Clean Living

  • Beauty,  Clean Living,  Lifestyle,  Uncategorized

    Maternity Must-Haves

    Well… it’s hard to believe but my days of this pregnancy are numbered. Such a mix of emotions.. excited, anxious, bittersweet, thankful… you name it. Since I’ve had two pregnancies in the last 3 years, I want to make sure I make this list before I forget what items were so crucial to me. Being pregnant opens up a whole new world to a woman… and an overwhelming one at that. Millions of options for things you didn’t even know you needed. Your body goes through so many changes… and with that so does your wardrobe, skincare, medications… you name it. This list is a thorough compilation of the items…

  • Beauty,  Clean Living

    Beautycounter: Countertime Collection

    I am Jesse Spano excited about this one y’all. As I mentioned in my post about the Countermatch Collection, I plan on breaking down every collection, giving you all the details. THIS collection is the one I’ve been most looking forward to trying and now that I’ve tried… sharing. I splurged and bought the entire collection and look forward to using it everyday. I’ve only been using it a week, so not long enough to validate the 4 week results claims, but I can tell you my skin is more hydrated and soft than ever and I catch myself in the mirror and swear my skin is more glowy. This…

  • Beauty,  Clean Living

    Safe Swaps: Self Tanner

    Let’s face it…everyone looks better with a tan. It makes you look thinner, more refreshed and awake and also hides cellulite, veins etc. And most of us have probably gone to some pretty serious measures to get that bronzy glow….you know… those sketchy tanning beds in college? In Georgia, we tend to skip Spring and go straight from Winter to a blazing hot summer… which means it’s time to get that pasty Winter skin ready for sleeveless tops and shorts. Going for the Bronze If you are like me, then you probably have a dark history when it comes to tanning (no pun intended). It began in my pre-teen years,…

  • Beauty,  Clean Living

    Beautycounter: Countermatch Collection

    I don’t know about everyone else, but I’m indecisive AF. Too many choices stress me out and I like for people to take the thinking out of it for me. Well, call me your hero, because that’s what I plan to do- breakdown each line, giving you the stats and deets. Today’s post is dedicated to the very popular Countermatch line. A Bit about Beautycounter If you aren’t familiar with Beautycounter, it’s more than just skincare and cosmetics, but a movement for safe products. They have banned over 1,800 chemicals commonly used in American cosmetics in their products and implement the highest standard for quality and regulation. The company is…

  • Beauty,  Clean Living

    Full Coverage Face

    This was impromptu. I was doing a full face for our maternity photoshoot, and have never used the time lapse feature….I thought it would be cool to experiment. Y’all were interested in learning more, so here I’m providing you the details- steps and products. This would be much easier to explain in an actual tutorial, which maybe I’ll get the nerve to do one day. For now, I hope the info below is helpful. Disclaimer: As most of y’all know, I am all about non toxic living and have been making safe swaps in our home- from cleaning products, to food, to cosmetics. My makeup is still in transition. I…

  • Clean Living,  Lifestyle

    What’s in Your Water?

    Water. It’s literally our life force. And we are SO lucky to live in a country where we can access it so easily. My world was recently SHOOK when I learned that refrigerator filters only filter for taste. They may remove a few simple chemicals, but can behind leave HUNDREDS of other toxic ones. Yes, you heard me right. HUNDREDS. TOXIC. Think about how much water you consume or are exposed to daily- your morning coffee, in the shower, brushing your teeth, drinking water, making food, etc. Even if you aren’t gung ho about going non-toxic in your home ( I get that it can seem extreme), this is a…

  • Beauty,  Clean Living

    Oil Cleansing 101: and Why I Ditched the Soap

    Dear Soap, You are wonderful at doing many things… stripping oils being the best. I’ve had you in many scents over the years… from bubble gum to Winter Berry to unscented. But the truth is, even the safest version of you is still not good for me. I will no longer allow you to strip the oils off of my 30 something- starting to show signs of aging- face and body. While I always thought bacteria was gross, I realize now that in order for my body to be functioning at full capacity…. I NEED my good bacteria. And I won’t let you wash it away any more. Though, I…

  • Beauty,  Clean Living

    Burt’s Bees Mineral Blush: A Review

    Y’all. I am so excited to share this product! No- no one gave me this for free and this is certainly not sponsored (but Burt, hit me up). Just an honest find that I am so excited to share. As most of y’all know I’ve been cleaning up my home, diet and hygiene to be less toxic as much of what we use everyday contain harmful chemicals including endocrine disrupters (you can read more about that here and here)… I feel like cosmetics is a place where this is overlooked as we are SO loyal to our makeup. But I’m glad I took a second look because not only have…

  • Clean Living,  Lifestyle

    Clean (& Non-Toxic) Floor Must Haves!

    Let’s face it. Sweeping sucks and mopping is miserable. Then the Swiffer Sweeper entered our lives and changed the game. Follow that with the Swiffer wet cloths, the wet jet machine and many others like it. While those DID made life easier, and cleaned dirt… they also douse our homes with chemicals, many of which are toxic. I remember looking up the Orange Glo floor cleaner that I used to polish my hardwoods with and it scored a big fat F… including “high concern for developmental and reproductive toxicity”… my baby was scooting all around those floors. I tossed those cleaners and haven’t looked back since. I mean…does it really…

  • Clean Living,  Lifestyle

    Non-Toxic, Cheap & Easy Homemade Cleaning Solutions

    Let’s start this off by first letting you know, I am in no way a clean freak. My living room looks like a freakin natural disaster erupted and I am that annoying person that leaves the cabinets open (just ask my husband). But that being said, events in recent years forced me to take a second look at the health of our home and impacts it could be having on my family and I. A Little Background If you know anything about our first infertility journey , you’ll know that I was diagnosed with Stage 3 Endometriosis following a Lap surgery to clear a blocked tube after struggling with infertility.…