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Spa Economy

Spa Experience at Home


DIY Spa treatments light therapy, dermaplaning, chemical peels, hair masque, hair removal, massagers, acupressure, spa gadgets, and products. We tried a collection of hair, skin, and body pampering products and gadgets at home and report our experience.

Body: BodyHonee Wax Kit

August 26, 2016 · Leave a Comment

I have very pale skin. And I have very dark hair. This makes for a bad leg shaving combination. The sharpest razor, the best shave, it only results in still being able to see the hair under my translucent skin. So, pulling it from the root is the only option. I have tried using an epilator recently, but it doesn’t pick up all the hairs, so I end up touching up my legs with a razor. Which is the thing I was looking to avoid in the first place.

I’ve also tried home waxing in the past, and typically it has left me bruised, and my skin irritated. Not a great look, although the bruises did cover the stubble…

With those experiences behind me, I was excited to learn about the BodyHonee Kit System. There are different kits for different kinds of hair and the area you are looking to wax. Best of all, it works for sensitive skin. So I embarked on testing it out to try to get fuzz-free for the remainder of the warm weather clothing season.

I tried two of the BodyHonee Wax Kits, the Extra Strength Spa Wax Kit, and the Hard Wax Kit. Both are intended for thick, coarse hair.

BodyHonee Wax Kit

BodyHonee Wax Kit

 

BodyHonee Wax Kit Spa Wax

BodyHonee Wax Kit Spa Wax

First, let’s talk about the Extra Strength Spa Wax Kit. It is meant for anywhere on the body, but I tried it on my legs.

My leg hair was grown out about a half inch (seriously, sometimes I think all I accomplish in a week is grow hair and nails.) Of course, I typically attend to de-fuzzing way before my leg hair gets to half an inch, but for the edification of my faithful readers, I forewent shaving for a bit knowing that I had this review coming up. Prepping the wax is pretty easy – just pop it in the microwave for about 30 seconds and it is set. Now here is a key part: mix the wax, using the included spatula to mix it from the bottom to the top to achieve an even consistency. Then, using the same spatula, apply a THIN layer (and I mean thin) to your leg (or where ever you are applying it), in the direction of the hair growth. In most cases, this means going down from your knee to your ankle, but there are sections that grow in different directions, so assess as you go. Place the strip over the wax, and rub firmly (again, in the direction of the growth) several times. And then the fun part – rip it off against the direction of the growth, and marvel at the hair that is left behind on the strip. Repeat the process until the whole area is covered.

This kit comes with cleansing oil wipes to take off any remaining wax and soothe the skin. It is pretty easy once you get the hang of it – which will be within your first session. And my legs were soooooo smoothe!

BodyHonee Wax Kit Spa Wax

 

The second kit I tried was the Hard Wax Hair Remover. This kit is meant for the face, underarms, and bikini line. It is the same premise as the Spa Wax Kit, but it is meant for short, coarse hairs on sensitive areas. It is microwaved for about three minutes. Additionally, since the wax is harder than the Spa Kit, you don’t need a strip to go over it, because as it cools it hardens to the point that you can just rip the wax off, and it will act as a strip. This is nice if you are dealing in small areas like the upper lip.

BodyHonee Wax Kit Spa Wax Hard Wax

BodyHonee Wax Kit Spa Wax Hard Wax

I tried it on my underarms. I previously had laser hair removal on my underarms, which did a great job at permanently removing a lot of my underarm hair. For about a year, I only had to touch up a few spots every month or so. However, this year it seems a few follicles regenerated, plus the laser hair removal didn’t affect the blonde underarm hairs I had, so I still had to shave every once in awhile. This is another advantage of wax: wax is colorblind. While laser hair removal is absolutely amazing, it is still hard to truly tackle blonde hair. So a good waxing every few months is a good idea even if you have had laser hair removal.

The difference between my legs and my underarms is that hair grows in every different direction on your armpits, not like how sections typically follow patterns of growth on your legs. So I ended up working in smaller sections on my underarms. This is one of the reasons why I like that the hard wax serves as its own strip – I can work on fairly small sections at a time to make sure to get all hairs. I had some mild pinkness on my underarms after that quickly went away. The trick is to pull the wax off quick – don’t stop half way through pulling it off.

The big question: did it hurt? Well, you are ripping hair out of the follicle. It isn’t the most pleasant feeling. But it isn’t nearly as bad as standard waxing, and without the bruising I experienced in the past. I think this is because the wax shrink wraps around the hair before you pull it off, so it was more honed in on the hair as opposed to hair getting pulled off when the wax adhered to the skin. At least that is what it felt like upon pulling the BodyHonee wax off versus previous waxing experiences. The redness dissipated fairly quickly, especially after I moisturized. For me, waxing my shins is always far more uncomfortable than my underarms, but of the two, I found the hard wax to be a little more comfortable. However, I have more practice with working with hard wax in the past, so that could be part of it.

I’m happy to have found a line of wax that effectively removes even the shortest of hairs, and keeps that growth cycle of hairs at bay for several weeks. While my hair hasn’t grown back at all yet, I am curious to see how long my skin stays smooth, and I’ll update when I know!

