#Teatuesday Løv Organic Wild Berry Fruit Tea

Hello everyone, I thought I kick things off today by sharing my favorite summer drink with you all. Staying hydrated is super important when it gets hot outside and as much as I like good old water, sometimes you just want something a bit more flavorful. So, for today’s Tea Tuesday I am super excited to talk about the amazing Løv Organic WildBerry Fruit Tea.

To put it bluntly, I freaking love this tea, I originally bought a box with teabags but within a week I went back and got the large metal tin. It’s that good.  This is a mix of hibiscus, rosehip along with fruits pieces and natural wildberry flavors. It makes the most perfect iced tea you can ever imagine! Instead of going for sugary juices and flavors enhancers, infusing the tea in a large pitcher of cold water give you a healthy refreshment to enjoy in the summer’s heat. It has a light hibiscus and berry flavor that is very pleasant and not too sweet. A lot of times fruit teas can be either too tart or overly sweet, especially when enjoyed cold, but this one has a perfect balance without being watered-down.

I have been making it every day for the past month and I still can’t get enough. I’m sure both kids and adults will enjoy it. Also I love that it’s organic and caffeine-free. You can the Løv Organic Wild Berry Fruit Tea on their website and in many health food and tea stores. It truly is one of the best teas I have tried this year!

My Favorite Natural Hand Soaps: The Green Beaver Company and The Honest Company

Today I want to step away from skincare and makeup reviews to talk about something equally related to beauty but that doesn’t get as much attention as it should. Hand soap is so important to keep your hands soft, so I have rounded up my 2 favorite natural hand soaps to keep your hands healthy and clean.

I had to deal with eczema on my right hand all winter long and using harsh, drying soaps was not helping. This led me to trying out different natural soaps that are fragrance-free and not full of harsh chemicals. Finding good options was actually difficult but I love the two I picked below. 

First is The Green Beaver Company Cranberry Delight Foaming Hand Soap, this an amazing product! It is free of SLS, triclosan and phthalates (among others) and uses a mix of natural and certified organic ingredients. Unlike a lot of foaming soaps, it is not drying at all and rinses without leaving any residues. The light scent of cranberries is very pleasant and I love that you can buy big refills of it. This is probably my all-time favorite hand soap and it doesn’t hurt that it comes from an awesome Canadian company.

My second favorite is The Honest Company Hand Soap in Mandarin, a refreshing gel soap that smells lovely. The formula is super gentle, much like the Green Beaver one it is free of harsh chemicals, and it really gets your hands clean. In the picture you can see the lavender soap (the mandarin was out of stock), I really enjoyed this scent as well but I felt like it irritated my eczema a little (maybe it was the peppermint oil in it), though my other hand was just fine. I think the mandarin one is perfect for the kitchen, it smells lovely (not perfumy) but the scent does not linger or transfer onto food. It’s another great product from The Honest Company.

The GreenBeaver Company Cranberry Delight Foaming Hand Soap is available on their website and in select health food stores. The Honest Company Hand Soap inMandarin is available on their website. 

Nourished Life Haul Featuring Kora Organics, Jar, Edible Beauty, 100% Pure and More

In my last Nourished Life haul, I mentioned having quite a long wish list of things I wanted to get from the site. Well, I managed to make a small dent in the list with a new haul and everything is fantastic! I have become quite obsessed with Nourished Life, I get excited when they send their newsletter (always with nice promotions and gifts with purchase) and I have a look on the site every week to see what new things they got in. I actually ordered these products a while ago and even though I received my order within a week, I hadn’t managed to get everything together for a nice picture until now. So without further ado here is my most recent Nourished Life haul!

First I have the Ecobud Pete Evans Little Penguin Glass Bottle in Aqua, a glass water bottle with a filter to turn regular tap water into filtered alkaline water. I was so happy to find a bottle that could turn tap water into alkaline water (quite a rare find) and it looks really nice. The bottle isn’t too heavy and I love the color of the silicone sleeve.       *Edit: Nourished Life has stopped stocking this product.

Next I have the Jar Body Scrub in Africa, a mix of coffee, pink Himalayan sea salt and sugar. I love a good scrub and this one looked like a great option for deep exfoliation. It’s a great all natural option and it does not contain any microbeads.

I love all things Miranda Kerr so I couldn’t resist picking up another product from her Kora Organics range. This time I went for the Luxurious Rosehip Oil, a lovely blend of rosehip and other oils. I have been meaning to add a facial oil to my routine for a while and this organic one seemed like the perfect one

Up next is the Blisume Hand and Body Wash in Frangipani, a 100% natural and sulphate-free shower gel. I go through body washes really quickly and I am always looking for something new and natural to try. I really love the ingredients list of this one and the cute packaging doesn’t hurt either.

This time, I simply had to get one of the Edible Beauty teas and I opted for the No.2 Fountain of Youth. This is a lovely blend of organic teas and fruits full of antioxidants. It also comes in the prettiest glass jar and you can buy tea refill when you’ve finished it.. 

