I used to be a big time perfume lover. All throughout my teens and early adult years I wore Elizabeth Arden’s Red Door perfume. Just ask my husband, he is still sulking that I no longer wear what he considers my signature scent. Eventually I stopped wearing it because who has time for perfume when you have to change messy diapers and supply breast milk on tap 24/7? Then after a few years I decided I didn’t WANT to wear it because conventional perfume is some seriously toxic and nasty stuff and I wanted to abstain from toxic beauty.

Sadly, this is a largely unregulated industry and perfume companies can put nearly any chemical they want in their formulas and get away with it. The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics and the Environmental Working Group created a report that shows how hormone-disrupting chemicals and chemicals that could cause allergic reactions (asthma, wheezing, headaches, and dermatitis) are often found in perfumes. Most of the “scents” in these perfume are not sourced from anything natural either. They are lab created with chemicals.

The good news is that we don’t need their stinking products (no pun intended)! There are many wonderful all-natural perfumes that are just as exquisite and lovely as the department store brands, but these botanical wonders contain no phthalates or preservatives. They just make better sense for ladies concerned about their health who still want to smell all pretty.

Here are a few options:

Pacifica Perfume - This brand has many, many lovely and safer scents. Indian Coconut Nectar or Mediterranean Fig? Yes please! These contain natural denatured alcohol (corn source) and Pacifica’s own fragrance blend with natural and essential oils. No parabens, animal testing, animal ingredients, or artificial colors. 100% VEGAN and Gluten-free. Price: $20

Lavanila Roll-on Perfumes – These clean vanilla scents start with a base of organic sugar cane alcohol which is the infused with pure essential oils. Price: $34-$56.

Red Flower Guaiac – Organic perfume with a woodsy blend of leaves/bark, pink grapefruit, and rose with organic oil as the base. It is also packaged in 80% post consumer recycled paper and made with wind power in the US! Price: $48

Golden Earth Perfume – These perfumes are made of 100% pure therapeutic grade essential oils and are infused with crystals. The Euphoria blend, which is what we have tried, is rose, jasmine, and agate crystal. No synthetic fragrances. Price: $20

Ever come across a product that you may have hesitated to buy at first and then it ends up changing your life and you cannot imagine life without it? The Diva Cup is one of those for me. I think I first wrote about this wonderful product about 7 or 8 years now. The concept of reusables came into my life via cloth diapers and then cloth pads for moms. While I have lots of love for those too it was the Diva Cup that ended up being the real game changer. After the second month using it I knew that I would be using a menstrual cup until I no longer needed them anymore (menopause). Also being the big fan that I am, I will happily introduce these to my daughter from the get-go. I only have a few more years until I am likely to do that. Yikes! Where does the time go?

My motivation in trying the cup was to reduce waste and eliminate the need to buy disposable pads and tampons. I also HATED both of these products with a passion. They are more like modern day torture devices and I can see why so many women refer to that time of month as a curse when those are the standard options. Who wants to deal with adult diaper rash from pads and the dryness and possible Toxic Shock Syndrome (TSS) from tampons? Not me, thank you. Cloth pads I found, were infinitely more comfortable but they also required more work. Storing them until wash day and then actually washing them was not going to make my top ten favorite things to do list. Then I came across a mention of menstrual cups on a cloth diapering message board and I ordered one. We have been likes peas and carrots ever since.

If you are not familiar with The Diva Cup, it is a cup that is inserted just like a tampon is. The “cup” catches your monthly flow and when it is full you simply empty it, wash with soapy water, and reinsert. It is made of soft medical grade silicone, which is latex-free, 100% hypoallergenic and odorless. It comes with a lovely carrying case so that you can keep it clean between uses and hidden away so kids won’t be inclined to steal it and play with it in the tub like it some kind of toy. Not saying that has ever happened but it could…hypothetically. I will say that it is really fun to explain to any male child that happens to be handling the cup, what it is and what it does. ;) This may be why I recently had to replace mine though. After one such conversation it mysteriously disappeared after bathroom cleaning duty. I think it disappeared into the trash. I wasted no time buying a new one and if you need one in a hurry you can find them at Whole Foods usually.

