Guest post: Coconut Oil – Miracle House Hold Remedy

Coconut oil has several uses that make it a super household item that you must always keep it in your home. It can be used in food for better health, in skin and hair care products and as a natural treatment for certain diseases in certain medicines. If you are unaware of benefits coconut oil, this blog is dedicated to you.

Coconut Oil and Weight Loss:

Coconut oil has magnificent health benefits for you. Coconut oil contains High-density lipoprotein cholesterol that is healthy cholesterol which helps in elimination of fat lipids from the body by carrying them to the liver. In addition to this, coconut oil has antimicrobial properties that fight against harmful microbes in your body and maintain the balance between healthy and unhealthy bacteria. This keeps your gut flora healthy and as a result, your digestive system improves. Similarly, there are two reasons behind weight gain either it is the weak immune system or weak digestive system. Taking coconut oil resolves both of these issues. In addition to this, the saturated fatty acid in coconut oil reduces your appetite naturally and helps to maintain sugar level. All these benefits aid in weight loss. You can cook your meal in coconut oil or just eat a tablespoon of coconut oil in the morning.

Source: https://pixabay.com/en/coconut-oil-oil-white-glass-jar-2535968/

Coconut Oil and Hair Care:

Shampooing and conditioning are not all that your hair requires for thickness and shine. You owe to show some extra love to your hairs by taking advantage of nature’s gifts to keep your hairs healthy. One of these is coconut oil. Do you know why people living in Tropical coastal areas have thick and shiny hairs? The most suitable answer is that they use naturally extracted coconut oil on their hairs. Coconut oil contains a chain of fatty acids such as capric acid and lauric acid that behaves as an antifungal and anti-bacterial that kills the bacteria and detoxifies the scalp. In addition to this, Coconut oil also contains vitamin E that helps to protect the skin cells on the scalp, reduces oxidative stress in the scalp and improves blood flow which results in better hair health. According to Home Remedies for Life, Coconut oil is among best oils that can be used for better hair growth. However, using extra virgin coconut oil is a better option as compared to other commercially available coconut oil as they also contain mineral oils that reduce its efficiency.

Coconut Oil for Skin Care:

Coconut oil is one of the perfect moisturizers you can apply to your skin. As mentioned previously coconut oil has anti-inflammatory properties, not only this it is also a natural coolant. Therefore, if coconut oil is applied to the skin it can help in reducing sunburn, itching or burning. In addition to this, the mono-saturated fats present in coconut oil promote collagen growth that makes the cell wall stronger and Vitamin K aids new cell production that helps in reducing stretch marks. Coconut oil can be used to get rid of skin conditions such as rashes or eczema as it fights against bacteria and nourishes your skin.

You can also use coconut oil to prevent bacteria enter your dead skin. Coconut oil also contains healing properties. You can apply it on wounds and the Multi-Chain fatty acids will boost up the healing process.

DIY Coconut Oil and Sugar Scrub:

Coconut oil is used in various skin care products however these products are filled with harsh chemicals. Therefore, we are sharing a recipe to make exfoliator at home. You will require:

1. ½ cup of Sugar
2. ½ cup of coconut oil
3. Few drops of essential oil or Lemon juice.

Source: https://pixabay.com/en/skincare-coconut-oil-therapy-exotic-2357980/

Mix all the three ingredients and use once a week. Sugar granules will remove the dead skin that will help coconut oil penetrate in the skin easily which will nourish your skin. You can use this scrub on dark patches on your body to reduce them.

Coconut oil for Dental Health:

Oil pulling is a method used for dental health as coconut oil has antimicrobial properties performing oil pulling with coconut oil can help in preventing tooth decay and tooth loss. However, on the other hand, multi-chain fatty acids will make gum stronger that will result in less gum bleeding.

Coconut Oil as Makeup Remover:

You can use coconut oil as a makeup remover; it will also hydrate your skin and will keep it moisturized without any side effects.

