Simply Earth Box review

Today I am writing a voluntary review of the Simply Earth subscription box. I started getting the subscription box the last month and I'm super excited about it so I wanted to share with you exactly what you get every month in this essential oil subscription box and my opinions on the box. 

I saw this box advertised on Facebook and liked the idea that every month you get not only your 4 therapeutic grade, full size, pure essential oils but also accessories to use them and recipe cards. You can create 6 natural home, body and wellness products from each kit and still have most of your essential oils left over! 

What convinced me to get this box, honestly, was a coupon code. And I do have one for you too, so if you're already ready to order scroll down to the bottom and the code is down there. 

Of course I had been looking at it for a while before I placed my order. Since before Christmas actually. 

NeoCell Beauty Bursts: Review

This month I got to try NeoCell Beauty Bursts gourmet collagen soft chews. These collagen chews are said to help with hair, skin and nail health! If you've been following along here you'll know how much I try to take care of my health naturally. I also try to take amazing care of my skin because at 44....I am just not getting any younger! I've been reviewing supplements, lotions and potions trying to find the best products and I'm pretty confident I stumbled onto one of the best this time!

NeoCell Beauty Bursts

This skin health supplement contains:
Super collagen: Skin rebuilder 
Hyaluronic Acid: Skin hydration
Vitamin C: Collagen enhancer

From the package:
Having beautiful and radiant skin has never been so easy- or so delicious. NeoCell Beauty Bursts deliver high absorption in delectable gourmet soft chews. 

Super collagen 1& 3 is the body's beauty protein and strengthens skin, hair and nails. Hyaluronic Acid is known as "Natures Moisturizer" and hydrates the skin. Vitamin C is essential to boosting collagen in the skin.

These three beauty nutrients work together to build beautiful skin from the inside out.

I tried these Beauty Bursts in Super Fruit Punch flavor. They were very good. They didn't taste like a vitamin. They were not chalky or gritty like some vitamin chews. They had more of a candy like taste. These are definitely something I could easily add to my diet.  

This sounds amazing, right? But.....does it work? I have been taking these soft chews for awhile now and my skin feels considerably less dry then it has been. It make sense since collagen is a key anti aging supplement. Besides, you're better off taking your collagen in a supplement then in a cream. Collagen molecules are too large to be absorbed through your skin from a cream, so it makes much more sense to put them on the inside then the outside now doesn't it?

You can order them on Amazon right here: 

 
The package contains 60 so each bag is a 1 month supply. I have found these in other flavors and I'll be trying all of them to see which ones I like the best, but so far the fruit punch is a definitel winner!

~L

I received this item for free in exchange for an honest review. Opinions, experiences and images are all mine. 

This post contains affiliate links. If you chose to purchase something through the link, I will get a small payment from Amazon. It will not affect your purchase price. Click for full disclosure.

Chaga tea review

 

I'm a big tea lover so when I get asked to review a new type of tea I always say yes! Of course making my own herbal teas is pretty  much my thing, but I can't make everything especially fancy mushroom teas from fungus growing on trees in Russia! Enter the Chaga mushroom tea...

This month I got to try vanilla Chaga tea  from Nordic Nordic and I am really enjoying it! I wasn't aware of the antioxidant content or that it strengthens immune defenses before getting this tea but I did some research and learned so much about it! Chaga mushroom is so well known for its health benefits that it even has its own page on healthline! Where have I been????

The tea has an interesting yet mild taste, it's sort of woody with a hint of vanilla. The first cup is the strongest, but you can use each tea bag three times. More than that and it starts to taste like water with a hint of flavor....but you do get 3 good cups of tea from each one!

 

Chaga tea is said to do everything from boost your immunity to help prevent cancer...and I should point out that neither one of those are things that can be proven. However, it is also used to lower cholesterol and to lower blood sugar both of which can be tested for.

I don't notice any energy boost but I did feel less stressed over the holidays so it may be working! Also, it's known to boost the immune system and my whole family has come down with colds and I'm the only one who hasn't yet. I'm also the only one drinking this tea...coincidence? 

Also, my nails started splitting a few weeks back (from using acetone nail polish remover) and it's just been awful! I have noticed them starting to grow in healthier since drinking this tea. I'm thrilled about this yet not entirely sure I can connect the two, ya know? Just being honest here...

Either way, I'm a big tea drinker and I really like this tea for it's mild earthy flavor. I'm looking forward to trying the other flavors!

~L

I received this item for free in exchange for an honest review. Opinions, experiences and images are all mine. 

This post contains affiliate links. If you chose to purchase something through the link, I will get a small payment from Amazon. It will not affect your purchase price. Click for full disclosure.

Melatonin gummies review

As you may know I am not afraid to try an over the counter remedy to deal with the occasional health 'problem' if you will. Why suffer when there are so many ways to just fix the problem, right? Such is the case when I find myself staring at the ceiling instead of sleeping in the middle of the night!

I have been taking Melatonin off and on for years. It helps with occasional sleeplessness or when adjusting to time zone changes when traveling. I prefer it to regular sleeping pills because it's a more natural way to get to sleep. I was pretty excited for the chance to try Melatonin gummies by NutraBear as I've had some interesting experiences with gummy supplements lately. 



I'm happy to say I really liked these! The flavor is more like candy then a medicine. They are a sweet strawberry flavor and are like eating the Dots candy. Not really chewy like a gummy bear, they're more like a gumdrop. 

