Health Canada | Proposed Changes To Regulate Natural Supplements In Canada #saveoursupplements

If you are a Canadian resident, please read this!

If you haven't heard, Health Canada is proposing changes to natural health products so that they would be regulated similarly to prescription drugs. This could cause many of the natural supplements we use to disappear, or become less accessible, it would increase their cost, and reduce the amount of information that is available about these products. This would affect supplements, homeopathics, vitamins, herbs, and more.

Canada is a global leader in the regulation of natural health products. All natural health products are reviewed and licensed by Health Canada before hitting the shelves here in Canada, this ensures that products are both safe and effective. This is demonstrated by a Natural Product Number (NPN) on the product.

Natural health care is a big part of my life, not only in the treatment of ailments but also in prevention, and general health care. Maybe it's also an important part of your life or someone you know, so I hope you'll join me by taking a minute of your time to click the link that I've shared below to send a standard letter to your MP in opposition of this proposal.

How can you help?

You can help save our supplements by taking one minute to send a pre-written letter by the Canadian Health Food Association (CHFA) to your Member of Parliament, letting them know that you do not agree with these changes,

Click this link to send your letter: (closed)
http://www.pushpolitics.ca/clients/chfa/index.html

To learn more about this proposal and what you can do to help me stop it, click the link below:
https://chfa.ca/en/natural-health-products/nhps-not-drugs/index.html

I hope you'll join me in trying to prevent these changes by sending a quick letter to your MP with the link provided above.

#saveoursupplements

xo

Grounding Techniques For Anxiety and Panic Attacks

I hear so many people talking about anxiety issues these days. It's no wonder with all the craziness going on in this world right now.

According to WebMD it is fairly common and affects about 6 million adults in the U.S.A., alone.

Click HERE to learn more on WebMD.

I came across the post below by Mood Disorders Canada on Twitter, and as soon as I saw that it said to "reblog" the post to possibly help someone, I knew I had to share it.

I can see how these grounding techniques could work for some people. The techniques seem like a great way to distract yourself and get your mind focused on something else besides the anxiety that you're feeling.

I hope this helps someone!

Take a screenshot of the tips below and keep it handy on your phone if you want to try these techniques.

There are all kinds of resources online. Here is a link to the Mood Disorders Society of Canada. If you are outside of Canada here is a link to a list of numbers for crisis assistance.

If you or someone you know is in need of immediate help call 911. 

Please reblog this if you wish to. It may help someone!

xo

New | Burt's Bees Lip Crayon In Sedona Sands #405 Review and Swatches!

Burt's Bees Lip Crayon Sedona Sands

I've been having a little bit of a lipstick obsession lately. I guess it's the one area in my makeup collection where I don't have an abundance of products. I don't usually stray too far from what I know suits me. I mean, I've done some definite experimenting over the last few years, trying out bright colours that I would never have tried before, and it just confirmed what I already knew- I don't suit bright or dark colours. But, as all of us beauty junkies know, not all nudes are the same, so I can have 100 shades of nude lippies that are all a bit different, right!? hehe

Since Burt's Bees came out with some all natural lip products recently, I decided to try out a few. I previously reviewed their Lipstick in Nile Nude (review linked here). This time, I went for one of their new matte lip crayons. There are only 6 colours to choose from and I chose the colour #405 Sedona Sands, it looked like a safe nude/pink colour.

Burt's Bees Lip Crayon in Sedona Sands

Info from Burt's Bees:

Introducing six creamy, full-coverage shades of matte lip colour in a modern crayon for truly beautiful lip colour. Lightweight moisture for a comfortable, everyday wear formula infused with Shea Butter, Kendi Oil, and Jojoba Oil. It's colour that truly cares for your lips!

• Creamy matte colour and moisture-rich wear
• For everyday wear either alone or layered under a Lip Gloss or Lip Shine
• Precise application in a playful form without the hassle and mess of sharpening
• No added flavour or fragrance
• Hydrates and moisturizes lips, leaving them feeling soft and smooth

Burt's Bees Lip Crayon in Sedona Sands (swatch)

These lip crayons are 100% natural, which makes me super happy! The product is creamy and really easy to apply, it glides on smoothly and evenly with good pigmentation. I would say that this product is a satin-matte, which is good for me as I have super dry lips. The product is fairly comfortable even with my super dehydrated lips, although I wouldn't say it's particularly moisturizing. The colour lasted longer than average on me compared to a lipstick. After 3.5 hours some of the creaminess had worn off, this left my lips feeling drier, but the colour was still there. Then I ate and it completely wore off. It's not a stain and that's a good thing in my books, me and lip stains don't really get along, so I don't mind reapplying.

