I Tried Little Spoon... So You Don't Have To

What feels like ages ago, I tried Little Spoon meals for Violet: we were right in the middle of weaning from breastfeeding and trying to increase the amount she was eating. And like a lot of parents, I worried about her getting the full range of nutrients she needed. At the time, it wasn’t something I was ready to quite commit to: she was picky and cranky about not breastfeeding anymore and the timing was all wrong.

Flash forward to today and our lives are much, much different. Violet attends daycare twice a week and I needed something easy (and allergen friendly!) to pack for her lunches. Finally, I had the opportunity to join Little Spoon again.

This time we signed up for the lunchers option: these are almost like Lunchables, but obviously much healthier. In our first order, we paid $43 and received 8 total lunchers in the varieties of Easy Cheesy Pizza, Chicken Dunkers, and Brunch Lunch.

Here are Violet’s (age 2) unbiased reviews.

Easy Cheesy Pizza

From Violet, this one got an 8/10. From mom, it gets a 7/10, only because Violet is the messiest eater of all time and giving her a sauce cup is a minor disaster waiting to happen. She looooved the Unreal milk chocolate gems (I’m a HUGE Unreal fan as well and love seeing them in Little Spoon products). She ate two of the flatbreads with sauce and cheese, then polished off the cheese and asked for more of the chocolate gems. But alas, she had already eaten them.

Chicken Dunkers

Violet’s rating: 9/10

Mom’s rating: 10/10 (any way I can get more veggies into her is a win)

This Luncher comes with 5 “chicken super nuggets”) (that means they include antibiotic-free chicken, cauliflower, kale, carrots, and chia seeds) alongside probiotic yogurt ranch dressing, pizza-seasoned pretzels, and a brownie that is sweetened with applesauce. All of these are literally fantastic—like so, so good. Please make an adult size, Little Spoon!

Brunch Lunch

Violet’s rating: 10/10

Mom’s rating: 8/10 (Messy!! But cute)

This Luncher comes with a small smoothie bowl, granola, 4 chicken and veggie sausages, and a zucchini muffin. Violet is not quite at coordination levels for a smoothie bowl yet, so I put her smoothie into a cup with a little extra water. I added some yogurt to the granola and she LOVED that. The sausages were a surprise hit because she is pretty hit-and-miss with sausages. And of course, she won’t ever say no to a zucchini muffin.

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What’s our final grade for the lunchers? For me, they’re a 9/10 and for Violet, they’re also a 9/10. She LOVES most of the elements of them and I love that she’s getting the fun of a Lunchable without the high sodium or sketchy ingredients (i’m looking at you, pepperoni pizza variety).

If you’d like to try Little Spoon, whether you’re getting purees, first bites, lunchers, or pouches (I’ll be sharing our pouches review soon), you can use my referral code for $20 off your first order.

Review: Cocofloss Dental Floss

What a way to start a new blogging era, huh? Floss. Baby’s first review back on the blog grind? Floss.

But listen, I’m 35 years old now. I care about things like my dental health (and hey, we all should after all). And after 2 kids and plenty of years where I didn’t take as good of care of my teeth as I wish I had, I get excited about trying a new floss.

A few weeks ago, while scrolling Instagram, as you do, I got an ad for Cocofloss, a coconut fiber floss that is designed to make dental hygiene more fun (a cute look and yummy flavors), but also more beneficial (a fiber that helps grip bacteria between teeth). (You can learn more about the founders here.)

After a little browsing, I convinced myself to give it a try. Here’s a little context: I hate flossing. I do it every single day, but I hate it. My gums are one of my genetically terrible traits where I have to do a lot of upstream swimming to take care of them. I brush and floss twice a day and then use a special mouthwash every evening that is supposed to help my gum pockets. This is what a genetic weak spot and two pregnancies get you: when I go to get my teeth cleaned now, they call in a specialized hygienist who deals with people with gum issues. Devastating to my self esteem, frankly.

So a floss that would make my twice daily blight a little more fun is… worth a shot.

