Scentsational Soap Mini Haul and Review

Here I am with my second Scentsational Soap Mini haul. This time I decided to try out different products, since the first haul was basically her soap bars. I had the privilege of trying out two of the four I bough from samples that Sarah and Chad sent me. They are all in the scent LEMON COOKIE, which I just could not get enough of!

Sugar Scrub

One scoop provides a good exfoliation for the entire body. The sugar crystals dissolve nicely as you rub it into your skin, while at the same time the oils moisturizes very well. It does not leave an oily residue, which I find it to be a plus. And the scent is very strong and can linger at least 30 minutes in the skin or more.

Whipped Parfait Soap

This is by far my favorite item of this purchase. When you pad the top it feels a bit tough, but as you scoop a bit out, it feels extremely creamy and smooth and it lathers up a lot! So a little goes a long way!  When layered with the scrub, the scent will linger even more.

Body Butter

As for the body butter, it has a very dense texture, but it glides on the skin smoothly. It leaves your skin soft and very moisturized. As for the scent, lemon cookie does justify the name. It reminds of the Lemon Cookie I ate very long ago from the Girl Scouts (wished I had some now). A bakery scent, very sweet and mouth watery. Also, one thing I love love love about layering them together, the scent will last me all night and wake up to it.

Deodorant

As far as deodorants go, I have tried so many brands and scents, but none really seem to work on me.  I always end up having a strong odor, mostly the deodorants scent multiplying with sweat so I said to myself, let's go au natural. And no I don't mean stop using deodorant, but rather use one with natural ingredients. And here Sarah has a lovely selection of natural deodorants which caught my attention.

So far I am loving it! It helps me stay fresh and odor free for at least half a day (I say half a day because I cannot go half a day without showering with the heat cranking up here). Even when I go to sleep, I usually just go with a roof fan, so sweating is inevitable, but with this I wake up to the smell of green tea and Aloe Vera.

Highly recommend this to anyone who has had trouble finding the right deodorant to stop the heavy sweating and bad smell!

Freebies!

As always, Sarah and Chad are sweethearts and were so so generous as to give me three full size freebies!! (unscented Goats milk soap bar + strawberry soap bar + loofah) I was not expecting this at all. I was so surprise! THANK YOU SARAH AND CHAD!!!!! But I will say that the goats milk soap is AMAZING. It creates a thick, rich creamy lather that just blew my mind away. It is extremely gentle on the skin, but at the same time provides a lot of moisture. 

Also the Strawberry soap smells sweet and yummy. It creates a lovely lather. Also, it has seeds in it, which tells me two things: first that she uses real strawberries to make this soap, and two: that it provides a gentle exfoliation. I love to use it as a hand soap because that way I can sniff the strawberries as often as I want!

I will be repurchasing everything, but three products that I KNOW I do not want to go without from Sarah's are:

• Unscented Goats milk soap
• Whipped soap
• Natural Deodorant

Life is Delicious!

Recently, together with my "natural soap search" obsession, I've become extremely fond of TJ MAXX store and all of it's "can't find anywhere else items" (at least in Puerto Rico). 

And today I found this amazing deal on two of Philosophy shower gels Vanilla Ice Cream & Pumpkin Spice for only $10 for both.

Compared to their retail price of $42 at Amazon.com, this was a sweet deal!

So let me know what do you like to threat yourself with!?

Mary Kay Botanical Effects Skincare review

Mary Kay is a world renown beauty company that has been around 49 years, since 1963. So they've had time to build up quite the reputation on their skincare and make-up line. I've tried a couple of their products, but have limit myself to only a few such as the "Satin Hands kit" and "Eye makeup remover"  (which I'll eventually review) because honestly I find their prices waaaaaay to expensive for my taste. So I am extremely selective as to what I'll try out from them. 

