sweet orange & cinnamon scrub – I love the sweet, warm, spicy scent of this scrub! It’s very dry compared to other scrubs I’ve seen so it’ll work best directly in the shower when my skin is already wet. I love the simplicity of it.

Buddha Teas Crown Chakra tea – What perfect timing – this tea is designed for the crown chakra, the chakra of self-knowledge. I’m currently on a journey of deeper self-awareness as part of my MBA applications so hey if this tea can help, I’m all for it! Plus I love purple and amethyst, which this tea has been influenced by. I like that it’s a light blend free of caffeine, so I can drink it right now before bed if I want.

Voke Tab Vitalizes pack – I thought that the packaging had one giant tab inside, but turns out that it’s a tin with seven tabs inside. They smell very much like a berry and I will make use of them soon since I’ve been feeling lethargic at work in the afternoons. I like green tea and guarana, so I’m happy to try these in lieu of things I don’t consume, like energy drinks or coffee.

om lavender sachet – This is totally adorable! What a nice little pouch of lavender, in my favorite color no less. I will keep this by my pillow to help me relax before sleeping. I’ve been having trouble getting to sleep lately, so I’m hoping this will help.

Yogi Surprise Giving & Receiving yoga sequence series card – I haven’t yet used these cards we’ve been accumulating, but it’ll be fun to get a whole set much like the power yoga card set from this box. The poses are all about expansion, opening up the heart and stance. Check out their instruction page to download this sequence while it’s available.

I feel very calmed from these products, which is a great way to round out the year. Which of these items would you like to have?

Yuzen Winter 2015 edition review

laelene Posted in reviews, subscriptions，Tags: chocolates, eco-friendly, essential oils, green, lotions, masks, moisturizers, nail lacquers, pictures, reviews, scrubs, shower bombs, skincare, solid lotion, subscriptions, yuzen

17 November 2015

The winter Yuzen box is out and ready for holiday gifting! Check out the unboxing video on Yuzen’s YouTube channel and read more below.

Yuzen is $33 per quarter (with boxes sent Feb, May, Aug, and Nov) and comes with around 7 or 8 eco-friendly beauty, skincare, food/snacks, and home products. Boxes are sent quarterly with no option to skip, but you can get one-time gift boxes too. Sometimes there’s a waitlist to get the subscription. They do not offer a referral program.

yuzen november-january 2015 winter box open with pale blue tissue paper, piece of yuzen paper and info card green

sanitas – Oil Free Moisturizer: I’m getting quite the collection of their products! This will be my third and I’m happy to add it to my moisturizers. I definitely benefit from the oil-free ones since my face does get pretty oily. I like the lightweight feel of it and I did not detect a noticeable scent. It’s very refreshing to rub in! Use code YUZEN15-1 by 3/31/16 for 20% off at TheSkinFactor.

Co-Pur – Facial Scrub + Mask: The first thing I thought of was baby powder (of course). I really like how a dry version like this means that a small bottle can last a really long time. I was surprised it came out a greenish yellow and the smell reminded me of food – like a vegetable I can’t quite place. It’s oddly pleasant and a fun way to apply a mask while exfoliating. Use code 20%OFFYUZEN by 12/31/15 for 20% off at Co-Pur.

The Tea Room – Green Earl Grey & Raspberry Rooibos dark chocolate: Whoa, this is new! I definitely taste the tea in these chocolates and it’s quite unique. I can’t pick which is my favorite – they both have their own appeal. The flavors are quite strong to me, so typically one small piece is enough to satisfy. Use code YUZEN415 by 1/31/16 for 15% off at The Tea Room.

21 drops – 18 Sleep essential oil blend: I enjoy essential oils and certainly find this one relaxing. I haven’t noticed my quality of sleep to draw a conclusion, but last night I applied it and I did have pretty restful sleep. It doesn’t seem to help me get to sleep much faster though and my mind was still racing when I tried to fall asleep. Perhaps I should apply more? Use code YUZEN by 3/31/16 for 20% off at 21 drops.

