#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!

The Honest Company Purely Simple Face + Body Lotion Review

I am a big fan of The Honest Company, I briefly mentioned their products before in this post and since then, my love for them has only grown. I mostly just use their cleaning products, but I also really enjoyed the personal care products I tried (more about their discovery kits here). One of the stand outs for me is their Purely Simple Face + Body Lotion.

Let me start this review by saying I have not used this lotion on my face, I strictly use it as a body lotion and it is fantastic! The Honest Company has recently relaunched their body lotion to include 3 new ones to the range (the Purely Simple is the classic one) and they have repackaged them in lovely colorful tubes. The formula contains great ingredients like organic olive, shea and jojoba oils as well as aloe, calendula and chamomile. The lotion is fragrance-free, but I find the chamomile gives it very mild and pleasant scent. It is also free of silicones and parabens (read more about the ingredients here) and the formula is biodegradable. On a side note, I love how clear and informative the Honest website is, ingredients lists are detailed and easy to find and they also offer great information about the different products. 

As far as body lotions go, this one has a very unique texture. The lotion is quite light but as you rub it in, it gets a gel like quality that reminds of applying fresh aloe straight from the leaf. It feels very refreshing and soothing! It is formulated for those with sensitive skin so it’s super gentle, but still leaves you with soft skin. I used up my entire bottle and it made my skin super smooth and hydrated. I also found it helped with the little bumps I sometimes get on my arms. Overall, I was really impressed by this body lotion, it delivers nice results and I love how it has a clean ingredients’ list but is still affordable. I plan on trying out the other versions soon (probably the apricot one) and I can’t wait to see how they compare.

The Honest Company Purely Simple Face + Body Lotion is available on the Honest Company website. I believe they do have authorized sellers in different countries (Indigo is one in Canada) so you might want to contact their lovely customer service to see if you can get it in your country. 

#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.

Nourished Life Haul Featuring Kora Organics, Hurraw! and more

I don’t spend a lot of time on social media and can easily go days without checking it simply because it is so easy to get lost in this world of perfect pictures and miss out on real things. That being said no one can deny that Instagram can help you discover new wonderful things and I couldn’t be happier to have been introduces to Nourished Life thanks to it. Nourished Life is an Australian website that sells an incredible selection of natural and organic products ranging from skincare to water bottles, teas and makeup. I have literally spent hours browsing the site before picking a few products for my first order (and made a HUGE wish list). Today I wanted to share with you a haul of what I picked up and let you know a bit more about the site.

The moment I saw they carried Kora Organics products I just had to get something. I chose the 3-Step System for Normal/Dry skin to help get my skin through the winter. This might seem an odd choice because I have combination skin and spring is coming, but honestly I need all the hydration I can get with the blizzard outside. The kit comes with the Cream Cleanser, Balancing Rose Mist and the Hydrating Day and Night Cream. This is my first foray into organic skincare and so far I really love the products.

Next I got the Hurraw! Black Cherry Tinted Lip Balm as an organic alternative to my tinted lip balms. It is packed with different oils to make your lips soft and I love the unusual oval shape of the tube. It also smells amazing! The brand has non-tinted lip balm if that’s what you prefer and they have loads of different flavours to choose from.

Lastly I bought the Olive Oil Skin Care Company Manuka Honey Soap, I love to alternate shower gels with soap bars and this seemed like a good natural option. I cannot resist soaps with honey in them and I like that this one is fragrance-free. I won’t go into more details here, but I have a review coming up on it really soon and it’s a good one.

Now about Nourished Life, what first drew me to the site (apart from the incredible selection of brands and products) is that everything is in Australian dollars. So depending on where you live, it can be a much more affordable option than paying in USD. They shipping internationally and the shipping is actually very fast (I got my package in a week). Obviously shipping rates for international deliveries are more expensive (they have just started offering it) but for me it was still more affordable than going through a site that uses USD. You can easily check the rates for your country by adding something to your basket and clicking on it to select your country. I think it is worth doing the math and you might be pleasantly surprised by how pricing compares.

Every order comes in a really pretty box (you can see the underside of it in the picture) with 2 samples and everything was securely packaged. They have great customer service if you have any questions so don’t hesitate to email them. 

I am so in love with this website I can’t even tell you. You can expect reviews on everything mentioned here as well as another haul very soon (I couldn’t resist). Every product in this post is available on Nourished Life. 

Daily Lip Balms Honey Edition Featuring Innisfree and The Green Beaver Company

The mission to keep dry lips at bay in the winter goes ever on, thankfully I love trying out new lip balms. At the moment, I’m having quite a love affair with honey lip balms as I cannot get enough of the scent. So today I bring you the Honey Edition of my favorite lip balms: Innisfree’s Canola Honey Lip Balm and The Green beaver Company’s Honey Lip Balm.

