Advanced Hair Repair Shampoo & Conditioner by Arvazallia Review

I love trying new shampoo, it is a bit difficult sometimes as we are a sulfate free family. I started my sulfate free lifestyle 2 years ago and my husband and 2 little ones have been sulfate free as well for almost the same amount of time. My husband realizes now how dry and irritated his scalp and skin would get and now notices when his hands use a sulfate based hand soap. I have also been using more oils and natural ingredients. One oil I have come to adore is Argan oil. I use in in my oil cleansing and in my hair. 

I was recently sent a 3 Piece Shampoo, Conditioner, and Hair Mask set that uses Argan oil and is sulfate free.  The brand is called Arvazallia and the set I was sent included 1 Repair Moisturizing Shampoo (10.56 oz), 1 Repair Daily Conditioner (10.56 oz), and 1 Hydrating Hair Mask and Deep Conditioner (8.45 oz). It has a nice fragrance and comes in pretty red bottles. The one thing I noticed right away is that these are made in China, which is unfortunate. We like getting USA made products.

The bottles are tall and slim and sleek. They are attractive, however they are difficult to squeeze the product out of. I generally prefer shampoo and conditioner in pump bottles. Both my husband and I tried this shampoo and like the fragrance and how it makes our hair look and feel. I do want to mention that the shampoo has some chemical sounding ingredients and I am not fond of the Dimethicone (silicone) in the conditioner, which for sulfate free ladies and gents, is difficult to remove and builds up over extended use.  

I like how the products are infused with cosmetic grade Argan oil and Macadamia oil, and I like how they are sulfate free and paragon free.  Besides water, and those ingredients, I did not see much else that was natural.  I found that using the conditioner was a bit heavy for me, and i think that is due to the fact that my hair is used to being washed only twice per week and has normalized in its natural oils.  I do not get greasy until the 4th day of unwashed hair (I wash on the 4th day).  I no longer really need conditioners.  My husband uses the hair mask once per week as his hair is naturally curly and he likes using masks to contain the curls and prevent frizziness.  

This is a nice set, but I would prefer it to be much more natural.  I usually add Argan oil to my shampoos or a drop or 2 into my hairs and smooth into my hair.  There is a particular shampoo that I like and the only ingredients it has are: Water, Calendula Blend, Burdock Root, Nettle Leaf, Decyl Glucoside, Coco Betaine, Vegetable Glycerin, Hemp Seed Oil, Panthenol (Vitamin B5), Guar Gum, Citric Acid, Essential Oil Blend of Grapefruit, Tangerine, Ylang Ylang, Polyaminopropyl Biguanide.  

My hair is soft when I use this and brushes easily, and I find that the Dimethicone is the ingredient that helps with smoothing.  It is not an ingredient that everyone who is sulfate free will favor.  

*This set was sent to me for my honest opinion and review.  

You can learn more about this brand on their website, and connect with them on Facebook and Twitter.

You can find Arvazallia on Amazon here:  Arvazallia Hair Products

Toogli Baby Teething Necklace 100% Food Grade Silicone Review

My little fella has been teething like crazy these last few months and so I have welcomed any item that pertains to teething and natural pain relief.  I was recently sent another type of teething necklace from Toogli.  I have reviewed their Baltic Amber Teething necklace in Cognac recently and liked it a lot.

This is a pendent style necklace with 100% Organic Food Grade Silicone.  Since baby is putting things in his mouth more frequently now (especially his fingers) this provides natural teething pain relief and swollen gums. I selected the pearl white, which has a swirled appearance.  The teether necklace closes with 2 clasps that can easily break away when needed.  I was happy to see that they include a set of replacement necklace clasps just in case.

Toogli has a few different necklace colors available.  At the time I was sent this necklace, they had a teal and white.  They have now added a smokey black color.  

When my baby nurses, he likes to fiddle.  I often get my nose grabbed and my mouth pried open.  (He loves to play with my mouth).  This is a way to keep him busy and calm while nursing and redirects his attention from pulling my hair or at my face.  It also is a way to be able to have some sort of jewelry on without being worried that it will break.  

I like how this is easy to wash, I just rinse it at the sink or wipe with a sanitizing wipe.  I have heard of some mommy putting theirs in the dishwasher but I have not personally tried that.   I like this necklace and find that it holds his attention when he gets fussy at the grocery store as well.  I unclasp the ends to make it safer and give him the necklace to hold and play with while he is in the cart or stroller.  If he is in the baby carrier being worn, I wear this at my neck and he holds it.  

*Necklace sent for review, all opinions are my own.  

Interested in learning more? These are on Amazon: Toogli Silicone Teething Necklaces

For updates, new products, tips and pictures, Follow Toogli on Facebook and Twitter.