Black Dahlia Lacquer – Red Spike Cactus: What a fun, funky name. I find this shade to be more on the pink side. There’s tiny bits of glitter to make it a very sparkly sort of look, kind of like twinkling holiday lights. Use code YUZEN by 3/5/16 for 20% off at Black Dahlia Lacquer.

Kimberly Parry Organics – Sweet Orange & Cranberry body scrub: Turns out this is a brand I’ve received from Petit Vour before! That was a facial cleanser that I quite like. I couldn’t find this scrub listed on their website, but it’s a wonderful sweet scent that is quite delicious. I love it! Use code YUZEN2015 by 1/31/16 for 20% off at Kimberly Parry.

Salus – Lemongrass organic lotion bar: This smells fantastic and feels so good! It melts on contact with your skin and just a little bit is enough to really moisturize dry skin. Since it comes in a reusable tin, it’s perfect for bringing along on travel. No need to worry about liquid lotion bottles that can’t be taken on planes! Use code YUZEN15 by 1/31/16 for 15% off at Salus.

Level Naturals – Menthol + Cucumber Shower Bombs: Whoa, menthol and cucumber is such a different combo. It’s all sorts of cooling and sinus-clearing, with a lightness to it. I actually like to just smell shower bombs and I don’t use them much. I’ll be keeping these around for their scent and might not get them wet for awhile. Use code yuzen10 by 12/31/15 for 10% off at Level Naturals.

As always, it was lovely getting to try out all these brands. I’ll be enjoying each and every one of them! What do you think of these products?

*Disclosure: As a super fan, I was invited to be the Yuzen Ambassador to help them spread the word about their brand. I now receive the boxes for free. I was not compensated otherwise and all opinions are my own, irregardless of my relation to Yuzen. I just happen to think they’re awesome (as does everyone else I’ve heard from). 🙂

Yogi Surprise April 2015 review

laelene Posted in reviews, subscriptions，Tags: bars, boxes, bracelets, essential oils, lifestyle, meditation, notebooks, perfumes, pictures, products, reviews, stones, subscriptions, trail mix, yoga, yogi surprise

13 April 2015

It’s spring and time to focus on energy! I feel like all the items here are good for that. Not my favorite box so far, but I’m learning a lot and trying some new items.

Essential Living Foods Superfood Trail Mix – Trail mix (or anything with nuts and dried fruit) isn’t much of my thing, but I’ll still eat it! It’s nice and sweet on its own, without any added sweetener.

Grey sage smudge stick bundle – I certainly like the light, healing smell of this stick. Now if someone could please explain what smudging is, I’ll happily go about smudging my home! Or I’ll just inhale this lovely stick’s scent whenever I need to clear my mind.

Essence of Nature Paradise Papers notebook – This is such a cool notebook, made completely from plants and NOT trees. There are four distinct sections where you can tell it was made from one of the four plants: banana, coffee, lemon, and mango. If I was still journaling this would be the perfect item to use next. Maybe I’ll start up again.

GoodOnYa breakfast bar – I’m very hesitant about this bar, so I’ll probably give it to someone else to eat and try a piece then. I just don’t like breakfast bars, energy bars, granola bars (you name it). But I’d absolutely bring this on a hike for an energizing boost.

Frisky Fish Essentials Exhale roll on perfume – Is this really a perfume? This essential oil roll-on is just so relaxing I can’t imagine using it for perfume. I find it perfect to roll on at night to help me sleep easier, or during the day to calm down. The combination of eucalyptus and lavender is cleansing and soothing.

Vanessa Valente Crystals Quartz starter kit – I was surprised at the small size of the quartz included, but I guess that makes it easier to bring along in anything. I’m not sure how effective such a small one would be, but it doesn’t hurt to carry it around and adopt a mantra to stay in tune with positive energy.

Rosewood Mala bracelet – What a light bracelet! I might use it for meditation, or just wear it as an anklet since it’s rather large. It makes me think of monks from Thailand.

