Lina Hanson has recently launched the “Global Body Serum”. It’s 100% natural and made with some of the best oils for all skin type. Key ingredients include rice bran oil, avocado oil, Camellia seed oil, Grapefruit oil, Vanilla and Yuzu.

These combination of oils are full of skin nourishing vitamins that will keep your skin healthy and hydrated all day. And the scent is wonderful! Nothing overpowering or artificial here. I especially love the citrus scent of grapefruit and Yuzu, then mixed with sweet vanilla.

This is the sample I received and have been using for a few weeks. It soaks in nicely and my skin just loved it. Lina Hanson Global Body Serum comes in 100 ml (3.4 fl oz) dark glass pump bottle.

Another great thing about Lina Hanson is that the company uses ingredients that are harvested by women’s cooperatives and farmers worldwide. It’s one way the company is helping promote women’s economic growth and give them a sense of empowerment.

I just ran out of my last bottle of seabuckthorn facial cream made by Sibu Beauty. Not that there was anything wrong with Sibu’s cream, it’s just that I wanted to give a different brand a try. So I picked up a bottle of seabuckthorn facial cream made by Seabuck Wonders. To my surprise, Seabuck Wonders has been around for almost 20 years and I’ve barely heard of them.

This cream goes on smoothly and my skin just soaks it up. It’s lightly scented with orange essential oil and not overpowering at all. I normally use this facial cream at night because it doesn’t have much SPF protection, maybe SPF protection of 4-5. But if I were to use it in the daytime, I would normally apply mineral power with natural SPF.

Here’s a list of some of the benefits of the cream (as mentioned by SeabuckWonders):

Enhances skin tone and texture
Made with certified organic Sea Buckthorn
Vegan; Non-GMO
Paraben-free; Cruelty-free
Naturally scented with essential orange oil
For all skin types

Besides all the beauty benefits, the company also believes in sustainable farming. As noted by Seabuck Wonders;

“The berries are harvested once they have reached maturity and allowed to re-fruit the following year. Only the minimum number of branches and leaves necessary are removed, leaving the majority of the plant intact, to continue to grow for the next season’s harvest. These practices allow for healthy trees and a sustainable source of income for the farmers.” That’s what I call good farming and business practice.

At the moment Seabuck Wonders is having a sale on their berry oil, facial cream, and body lotion set at their website. Enter coupon code SUN50 fro 50% good until July 7, 2013.

Btw, I love seabuckthorn that much and even have my own plant, which is now 4 years old. It’s gotten a bit bigger now, but no seeds yet.

This gray speckled soap is one of my latest handmade soap made with Dead Sea mud and salt.

Ingredients: Organic extra virgin coconut oil, palm oil, soybean oil, rice bran oil, water, sodium hydroxide, Dead sea mud & salt, Neroli essential oil.

It’s one of the newest soap I’ve been wanting to make and try for the longest time. Because of the Dead Sea mud and salt, this bar would be great for those with skin disorders such as psoriasis, eczema or acne. Great as a facial or body bar.

It still requires a few more weeks to cure, but still OK to use at only 2 weeks. It’s a nice hard bar with tiny bubbles. Unfortunately the Neroli essential oil scent disappeared after a few days of curing. So it doesn’t have much of a scent. But the best part is that it leaves skin super soft and clean.

I only made a small batch and with many of my handmade soaps, they all seem to last a long time.

There is silver yarn, now there’s silver soap… actually made with Colloidal Silver. CS is great stuff, mostly known for it’s immune strengthening abilities. I usually have a bottle of CS around and take a couple of tsp a day when I feel a cold coming. I also like to apply some CS on cuts and noticed how fast my skin heals.

So adding CS to soap is a fantastic idea! There are many skin care brands out there with their version of CS soap.

Cor’s standard size soap (120 gram, about 4 oz) sells for $120…yes that is correct. Before you lay down all that cash for soap, they also have trial size bar you can try for $15.

This is what COR states about their soap, ” It has been shown to even out the skin tone, reduce the appearance of sun spots and pore size, maintain the skin’s natural moisture factor, visibly reduce the signs of aging, and protect against the hazardous effects of the sun.” If it’s true then it sounds like amazing stuff.

