InstaNatural's Lavender Essential Oil Review:

Like I mention last week, I received two bottles, and here is the other scent, Lavender.  (Other post here)  I also used this oil in bath bombs, which I made a few days ago.  And next week you’ll see how well those turned out. 

As you can see in the picture, the bottle is 4oz of 100% pure essential oil.  It also came with a glass dropper instead of like other essential oils you have to shake to get any out.  I love that. A lot of people complained online about the smell, because they thought that it didn't smell like lavender, and I couldn't help thinking that they've never been to a natural soap shop.  The scent is perfect.  Exactly what I was expecting. I've loved essential oils ever since I started going to farmer’s markets.  I always see these shelves full of different soaps and candles, and now I’m finally going to try and make my own!

Lavender essential oil has a few different uses, the biggest being a calming agent.  Put a few drops of lavender oil onto your pillows and the scent will drift you off to sleep. 

Other uses include:  Bee sting/ insect bite, cuts (it will clean them and kill bacteria), eczema. nausea/ motion sickness, dry/ chapped skin, chapped/sunburned lips, nose bleeds (put it on a tissue and wrap it around a small ice chip), hay fever, dandruff, and cold sores. 

If you plan on using essential oil, especially this one, on your skin, you should dilute it with water because it is so pure it can cause irritation, especially on sensitive skin.

I’m planning on making soap and candles sometime in the near future, and I’m going to be using these essential oils.  I’ve always wanted to make my own soap and candles.  It’s a very exciting time for me.   I have all of these new things I want to try and now I have huge bottles of essential oils.  I love it! 

xx

Recipe: Hangover Smoothie

I made this the day after St. Patrick’s Day.  And I really needed it.  A lot of cheap alcohol will do that to you.   This is another smoothie from the website  I  found the sleep smoothie at. 

The ginger is supposed to sooth your stomach, and everything else has the right carbs to make you feel as if you have eaten.   Before every smoothie on this site, they explain what each ingredient adds to the smoothie.  Did it work?  Yes and no.  I did feel as if I had eaten.  I also had a lot more energy than if I hadn’t tried this smoothie.  And I didn’t have a headache for as long.  But my stomach still hurt throughout the day. 

It tastes a little odd.  I could taste everything except for the cranberry pomegranate juice.  (The store didn’t have just plain pomegranate.)   The ginger was a bit strong for me, but I’ll definitely be drinking this every time I get a hangover.   

Ingredients:

1 tsp Freshly Grated Ginger 

1-2 tbsp Almond Butter

1 Banana 

1/2 cup Low-fat Yogurt 

1/2 cup Pomegranate Juice 

Ice Cubes

Directions:

Add all of the ingredients to a blender, and blend.

Enjoy! 

xx

a

InstaNaturals Peppermint Essential Oil:

I’m back with another InstaNatural post!  Haha.  I love InstaNaturals stuff.  Anything I have ever received from them, I have loved.  And this time is no different.  

Today, I have a Peppermint essential oil.   I received two oils, and I decided to put them into two different posts, so come back next week to know about the other scent! 

This oil is a pure oil.   It is very strong.  When I received the package I thought that a bottle broke because I could smell them through the packaging.  Happily the bottles were fine, but even if they were broken, the company is amazing and they’ll send you a new bottle.   This is one of the best companies I have ever come across.  They’re very helpful, and after you purchase the product, they send you an email talking about the different ways you can use the product.  It’s great.  I would have used the oils in only one way if they hadn’t sent me an email telling me about the benefits. 

I of course used them in a new bath bomb recipe.  Which is another blog post coming out soon.  I failed horribly the last time I tried to make bath bombs, but I’m thinking I’ll do alright this time.  (Fingers crossed!)

Some other ways to use Peppermint Essential Oil: Clear congestion, lessen headaches, wake yourself up,  eases nausea,  lowers stress, and eases muscles. 

Just rub some of the oil (best if you dilute it) into your skin, or smell it, lightly.  

Essential oils are my favorite, and I love having them around my house!

xx

Mixed Drink: Irish Trash Can

I've known about recipe for a really long time, and I’ve just gotten around to trying it.  The drink tasted just like Red Bull, and seeing that that is the main ingredient, that makes sense.  I could taste the alcohol,  but not as much as I thought I was going to because I used pretty cheap alcohol.  The most expensive alcohol in this picture was the Bols, and that only cost around $10.  If you’re looking for a good cheap, aristocrat isn’t it, I’m telling you that now, but in a mixed drink it’s fine.  I, personally, wouldn't drink Aristocrat straight.  Also, it’s not the best idea to mix caffeine with alcohol, but as long as you’re careful it should be alright. 

Ingredients:

1/2 oz Gin

1/2 oz Light Rum

1/2 oz Vodka

1/2 oz Peach Schnapps

1/2 oz Blue Curacao

1/2 oz Triple Sec

1 can of Red Bull

Directions:

Fill a glass with ice, add in the alcohol and stir. 

Then put the whole can of Red Bull in, so that while you drink, the red bull is always being poured in. 

Enjoy!

xx 

Covergirl Lipstick Review:

I saw this lipstick in a magazine ad and I just had to get it!  #295 Succulent Cherry by Covergirl.  I think the shade is perfect for spring and I have a few covergirl lipsticks so I know that they staying power is pretty good, as long as you’re not going to eat or drink a lot.  I think using a straw is okay, but eating is horrible.  Even with odd mouth movements. 

