Skin Free Review

While I think I may have been doing a giveaway on this one....I lost the email for all the info....it happens. You have more than one kid and you seriously start losing it. I have post-it notes for everything. But here is my review. So I apologize for my failure....but at least I am getting this fabulous information to all my beauty loving ladies out there....oh and men too! I have caught the hubs sneaking in on my goods....and I can smell him!

This review is "overdue" by some standards, but in my opinion, you cannot do an HONEST and full review of a skin product without trying it for at least 30 days. Did you know it takes 30 days for your skin to acclimate? Yup, your skin has to get used to the new product which is why most women think that they breakout because of the product, when really the breakout is because their skin has to become accustomed to the product itself. The same can be said for makeup. Don't believe me....go try it and come back to me. ;)

Anyway, the folks over at Skin Free contacted me about trying out their products. Perfect timing too on their part with me making my move to organic and healthier products for me and my family. Here is what I love the most about Skin Free:

Skin Free Skin Care Products are Recommended to Individuals with:

• Extreme Dry Skin
• Skin or Fragrance Allergies
• Psoriasis
• Dermatitis
• Eczema
• Pregnant Moms
• Elderly
• Diabetics
• Renal Patients
• After Radiation or Chemotherapy

Additionally Skin Free has these to boast about in their products:

• All Natural, Vegan Ingredients
• No Perfumes
• No Petroleum Products
• No Harmful Chemicals
• No Steroids
• No Colorants
• No Greasy feeling
• No Animal Testing, Cruelty Free
  

A little more about Skin Free:

All products distributed by Blue Ridge Gypsy Studio™ are designed and formulated by owner and practicing pharmacist, Julie Hilton, who has over 30 years experience in compounding and natural skin care. “I started the Studio in 2000 when my husband and I moved to the Blue Ridge of Virginia. Our friends were calling us “gypsies”, so the name evolved naturally.”
“Working in a typical retail pharmacy setting, I was constantly frustrated when asked to recommend products for patients with difficult skin problems, especially those with fragrance allergies. I recognized a void in the market and knew that I could offer effective and affordable products to fill it. Atopic dermatitis, eczema, and psoriasis are life-long conditions and need to be addressed for the long term. Patients with diabetes or renal disease, pregnant women, babies, the elderly, and patients treated with radiation therapy can all benefit from quality natural products. Even people who just have dry, sensitive skin can appreciate wholesome natural skincare products.”
“Since I personally suffer from chronic allergies and eczema, I understand that it is very important for people with these conditions to maintain the integrity of their skin and reduce their exposure to antigens to help prevent acute outbreaks. These diseases can be quite debilitating and cause increase depression, work loss, and pain."
Naturally occurring vegetable oils and butters contain indigenous nutrients, antioxidants, non-steroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDS), and antibacterial agents that petroleum-based oils just don’t have. Natural oils absorb into the skin and do not feel greasy. They also come from replenishable sources, which is a great environmental concern.
"I hope that SkinFree™ products will become widely used and be truly helpful to the ever increasing patient population who need products such as these."

Now the products that I chose to review were the After Shower Moisture Spritz, Niaouli Scrub for Blemish Prone Skin and the Lite Moisture for Blemish Prone Skin. I have to say I LOVE LOVE LOVE this stuff. I know EXACTLY what all the ingredients are. I didn't have to try to pronounce the chemical names, I knew what they were and are! I could feel the truth in the product and they smell GREAT! What some companies do is they try to stick too much to the vegan aspect and forget that not everyone enjoys that "au naturale" experience. I on the otherhand do, but I love a great smelling product too.

I thoroughly enjoyed the scrub. The facial scrub was like getting micro-derm. If you have ever had micro-dermabrasion this is the closest and least expensive treatment to it! Enjoyed it and my skin felt fresh, not dry and not tender. I am buying more I loved it so much.

The lite moisturizer was phenomenal! I love the Niaouli. If you don't know what Niaouli is...Google it! The product is excellent as a natural antibiotic. That is what they use it for in the outback of Austrailia. It is also a natural anti-inflammatory which is fantastic for acne prone skin. If you have a bit of irritation...this stuff will clear it right up! Not to mention your nasal passages with the fabulous scent.

