Thursday, April 23, 2015

AVO PURE LAVENDER OIL - 4 oz

Lavender Essential Oil is one of the most common and best known essential oils. It has a long list of recognized benefits including relaxation/stress relief, reduction of migraines, natural bug repellant, as well as antibacterial/anti-viral properties. In fact, while I can't remember where I read it, I recall reading an article that claimed that people who worked in the lavender fields in France seemed to get sick less often than most. (Sadly I can't find the article... it was awhile back that I saw it). While I was in Massage School we did an Aromatherapy segment where we learned not only of the benefits of lavender for relaxing our clients, but that it is a great option for use on wounds because of the anti-microbial properties it contains.
To purchase, go here:
http://bit.ly/AVALavenderOil

When I got the chance to review āVō's Lavender Oil, I jumped at it. IMO you can never have too much Lavender Oil if you are a Massage Therapist! Never mind how much I like it for my own use.

The first thing that I noted was the low cost for the big 4oz bottle. Most essential oils come in very small, very concentrated bottles and they often cost a lot because of that extreme concentration. But with such concentration comes the fact that one drop may be far too strong for many applications. My *impression* upon opening the bottle and smelling/sampling it was that I don't believe it's as concentrated as most essential oils... but that isn't a bad thing. For instance, I decided to use it on a small sore that I got the other day and I felt comfortable using it nearly neat (Lavender oil is one of
the few oils that isn't as caustic at full strength as most essential oils even when highly concentrated) so I blended it with a Calendula Ointment that I have and it was very soothing and not at all irritating.

As for the scent, this naturally derived Bulgarian lavender oil has a smooth, light, but very distinct lavender scent but without the acrid edge that many lavender oils have. There are many varieties of lavender plants, and that combined with the fact that this oil comes from plants grown high in the hills of the Himalayas in Bulgaria likely accounts for the clean, fresh scent of āVō' Essentials Lavender Oil. I would say this is one of the more pleasant lavender oils that I've worked with as some are just a bit too "heavy" for me

At the current price of $18.49 (at time of writing) this essential oil is a great value for money. It's affordable enough to use in diffusers as well as in your massage oils or other applications. You can purchase on Amazon HERE.

**I received this product in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions and experiences are mine alone. **

Friday, April 17, 2015

Midori Spring Organic Ceremonial Matcha - - Gold Class - Premium Japanese Green Tea Matcha Powder [Certified USDA Organic, JAS, Kosher] (30g)



To purchase this product, go to
http://bit.ly/MidoriGreenTea


What can I say? Where has this been all my life? I'm totally IN LOVE with this product!

Fresh, light, with a bright clean flavor, this Green Tea has quickly become part of my early morning routine, taking the place of the regular black tea that I have had every morning for most of my adult life.

This premium grade Matcha is rich in antioxidants, over 7x that of regular steeped tea. Organic Matcha has been shown to help:

(1) Increase energy levels 
(2) Help reduce stress and improve mental alertness 
(3) Support metabolism and help with weight loss 
(4) Support immune system and helps reduce inflammation. 
(5) Help the body cleanse of harmful elements. 

What also impressed me is that this Green Tea is:

USDA Organic Certified
JAS Organic Certified
OU Kosher Certified
Ceremonial Grade Organic Matcha 
GLUTEN FREE, GMO FREE 
Contains no pesticides, soy, wheat of any kind. 

Midori Spring Organic Matcha is from 1st flush (1st harvest) leaves,which creates a rich vibrant green in color, sweet in aroma with smooth earthy flavors. The selected leaves are then ground by a Mikage Stone Mill to produce delicate delicious final powder. It's then certified, tested, and tasted by 9th Degree Tea Masters to make sure each batch is perfection. All this is so apparent at the first sip. I've always *liked* green tea. As of today, I LOVE green tea ... as long as it's this product.

The powder comes in a small tin. At first I thought that it was pretty damn expensive for such a small tin, but the reality is that you only need a very small amount of the powder for a cup/bowl of tea. The traditional way is to add a small amount (less than 1/2 tsp) of the powder to a pre-warmed bowl and then to whisk with a specially made bamboo whisk ...I don't have one of those but I do have a great little battery powered milk frother that does a great job of mixing the powder, because in reality this is not a brew, but a suspension of the actual tea leaves in powder form. Most of the powder stays well mixed as you drink it up and the little that is left at the bottom still has a pleasant taste, making it good to the last drop!

You can purchase this great product Here on Amazon.

To see how to properly brew your Matcha, you can watch the Youtube video I've embedded below.

** I received this product in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions and experiences are mine alone


iPhone 6 Case, Handy Armor Case


To purchase this item go to
http://bit.ly/iphone6cover
If you are looking for an inexpensive and simple cover to protect your investment in your iPhone 6 , this cover is a good option for you. For under $10 you get a great clear cover for your phone that is thin and lightweight. It arrived well packaged (perhaps TOO well packaged! The shipping box from Amazon was pretty big for the item. The packaging that the cover comes in is also quite solid and protects the cover very well during shipment and handling. It comes with a lifetime guarantee as well which should put your mind to rest if you are worried about what will happen if the
product fails to protect your phone.

All in all a decent little cover.

*I received this product in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions and experiences are mine alone.




Razatrol™ by Vitavana for Weight Loss

Just received this in the mail today - so this is a preliminary review that I will come back to when I've had a chance to try it product for awhile. 
You can purchase Razatrol here
http://bit.ly/razatrol

My first impression is the same as with all the Vitavana products that I've reviewed...and that is that they are all produced with high quality ingredients that are well respected in the Alternative Health Circles as having specific benefits for our health. 