I ordered 2 products: the Happiness set and the Delicious Mint Dental Floss. The Happiness set is a set of 4 mini spools in 4 flavors: coconut, strawberry, mint, and orange. I got these primarily to 1) try a few flavors and 2) have some cute travel flosses. They are extremely adorable.

I ordered the larger Delicious Mint dental floss to have as my daily use floss.

The Happiness set was on sale for $15 when I ordered it; regularly, it’s $36. $36 is… quite a lot for 4 small spools of floss. $15 is definitely a much better deal. The single spool of Delicious Mint, which is roughly a 2 month supply, was $10 (and is still $10). That is a lot for floss, but it’s 2 months worth—so realistically $5 a month. As it is, I probably spend $5 a month on flossers.

I spent $25 total and shipping was free.

As I was writing this, I realized that there is a confetti cake flavor of floss. That’s incredible. They have a ton of flavors, so definitely do some poking around if you decide to order.

So, what do I think of the floss?

Floss is, at the end of the day, floss. But I do feel like I was able to get between my teeth better with Cocofloss than with traditional floss. My teeth are very close together (even my hygienist gets floss stuck between them frequently) which means I have to do a lot of extra work to get the bacteria that can linger at the gumline. I felt like Cocofloss got more gunk out with less effort. The floss itself feels coated and more fibrous than traditional dental floss, but it still glides between teeth pretty well. I felt like it allowed my special mouthwash to get closer to the gum line.

All in all, I liked the floss. It’s cute and it definitely has a strong, fun flavor. The mint has been my favorite so far, but Forrest, my 8-year-old, really loves the strawberry flavor. And if it gets my kid to floss more, I’ll pay $1 million even.

Would I recommend this floss? I think it really depends on your needs. Will I repurchase? Most likely, but I have pretty specialized dental hygiene needs. If you don’t, you can probably get by with your standard dental floss.

Alltrue Summer Box 2021 Review*

I’ll admit that I’m a total sucker for a subscription box.

I love surprise packages showing up at my door. I love tiny samples of things (my continued Ipsy subscription is proof of this). I love trying new stuff. I love that thrill without having to put mental energy into picking things. I’m never going to randomly buy 3 different face washes—but if Ipsy sends me 3 face washes? It’s on, baby!

Alltrue, formerly known as CAUSEBOX, is a seasonal subscription box that sends you a curated selection of sustainable and fair trade products. It’s an excellent mission and one I really admire! Quarterly Alltrue members pay $54.95 per season; however, if you sign up for Annual membership, you pay $199.80. That’s a savings of about $20.

What kind of products does Alltrue send you? Well, they were kind enough to send me their Summer 2021 box, so let’s look at what I got:

• Brand with a Heart OMG Smooth Leave-In Conditioners ($24 value)

• Hanalei Hawaiian SPF Lip Trio ($18 value)

• REDUCE To-Go Bowl ($20 value)

• SANCTUARY PROJECT Thick Gold Hoops ($28 value)

• Pepper + Vetiver Set of 3 Nesting Bowls ($30 value)

• Bala 1/2 LB Weighted Bangles ($45 value)

In total, the box I received is valued at about $165. (Some of the values, specifically for the set of nesting bowls and the weighted bangles, I had to estimate; I couldn’t find the 1/2 lb weights specifically on Bala’s website and the Pepper + Vetiver Bowls are based on resellers on eBay because that’s all I could find for them!)

Either way, for $54.95 (or slightly under $50 if you pay annually), that’s pretty good value!

The question, of course, is always: will you use everything you get? I obviously can’t speak for anyone else and I can’t tell you if you will personally find value in what you receive. Each season, you get the chance to pick a few options and customize your box. For example, in the summer, you could choose between the Hanalei Lip Trio and a nail care product; or the nesting bowls and a retinol serum. You pick one item from each category and create your box. It’s fun, it’s simple, and you end up with products that ultimately you do get to choose.

I personally like just about everything I got. I’m planning to gift the SANCTUARY PROJECT earrings to my sister (shhhh, don’t tell)—but everything else I have already used!

