Is your toothpaste making you sick?

For many years, I have been getting an upset stomach after brushing my teeth in the morning and at bed at night. I assumed that it had something to do with swallowing a small amount of warm water when rinsing my mouth. However, I then started to read that being sensitive to fluoride, which is in most toothpastes, can cause this too. After reading a lot of things about fluoride and how it affects our health, I've recently got myself an all natural fluoride-free toothpaste and I no longer suffer from an upset stomach. So it was the toothpaste all along!

I am currently using Tom's of Maine anti-plaque propolis and myrrh toothpaste, which is all natural and fluoride-free. The ingredients are:

Calcium carbonate, Water, Glycerin, Xylitol, Spearmint and peppermint oils, Carrageenan, Sodium lauryl sulfate, Myrrh, Propolis.

The texture is nothing like most toothpastes. It's more of a soft paste than a gel, which is no surprise as it does contain chalk. I find that it gently cleans my teeth by using a very small amount even without foaming much. It also doesn't require much rinsing out either.

It is supposed to have a minty flavour but I only really taste the mint as I'm rinsing my mouth so it doesn't give me nice minty smelling breath afterwards but I don't mind.

Overall, it works really well, it's good value for money and makes my belly happy. However, in future I do want to try out different toothpastes and will be looking for one with a longer lasting flavour.

So, yeah.. a review on toothpaste. Not very inspiring but I hope I've assured you that natural toothpastes can work just as well as all the regular toothpastes out there and that they are much better for your health. Love Lula have a selection of natural toothpastes, including some for kids. I'm actually very tempted to get the Lavera strawberry and raspberry kids tooth gel... yumm! Whatever toothpaste you decide to get, always check the ingredients as even natural toothpastes may have added fluoride.

xx

GoGo Guarana Breeze drink review

A few days ago, I reviewed the GoGo Guarana vegicaps, which I quite liked. So I was happy to find the GoGo Guarana Breeze drink at Holland and Barrett as I find that energy drinks have some scary ingredients in them and I stay way clear of them.

The first thing I noticed was the smell. Do you know that 'dentist smell'? That strange smell of dental surgeries? That! That mixed with something very foul. Not tempting at all.

If you think that's bad, you haven't heard the rest of it. The taste is worse than the smell. I can't describe it because as much as I've tasted some pretty horrid things in my life, this is a new one. Yuck! I had to force it down me as I was so tired but I couldn't force myself to drink enough of it to feel the effects. The only effect I felt was that of disgust and fatigue. That's not a good combo.

I wonder if the makers of this drink trialled it as I can't imagine anyone enjoying it at all. But if you do like it, I would love to know!

xx

Burt's Bees Radiance Body Lotion review

I've been using this product for a while after getting it as part of a cute set from my friend on my birthday. The product isn't completely natural but very close with 98.2% natural ingredients.

As you can see, it is more or less like your average body lotion with a runny consistency. You only need a very small amount as it spreads so well. Unlike your average lotion, however, it contains mica, which gives a glowing effect. You can't see the tiny mica particles in the photo but you should be able to see the beautiful glow it gives off. Once massaged onto the skin, you can't see any 'sparkles' unless you really focus but you can see from this photo how it made my skin really glow.

I find that this is ok as an everyday moisturiser to use around the body but I wouldn't recommend it for dry skin as it doesn't seem to be strong enough to be effective. I'm happy using body oil instead.

I find it really good if you want to give your skin a very subtle colourless glow whether for daytime or for an evening occasion. I'm not a fan of the sweet smell and I have dry skin so I reserve this product for occasions to give my arms and legs a lovely healthy look.

I have more Burt's Bees product reviews coming up so watch out for those!

xx

An alternative to coffee?

Being a university student, I need a constant supply of caffeine to get me through the day. So I decided to try an alternative to coffee just to try it out and see if it would be any better.

At my local Revital store, the lovely store assistant told me about GoGo Guarana vegicaps, which are all natural and vegan capsules containing guarana seed powder sourced from the Amazon, which gives the population a source of income, which is good to know. She also told me that the pills offer mental stimulation for hours instead of a quick peak then a crash that coffee usually gives. I've heard that guarana contains caffeine (although more recently I've also read that it contains something else entirely different that is often mistaken for caffeine) and that's all I needed to hear so at just over £4 for a pack of 20, which is cheaper than buying coffee all the time, I thought I'd give them a GoGo (see what I did there?). 

So what did I think of them? Was it a GoGo or a NoNo?

