Natrol Melatonin Fast Dissolve Tablets 1 mg (Review)

I have severe insomnia.  I often (several times per week) do not fall asleep until 4 am or later, which is tough with a stay at home 4 year old and a 15 month old (baby sleeps in our room).  Often I fall asleep around the time my husband starts to get up for work, and then I wake up again when his car leaves around 5:40 am.  It is not until 6 am that I am fully back to sleep a few short hours and then my 4 year old wakes me up at 9 am.  

I was recently sent some instant dissolve Melatonin tabs from Natrol.  

I am a tired gal, especially since from 6 am till 9 am my baby wakes up at least once during that time.  I am not new to melatonin.  I used to take 5mg in a store brand tablet that needed to be swallowed.  I then stopped using it for a few years until in the last year I learned of MidNite brand instant dissolving tabs.  I usually took 2 of the 1.5 mg of those.  I was given the opportunity to try these by Natrol in the 1 mg tab this past month.  They seem slightly larger in size than the MidNite and are slightly lower in dosage.  The MidNite ones are cherry and are less chalky than the strawberry flavored Natrol brand, but both taste pretty great for a dissolving tab.  I do like being able to take 1 of the 1mg or as many as 3 if I need to.  I have tried taking only 1mg of the Natrol and it did not work so well for me.   I would not become sleepy.

I find the best dosage for me to feel like I am naturally getting sleepy (and not knock out exhausted or groggy), is to take 2 of the Natrol about 45 minutes to an hour before bed (which means I need to try to take them around 11 pm so that I am in bed by 12 am with plenty of sleep through the night).  I find that if I take 3 of these I need to make sure I take them when I know I have a full nights sleep available (and perhaps longer).

I get up through the night with the baby anywhere between 2-3 times, so taking 3 of these makes night feedings and changings rough.  I was groggy a few times when taking 3 of these.  I did find that I feel less groggy with the MidNite version of the 1.5 mg (taking 2-3) than 2-3 of this Natrol brand.  I am not sure why.  I do like how the Midnite brand contains Lemon Balm and Chamomile which are claiming to me.  This brand does not have those ingredients.

I do like this brand and the price is great for when I need more.  I do not think it is as good as the MidNite brand, but it is just that the other brand works best for me.  This brand may work best for you.  For the price, go ahead and try them, as they are a good product.  I just find it often makes me groggy in the mornings.  

*Product received complimentary for my honest evaluation.  This worked okay for me, and I will continue to use them as they are reasonable in price and easy to use.  I still do recommend them despite the other brand working best for me personally.

For more information about this brand and the products they provide, find them on Facebook. 

Baltic Amber Teething Necklace (Cognac) by Baltic Wonder (Review)

We have used Baltic Amber for both children since they were a few months old. My daughter is 4 1/2 and still wears amber as it seems to help with her mood and also acts as a light pain reliever. She has only used Children's / Baby Tylenol twice in her life. She removes her necklaces when she bathes and swims, otherwise they are on her non stop. I realize some parents choose to remove their child's necklace(s) when sleeping, but we keep them on as they are loose on her and we do not feel they are an issue.

I was sent another Baltic Amber necklace for review. The one I will speak briefly about today, is a polished cognac amber from Baltic Wonder. This was originally intended for our 14 month old son who is teething, but this necklace fit my 4 1/2 year old daughter much better with plenty of room to grow.  I had already had a custom baby sized necklace made for him (2 actually) when he was around 5 months of age, so he is not wearing this one as it is much too loose.

My daughter wears this one with her 2 other Baltic Amber necklaces.  She loves it and I think it looks nice on her.  It is a nice neutral color and goes with everything. I would have preferred this to be the raw, unpolished amber like her other 2 necklaces as the raw seems to be a bit stronger.  But since she is not teething, has 2 unpolished ones already, and does not have much of any pains that would need a stronger amber, I still like this necklace and recommend it.  However, to be honest, I definitely would suggest to the company to think about offering raw, unpolished amber as well.  I prefer the appearance of the raw as it also looks more natural and like a stone.

I thought the muslin cloth bag was a nice addition for storing the necklace when she is around water/chlorine/soap (do not wear these swimming or bathing).  As with all baltic amber teething necklaces, this is knotted between each bead so that if one bead breaks off, only one is lost.  In case you are not familiar, these necklaces should never be chewed on, or used for teething in the sense of putting teeth on them.  They are worn against the skin and when the natural body heat warms the beads, they release succinic acid, which provides the light pain relief.

I like the necklace and it seems to be authentic.  I would have liked for this to have be actually made by the sellers locally (such as the ones I buy from etsy that are custom made for my children in the colors and lengths I request), however I think it is made from the actual supplier of the amber, outside the US (but i am not completely sure).  I do like how they provide a guarantee of authenticy.

*I was provided a sample necklace for evaluation.  All opinions are my own.

This is available on Amazon.

Brush-On Liquid Mineral Makeup by Faces Beautiful Review

I try to use natural and mineral based makeup when at all possible. I was recently sent a brush-on liquid mineral makeup foundation from FACES Beautiful.  It is a lightweight foundation that has medium to full coverage. There is a "brush-on" applicator that makes it easy to apply and ensures that you're spreading the liquid foundation properly.  Although it is designed to be used with the brush directly applied to the face, I still find that also using beauty blender sponge sometimes works the best for me personally.  I applied this to my face with the brush, and then blended the foundation out with my slightly damp sponge.  I left some at my jaw before blending further to try to show how it seemed the color was a little on the yellow side for my skin.  I am not sure the camera picked it up as well as I hoped.