Find the BodyHonee Wax Kits at http://www.bodyhonee.com

Here is a video showing the way to mix the wax:

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=998ioz4MZVw[/embedyt]

 

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.

Posted by Style Chicks / Filed In: Beauty, Body, Skincare, Spa Economy
Tagged: BodyHonee Wax Kit, Hair Removal, Waxing

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:

  1. The quality of the tea itself
  2. Being able to choose the type tea you like
  3. 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

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 of the Month Club Snowflake Flavor

THE WHISTLING KETTLE TEA FLAVOR OVERVIEWS

The Whistling Kettle Tea of the Month Club

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

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 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:

  1. You select the types of tea you want, not a variety or mystery pack selections – unless you ask for a variety selection.
  2. 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.
  3. 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:
  4. Choose 3 or 6 months and your shipment dates.
  5. You can cancel at any point
  6. 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.
  7. Free shipping
  8. You won’t be billed on signup, rather just before shipment.
  9. 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.

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-V43l8MJkc[/embedyt]

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.

Posted by Style Chicks / Filed In: Food, Gifts, Health, Spa Economy, Tea, Weddings
Tagged: Bridal Tea, Loose Tea, Tea, Tea Club, The Whistling Kettle Tea of the Month Club

Skincare: InstaNatural Glycolic Facial Peel

August 18, 2016 · Leave a Comment

Glycolic Acid makes for one of my favorite peels; it whisks away dead, rough skin to reveal soft, even, younger skin. It exfoliates gently and efficiently. InstaNatural makes a non-stinging Glycolic Facial Peel that works in one minute or less.

InstaNaturals Glycolic Facial Peel

InstaNaturals Glycolic Facial Peel

WHY USE GLYCOLIC PEELS
Even though they are a strong acid, Glycolic Peels are much gentler to the skin because it melts the “glue” that binds together older, dead skin with healthy skin, without harming the healthy skin or the fresh skin that is revealed underneath the older skin. This is much more gentle on skin, especially older skin because it does not scrub or pull on the skin the way scrubs and exfoliators tend to do. Because of this, Glycolic Acid Peels are particularly useful for skin that has begun to lose collagen. If you use Retinol Serums and Vitamin C serums, this is an excellent way to remove dead skin and accelerate dead cell turnover. Glycolic Acid addresses many skin concerns at once: adult acne, blackheads, wrinkles, age spots, uneven skin tone, flaky skin, and enlarged pores. It is not too drying for wrinkled skin, and it is not irritating to acne.

UNIQUE FEATURES
This works in under a minute and is paired with Hyaluronic Acid, Sunflower Oil, and Vitamin C to immediately nourish and treat the newly revealed skin.

APPLICATION
The peel is a clear, slightly heavier than a watery consistency, not as thick as a gel. It applies easily with the fingers, but because it is not a gooey gel, it swabs on evenly with a cotton pad, just like a toner. There is not a strong scent to it; it is neutral in the aroma. It quickly absorbs and does not feel sticky to the touch. I applied the peel to my face, neck, hands and decolletage. It did not burn, but towards the end of the minute I felt it on my skin, it felt warm, but my skin was not red, inflamed or uncomfortable.

When I read the instructions to apply it for one minute or less, I expected it to either not do very much or to burn quickly. Neither was the case. But make sure to read the directions, this is not the kind of Glycolic Peel that you leave on for 10-15 minutes. I tried using it for more than a minute or two a couple of times, but it is indeed too potent for leaving on the skin for longer than the directions indicate, so I stick with just using it for a minute, maybe two on less sensitive areas. However, it also does not leave skin raw or irritated; I could apply sunscreen and makeup afterward and go out in public without my skin looking like it had a sunburn, as can happen with some types of peels.

The peel washes off quickly and easily, and my skin was not irritated, which is a perk for using a Glycolic.

RESULTS
My skin was very soft and even, although I did not have visible amounts dead skin sloughing off except for some on my jawline. The next time I washed my face later that evening, there was more light exfoliation of dead skin. My skin looked very dewy and fresh. I have a new blemish that became drier and subsided after using the peel, and I have been using it to fade a few darker spots and a small acne scar. The blackheads on my nose diminished after one use. My hands felt soft, and my ragged cuticles and hangnails exfoliated off quickly. It did not irritate the delicate skin areas but left them soft. This seems gentle enough to use more than once a week, even if you use serums such as Vitamin C or Retinol.

WHERE TO BUY IT

Find InstaNatural Glycolic Facial Peel at Amazon.

 

I received this product for free. If you have any questions about my experience with it, leave it in the comments section below, and I’ll do my best to answer it!

Posted by Style Chicks / Filed In: Anti-Aging, Beauty, Skincare, Spa Economy
Tagged: Anti-Aging, Face, Glycolic Acid, Hyaluronic Acid, InstaNatural, Skin, Skin Peel, Skincare, Sunflower Oil, Vitamin C

Health: Naturalico Shiatsu Neck & Shoulder Massager

August 10, 2016 · Leave a Comment

Naturalico Shiatsu Neck & Shoulder Massager

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.

Posted by Style Chicks / Filed In: Body, Exercise, Gadgets, Gifts, Spa Economy
Tagged: Massage, Naturalize Shiatsu Neck & Shoulder Massager, Relaxing, Spa, Workout

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