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Foody Friday: Asparagus Salad

Several of the blogs I follow do food posts on Fridays and I've decided it's high time I joined in!  I realize I haven't written much about this, but I love to cook.  I'm constantly reading recipes for ideas, but when it comes to the actual cooking, I often opt for throwing things together and tweaking as I go over following a recipe to the tee.  

A couple weeks ago I got my hands on a rather large basket of asparagus and this is what I ended up making with it:

 

Asparagus just screams summer to me and I really wanted to make the most of it with something light but also filling.  I blanched the asparagus, then added navy beans for protein and corn for sweetness.  I mixed up a quick honey-mustard dressing and tossed it all together. I was really happy with how it turned out!

I didn't write down the exact recipe as I was making it, but, going on memory, this is roughly what I used -

2-3 bunches asparagus
1 15-ounce can navy beans (I used Eden Organic Foods, which are BPA free)
3/4 cup frozen organic corn

juice of 1 lemon
1 tbsp honey
2 tsp prepared mustard
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper

Now, I have to ask...what do you think of food posts on a mainly beauty-oriented blog?  I'm not sure about every week, but I think they'd be fun to do every now and then!


         

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Lucy Minerals Blush: Review & Swatches

I've always been intimidated by blush.  My face is already on the pinker side, so I worry that even the slightest hint of blush will make me look like a tomato face.  As a result, blush is something I've only [cautiously] started wearing very recently.  

Lucy Minerals already makes my favorite foundation and finishing powder, so when I decided to dip my toes into the world of blush, theirs was, of course, one of the first companies I thought of.  I ordered five of Lucy's try it sized blushes and set to experimenting.  Try it sized blushes are $2.50 and are full 5 gram sifter jars, which is the same size as most mineral eye shadows.  They're also universally very pigmented, so a little really does go a long way - even the trial size will last a good while!  Full sizes come in 20 gram jars and are $12.

Now on to the colours.  I chose three more traditional blush shades - Petal, Hyacinth, and Juicy Peach - and two shades I thought might work as bronzers or contour  colors - Sunny Bronze and Healthy.  I also received a free sample of Matte Sedona, which I've also swatched below.  

(L to R) Petal, Hyacinth, Juicy Peach

Petal (swatched heavily and blended out)

Hyacinth (swatched heavily and blended out)

Juicy Peach (swatched heavily and blended out)

(L to R) Matte Sedona, Sunny Bronze, Healthy.  Of the six, these three are definitely the most pigmented.

Matte Sedona (swatched heavily and blended out)

Sunny Bronze (swatched heavily and blended out)

Healthy (swatched heavily and blended out)

The Bottom Line
Lucy Minerals' blushes are another huge hit for me.  They're nicely pigmented and blend very easily.  Of the lot, Juicy Peach is my favorite.  It's a natural looking peachy/nude shade that's a little on the sheer side.  It's great for adding definition and brightening up my face without screaming that I'm wearing blush and has become my most-worn cheek product of late.  I love that I can throw it on quickly and not have to worry about looking overdone.  

Lucy Minerals has yet to let me down.  Like everything else I've tried from them, the blushes are high quality and affordable.   I'd definitely recommend giving them a try if you're in the market for some new blush!


         

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Easy DIY Cream Deodorant

I've been wanting to start concocting more things myself, so when my regular, purchased deodorant stopped working so well, I decided it was the perfect time to try my hand at making my own. 

I found a ton of different recipes, but I didn't really follow any of them, opting instead for just adding ingredients to a bowl until my mixture reached a decent consistency, then crossing my fingers and hoping for the best.  Surprisingly, it turned out pretty great!  (What didn't turn out so well are the photos of this adventure, so I hope you'll forgive that this post is a little lacking in that department.)
 
Here's the recipe I came up with:


2  1/4 tsp baking soda
3  1/2 tsp arrowroot powder, corn starch, kaolin clay, or other baking soda buffer
1 tbsp coconut oil
10 drops lime essential oil
4 drops orange essential oil
4 drops eucalyptus essential oil
4 drops spearmint essential oil

What's nice about this recipe is that it doesn't require any heat, so it's super quick to whip up.  I just stirred together the dry ingredients, then mixed in the coconut oil and essential oils until everything was well combined. When I first made it, in the winter, it was fine at room temperature, but since it's gotten warmer, the coconut oil stays liquid and I find it too messy to use that way.  Instead, I've been storing it in a small jar in the fridge, then just scooping out about a pea-sized amount to apply.  As long as you're planning to store it in the fridge, you could also put it in a deodorant tube, since it's stay solid enough to apply that way too.  Alternately, you could try adding in a little beeswax, which will help it stay more solid at room temperature.