Razatrol™ is marketed as a Raspberry Ketones Diet Pills with Green Tea Extract, African Mango, Apple Cider Vinegar, Kelp, Acai Berry, Resveratrol, Grapefruit and Caffeine Anhydrous. Whether this works well to help you to lose weight or not, these ingredients would be a beneficial addition to anyone's nutritional supplement regimen. The capsules are small enough to swallow easily. I also
opened one to see what the powder tasted like and it had a definite tang from the raspberries and was not unpleasant. I could see that it would be a definite possibility to open them up and just add them to your morning Smoothie if you dislike taking pills. 

As a post-menopausal woman I am always looking for additional ways to control the stubborn 20 extra pounds that came along when my estrogen took a hike 8 years ago, so I'm going to be looking forward to seeing how this supplement works for me. I'll be back with an update in a few weeks when I've had a chance to see how they work for me!

If you want to try it out in the meantime you can try Razatrol HERE

**I received this product in exchange for an honest and fair review... all opinions and experiences are my own


Sunday, April 5, 2015

Turmerex by VitaVana : Natural Pain Relief

As a Massage Therapist I have often recomended and/or sold Turmeric based supplements in my office. So when I was offered a chance to review a bottle of Turmerex by VitaVana, I jumped at the offer. Lets just say that my initial impression is that I'm pretty impressed with this product.

You can purchase this product here
http://bit.ly/turmerex
With 750mg of Turmeric Extract in each serving, this product has over 3x the amount of Turmeric as the product that I have traditionally sold in my office. The addition of BioPerine- a Black Pepper extract that significantly enhances the bioavailability of various supplement nutrients through increased absorption - increases the potency of this supplement even more. I've known for awhile that scientific studies have confirmed that certain compounds in Turmeric called curcuminoids are responsible for the numerous health benefits and medicinal properties of Turmeric. But your Tumeric that you get in the grocery store only has about 3% curcumin. Turmerex is a professional-grade turmeric supplement standardized to 95% curcuminoids, making for about 712mg of available curcumin ... the equivalent of consuming 237 times as much fresh Turmeric. Pretty darned impressive in my opinion!

Comparative photo for size of capsules
The *one* thing that may be a problem for some is the size of the capsules. However, the other supplement I've sold was in capsule form ... which was difficult to break and consume. Given that this is in capsule form, I'd suggest that if you have trouble with swallowing larger pills or capsules, that you just open it up and add it to your morning shake or some other beverage.

I would highly recommend that anyone who has arthritis, joint pain, or overall ongoing pain try this supplement. With a 60 day 100% money back guarantee, you have nothing to lose by trying it!

You can purchase Turmerex here: http://bit.ly/turmerex

I received this product in exchange for an unbiased review. All opinions and experiences are mine alone.

La Vida Essentials Fractionated Coconut Oil

As a Massage Therapist, I am always excited when I hear of a new product that I might want to use in my office. So when I was given the opportunity to review this Fractionated Coconut Oil, I jumped on it right away.

You can get this product through Amazon
http://amzn.to/1F10r3V
As someone who tries to use mostly Organic products in my office, (both for the benefit of my clients but also because my hands are covered in the lotions/oils for much of each day) my first concern was what "Fractionating" meant. Many products are seperated/stabilized through chemical processes and that is something I would want to avoid. So I was delighted to learn that the only thing that is "added" during the process is water. Essentially, the product is "Hydrolyzed" (a water molecule is added to the chain of triglycerides) which helps to separate them into their various components. The triglycerides are then separated by solubility at temperatures so that the long chain triglycerides are removed (the ones that cause the oil to harden at colder temps) leaving the medium chain triglycerides.

The Fractionating Process
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fractionation
The result of this fractionation process is a product that retains all the best parts of the Coconut Oil. Odorless, colorless, non-staining, non-greasy, and extremely stable (the claim is it will not go rancid), this is a Massage Therapist's dream. We have clients who cannot tolerate odors and oil stained sheets are one of our number one headaches...so that alone makes it a great product for someone like myself. These qualities also make it a great carrier oil for Aromatherapy. The oil is so feather-light that it could also be dispensed in a spray bottle and you need not worry about it thickening in colder temperatures. I applied this to my legs as soon as I got it, and was delighted to note that it went on easily and absorbed quickly into my skin and didn't leave my hands feeling at all oily. The next morning I checked my legs out (they normally are very dry no matter what I use) and the are still smooth and silky... which is a great tribute to the moisturizing properties of the product.

There are so many uses for this oil. Beyond simply using this for moisturizing your skin, Fractionated Coconut Oil can be used for many hair applications, and in the preparation of soaps, lotions, ointments, and other cosmetics. Also, you can of course use it in your cooking. La Vida will also send you an e-book with all kinds of recipes and tips for how to use their oil when your order is processed.

One last property that I really appreciate is that Fractionated coconut oil is predominantly composed of Capric and Caprylic acids. These are the components that give Coconut Oil it's antiseptic and disinfectant properties. One of my other occupations/passions is that I am an advocate for people who carry the Herpes virus. Coconut oil is one of the home remedies that many people claim help them to reduce the length of their outbreaks - which makes sense because of the anti-viral properties of Coconut Oil. Given that this product is basically a highly concentrated version of the components that give Coconut Oil it's antibacterial, antimicrobial, and antiviral properties, I can't wait to tell them about La Vida Essentials Coconut Oil.

Whether you are looking for a Massage Oil for you or your practice, a component for your cosmetic/soap line, a stable oil for cooking, a moisturizing product, or an anti-microbial addition to your medicine cabinet, this is the product you are looking for.

You can purchase your La Vida Essentials Fractionated Coconut Oil at http://amzn.to/1F10r3V .

I was given this product to review. All opinions and experiences are mine alone.