I’ll make good use of these items to recalibrate myself for the season. It’s been a rough start and I’m still trying to find my footing as everything blossoms around me.

Homegrown Collective December 2014 review

laelene Posted in reviews, subscriptions，Tags: boxes, colds, cough syrups, eco-friendly, essential oils, green, herbal, herbs, homegrown collective, illness, pictures, projects, reviews, salves, sickness, subscriptions, teas, tinctures, vapor rubs

11 January 2015

Excellent timing with the theme this month as people are starting to get sick all around. They’ve introduced us to some of these herbs before and it’s great to see how versatile the uses are, whether infused into something or used more directly.

The Homegrown Collective GREENBOX is $39 per box + $9 shipping (or as discounted as $429 for an entire year, with options in between) and comes with fun and easy projects to live a more sustainable lifestyle. Boxes are sent monthly with no option to skip. They offer a referral program you can apply to join.

First they outlined the benefits of three main herbs: dandelion, St. John’s Wort, and echinacea. I love that each addresses different ailments so that combined you’re pretty well covered for digestive issues, low energy, and immunity concerns. These are some useful plants!

Project #1, DIY vapor rub & salve: What a simple set of ingredients to help us breathe better if we do get sick. I’m familiar with vapor rubs for the chest but haven’t really used them. However, I know how effective menthol can be in clearing up my nasal passage! It’s fascinating that they recommend rubbing this under the feet as well. I certainly wouldn’t have thought of that!

Project #2, cough & cold syrup: My very own cough syrup?! This is cool. I remember we had a bottle of some awful cherry-flavored thing as a child and I hated it. I’ve never really been a fan of cherry-flavored stuff. I think this will be much more to my taste with honey, ginger, and cinnamon. It might not even taste like medicine!

Project #3, DIY herbal teas: As a fan of tea, I’m happy to put other plants in my drink for their healing properties. I’ve got to admit I haven’t yet tried the dandelion tea from nearly a year ago, but I will be! I drink a lot of tea at work so switching to these shouldn’t be hard and I don’t need to be sick to try that.

Project #4, DIY tinctures: I first learned of a tincture from last December’s box and I’m super intrigued, but totally intimidated. I don’t know where to get vodka or rum and how that will affect the taste of these. I don’t get sick very often, so I haven’t needed something like this yet. However, there was a period last winter that I felt awful and this could have been handy.

Project #5, DIY essential oils: I’m getting quite the amazing collection of essential oils and I love it. Star anise essential oil is not something I’d come across before, so I was curious to learn about it. I’m not quite sure what to do with these once mixed – do I rub it on my skin? Drop it on my tongue? How often? I tried to do more research on their blog but for some reason I don’t see posts past August.

This time there were a ton of smaller projects that are quick and easy. I feel like I have a whole arsenal of stuff to help keep me healthy throughout the season. It’s great! I’ve already made the vapor rub, which I will share another time. 🙂

Subscribe to the Homegrown Collective so you can get these types of cool projects too! It’ll make for a happier home and better health.

Homegrown Collective July 2014 review

laelene Posted in reviews, subscriptions，Tags: air fresheners, aromatherapy, candles, essential oils, home, home projects, homegrown collective, pictures, products, reed diffusers, sprays

14 August 2014

Seriously? Just when I thought the Homegrown Collectiv e boxes couldn’t possibly be cooler, they blow me away again. I mean this is insane – this box has to be the pinnacle of what I want in my home right now. Perfection!

Project #1, essential DIY air freshener: I’m so happy that they included a nice stainless steel spray bottle. It feels fancier than a normal plastic one and it’s nice and light. They included four lovely essential oils to choose from. I’ll try the lemongrass first since I like more citrus-based scents and I currently have a really nice Mandarin orange scented spray. This one’s easy-peasy!