FACES Beautiful mineral makeup is said to improve the texture of your skin and gives you a more flawless finish.  I selected the Healthy Nude as sometimes my face is on the pink, cool toned side.  I took the description to mean that the Healthy Nude was for pink toned skin, instead of red or ruddy (which I think is what this shade was actually intended for).  Now that I understand how this makeup is designed, I would have selected Radiant Beige.  :) I generally choose "Fair", "Light", "Ivory" foundations and I think though that the Radiant Beige would have been better for me as the Healthy Nude was too yellow based.  You can see on the side profile view that it was not blended as well near my jaw and looked a little yellow.  I do not point fault at the makeup, as I think it my own error in choosing the correct color.  I did have a hard time deciding the correct color to choose when I was making my selection.  I would have preferred the website to have perhaps different models in each skin tone range (3 ladies wearing each shade: for a total of 9 ladies) to give me a better idea.  For example, having 3 ladies of similar skintone, that can each wear Healthy Nude, and 3 that fall into the Radiant Beige, and then lastly 3 ladies that would fall into the Sun Glow color.

I did not find myself reaching for this makeup much in the last few weeks due to the color I selected.  I do know now that if I had selected the Radiant Beige, I would have had success with this product as I liked the overall features of it.  It was extremely mess free and easy to use.

Remove cap. Turn arrow to the "On" position, squeeze makeup until it rises to the brush, apply to face in desired areas. To close / lock, turn arrow back to "Off" position.

To apply: Start at the center of your face, spread a bit at your nose, your bridge and across your cheeks. Continue using the brush to blend in outward strokes over your face.  One squeeze will be ample for regular to light coverage. You may want to apply more if you need to cover blemishes or dark spots.  When I applied this product, I applied it in those areas with a generous dot and then used my damp blender sponge.  A setting powder is not necessary.

I do like how the makeup can easily be taken along in a travel cosmetic bag and that it has a locking feature to prevent leaking.  The brush was comfortable to use and did not irritate my face.  I found that the makeup lasted during the day.

For more information, you can visit their website or their Facebook page.

I do recommend this makeup, however I suggest that you are sure of what color you will need.  *Please note that I am wearing blush and some highlighter in the pictures so that is adding pink coloring to my skin. :)  The last picture (green shirt) is my skin with only blush and BB cream, no foundation.

*I was sent one FACES Beautiful foundation for purposes of this review, all opinions are my own.

Please note that this picture is of me wearing only some blush and BB cream on my skin.  I wanted to try to show my natural skin tone which is rather pale.

Heart To Heart Ruffle Tutu Review

My daughter is 4 1/2 and loves to dress up.  She especially loves tutus and sparkly items. I was recently sent a beautiful dress from Heart To Heart and ButterflyCraze. It is gold sequined on top and has a peach tutu skirt. She and I like it a lot. The skirt has tiny gold sparkles which she of course adores, however I am not as fond of as the sparkles have been falling off ever since the dress arrived a month ago. Sadly within 5 minutes of opening the package, at least 50 tiny gold glitter sparkles were on the kitchen floor---before she even put the dress on. I immediately went outside and shook it for at least 10 minutes and what seemed like hundreds of glitter pieces fell off into the grass. Our bright green country grass now had some city flair to it. :) After shaking it a few times before she wears it, it now seems to have stopped shedding the glitter each time it is handled. It still has a few fall off each time it is worn, but 5 sparkles is much easier to contain than 50 (which is seriously about how many would come off each time).

The dress is very pretty and would make any little girl super happy. She could be a princess, a fairy, or wear this to a dance performance. The ruffle sleeves are very sweet and simple. There is a zipper back closure. The inside is a smooth polyester material. My daughter did complain a few times about being itchy.

*As mentioned above, this dress was sent to me for my honest evaluation.

This dress is available on Amazon.

Vitamin D Gummy Bears: For Kids & Adults by NutraBear Review

My daughter is 4 1/2 and loves taking her vitamins. At around age 3 we started her out on gummy type vitamins and she has had nothing else since. She takes the Yummy Bears multivitamin, but were recently sent some Vitamin D3 gummy bears from NutraBear.  I was excited for her to try this in addition to her regular ones.  These gummies are enjoyable and nutritious for both kids and adults.  The flavor is pretty great I think, we both love the peach and cherry gummies! (I also think that is a unique combination and brilliant).  All ingredients are 100% vegetarian, there is no gelatin, gluten, or other possible allergens such as soy, etc.)  I love how it is USA made and certified.  She always reminds me that she needs to take her vitamins and she knows exactly how many of her daily multi ones and these D3's.

The only slight negative or improvement to these would be the appearance and texture.  They are very flat and do not resemble gummy bears at all.  The texture is a bit strange.  They taste amazing, just are not the plump, juicy bears that the Yummi brand have (Yummy Bears are natural as well but do have Gelatin).  If you are able to tolerate Gelatin, I am not sure what the issue with gelatin would be other than a possible allergen? The Yummy Bear brand always tastes like a fresh, gummy bear and is soft and plump.

I still think these are great and we really like these a lot despite the flat and drier texture.  I still recommend them.  My daughter takes 1 of these after her lunch, along with her 3 multivitamin Yummy Bears.

These were sent to me for review, this is my honest opinion and evaluation.

These are available on Amazon.