NEW Mineral Veil

I am very excited to introduce my new product. Mostly b/c I love to use this stuff myself! I am sure all you ladies have heard of the mineral veil by sheer cover, well come to find out it is basically corn starch. When I learned this I thought for sure I can create something just as great with a little more benefit to it. So I experimented and did some research and found that I can make the same exact thing with very fine ground sea salt and himalayan pink salt and a little corn starch. Gives you the same exact effect but really really great for your skin.

 If your skin is oily or you get acne ever this stuff will really help your skin. Salt is so good for skin. These two salts I chose have very high mineral content. 

You can buy my mineral veil for $6.00 a lot cheaper then the name brand, and it is better for you!!

I use it to set my make up, it gives me a very flawless and soft finish I LOVE IT! I personally am so happy I discovered this. I really hope you all will buy some and try it out. It is so cheap and will last you a LOOONG time!!! Buy some here. 

Health and Fitness advice from an ex-fatty

Ok, SO, I am sooo overdue for a blog post. Sadly I have been a little ill lately! I have been in such a slump on my diet and working out I feel like its time for some inspiration (more for me)

So I am going to share a recent tip I heard and sorta loved-

Pre-shower work outs!! I love this bc it is perfect for us moms who have literally only 10 minutes OR LESS to really work out, plus the sweating is never too fun so doing a pre shower work out is genius in my opinion. Here is my version of a pre shower work out:

-25 jumping jacks
-30 crunches legs crossed in the air bringing your knees toward your head as you lift up
-15 pushups girl style or man style if you are super cool
-15 squats (get that butt low ladies and keep that back straight do not let those knees go over your feet POSTURE IS SOOO IMPORTANT)
-10 lunges each leg
- Repeat as much as you can before the BABY WAKES UP!!!! (thats for me)

This should get your heart pumping if you do it very quickly and also targets most your body. The beauty of it, hop in the shower when you are done and heat up those muscles even more and relax too! This will really wake you up as well from that LONG NIGHT! It also gets your pores open and starts releasing all kinds of toxins, that you can wash off quickly in the shower, this will also help keep your skin soft too if you slather some lotion on right after the shower while those pores are still open and receptive to some nice moisture!

Drink tons of water, get rid of more toxins!

Ok, here are two things I would love to share with you. Some of you probably know about these two things, if not then you are going to pee your pants with excitement (I'm serious) Ok go potty first then read.

LOW AND NO CARB PASTAS!!! YES I SAID IT AND SOMEHOW, IT IS POSSIBLE!!!

First one is a low carb pasta, it has like 5 net carbs per serving and it comes just like your average dry pasta would in a box and I am telling you, there is no taste difference what so ever you will never miss your wheat pasta or your white pasta -Dreamfields pasta- click Here to read about it and also get a $1.00 off coupon. I find this pasta at most grocery stores where the other pastas are located.

Second one is a zero carb pasta and pretty much zero everything, they are called shirataki noodles. Now there are a lot of varieties of this noodle; the one I found is located by the tofu and sprouts in the dridge part of the produce. These noodles are a bit rubbery, but boiling them for a couple minutes helps and they are still wonderful regardless. These come in a liquid already soft and ready to serve and must be refrigerated. They have a slight fishy smell that goes away with a good rinse or boil. I am telling you my husband and I were thrilled to find these! If you do a google search about shirataki noodles you can see all the different brands and variations and also where you can buy them. 

Skin skin and more skin

Many of you have probably have heard the skin is the largest organ in your body and is made up of many layers. There are three main layers I want to point out though, top layer is the epidermis, second is the dermis, and third is the hypodermis also known as the subcutaneous adipose layer. Each have a specific role for your bodies protection.

The epidermis is basically a water shield and keeps water inside your body and is waterproof on the outside to keep pathogens away. The epidermis also helps regulate your bodies temperature.

The dermis, below the epidermis is where a lot of nerve endings are so this is where you get heat and touch sensation. The dermis cushions the body from stress and strain. In the dermis is where your sweat glands, hair follicles, sebaceous glands (these secrete your natural oils), lymphatic vessels (these carry lymph), and blood vessels are.

The hypodermis basically connects the two top layers to the bones and muscles in your body. It contains 50% of the your body fat and serves as insulation and padding.

Now that you know what your basic skin make up is, I want to share with you ways to keep your skin healthy and vibrant! Your skin is what people see, you don't see muscle or bone exposed bc you have this perfect blanket of skin. Many of us think about our skin daily (women totally do) and we try to make it appear healthy and beautiful, but what if what you are doing is actually not really helping your skin but rather damaging it?

Your skin is the body's largest organ, and it works with your kidneys to get rid of the bodies toxins. However, your skin needs to be able to breathe to perform these function. 

Mineral oil is probably the most common oil found in popular lotions and skin care, sadly the reason is it is cheap. It actually seals off your skin and keeps it from breathing as well as keeping it from absorbing good nutrients and moisture. This causes premature aging and clogged pores.
Mineral oil covers the skin like plastic wrap, inhibiting the skin's natural immune barrier and its ability to breathe and absorb. Also, mineral oil attracts needed moisture from cells deep in your skin. This means that cell renewal is slowed, then your collagen breaks down, and then your connective tissue is destroyed. Normal cell development is slowed down and the skin ages prematurely when skin cells are robbed of moisture.