Author Bio:

Jane Scott is currently working as a nutritionist at a renowned firm. With an experience of more than a decade, she is considered as a go-to person in her field of work. She also writes blogs for her website Home Remedies for Life.

Guest post by Jane Scott

Balance Active Formula Spray Body Lotions Review and giveaway

I took an extended break from reviews over Christmas, which also explains the lack of giveaways on my blog recently. However those of my followers who love a giveaway will be pleased to see I’m back with the first for 2016. And there are more to follow shortly.

This time I have received two Balance Active Formula spray body lotions free to review.

Firstly the one with the red lid. This is a Nourishing Spray Body Lotion which is infused with Argan Oil and a snake venom-like peptide Syn®-Ake to intensely moisturise and target anti-aging skin.

Secondly the one with the turquoise lid. This is a Hydrating Spray Body Lotion which is infused with Hyaluronic Acid and Coconut Oil to deeply hydrate dry skin.

To test them out, I used the Nourishing Body Lotion on my lower left leg and the Hydrating Body Lotion on my lower right leg, whilst leaving my upper legs unmoisturised for comparison over a period of several days. I liked the spray functionality and you then just massage it into your skin. I found it was easily absorbed and didn’t feel greasy. My lower legs are usually drier than my upper legs but instead my lower legs both felt much softer and smoother than my upper legs, right from the first application.

The packaging indicates that these products are Paraben and Phthalate free.

These body lotions are available to purchase from Beauty & the Bunch, currently priced at £5.49 each for 200ml, a very reasonable price in my opinion. I loved them both equally and highly recommend them.

And I’m hosting a rafflecopter competition to giveaway a pair of these body lotions courtesy of Balance Active Formula to one lucky winner. A lovely pampering prize.

a Rafflecopter giveaway – Please click on the link to enter.

And you may see my other giveaways here.

I’d love to hear your beauty skincare tips?

Visit Yet Another Blogging Mummy on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and Instagram

Disclosure.  This post is a review of products I was sent for free.  All opinions are my own.

A hamper of goodies from Superdrug

Hot on the heels of Katherine de Riera winning my recent Superdrug footcare products giveaway, I’ve now received a free hamper of goodies from Superdrug including yet more items to pamper my feet.

So let me tell you about some of the goodies that I discovered inside my lovely hamper.

Scholl luxury pedicure set

The item that immediately got my attention was the Scholl Luxury Pedicure Set. Having never used anything more sophisticated than a pumice stone, I couldn’t wait to try this out. It consisted of a Velvet Smooth Express Pedi Electronic Foot File and a Velvet Smooth Intense Serum. The foot file was amazing. The roller just glides over the feet, really working well on my unsightly callouses. How I wish that I had discovered a product like this years ago. My feet already are starting to look much better. I highly recommend it. The roller head is easy to remove for washing. And the serum, which I applied after using the foot file felt nice too. This set currently retails at Superdrug for £29.99, reduced from £44.99.

Bare Foot products

Then there was a selection of products from the Bare Foot range. Two travel size products and two full size products of Foot Scrub and Foot Balm. I haven’t had time to try them all yet, as I’ve  been too busy with the Scholl roller. But I have tried both the travel size ones. They work well and smell divine. But I do have one little bugbear with the travel size sachets. Once they are open, you have no way to close the packets. I had assumed they would be individual use, but no at 15ml, there was more product than I needed for one application. I would have preferred them to be in a tube or pot. The travel size versions currently retail at Superdrug for 99p and the full size 150 ml at £4.25.

Next up the Detox Smoothie. There were two of these, so my other half and I had one each. I added 200 ml of cold water and mixed it up in a jug using my electric hand mixer, as my liquidiser broke several months ago and I haven’t replaced it yet. It mixed well, but sorry neither of us particularly liked it, even if it is branded as a superfood. I thought the taste was bearable but my other half hated it. The main ingredients are pineapple, banana and apple. I much prefer the ready-made smoothie cartons that I regularly buy at the supermarket. This currently retails at Superdrug for £1.99 for a single 45g sachet.