I have many deep lines in my lips and that makes it very difficult for me to wear matte lip colours. I would prefer to wear a balm or a bit of gloss over this product to reduce the look of my lip lines but for the sake of testing purposes, I went without anything on top. I have to say, this is one of the few matte lipsticks that I can wear (the other being Covergirl's Katy Kat Matte lipstick, which is a demi-matte- Full review linked here).

If your lips are in better condition than mine, which I'm sure most people's are, you will probably love these!

Comparison Swatch

Swatches: Left- Burt's Bees Lip Crayon Sedona Sands/
 Right- Burt's Bees Lipstick Nile Nude

Lip Swatches

Burt's Bees Lip Crayon in Sedona Sands

Burt's Bees Lip Crayon in Sedona Sands

I feel this is truly the perfect colour for me. It's the perfect nude/pink with a hint of mauve, think MLBB. It reminds me a lot of the colours I wore in my 20's and 30's, which I wore ALL the time! Back then, I had one or two colours that I wore every day as that's what looked best on me so I stuck with it.

A makeup look wearing Sedona Sands.

Final thoughts:

• I am so happy that I bought this lip crayon. It's the perfect nude/pink for me. 
• I love that it's 100% natural
• No scent, hint of a clay like taste which fades
• It's long lasting compared to other lipsticks
• I get a demi-matte effect without it being too drying on my dehydrated lips
• No glitter or shimmer
• I wish they would come out with more colours. But, of course, I would just get a different shade of nude. lol
• These get a 5-star rating from me! (at least in this shade)
• I'm not happy that Burt's Bees is apparently no longer cruelty-free!
• I do think this is a great product and I would repurchase it

This product retails for $9.99 for 3.11 grams 

Have you tried any of Burt's Bees new lip crayons? Are you loving them too?

Week 27: My Health and Weight Loss Journey to Get Fit and Lose Weight!

Welcome to week 27 of my Health and Weight Loss Journey! Here is a link to last week if you'd like to check it out.

Over the last couple of weeks, I made a few changes. I began doing mostly yoga due to a pain that I developed this past May. I thought I had just strained myself exercising one day but when the pain didn't go away I went to the Doctor. 4 Doctors visits and 2 ultrasounds later, I still don't know what's going on. I'm finally being referred to a surgeon. I hope to finally get an answer and a solution.

This week I got caught a bug. I know I picked something up from one of the medical building I went to where everyone was coughing and hacking away. So, I spent most of this week eating soup and crackers. I figured when I weighed in this morning that my weight would have dropped more after a week of eating mostly soup and crackers. Not that I want to lose weight that way, but I was surprised when I the scale didn't go down.
To summarize; I didn't workout once this week, I lived on soup and crackers. 😷

Here are my workouts for the week: 

Day 1- 

Day 2- 

Day 3- 

Day 4- 

Day 5-
Day 6- 

Day 7- 

Weigh in :

Weight: Up 1 lb

Fat: Up 1%

Now that I'm getting over this bug, I'm going to try and get back to yoga. I wont be doing anything much more strenuous than that until I find out what is causing this never ending pain that I have and get rid of it!

Hope to see you here next week with better news!

Week 26: My Health and Weight Loss Journey to Get Fit and Lose Weight!

 

Welcome to week 26 of my Health and Weight Loss Journey! If you missed last weeks post, you can find it linked here. There are a bunch of links to some great yoga workouts on youtube in that post.

Last week I had decided to change up my diet. I decided that for now I was giving up on the whole counting my macros and trying to load up on protein thing. Instead, I decided that I would focus on mostly eating vegetables, fruits, healthy carbs, some protein, and healthy fats, of course. The only thing I really measure or try to consume small amounts of is carbs that are from grains or starches.

After 1.5 weeks of eating this way, I think it's starting to pay off. This week the scale went down to the lowest it's been so far on this journey, and I only exercised one day this week, which was today, after I had weighed myself!

I plan on keeping up with these changes to my diet and seeing if I continue to benefit. And, hopefully, next week I'll be able to squeeze in some more exercise.

🍓 🍌 🍅 🍏 

Here are my workouts for the week: 

Day 1- 

Day 2- 

Day 3- 

Day 4- 

Day 5-
Day 6- 

Day 7- 35-minute walk

Weigh in :

Weight: Down 1.5 lbs

Fat: No change

Hopefully next week I'll have more good news to report. See you then!