Finally, I love love LURVE the after shower. In Arizona the heat is brutal. A hot shower is brutal. The winters here...are brutal and this wonderful mixture of vegan and moisturizing oils is exactly what my skin called for. The oils will not clog your pores if you are worried about that, and you don't feel greasy....EVER! Just smooth supple soft skin right out of the shower. Literally you apply this while your skin is still a little moist (towel dried) and it smooths right in and you are left feeling totally quenched!

Now where can you buy these FABU products. Well at the Skin Free site, CVS, Drugstore.com, and Walgreens! Talk about Super Duper on where to buy and they are affordable. Most products of this caliber will cost you, but Skin Free offers you a valueable product at a reasonable price. Which in my household we love a great deal!


*Disclaimer: For all The Five Fish transparency and disclosure policies, 
be sure to click the link Looking in the Fish Bowl.

Go Go Pets Review & Giveaway

Some families enjoy the pleasure of adopting a new pet into the family. They are loved, petted, caressed, looked after, named, and then finally cleaned up after. The cleaning job is generally left to mom and dad.....in my household namely me. The most common request for pets that I have heard from mom's and dad's have been dogs, cats, fish, and hamsters.

The folks at Mom Select and Cepia Toy decided to choose Phoenix and the Phoenix-metro areas to invade and unveil "Go Go Pets." Go Go Pets are great because they mimic real life pets without all the fuss and my home was one chosen to review their hamster pets and the "habitrails" that were included.

So my family is the proud owner of a hamster named Mr. Squiggles. I am quite happy to have adopted and received Mr. Squiggles for a few reasons:

1. No mess. Hamsters are stinky, they live in cages, and they have all sorts of junk they make messes with. YUCK
2. Hamsters are a rodent....I hunt rodents like the pests they are. This rodent, you would never know he was and is a rodent.
3. The feeding, the cleaning, all the excelsior cedar for their cages, we don't need any of that.
4. I never have to worry about him dying and explaining to the kids why we put him in a shoe box....I just crack him open and pop in new AAA batteries.
   

When the box arrived and I opened to see all the different habitrails I was a bit overwhelmed and spent a good amount of time putting the pieces together. Not that there is a lot to them, just there were a number of habit areas for the little rodent. Plus having an antsy five year old doesn't help when you are trying to put something together as fast as you can so they can begin playing. So here is what some of the "habitrails" looked like partially assembled:












Now with any toy and or new animal you have to find a place for them and they all have little quirks, ticks, and annoyances for some parents, here are mine:

1. Immediately had to change the batteries. As with any new toy as the batteries installed are for demo use only and not full play so they die within an hour of hard play.
2. The habitrail comes apart easily requiring an adult to continuously put the contraptions back together.
3. Mr. Squiggles didn't like the wheel. He would fall over sideways, again requiring someone to fix him or get him off the wheel altogether.
   
4. The hamster is ALWAYS making noise. I don't mind toys that make noise, but there should be some shut off timer that after some time and no response the thing shuts up!
5. He likes to back up A LOT, so going forward around the habitrail was a task for Mr. Squiggles.

Now I am not saying anything bad about the toy itself, just that I have higher preferences as a parent and mom about some of the toys my kids play with. Overall though my oldest boy LOVES Mr. Squiggles and the Go Go Pets toy. My twins, they like it because they can play demolition team on the house and chase the little fur ball. My philosophy is if the kids like it and are happy with the toy with no complaints....I'm good as well.