The Innisfree Canola Honey Lip Balm was actually the first product I tried from the canola honey range and it is lovely. It contains canola honey extract and mango seed butter to moisturize the lips and leave them supple. I found it works great on dry lips but it does not offer enough moisture to heal chapped lips. To me it’s better at keeping your lips soft when they are not in bad shape and because it has a super glossy finish it helps make your lips appear softer and smoother than they actually are. It looks beautiful over lip stains and I love using it throughout the day instead of using a gloss. It has quite a strong scent, but I love it because it reminds me of my favorite honey bubble tea. The Canola Honey Lip Balm is a really nice offering from Innisfree which also has other honey lip balms, including newly released tinted ones. You can see them all here.

Next we have one from my favorite Canadian organic skincare brand: The Green Beaver Company. Their Honey Lip Balm has a waxier texture than the Innisfree one, but since coconut oil is actually the first ingredient it’s actually very emollient and goes on super smoothly. It is certified organic by Ecocert and its mix of oils and honey makes for a very nourishing and moisturizing balm. That being said, I still don’t think it’s enough to heal super chapped lips but it is nicely hydrating for day to day use. It smells and tastes just like really honey, which makes sense as the formula is all natural. I like that it does not just protect lips from drying out (like typical waxy lip balms), I believe the blend of oils (coconut, sunflower and cranberry) makes for a winning hydrating combination. Lastly it’s super affordable and you don’t have to be afraid of ingesting bad chemicals while wearing it. 

The Innisfree Canola Honey Lip balm is available from their website and the Green Beaver Company Honey Lip Balm can be found in many health food stores as well as on their website.

#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. 

Last Minute Christmas Gifts with Saavy Naturals

I like getting all my Christmas shopping done early to avoid the crowds, but sometimes you have to do some last minute shopping. Whether it’s because you didn’t have time before or are simply looking to add to your existing gift, I found little things from Saavy Naturals that should please everyone.

I discovered the brand a few weeks ago and I love their natural and organic body care products. They have a wide range of scents to choose from and everything I have tried so far has been great. Everything is fragrance-free but they use essential oils to create rich and deep scents for their products that make the experience super luxurious. Also everything is beautifully packaged and looks expensive even though this is in fact an affordable natural brand.

The first thing I would recommend is their Jasmine Natural Coconut Oil Candle. This candle made with organic wax has the most amazing jasmine scent: floral with a hint of sweetness for lush combination. It comes in a chic glass jar and it burns really smoothly. I was also surprised by how powerful it is, you don’t need to burn it long for a room to smell lovely. Saavy Naturals also offers their candles in three other scents, you can see the whole selection here. 

Next is their Natural and Organic Bar Soap Tahitian Vanilla and Kukui, I have not tried mine yet but I think it looks so pretty. This would make a great stocking stuffer or a nice addition to a set you can put together. Based on the ingredients, I think it will be hydrating and you can’t go wrong with a delicious vanilla scent. 

I think the candle and soap make the perfect pair for a relaxing evening. The beautiful packaging is also something anyone could appreciate because it adds a little something special to the products. The body washes and body creams are also great if you want a more substantial gift. 

You can get Saavy Naturals products from their website, though with Christmas being so close I would recommend going to a store that carries the brand (locate one here). I found mine in Avril, but I have seen them in other health food stores in Canada. 

My Favorite Facial Water Sprays: Caudalie Organic Grape Water and Organic Rosewater

You know the feeling, it’s been a long day, you’ve been working hard for hours and focusing no longer seems possible. On top of that your skin might be feeling slightly dehydrated, so let’s just say you are in dire need of a pick me up. In that situation, my favorite product to use is a facial water spray and today I am talking about my two favorites: the Caudalie Organic Grape Water and Organic Rosewater.

The Caudalie Organic Grape Water is as simple as it sounds, just pure 100% organic grape water and grape juice. Unlike spraying regular water on your face this actually increases the moisture levels and it does not make you skin feel drier once it sinks in/evaporates. This happens a lot with plain water. I also love how refreshing it feels, being in a can the water is cooler and it really wakes you up when you spray it. This is quite a simple product bus as usual Caudalie brings its signature grape twist and turns a simple mist into a great product and experience. 

My other favorite is organic Rosewater. I use the one from Divine Essence (here), which is readily available in Canada, but I know many brands do their own. This is also a very refreshing product, though not as cooling as the Caudalie, and it smells incredible. I would not say it is particularly moisturizing but rosewater is very soothing to the skin. I find it helps calm my skin when it is irritated and it does relieve any tightness you might feel midday. I always have a bottle on hand and use it multiple times a day. The fact that it smells like roses also has a nice aroma therapeutic effect and really relaxes me. Honestly I think everyone should have a little rosewater spray because it is just lovely to use.