You might be thinking: this sounds really similar to Fab Fit Fun. And you’re right! But I think the big difference is Alltrue’s commitment to sustainable products. Yes, it’s still a subscription service; you are receiving products that ultimately aren’t needs. But I think having a sustainable mindset while finding joy in trying new things is totally possible. (Alltrue’s curation commitments and 2020 impact report can be found here.)

Alltrue is currently running an Intro Box promo where new members get their first box with $150 worth of products for only $25! You can sign up for your first box here. And if you sign up, let me know what you think!

Disclaimer: I received the Alltrue Summer Box in exchange for review. You can learn more about my disclosure policy here.

Beauty Review: Color&Co At Home Hair Dye Kit*

As most people have in the last year, I’ve really leaned into coloring my own hair at home. I don’t do anything that wild with my hair—I just try to dye it my natural color to cover up my (fairly significant for my age, or at least that’s what people tell me) grays. For years, I’ve used eSalon; I’ve written 2 reviews about eSalon on this very blog. While eSalon always worked in a pinch, in the last year, I’ve gotten really bored with my hair color—it never felt quite right for what I was asking for and the process to have them change the color was really complicated and felt impersonal.

Enter Color&Co, a custom hair color delivery service by L’Oreal. They emailed me a few weeks ago about trying out a colorbox designed specifically for me. Who can turn that down? I jumped at the chance because, as a primarily at-home hair colorist, I am always willing to try something different to see if it really works. In this blog post, I’ll walk you through the entire process—from sign up to coloring my hair.

The Process

When you sign up for a Color&Co colorbox, you have the option to take a quiz about your hair or have a free consultation with one of their specialists. If you’re like me and think your hair color is pretty straight forward, I encourage you to do the consultation—primarily because in my consultation, my consultant, Deb, asked some questions I had never thought of before. Once you select consultation, you’ll schedule a time with one of the consultants. Then, you just wait for that appointment time!

During your consultation, you’ll talk about your hair, of course: your goals for it, if you’ve dyed it in the past or recently, what you usually choose for hair dye. You’ll also talk about the specific tone of your hair you want, how much gray you have, and more. One of the best parts of this process for me was talking about my gray hair; I guess it didn’t occur to me previously, but I have “stubborn gray hair” that resists coloring. With previous hair dyes, my gray has started to show within 2-3 weeks. Deb gave me some extra steps to do why coloring my hair to help color those grays.

Once your consultation is done, you’ll go to an order screen where you purchase your colorbox; once it is formulated by your consultant, it’s shipped out to you. Super easy and highly personalized!

Receiving Your Box

Get exciting—your colorbox has arrived! In my consultation, we talked about how the ends of my hair have been bleached. In February 2020, I got probably the most ill-timed balayage done, which meant I’ve been coloring over blonde ends that aren’t particularly happy about the situation. So my kit was a little more complicated than the standard: I received a permanent color for my roots to cover my stubborn grays and then a semi-permanent color for my ends.

The kit comes with your color, the developer that you’ll mix with it, 2 sets of gloves, a packet of stain guard, a packet of stain remover, and a packet of conditioner.

In my case, I had 2 colors and 2 different developers. You’ll also receive a packet of personalized instructions; mine had instructions for doing my roots first and setting a time for 35-45 minutes to really cover my grays. Then, 10 minutes in, I would apply the second color to my ends.

When it comes to actually coloring your hair, if you’ve done it a lot, you probably have a process that works for you. I know I do! However, if you’re new to coloring your hair at home, I highly recommend chatting with your consultant about how to do it. If it helps, there are lots of YouTube videos out there to help you. The back of your hair is always the most daunting part, at least to me. But you can do it, I promise.

What I Liked Most

When it comes to hair dye, there are a few things I always specifically look for. The main one is that a lot of at home hair dyes drip really badly—they tend to be on the thinner side and it can get messy fast. What I liked about the color I received from Color&Co was that the dye itself, once it is mixed, is fairly thick; I still needed to be careful, of course, but it wasn’t drippy and messy like a lot of at home kits.

Another thing I look for: smell. A lot of at home hair dyes smell really strong—so strong that I usually turned on a fan and opened a window to keep from getting overwhelmed. The Color&Co dye did not smell nearly as strong—it definitely still smells like hair dye, don’t get me wrong, but it wasn’t super strong.