Here is a good deal about Go Go Pets.....you get one too!! Yup, you get your very own hamster and a habitrail. No muss or fuss of a real hamster, but your kids get to enjoy all the endless hours and entertainment that the cute little rodent brings! He has a love setting where he purrs for you and talks and his Go Go setting where he is on the move! Want to win your own Go Go Pet and habitrail? Here is what you will get:

One Hamster - Chunk
One habitrail - Car & Garage

Now here are all the rules for playing and you must post a comment for each entry and the additional entries thereafter to increase your odds (1 comment = 1 entry, Rinse and Repeat). Let me also say...if you don't follow the rules.....no loot.......no email, no loot, rules are made for a reason and to avoid spammers! So let the fun begin:

1. Follow my blog and tell me you do so or have done so, make sure you leave a valid email addy. (Worth 1 entry)
2. Subscribe to my blog in a feed, then come tell me you did so. (Worth 1 entry)
3. Follow me on Twitter @KariewithaK come back and tell me so (Worth 2 entries)
4. Tweet my giveaway on Twitter, come back and tell me you did, one per day please! (Worth 3 entries)
5. Grab my button to your right, add it to your blog, come back and give me the link showing you did! (Worth 5 entries)
6. Tell me why you would want one of these cute little fur balls for your kiddos, with your valid email addy. (Worth 2 entries)
7. Blog about this giveaway with the Mom Select button below and my button, come back and give me the link. (Worth 6 entries!!)

Now if you do not provide a valid email address you will be excluded from the drawing. The giveaway ends on June 7th @ Midnight AZ Time. I will choose a winner from Random.org

Good luck and have fun!

Healthy Snacking

I have been told to snack on stuff like Cottage Cheese (YUCK, GAG, PUKE) mmmm, and other light dairy products when snacking in between meals on my "diet". To be honest I love yogurt and I love fruit so here is what I go for:

Summer Reviews and Giveaways!

I was contacted by a pair of lovely PR ladies the other day. One of whom wants my gnomes to test out some really cool summer products! I am ecstatic to review them because my gnomes will be spending a lot more time outside now that the weather is warmer and school is out. Not to mention that my pool is already a tepid 83 degrees! In addition to the review.....GIVEAWAY!! So stay tuned for that great stuff.

I also have the opportunity to catch up on my much needed reading! All the reading I have been doing for the last three years are text books. So I am happy to announce that my nose will be pulled from the text books and shoved back into some much needed, much appreciated, much loved novels, books, and short stories. These items will be reviewed and shared with you all as well, which will be super fantastic! Some great reads for mom by the pool....multi-tasking and reviewing multiple products at one time....bring on more!!! I can handle it....I have twins HEAR ME ROAR!!

Here is a glimpse of the summer products! Based on my these for the elementary school so I am super excited!! Make sure you Digg, Stumble, or Technorati these sites, I know I did.

MFS Eyewear

Sun Protection Zone

Ideas, sponsors, and feedback..Oh my!

So I want to do some fun stuff with being frugal in this economy. I am thinking of doing a frugal week but am lacking inspiration for some reason or another. Not quite sure why I am lack inspiration I mean I am the penny pinching bitch of mankind and I can handle money like no other but am lacking inspiration. I want to find some really frugal money saving products, I mean BIG savings, not just a few bucks here and there. I am not discounting (ha, pardon the pun) the smaller savings, but when you live on a budget, times are tough and the cost of goods is on the rise....you need BIG savings. If you are a company, fellow blogger, entrepreneur, or my favorite average Joe let me know your ideas or let me try out your product in ALL honesty to let you know the overall savings amounts. I mean I am a finance guru, I can do math like no other!! Compound equations got nothing on me!

I also want to do some really cool, innovative organic and or green products. I do not think we do enough to promote the importance of organic. Organic reduces the carbon foot print we leave by leaps and bounds, plus all the health benefits of not pumping extra chemicals and garbage into our systems. I am thinking a "Green Team" or "The Big O" on organic so give me your feedback and let's see if we can't do something fun on the net again.

I mean who really wants to bitch about BK's Square butts commercial? Not me!

The Mother Load of Appliances

When I went and checked out this link I couldn't believe I was looking at Frigidaire of all appliances! I was absolutely amazed at all the options beyond the standard old white and almond we are used to seeing with Frigidaire. I also LOVE LOVE LOVE the laundry system that has all the different wash options including a 25 minute cycle. That's great in my household where you need clothes in a jiffy. Go check out the Frigidaire site and fill out the questionnaire of what you would do with an extra hour in your day!