Beauty Treasure Chest: My Little Black Dress Deodorant by Olive and Oud

I've been using Olive and Oud's deodorant for almost three years now.  That's a weird sentence to have just typed.  But it's true.  It'll be three years in April (I checked my Etsy purchase history to confirm this).  I sound like I'm celebrating an anniversary with a loved one.  It's pretty close to the truth.  If I had to marry a deodorant, it'd be Olive and Oud's Lemon Myrtle Deodorant.  There are lots of natural deodorants out there that work well.  I know, I've used them.  But I can only wear them with light colored clothing that I don't need to pull over my head.  Why?  Because of my streaking problem.

Too much information?  But you know what I'm talking about--sooo many of them have baking soda which leaves those dreaded white streaks on your clothes.  Which is why I call Olive and Oud's deodorant my little black dress deodorant.  Or LBDD for short.  I can wear it with a little black dress and no streaks!  Mostly I wear it with a t-shirt and jeans, but the point is--no streaks!  Of course, there is beeswax and oils so don't over apply because you can get oily/waxy marks on your clothes.  I've never had this happen, but regardless, there's no need to over apply.

It smells lemony, citrusy, and delicious!  With a touch of something herb-y.  But mainly that lovely lovely lemon scent!  And it works too.  No stinky pits at the end of the day.  Of course, you're still going to sweat, this is not an antiperspirant.  But why would you want to try to stop your body from sweating.  Imagine all that nasty sweat clogging your pores and fermenting into something icky.  Plus, sweat helps the body release toxins.  Sweat it out!  Unfortunately, Laura's Lemon Myrtle deodorant isn't listed in her Etsy shop at this time, but convo her on Etsy (Laura is the scent & soap magician behind Olive and Oud, and she's awesome!) and she'll make up a custom listing for you!  And no weird synthetic fragrances.   Check out the ingredients:

Ingredients in Olive and Oud's Lemon Myrtle deodorant:  local beeswax, organic extra virgin coconut oil, cocoa butter, castor oil, lavender, lemon myrtle, blood orange, frankincense, and myrrh essential oils.

Aside from my favorite natural deodorant, Laura makes some fantastic soaps.  Her scents are amazing.  And all natural.  No mysterious synthetic "fragrances."  Just essential oils, absolutes, and resins.  Check the ingredient listings at her Etsy shop.  And what gives her soaps their color?  Things like rose petals, alkanet root, and clays.  Oh, and she only uses sustainable organic palm oil! The most recent soaps I ordered were Vetiver Mint and Mocha Orange Scrub.

The Mocha Orange Scrub has organic fair trade coffee grounds for exfoliation (anyone else need to exfoliate their dry winter skin?) and it smells delicious.  I smell coffee, with hints of chocolate and vanilla, and a splash of orange.  This is one of my favorite soaps.

Laura describes Vetiver Mint as a combination of "light, refreshing spearmint, grapefruit and lemon with sweet, earthy vetiver and vanilla-like Peru Balsam and benzoin.  Spearmint is the dominant note, but the scent combination is probably richer, warmer and more complex than the mint soaps you're used to."  I smell the vanilla-like sweetness with the slightest touch of mint and something more.  It's comforting and warm, yet refreshing.  It's like showering in a warm breeze while eating fresh baked sugar cookies and drinking mint tea all at the same time.  Laura is scent artist.  I wish she made this in a perfume.  I don't think Laura has these soaps available right now, but she also makes a fantastic Lavender scented soap.  And her Almond Cookie soap is divine!  Hint hint, Laura...

Green Smoothies--my current "recipe"

I put "recipe'" in quotes, because I don't exactly measure, and the ingredients vary.  But it's basically a blender full of ingredients that renders about two pint mason jars (one for me and one for my better half).  Everything on the list doesn't go in every smoothie, these are just most of my favored ingredients.  Experiment and see what you like!

blueberries & raspberries!

