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Health: Islands Miracle Ultra 50 Probiotics

August 28, 2016 · Leave a Comment

Islands Miracle Ultra 50 Probiotics

Most of the time, we think of digestive health when we think of probiotics, and they are great for that purpose. However, a lot of the other amazing effects that Probiotics have are often overlooked. For instance, probiotics can help with energy. Additionally, since probiotics assist your body in detoxifying, they are wonderful for skin. For these effects, I looked for a good brand of probiotics, and Islands Miracle Ultra 50 Probiotics seemed especially promising.

Islands Miracle Ultra 50 Probiotics is a quality formula. Many probiotic formulas only contain a few strains of good bacteria, but this formula contains eighteen high potency strains. Additionally, it contains prebiotics. I have tried using prebiotics and probiotics in the past, but they have been different pills at different times of day, so being able to take two pills once a day that contains both prebiotics and probiotics is nice. And since it is a time-release formula, it doesn’t wash through your system fast; it works to keep your system running well all day.

I have been kind of dragging in the past couple of weeks. I’ve been busy, and it has been taking its toll. After a few days of the probiotic, I noticed that I had more stamina. Not enough that I felt like running 10 miles every morning, but enough to be noticeable. I wasn’t doing anything else that could account for my extra pep, so I think it is likely the probiotics.

Likely due to being tired, my skin started looking a little dull before taking the probiotics. I tried all of my usual creams etc., but when you are tired, it shows on your skin. After a few days on the probiotics, I noticed the color started returning to my face. More impressive than that, I noticed that my skin was less congested. So, if you are a fan of facials, consider this probiotic as a nice add-on for achieving clear skin.

One of the things I like about Islands Miracle Ultra 50 Probiotics is that they are wheat-free. While I don’t have a gluten sensitivity, I do recognize that wheat is hard on the body, and I try to be moderate in consuming it in foods. However, it doesn’t make sense to ingest it in a probiotic! I never really thought about it until I saw that Ultra 50 Probiotics doesn’t have wheat, and then went and checked other brand’s probiotics, and sure enough, they do contain wheat. So if you do have gluten sensitivity, then this is definitely the brand for you! I am, however, definitely lactose intolerant, so the fact that it is also lactose-free is a definite help. It would make even less sense for me to take a probiotic that contained an ingredient that made me sick to my stomach.

As far as digestive help, I noticed that my stomach seems a little flatter this week, so taking this probiotic is a definite help there!

I am happy to have found a superior formula like Islands Miracle Ultra 50 Probiotics. It’s an easy way to add potent probiotics to your diet!

Find Islands Miracle Ultra 50 Probiotics at Amazon.

Islands Miracle Ultra 50 Probiotics

I received this product in exchange for my unbiased review and received compensation for my time and effort. However, my experience with the product and the opinions expressed in this review are 100% mine.

Skincare: Herbal Choice Mari SPF-15 Day Cream

August 26, 2016 · Leave a Comment

Herbal Choice Mari SPF-15 Day Cream

If you are even a sporadic Style Chicks reader, you know how strongly we feel about the daily use of sunscreen, 365 days a year, rain or shine.

I have become increasingly concerned about chemicals in sunscreens being absorbed transdermally into my system. A lot of chemicals such as oxybenzone are readily absorbed into your body and have been shown to cause allergic reactions in some people and cause toxicity. Synthetic fragrances and dyes can also get into your system, and can cause topical reactions as well. Trading sun protection for a rash or toxic chemicals in your system doesn’t sound appealing, does it?

That is why I like Herbal Choice Mari SPF-15 Day Cream. It is oxybenzone and octinoxate free. It is also free of chemicals and nano-particles, which can penetrate the skin and get into the system. It is also free from petroleum based ingredients. And from the Herbal Choice website, all the other things it is free of: “free from synthetic fragrances or dyes. Free from gluten, dairy, soy, corn, no GMO. Free from phthalates, parabens, preservatives. Free from beeswax, insects or animal ingredients”. And it is also Cruelty-free, vegan and vegetarian. Covers all the bases, doesn’t it?

While it comes in tinted shades (like a tinted moisturizer or a light BB cream), I selected the transparent shade. It does leave a bit of a white film. However, I’m finding of late that if you apply a sunscreen that leaves a white tint, then foundation is truer on my skin. I’m quite fair and have a cool skin tone, so consider one of the tinted shades if you aren’t quite as pale as I am.

So, the big question is, if it doesn’t protect the skin via chemicals, then how does it actually work? It contains Non-Nano Zinc Oxide, a well-known sun shield. It is a full-spectrum sunscreen, so you are protected from both UVA and UVB rays. It also has lovely skincare ingredients such as organic olive oil, organic lemongrass, organic lavender, and organic sage.