Reusable menstrual products are healthier to use and infinitely more comfortable.  They may take some adjustment as some women/girls may be uncomfortable dealing with menstrual blood because of years of using disposable, traditional products. I will admit that I am not squeamish in that regard. Caring for them is pretty easy too.

Have you tried a menstrual cup yet? What are you waiting for?

Related: Alternative Menstrual Products – Ditch the Disposables

A few months back now my family had its first ever bout with the big bad…head lice. I managed to go through my entire life without ever having had lice or even having it in my house. Luckily, I can still say I have never personally had lice but one of my kids did get a visit from these little guys and I was at a loss about what to do since I have zero experience with this issue. As the digital mom that I am, I sought advice from Facebook about natural – pesticide free – ways to get rid of these scary goobers. I say scary because they managed to reduce my child’s head to a bloody mass of scabs from biting and my child’s scratching. To make matters worse, we actually got the lice from a neighbor kid who had them, spent the night at our house (in my child’s bed), and never bothered to inform us. Ugh!

Anyway, from Facebook I was able to figure out that tea tree oil, peppermint oil, and vinegar would be my go-to resources for this adventure. The oils are hated by lice and they are also helpful in killing them. Vinegar would help dissolve the glue that the lice use to “stick” their nits on your hair shafts. I ended up making a list of all the stuff I found helpful…

Natural Ways to Remedy Head Lice

• Peppermint Oil
• Tea tree Oil
• Oregano Oil
• Salt
• Vinegar
• Coconut oil, another vegetable oil, or mayo – smothers lice – apply to hair and wrap with plastic wrap
• Flat Iron – To melt the nits “glue”
• A nit comb – or as I prefer, a metal flea comb from the pet store

We wanted to avoid conventional lice treatments for obvious reasons. They are pesticide based and if we work so hard to eat foods without pesticides and wear clothing grown from cotton without pesticides then it only goes to follow that putting it on our children’s heads will just not do. We also found that the tiny plastic combs sold as lice combs were nearly useless. The metal flea combs found online or at pet stores are more durable, the spaces between slats are smaller, and the one we chose actually has a double row of teeth. We compared it to the plastic lice comb from the drugstore and it was so much more effective with pulling lice and nits from the hair.

Once armed with our flea comb I made my own lice shampoo and guessed on the proportions.

All Natural Head Lice Shampoo Treatment

• 1 Quart size ball jar
• 1 Tablespoon (1 squirt) Dr. Bronner’s peppermint soap
• 8-10 Drops tea tree oil (we use Trader Joe’s brand)
• Fill jar to top with water, shake before each use.
• Rinse with vinegar and let sit in hair for 5 minutes. Plastic wrap is optional (we didn’t use it)
• Comb hair with flea comb or lice comb

We spent 1-2 hours each night doing this whole process and we did it every night for about 2 weeks. Getting that pesticide lice treatment would have been a whole lot easier, I will grant you that. It is not necessary though. Suzanne at Mommy Footprint shared on Facebook a theory that perhaps kids whose hair was washed less frequently and with non-conventional shampoos (no poo) were better safe guarded from lice. Smart Mama kind of confirmed by saying that lice cannot stick as well to hair that is “dirty” or containing the natural oils it is meant to be coated with. Very interesting! Perhaps my kiddo’s no poo hair may have helped us avoid lice until now but when the infestation is on your pillow (thanks to the aforementioned sleepover) I think the deck is stacked against you.

For bedding and stuffed toys we simply washed in hot water with a few drops of tea oil thrown in. We also dried everything on hot. We could have also dried them with a washcloth containing a few drops of tea tree oil or peppermint oil but I did not think of it at the time. If there is a next time though, we will be set!