But recently they released a new "Botanical Effects" skin care line which caught my eye because it is: 

• Formulated for sensitive skin
• Hypoallergenic
• Fragrance free
• Rich in antioxidants 

It comes in three different formulas:

1. Dry: with flaxseed  and sea kelp extract for that extra moisture the skin needs. 
2. Normal: with frangipani extract which protects the skin from environmental stressors and water lily extract which provides antioxidants and minerals.
3. Oily: with white tea tree for purification and guava extract for exfoliation and provides salicylic acid. 

It has four steps:

1. Cleanser (4 oz. at $14)
2. Freshener (5 fl. oz. at $14)
3. Moisturizer (4 fl. oz. at $16)
4. Mask (4 oz. at $14)

I purchased  all four steps of the Balanced Formula

Steps and thoughts:

1. Cleanser (4 oz.) - It is a very light cream that does not lather up or create any foam. Personally, I am not liking this. I don't feel it cleanses my face properly. So I end up using a large amount of product to feel like is actually washing away some dirt. Because of this, I will run out of product in two months. And for $14 a pop, I find it is not worth the money.  Also, I know it doesn't clean up well because after I use the freshener, the cotton ball picks up a lot of dirt the cleanser left behind. I won't be repurchasing this.

2. Freshener (5 fl. oz.) - It is alcohol free so it does not dry up my skin. I love this. It feels like water, with the added bonus that it moisturizes the skin and leaves it feeling fresh and smooth. It also does a great job picking up any dirt left behind from the cleanser. I find it to be much better than a toner, which all that I've tried had alcohol in them and there for dried up my skin. This freshener is a keeper.

3. Moisturizer (4 fl. oz.) - It's very light and watery. A bit thicker than the freshener. So a little goes a long way. It does not have sun protection (so a sun lotion is advised) but can be used at night. Even though it does its job, I am not loving it for the price. So I will continue searching for something better.

4. Mask (4 oz.) - This is my favorite of them all. It is a deep exfoliate mask. You can either use it to exfoliate your skin in the shower and quickly wash it off, or leave it on as a mask for 10 minutes for a much deeper cleanse. This will leave your skin feeling soft, smooth and shine free. It left my face looking clearer after the first use. I also noticed that my cheek pores seemed smaller afterwards. This is another keeper.

Please let me know if you've tried any of these or any of their other skincare products and what has been your thoughts and experiences with them.

Day 6 places - The 10 Day You Challenge

So many places to go, but so little time... Traveling and internal tourism are my most joyful hobbies, but I don't get to do them as often as I want to. I just get this amazing feeling of a six year old waiting for Santa to come, more surprised every time as if it were the first. Playing chess has been a way for me to live this dream.

So, here are 6 places I've had the privilege to see and have loved:

1. Seoul, South Korea (family visit)

2. Turin, Italy (Chess Olympiad)

3. Dresden, Germany (Chess Olympiad)

4. Khantsy Mansiysk, Russia (Chess Olympiad)

5. Crete, Greece (World Youth Championship)

6. Uruguay (Pan american Chess Championship)

Belle Ame' Bath and Body - Soaps review

Continuing through the world of soaps, yesterday came my third order of Belle Ame soaps. The other two were samples. They give you 10 samples for $1.95 plus $2.12 for shipping, good for those of you who want to be sure before investing, like me! This is the best deal I've come across so far, compared to other company's like Fortune Cookie Soaps, who charges $7.95 plus shipping for 11 pieces (4 oz.), which I find it to be too expensive. Also Belle Ame gives you the luxury of choosing which sample soaps you are interested in trying and will grant this depending on what they have in stock. And they offer free priority shipping by ordering $60 or more! Plus with every purchase, they'll add 5 sample bars.

This ensures the safety of the products, which is a nice plus!

