Going green, I was reluctant to try natural deodorants for fear that they might not work. But, I didn’t need to worry as there are some great alternatives to the chemical ridden formulas.
If you want to smell fresh without compromising your health, check out these natural deodorants:
If you would prefer a spray deodorant, I personally love Salt of the Earth. I like the handy travel size bottle for my handbag (and a great way to test the product). I also really like the pink one (Lavender & Vanilla) and the turquoise one (Melon & Cucumber).
When you first spray it, it feels different to mainstream deodorants that tend to coat your armpit in a thick white powder. This spray is wet. It doesn’t take long to dry and it keeps me fresh all day without any harmful ingredients. As you can see it made it into my hospital bag (click here to see what else I packed).
To be more green, you can buy refills for the deodorant and save money – I’ve not done this yet. I love that they’ve thought about how to reduce waste with their product too.
I bought the Under Arm Deodorant Wipes (see picture above) for my hospital bag. I thought they would enable me to freshen up if I didn’t have access to a bath/shower during my stay. However, I was in and out of the hospital within a few hours of birth (click here for my labour story).
However, after arriving home, I hit a spell where my little one was very fussy and very difficult to put down. I found I couldn’t get even five minutes to jump in the shower. The deodorant wipes gave me a chance to freshen up first thing so I could leave having a shower until later when she was more settled.
Grumpy Skin is one of my favourite bloggers as she is so honest when she reviews products. Below is a link to her article on how she got on using Funkless Deodorant. I think you will enjoy how she tells it like it is.
Check out the link below to find out if this product was a winner or a loser… and subscribe to her blog for more frank reviews.
You know the no plastic kick is getting serious when I start buying deodorant that comes in a glass jar. I’m no stranger to ~natural~ deodorants. I jumped on the no aluminum train about ten years ago when I started using the crystal. Now I think that the aluminum fears have pretty shaky evidence. Which […]
Originally, I hadn’t bought a ticket to this event, at Felixstowe Book Festival 2018, as I thought it was only for children and accompanying adults. When I discovered I could attend, I bought a last minute ticket and I am so glad I did.
This workshop covered different techniques for making books. We were given paper, pens, needle and thread.
We were shown three different techniques. First we created a simple folded book and they showed us how to use this technique to create a thin long book or a short wide book.
Then, we made a shaped book. The design they taught us was in the shape of a house. Inside we cut out doors.
We were encouraged to fill in our books. I choose to turn the ‘house’ book into Noah’s home with easy words for my son to read. Another attendee theirs into a row of beach huts, someone else had the house changing through the seasons and a girl drew each house belonging to her best friends. It was great to see how universal the design was for each person.
For the folded book, we were asked what our favourite word was. Mine is “banana”. We were then challenged to fill our books based on our favourite word. I decided to write about different colour bananas to the tune of “one potato”. Later, I gave the book to Noah to colour in. He was able to read the colours and word banana easily. As a minion fan, he found it funny that it was about bananas.
The final technique we were shown was a stitched book. They taught us how to gather a suitable number of pages and the right size cover. We were shown how to safely make the holes for binding and the pattern to use for the stitch using a waxed thread.
We then had time afterwards to try making any of the methods again or to continue decorating and filling in our books. I made another stitched book and used floral paper from their scraps box. I plan to use this as a notebook to records ideas for a best selling novel!
The scraps box was full of all sorts of different bits of paper ranging from left over card/paper to gift wrap and gift bags to wallpaper. For the cover you need something thicker than the paper used inside. It really demonstrates how creating your own books is very sustainable as you are repurposing stuff you may have otherwise thrown away.
Around the room were several books for anyone wanting to learn more about making books. They recommended:
The event was brilliant. Emily and Jeni worked well together to deliver an engaging and interactive workshop. I hope they continue to return to Felixstowe Book Festival to share their knowledge and enthusiasm of making books.
*****
I had planned to create a video to illustrate how to make these but haven’t had the time. Hopefully, I will one day.
Have you ever made a book – what style do you make and what did you use your creation for? I am hoping to do this with my son to encourage his writing. Please let me know if you’ve got any tips.
It’s been a tough three weeks without a bathroom. Luckily we have been able to stay overnight at my mother-in-law’s and there are people with bigger problems so I don’t want to complain.
My son has been really good about keeping out of the workers’ way and not complaining about the noise, mess or disruption – it hasn’t been easy for him. He would have loved to have given them a hand but it was too dangerous.
I felt he deserved a treat and when I saw Good Bubble had released a new Gruffalo range, I knew it would be the perfect treat.
https://instagram.com/p/Bf1IVlLBs_o/
He was really happy when he saw his new products sporting the Gruffalo, one of his favourite storybook characters.
The Review
Here is what I thought of the new line and the yummy fruity prickly pear scent.
Bubbly Gruffalo Bubble Bath (£3.99): The bubble bath made a decent amount of bubbles and smelt delicious. We have had the bubble bath before in Dragon Fruit and CloudBerry.