Even though the recommended dose is 2, I only take one before I lay down at night and I fall asleep about 20 minutes later. I sleep well and don't wake during the night when taking these. I wake up feeling rested and don't feel tired or like I took a sleeping pill. I would definitely recommend these gummies for occasional sleeplessness.

~L

I received this item for free in exchange for an honest review. Opinions, experiences and images are all mine.

This post contains affiliate links. If you chose to purchase something through the link, I will get a small payment from Amazon. It will not affect your purchase price. Click for full disclosure.

Glow Matrix skin Hydrator: review

We all suffer from skin dryness in winter, right? The heater kicks on or the fireplace is running and suddenly the air is so dry you shock yourself walking across the room. It's really not so bad until you realize what it does to your skin! 

Add that to an aging complexion and the winter can make me look like...ouch! It's a struggle every year so I was super excited when I got the opportunity to try Glow Matrix Skin Hydrator by NeoCell. I had used their products before with great results so I couldn't wait to give this a try!

A scientifically crafted blend of nutrients, promoting hydration in the skin while combating free radicals for hydrates and glowing skin, and a healthy collagen matrix.

After a few weeks I noticed that my skin doesn't feel as dry as usual when I wake up in the morning. My face is normally dry and tight feeling but it isn't as dry now. The skin on my arms often gets itchy form being dry and I've had a lot less itching too. I like the fact that this works on all your skin because as I age, I notice it showing in my skin everywhere! 

I don't mind buying anti-aging face products but buying body products also is going to get expensive real quick! This is a 'one dose covers your whole body & face' type of treatment and I believe it's working for me.

These Glow Matrix capsules contain many vitamins and minerals including 100% daily value or more of: Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin D3, Vitamin E, Vitamin K2, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B6. They also contain their own Glow Matrix blend including pine bark and ceramides! There are 30 capsules in a bottle and the recommended dose is 3 capsules a day. 

You can purchase the item here on Amazon though you will notice that the packaging has changed. Apparently the neocell company has rebranded and changed all their various products to have the same theme colors/images etc. Same product, different package.

I recommend this product for anyone feeling like their skin is a little dry or those of us with aging skin. It definitely gives my skin a boost! I hope you like it as much as I do!

Vitamin A 100% daily value, Vitamin C 100% daily value, Vitamin D3 250% daily value, Vitamin E 200% daily value, Vitamin K2 250% daily value, Vitamin B2 1471% daily value, Vitamin B6 500% daily value and Selenium 71% daily value. - See more at: http://iamthemakeupjunkie.blogspot.com/2015/11/review-neocell-glow-matrix-advanced.html#sthash.oYxKNzJG.dpuf

~L

Want to be 'in the know' the moment a new post is published? Sign up for my newsletter right here and I'll email you with every new post! (maximum once a week!) I received this item for free in exchange for an honest review. Opinions, experiences and images are all mine. 

This post contains affiliate links. If you chose to purchase something through the link, I will get a small payment from Amazon. It will not affect your purchase price. Click for full disclosure.

Reviewing fake essential oils

I have been using essential oils for many years now. I have a few of my favorites but love to experiment so when the opportunity to review an essential oil gift set came along, I jumped at the chance. Essential oils can be confusing to buy because they come in such a huge price range! You can find a bottle of say, tea tree oil for $4 and then find the same oil in another brand for almost $30! How do you know what to buy?

When price ranges vary so widely for a single product often the quality varies too. I found out the hard way that not all essential oils are the same, no matter what the box says! This particular packaging had the words Essential Oil gift set right on the front. Each bottle had the words 100% Pure Essential Oil on it along with Therapeutic Grade and also Purity Tested Quality Assured. It sounds like a high quality product right? I thought so too. 

I was wrong.

The advertisement did have the words Home Fragrance Aromatherapy Oil for Diffusers on it, but I foolishly gave more weight to the labels on the bottles rather than the words on the ad. It turns out they were not pure essential oils like they claimed. These 'oils' failed the paper test and were more than likely synthetic scented oils. At the very least they were diluted with a carrier oil. So disappointed. 

Carefree review for Influenster

My latest product from Influenster came in the most adorable pink box....and emblazoned on 2 sides and the top is the word Carefree. *cringe* I wonder what the mailman thinks? Truth is that Carefree is a product that I have used for many years and I'm not quite certain why they asked me to review it because it seems to be the same reliable, effective product it always has been.

Inside the box was a pack of Carefree acti-fresh, body shape liners, regular, to go. So basically they are pantyliner's that are individually folded into cute little plastic pouches so you can throw them in your purse and pocket and take them anywhere you need to be.

Body shaped means sort of hourglass shaped. Regular is the absorbency. Honestly....I can't figure out what's different. What has changed? What has prompted this sudden campaign? To me these are the same reliable liners I've used since I was a teen. Same reliable product I've bought for my daughter countless times. The only difference I can see is the cute little "Fresh is Fierce" campaign they have going!

I have used the product and see no changes in how useful they are or how effective they are. So I will just say Thank You to Influenster and Carefree for sending me this product to try and write about. I will continue to buy this product any time I need a product like this....which shouldn't be much longer cause hey, I'm old! lol 

But seriously when it comes to a product like this, you stick to what you know works! Why chance an embarrassing mess when I know these will do the job perfectly?

~L

This post was sponsored by Influenster.