Products that I bought (8 bars of soap & 1 bath bomb):

• Pumpkin Pie (gift for mother's day)
• Oatmeal, Milk and Honey
• Southern Tea
• Ginger & lime
• Royal Luxe (men's scent)
• Fujian white tea
• Buttercream Icing
• Sassy Sugar
• Ginger & lime (bath bomb)

The bars of soap cost $6.95 each and the  bath bomb was $4.95

General Characteristics of all of the bar soaps:

• Creamy and abundant lathering
• Moisturizing
• Large variate of scents such as floral, sweet, citrusy, mild, strong, and others.
• 1 bar could last from 20-25 showers
• Beautiful detailed packaging
• Amazing customer service (as I mentioned before, they make sure to send the samples that you request)
• Fast shipment (took about 4-6 days for packaging and 3-4 days for delivery)
• Great for gifts!

Here are my favorite scents which I'll definitely be repurchasing:

1. Sassy Sugar has an extremely sweet scent of cotton candy and caramel. Can't get enough of it.

2. Buttercream icing is another extremely sweet scent, reminds me of cream cheese cake icing. Love it.

3. Fujian white tea has a fresh scent and a hint of sweetness, but not overpowering as the ones before.

4. Southern tea is a mixture of flowers and honey, definitely can pick it up. For me its more of a relaxing scent then the others.


Overall I think these are amazing quality soaps. They have affordable prices and a variety of body care products: soap bars, shower gels, body scrubs, lip scrubs, bath bombs, body lotions, bubble bath, hand wash, men's, kid's.

Let me know if you've tried this line before or not, what are your thoughts?

Rampage Shoes!

Hey guys! Recently I found myself limited by my shoe collection. Besides flats, convers, and sandals I don't have much variety on colors and styles. So I decided to upgrade it a bit by adding shoes which I would never have bought before. I've made a list of must have style shoes which I'll be purchasing as I stumble on affordable prices and the most comfortable I can find.

So my first purchase was at Marshalls and picked up the Rampage brand. They were at sale at an affordable price of $24.99 plus taxes. And you know how Marshalls loves to compare prices, so these were against $54.00. 

Inside were these 4 inch leopard print heels which I absolutely fell in love with. Of course I was a bit hesitant to try them on as they are very bold compared to what I am used to ware. But this was the key phrase which led me to try them on!

With a cute bow in the front

Leopard print is definitively on my list because they can dress up any type of outfit

 But the best part is how amazingly comfortable they are! Inside they have a sort of gel cushion, which caught me by surprise. They make my feet feel relaxed and almost as if I were walking through air! I will be saving these for a special occasion to surprise my b-friend.

The only downside is that I still don't know what to wear them with, so if anyone has some suggestions, please comment bellow! 

Day 5 foods - 10 Day You Challenge

Food... really, who doesn't love it? That satisfaction in grants a full belly and the happiness it gives at every meal. There are so many to choose from that Is difficult to settle on just 5. Rather than individually picking 5 foods, I'll take the liberty to choose in large scales and inside this I'll choose one top favorite plate.

1. Korean cuisine has been part of my life ever since I was born because of my moms heritage. One of my favorite plates would have to be Bibimbap. Always reminds me of how fun it is to eat it at home and with my Korean family because it was like: "Okay, let's get everything out of the fridge and mix it with some rice, sesame seed oil, (some red paste, maybe red hot pepper), a fried egg and just dig in everyone!"

2. Puerto Rican cuisine together with Korean cuisine are the basic components of my diet. There is nothing more pleasant than a nice hot plate of home made white rice with red stewed beans, after days of having to eat at fast foods. This makes my mouth water every time I eat it.

3. Desert is a luxury I do not take for granted. Although I do not make this a habit, but whenever rarely possible I would have a nice serving of a creamy snickers cheesecake my sister and brother in law used to make. It has been over a year since I ate this, but it has been by far the best flavor cheesecake I've had. I wish I'd had a picture of it, but this is the closest look alike I could find.

4. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. And for me the yummiest of all. I am constantly changing it weekly, always getting tired of everything, but the one meal that I would never ever get tired of and always found it amazingly refreshing and satisfying would be plain yogurt with fresh fruits, pecans and honey.