** A reader also recommended Lice Shield Leave in Spray. It is supposedly made up of natural essential oils but I cannot find a full ingredients list so you may or may not want to check that out. If I see any, I will update.

Have you experienced head lice? Do you have any tips to share?

Attn: Giveaway at the end of this post!

This summer I will hit the big 3-5. I hope to bypass some of the trauma involved with hitting this landmark in my life by going to New York City to party it up with friends the week before my birthday, you know… pretend I am still young. ;)

I never thought I would be concerned with aging but it kind of sneaks up on you. You start to notice the skin on your neck and hands getting thinner and you might even see a few stray grey hairs or wrinkles. Thankfully the first sign is the only one I have seen but I am surprised I even care. I don’t wear makeup and frankly don’t care much about fashion either. Aging, make-up, exercise, fashion (aka, how I look) used to be a category with a big fat “Do Not Care” check-mark underneath but suddenly I find that the older I get, the more I am starting to care. I have been buying new to me clothing at second hand stores frequently of late after wearing the same old stuff for more than a decade. I kinda HAD to buy new clothes after more than a year at the gym though. None of my old clothes fit anymore.

Then I started to wear makeup here and there just because I felt like it. My daughter, who had never seen me wear makeup said I looked like Lady Gaga. I am not sure if that should be taken as a compliment. Also recently I was contacted by Juice Beauty to do a review of their Age Defy Solutions Kit and I jumped all over it. Who woulda thunk it? Certainly not me. ;)

I have really enjoyed becoming better acquainted with Juice Beauty products. I can easily see myself becoming a dedicated customer because I know they are a brand and product I can trust to be safe and healthy. I have rather enjoyed eschewing beauty products and makeup all these years because then I didn’t have to research all of it and get discouraged by how generally toxic the beauty market it. I didn’t have to worry about my skin absorbing chemical nasties every day. I feel confident about Juice Beauty though and recommended them to my readers even before I used them myself. Their products are made with a minimum of 85% and up to 98% USDA certified organic content. Instead of the typical water-base that most natural skincare brands use, Juice Beauty products have an organic fruit juice base that is naturally loaded with antioxidants, essential vitamins and phytonutrients – it’s like a smoothie for your skin! I know many raw foodies swear by rubbing pieces of fruit on their skin and these products feel like you are doing just that.

The green Apple Age Defying Kit is simply superb. You can totally smell the green apple!

The kit contains:

Green Apple Cleansing Gel
Green Apple Peel Full Strength
Green Apple Age Defy Serum
Green Apple Age Defy Moisturizer
Green Apple SPF15 Moisturizer

You start the day with the cleanser and follow up with the serum and the moisturizer. In the evening you use the cleanser, the peel, the serum, and moisturizer. You leave the peel on for ten minutes and then rinse before you apply the last two. I was a bit hesitant to try the peel because I remember that being popular when I was a teen and it leaving my face all red like a lobster but everything in this kit is gentle and nourishing. They are also highly effective. This isn’t wimpy skincare. I was deeply impressed with how my skin seemed to tighten up and how my pores seemed to shrink. Abuse of my skin as a teen has left me with large pores but they have been much less noticeable with the Age Defy Solutions. My skin has also been silky soft. ;) Both my husband and my youngest son were speaking me at different times this week and suddenly they put a hand to my face and rubbed it against my cheek, which is very uncharacteristic of both. I think they have noticed the difference just as I have.

So A+ for the product and A+ for the company, which was started by a mom who was concerned about everything she put in and on her body when she was pregnant with her first child. Her goal was to create a line of authentically organic, highly effective skincare products and Juice Beauty was born. I am so glad it was.

Now… are you ready to try this kit and/or a $50 Juice Beauty gift certificate to use on the products of your choice? You are??? Awesome! Enter below… and good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway