Sew is Life is written by E. It is a little space of blogging bliss inspired by art, design, craft, fashion, beauty and wellness. Based in Perth, Western Australia. Read about the daily ramblings of me being a mother of three and wife to an amazing creative man. The second me makes fresh skincare at SELF Organics. These are my stories sewn together with love.
This is it! The day has finally come where I launch my own skincare range online. It is very surreal, because a lot has happened since the idea was first planted. SELF Organics has been 2 years in the making. With the arrival of Leo and Luna into our lives, things have been turn busy tenfold. Then with 2012 venture of running a newsagency with my family SELF Organics was pushed to the back of my mind. However, it was never forgotten…
All our products are packaged using eco-friendly materials
It has been a dream to create organic skincare for others who feel passionate about fresh, good-for-you ingredients. The initially plan was to make it for my babies and for my Mother, who have sensitive skin. And then my love of making skincare grew and grew! My love of DIY, beauty and well being all came together in one moment and with the encouragement of my Hubz and children, I decided to listen to my heart and GO FOR IT!
You can visit the online store here: http://selforganics.com
And SELF Organics is now on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SELForganics
Come over and take a look at the new site (share it with friends and family) and pick up some goodies for yourself or gifts for Mother’s Day.
Freshly curing ‘Lavender Fields’ soap, available for pre-order. Ready 30th April. Smells a little like Provence..
All the products are made with a minimum of 95% organic ingredients, as certified by the ACO http://www.aco.net.au/ .However the next step is to apply for the certification to obtain the special ‘bud’ logo for the products themselves.
The range is vegan friendly (unless otherwise stated) and not tested on animals. They do not contain parabens, chemical sulfates, parabens, petrolatum, dyes, phthalates or artifical fragrances.
To all my lovely readers, I will still be blogging at ‘Sew is life’ about my lively adventures..but you can also follow SELF Organic on Twitter (@selforganics) and on the Facebook page to see what I’m up to.
Please help me to share and tweet about the new online store! I’m counting on you social media hehe…
Thank you from the bottom of my organic heart :)
E x
Last weekend I met up with a group of ladies from the Blogs and PR Perth Event at The Wembley Hotel. It is my very first time meeting other fellow bloggers and I was so honoured to be in the same room as some of these writers. They are amazing in how they can juggle family, work and a blog.
Just like me, many of them started their blog by sharing an experience. It is unbelievable how much the ‘word of blog’ can impact others and even raise important issues and to bring them out into the open.
Thank you Blogs and PR for organising such a fun meet up. I enjoyed myself immensely, it was great to learn from the bloggers who have been online from 1-10 years!
Here are some of the local Western Australian (yes we are not all from Perth, we have some blogging in remote country areas too) bloggers I met on the day (be sure to check them out!):
www.eachdayagift.blogspot.com.au
www.aspoonfulofsugardesigns.com
www.theaussiehausfrau.blogspot.com.au
We were also spoilt with an array of goodies to take home from the following sponsors:
When I got home, the kids were jumping around excitedly when their eyes met the Kambrook ‘Soft Scoops’ and were already throwing recipe ideas my way! I am hoping spend some time playing with this new toy and come up with loads of yummy Summer treats. And maybe a healthy one too…
I’m looking forward to the next meet up and mingling with others I didn’t get a chance to chat to. But I made some new bloggy friends on the day, exchanging ideas and advice, which was so TOTALLY awesome.
Book mark some of these WA bloggers, give them some love, that will be sure to inspire you :)
Have a great weekend all!
E x
Is it time to top up your cleanser, moisturisers, creams, potions and lotions? Voila! The Facial Company is having a Spring Sale, you can save up to 70% off some of their products. And if you make a purchase this weekend, you will be in the running to be a Golden Ticket WINNER! The sale ends Sunday 30th September, midnight EST.
The Facial Company has decided to sneakily slip in a random ‘golden ticket’ into one of the orders put through this weekend. The lucky person will then win back the cost of their entire order! Awesome…potential free stuff!
Here are my Top 3 picks from the sale:
Integrity Rejuvenating Moisturiser $72 down to $36
Integrity Purifying Cleanser $62 down to $31
MD Formulations Vit-A-Plus Clearing Complex $180 down to $90
I have not used Integrity Cosmetics before but I like the fact that at least 95% of the ingredients are organic and is certified by the ACO (Australian Certified Organic). The company also uses recyclable packaging and vegetable inks for their bottles. Yay for them helping out the environment!
The Facial Company also offers free standard shipping (within Australia) if you spend over $99.
Happy shopping and who knows…you might be the holder of the Golden Ticket :)
E x
Organic coconut mylk chocolate box with 5 flavours from @loving_earth! So excited to dig into these nom noms #organic #healthy #chocolate #raw #coconutoil #september2012 #wellbeing (Taken with Instagram)
You may have noticed the sudden influx of healthy food images taken by my Instagram and shared on my Tumblr. I have decided to go crazy with my diet and start eating as many raw foods as possible. That means more green smoothies, salads and fruits. This is one part of my master plan to get my body and mind ready for the crazy Summer season. If I can train my body and mind to be strong now, taking on the Christmas/New Year temptations will be a cinch!
Photos are a great motivational tool to help you to stay on track to stick to your health goals!
So the first part of the master ‘Summer Body’ Challenge is to eat healthy and exercise, but how about having healthy, glowing skin? Exercise and diet play a big part in achieving that overall natural illumination. But what else could you do?
1. Dry brush your skin - Get a natural bristled brush with soft-medium bristles and gently brush the surface of your skin, stroking the brush towards the direction of your heart. E.g. brush from your feet upwards to your thigh. Brush from your shoulders down to your hands. Dry brushing is a great way of improving the blood circulation and getting rid of dead skin cells. And hopefully it will reduce that ‘cottage cheese’ look to your thighs, cellulite be gone!!
2. Drink more water and herbal teas - Hydration is essential to maintaining moisturised skin, it helps to reduce the appearance of fatigue and to help smoothe out fine lines. Herbal teas are a great booster filled with antioxidants to help improve and clear the skin.
3. Moisturise, moisturise, moisturise! - Use a natural or organic skin cream to moisturise the skin after a shower. This is the best time for the skin to absorb all the goodness from the cream ,leaving your skin hydrated.
Rasasara Moisturising Body Milk available from The Organic Beauty Shop
4. After waxing care - It is time to flaunt those sexy legs with a pretty dress or skirt and show off your arms with those sleeveless tops, displaying your cleanly shaven pits! But what about those unsightly ingrown hairs? Use a lotion to smooth out those bumps and blemishes to get flawless skin in all areas!
La Clinica Ingrown Hair Lotion available from The Organic Beauty Shop
5. Stay out of the sun - The skin number one worst enemy would be UV rays. So make sure all your daily moisturisers have SPF protection. Wear a wide-brimmed hat or even use a parsol (umbrella) to avoid sun-damaged skin, where it can result in fine lines, sun spots, pigmentation, moles and worse…skin cancer.
6. Feed your skin with vitamins - Use topical creams that contains Vitamin C and E. Vitamin C is vital in the production of collagen, which helps your skin stay supple and taut. Vitamin E helps to protect the skin against free-radicals and it is a powerful antioxidant that can also help fight against UV rays.
La Mav Daily Vitamin-C Brightening Serum available from The Organic Beauty Shop
7. Use a fake-tan - If a ‘bronzed goddess’ look is more your style, use a fake-tan rather than basking in the sun. Make sure you exfoliate your skin with a scrub or dry brush before applying to get that even bronze.
Eco Tan Invisible Tan available from The Organic Beauty Shop
8. Sweat Baby Sweat - As I said before, exercise is key to having that beautiful skin. Sweating is one of the best ways to get rid of all those toxins from within the body and cleanse the pores! The more you sweat, the more shinier your complexion becomes because of the natural oils that help to nourish the skin are released. Just make sure you wash off that sweat…or instead of beautiful skin you will get pesky pimples!
Have you tried any of the tips above? What other ways do you take care of your skin?
Have a great week lovelies!!
E x
Afternoon snack -strawberries and melted raw coconut chocolate butter @lovingearth. #organic #raw #healthy #dessert #strawberries #sweets #food #september2012 #snack (Taken with Instagram)
Miessence Probiotic Skin Brightener Review
As you all know, I have become quite the organic/natural skincare advocate lately. I have been hunting around for the best products to use on my skin, and my skin only deserves the best of what nature has to offer! BOO to those products containing parabens, chemicals, toxins, artificial fragrance and other nasty stuff!
I only came across the brand Miessence very recently, I have heard of the name in the past but never really thought of trying out their range. It was only because I happened to be on Twitter one day, tweeting nonsense…that I met Rob who is a Miessence Independent Representative. He sent me a free sample of Miessence Probiotic Skin Brightener to trial. And what great timing! I have been looking for a skin brightener because of increased pigmentation on my face I during my pregnancy. I just want to get rid of them or at least fade them away!
I found out that Miessence is a company based in Queensland, Australia and all their certified organic range is made of 100% bioactive and beneficial ingredients. That must be language for ‘deliciously good for the skin’!
Using the skin brightener each day after my shower I found that it easily absorbed into the skin. I just had to dab a few drops onto a cotton pad and smooth it over the face. The formula was a similar consistency to toner or serum and it felt as if it tightened my skin. It wasn’t a stinging feeling, it felt like my pores were being minimized. The sample size was too small to see the real benefits, I used it over a week but I couldn’t tell whether any pigmentation had actually faded. My skin did radiate though! It was smoother and had a healthy ‘dewy’ look to it.
The skin brightener works using a mild lactic acid produced by the natural fermentation of probiotics. It is meant to help lighten and brighten the complexion, improve photo-damaged skin and exfoliate dead skin cells for a smoother, less-wrinkled appearance.
A full size 100ml bottle is priced at AUD$56.60 and is available through - www.minaturals.mionegroup.com and a 20% discount is offered to anyone who wants to be a Miessence Lifestyle Member.
Miessence also offers a business opportunity to those who are interested. You can become an independent representative and sell Miessence. It is a great way of earning some extra bucks along side of your regular day job or you could be a stay-at-home Mum looking to earn some cash. It’s flexible, there’s low-start-up-cost and a great way to work in the comfort of your own home. If you would like to join or have any enquiries please contact Rob Bentley at rob@minaturals.co.uk
Have you tried Miessence range before? How was your experience?
E x
*I was not compensated for writing this review. I was offered a Miessence sample to trial and these opinions are 100% my own.
One of the things we women use everyday and cannot go without is our skincare. It is astonishing, when you add it all up your skincare purchases for the year! You may just faint at the sight of the bill. And men often wonder why we women are less financially stable…but admire our beauty at the same time!
Many of us will convince ourselves ‘it is my skin and I don’t care how much I spend on it’. And yes, this may be true, because you want to look after your skin until you are old and grey but do you want to slow down your mortgage repayments just because of it? Have you ever skipped a meal just because you didn’t want to spend money on eating and instead saved the money to buy a prestigious face cream or new pair of heels?
The starvation stops here! Today I am going to share a simple recipe for a moisturiser that you can use during the night. Night creams work their magic best because it is when your body is resting and all the new, yummy skin cells are having a great ol time rejuvenating and producing more new skin cells.
The Immortelle flower
One of the key ingredients I used for this cream is the ‘Immortelle’ essential oil, or also known as ‘Everlasting’. It is known to be the ‘Fountain of Youth’ of the Mediterrean. The Immortelle flower, from which the oil is extracted, retains its shape even after it has been picked. It is used for anti-inflammatory, analgesic and regenerative properties which makes it perfect for mature-age skin.
Don’t be shocked to find that a 30ml bottle of Immortelle will cost you around $70+. You only need 12 drops for this recipe. So you should be able to make plenty of skin cream with 30ml.
Hint: make it in small quantities, so you can use a fresh batch each time.
So go ahead and give it a go and revel the glory that you made your very own skin cream!! Saving you heaps of money and making you look and feel GOOD :)
Have you heard of the benefits of the Immortelle essential oil? Have you tried it before in your skincare?
E x
If you wish to use my skin care recipe please click below:
One for the chocoholics, not an ounce of guilt eating @loving_earth organic raw coconut mylk chocolate #vegan too (Taken with Instagram)
Winter…I love you but you aren’t doing my skin any favours! You would think a season with a lot of rain would actually be good for the skin but not really, you will be surprised that the humidity in Summer does more good for your skin.
These days, I wake up with cracked lips and I can’t seem to stop my horrible habit of biting the little bits of skin off (ewww I know!). Biting your lips and licking them actually makes them worse, more painful and drier!
If you suffer like me, try the Rasasara organic lip balm with rose maroc and sandalwood essential oils which will restore moisture:
The knuckles on my hand are itching like crazy because of the lack of hydration. There is also the dreaded ‘snake skin’-like legs that are pale, white and stay hidden away under trackies most of the chilly season.
Keep dryness away with Sanctum Hand and Nail Repair and Absolutely Gorgeous Body Custard (doesn’t that sound delish?)
And my face is lack lustre (could also be due to the minimum hours of sleep I get from feeding Luna at night). No wonder I haven’t stepped out of the house recently and no photos!
Rejuvenate that ‘haggered’ look with La Mav Wrinkle-Defense and Skin-Brightening Day Fluid
It is the love of my heater that is one of the main culprits for my desert-like skin. And I also realise during the colder months, I tend to drink less water than I should. Which is a BIG NO-NO, all the above factors are actually telling me I am dehydrated. So I have to continue with my 8 glasses of water, and I like my water warm or room temperature with a squeeze of lemon juice (another health tip to kick start the body!).
All the above products are available for purchase through:
How do you stay hydrated and moisturised during Winter?
Stay toasty and remember to drink your H2O!
E x