Then the Apple & Cinnamon Barebar, a gluten, wheat and dairy free snack from Leader, the same brand as the Detox Smoothie. I cut the first bar into 4 pieces so we could all try it. We all loved the taste of this and the boys argued over should have the second one. This 40g snack bar currently retails at Superdrug for £1.29 and also comes in Orange & Chocolate and Red Berries flavours. I want to buy the other two flavours to see which is my favourite.

Next the Skin Beauty vitamin / mineral tablets and oil capsules which the box says are exclusively sold through Superdrug in the UK. Basically there are three types and you take one of each daily at meal times. They are conveniently labelled by day. It wasn’t specific as to whether you take all three at the same meal or one each at breakfast, lunch and tea, so I’ve been taking all three at the same meal instead of my usual multi-vitamin tablet. I’ve only taken them for three days so far, so too early to notice any effect. These currently retail at Superdrug for £14.99 for a 28 day packet.

And finally there were several LighterLife Fast products, namely 5:2 LighterLife Fast Chocolate Shake Pack X4, 5:2 LighterLife Fast Chocolate Peanut Bar and 5:2 LighterLife Fast Chocolate Raisin Bar. I am lucky as I have never needed to diet, so I hadn’t come across LighterLife Fast before. Again the packaging indicates that this range is excusively sold at Superdrug. I had a look at the LighterLife Fast website and the idea is that in a week you fast for two days and eat normally for the other five days, hence the 5:2 in the branding. On your fast days, it is not that you are having nothing. Instead you may eat four Lighter Life products, plus you may still have tea or coffee with a splash of milk. I decided to give a fast day a whirl.

First I made up one of the chocolate shakes for a late breakfast, using 220 ml cold water as recommended. However I made the mistake of initially trying to mix it with my electric hand mixer in a mug and it went everywhere. So after cleaning up, I swapped to using a fork, which left the remainder rather lumpy. But the taste was still nice. Then I had the chocolate peanut bar for lunch. Pleasant enough but I much preferred the chocolate raisin bar which I had at about 5pm. Finally I had another of the chocolate shakes, but hot this time. I preferred the cold version.

And I can definitely say I did feel hungry. Glad I don’t diet usually. Also I think i would have preferred to try one of the savoury products in the range rather than just eating sweet products, but there wasn’t one in the hamper. Currently the 56g meal replacement bars retail at Superdrug for £2.49 each and the packet of 4 shakes for £8.49. Also there is currently a buy 6, get 1 free promotion on some of the LighterLife products including the bars, but not the shakes.

So what a nice interesting selection of products in my hamper. I understand that Superdrug is the only UK stockist for these products although some are sold independently on the brands’ own websites.

And I’d love to hear what is your favourite product from Superdrug?

Disclosure.  This post is a review of products I was sent for free.  All opinions are my own. I did receive two additional adult items in the hamper, but i have agreed with the PR not to review those on my family-friendly blog.

Superdrug Foot Scrub and Foot Cream review & giveaway

I received two Superdrug foot products to review, their own brand exfoliating foot scrub and intensive foot cream.

My feet always need a lot of tlc. Foot ailments, you name it, I have it, bunions, heel cracks, corns to name but a few. Every bathtime I’m there with the pumice stone trying to soften the rough callouses on my feet. And I dread summer, because not only do my feet look unsightly, they blister so easily if I’m not wearing socks and trainers. No pretty shoes and sandals for me. I even get blisters wearing flip flops. So as you can imagine I already use plenty of foot care products on a daily basis.

Tamper-proof seal

And now on to the testing. I was pleased to see on opening both tubes that they have a tamper-proof seal. They both smelt pleasant and were easy to apply. I have been using them every day for a week now. I’m using the foot scrub in either the shower or bath, so that it can be rinsed off. Afterwards I’m following up with the foot cream. And I’m also applying the foot cream again at bedtime.