 

 I like to describe the color as a tomato red, and you can build it up a little bit with layers.   Covergirl’s lipsticks go on like a lip butter, very smooth and extremely soft, but they have the cover of a lipstick.  I love it. 

The smell of this lipstick, is like all of my other covergirl lipsticks.  Play Dough.  But the smell doesn’t stick, unless you put a few layers of the color on.  When I wore #335, I had a few layers on, and I could taste it in the back of my throat all night.  Also, this time the tube itself is red instead of a shinny purplish gray.   It makes it stand out, which I really like.  I haven’t really looked at any of the other colors in the collection, but I will soon and most likely purchase more.

This lipstick gets me excited for spring.  It will most likely be my go to color. 

xx

Rimmel London Kate Moss Lipsticks:

I was watching a few youtube videos the other day and in one of them, a girl was wearing Rimmel London Kate Moss lipstick, and I really liked the color, so I decided to go out and get my very own.  That color was #30, and while I was there I decided to pick up #107.   I expected different things from each of the colors.  I expected #107 to be more red than berry, and I expected #30 to be less berry.   When I swatched  #30 it reminded me of “Sugar Plum Fairy” from Wet n’ Wild, but when I swatch them next to each other, “Sugar Plum Fairy” has more purple in it.   With #107, I expected a dark deep red, but I think I got it confused with another color all together. This one is really close to #30, as you can see in the swatches, but #107 leans toward red whereas #30 leans towards purple. 

  I wore #107 when I went shopping last week, and I wore it out to dinner a few nights ago.  Both days it stayed perfectly.  It stayed on even with eating chips & dip and a turkey burger.  I was really surprised, and it’s staying power made me want to run out to the store and buy more.  I haven’t obviously, or else they’d be in this post, but soon, I’ll pick up more spring colors. 

I haven’t gotten the chance to wear #30 out, and I don’t know if it’s the same formula as #107.  As you can see their tubes are different colors and they have different smells.  #107 has a fruity smell to it, and #30 still has a fruity smell but it’s more of a standard cosmetic smell.  It’s hard to describe.  But neither smells stick around. 

#107 on the left, #30 on the right 

I don’t know how much longer I’ll be wearing the darker lipsticks, seeing how spring is coming around, but I can see myself wearing #107 throughout the year, whereas I’ll reserve #30 for the Fall time. 

Which is your favorite?  Let me know!

xx 

Recipe: Cheesy Sausage Pasta

I found this recipe on Pinterest, and it was supposed to have onions and smoked sausage, but my family isn't big onion fans or smoked meat fans.  So, I decided to go with just regular turkey sausage that I sliced up.  That wasn't the best plan.  The meat kept falling out of it’s casing and it was a little messy.  So, I suggest, if you are like me, that you buy the crumbly kind of meat.   Everything else went great, and this meal was so, so, good!  My family loved it and I plan on making it again.

Ingredients:

1 lb of Turkey Sausage

1 tbsp Olive Oil

8 oz Pasta of your choosing (I used a little bit more.)

2 cups Chicken Broth

1 can of Diced Tomatoes

1/2 cup Heavy Cream

1-2 cloves of Garlic

1 tsp Salt 

1 tsp Black Pepper

1 cup Colby Jack Cheese

Directions:

In a pan add the 1 tbsp olive oil and sausage.  Cook until lightly brown on medium high heat.  Then add the garlic and continue cooking for 30 seconds.

Then add the pasta, chicken broth, tomatoes, heavy cream, salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil and then let simmer for 15 minutes.

Add half a cup of the Colby jack cheese and mix it into the pot.  Put the rest on top, cover, and let melt.  

Serve and Enjoy!

xx

Bath and Body Works Lotion and Shimmer Body Spray:

 Bath and Body Works is a treat store for me.  They’re a little bit expensive, personally, but I love their products, and they last forever!  Also, I don’t have a Bath and Body Works near me, and I never usually venture into the area that there is one.  But recently I decided to go on out and visit their store. 

To be honest, the day I went there I was feeling a little under the weather, so I only made it out with one scent, A Thousand Wishes, in their Shea butter lotion and shimmer body spray.  On the back it tells you the key notes, and in this particular scent there is: Pink Prosecco, Sparkling Quince, Crystal Peonies, Gilded Amber, and Amaretto Crème.  All of those together come to smell, at first, very sweet.  I don't find it to be too sickly sweet, but some might.  When rubbed in, I do get a hint of floral.  So, I would call this a sweet floral.  The lotion by itself is very moisturizing.  I love it so much.  It also quickly absorbs into the skin.  I think it’s one of my quickest.   It says that it’s 24 hours, and I don’t think I’ve ever actually paid attention to my skin like that, but what I can tell you is that when I use this, I don’t think about my skin.   I don’t look at my hands and think “Geez I need some lotion.”  And if that is an implication, then I say it’s pretty truthful.

The shimmer body spray is exactly the same, only it makes you sparkle.  They’re pretty big glitter pieces also. I wish I could show you, but my camera won't pick it up.  They even stick pretty well.  I can put it on before going out and I’ll come home still glittery.  But, like many perfumes/body sprays it does have an alcohol smell to it until it’s dry. 

If you have a Bath and Body Works store near you, go over and smell this scent.  It’s so good. 

What is your favorite scent from Bath and Body Works?  Let me know!

xx