Like any other beauty product out there, it depends on the person’s particular skin type, so results may vary.  Overall, many Amazon’s reviewers believe it’s really helped their skin.

Other makers of CS soap include The Heritage Store’s CS soap at a more reasonable and affordable price of $3.97 for 3.5 oz bar.

Besides CS soap, I’m thinking another great way to add CS to skincare is to just spray the solution onto skin after washing it. A simple and great way to prevent break-outs. Much like a skin toner, but made with CS.

Even when I haven’t made new soap lately, I am still always happy to hear about new soaps along with all their skin healing benefits.  If I were to make CS soap anytime in the future, I would make one with Dead Sea mud or maybe activated charcoal and peppermint essential oil for a refreshing scent.

Spring is in the air and we’ve been getting much more sun out in California. So to celebrate all this bright and cheery weather I’ve decided to try a new SPF facial moisturizer.

The main reason I chose DeVita’s SPF 30+ moisturizer is because of the ingredients. It’s 100 % Paraben free and never contain GMO ’s. It also contains Hylauronic Acid. HA is a key component of collagen that is normally produce in the skin and joints of the body.

This product is advertised as an all-natural sunscreen, with no titanium oxide, sheer, moisturizer/sun screen that is deeply moisturizing daytime cream and sun block all in one.

So far this is the best facial sun protective moisturizer I’ve ever used. First off it is very light and not oily and soaks in really well. I’ve tired other safe and natural facial sunscreen, but they almost always feel heavy and leave white streaks on my skin. I also like that this lotion is not overly scented.

When applying this lotion, it gives off a cooling sensation. Might not be so comfortable on cold days, but I can see how nice that would be in the summertime. After I apply this lotion, I apply mineral powder and it settles on well.

A little bit about DeVita: It’s a privately held company from Arizona. In 2012, Inc. magazine ranked DeVita Natural Skin Care on its sixth annual Inc. 500|5000, an exclusive ranking of the nation’s fastest-growing private companies.

The company notes, “DeVita’s exclusive line of cosmeceuticals gets down to the root cause of premature aging skin and helps your body naturally heal itself. All of the extracts and essential oils used in the DeVita Natural Skin Care line are alcohol, fragrance and pesticide free.”

DeVita can be found at many health and beauty stores, especially .

Since I always make my own lip balm, I really have no need to buy lip balm.  But sometimes a really good lip balm comes around and I just can resist.

Weleda’s Everon lip balm is one of those products. It’s really the best all natural lip balm out there. This little 1/8 oz or 4 gram stick last forever!

I love that it doesn’t feel too sticky or leave your lips too shiny. The ingredients are really the best part.  And the light scent of rose and vanilla is great too.

Ingredients: Jojoba Seed Oil, Beeswax, Shea Butter, Candelilla Wax, Rosa Damascena Flower Wax, Carnauba Wax, Vanilla Fruit Extract, Rosa Damascena Extract.

The company’s name “Weleda” is derived from the Celtic goddess of wisdom and healing. A bit of history:

“Weleda developed a personal approach to health care using natural ingredients that can holistically work with and support our own body’s healing tendencies.

They started by creating one of the world’s first Biodynamic® gardens to grow what they needed. Sound new agey? It’s actually old agey—what cultures around the world have done successfully for generations.”

I also love their company mission statement: “In harmony with nature and the human being”. If I had to choose between the Body Shop or Weleda, it’s always Weleda.

They also do not test on animals and abide by fair trade practices. What’s nice about Weleda is that they were already thinking about sustainability and being “green” long before it was trendy.

There are many places to find this lip balm, from health food stores to online vitamin stores.

The Dead Sea, which is located between Jordan and Israel, is nature’s perfect health resort. And it’s Dead Sea Mud and Dead Sea salt is nature’s perfect health and beauty product.

The Dead Sea is also referred to as “The Salt Sea” and has attracted visitors for thousands of years and is also the first health resort. People flock to this special place for it’s many healing properties.

It’s especially beneficial to those with skin disorders such as psoriasis, eczema or acne. Just being wrapped in the mud is also helpful for those suffering from arthritis.

The dead sea mud has a high concentration of salts and minerals. As it evaporates each year, the salt and minerals are absorbed into the bottom of the sea.