I have to say as yet I haven’t noticed any improvement in the condition of my feet, however a week is early days. But also my feet are no worse than if I was still using my usual products which are certainly more expensive than these.

Each of these products currently retails at £3.49 for a 100ml tube, so really good value for money in my opinion. Also Superdrug currently has a promotion on selected footcare products including both of these to buy one, get a second half price.

And I’m hosting a rafflecopter competition to giveaway a tube of foot scrub and a tube of foot cream to one lucky winner.

a Rafflecopter giveaway – Please click on the link to enter.

And you may see my other giveaways here.

I’d love to hear what is your favourite product from Superdrug?

Disclosure.  This post is a review of products I was sent for free.  All opinions are my own.

London Butterflies bodycare

London Butterflies is a new brand offering a range of beauty products which are chic, luxurious and elegant using naturally active British ingredients all blended with beautifully delicate fragrances. Being made in Britain, they therefore have a low carbon footprint. The products are also Paraben free and not tested on animals. The brand has been founded by entrepreneur Lubna Ahmad who has turned her hobby of making her own beauty products for friends and family into a business.

I was delighted to have the opportunity to review three of their gorgeous products for free. What a treat!

I received 30ml or 34g sample sizes of the following 3 items.

Winter Jasmine and Starflower with Sweet Almond Oil Whipped Body Cream
170ml Whipped Body Cream in Glass Jar & Black lid – Outer decorative box Description: Delicately enrich and nourish the skin without pulling or stretching. This whipped silky cream is exclusively blended with soothing Jasmine, calming Starflower, Evening Primrose and Sweet Almond Oil allowing it to be readily absorbed leaving skin perfectly softer. It offers rich sensuous hydration from top to toe. The light flowery scent relaxes the body and mind and is wonderfully indulgent.
RRP £37

British Tundra Berries & Meadowsweet with Golden Jojoba Oil Body Butter Soufflé
175ml Body Butter Soufflé in Glass Jar & Black lid – Outer decorative box Description: London Butterflies wonderfully silky air whipped body butter is light and super absorbing. It allows the skin to be nourished without excessive pulling or stretching. Nutrient rich Shea Butter and deeply soothing Vitamin E, offers rich luxurious hydration all day. Golden Jojoba Oil naturally restores and highly enriches with antioxidants. Freshly fragranced with Lemon and Sweet Orange Oil it invites daily use and leaves the skin feeling divine.
RRP £37

Dead Sea Salt & Sweet Almond Oil Bath Salt Scrub
225gms Bath Salt Scrub in Glass Jar & Black lid – Outer decorative box Description: Through deep cleansing our Dead Sea Salt Bath Scrub leaves your skin feeling relaxed, refreshed and brighter. Our scrub particles buff and refine the skin and combined with the essence of Sea Minerals it gently exfoliates the skin helping it soften and rejuvenate. Natural Almond Oil locks in essential moisturizers leaving the skin supple.
RRP £35

My first thought on looking at their website was why don’t they sell the sample size versions too. Several small pots packed in an attractive gift box would make a lovely present. I said this to their PR agent and she let me know that you will be able to get the sample sizes via the February Birchbox, which is a beauty subscription service.

And so on to the testing. Firstly I have to tell you that the fragrance is absolutely divine. They smell so good, particularly the body butter soufflé and the body cream. My comments relate to testing all the products at least several times during the past week. I already was using another body butter as part of my daily skincare routine since my skin dries out very easily, especially during these winter months. But I don’t usually use an exfoliant.

Now obviously you don’t need to use body butter and cream simultaneously, so I alternated each day using the body butter soufflé and the body cream. They both felt so luxurious and the effect of using them lasted amazingly well. I would apply one of them after a shower and when I woke up the next morning, my legs still felt moisturised. There is nothing more satisfying than feeling a product is working well, when you do the subsequent application. Also I didn’t need to use much of either to achieve these results. They were both far better than my previous body butter. If I was allowed to score them 11 out of 10, I would.