Take a look at what you put on your skin does it have mineral oil? THROW IT AWAY IF IT DOES!

Another common ingredient in lotions and creams are different types of alcohols. There are some good alcohols that are natural and are not harsh on skin, but there are many bad ones that include ethanol, denatured alcohol, ethyl alcohol, methanol, benzyl alcohol, isopropyl alcohol, and sd alcohol, which not only can be extremely drying and irritating to skin, but may be cytotoxic. Meaning it is toxic to your cells.  Again check your products.

So why is it so important that we put good things onto our skin? The answer is clear our skin houses many many blood vessels and your skin absorbs what you put on it and then that is transferred into your blood. If that doesn't make you more careful about what you put on your skin I don't know what will.

Having good skin products is also vital for good skin health bc what you eat is not always enough to nourish your skin. When you digest your food only a very small percentage of nutrients actually go to your skin. So a great solution is putting these nutrients directly on your skin, your skin will get a lot more out of direct contact. This does not mean diet isn't important for skin health bc diet is very very important for healthy, beautiful skin!

Ok, I hope this has inspired some of you to be a little more cautious with what you put on your skin and more so I hope you all are inspired to love your skin! No matter what stage it's at! Scarred, broken, cracked, wrinkled, sagging, jiggly love it no matter what and take good care of it! It protects you from all kinds of awful things that could get into your body! So show some appreciation and love to the largest organ that works hard and gets a lot of abuse.

Some fun facts about your skin:

-Globally, dead skin cells account for about a billion tons of dust in the atmosphere. You shed about 50,000 cells every minute!- Another good reason to use good products that encourage the healthy reproduction of these skin cells, you want to generate new HEALTHY cells! (this is sort of a gross fact when you think of it. We are like breathing in everyones skin ugh)

-The average adult's skin spans 21 square feet, weighs nine pounds, and contains more than 11 MILES of blood vessels!! WOW

Keep watching out I will be posting many skin care tips! Next blog I post will be about dry brushing and why it is sooo good for your skin!!!

Get some good skin care products I make myself (approved by me and many others) go to www.etsy.com/shop/theblissfulbody Until October 16 enjoy 10% off use OPEN10 at check out!!

The Grand Opening of The Blissful Body Shop- coupon code inside

 

Hello all you lovely people! Since you have skin you need to go to my shop and buy something super spectacular www.etsy.com/shop/theblissfulbody

I have been working long and hard to get this shop open and I am SOOOO very excited to announce it is finally here. Since this is such a cool time for me I am giving away a coupon code for my shop. It gives you 10% off  your purchase. Type in OPEN10 at check out!! This coupon is good for a week, so will end October 16.

Right now there are a variety of fragrances, it is hard to choose since you cannot smell them, so please if you want to know a description of the smell just contact me. I will be happy to give the best description I can. I also want to give everyone a heads up that I am not going to always offer the fragrances in the shop now. I will be narrowing it down to about 6 really really good ones then adding some as the seasons change, so keep a look out on that!!

Ok, so here is THE BEST PART this is truly the most exciting thing for me, every item that you purchase I will donate $1.00 to an amazing ministry called Amazima Ministries.  Please check them out at amazima.org they are wonderful. They help children get food, water, health care, and education.

I am so excited about this and I really hope you all will try out my lotions and butters. They make great gifts. Guys I am telling you, a unique home made bottle of lotion will for sure score you massive points with your lady ;-)! 

I really appreciate all your support and all the feedback you can give. Go look at my shop!!! Tell me what you think please please please!!

Here is what is in the shop!

A trip to grander things

I had been meaning to write this a few days ago but life has been exhaustingly busy since I returned from my short trip to see my parents.
My parents live about three hours away in a very tiny town where I grew up. This town offers what most small towns offer, a massive buffet of rumors and gossiping. Everyone knows everyone's business, you cannot leave your house without running into at least three people you enjoy and at least five people you can't stand. It's a great place to raise kids really. As a parent they hardly can get away with much ;)! I remember growing up and thinking "I cannot wait to move to California, where I can not run into people I have to talk too and I can wear other clothes besides sweatshirts and jeans without being stared at like some crazy person."

I could not wait to leave, and I did leave. So now when I visit I am reminded of what that small town had to offer in the form of so many good things- beauty, quiet, peaceful, love, home, places to really escape from everyone and everything, long amazing drives, nature, hospitality, people who care, friendship! As a teenager I rarely appreciated these things. Now being away and realizing how cruel the rest of the world can be I appreciate returning to that little cocoon of home, family, and friends! It's where I can truly relax and enjoy myself and reflect on life.

One of the things I reflected on while I drove there and back was how massive this world is. How tiny I am compared to the scheme of things. The mountains alone made me feel so insignificant. In a way I am so much like that small town tucked away in the mountains, I am hidden from reality and the true world around me; I keep to myself and try to ignore all the bad stuff going on. I am just consumed with my life, always gossiping about my small circle. Making rumors about my silly future that I really have no control over.

So really to put my long trip into words this is what I will leave you with bc this is what I was left with, these words-
Do I want this world to better my life or do I want my life to better this world