Peaches With Love: March 2016

NATURAL LIVING: Bentonite Clay and ACV Face Mask Review

12:43

Hey Lovelies,

So today I’m going to be talking about my experience with the Bentonite Clay Mask. I first heard about this mask from my equally natural-obsessed cousin Anita about a year ago. I hadn’t seen her for a couple of months and when we finally met up, I noticed her face looked exceptionally healthy and smooth. When I asked her what her secret was, she mentioned this new all-natural face-mask she had been using. I tried it for the first time that evening, and absolutely fell in love with it.

Bentonite Clay is formed from volcanic ash and mostly comes in two types: Calcium Bentonite and Sodium Bentonite. It has for centuries been known for its detoxifying quality because when it comes in contact with liquid, it changes charge and binds to whatever toxins it comes across. It has a grey/cream color and a fine velvety consistency. If it looks white, it should be treated with suspicion. Here are my top THREE reasons why you REALLY want to be using it on your skin.

· Unclogs And Shrinks Pores – Like I said, bentonite absorbs all those acne causing toxins clogged up in your pores, and as an extra treat, it shrinks your pores as it dries. And trust me when I say you will FEEL your pores shrinking (talk about TIGHT).

· Exfoliates Skin – Bentonite Clay is an awesome natural exfoliant. It gets rid of dead skin cells without all the unhealthy and sometimes dangerous chemicals you’ll probably find in most manufactured exfoliants.

· Works On Multiple Skin Types – Though it MIGHT be a little drying for dry skin, it works really well on normal, oily and combination skin. It’s worked great with my oily skin. I LOVE it.

Mask Ingredients: ACV, spoon, bowl/container, clay

BENTONITE CLAY RECIPE

Ingredients

· A teaspoon of Bentonite Clay

· A teaspoon of Apple Cider Vinegar (I use Braggs) or water (for sensitive skin)

· A WOODEN, PLASTIC, or GLASS spoon (DO NOT use anything metal. It decreases the effectiveness of the clay. KEEP METAL FAR AWAY)

· A bowl (NOT METAL)

Instructions

1. Cleanse your face. I usually use oatmeal as my cleanser, but use whatever works for you.

2. Use the NON-METAL spoon to put the clay and ACV/water in a bowl and mix it. I usually end up using my finger to mix. You can add more ACV or clay if you want to change the consistency.

3. Use your fingers to spread a generous layer of the mask onto your skin. Keep away from the sensitive skin around the eye area. You might also find your eyes reacting to the ACV by stinging or watering, but don’t worry, it dies down pretty quickly. Just DON’T GET IT IN YOUR EYES.

4. Leave it to dry for 10-15 minutes. You will notice that as the mask dries it will get REALLY tight. Don’t worry, its normal. I thought I was burning my face the first time I tried it. But I wasn’t. My face was more than fine.

5. Wash of the mask with lukewarm water in a circular motion. You can use your fingers or a washcloth. I just use my fingers. Just make sure you get it all off.

6. Pat your face dry and moisturize it. I personally use a mixture of almond oil, witch hazel and tea tree oil as my moisturizer, but I’ve learnt the hard way that different things work for some people but NOT for others. Find what works for you.

7. ENJOY YOUR GLOWING SKIN!

Take spoonful of clay and put in bowl

Pour ACV into bowl

Mix Clay and ACV to form paste

Apply generous layer to skin

If you try or have already tried this mask, let me know what your experience was like. Did you have any adverse reactions? Any tips on how better to use it? As always I love hearing from you guys.

Otherwise enjoy!

Until Next Time,

The Bentonite Lover

journey

RELATIONSHIPS: Things I Learnt The HARD Way : People Treat You As You Demand

12:41

Hey Lovelies,

As some of you may know from previous posts, I’ve been going through a little bit of a self-discovery journey especially of late. Being able to share that journey with all of you, and learn from you as I go, has been extremely enriching thus far and I’m so incredibly grateful for that. In that spirit, I am starting a 5 part series centered on the 5 biggest lessons I have learnt through good-old experience. Most of them are things I’d being told about before, but sometimes you just need life to thump something int

o your head before it truly registers. Hope this is in some way educational or inspiring to some of you out there. As always, I’d love to hear your stories and reactions in the comment section below.