I also loved how easy it was to wash out of my hair. I have a lot of very fine, straight hair, which can be hard to wash; I miss shampoo on my crown at least twice a month. However, when I sectioned my hair to wash, it was just so much easier and didn’t get as tangled. I didn’t feel like I had to spend 20 minutes in the shower rinsing! The packet of conditioner that comes with the kit is also lovely—it smells so good and made my hair so shiny and soft immediately.

Ok, now, let’s talk about the thing you’re probably most interested in: the results.

I love my color! I feel like it did such a good job of blending my bleached ends with my gray and grown in roots. It’s the tone I was looking for—I wanted a chocolate brown with a more coppery undertone, which is exactly what I got. I’ve already gotten a ton of compliments on my hair! It’s super shiny after coloring and doesn’t feel damaged, especially on those more empty ends.

All in all, my final verdict is that I would absolutely use Color&Co again—the entire process was so easy and yet, made me feel like it was personalized to me. (Because it was!) A ColorBox is $29.99 and that includes the free consultation; if you sign up for autoship, it drops to $21.90.

If you’d like to try ColorBox, visit them here!

Disclaimer: As denoted by the asterisk (*) in the title of this post, I received the Color&Co Colorbox for free in exchange for review. However, all opinions remain my own. If you’d like to learn more about my disclosure policy, click here.

I Tried Winc Wine Club So You Don't Have To

There has been a lot of talk about wine for the last 2 months.

Honestly, I think we can all agree that wine jokes and wine culture have probably hit an all-time high. I wasn’t paying much attention to wine before I had Forrest and to be honest, I haven’t ever paid much attention to wine. I’m not a drinker; I find alcohol to be way too expensive and boring when I could be drinking a Diet Coke. But over time, I have found myself enjoying wine more and more.

When Oregon’s stay-at-home orders were announced, I decided to place my first Winc wine order. I knew I was going to need some way to relax and have fun—plus, I felt like I needed something to focus my energy on and wine seemed like a great outlet, to be honest.

I’ve been hearing about Winc via one of my favorite podcasts—Wine and Crime—for 3 years now, so it was probably time I took the plunge. Let’s talk about what Winc wine club is and how it works.

(Pst, you can sign up for Winc using this link for $22 off your order.)

What is Winc Wine Club?

Winc is an online wine club that is based on your personal palate. When you sign up, you take a quiz that matches you with a few ideal wines for you. You place your order and Winc delivers your wine to your door. Easy peasy.

Well, sort of. The way Winc works is that every month, you are charged $49.99 for “credits” that can be used towards wine. If you only want to order 1 or 2 bottles that month, that is taken out of the credits you’ve already bought. But if you decide to order more, then you’re charged the extra beyond the credits you’ve already bought. It’s a little confusing, especially because the amount per bottle varies greatly—some wines are $12.99 per bottle, some are $34.99.

Enrolling in the wine club aspect gets you a better price on the wine per bottle, however, so while it doesn’t make a ton of sense, there is a method to the madness. I do think the process needs clarified and I expressed that to Winc’s customer service when I was deeply confused as to wtf the credits were.

They primarily offer California wines and some unique varietals and vineyards that are really, really good. I personally love the selection, that is large without being overwhelming. Let’s talk more about my experience.

My Experience with Winc Wine Club

When I first signed up for Winc, I used a code from my favorite podcast—which meant that I got $20 off my first box. Amazing. I ordered 6 bottles, of course. As well, if you order over 4 bottles, your shipping is free—which makes it kind of worth it to order 4 or more bottles, rather than just 1 or 2.

When I took the quiz, Winc paired me with primarily white wines—slightly sweeter white blends, roses, and single varietal whites, like Riesling. This is pretty in line with my preferences anyway, but I’ve been excited to try out some of the other options on Winc.

Thus, welcome to my biggest issue with Winc: stuff sells out fast. I had 4 additional bottles picked out for my May 9 “credit payment”—but by the time the 9th rolled around and it was time for me to check out, the wines I’d picked were all sold out. I was bummed, as there was a red wine I wanted to try bad. (I did manage to grab a bottle of the Summer Water rose that everyone raves about from Winc!)

