Supernatural Botanicals

Now that Old Man Winter is rounding third and heading for home, your skin is probably at its height of being dry and itchy.  Not to worry, this is a super-simple fix.

By simply using exfoliating gloves in the shower, you gently exfoliate your dry skin away with each and every shower.   Shower gloves are slightly abrasive, yet gentle enough to not  scratch your skin.

Soap the gloves up with a great soap, either liquid or bar soap, and scrub every square inch of your skin.  Follow up with a fabulous moisturizing lotion or body oil, and your skin will be shorts-ready this Spring.

Have you seen the Linen Sprays at Supernatural Botanicals lately?

Why use a linen spray?  Linen sprays provide not only aromatherapy for the scent of your room, but also for your clothes, your bed linens, your furniture, and even your car seats if you have cloth car seats.

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Instead of throwing your clothes into the laundry, go green, skip the laundry cycle and simply spray them down with our Fabric Softener Fresh Linen Spray. Not only will this help to release the wrinkles out of your clothes, but it gives them an instantly fresh scent as if they were just pulled from the dryer.

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Want to sleep better?  Use our Lavender Water to spray your sheets before slipping into them.  Lavender has aromatherapeutic properties that help to relax and calm the mind.

Tired of inconsistently sharpened lip and eye pencils each time you try to sharpen pointy new tips on them?  Chances are good that it’s your sharpener, not your pencil.

Try these tips to get the most consistent, perfectly sharpened pencil.

1. Always use the proper sized sharpener for the pencil.  Don’t sharpen a small pencil in a large sharpener….you’ll get a crooked edge on the pencil.
2. Use good quality sharpeners from an art store.  Purchase several sizes for your various pencil sizes.  Even good quality sharpeners are fairly inexpensive, and you’ll only need to purchase these about twice in your lifetime….it’s a good deal, go with it.  It’s worth it.
3. Maintenance.  Keep your tools clean.  They’ll perform better and it eliminates any entry point for bacteria.  Use a Q-Tip to gently clean our the sharpening barrel.  Never use alcohol or water on your blades…it will make them rust.

If you are serious not only about working out, but about being stylish while doing so, look no furhter…Spirit for Living  has got you covered. 

My friends over at Spirit for Living  was generous enough to send me one of their gorgeous classic boat neck shirts.  Being a huge Green fan, I was ultra-impressed that the shirt was made of natural soy and cotton blend.  The shirt is super-soft.  I love the way that the shirt just barely slips off one shoulder once in a while…a little dose of sexy without trying too hard.   

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 It’s a perfect shirt for working out, as it’s comfortable and not confining whatsoever, but it’s also a great shirt to wear with jeans or even a skirt.  We all love multi-functional pieces in our closet and need more of them. 

One look at Spirit for Living’s website and you’ll want every single item they offer.  My next piece will be the slim fit skirt.  It’s so pretty and flattering to the body….and it’s going to look great with my boat neck shirt.  Kudos to Spirit for Living’s founder, Jennifer Smith, for being a female entrepreneur with a consciousness about being Green and ultra-stylish.  Love that! 

It’s the second week in January….are you still keeping your fitness goals?  Keep yourself inspired and motivated with magazine subscriptions to fitness magazines.   Fitness magazines, such as Oxygen, Self, or Shape magazines keep you learning and yearning for more.  It’s literally the gift that keeps on giving.  Each month you’ll learn about new techniques and exercises to help you achieve a lean, strong, and healthy body.  And if you subscribe to a fitness magazine, you’ll get a new dose of inspiration every 30  days.  Without a doubt, you’ll see a body in those magazines that inspire you to work out harder, eat better, and push yourself to achieve your fitness goals.  From rookies to advanced gym rats, you’ll find something inspirational every single month.  *Frugal tip:  Borrow magazines from the library and have access to all the fitness magazines on the newsstands.

To get salon-perfect hair at home, you need the right tools.  Knowing what to invest your money in will keep you from stockpiling a drawer full of unwanted, ineffective appliances.

For a fantastic blow-out at home, use a hair drier with 2800-3200 watts with a removable nozzle to help control which direction the air blows.

If  you are prone to frizz, look for a dryer with a cool setting.  A cool blast of air on dry hair helps close the cuticle to prevent frizz.

If you have curls, keep your fingers out of your hair while blow drying.  Simply put the hair dryer underneath the hair, and dry the hair without using your fingers…which will pull the curl out.

Using a round brush while drying will add volume and to your hair that will last all day long.

Like it long, straight and silky?  Apply a smoothing serum on hair before drying, followed by a great flat iron for a silky finish.

Never leave the dryer in one spot for too long as you can damage the hair and cause it to be brittle and break.

Shape magazine rates the Nike Air Max Trainer One ($85 nike.com) as the best for all around gym use.  This shoe is perfect for women who mix things up with cardio, weights and classes.

Shape says this shoe really absorbs the impact of high intensity moves, like jumping jacks, and it’s super firm midsole is ideal for strength training and cardio machines.  The soft pliable uppers never rub or dig into skin and an adjustable forefoot strap keeps your foot in place no matter which direction you move.  Rubber nodes on the outsole provide strong traction.

I’m loving the wide choice of colors offered, and the strap across the midfoot, which holds shoes on tightly (great for hip hop dance and step aerobics.)

For lip color that lasts all day long, try this… Use a lip pencil to color the entire lips.  Next, blot lips to “seal” the color onto the lips.  This will create a matte look and will “stain” the lips and lock in the color.

Your lips will maintain the color for most of the day.  Lips are also more kissable when they are not layered with a gloss finish.  Great lip color that won’t come off on him….love that!

Periodically apply a great lip balm to the lips to moisturize, as a lip pencil can be somewhat dry and matte on the lips.

Keep nails and cuticles looking summer-soft in the winter by applying a great, all natural lip balm to your cuticles and nails several times a day.  The beeswax will protect your nails and cuticles from the cold, harsh weather, and the cocoa butter will moisturize them to keep them soft and beautiful. Try this.

If your workout spark is starting to fizzle, torch it back up and excite your senses by adding some new workout clothes or gadgets to your repertoire.  Nothing makes you want to do yoga or Pilates more than a new pair of great-fitting yoga pants and a shape-hugging yoga top, or taking a step class with a new pair of cool gym shoes, or hitting the treadmill with the shortest girly workout shorts you can find.

By a new piece of equipment such as a jump rope, a new workout DVD, a trampoline, a heart rate monitor, resistance bands, a stability ball, or a Bosu ball to peak your workout erogenous zones.  It changes up your routine, keeps it fresh, and keeps you on your A game.

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Yoga pants by Victoria Secret