Supernatural Botanicals

Happy 4th of July.  Make the extra effort to make it sensational.  I’ll be sharing more pictures and video tomorrow from my celebration. 

   Let your voice be heard.  Vote for your favorites, such as Supernatural Botanicals Bath and Body and Park + Vine in Cincinnati, in VegNews Magazine’s 2009 VeggieAwards.  You can win great prizes! 

Let your voice be heard here. 

Links to some of my personal favorite blogs….check them out, you’ll see why!

Favorite Style Icon Blog:  http://ultimatecarolyn.blogspot.com/

Favorite Inspiration Blog:  http://nieniedialogues.com/

Favorite Bloggers Group:  http://www.CincinnatiWomenBloggers.com

Favorite Cincinnati Food Review Blog:  http://winemedinemecincinnati.com/

Favorite Cincinnati Downtown Living Blog:  http://5chw4r7z.blogspot.com/

Favorite Local Eco-Awareness Blog:    http://www.parkandvine.com/

Favorite Adult Swim Website:  http://www.dlisted.com 

Favorite Domestic Blog:  http://thepioneerwoman.com/

Favorite Green Blog:  http://www.treehugger.com

   Supernatural Botanicals….you’ll literally fall in love with these spa soaps!  You have to feel it (and smell it) to believe it.  Bliss!  All-natural soap, thick hand cut 1.5 inch bars that moisturize and cleanse your skin, while drenching you in amazing aromatherapy.  In a clinical study, this these soaps were given five out of five stars!  Gentle enough to use on face and body, and won’t cause breakouts.  

 Click here to see the entire line. 

This is a look at my backyard garden today.  My purple hydrangea from the Farmers Market this past Saturday still looks great today, Thursday.  I change the water in the vase every other day, and add sweet lemon thyme to the vase, free floating.  It’s such a great look for clear vases.  Tender young green leaf lettuce is in full bloom.  My Roma tomatoes have their first bud, a single tiny green ball.  The Tabasco pepper plant has tiny little yellow peppers budding everywhere.  (editorial note….these peppers are as hot as fire!)  Very young Jalapenos, two single stubby peppers emerging out, in the past few days.  Cayenne peppers are green, and will turn red if you leave them on the vine long enough. 

Enter to win these eco-chic pillows from Pier 1 Imports.  These pillows are 18″ x 18″, perfect to throw on the hammock.   Enter here to win.

Forbes list of Hollywood’s Top Earning Actresses: 

1: Angelina Jolie $27 million
2: Jennifer Aniston - $25 million
3: Meryl Streep - $24 million
4: Sarah Jessica Parker- $23 million
5: Cameron Diaz - $20 million
6: Sandra Bullock - $15 million
7: Reese Witherspoon - $15 million
8: Nicole Kidman - $12 million
8: Drew Barrymore - $12 million
10: Renee Zellweger - $10 million
11: Cate Blanchett - $8 million
12: Anne Hathaway - $7 million
12: Halle Berry - $7 million
14: Scarlett Johansson  - $5.5 million
15: Kate Winslet - $2 million

What:  Birkam yoga. 

Technique:  Bikram yoga is often called “hot” yoga.  It’s performed in a heated room with temperatures ranging from 95 to 105 degrees Fahrenheit.  The style emphases a series of 26 postures designed to stretch the muscles, ligaments, and tendons. 

Benefits:  It is thought that a heated room enables one to stretch further and promote sweating, which removes toxins from the body. 

Cautions:  Of note, Bikram yoga is very intense, and not intended for everyone.  Consult your OB if you are pregnant.  

Watch this clip for a more thorough explanation of Bikram yoga. 

Sonia Kashuk, celebrity makeup artist to many stars, including Cindy Crawford, lists her 10 commandments for great skin. 

1. Protect yourself from the sun — use sunscreen and avoid direct sunlight between the hours of 10 and 2.
2. Don’t — I repeat — don’tsmoke. Your skin is a large organ and it needs a lot of circulation. Smoking impairs that dramatically. That’s why smokers’ skin looks dull and gray. Instead of having oxy-generated blood delivered to the surface of the skin, they’re getting poisons and oxidants.
3. Get adequate rest and nutrition.
4. Protect yourself from stress — both emotional and environmental stress.
5. Wash your face twice a day and put on the proper treatment product. I’m amazed when women tell me they don’t wash their face in the morning. A lot of icky stuff collects overnight — dead skin cells, dirt, and dust!
6. Don’t neglect certain areas of the skin. Elbows, heels, neck, and decolletage need moisturizing, and your scalp and the tops of your feet need sun protection.
7. Touch your face less and wash your hands more! Don’t get too surgical on yourself. It’s very tempting to pick, poke, squeeze, and scratch in front of the mirror. But the more you traumatize the skin, the greater your risk of scarring. Apply treatment products and let them work.
8. Keep your makeup clean. Replace the sponges in your compact on a regular basis. Now and then, toss the whole works and start fresh — the average shelf life for cosmetics is 6 to 12 months. Don’t buy products so expensive that you’ll be heartbroken if you have to throw them away.
9. Exercise moderation. More is not always better. Moisturizer, for example, is the most overused product in America. We’ve been bamboozled by cosmetic companies into thinking every square inch of our body has to be slathered. And it’s simply not true. Exfoliators are another thing to be careful with. Used too often, they overacidify and irritate your skin.
10. Beware of counter girls. If it were up to them, you’d be in the bathroom for two and a half hours each morning — putting 80 layers on your face. Keep your regimen simple. And when you do add a new product, do it gradually so your skin has time to adjust. Each skincare or makeup product has an average of 20 to 40 ingredients — you’re introducing 20 to 40 potential allergens to your face every time you try something new.

   What’s been rockin’ my abs lately?  Turbo Jam!  Chalene Johnson, founder of Turbo Jam, keeps the tempo up and keeps your muscles tight.  You are guaranteed to hurt, but in a good way, the next day.  Her workouts are fast-paced and high-energy.  Check out this clip of Chalene to feel the energy.  I love the counter clock on her videos.  It lets you know exactly how many minutes you’ve accomplished, and how many more there are to go.