1. PEOPLE TREAT YOU AS YOU DEMAND

A lack of boundaries invites a lack of respect

-Anonymous

This is a lesson that for whatever reason, I have learnt and forgotten too many times. I’m a self-proclaimed people pleaser. I love being on people’s good side and doing small favors to brighten their day. And on the surface that seems like an admirable quality. And on it’s own it IS one of my most cherished qualities. But when you couple people pleasing with a great aversion to confrontation, a problem arises: at least it did in my case. I would find myself in so many situations where I noticed people taking advantage of me, and was flabbergasted that they could be so brazen in what I saw as a clear lack of respect. And this didn’t just happen with my friends and colleagues; this happened in my romantic relationships as well. I found my significant other talking to me disrespectfully, or not making any time for me, or completely disregarding my feelings. And for years, I blamed it on them. It was THEIR bad behavior. I mean what kind of person treats someone that way, right?

Well, the kind of person who is ALLOWED to treat someone that way. It is FINALLY dawning on me (for real this time) that it is MY job to establish boundaries with people, not theirs. Yes, people come into any interaction with their OWN established expectations of how someone SHOULD be treated, but when they cross the line and aren’t reprimanded, they assume that that line isn’t a line for YOU. And so they may, and probably will, continue crossing their lines until they find YOUR line. And at that point, if you are anything like me and hate confrontation, they may have already crossed DOZENS of your lines while you suffered and seethed in silence.

And the thing is, letting your boundaries be known is not only extremely empowering, but it is also extremely kindhearted. Because the truth is that most people really DO want to treat you well; they just need guidance on how to do that. Instead of leaving them constantly questioning what is and is not appropriate to you: and thereby greatly increasing the chances that they WILL cross your boundaries, no matter how hard they try not to, do them the favor of making your boundaries clearly known. I have found that most people are quite happy to get in line. And for those who aren’t, well, they really are just disrespectful and don’t deserve your time and effort.

Now, is stating your boundaries super easy? For some, yes (lucky bastards), for me, DEFINITELY NOT! Standing up to people has, and continues to be, one of my greatest challenges. I think a big part of my fear of confrontation comes from the fear of abandonment. If you tell people they have to treat you better, they might decide you’re not worth it and leave. I guess I’m continually learning that as painful as that may be, if they aren’t willing to change for you, you should WANT them to leave. And the reward that courage, is that you are left with a lot more free energy and time to put into a more positive and uplifting relationship.

So next time someone expects you to pick up their tab, or calls you an expletive you hate, or backs out of yet another planned meeting, let them know, in the most respectful but straightforward way, that they have two options; SHAPE UP or SHIP OUT. Because they truth of the matter, is that there will always be at least ten other way-more-positive-and-supportive people willing to take their spot in your life. Because in all honesty, you really are that COOL! Believe that!

Sometimes you have to forget how you feel and remember what you deserve.

-Anonymous

Until Next Time,

Your Self-Loving Blogger

lifestyle

NATURAL LIVING: Best Lotion Bars From Africa

16:39

Hey Beauties,

So today I’m going to be talking about a product from this really awesome, natural beauty product company here in Kenya called Ajani Handmade. I think what really drew me to this brand was their dedication to catering specifically to African women’s skin and NATURAL HAIR. And as someone who is going through my own natural hair journey, having products that are all-natural and are made specifically for my sensitive hair is always a godsend. So when I reached out to them, and they sent me some lotion bars and oil elixir, I was super stoked! Now, today I’m going to be talking specifically about the lotion bars but I’ll cover the oil elixir after I’ve gotten a few more uses out of it. Enjoy!