I tried them for a few days and I quite like them. I have since ran out and I would like to buy some more soon. What I liked about them is that keep me focussed in class even with little sleep instead of my mind wandering. They keep me slightly awake but not as much as coffee and when I take them in the late afternoon, I feel less sleepy.

I wouldn't say that there was a placebo effect as I would normally have trouble staying awake and focussed and from refraining from yawning when I have had little sleep. So I am very sure that these effects were due to the pills.

What I don't like about GoGo Guarana is that it is too weak when I'm extremely tired and I miss the coffee buzz. I was told that I won't feel the crash at the end of the day but this is completely untrue as some days I come home and I'd feel so tired that not even more pills would keep me awake.

But overall I would still recommend them. If, for whatever reason, you would like to try an alternative to coffee, this may help keep you awake and focussed. But if you are looking for something stronger than coffee, this won't be it.

You can find GoGo guarana vegicaps at Revital stores on the Rio Health website.

xx

Autumn Gold

Dress - People Tree

Earrings - People Tree

Ring - Made Jewellery

Lip gloss - Peachy Keen by Lily Lolo

Butter London 3-free polish in West End Wonderland

Bangle - Just Trade

Mineral eyeshadow - Gold Dust by Inika

How to cook less, use leftovers AND save money

I've grown up being literally force fed. I wasn't allowed to be fussy with my food or not finish my dinner. But luckily I've grown up to like pretty much anything and I love trying new food. I've also learned to not be wasteful and to always finish what I'm eating or to put it away for another time. I can't count the number of times my mother told me that there are hungry people in the world who would do anything for a bite to eat. So putting perfectly good food in the bin is not an option for me. I'd feel too guilty.

However, one thing that I am guilty of is buying too much food (I really need to stop shopping when I'm hungry) and then it never gets eaten quickly enough before it expires. So I have to throw it away.

Thankfully, there is a campaign, which you may or may not have heard about, called Love Food Hate Waste. It is full of resources that shows you how much food to cook depending on how many you are cooking for and also how to store food to keep it fresh. My favourite part of the website is how to use up leftovers.

So check out the website and tell your friends. Let's all minimise waste together.

xx

Thea Skincare Rebalance Clarity Creme Foaming Face Cleanser and Moisturiser

Thea Skincare is a completely natural skincare line with products to suit different skin types. The products I'm reviewing are the Rebalance Clarity Creme Foaming Face Cleanser and Moisturiser for oily/ acne skin.

I got sick of using oily cleansers as they left my skin greasy, especially when natural cosmetics contain a lot of oils too. So I was happy that there is a cleanser that is suitable for oily skin. The cleanser is a light gel that can be quickly and easily massaged onto the skin to create a little foam.

It has a beautiful sweet smell (floral perhaps?) which I absolutely adore. It is very easily washed off unlike oily cleansers which require a lot of rubbing and if anything gets in my eyes (and something always does) it doesn't sting my eyes at all. I am left with a completely cleansed face without the natural oils stripped from my skin. It's not exactly a make up remover but it removes make up very gently. Removing mascara requires some working in of the product so I recommend using an eye make up remover if you don't wish to rub your eyes.

I don't normally use moisturiser after cleansing but after using a microdermabrasion system my skin was fairly dry and sore for a few days. The Clarity Creme Face Moisturiser was a lifesaver as it cooled down my skin and reduced the soreness and also kept my skin moisturised, hydrated and soft without making it greasy.

I don't like the smell so much.. it's a little medicinal. There isn't a full ingredients list on the website or the packaging so I'm not entirely sure what it is. But the smell is very mild you wouldn't even notice. The fact that no fragrance is added was perfect for me as my skin was feeling sensitive and fragranced moisturisers made it feel more inflamed. Even though the consistency is a thick cream, it isn't greasy at all, it is absorbed really well and it didn't give me any blemishes.

The only flaws I can find are the double cap on the cleanser (see above), which is a bit of a waste, the bigger cap comes off really easily when in an overnight bag for example and the lack of a full ingredients list on the website. Other than that I can't fault the products at all and they work amazingly well.

Overall, I love these products. They're not fussy with packaging and fragrances and clearly focus on making products that work great. I think from what I've tried from this range so far, it is very good quality and one of the best natural skincare ranges I've tried.

So if you have oily or acne skin and find natural products too oily then I would recommend trying these products out. If you have a different skin type then check them out as they have something for everyone. Oh and also check out the lovely gift sets too!

The cleansers costs £7.95 for 50ml and £13.95 for 100ml and the moisturiser is £22.95 for 50ml at Theaskincare.com.

xx