Face Routine

For a few months now I've been doing pretty much the same face routine - and my face loves me. I have finally found some products/ingredients that I love and love me back.

I mean I still have those times of the month where I get pimples around my mouth (I always touch my face there...) and my skin looks tired (oops, I sometimes forget to drink water and/or sleep...).

But in general I've felt so much better about my face this year. This is an update to this blog from almost two years ago now.

Thought I'd share my night and day routine with you. I linked the things I use to where I get them from in case you're interested!

Good Night!

So it's night time and I'm getting ready for bed. 

1. I rinse my face four times with just plain ol' warmish tap water.
   Four isn't a magical number, it's just what I do.
2. I pat my face slightly dry and then smooth on some basic lotion. I then take a textured cloth and wet it with hotter water and wipe the lotion off my face gently with it. I feel like this removes any dirt, oil or makeup the first rinse didn't get. And it just feels so good.
   *
3. I take my witch hazel  which I have in a spritzer bottle, spray it on another smooth cloth, and wipe my face gently. This is my toner.
   Did you see the price of this? $1.29 for 100ml. So cheap. So amazing. My face loves this stuff.
4. I put a thin layer of this night cream on.
   This stuff feels so thin, but I wake up to such a smooth and moisturized face.

* Once a month after step #2. I use this night exfoliant. It's magical and I wake up to such a smooth face! It's the smoothest and best smelling thing I put on my face.

Night night!

Good Morning!

I wake up to a nice smooth face from the night before and jump into the shower. 

1. When in the shower I gently rinse my face with water. I can feel the night cream rinsing off.
2. I go in the fridge and get my hemp oil and apply a thin layer to my face. My face LOVES this. It's my day "cream" and the best stuff I've found so far to moisturize my face.
3. I have cornstarch in a spice shaker in my bathroom and I shake a little on my hands and apply it evenly on my face. This is my "cover up" or "matte powder". Works like a charm. It takes the shine away from the oil and evens out my skin.
   And no, I don't leave the house looking powdery or white. It actually rubs in nicely.
4. I take my blush and apply two circles on my cheeks and rub it in gently.
5. I take my eyeshadow and apply a wee bit to my eyelids.
6. I curl my eyelashes everyday with an eyelash curler for about 10 seconds per eye. If I'm going out at night I usually wear some mascara.

Ready to go, see ya!

Blush

Happy to have found this blush by 100% Pure.

I was at Big Carrot the other week when I ran out of my Gabriel blush which I had used for about a year. I had wanted to try a cheek stain for awhile so when I saw this little bottle I thought I'd give it a try. I asked for the ingredient list (as always) and was so happy to find that it was even more pure than the Gabriel one I had been using. It's name is pretty accurate: 100% Pure.

Here are the ingredients:

Cocoa Butter, Shea Butter, Honey Beeswax, Grapeseed Oil, Vitamin E (a-tocopherol), Vitamin C (ascorbyl palmitate), Pigments of Cranberry, Pomegranate, Blackberry, Raspberry, Cabernet Grape, Plum, Strawberry, Cherry, Peach, Apricot, Blueberry, Cocoa Bean, Carrot and Tomato, Strawberry Extract, Mica

When I read this list at the store I said "I could eat this!" Which was one of my original rules a few years back when I learned our skin was our largest organ - don't put anything on your face you wouldn't put in your mouth. This rule can be hard to stick to, but it's definitely not impossible!

Though I won't eat my new blush, I have been liking it a lot. It smells good too. It's also a lip stain which is bonus. It came in handy over the holidays when I went to a few holiday parties and wanted to look "pretty" - you know, flushed cheeks and warm lips. Always special to dress up sometimes!

Shampoo

I am so glad to say that after 4 years of trying a number of different natural shampoos and even trying to make my own - I have finally found the shampoo for me.

It's Green Beaver's Gluten Free Shampoo.