Project #2, essential DIY aromatherapy oil diffusers: My greatest obsession when it comes to helping a room smell a certain way. For months, I was super cheap and refused to buy the $11-13 bottles at Target. Then the one I want disappeared from the shelves and I was so sad. I eventually got super lucky and found one after weeks of searching. Since then, I’ve loosened up on getting reed diffusers I like, lest I miss out again. This is made all the better with this fantastic little glass jar! How freakin’ adorable is that?

Project #3, essential oil DIY candle: Candles are classic and a great way to affect the ambiance in addition to the scent of a room. I enjoy the clean burn of soy wax and I look forward to trying the different scents. This project is the more complicated one in the box, but it’s still very simple. It’ll be fun to create my own little candles and play around with the scents.

For my recent focus on making our home more homey, these make the perfect projects. I’m a fan of all these types of products and why not make my own? It’ll bring a smile to my face every time I use them. 🙂

Go ahead, subscribe to the Homegrown Collective now! You’re not going to want to miss out on these wonderful boxes.

Homegrown Collective December 2013 review

laelene Posted in reviews, subscriptions，Tags: boxes, cures, diy, eco-friendly, essential oils, green, health, illness, medicine, pictures, projects, remedies, reviews, sickness, subscriptions

09 January 2014

While I was away for the holiday break, I got my Homegrown Collective GREENBOX for December and I was itching to get my hands on it! I finally did this week, but didn’t have daylight to take pictures so I got up early yesterday to snap these shots on the freezing cold porch. Can’t wait til we’re at the condo and I can easily get good lighting indoors.

inside of homegrown collective box with the info sheets on the inner lid and white homegrown collective sticker on brown paper wrapping

This time the sticker was artistically off to the side.

Project #1, oregano oil: I just love everything I learn from each month’s box. I had no idea oregano was such a powerful plant! And I certainly didn’t know essential oils are THAT potent. Just one or two drops for that bottle? Wow, this cure will last a long time. I’m totally going to have Panda try this since he just got sick and tends to be more prone to illness in general. Of course I shall be taking it too so I can ensure I don’t catch anything! Is it just me or is that amber dropper bottle just adorable? I assume you drop some on your tongue but I’ll have to make sure how to use it best. In researching, I discovered it’s great ingested or topically – it can help everything from respiratory issues to acne (OMG I NEED THAT PRONTO). If it helps with my breakouts I will be thrilled.

the homegrown collective december 2013 products for oregano oil

I laid out all the essential oils before noticing you only need the oregano one for this project.

Project #2, herbal tinctures: A tincture?? Another completely new concept for me. At first I thought I was supposed to get all three herbs but then on the last info sheet you see that you get either the echinacea and elderberry OR the St. John’s Wort. All these herbs sound great, so really trying any of them would be cool. I’m cautious about the alcoholic content here since I don’t drink and I have no idea what 80-100 proof alcohol means. But since you only need a fraction of a teaspoon I think it’s much like taking some cough syrup.

Project #3, eucalyptus vapor cups: So cool (literally too right?)!! I have shower bombs and never really knew what it’d take to make them. I’m so excited about this one, though I might wait til we move to the condo to make them. I can just see myself using the kitchen there having a blast! I also love those little baking tins, which will be so fun to use to make chocolate cups and maybe even little cupcake things in the future. One of the side bonuses of HGC is the awesome tools and jars and accessories you get, which can be reused for plenty of things.

the homegrown collective december 2013 products for eucalyptus vapor cups

Yeah, I decided to keep the oregano oil in there even though you only use the lavender and eucalyptus for this one.

And a quick roundup of the amazing box, with some info on essential oils. What a fantastic way to start off the new year healthy all naturally! What are your thoughts on the last box of 2013? If you want in, be sure to sign up for your own Homegrown Collective boxes soon to get the January one (and beyond).

((little fat notebook))

Posts Tagged ‘essential oils’

Prospurly April 2016 review

Prospurly March 2016 review

Yogi Surprise December 2015 review

Yuzen Winter 2015 edition review

Yogi Surprise April 2015 review

Homegrown Collective December 2014 review

Homegrown Collective July 2014 review

Homegrown Collective December 2013 review

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