Aside from that, I’ve enjoyed most of the wines I’ve gotten from Winc. It’s a fairly good deal. For $60 this month month, I got 4 bottles of wine—that evens out to about $15 a bottle, which is about what I’d pay for my favorite wine from the grocery store anyway. It’s delivered to your door, which makes it easy. (As a note, you do have to show ID to sign for your order; they won’t just leave it at your doorstep. This was a little annoying for me, as my May order got somewhat lost by FedEx for a few days, then showed up randomly when I was in the middle of a full-scale preschooler breakdown and I also wasn’t wearing a bra.)

Is Winc Wine Club Worth It?

But is it worth it? This is the big question is it. Let’s break this down into pros and cons:

Pros:

• Wine delivered to your door.

• Exclusive wines that support smaller wineries that you won’t find anywhere else.

• Wide selection that isn’t so vast you get overwhelmed and tired looking at it.

• Fun quiz to help pick your first wines.

• Free shipping when you order 4 bottles.

• Referral system that lets you earn extra bottles of wine.

Cons:

• The credit system is a little confusing.

• The price of wines varies enough that the credits you pay for won’t ever equal out to a certain number of wines.

There you have it. The biggest drawback for me is the credit system; if that was clearer, it would make more sense. I wish instead of the credits being a money system, it was like you paid $49.99 a month and got to pick 3 bottles of wine with free shipping. That makes more sense to me, but that’s just me. (Hint, hint, Winc!)

Winc is still relatively a new company, so I expect them to work that credit system out eventually. It takes trial and error sometimes!

Would you like to try Winc wine? You can use my referral code here and get $22 off on your first order. (As a note, this is simply a referral link I have as a customer—not an affiliate link!)

Have you tried Winc? What do you think?

Top 5 Podcasts for Personal & Professional Development (Plus 1 Bonus Podcast!)

If you’ve ever wondered what my number 1 conversation starter is, it’s time I let you in on a secret. It’s me saying: “So I was listening to a podcast and…” then launching into a story that I got from a podcast.

I listen to a lot of podcasts. Like a lot. Right now, I’m a little behind and have about 45 different episodes to catch up on. I have a few that I always listen to every single week no matter what (usually my true crime podcasts), and then I have some podcasts that I sort of pick and choose from depending on how I’m feeling.

In that second category of podcast is the “personal and professional development” category of podcasts. I love listening to podcasts about marketing, but I’ve learned over time that I have to listen to less of them if I want to stay sane and not get super burnt out. The same goes for personal development podcasts. I want to be able to pick and choose, listen to what I need when I need it. That’s sort of the beauty of personal & professional development podcasts: you don’t have to keep up with any kind of story or narrative.

If you are hoping to make 2020 a bigger year, both personally and professionally, I’ve rounded up my top 5 favorite podcasts that fit neatly into the personal and professional development category.

1. The BossBabe Podcast

The use of the word “bossbabe” aside (full body physical cringe), this is one of my favorite podcasts. Hosted by the creators of BossBabe, a service that provides coaching to help women scale their businesses and launch more products, it combines a lot of elements of personal development with professional advice. I really enjoy this podcast because I find BossBabe to be incredibly informative; I’ve done a lot of their free video trainings and have really enjoyed them.

Top 3 episodes:

• Overcoming Depression, Being Guided by Intuition and Unleashing Your Super Attractor Powers

• 5 Ways to Heal Your Relationship With Food & How it Directly Impacts Your Daily Life With Sarah Stewart

• Wounds To Wisdom: Turning Grief Into Action, Creating Authentic Content + Finding Your “Why” With Mandy Ansari

2. Grow & Glow Show

Grow & Glow was created by Vix Meldrew. in the interest of full disclosure, I am a member of Grow & Glow, a community for bloggers to learn more, connect, and “glow” their audiences. The podcast covers a lot of the same topics as the membership. I really love Vix (and her voice is shockingly soothing). I really enjoy bot the podcast and the membership, and if you’re interested in joining, the doors are currently open. Check out Grow & Glow and join here.