Artis Oval 8 Foundation Makeup Brush Dupe!? #review & #giveaway 2 WINNERS!! (CLOSED)

I have heard so much about the Artis makeup brushes and would have loved to try one, but at such a heavy price tag for a makeup brush, I wasn't willing to spend that much money for one makeup brush.

I heard about possible dupes and did some research. I ended up purchasing one on Amazon that is supposed to be a dupe. Obviously, since I don't own the Artis brush, I won't be able to confirm whether it is a dupe or not. But, it was still fun trying it out!

The brush I purchased is equivalent to the Artis Oval 8 based on its size.

Brush Claims: 

• Material:Synthetic hair+ The electroplating handle
• Total length:17.5cm; Hair size:6*5cm
• Give you a flawless foundation application every single time
• No streaks and no areas with too much makeup or too little

I find that this brush is SUPER soft and very dense. It feels like good quality and has not shed one single hair. The handle is a little weak, so I hold it closer to the brush which feels more natural anyways.

I don't wear foundation, only BB creams. I have experimented with different BB creams and techniques trying to master using this brush to apply my BB cream. I have found that circular motions with very gentle pressure works best with some of my products while other ones work better with gentle downward motions. Sometimes, I find it drags the product around my face a bit, so I find using less product helps.The brush doesn't seem to absorb a lot of the product which is good. I also find that it thins out my BB cream, making my coverage lighter- not so happy about that aspect. However, the brush is super easy to use and allows me to apply my BB cream very quickly which I really appreciate and it doesn't leave streaks. After washing the brush it takes a long time to dry, 1.5- 2 days as there are so many bristles!

This brush has 5-star reviews on Amazon and many say it is indeed a dupe for the Artis foundation brush. Although it's very quick and easy, I find it a bit more work than I'd expect based on the fact that this is supposed to perform like a $65USD brush.

Just for fun, I want to give one  TWO of these away! Maybe one of you guys can figure out the best technique and let me know! Or, maybe it's just better with foundation over thicker BB creams. I haven't tried it with a foundation yet.

This giveaway is only open to my readers that have a Canadian or USA shipping address, as the product will be shipped directly from Amazon.ca or Amazon.com (sorry to my international readers!) Keep in mind that shipping took a few weeks to get to me, so it will probably be the same for the winner of this giveaway. Must be 18 + years of age or have parental permission. Item may appear different than what is pictured, depending on availability.

The only mandatory entry is to leave a comment on this post and enter using the rafflecopter form below. Giveaway will run for one week. Good luck, everyone!

*** UPDATE: There will be 2 winners, get your entries in!



a Rafflecopter giveaway

Week 25: My Health and Weight Loss Journey to Get Fit and Lose Weight!

Last week I said that I would switch from doing cardio, HIIT, and weights to just yoga as well as any walks that I squeeze in.  I wanted to do a test and see if this works for me as it had in the past.

I did only yoga this week. I also used YouTube as my source for videos, so if any of you want to try some of the videos I did, you don't even need the DVD, just YouTube!

I did pretty gentle yoga this week due to some back issues. If any of you have back issues, you may find some of these helpful. I also came across some great relaxing videos to help with stress and I found them great to do before bed. All videos that I did will be linked under the list of workouts that I did for the week.

I have also decided to abandon the macro counting in terms of eating., at least for now. In fact, I am changing the focus on my diet. I am not going to focus so much on protein as I had been. It doesn't mean that I may not revisit that at some point. What I have decided to do is to try and make my diet mostly vegetables and fruits with small amounts of healthy carbs, some protein, and try to eat more fermented foods. I have focused on low sugar for years now and I will never stop that. Low sugar doesn't mean NO sugar, I still eat small amounts of treats, especially the 70% dark chocolate squares from Costco! So yummy and healthy too. I know that my heart likes it too.

Here are my workouts for the week: (Links provided below for each workout)

Day 1- 

Day 2- 29-minute yoga for a healthy liver with Adrienne - YouTube

Day 3- 15-minute detox yoga - YouTube, 16-minute yoga for a strong back yoga - YouTube

Day 4- 47-minute yoga for back and hamstrings - YouTube

Day 5-
Day 6- 24-minute yoga to calm your nerves with Adrienne - YouTube (Great before bed!)

Day 7- 29-minute yoga for a healthy liver with Adrienne - YouTube

Weigh in :

Weight: Down .5 lbs

Fat: Down 1%

See you next week!