Like vinegar and baking soda, castile soap is extremely versatile. Carolina Castile Soap is just that. These soaps are made from a mixture of oils (mainly olive) as well as cocoa butter. Many if not all of the oils included in the making of soap are organic. No fake dyes or scents are used in the soaps and they do not contain sodium laureth/lauryl sulfate as many big name brands do. Carolina Castile Soap is also animal and environmental friendly, a big plus! They also do not use false foaming agents, something that can not be said about many soaps/shampoos/etc. found in big box stores. After all, it isn't the suds that clean. ;)
As mentioned earlier, castile soap is very versatile and multi-purpose. Here is just a small list of some of its uses:
Shampoo - Hand Soap - Dog Shampoo - Laundry Detergent - Face Wash - Dish Soap - Mopping Floors - General House Cleaner - Cleaning Wipes - Vegetable Rinse - Carpet Cleaner - Dishwasher Detergent - Shaving Cream - Baby Shampoo/Wash - Body Wash - Bathroom Scrub
While Carolina Castile Soap offers many fragrances available on their website, I was sent the Gentle Unscented variety to review (plus share an awesome DIY) and giveaway. This specific castile soap is made with 7 ingredients. SEVEN. Plus, I can pronounce all of them. I'm told by a very wise one (thanks momma!), that if you can't pronounce the ingredient, it probably ain't good for ya! In case you're curious, here is the ingredient list:
Organic Olive Oil - Organic & Fair Trade Cocoa Butter - Organic Coconut Oil - Citric Acid - Potassium Hydroxide - Tocopherol (Vitamin E) - Water
So anyway, my first goal was to create a shampoo recipe. I scoured Pinterest to find a recipe and gave a few a try. I just made enough of each for a single use to test them out. It turns out that there were things I liked and didn't like about each. Therefore, I took it upon myself to try my own combinations to see what I liked best. Please keep in mind that all formulas work differently with individual body chemistry. If this doesn't work for you, try tweaking the recipe until you find something that does. I will post substitutions below the recipe for you to experiment with. Lastly, don't freak out when you mix your ingredients and see that they are a consistency between water and shampoo, this is normal. I actually prefer this over the cream/gel as it isn't so heavy for your hair.
Ingredients:
1/2 Cup Castile Soap
1/4 Cup Distilled Water
1/4 tsp. Vitamin E
5-10 Drops Essential Oil (I used Lavender & Orange)
Directions:
1. Pour all ingredients into a glass bowl
2. Gently stir to avoid excessive foaming
3. Store in a squeeze bottle (I just recycled an empty one)
4. Enjoy
Substitutions:
○ If you are missing ingredients, Carolina Castile Soap can be used alone
○ You may substitute the Vitamin E (though it helps preserve) with Aloe Gel for the extra moisture
○ Use all Lavender oil to soothe scalp, including helping w/ dandruff
○ Peppermint oil will provide an invigorating perk to your scalp as well as help with oily hair
○ Cedarwood provides an earthy, musky scent that may help w/ hair regrowth
○ Use any mixture of essential oils that you think smell nice
Then there's the fun part! Carolina Castile Soap was super generous in offering a 32 oz. Gentle Unscented bottle to one of my readers! Enter using the widget below.
32 oz. Carolina Castile Soap Gentle Unscented Giveaway
-Open to U.S. residents only-
-Entries will be verified-
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I received the castile soap complimentary for review purposes. Nonetheless, all opinions are 100% my own.
Yes, that's correct...another essential oil review! I know, I know....but what can I say, I'm addicted!
This time, I'll be reviewing a 4 oz. Peppermint oil by Lalune Naturals. Plus, the company was kind enough to offer a free bottle to one of my readers!
Before I get started, I just wanted to mention that this product does come with a glass dropper which is not pictured. Unfortunately, mine came broken in the mail which was absolutely no fault of the company. Just rough handling through the mail. Not really a biggie since I already have one of these. Also, you are given a FREE eBook which you can download by clicking the picture below! Don't thank me...thank Lalune Naturals! (:
So....here we go!
About the product:
• 100% Pure Mentha Arvensis
• Therapeutic Grade
• No fillers or additives
• 100% Steam Distilled
• Bottled in the USA
• Kosher and Vegan Certified
• National Association for Holistic Aromatherapy certified
• Cruelty Free (YAY!)