The Caudalie Organic Grape Water can be found in their stores, on their website, Sephora and Feelunique. It also comes in a great travel size version perfect to carry around, find it here and here. The organic Rosewater can be found in many health stores just have a look around in your local area and online. 

Tea Tuesday: Pukka Cleanse Tea

So let’s be honest here, I haven’t been drinking a whole lot of tea recently, which explains the lack of Tea Tuesdays. I have really missed how calming drinking tea was in my daily routine and I can’t say no to the health benefits either. That being said, a new health food store recently opened in my city and their tea selection is incredible. This led to a few purchases and I can now introduce you to my new favorite tea, the Pukka Cleanse Tea.

This blend contains nettle, peppermint, fennel seed, dandelion root, licorice root and aloe vera. I love the effects of peppermint and dandelion on my health and I supposed this particular blend is made to help cleanse your system (dandelion is great for the liver). In the bag, it smells quite strongly of fennel, which is not my favorite, but once you steep it, the taste is not strong. In fact, this tea tastes mostly of peppermint and licorice with a little something else I can’t put my finger on. Personally, I like adding a bit of honey for added sweetness and benefits, but it tastes great on its own too.

Pukka makes great teas and like their other blends, the Cleanse Tea is organic and fair trade. You can both buy it on the Pukka website and see a list of stockists here. I found mine in a local health food store so keep your eyes peeled for it. 

Alba Botanica Rejuvenating Papaya Mango Hawaiian Body Cream

Hello everyone, I hope you are all enjoying the warmer weather and sunshine. With all the lovely weather we have been having in Canada I started rotating my current body care routine to go for lighter and more refreshing textures. After all no one likes a heavy moisturizer when it’s hot and humid outside. So recently I have been loving my Alba Botanica Rejuvenating Papaya Mango Hawaiian Body Cream.

Upon first look, this looks like quite a rich body butter, but in fact it is a light cream with a fluffy texture that melts into your skin. It is does not feels greasy or leave any stickiness behind, a must during warmer seasons. Even though it is light, it manages to deeply nourish and moisturize your skin. I’m left with smooth and supple skin every time I use it.

In contains a lot of soothing ingredients like aloe and rosehip which is very nice, but it does not have as many organic ingredients as their Hawaiian Body Wash. Nonetheless it is still free of a lot of chemicals and contains mostly natural ingredients (read more about them here). Now for my favorite part of this cream: the scent. The papaya mango scent is amazing, it’s super fruity with a strong mango scent that is not too sweet. If you are looking for a new affordable body moisturizer, this one is incredible and you should definitely check it out. 

You can get the Alba Botanica Rejuvenating Papaya Mango Hawaiian Body Cream on their website, at Target and from health food stores that carry the brand. 

Dr. Bronner’s Unscented Baby-Mild Castile Liquid Soap: The Best Way to Clean Makeup Brushes

When it comes to beauty I am pretty good at following the rules, I always take my makeup off before going to bed, I don’t wash my hair every day, etc. However, I am not so diligent when it comes to washing my makeup brushes, I know this is a bad habit and I don’t like to use dirty brushes full of bacteria, but I always put it off. I used different soaps and even shampoo to get my brushes clean but the process was never enjoyable or fast. Well now, the laziness is gone, my brushes are clean and the whole process is super quick thanks to my new ally: Dr. Bronner’s Unscented Baby-Mild Castile Liquid Soap.

This is an organic and Fair Trade soap that can be used for a myriad of uses, from basic house cleaning to hand washing. I personally have only used this to wash my brushes and I was really impressed by how great it works. This soap left no residue and all the makeup was thoroughly removed, even brushes with white bristles looked as good as new. While this is powerful (you only need a little), it did not dry out the brushes or alter the bristles in any way. I also found that it took less time and rubbing to remove the makeup and it washed away very quickly, unlike other soaps that keep foaming.

I went for the mild unscented version because I did not when my brushes to be scented since I’m using them on my face and eyes and I would not want to use anything that could be irritating. There are however different scents to choose from so I you are looking for a great multipurpose soap to use around the house, you can opt for something I bit more fun like peppermint, rose, lavender or citrus orange and there are also 3 more scents to the line.

I found the Dr. Bronner’s Unscented Baby-Mild Castile Liquid Soap in my local health food store but you can get it on the Dr. Bronners website and if you scroll to the bottom you can find a list of international stockist.