Top 3 episodes:

• Writing a Blog Series for SEO

• Your Instagram Captions are Shit

• My 3 Pronged Approach to Content Creation

3. A Beautiful Mess Podcast

I’ve been reading A Beautiful Mess for probably 10 years, potentially more, at this point. I have to admire both Elsie and Emma because they are truly astounding businesswomen. They have consistently pivoted their business, grown, changed, and continue to dominate the blogging industry. They’re also both really interesting, with a lot to say and teach. Their podcast has been one of my favorites since it launched and I love hearing more about the behind-the-scenes world of ABM. I love that as they’ve grown older, they’ve moved their blog away from fashion and more towards home decor, DIY projects, and sustainability—I feel like that’s true to my life and experience as well!

Top 3 episodes:

• Elsie’s Forever-Ish Home

• How to Decorate Affordably (Not Just from Target!)

• 3 Things that Make Our Homes Happier

4. Natch Beaut

I think I’ve included Natch Beaut on nearly every single podcast round up I’ve ever posted, but it’s one of my absolute favorites. It’s technically a beauty podcast, but I think Jackie Johnson (my girl Jackie J!) sells herself short: Natch Beaut is so much about personal development and being the best person you can be (both for yourself and the world), it goes beyond beauty. (Although we can love beauty too, hunnies!) Jackie had a big 2019 and so many of her episodes have fallen into my favorites list… so picking 3 was hard. But if there is one podcast you listen to on this list, I hope it’s Natch Beaut; Jackie has been a huge inspiration and continues to be one of my favorite people to listen to, follow on Instagram, and aspire to be best friends with.

Top 3 episodes:

• Self-Acceptance with Jeffrey Marsh*

• Kegelbell with Stephanie Schull, PhD

• Snatchural with Loey Lane

*If you listen to one episode from Natch Beaut, this is such a great one—but does include Jackie’s divorce announcement at the beginning, which is very emotional.

5. Getting Curious with Jonathan Van Ness

WHO doesn’t love Jonathan Van Ness? And YES, he has a podcast and it is as lovely as he is. There isn’t much more to say about it: it’s a podcast about learning more about the world, answering questions that Jonathan himself has about just about everything. It’s good to learn things, even if those “things” aren’t necessarily anything to do with our lives—but knowing more about other people, other cultures, science, and more can help us be better people, make better decisions, and generally be more well-rounded.

Top 3 episodes:

• What Does Inequality Have to Do With HIV?

• Are You My Tanny Bananny? With Tan France*

• Is It Possible I Am the Most Gorgeous Hypochondriac That Has Ever Lived?

*Funny title, but very serious episode about racism that Tan France experienced growing up in the UK, and his new project.

Do you have a personal or professional development podcast you think I would love? Share it with me in the comments! I’m always looking for new things to listen to.

Bonus! 6. The Jet Set Life Podcast

This is a newer podcast that I've come across by Brittany Ryan, aka "the jet set blonde." Sometimes the episodes focus on travel while others focus on personal development. Each episode is a great mix of inspiring yet informative—you never feel like you’re just getting fluff! Brittany is down-to-earth and her episodes feel like I'm just catching up with a friend who has a much cooler life than me! (Those are my favorite kind of friends, honestly!) I appreciate the personal stories she shares to help women get unstuck and start creating the jet set life of their dreams.

Top 3 episodes:

• How to Handle Transitions in Life

• 3 Areas to Upgrade to Live a Jet Set Life

• How to Make Your Home Feel Like a Luxury Hotel

Beauty Review: First Aid Beauty Cleanser with FAB Antioxidant Booster

When it comes to cleanser, what is something you always look for?

My entire life, I feel like I’ve bounced between a lot of different cleansers, but my favorites always have one thing in common: they’re more of a cream cleanser than a soap cleanser. When it comes to a single shared characteristic of my favorites, that’s about as specific as I can be.

My deciding factor is, of course, how clean I feel like it gets my face. Some cleansers clean, but don’t feel like they do much beyond that; I would say the Body Shop’s Tea Tree Cleanser (which I like!) does that. I’ve recently phased out using it because at the end of the day, it just felt like general soap. Nothing special. I’ve instead been exclusively using the It Cosmetics Confidence in a Cleanser, which is more of a cream consistency and highly moisturizing.