I mean, I don't need my shampoo to be gluten free, so I guess that's just a bonus? But my hair finally loves me. It's clean, it's toxin-free and it looks and feels good. Just in case you didn't click on the link above, this shampoo seems to cover all the good things like:

• Certified organic
• Vegan
• Biodegradable
• Not tested on animals
•  and free of:
• parabens
• phenoxyethanol or formaldehyde releaser preservatives
• artificial fragrances or dyes
• phthalates
• SLS
• sulfates or ingredients generating carcinogenic nitroamines. 

I used Nature Clean for awhile until they changed the look and I feel tripled the price? Ok maybe doubled. But still. Now that I've used this shampoo for a good month now, my hair looks and feels better than it did with Nature Clean (which is a company I still love by the way!).

So my hair loves me. And like all the discoveries I've made over the years, it's always worth it to find the best natural product that works for you. I feel guilt-free and toxin-free and I didn't have to compromise on what's important to me.

As mentioned before, everybody's different and every body's different. How my hair reacts/feels/looks with different shampoos will be different from you. Keith was completely fine with some of the other shampoos we tried. Me? My hair would look greasy and feel heavy.

So glad I picked this up at my fave store Better Bulk - thanks Brian for the recommendation!

DIY Toothpaste

Since about mid-October we've been making our own toothpaste and love it!

It started as a school assignment - I had to do a science project with my classmate Amanda so we decided to use David Suzuki's new "Connecting With Nature Guide" and created a lesson plan for Gr. 4-6. It was fun! We had to do a demo showing how to make the toothpaste and ever since then Keith and I have been hooked.

It's so easy and cheap and it works!

Here's all you need:

Toothpaste Recipe

• 3 tbsp. baking soda
• ½ tsp. table salt
• 1 tbsp. vegetable glycerin
• 10‐15 drops essential oil (e.g. peppermint, spearmint or cinnamon)

We keep ours in a mini glass Mason jar in our bathroom cabinet and it lasts the two of us about a month. 

We used Green Beaver toothpaste for a few years and it's great. No nasty chemicals or SLS. But now that we know we get make it for cheap and it actually works, that's the way we'll go for now!

Laundry Soap

I finally finished my Nature Clean liquid soap and am going to try this powder recipe for laundry soap! I learned it from the same DIY cleaning workshop led by Tracey Tief from Anarres Natural Health where I learned how to make the All Purpose Spray and Creamy Soft Scrub (a few blogs down).

 I've been meaning to make/use it but was caught up on my liquid Nature Clean since:
1. it's awesome
2. the washers in my building are liquid only.

But then I realized I could just mix this powder in some water before putting it in my machine - duh.

I'm going to try it out and will let you know how it works. The making-it part was really easy:

• 1 cup soap flakes
• 1/2 cup borax
• 1/2 washing soda

Mix together.

Done.

Had to tie a scarf around my nose though - very easy to inhale powder! Since our lungs should only ever be breathing air, I thought I'd protect them.

I used the Eco Pioneer brand of products that I bought from Big Carrot. Ended up being about $11-$12 per box. But I think this will last me a long time. You only need about 3 tbsp per load.

After a few loads I'll let you know how I like it!

It's definitely cheap. And it's simple. I like simple. And heck, I'm a student - I like cheap.

Day 30!

Today is Day 30 of my 30 Day Challenge...I did it!

Mind you, there were days where I ran out of lemons and didn't have my lemon water first thing - I think 3 days I missed out on this. There were also some days when I didn't get in my 30 minutes of exercise but there were also days when I would do 1 hour of exercise or 1.5 hours of exercise. In my brain - these days made up for it. Hehe!

The results?

1. It's totally a lifestyle now. Lemon water, smoothies for breakfast and doing some kind of activity is now part of my everyday.

2. Weight-wise: I'm exactly the same weight. I didn't drop one pound - but I lost inches. All of my clothes fit me a lot better now and I feel and look better.

3. My body feels clean, my skin looks better and I have no desire to eat chips or donuts when I see these being eaten around me. That's huge!