It has a delicate lemongrass scent that dissipates on the skin. The formula itself is incredibly emollient and makes my skin feel smooth and supple. It comes in a lovely purple glass jar to protect the formula, and it is quite pretty on its own.

I’m very happy to have found a sunscreen that not only protects and nourishes my skin but is also free of so many dangerous ingredients! I often hear absorption of chemicals as a reason women don’t choose to wear sunscreen, but there are alternatives, and this is a great sunscreen that won’t harm your body and is great for your skin! It also comes in an SPF 30, which is recommended by many dermatologists.

Find this great sunscreen at Nature’s Brands.

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XPTiXi78-0[/embedyt]

I received this product for testing and review purposes. If you have any questions about my experience with it, leave it in the comments section below, and Iâ€™ll do my best to answer it!

The Whistling Kettle Tea of the Month Club

August 18, 2016 · Leave a Comment

Here at StyleChicks, we consume lots of tea. And like clockwork, every six weeks we make a large loose leaf tea order. This order consists of our favorite greens; some whites and oolong, a matcha and a vanilla black. It would be easier to be on an auto-order to keep our favorites coming and try some new flavors, but to date, we haven’t found a tea of the month club that meets our needs. An issue we have experienced with monthly clubs is not having the option to select the kind of tea you want.

There is some potentially appealing Tea of The Month offers out there, but when it comes down to it, there are three factors we particularly value that are make or break for us choosing a tea club:

The quality of the tea itself
Being able to choose the type tea you like
Terms of service that are acceptable to live with and not a hassle to change, pause or even cancel.

With these three criteria in mind, we examined the Whistling Kettle Tea of the Month Club. You may know them from their quaint Cafe in Troy, New York, or the Ballston Spa that serves their teas. Or Whistling Kettle may be new to you. When we had a chance to taste many of The Whistling Kettle teas, we were so excited to try them all, because all the teas smell truly knock your socks off fantastic! It was hard to decide which tea to brew first!

The Whistling Kettle Tea of the Month Club Endurance Flavor

THE QUALITY OF THE TEA

Whistling Kettle Teas are loose teas. The inclusions such as nuts, berries, dried fruit, or other petals are large or at times, even whole pieces. The tea leaves fresh are the full leaf or larger leaf pieces, not dust or remnants. The close up photos show the teas as they came out of the package: colorful, full and fresh quality. And as soon as you open the tea container, the first thing you notice it smells absolutely delicious. As we tried each flavor, one was better than the next. Even the black teas smelled delicious. For example, one black tea, the flavor “SnowFlake” had wonderful scents of cinnamon, vanilla, and almond. And the almonds pieces in the black tea were full almond slivers or larger chunks of almond, not ground up almond powder or just an almond flavoring. The color of the brewed tea as a lovely dark golden amber hue and the tea tasted delicious, even on a second brew. That is another nice feature of these teas, most of them can do a second brew as tasty as the first.

The Whistling Kettle Tea of the Month Club Snowflake Flavor

THE WHISTLING KETTLE TEA FLAVOR OVERVIEWS

The Whistling Kettle Tea of the Month Club

In addition to the Snowflake black tea described above, we tried several varieties of The Whistling Kettle teas to assess the quality of their products. Some of these teas included:

BANANA DULCE: I am not a fan of the scent of banana, but the aroma of the Banana Dulce in the container reminded me of these tasty candied banana chips I ate as a child and the brewed tea both smells and tastes like fresh baked banana bread, with flavors of coconut and graham cracker. It is a testament to a tea product that even a not well-liked flavor can be tasty if done right. Whistling Kettle Banana Dulce is an organic decaf blend and brews to a lovely pale shade of gold.

VANILLA SILK OOLONG: I am particularly fond of Oolongs, sort of a bitter but sweet champagne kind of taste. This Oolong has a delicate orange cream scent and has a mild sweetness to it that is not too sticky or overpowering.

SCOTTISH CARAMEL TOFFEE PU-REB: This is unlike other teas I have had, it has a pleasant toffee aroma and good sized toffee chunks that balance out the earthy tones of the pu-erh. It is sweet, but not overpoweringly so. Pu-erh is an aged, fermented red tea that is sometimes mistaken for a black tea. This one smells like a bakery or candy store; the aroma is fantastic. It is an energizing tea and a good alternative to coffee or colas for an afternoon energy boost.

EAST FRISIAN BROKEN TEA: This is a breakfast tea, it is malty, not sweet or flavored. It brews to a wonderful, dark color.