Orchid Origami Paper; Folding Sheets Review

Do you do Origami? Have you tried it? You probably are going to be great at it. Me, not so much. I was sent a 500 pack of Orchid Origami Paper and after watching numerous Youtube videos, and wasting about 10 sheets of pretty paper, I just could not get the folds right.  I am not a quitter or impatient, I just am not skilled at doing the art of paper folding.  I have a 4 year degree, and 32 years of life under my belt but cannot do even simple paper folding techniques.  The paper quality, is amazing though.  The colors are bright and the paper folds evenly.  Here are the dimensions:

15cm x 15cm and 80 GSM of thickness

In the pack of 500, there are 10 vibrant colors, and 50 of each color.  Since I hate paper waste, I decided to make excellent use of the paper and it is not in my planner decoration and note taking collection.  I recently got a Filofax and have been making a few collages as divider backgrounds.

These make for perfect backgrounds for photos, stickers, and washi tape borders.   These are also nice for cutting and making greeting cards.  Construction paper is nice for my 4 year old, but I like grown up paper with color, this is just what I need.

Since my skills and paper folding were quite embarrassing, here are some stock photos of other beautiful origami creations.   I tried to make the simple 5 pointed star from the directions in the package, but did not get very far.  So I decided to stop wasting this lovely paper and put it to use in my planner.  This paper would be excellent for scrapbooking and collage making.  The colors are nice and the quality of the paper is superb.  I recommend this for skilled origami artists, and those of us that aren't. :) Orchid Origami Paper is available on Amazon.



*Sample sent from Orchid Paper / Gaia Organics.

Teether Necklace and Bracelet By Beabies Review

Beabies sent me another style of  teething necklace to review, and this set I prefer a little more.  The shape of these beads are flat, a little more fashionable in my opinion, and seem easier/more comfortable to gum than the round ones I reviewed recently (which are still nice and used frequently here).  I like these flat beads a lot and so does baby.  Yes they are Magenta pink, but he does not mind.  He likes to play with them and sometimes chew on them.

These are safe beads, but please know this is not a toy.  My picture shows Baby W playing with them, but he was and is supervised and I was about 2 feet away from him.  The beads are BPA free, FDA approved, and made of food grade silicone.  They have several colors available to choose from and these look nice when worn.  There are no harmful chemicals and the silicone has no off gassing or chemical odor.

I like this set and wear it more than my turquoise round beads do to the fact he seems to enjoys these a bit better. I still like the the round ones as well.  This necklace comes in handy to keep baby entertained while being held or pushed in the shopping cart/stroller. When worn while nursing, it helps distract him from pulling my hair or grabbing my face (usually opening my lips and flicking my teeth with his fingers) while nursing.

*Necklace sent for review, all thoughts are my own.

For more info, visit them on their website or you can find them on Amazon.

Pembrook Fleece Shawl Wrap Pink Review

We live in a nearly 100 year old home, drafty and has zero insulation on the second floor. There is only thin insulation in parts of the first floor. Our electric heating bills are $250-350 per month in the winter--ridiculous especially for a 1700 square foot home (with only really using the first floor). It is always cold in the winter despite having the home heat on 72. I am always cold but we cannot crank up the heat.

I saw this fleece wrap from Pembrook, and was offered to review it for my honest opinion. I was sent this for review, and I selected Rose pink. The color in stock photos represents the color perfectly. When it arrived I do admit I was a bit surprised at the actually shawl, it is more of a wide shawl scarf and does not have cropped sleeves, which for some reason I was hoping and expecting. I think I was expecting a type of shawl cardigan that wraps around.

There is a silvery scroll embroidered detail on the pockets, which reminds me of something popular for a different age group, not a negative aspect, just not my taste right now.  I would have preferred this to be plain without the decoration, so it could match with more things, and the scrolling is not my style.  I do like the fringe on it as it seems to make it more of a fashionable piece of clothing and feminine.

The fleece shawl material is soft, however it is exactly like my pink Snuggie. :) I do love my Snuggie, and was hoping this would be similar to it in function (sleeves) but a cropped, fashionable version suitable for going to the mailbox on a cold day or a trip to the store.  Having sleeve would make it much more usable for me as it would stay on better.  I feel I am having to smooth it out before I put it on, and smooth it out several times while wearing it.  I usually did end up wrapping it around me like a small blanket.

The fleece material may likely pill after several uses and I am not sure how well it will wash up.  It does say that it is machine washable, however since I have only needed it a few evenings at home, I have not needed to wash it yet.  It does attract lint easily, which is unfortunate.

I only plan to wear this at home, and it has served me well for nights when it is cold enough for a wrap, but when I do not need a full body blanket/Snuggie.  It has pockets, but I have not needed to use those for anything and the positioning of the pockets are not useful for me personally, however I know other people may benefit from them.  The pockets sit more up front, and i would prefer them to be more on the side, at an angle and have this be more of a cardigan shawl.

It is not something I would wear out somewhere due to the scrolling detail, however I will wear it at home, to get the mail, do emails, or sit on the porch.  I wear it as a wrap but do not use the collar.  I wrap around my shoulders and use it when I am watching a movie on the couch or up late writing/typing. Please excuse my messy hair and tired eyes, as with most of my review pictures, this was taken around 2 am. (when Mommy has time for blogging, emails, and reviews) :)

It is comfortable to wear and suits me for cold winter nights. It is starting spring weather here, so I do not expect I will need this much in the coming weeks, however I think it may need to be kept on hand for cool evenings.

You can find this on Amazon. *Shawl sent for review.