4. I've changed/added other things that I didn't intend to at the beginning of the challenge. For example:

• My smoothies are even more packed with nutrients than originally planned. I've added kefir, hemp oil and flax seeds to them as well. The more nutrients the better!
• I added drinking a banana, almond milk, cacao powder and hemp heart smoothie every other day. It's delicious. 
• I started dry brushing to detox even more (it can't hurt!) I don't know about getting rid of a pound of toxins (seems a little far fetched) but it feels amazing and I'm sure it's getting rid of extra toxins.
• I started eating salads for lunch. It just felt like the best thing to follow up my lemon water and smoothie mornings. I have a big leafy bowl of lettuce with goat cheese and pumpkin seeds most of the time and it's so good. I alternate between avacado dressing or balsamic vinegar dressing. So good.
• For dinners I've been trying to combine my foods better for example not eating starches with protein.
• I didn't buy a metropass this month so I've been doing a lot more cycling and walking.

So this is finally a good snowball effect. You make one lifestyle change and it can lead to so many other ones.

I'm so glad I gave myself this 30 day challenge. It did what I was hoping it would do - help me make healthy habits a lifestyle.

DIY Perfume

I stopped wearing perfume about 3-4 years ago after I learned that our skin was our largest organ. I visualized myself rubbing harmful creams and chemicals in my skin and started a won't-put-anything-on-my-skin-that-I-wouldn't-put-in-my-mouth thing. I know - that is extreme. There are things that are safe to use on your skin that you wouldn't necessarily eat - but still.

I had read not-so-nice things about perfume being hormone disrupting and contained phthalates among other things.

I tried wearing some of the solid perfumes from Lush which are a lot better, but after a few emails back and forth with them I decided it wasn't "safe" enough for me. I wanted to know exactly what "perfume" meant on their list of ingredients and they said:

"I think that if you follow such a careful selection of ingredients that you use on your skin, it might be best that you do not use it."

So I stopped using that and haven't really been wearing anything ever since.

But I missed it.

When I read Ecoholic Body I was so excited to try the DIY perfume on page 85.

So tonight was the night. I made it. It was so easy. And smells so good. And it only had 3 ingredients.

Here's the recipe in case you don't have a copy of Ecoholic Body (which I will blog about sometime soon, it's my go-to resource).

2 tablespoons of grated or beaded beeswax
3 tablespoons of jojoba oil
45 drops of essential oil of your choice

In a double boiler, melt together the jojoba and beeswax. Once melted, remove from heat and add 45 drops of the essential oil of your choice. Pour in a glass container or cute tin and let it solidfy. Once it's set, "dab and go!" (In the words of Adria!)

Thank you Iris for being there and helping me make my first batch of lavender perfume. I'm already wearing it and feel so calm. Hehe! So excited. This is definitely going to be my new scent.

I keep smelling my wrists. It smells so good.

Photo from here

Lafes Deodorant

I've been using Lafes for just over a year and a half now - and it's been the same $7.99 stick. This stuff lasts for a long time!

I can honestly say it took me years to find a natural deodorant that actually worked - for me. There were lots that my friends and family have used that worked for them, but somehow not for me.

Sidenote: I must say that I loved using Mama Goode's  deodorant. My body for the most part adjusted to it and it was my go-to for quite a bit. I just wished she lived in Toronto!

So on the long hunt for a natural deodorant that didn't leave me smelling like Pine Sol or B.O., I finally landed on Lafes. My brother convinced me it was the best stuff in the world and all his coworkers who do heavy lifting love it too. I was so excited! I tried it. And then was so disappointed - why? Surprise! It didn't work for me...I still smelled like B.O. a few hours after applying it. Sigh.

And then I discovered a little trick - and it's worked like a charm.

I use this Lafes stick and then pat dry with baking soda. Yup. This combo works amazingly for me. I'm sure there's lots of people who can just use this "salt stick" and it works for them, but for me, I find the combo of this patted with baking soda is what does it for me.

What exactly do I do?
I wet the stick under water for a wee bit. Rub it up and down about 25 times on my armpit. Take a little bit of baking powder (that I've put into a little shaker container) and pat dry.

At the end of the day [graphic warning] I can rub my armpits and take a whiff and smell nothing. Honestly, it works that well.

If you're on the hunt for a natural deodorant that actually works - try this one out. Remember that everybody is different and every body is different. Find one that works for you, it's so worth it.

Detox Inspired - My 30 Day Challenge

Last week I took a Detox Workshop with Elaine Brisebois at Lifewise Health and Wellness.
It was an hour and a half class and I took so many notes and learned so much about detoxing your body. Loved it!

It was even better than I thought because it was about detoxing as a lifestyle. I'm all about the lifestyle. If I make a change in my life, it has to be worthy of a lifestyle change. So I was pleasantly surprised when we didn't learn how to do a bi-monthly 4 day juice cleanse, but instead how we can be eating and living in a way that constantly helps our body to get rid of the toxins that build up from the foods we eat and the environment we live in.

I've made myself a 30 day challenge (I'm on day 2).

For the next 30 days I'm going to:

1. Drink a glass of lemon water every morning.
2. Do a 30 minute workout every morning. 
3. Drink a green smoothie for breakfast every morning.

Not so bad right? I can do it. And I think this will really make a difference in how I look and feel. What's great about making myself do this 30 days straight is that once my 30 days are up (September 24?) I'm almost positive this is something I will be able to consistently do. It only takes me waking up 30 minutes earlier each morning. I must do this. I can do this.

So what exactly will I be doing?

1. Wake up, get out of bed and immediately fill a tall glass with water and squeeze half a lemon in it.
2. Put on my 27 minute workout video. I've chosen to do Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred. (Until I get the real one, I found this link on youtube!)
3. Down a green smoothie. This is the recipe I'm using:

2 handfuls of spinach, 1 stalk of celery, 1 pear, 1/2 english cucumber, 1 tsp green matcha, 1 tbsp of lemon juice, 1 cup of water.

Throw it in a blender (spinach first, not like this pic) and blend it on high until smooth.

I fill up a tall glass and drink it for breakfast and then drink the rest of it for "brunch" about 2 hours later.

There's so much to write about why green smoothies and lemon water are great for detoxing - but I will leave that for your own research and the professionals (like Elaine) to tell you about. Just know that your body likes veggies and being at a more alkaline state than acidic.

Looking forward to talking this four week course with Elaine coming up this Fall as well. So much to learn and implement, can't wait.

Here I go!

All Purpose Spray

This is another gem I learned at Tracey's workshop at Grassroots.

The all purpose spray.

This recipe, like the creamy soft scrub is from Women's Voices of the Earth.

It's so easy to make:

2 cups of white vinegar

2 cups of water

20-30 drops essential oil of your choice

Really you just take whatever spray bottle you have in the house, fill half of it with white vinegar, half with water and drop your essential oil of choice in it. I use lavender (for everything). Peppermint and lemon is nice too!

Note: If you have cats, don't use peppermint.

I use it on every surface that can be wiped like my counters, dining table, sink, stove, mirrors, windows etc. It also is great as an air freshener. Yup. I just spray it on my table, wipe it off and then spray some in the air. It's wonderful. A true all purpose cleaner.

What's great about this is that both vinegar and essential oils are naturally antibacterial. If you want it to kill some germies, just spray it on the surface of choice, let it sit for a 1-5 minutes and wipe. No more need for bleach folks, this does it for you.

If I heard right, this only cost 17 cents to make.

Can't go wrong folks! We use ours everyday, multiple times a day. Lasts a long time and smells and works amazing.

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I highly recommend trying and using all the recipes in this link, they work great and are so easy to make yourself.