5. Snacks are what keep me in balance in between meals. There are so many to choose from, but I always try and reach for one that is rich in fiber to keep that hungry at bay. Although my goal is to make my own granola fiber bars, for now I have to settle on this one which tastes similar to ferrero chocolates.

Scentsational Soaps Skincare Review

I have recently become obsessed with finding natural hand made soaps. To my surprise, it has been extremely difficult for me to find quality soaps in Puerto Rico, so I began my research online.

 And as I went through dozens of stores  (Lush, Cookiefortune, belle ame, bath and body works, the body shop, and so on), I stumbled upon one called Scentsational Soaps Skincare. Sarah and her son Chad are the owners of this business based in Florida.

Here is the link to her website: http://scentsationalsoapsskincare.com/Default.aspx

What captured my attention the most about them was their extremely affordable prices (compared to Lush) and all of the healing properties on all of their products! They offer a large variate of products such as soap bars, body butters, lotions, scrubs, whipped parfait soaps, even shampoos and much more. They're all natural and have different lines with goat milk, organic glycerin, shea butter, whipped parfait, honey bee, etc.

I must admit that I am very picky when it comes to scents, and I am always hesitant on buying online anything that depends mostly on this, but after watching many positive reviews on this company, and without trying out any samples, I decided to take the plunge and made a big purchase (at least, for me it was big).

They came through extremely fast. It took exactly 5 days to get to Puerto Rico. And before I talk about their products, I have to point out their amazing customer service. I had trouble with my address through PAY PAL, but Sarah handled the situation beautifully and was so kind and extremely generous as to send me 6 free samples and one free regular size soap bar!!

Really lovely person, I am very grateful for her patience and care.

I must say that I have loved every product so far to the point where I have replaced all of my soap bars and shower gels with theirs! Personally, I am not going back to commercial soaps, ever. I fully recommend them, specially for people who have very sensitive skin, and have skin conditions and complications such as eczema, acne, herpes, burns, wounds, dry itchy skin, and much more. 

So I purchased the following products:

• 1 Royal Jelly soap bar  (4.5 oz.) (fights depression +more!)
• 1 Long Island Beach House sea salt soap bar  (4.5 oz.) (gently exfoliates the skin!)
• 1 Eucalyptus soap bar (great for reducing stress!)
• 1 Peppermint soap bar (So refreshing and great for tired muscles, migraines and much more! I use it in the morning)
• 1 Chocolate Honey Decadence (4.5 oz.) soap bar (amazing moisturizer + more!)
• 1 Chocolate Honey Decadence lip balm (this is extremely moisturizing!)

I have tried all of them and overall I have to say that they are AMAZING. 

• The scents are wonderful and have a large variate from unscented, to frutty, to clean fresh, to floral, to herbal and others.
• They're moisturizing
• The Chocolate Honey Decadence soap and lip balm smells like genuine chocolate!!
• Their line of Goats milk lathers up the most with a very creamy texture

I will definitively be repurchasing very soon the lip balm and the Long Island soap (because will use them the most). The others will hold on for special occasions to relax, get rid of headaches, hot days, itchy days, and so on.

Freebies:

• French Kiss soap
• Strawberry Honey soap
• Midnight Safari soap
• Lemon Cookie body scrub
• Lime Margarita body butter
• Honey soap
• Propolis soap (full size bar)

My favorite out of these ones and will definitively buy full size are the

• Strawberry Honey soap, which smells amazing, I can pick up the strawberry scent
• Body butter, which is extremely moisturizing. The smell is very strong which for me is good because I like that the scent will last me quite a while.
• Body scrub's scent was the longest that lingered in my skin, out of all the products. Love to use it on my hands, feet and dry areas. 

Go to her website at: http://scentsationalsoapsskincare.com/Default.aspx and see for yourself!