One last thing that's worth mentioning is to always make sure you're using high quality essential oils.  I use Young Living, since a lot of the essential oils you find on shelves are diluted with other junk or extracted using chemicals.  

I'm not the smelliest person to begin with, but this has been keeping me totally stink-free throughout this hot, humid summer.  What's more, I'll even catch whiffs of the deodorant during the day, which is kind of nice, since I do like how it ended up smelling.  It's super simple to make and ends up being cheaper than a lot of natural, store bought deodorants.  Also, you can control exactly what goes into it and you play around with the recipe until it's exactly to your liking! 
 
Have you ever tried your hand at making your own deodorant?  If so, how did it go?  


         

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Review: Face Naturals Vanilla-Mint Body Lotion


When I ordered my samples of their shower gels, Face Naturals also included a 1/2 oz. trial size of their Organic Vanilla-Mint Body Lotion. I don't think they could have chosen a better product for me!  The Vanilla-Mint scent is divine.  To my nose, it doesn't really scream vanilla or mint, but just smells sweet and dessert-like, with just a hint of cool mintyness.  For some reason, it reminds me of chocolate, although there's nothing actually chocolatey about it.

The lotion itself is pretty dreamy too.  It doesn't contain any water, just oils, shea butter, and other botanicals, and it's very moisturizing.  My legs were feeling a little dry and scaly one night, when I remembered I had this.  I applied it before bed and when I woke up, my legs were super soft and hydrated.  Also, as an added bonus, it soaks in right away, so it doesn't leave you feeling greasy at all.  I'm very impressed!

The Bottom Line
This is definitely a product I would recommend.  At $24.95 for 9 oz., it isn't the cheapest lotion out there, but I think it's one of the best.  It comes in several different scents, and with the combination of ingredients, how well it moisturizes, and the non-greasy factor, I do think it's worth the price.  You can also purchase the 1/2 oz. trial size for $4.95.


        

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Review: Face Naturals Organic Body Cleanser

I'm happy to say I'm back from my unplanned blog hiatus!  June (and the first half of July) were crazy busy for me and unfortunately blogging just fell off the map.  I really did miss it and I'm glad to be back.  On another note, I've also managed to accumulate a bunch of new stuff, so I'm excited to work my way through that over the never little while.  

As for today's post, you might have noticed that I've been trying out several new shower gels over the last couple months, and I'm back today with another fantastic one to recommend! 

I've been following Face Naturals on Facebook for probably over a year now, but for whatever reason, it took me this long to actually place an order.  Face Naturals has an extensive line of skincare, body care, and even hair care, all made with all natural, mainly organic ingredients and without any chemicals.  I wanted to dip my toes into their products slowly to start, just in case I reacted to their fragrances (all natural, but I never know), so I placed a small order for two trial size body cleansers.  

First off, can I interrupt the actual review to mention how much I love that Face Naturals offers trial sizes of many of their products!  Don't get me wrong, I'm ecstatic that there are so many natural companies out there, but with the market being so saturated right now, it can seem like I'm constantly finding new brands that sound promising.  I can't try them all, so affordable sample sizes are often my tipping point.

Getting back to the body cleansers, these are coconut-based castile soaps, without any SLS or harsh detergents.  They lather VERY well and leave your skin feeling clean, but not at all stripped.  In fact, these are some of the most moisturizing shower gels I've used.

In terms of scents, I tried Liquid Sunshine and Acai Berry & Lime.  I'll admit I chose Liquid Sunshine, which contains vanilla extract and lavender and lemon essential oils, mainly for the name.  Really, who doesn't want to shower in liquid sunshine?  To me, lavender is definitely the strongest scent in this, which is great at night or when you want something more relaxing.  The Acai Berry & Lime contains acai berry extract and lime essential oil and has a fresh, zesty lime scent that I adore.

The Bottom Line
I don't actually have a whole lot to say about these, other than that they are awesome!  Going by these, which sell for $13.95, Face Naturals' products are affordable and perform very well.  I still have a couple other shower gels hanging around that I want to get used up, but I will definitely be back for more Face Naturals body cleansers once I work my way through those.  They also have several other products I'd love to try, like their Organic Acai Berry Antioxidant Face Scrub and Organic Raspberry Sherbert Body Butter.


         

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