The ingredients can be found at your local grocery store or bulk store. You probably already have them in your kitchen. Whatever I can't find I just get it from either Tracey or Grassroots. They both carry DIY things in bulk. It's so handy.

Creamy Soft Scrub

A few months ago I attended a DIY Home Cleaners workshop led by Tracey Tief at Grassroots.

My life has never been the same - for real.

I learned how to make my own home cleaners and I've used them every single day since. This also led me to a DIY shampoo and conditioner workshop and a DIY suncreen workshop and multiple visits to Tracey's. But I'll save all of those things for another blog.

Just wanted to share about my absolute favourite DIY cleaner - the creamy soft scrub.
It's heavenly.

It'll make you want to clean.

It makes both Keith and I want to and enjoy cleaning. It's that magical.

The recipe is taken from Women's Voices for the Earth which I just found today has other great recipes. I learned all of these recipes that day as well, but today, as the subject says, is all about the creamy soft scrub.

This is how easy it is to make:

• 2 cups baking soda
• 1/2 cup liquid castile soap 
• 4 teaspoons vegetable glycerin (preservative) 
• 5 or more drops essential oil (optional–try tea tree, rosemary or lavender)
• Mix together and store in a sealed glass jar; shelf life of 2 years.

We use it on our stovetop, our sinks, our tub and our pet Miso's cage (he's a hedgehog and we scrub his wheel and dishes with it). Anything that needs a scrubbing, grab this stuff. It works so well. We use lavender as our essential oil and it smells so incredibly good. We actually enjoy cleaning our stovetop with it.

If I remember correctly, it only cost $2.63 to make 250ml. I'm on the last bit of mine and I've been using it every day for a good 5 or 6 months now. You only need a little bit - about a pea size or two for the bathroom sink and a nickel size or so for the bathroom tub. But I guess just be as generous as you need!

We've made it for friends and family and we've heard nothing but love for this stuff.

Try it! Or come over and we can have a creamy-soft-scrub-making-party. It is definitely something to party about.

soleRebels

My soleRebels arrived. I'm in total shoe love. I got the chocolate tooTOOs and I love them so much!

I learned about this incredible company from Adria Vasil's Ecoholic blog on shoes. As soon as I read up on the company - I was soled. 

soleRebels is the first WFTO/IFAT FAIR TRADE certified Fair Trade footwear firm in Ethiopia and the #1 footwear exporter to the US market. 

There is so much more to read on their site and I encourage you to read through the incredible things this company stands for and has accomplished.

Here is a short video to that will give you just a taste of what they do. 

Bethlehem actually emailed me personally on this order (I was shocked!) as I had a little hiccup in the shipping process. She let me know they were going to take care of things and my shoes would be expedited (and they were!). I thanked her and told her where I heard about her and her company, how I support what she has started and how I plan on being a customer for life since I love what she stands for and does. She said:


Beka that is excellent to hear- thats what we want.  i always say our goal at soleRebels is not to sell you a pair of shoes. Our goal IS to make you so ecstatic with our awesome shoes , our incredible  people service and our exciting brand , that you  become a soleRebel for LIFE!!
sounds like we may just do that with you. proud to hear and many thanks for your business
very best
bethlehem 

Go soleRebels go. Love what you do. Looking forward to rockin' these pair of shoes and others in the future. I even got Keith wanting a pair too!

Fuchs Toothbrush

No. I didn't swear at toothbrushes.

We've been using Fuchs toothbrushes for a few years now and love them.

Actually, the word toothbrush should be singular because really, over the past few years, we've only had one toothbrush. Handle. We have the Ekotec ones so you only have to replace the head of it when it needs replacing. So good because we'll probably never have to throw out the  actual handle of our brush!

As their website says, "this product represents the ultimate merger of superior dental care with environmental awareness." They save us money, help the planet and are hygienic since they're easier to replace.

If the some of the stats out there are true (that 50 million pounds of toothbrushes are tossed in landfills each year in America) then you can sleep easy (and with clean teeth) knowing that you helped minimize that number.