In my most recently Ipsy bag, I added on 3 add-ons. These are products you can add to your Ipsy shipment; they offer $3 deluxe samples, $6 super deluxe samples, ad $12 full size samples. I usually stick to the $3 tier and on Black Friday, they had a buy-2-get-1-free deal. Thus, I got the It Cosmetics Confidence in an Eye Cream sample, a new chapstick, and the Ipsy Skincare Party Pouch. The Skincare Party Pouch was a single velvet sack, intended to be a stocking stuffer. I wasn’t sure at first if it would have multiple small samples—but learned via reviews that it would have one single sample. I was a little nervous because many reviews said the sample was tiny and not worth it.

However, when I unboxed it on Instagram, I expressed how excited I was by what I received! I received a deluxe sample of the First Aid Beauty Cleanser with FAB Antioxidant Boost; this is their basic, cream cleanser.

A full-size tube has 5 ounces and costs $21. The sample size has 1 fluid ounce. That puts the value of this sample size at about $4.20—considering I bought it for $3 and that included a fairly nice velvet bag, that’s a pretty good deal to me. As well, a 5 fluid ounce tube is quite large and will last a while. I would estimate a 1 ounce tube will last me anywhere from 2-4 weeks.

Here’s what this cleanser promises:

“A fragrance-free, gentle cleanser that effectively removes makeup, dirt and grime, leaving skin soft and supple. The whipped texture transforms into a sumptuous cream when blended with water.

Infused with a powerful Botanical Antioxidant blend, it helps safeguard skin against environmental aggressors while also calming irritated skin. This non-stripping, pH-balanced formula works to maintain skin’s natural acidity and helps reduce flare ups, never leaving skin feeling tight or dry.”

My skin lately has been very dry, very sensitive, and very red. I suspect that I’ve damaged the pH barrier of my skin. (If you’re curious about what the hell I’m talking about, here’s a good write up about your skin’s pH barrier!) The tell-tale sign of a damaged pH barrier is inflammation of any kind: that means redness (got it), flakiness (got it), dryness (got it), and acne flares (got it). That’s right, kids; as of this moment, I’m batting 4-out-of-4. Just call me the Babe Ruth of Bad Skin!

But in all seriousness, I’d been looking at ways to repair my pH barrier and this cleanser came up a few times. So when I saw it in the Party Pouch, it was like a divine intervention. “Here,” the skin gods said, “take it. You need it, hunnie.”

Thanks, Skincare Gods!

So, what do I think of this cleanser?

First of all, I like that it’s technically fragrance free, in that it doesn’t have any added fragrance. As much as I love the it Cosmetics Confidence in a Cleanser (love the cleanser, but typing this name more than once hurts), I suspect that the fragrance hasn’t been doing much for my skin. However, just because it doesn’t have added fragrance, doesn’t mean it doesn’t smell; like most FAB products that are fragrance free, I feel like the faintly chemical hospital smell of it is almost a turn off. I would prefer even a naturally scent (can we get an essential oil?) could be added without a detrimental effect, but what do I know?

Secondly, I do really love it. I’ve noticed a slight improvement in my skin (in combination with upping my hyaluronic acid use) in the week I’ve been using it. Most of all, I’m looking for an improvement in my skins flakiness and that has definitely improved in the last week.

Who do I recommend this cleanser for?

I think if you’re dealing with problematic skin related to the weather, this would be a great cleanser to test out to see if it helps. If you have sensitive or acne-prone skin, it’s also a great option. At only $21 for a tube (compare to $30+ for It Cosmetics Confidence in a Cleanser), it’s a fairly affordable option. One of my other favorite cleansers is the Loreal Pure Clay Foaming Cleanser, which is creamy and clay-based; it might be another good option for acne-prone skin and is only $9. It reminds me a lot of this cleanser in some ways!

In short: I’m really glad I bought the Party Pouch; I will probably throw down $21 for this cleanser in full-size; and I think I’ve broken my pH barrier of my skin but this might be the magic key I need to fix it.