ENDURANCE: As the name implies, this organic tea is energizing and is intended to increase stamina. It is also a Pu-Erh tea and has fruity inclusions such as Organic Cinnamon, Organic Goji Berries, Organic Schizandra Berries, and Organic Nettle Leaf. The berries are whole, and the tea blend makes for a lovely looking brewing process, especially if you brew them in a glass teapot. Medium caffeine content and it smells absolutely delicious.

GOLDEN STARFRUIT: This green tea was one of my favorite of the bunch, with a notable aroma that is worthy of serving guests when you want to spoil them a bit with a delightful treat. There are big chunks of starfruit, and it has a wonderful tropical taste without being sugary sweet. If you want the benefits of green tea but you dislike the taste of green tea, this is a delicious way to enjoy the benefits of green tea. Lovely light golden hue upon brewing smells delicious to the last drop.

The Whistling Kettle Tea of the Month Club Golden Starfruit Flavor

LEMON SOUFFLE HONEYBUSH: A caffeine-free creamy Rooibos blend suitable for drinking at night and winding down and relaxing. A beautiful yellow-gold with a mildly tart lemon flavor that has lovely bright blue and yellow inclusions in the tea. If you are avoiding caffeine at night but want to drink tea, this is also tasty as a cold iced tea beverage.

I liked every tea I tried, and some of them such as Snowflake, Golden Starfruit, and Endurance I loved! These teas were amongst the best we have tasted, and after years of loyalty drinking the same brand, we were convinced to drinking The Whistling Tea Kettle teas.

The Whistling Kettle Tea of the Month Club

THE WHISTLING KETTLE TEA CLUB TERMS
While these teas and other flavors are sold individually on their website, there are 15 types of Tea of the Month Clubs available.

Something that sets this tea club apart from the others:

You select the types of tea you want, not a variety or mystery pack selections – unless you ask for a variety selection.
Amongst the 15 types of Tea Clubs, choose all green, all black, all chocolate, Endurance teas, Herbal teas, Discovery packs, amongst others. The Tea Tasting Club is a club for tea lovers who want to try as many types of tea as possible.
Get 2-4 oz of each of the Loose teas with big pieces of inclusions of nuts berries, and petals, not pre-bagged tea dust or remnants with artificial flavoring instead of the real thing.
FLEXIBLE TERMS:
Choose 3 or 6 months and your shipment dates.
You can cancel at any point
You can change the type of club whenever you wish. Drink Green Tea in the summer and switch to the endurance and stamina teas during the cold, dark winter months.
Free shipping
You won’t be billed on signup, rather just before shipment.
Reasonable prices without hidden fees

SUMMARY:
I enjoyed all The Whistling Kettle teas I tried, and The Whistling Kettle offers several rare, hard-to-find, and exotic teas within their subscriptions. It ‘s hard to locate an organic, fresh, tasty tea brand with lots of variety amongst their loose leaf teas. I also love seeing when a tea has a generous inclusion of berries, nuts, petals, and other flavorings. The teas look so attractive, smell divine and brew to beautiful golden hues. There was no “dust” or remaindered teas, everything was fresh, not an overstock. They have tea flavors I have never tried before, and the Endurance teas are surprisingly energizing. We would recommend giving them a try; the Tea Clubs offer a great way to drink your favorites or try some new teas!

Find the Tea of the Month Club at The Whistling Kettle.

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Health: Naturalico Shiatsu Neck & Shoulder Massager

August 10, 2016 · Leave a Comment

Naturalico Shiatsu Neck & Shoulder Massager

I try to get a professional massage as often as I can, but there are times that a quick, at home massage will have to do. There are a lot of massage devices on the market, and it is a bit like Goldilocks – some are too hard, some are too soft. Finding a massager with just the right amount of pressure is hard, and even if it is the right amount of pressure, getting it in the right position is tough. This is why I love the Naturalico Shiatsu Neck & Shoulder Massager.

While Neck and Shoulder are in the name, it can be used on multiple parts of the body. My favorite spot in on my feet, after a long day in high heels. It massages all the soreness out of my insoles and even my ankles. And it can go all the way up the leg too for post-workout soreness.

One thing that differentiates this massager from others is that it has 3-D contouring to fit around your neck and shoulders better than other massagers. It fits the contours of your neck as opposed to being a flat surface that you have to lean into, which defeats the purpose of relaxing your muscles during a massage. This is a very nice feature.

I have a long commute home and frequently get stuck in traffic. One of the other big points in favor of this massager is that it comes with a car adapter. So if I’m feeling sore from a long day, being able to use this in the car is a great feature. I’m looking forward to using the soothing heat feature when the weather turns cold, as well.

I am very happy with this highly versatile massager. Find it at Amazon.com.

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iM0iYVdtF0s[/embedyt]

I received this product in exchange for testing and review purposes.