Moving on to the bath salt scrub. I’m more of a shower person than a bath person usually, but I’ve had 3 baths this week in order to test it out, as the directions indicate to apply to water-drenched skin. This time I found much more product was needed. A standard size blob didn’t go very far. I massaged it on with my fingers initially and then used a buff. I found it gave a pleasant tingling sensation, except for the first time on one very small area of my leg which felt itchy for about 10 minutes. I couldn’t see any specific reason for this and I didn’t have the same issue again. Perhaps I had a tiny cut that the salt had aggravated.

As I mentioned previously, I don’t usually exfoliate, so I don’t have anything to compare the bath salt scrub against. But I was perfectly happy with it. I don’t see any issue with the fact that I used more of it in an application than of the other 2 products, since you probably only would wish to exfoliate say twice a week.

Now you may be thinking that the RRP sound expensive but really they are not. The full size tubs are about six times larger than the samples I received, which means the samples are approx £6.50 each. Very good value for such luxurious products in my opinion. In addition to retailing on their own website, these products are also available via NotOnTheHighStreet and AskHerFriends.

Do take a look at the full range of products on the London Butterflies website. And they will be adding more products to their range very soon.

London Butterflies don’t have any budget for me to host a giveaway here currently, but do keep checking back, as I shall update my post when I hear that they have launched their own Valentine’s giveaway. It is going to be a good one, along with some exciting partners. Meanwhile you can keep up to date with them at Scent From England on facebook and @LondonButterfli on Twitter.

What is your favourite bodycare product?

Update 13/2/15
London Butterflies have now launched their giveaway. You need to follow them, retweet their competition post and tweet the answer by 18/2/15.

Disclosure.  This post is a review of products I was sent for free.  All opinions are my own.

Diamond Blend Eye Patch review and giveaway

Diamond Blend is a beauty brand that specialises in unique anti-ageing products using ingredients such as Diamond Particles to slow down the aging process and restore the skin’s vitality, with results in less than 20 minutes.

I received a free pack of Diamond Blend mineral eye patch to review.  The pack contains 2 half eye patches and retails for £10.  The instructions say that you can apply the patches either above or below your eyes and to leave them on for 20-30 minutes.

Diamond Blend Mineral Eye Patch

the eye patches

I asked my husband to take before and after photos of my face.  I chose to apply them below my eyes as that is where I thought they would have greatest impact, since I do have lines and dark circles.  And I left them on for 30 minutes.

before (left) and after (right)

They were easy to apply and adhered well to my skin. Whilst wearing them, my skin felt very refreshed.  I would have happily worn them for a longer period.  And they were also easy to remove. As per the packet recommendation, I did not wash my face after use.

wearing the eye patches

Afterwards my skin felt very moisturised. And the lines and dark circles were still present but less visible. However that was after only one try. I believe you would need to wear them regularly to see more benefit. But neither the instructions nor the website gave an indication of suggested frequency of use, so I do not know if this is recommended for daily, weekly or adhoc usage.

But at £10 for one pair, they are quite expensive, as I assume, they are a single-use product. This is something that I consider it would have been helpful for the instructions to have specifically detailed – whether they are single-use or multi-use? However it did state use immediately after opening.

A quick search on Amazon revealed other anti-aging eye patches at a fraction of the cost.  Obviously I don’t know how the quality compares to the high quality of Diamond Blend.

And I’m hosting a rafflecopter competition to giveaway a pack of Diamond Blend Mineral Eye Patch courtesy of Diamond Blend to one lucky winner to help reduce the signs of aging around your eyes.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

If you can’t see the Rafflecopter box above, either click the Rafflecopter link or you may alternatively enter via my Facebook page.

Disclosure.  This post is a review of a product I was sent for free.  All opinions are my own.