February Favorites | Caitlin’s Supernatural, Gabriel Cosmetics, Manitoba Harvest
Body Care Product
Who else has been on the search for a really great natural deodorant? I have found you one. No seriously I have. I have tried I want to say 8+ kinds myself and Neil has tried a few himself and some have been okay, some have irritate my pits (no pretty way to say that) and most just don’t really work. While I have pretty much come to terms that natural deodorants won’t last as long as chemically filled ones I still want one that actually works. This is where Caitlin’s Supernatural comes in.
Caitlin’s Supernatural deodorant comes in three scents lavender & currant, bergemamot & cypress and sandalwood & olive leaf. They are all vegan, cruelty free, organic, made from 100% botanical and sustainable ingredients. Also they are for both women and men so feel free to share them with your husband (I do!). I am partial to the lavender scent and Neil is loving the sandalwood but honestly we both use all of them. I also love that they don’t end up smelling a bit funky after awhile once they mix with your body chemistry like other natural spray deodorants I have tired – example the one that made me smell like I had just visited a cafe in Amsterdam.
Neil and I have been wearing these for going on two months now and we both really love them and they actually work. I will spritz it on in the morning and I can chase two kids and go for a run and I am able to manage my stink no problem. I do find by the end of the day I need to reapply a bit but honestly depends on how active I have been that day. Neil who has a tendency to really get stinky (sorry lover) and finds himself turning back to more conventional deodorant at times has really found that this actually works for him. He does find it wears off him a bit quicker than he’d like but it has worked the best of any natural ones he has tried. So overall a winner for both of us. What is your favorite deodorant?
Makeup Product
I have been making time to take care of myself more lately and I am working on getting a good skincare routine in order and also taking a little more interest in makeup. I would have to say currently my most used makeup palette is this beautiful one from Gabriel Cosmetics. I use this palette basically every day that I decide to wear makeup.
This palette includes four neutral eyeshadows, a translucent powder and a blush; basically the perfect palette for someone getting into makeup. I use he translucent powder basically everyday to set my makeup and then I will either use all of the eyeshadows, my favorites being the two on the left, or a combination of these shadows with a few others that I have. I generally always use the color bone which is the top left eye shadow as as neutral base on my eyes.
The only thing I haven’t been in love with is the blush but not because of the quality but just because it’s a little bit darker than I like wearing. I am not as much of a blush person as I am a bronzer and highlighter so I just don’t reach for it as often.
For my gluten free and/or vegan friends this makeup is both and it is a mineral makeup. I have to say I have been experimenting a lot with mineral makeups and find that they usually can be a little more challenging to work with but I don’t find that with this one at all. Have you tried anything from Gabriel Cosmetics or their other brand ZuZu Luxe? I hear that the ZuZu Luxe liquid eyeliner is pretty amazing and it’s on my “to purchase” list right now.
Book
For this month’s book club I was to pick a love story and ended up going with Eleanor & Park*. I picked this after a number of other bloggers recommended it and I honestly was as little skeptical. While I have enjoyed my share of young adult books they are usually more dystopian fiction. Anyways I have to say I LOVED this book. I don’t know what it was about the book but I couldn’t put it down and found myself going to bed early just so I could read it and I finished the book in about four days.
The book is set in the 80’s and is about two awkward teens who end up being each other’s first love. Eleanor and Park meet on the bus and after weeks of sitting in silence they start to really take an interest in each other. They basically silently bond over comic books and eventually they actually talk and find themselves bonding over music as well. Time goes on and they begin to connect more and more and eventually they find themselves in this crazy state of first love fog. They encounter a number of challenges from Eleanor’s step-father to Park’s parents who find Eleanor a little odd but ultimately how their love for one another can overcome these obstacles.
I honestly don’t do well at describing books without giving everything away so I know I haven’t done this story justice. Anyways I think I was a bit of an awkward teen and I remember those feelings of your first “love” plus all of the music they were listening to in high school I was too. I also loved the ending of the story because well it wasn’t super predictable. I’ll leave you with that. Who else has read this book? This coming month I need to read a biography or rather this month I need to and I still haven’t picked one- help!!
Food
Manitoba Harvest Hemp Hearts. I don’t know why but until last month it had been forever since I had picked up a bag of hemp hearts. I ended up receiving a trial sized bag via my Sweat Pink Ambassadorship and I also bought a small bag earlier in the month as well. Now we are eating them on everything and I need to buy a big bag when we do our next grocery shop. I sprinkle them over salads, soygurt and oatmeal. I also love them on avocado toast. Edith calls them sprinkles and insists on having “sprinkles” on her toast in the morning.
I also have been playing around with using hemp hearts in recipes including this recipe for Creamy Vegan Pasta Primavera. The “cream sauce” is just 1/4 cup hulled hemp hearts, 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast, 2 tablespoons rolled oats, juice of 1/2 a small lemon and 2-4 tablespoons of water; blended until smooth. I poured the sauce over sautéed leeks, zucchini, green beans, shiitake mushrooms and tomato that was seasoned with herbamere, garlic and black pepper. Lastly, I tossed with about two servings of einkorn pasta.
*affiliate link.
What are your February Favorites?