How a Shanti Bowl Can Help with Meditation

You might be wondering: Michelle, what is a Shanti bowl?

Well, let’s start at the beginning.

Ever since July when I got laid off, I’ve been struggling a lot with anger. Sometimes, I will get so angry, I just want to scream at somebody. I’ve never really had a temper before and while I think I can be a bit of a whiner (I just took a DNA test, I have a Taurus rising, yo I got whining problems, it’s the Taurus in me), I never would have called myself angry. I don’t like arguing or fighting; I’ve never raised my voice at someone in my life unless it was to stop them from stepping out into the street or something.

But after being laid off, I was angry. I was mad at everyone and damn if they didn’t know it.

My therapist recommended a lot of techniques to help me get this under control. I don’t like being angry; I don’t like feeling like I can’t control an emotion. I especially didn’t like that my anger was irrational and illogical; big things would leave me feeling blank (like finding out I would probably never receive payment for my 265 hours of PTO) and little things would send me careening over the edge (like finding a bug on the wall). I started doing breathing exercises and journaling and slowly, my anger started to get better.

But it was still there, like a tagalong friend that I didn’t want around.

So when Shanti Bowl reached out to me recently, I was excited. Shanti Bowl is a company that makes Tibetan singing bowls. It’s also a company owned by the same person who owns Prana Brush, which I reviewed here. I love being able to support small businesses, especially when I’ve had great results in the past. I’ve been using my Prana dry brush religiously since I received it, so of course I wanted to try a singing bowl!

Funny enough, Danny was perhaps a little bit more excited about the singing bowl than I was: he has used it in his classroom before to help his students practice mindfulness. It was him who taught me how to use it and who primarily plays it for me in the evening.

Here’s a full description of a singing bowl in case you’re still confused:

“According to ancient Tibetan teachings, the existence of singing bowls dates back to the time of Buddha. Singing bowls produce beautiful music which invokes deep meditative and peaceful states. Singing bowls are often used in yoga, reiki, music therapy, and sound healing. The rich harmonies produced by singing bowls help balance the body’s chakras, eliminate stress, and promote holistic healing.”

Basically: it makes a nice noise that helps in meditation, can help relieve stress, and help you feel better.

Sold.

One of the techniques my therapist recommended for both anger and anxiety was to take a big breath in and imagine a pitcher filling with water; then when you exhale, imagine pouring the pitcher out. Over and over, this is very soothing: imagining the feel, the sound of the water, everything. I have found that the singing bowl works especially well when I’m doing this exercise; the sound helps me focus on what I’m doing (breathing, imagining) and nothing else.

In the evening, Danny will often play it while I lie in bed or on the couch and we just have a nice, quiet time together. It sounds boring, but for two people with a young child, who both work jobs that are stressful in different ways… it helps so much.

The best part about this singing bowl from Shanti is that it’s gorgeous! I keep it on a shelf in my living room and I have gotten so many questions about it from people when they visit or watch my Instagram stories. Here’s another quote from Shanti Bowl:

“Our handmade singing bowls are unparalleled in beauty and quality. Each bowl is carefully hand-crafted by skilled Tibetan artisans using traditional techniques. In accordance with an ancient Tibetan formula, our singing bowls are made of “panchaloga”, which is a Sanskrit word meaning a five-metal alloy that includes copper, zinc, iron, and traces of gold and silver. Our bowls create an incredible sound with rich, warm and vibrant overtones. Each bowl also comes with a gorgeous hand-carved wooden mallet. The result is a beautiful piece of functional art with incredible healing properties.”

Whether you are more interested in how pretty they are or how they can help you meditate (or you just want to make fun music), a Tibetan singing bowl would make a great, unique Christmas gift for someone in your life (or yourself, let’s be honest).

If you’re struggling with anxiety, anger, or depression, they can help so much with meditation and focusing in on your breathing, how you feel, and releasing the negative feelings you’re holding onto. I highly recommend it!

To learn more about Shanti Tibetan singing bowls, click here. You can also learn how to play a singing bowl (super helpful as a novice!).