Comparison:
The first thing I planned on doing with this oil (besides sniffing away) was to compare it with the only other Peppermint oil I have used. While I'm no expert, I feel like my first oil was of pretty good quality. So....I decided to see if this brand was on par. The best way that I knew to compare them was with one of my 5 lovely senses...smell! While each oil had a slightly different scent, the strength and 'minty-ness' was very similar. It is very common for the same oils (even of the same brand) to have slight differences in scent because of how and where the plants are grown and cared for. Overall, I was quite pleased with the quality of the product.
Uses:
While there are many uses for Peppermint essential oil, simply diffusing it is one of my favorite! Below I took my mini diffuser bottle, cut up some skewers and made a mixture of water, dash of rubbing alcohol, Peppermint and Wild Orange essential oils. Equal drops of each (3 to 4) make the perfect combination to energize and help reduce stress. Check out the free eBook above for many more recipes from Face Masks to Spider Deterrent.
The Giveaway:
Who's excited!?
You should be!
Lalune Naturals was kind enough to allow me to give away a 4 oz. bottle of Peppermint Essential Oil like the one pictured at the top. Simply enter with the widget below!
Lalune Naturals Peppermint Essential Oil (4 oz.) Giveaway
Rules:
-Open to U.S. residents only-
-Must reply to winning email within 24 hours-
I am not responsible for delivery
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I received the mentioned product complimentary for review purposes. Regardless, all opinions are 100% my own.
Pure body naturals Lemon Oil is 100% pure & natural making it perfect for many purposes. This lemon oil is perfect as a cleaner, in aromatherapy and for adding scent to skin/beauty products. The large, 4 oz. size is ideal for daily use and will last for a long time. With purchase, you will also be provided with a separate dropper for ease of use.
When I received my package, the oil bottle was packaged well inside a small box inside of a bubble mailer. When opening the packaging, I was glad to see that the oil came with a separate dropper. I do not like to keep a dropper in my oils as it may build up in the top rubber and eventually dissolve. I was also very pleased with the size of the bottle. I use essential oils for all of my cleaning needs and it can go very quickly. Having this 4 oz. bottle, I'm not having to buy new bottles of oil by the month.
Of course the scent is also very important. When I received this product in the mail it was a super cold day and the oil was pretty chilly. When I first smelled this, it didn't have as much of a lemon scent as I expected and was a bit 'bitter'. However, I believe that the cold may have effected this somewhat. Once it warmed up to room temperature, I gave it another try and by golly it was better! Now...it still wasn't as strong of lemon as what I expected, but don't get me wrong, there was def. a strong scent there. It was also less 'bitter' than it was the first time.
Next up was the fun part....testing it out! The first thing I used this oil for was cleaning the floors. I just took a bucket of water, added a few drops of lemon essential oil and got scrubbing. Let me tell you, my floors looked so shiny and bright! Not to mention, the house smelled nice and clean.
Then....I attempted to get some blue ink out of my beige rug in the living room. It is beyond me how the ink got there....but ya know....things happen. So....I added a bit of oil to my carpet shampooer. I instantly noticed that the stain got slightly lighter. Well....after many passes I just could not get it completely out. With high hopes and a little fear that it would bleach my carpet, I put some UN-diluted oil on the spot. Yes...I know you probably shouldn't do that...but... it worked! I went over it with the carpet shampooer after about 10 minutes and the stain was gone! Sure it took some time, but hey, it was worth it! Not only did it take the stain out, that spot looked sooooooo bright compared to the rest of the carpet. Of course, I went over the entire rug to even it out. Looked like brand new!
Lastly I created a room spray which you see (kind of) pictured above. I simply added about 1/2 cup water, 3 drops of lemon oil and 2 drops of ginger essential oil. Boy did this smell great! If you don't like the striking tangy scent of lemon, the ginger really warms it up and just smells great! I use this as a room spray as well as on fabric/linens. It's also safe for pets which is always a plus for anyone with furry...or feathery...or scaly friends!
Overall, I was really pleased with how effective this product was! While I expected a bit stronger scent, I still enjoyed the product. You can buy your own bottle on Amazon.
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I received the mentioned product complimentary for review purposes. All opinions are 100% my own.