Grubby Gruffalo Hair & body wash (£3.69): It was easy to get a lather and my little boy was confidently by washing himself. We have had the wash before in Dragon Fruit and CloudBerry.
Little Softy Moisturiser (£3.99): This is new to the brand and an excellent addition. My little boy loved having his first body moisturiser. At first, he thought it was a hand cream until I encouraged him that he could apply it all over. This was easier for him to use than their Organic Coconut oil (£7.99).
Grizzly Mane Detangler (£3.99): He doesn’t have long hair that tangles but he does get flyaways so I decided to give this a go to see if it helped tame the problem. I think it has worked. It smells really good and can be used on dry hair so we are using it to freshen up between hair washes.
Dragon Fruit was my favourite but now it is the Gruffalo prickly pear. We will, definitely, be buying this again.
I was only able to get this range direct from their site but I’m hoping Sainsbury, Ocado and Holland & Barratt will get some in stock soon as they sell the rest of the range.
It is a monthly subscription box full of cruelty free beauty products. If that’s not enough to make you feel good, they also donate a portion of their profit to Animal Free Research UK from each box sold.
This product claims to improve the appearance of skin whilst providing nourishment. The main active ingredients are Kale (vitamin C & E) and Cocoa Butter.
Review: I’ve found this cream to be light. It doesn’t have a scent. It dries fast so I can put makeup on immediately afterwards. It is a small tube so I’m not sure how long this will last but the product cost is the price of the subscription fee so I’ve already got my money back with this one item.
This brand prides themselves on being diverse and creating a brand everyone can use to express themselves (reminded me of Illamasqca). The shade Tainted Cupcake is a champagne pink with rose gold. It can be applied dry or wet for a more intense pop of colour.
Review: The eyeshadow has a shimmer to it so if you are not into that this then the shade is not for you. The shade chosen is a safe choice for most people but if you fancy something more daring they have some bolder colours on their website. It also came with a free brush which I really like.
RRP $15.00 (about £10.86 by exchange rate on 4 March 2018)
Above is just a snippet of all the goodness this brand delivers. One of the first The Pip Boxes I received contained the ‘Green Clay’ face mask, I then went on to buy more products by the brand (a body oil and their petroleum free jelly).
Review: I haven’t had a chance to test this yet but I have previously used their green clay version. It is a power mask and you have to mix it with water to create a paste. If you enjoy making your masks then you will love this.
I prefer my masks already made so I wouldn’t have chosen this for myself but I am looking forward to trying it out because I know this brand always delivers and the mask will be effective. You mix up what you need and there is enough that you will get plenty of uses out of the pot making it very cost effective.
I struggled to find the product on their website but other oils in the same packaging were the organic certified oils. I expect they have just not updated the product images yet on the site and this is new packaging. There was a wide range of products on their site and gift sets for people who like making beauty products like bath bombs etc.
Review: My skin really does love organic oils. Since receiving this, I have been putting it on before bed. You only need a little bit to cover your face and it dries quick. There were also instructions on how you can use the oil for your hair or mix it to make a serum. I’m not keen on the smell of the product – it smells like cooking oil.
I will use it up but not sure I’ll re-buy. I am interested in trying their bath salts…
This brand is difficult to get in the UK but not impossible, however, I had trouble finding a supplier that sells all the shades of lip paint yet so this is possibly a new line. The product is a liquid lipstick with a matt finish and stays on all day.
Review: The shade Cowgirl is not for me. I put it on and it is a pale nude colour that made my lips look like they had no colour and I am a red lip girl. However, I couldn’t get it off and realised I was stuck with the shade all day unless I wanted to start my make-up over. I went out in it. It did last all day.
I am very tempted to get this matt lip paint in another colour because I love the fact you can put it on and forget about it and as a busy mum, doing my makeup once is about all the time I’ve got.
RRP $12.00 (about £8.69 by exchange rate on 4 March 2018)
JOM stands for ‘Just One More’ and the brand is appropriately named.
Review: So, I opened the packet to show the sweets and tried one. Before I had even uploaded the pic to Instagram, the contents was gone. Honestly, I meant to share them with my husband and son but they really were moreish. I highly recommend!
I can’t wait to order some more of these and try other flavours.
RRP £1.25
Share to social media
Currently, boxes contain a card encouraging consumers to share pics of their box and contents on social media and how to tag to enter the monthly raffle. If your pic is chosen, you win your next box free. It’s rewarding that this support and loyalty is recognised by The Pip Box.
I take pics every month because I love my The Pip Box. I then use my images on my blog. This month, I won! So, my March box will be free and the contents will be worth £65!
I’m no professional photographer. I just took pics with my mobile. This shows anyone can win. So, if you buy The Pip Box, don’t hesitate to share your joy with pics. Do it, tag it, and you may just win it.