Shea – Cocoa Butter Bars

So I’ll be honest: I had never heard of lotion bars before. Have you? I mean is that backwards of me? Is there some lotion bar craze going on in the world that I haven’t been privy to? I literally had to LOOK IT UP to figure out exactly how I was supposed to use them and why. I mean, what’s wrong with the normal lotion set up, right? Well, as I came to find out after 2 weeks of use, lotion bars have quite a collection of perks, and if you haven’t tried them out, you should definitely get to it.

Now the lotion bars I received were about 1.5 times the size of a quarter or a 20bob coin. I know they have some bigger ones but I actually liked these travel size ones because I found them way easier to handle and apply.

When I unwrapped them, the first thing that hit me was the smell. Now, if you are a lover of shea butter and cocoa butter, you’ll love it. If not, it might not be your favorite thing. I for one definitely like the smell of shea butter significantly more than cocoa butter so I was a little torn about the smell (I would love to see a wider range of fragrant lotion bars from them as they expand their line (maybe add an essential oil or two)).

Anyway, once I got past the smell, I was pleasantly surprised by the application of the bars. True to their word, they really were just compacted butter. What I was particularly happy about was how smooth and lubricanty (I know that’s not a word but I don’t know how else to put it) the butter was. I use shea butter all the time, and the one thing I hate about it is the fact that it doesn’t spread easily on skin because it is just SO THICK. These bars however, were so easy to apply and I ended up using a fraction of the oil I normally would because a little went SUCH a long way. For that ALONE I would buy them again.

Another thing I loved about these bars was that they kept my skin moisturized for way longer than shea butter normally does. I don’t know why or how but they did. My skin was soft and supple all day long. That being said, I don’t know what it is about my hands but shea butter doesn’t really moisturize them enough. They will be glistening with oil but they will still feel hard (does anyone else experience this?). My hands kinda reacted to the bars the same way, but because they react that way to most oils and butters (I end up having to use petroleum jelly) I wont hold it against them.

I think my biggest disappointment with the product was that I found it too difficult to carry around. They come packaged in a plastic wrapper, which is not reusable, so unless you have some kind of container to carry the bar around, I think you’ll find that you’ll only use it at home. And furthermore, you need to be careful of where you place it because if you leave it exposed to the sun on a surface, it will start to sweat onto the surface a little bit.

Here is a list of my pros and cons:

Pros

- ALL NATURAL (Love, love, love this!!!)

- Very easy to apply

- If you love the smell of these natural butters, you will love the smell. I you don’t, the smell is hardly noticeable once applied

- It would be PERFECT for babies and small children for all the natural-nut mums out there.

- The plastic wrapping was see-through which I insist on for natural products because I like to inspect the quality before I purchase them.

- The owner is REALLY friendly to order from and they deliver right to your door in a timely fashion, which is everything to me.

Cons

- It didn’t come in a container so I was kinda at a loss about where to put it. I would have loved to carry it around to use throughout the day but it would have melted in my bag and gotten on everything. I would love if they were packaged in something re-usable.

- Each bar lasted about 3 or 4 days. But that was after applying them to most of my body each night so maybe that isn’t so bad. Actually come to think of it, they did quite well.

- Lack of variety in fragrances. I definitely think they should keep the all-natural one but I would love some essential oils added to future bars. I think it would make the smell a lot lighter and fresher. (that has been my experience with shea butters at least.

VERDICT

Price – 7/10

Packaging – 6/10

Delivery – 10/10

Use – 7/10 - It would have gotten a 9/10 rating if it had a reusable container.

Customer Service – 10/10

Would I buy it again – ABSOLUTELY!!!

Let me know your experience with lotion bars in the comment section. Any advice on which containers work best would be especially appreciated.

Until Next Time,
The Lotion Bar Lover

Ajani Handmade

Website Link - http://www.ajanihandmade.com/

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/AJANI-Handmade-300231563477968/?fref=ts

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/ajanihandmade/

Twitter - https://twitter.com/AjaniHandmade