Bare Minerals Proof

Granted, these aren't the best pictures, but here are my "before and after"":

Bare Minerals

A friend of mine got the Bare Minerals makeup the other day and she loves it! She is a self-proclaimed fair-skinned-freckled-red-headed-Irish girl and wears makeup once a week. She purchased the Bare Minerals package after trying it out in the store, and now she wears it every day.

I had been thinking about buying Bare Minerals after seeing the commercial a year ago, but I just couldn't bring myself to buy makeup off of the TV. I wanted to try it, but it isn't like getting a $8 bottle of liquid foundation; this was an investment!

I decided last night that I would get some after my friend told me that it's available at Ulta. I dragged my poor 4 year old son there this morning and picked up the starter kit. It was pricey at around $60, but when I thought about how much I spend on foundation, bronzer, blush, glow, under eye makeup, and concealer pencil, I figured that this was actually a deal!

I brought it home and opened it right away. I decided to watch the "how to" DVD and then try it out. The video was easy to follow so felt pretty sure that I wouldn't mess up too badly.

I am officially in love with this product! Fist of all, I have really dry skin on my forehead and cheeks, so any liquid foundation I use tends to flake in those areas. Secondly, I have large pores on my cheeks, so when I use power it seems to amplify them. Well, this product isn't like your traditional make up at all. It glides over the skin and gives it an even, clean look. The make up looks like a powder, but because it's made from minerals it feels creamy-like but it doesn't sit on your skin like a liquid. After putting the foundation, glow, and mineral mask on, I looked like a different person! The tired I'm-pregnant-and-can't-sleep dark circles under my eyes are gone, the red splotches of hormonal angst that appeared on my face are dulled, and you can't even tell that I have dry skin or large pores!

I plan to buy everything that this product line has to offer. If I look this nice with only 3 of the products, imagine how good I'll look with the whole line!

Trying Something New

I have this horrid cough that, if I were I child, I'm sure would be diagnosed as croup. I've been barking for three days and finally, today, I lost my voice. Yes, my husband and son are thrilled, but I do not like having to throw something at someones head to get them to listen.

I remembered reading an article about a Vinegar and Honey mixture that is supposed to cure all so I decided to try it today. I kept putting it off because, let's face it, it sounds gross! However; I'm home alone so I decided that if I were going to do it, now was the best time.

I spent about 10 minutes looking online for the correct amounts to use and I finally found a great article with all the information I needed. I am so glad that I looked it up because I was ready to use regular white vinegar, not the apple cider vinegar. Gag!

I'll let you all know how it works for me...

Eco-Friendly Bleach

Since my son and I have such sensitive skin I've had to search for laundry detergent and bleach that won't affect us. I am also very aware of the impact cleaning agents have on our environment so I like to look for the eco-friendly products first.

Ecover Liquid Bleach is, by far, the best I've found. It's color safe (important for me because I always manage to spill bleach onto my clothes), deodorizes my clothing, and works on all the tough stains, including the stains my four year old manages to get every day. As for the environmental benefits, it has minimal impact on aquatic life, is completely biodegradable, and isn't tested on animals.

Considering how good it works and how drastically less it affects our environment in comparison to conventional bleach, you can be sure that this product is the only one that's going to be on my laundry room shelf.

All Natural Health

My son has chronic asthma. He's been hospitalized a few times and we've had countless runs to the ER in his short 3-and-a-half years. He's on a nebulizer twice a day with steroids and, when needed, his rescue medication. He's also taking allergy medication daily in hopes that he won't get the allergy induced attacks which usually lead to pneumonia.

This has been really hard for me to accept. I am an all-natural, organic type of person. I check labels for additives and nutrients. I don't don't eat meat unless it's from free range animals that are not treated with hormones. I detest medication and I don't trust Western medicine. So, when I have to pump my child full of medication it goes against the very nature of my being.

That's why I'm so pleased with a product I've found by Buried Treasure called Children's ACF. I got it from my health food store last year and I liked it; I noticed a marked improvement in my son's health. We had no pneumonia scares and we were only at Urgent Care twice and the ER once. I think he only saw his primary care doctor three times too, which is a lot better than the seven the season before!

Yesterday I noticed that he was getting a stuffy nose which usually is the start to post nasal drip, which then leads to croup, which turns into pneumonia. Then we have to add a liquid steroid to his already overdosed medical regime and that's usually my breaking point... Anyway, I started the Children's ACF last night which seems to be helping already. He's still stuffy, but that's the extent of it. He hasn't coughed one time and there is NO hint of a wheeze *knock on wood, cross fingers*.

I love this product. I also use their liquid vitamin B product in conjunction with magnesium to help him sleep better (he's changed his sleeping pattern from a bedtime of 11pm to 9:30pm and he still sleeps to 7:30am!) so I know that their products are not only good but affordable!