The mud contains minerals such as potassium, magnesium, sodium, bromine and calcium. And when applied to the skin it helps to detoxify and improve circulation.

I got this from Cleopatra’s Choice. I have used it as a face mask and really like it. It leaves my skin feeling fresh, clean and much softer. Instruction: leave on face for 15 minutes and rinse off with warm water.

I’ve seen lots of Dead Sea mud soap in the market now. Ahava, Adovia, and One With Nature all make Dead Sea mud soap. Now I think I’ll have to at least try making some myself. Just need to find the time!

Another interesting fact about the Dead Sea is that you can float in it. So no worry if you can’t swim, you’ll be just fine.

For further reading, check out Ruth’s Jordan Jubilee. This place looks like a dream vacation for me… if not for it being in the Middle East and all the chaos going on around there.

These red shiny little fruits are loaded with Vitamin C. More so then you’ll ever find in oranges. Acerola is also commonly known as Barbados Cherry and West Indian Cherry. It grows well in hot and warm climates.

Photo via wiki commons.

Over the years I’ve seen acerola extract added to skincare lines. The high Vitamin C content of these tiny fruit helps keep the skin clear and supports collagen.

And if you happen to live in Brazil, you’ll find these fruits in drinks, ice cream and baby food. If only we were so lucky here in the U.S. But acerola powder can be bought as supplements at many health food stores.

To my surprise I did find jam made with acerola berries. But it wasn’t from Brazil, it was from Belgium.

It’s made with cranberries and blueberries too.  All really really good tiny fruits packed with anti-oxidants and vitamins.  Well even without the health benefits these are still great berries that make for great jam.

I hope they don’t stop selling this jam at World Market as it’s become one of my favorite!

I also love how some of the fruits are still intact, like the cranberry.  Best spread on sour dough bread with cream cheese.

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I found these tiny fruits growing at the rare fruit orchard in San Jose, Ca. The tree is pretty large like an apple tree.

I wish I have the name of it. For some reason the tree name tags were all removed. M thinks they are Nanking Cherries. And from the photos I’ve seen of Nanking Cherries, I don’t think they look anything like them.

I did a little taste test and found the outside flesh tart but edible. Tasted like a combination of pomegranate seeds and unripe persimmon. The seed really makes your mouth pucker up.

The fruits are also very fragile as they seem to fall right off the tree. They were really abundant and just growing like coffee beans right along the branches. And I’m sure the birds like to eat them too.

If anybody has any idea what they are called, I’d love to know!

Ever since mineral make-up was introduced, I’ve become a big fan. What’s nice about mineral make-up is that it offers natural sun protection without use of chemicals. So there’s no strange smell, no sticky residue.

The one I am reviewing is bareMinerals SPF 30 Natural Sunscreen. It’s a mineral powder sunscreen for the face and body. I’ve been using this product for years now and really like it.

It retails at Bare Essentuals and Sephora for $28. Contains 4 g/0.14 oz of mineral powder.

It comes in a portable, leak-proof container with twist up brush. They have 3 different shades of light, medium and tan.   I am using the tan one and it blends well for my summer skin.

Trying to apply this in the beginning was difficult because it was a bit messy. And the amount that came out in the beginning was not consistent. But after several applications I finally got the hang of it.

I also like that the bottom section for the powder has a twist off lid.  So when I ran out of powder, I just refilled it with another mineral powder and it works fine.  I give them credit for making a reusable container.

From the makers of bareMinerals:

” Bare Escentuals bareMinerals SPF 30 Natural Sunscreen has a weightless, breathable formula that won’t clog pores or cause breakouts.

The Micronized Titanium Dioxide mineral physically shields against UVA/UVB rays to help prevent premature skin aging and sun damage.

Plus, it’s infused with healthy vitamins, Aloe Vera Extract, and antioxidants to nourish and soothe sun-exposed skin.”

What it is formulated WITHOUT:
- Parabens
- Sulfates
- Synthetic Fragrance
- Synthetic Dye
- Petrochemicals
- Phthalates

Side Note: I especially love Costco’s Kirkland Signatureâ„¢ by Borghese sheer liquid mineral based foundation. But they are longer selling them. Yet it seem someone is selling them on Amazon for almost $60. So I hope Costco brings it back soon at $19.99.