Mi Amore Skincare

It was a stressful time when I first moved to Los Angeles and it showed on my face; it was blotchy, red, terribly dry with not so nice pimples here and there. So I booked myself a spa package at the Ole Henriksen Spa for an afternoon of relaxation and pampering. I knew that a massage and scrub would help but had my suspicions about the facial since most facials always made my sensitive skin worse, not better.

But other spas did not have Maki.

In one hour she literally transformed my skin from blah to wow. Not only did she make my skin wonderful from the outside, but gave me so many tips about how to keep myself and skin healthy from the inside with vitamins and relaxation ideas. With her help, my skin has never looked better and that’s why I’ve been a devoted client for over two years.

So when she told me she was working on her own organic skincare line, I was thrilled; her passion for natural, organic, simple skincare was finally coming to fruition. And for me, it came at the perfect time.

Dry skin has always plagued me and, when I began to spend a lot of time in air conditioning, I couldn’t find anything that would help. Most body moisturisers were thick, goopy and greasy. They always seemed to have harsh, fake scents added that I just didn’t like. However, her Moisture Me After Shower Body Oil, with it’s amazing smell of orange and lavender, quickly absorbed into my skin leaving it super soft without being greasy or shiny looking. Just natural and hydrated.

The same was to be said of her Natural Glow face complex; my dehydrated skin lacked that little “oomph” and this product put it back in. With sensitive reactive skin, I was nervous to try this but had no cause. It plumped up my skin, calmed it down, and made it glow. No breakouts, no redness, just healthy looking skin.

I love that her line is natural and works with the skin and not against it. I also like supporting a woman-owned business especially when she makes great products. Her Orange Blossom soy candle is even natural; nothing worse than lighting a candle that pollutes the air and ruins the whole purpose of trying to create a feeling of well-being.

If you can’t visit Maki in person in LA these products are the next best thing. Her passion for helping people to feel and look better really comes through in this line. She glows and, with a few little products, so can you.

PS: Her “Mommy Care Packs” are the perfect Holiday present for a pregnant woman because they include the Oh Baby! Belly Butter which, not being pregnant, I didn’t try but did give to a pregnant girlfriend who is swearing by it.

BUY AT: Mi Amore

The Book of Myself

BUY AT: Amazon

I was immediately drawn to The Book of Myself when I saw it sitting on the bookstore shelf; it was beautiful, small and hardcover with a title that intrigued me. Opening it I discovered a charming book written by a man who was 96 and his grandson and was filled with 201 questions followed by blank pages for answers.

As I read these questions, I thought about my family and how I would love for so many of them to fill it out so that I could know answers to questions such as:

“This is the profession that I often mentioned when people asked me what I was going to be when I grew up:
I admired this friend because of the following talents:
In the afternoons after school I used to:
The present I got from my parents really stick in my memory:
A habit I picked up during my early years was:
One of Dads traits I admired was:
Some of the things I loved doing with my family were:
This is the part of my parenting I am particularily proud of:
The subjects I always wanted to learn more about as an adult but never did were:
The strengths and characteristics of each of my children are:
If my vision had been 20/20 throughout my life I would have done this differently:
And oh, about 191 more!

When the holidays hit so many of us turn to gadgets to fill up stockings or certificates because we don’t have time to put in much thought or preperation. I’ve long been an advocate of giving the gift of time or personal experience instead of an actual thing. I think that the gift of this book covers both bases (object + experience) and is one of those gifts that really gives - for both the writer and the reader.

And if you know all the dish on your parent, give it to your child, your spouse a sister. The holidays are about connecting through the heart so perhaps this would be a way to help with that rather than a cuisinart!

Organic Housekeeping

BUY AT: Amazon

There are numerous books on green living (and I think I went through 4.56 bazillion million of them) as there are on housekeeping. Do not buy any of them. Not even Martha. Because I promise you, this is the only book you’ll need.

I’m not going to go mix oils and say a prayer to clense my space. Nor am I going to make a shelving unit for 32 kinds of bleach to clean my clothes so that I can iron them all perfectly. I’m one who likes a clean home, without chemicles but I confess to being a little bit lazy and a cringer at anything “new agey.”

This book is just a very simple, really well explained book on how to keep a home. From how to keep your plumbing going, to keeping floors (hard wood and carpet) clean, to bugs and how a dishwasher works and clothing care and well, everything.

It’s all so simply explained but what I really love is that it’s such a unisex book. It’s all just matter of fact but written in a very interesting way so that you don’t feel intimidated or that it’s a “girl” chore or a “boy” chore. It provides information on why bleach is bad and alternatives. It explains how things work and what to do about it. It’s honestly the only home book I keep now and has answered so many questions (and ones I didn’t even know I had!)

It’s a must for anyone who has a home or flat and has a little interest in cleanliness. So that should hopefully mean you!

Rishi Masala Chai, Organic Fair Trade Chai

BUY AT: Rishi-Tea or Whole Foods

I love tea. No wait. I adore tea. I also adore fair trade products. However, I often find it really hard to find really great tasting tea that is fair trade. That is why I’m adoring Rishi-Tea’s new Fair Trade Masala Chai in their pretty little silver (and stackable) tins.

Chai is being thrown around so much that it’s almost become sysnonymous with sweet and Starbucks. But it’s actually a black tea that’s had lots of spices added to it and has a rich, flavour made creamy by all the hot milk you add. And this is the perfect loose chai tea; you can actually see and smell the spices in the tin.

Whilst brewing, the smell is divine and it continues when you pour it into a cup. It’s my morning pick me up not just because of the caffine but because the warm, rich flavours feel so cosy on a cold morning. Besides, this tea does something good for my belly and something good for those who participate in Free Trade. Now that’s something worth drinking to.

Tarte Cheek Stain in Dollface

I could no longer take the “are you OK?” questions due to the lack of colour on my naturally pale face and decided to do something about it. The only problem was that blush in the past always made me look like I had really red skin, blotchy skin, too made up or made my skin react.

I’d read so many good things about this cheek stain over the years that I decided to go for the pink one, Dollface. A quick little swipe of this gel based blush on each cheek and voila - colour! But not just colour, colour that seemed to come from within. Colour that seemed to belong to me! Who knew one could look healthy with a little glow?

And it is a little glow; there is no shimmer, there’s no shiny just plain, perfect colour. No skin reactions, no fake blobs. Just pretty. Just well… a dollface!

BUY AT: Sephora