-frozen mango pieces
-frozen strawberries
-frozen raspberries
-frozen blueberries
-regular green kale
-purple kale
-spinach
-broccoli sprouts (we blend better than whole broccoli!)
-cucumber
-apple (with the peel!)
-dandelion greens

cucumber & kale

-flax seeds or fish oil
**Optional additions
*half an avocado
*half a banana (frozen or peel-fresh)
(avocado, banana, and fish oil (and I assume other oils) give smoothies that creamy smoothie texture)
*beet root powder
*raw pumpkin seeds
*maitake mushroom
-filtered WATER (although recently, I tried tea instead of water--see my soon to be posted Owens Acres tea review--yay tea!)
-If it's a meal replacement, I like to include a significant protein like:
-white beans (If they're canned, I prefer BPA free brands like Eden.  But if you're not in a hurry you can soak and cook your own.)
-raw walnuts (these seem to be more blender friendly than my other favorite nut--the almond)

avocado!  

I try to buy all of my ingredients organic if possible.  Especially if you're eating the peel (like an apple or cucumber).  Consider checking out EWG's Dirty Dozen list for which produce items are best eaten organic only, as a starting point.  Apples, Strawberries, Spinach, Blueberries, and Kale are all on the Dirty Dozen list.

Just a note about why I use water instead of juice in my smoothies.  Why use juice when you can use the whole fruit?  And get all that healthy fiber too!  Juice has sugar without the benefits of the fiber you get from a whole fruit.  Okay, I'm off my soap box... off my fruit crate?  Off my rocker... never mind, that's a different blog post.

organic & raw pumpkin seeds and walnuts

broccoli sprouts

A lot of the fruit I use is frozen (If you can get it fresh and in season--even better).  But the frozen mango pieces and strawberries aren't very nice to my blender unless they've thawed a bit so I like to pop them in the blender half an hour before I make my smoothie.  Or I've recently tried pouring warm (not too hot) tea over them if I want to make my smoothie right then and there.

Another thing when making smoothies with frozen fruit, big chunks, or nuts--you need enough water for everything to blend together, and the PULSE button is your friend.  Use it to chop up everything and then hit "blend."  And don't hold down the pulse button, pulse it.

Any questions on green smoothies?  Blenders?  Mason jars?  Why I put what ingredients in my smoothies?  Mason jars?  I just hit the mason jar jackpot--1970s mason jar from my parents' canning days!  Can you tell I love Mason jars?  Oh yeah, so back to smoothies.  Questions?  Ask away.  What do you like in your smoothies?  I love new ideas!

Green Smoothie Treasure Chest: Reusable Glass Straws & Mason Jar To-Go Lids

I've written about using green smoothies as meal replacements and snacks, but what if you're not at home with your blender, freezer, fruit bowl, and crisper drawer full of veggies?  In a previous post, I wrote about my love of mason jars (and working glass jars) for storing smoothies.  What if you want to drink it on the go, like while driving your car and are afraid of spills.  Or at my previous job we could only have beverages at our desks that had lids/caps/covers.  Enter Poppy and Pearl Co. on Etsy.

Bobbi of Poppy and Pearl created these snazzy "to-go" mason jar lids with a hole for your straw.  She has regular and wide mouth lids available.  I bought one wide mouth and two regular.  The lids come with straws that are BPA free (yay!) plastic, and reusable! The straws come in different colors too:  pink, purple, orange, green, and clear!  The tall straws for quart mason jars come in green (check out my longer green quart straw in the pic) and clear.  Don't have any mason jars?  You can buy the mason jar and lid together or just buy the lids.  I purchased mine for smoothies, but I'm a huge fan of iced coffee too!

wide mouth lid & straw on a quart mason jar

Poppy and Pearl Co To-Go Mason Jar Lids with Straws on Etsy!




But hey, if you're at home and don't need the lid but still want to slurp your smoothie out of a straw I found reusable glass straws on Amazon.  These are called Glass Dharma Beautiful Bends.  I've also seen stainless steel, but I'd assume those would get pretty cold if drinking an iced drink and I don't like the metallic taste water gets if it sits in a metal container too long.  Anyhow, the point is, I went with glass (see link below the photo).

Reusable Glass Straws on Amazon