Now for a bit of makeup, you know my love of lip stains so I decided to dip my toe in the natural makeup pool with the 100% Pure Lip Butter in Pomegranate. This lovely balm is full of hydrating ingredients and super pigmented. It will give your lips and cheeks a lovely flush of color. I’m already thinking of getting another one!

The next thing is probably the least glamourous thing to haul, but hey a beautiful smile comes from healthy teeth so I bought the Dr. Tungs Natural Dental Floss. I am very picky when it comes to dental floss, but this toxin-free option really caught my eye and I love that the container is biodegradable.

Last but not least is the PearlBar Bamboo and Charcoal Toothbrush, the plastic from regular toothbrushes creates a lot of pollution so this is a great ecofriendly option. The bristles are super fine and tapered to give a deep clean and you don’t have to feel bad when you need to replace them.

I really can’t get enough of Nourished Life and their amazing selection of products. I have linked every product above and I highly recommend you have a look at the website. I’m sure you’ll find some great new finds to make your life a bit healthier!

#TeaTuesday Løv Organic Løv is Beautiful Organic Herbal Tea

I don’t generally commit to teas, variety is the spice of life and all that, which is why I prefer mini tea tins. You get to try many flavors without having so much that you get bored of them. So imagine my surprise when I decided to commit to a whopping 113 grams (4 oz.)  of tea without having tasted it first. What can I say, when you know, you know! Let me introduce you to the lovely Løv Organic Løv is Beautiful Organic Herbal Tea.

This tea is an amazing blend of organic white tea, green tea, green rooibos, pieces of mango, pineapple and apricot, natural peach flavor and natural flavors. To me this is the most delicious way of getting in antioxidants from the different teas and it is so tasty you want to come back for more. It really tastes like peaches and the other fruits included in the blend, there is no bitterness from the green tea at all and it is not sickly sweet either. There are actual pieces of fruit mixed with the leaves, but you can’t see them in the picture below because I’m at the end of my tin (you can see them online here). Luckily, Løv Organic offers refills of their teas so you don’t have to buy a new tin every time. I’m planning on getting mine soon because as you can see, I absolutely loved this blend.

As a brand, Løv Organic has really great ethics focused on being environmentally friendly and offering high quality organic teas certified by ECOCERT and other certifying organizations. The metal tins are refillable as I mentioned and the brand only uses plastic when necessary and when they do, they go for the safer kind. You can read more about the brand and what they are doing here.

You can buy the Løv Organic Løv is Beautiful Organic Herbal Tea from their website (they have various international ones) as well as from many health/food stores.

#TeaTuesday: Traditional Medicinals Organic Hibiscus Herbal Tea

The last few months have seen me watching a lot of shows on The Food Network, most specifically Jamie’s Super Food (really great show by the way). In one of the episode, he made a really nice drink with hibiscus that he suggested as a great replacement for sugary drinks and sodas. It looked delicious and it turned out to be the perfect push to get me to try the Traditional Medicinals Organic Hibiscus Herbal Tea. So let’s get this #Teatuesday started shall we?

I’d had my eye on this for a long time, mostly because I love the hibiscus flower and I thought it would probably taste good. Well people, it is delicious! This herbal tea has the perfect balance of tartness and sweetness. It is slightly fruity and great to serve either hot or iced. The hibiscus also gives it a gorgeous red color and serve cold in a large pitcher, it can totally pass as fruit juice!

If you are looking for a great way to stay hydrated or want to cut down on your sugary drinks, this is a lovely tea to try. Traditional Medicinals makes really good affordable teas and I appreciate that they use organic ingredients. Their Organic Hibiscus Herbal Tea is available on their website and I found it in many health food stores. 

My Favorite Workout Videos for January 2016

Can you believe we are the 3rd of January already? Like most of you have probably done, I took the time to write down my resolutions for 2016 and obviously being healthier and in better shape made the list. To help all of you take full advantage of that new year motivation, I thought I’d round up my favorite workout videos to inspire you if you are also looking to be stronger and fitter this year.

First up we have two videos from Blogilates, I love Cassey’s videos and she is actually the one that got me into Pilates. I love how all the exercise are fairly easy to do and you don’t need any equipment besides a yoga mat. The Bubble Butt Workout and the Butt Lift and Slim Thighs Workout from the Beach Series are a great way to start working on getting those lean muscles and a perky behind.

Next are the Cardio Kickboxing Workouts from XHIT Daily videos. I love doing those for cardio, they look easy enough but they leave you sweaty which is exactly what I am looking for in a quick cardio session. I am not a runner so I love how this is a great way to get my blood pumping without the stress running can put on my body.

Last but not least, is the Exercise TV Incredible Abs Video, this is actually the first ever workout video I did. It is a great ab routine for beginners and a good starting point if you are just wanting to get into the fitness world. I also love that you can download it for free on iTunes which is where I first discovered it.

I hope this will help you harness that motivation you are currently feeling to develop new fitness habits and be healthier in 2016.

Disclaimer: I am not a health/fitness expert, the workouts above are only suggestions to help inspire you. Before starting any new fitness or diet regime you should always check with your healthcare professional to make sure they are suitable for you.