Max Factor Ageless Elixir

I’ve been a member of Supersavvyme.co.uk for ages and utterly love the site, and not because they featured a review of mine , but because of the great articles and helpful hints. So when I was told that I was on the Supersavvyme’s Savvy Circle project with Max Factor to try and review the new Ageless Elixir, I was delighted, hooray.

Just to let you know a little about the Max Factor Ageless Elixir, it’s a Foundation that covers lines, wrinkles and uneven skin tones, with a serum that has SPF15 that when you use everyday helps protect the skin from signs of aging.

So I got my sample and some extras to hand out to friends & family and started the ball rolling, that is I went straight on to try some. Now a little history about me and foundation, I am not a big foundation user, had problems (as most women have) with not enough coverage, cakey, oily in sun, drys skin out and so on. So I must admit I did expect the same with this one too, but was pleasantly surprised (hooray again).

So I took out the usual amount I used with other foundations, to my surprise and delight I didn’t need that much, I only used half, yes half and it did the job, and amazingly too was that it didn’t feel like I had anything on. Shocked…yes…Happy….yes…FB posted and tweeted it….oh yes….

Got a few friends ready for testing, met them for coffee and showed them my wonderful (almost flawless) skin, come on I’d only used it once, give it a chance.

After a week of trying out the foundation I loved it, I am converted, now I am a full on foundation user. The feedback I got was great, you can’t feel it on, more coverage for less product, makes skin look great, and yes after a week I do see that it had made a difference. In fact even hubby who barely noticed my hair is now shorter noticed, wow thanks Max Factor

I don’t usually recommend something until I gave it a lot of testing, and I did with this and the end result is I highly recommend it, I went from once in a while foundation user to all the time foundation user. But don’t take my word for it hop on over to www.supersavvyme.co.uk and read what hundreds of other savvy testers say about it, and hang around a little more, the site is great.

If you also tried Max Factor Ageless Elixir I would love  to know what you thought about it.

 

Those Pesky Pervasive Pesticides

New labeling on foods tells you about fat content, sugar content and even additives, but what about pesticides? Even more so, what about fruits or vegetables that have no labels? I must have looked through hundreds of pages about this and that pesticide, so much that even a Gerry Butler marathon wouldn’t have put an end to my headache. Here is the result of some of the information I managed to decipher.  A report conducted from 2002-2005 (some were updated in the 2007 summary report) listed produce with more and less pesticide residue. These are still within EU pesticide regulation.  The produce in the Red column have more pesticides, Amber less and Green the least. MRL is the acronym for Maximum Residue Level. If you have a limited budget this information helps by indicating which produce would be better to buy organic and for which it is less important. You will notice that some fruits are listed in two columns. This is because local fruits generally contain less pesticide than imported ones.

RED mostfrequently contain MRL	AMBER	GREEN lessfrequently contain the MRL
Apple	Apricots	Asparagus
*Banana	Blackberries	Blueberries
Beans (green & specialty	Carrots	Broccoli
Celery	Cauliflower	Endive
Cherries	Cherries	Exotic fruits (passion fruit, pomegranate, etc)
*Citrus fruits	Cultivated mushrooms	Fennel
Courgettes / Zucchini	Lemons*	Kiwis
Cucumber	Lettuce	Onions
Currants	Mangoes*
Dried fruit	Peaches	Star fruit
Eggplant	Pineapple*
Gooseberries	Plums
Grapes	Spinach
Herbs
Lettuce
Melons*
Papayas*
Parsley
Pears
Peppers
Potatoes
Pre-packed salad
Radishes
Raspberries
Strawberries
Tomatoes

* Products that are peeled may contain fewer contaminants.

Until an EU regulation bans pesticides or makes it so that only organic pesticides are used, the advocates against pesticides have recommended the following:

1. Replace as much as possible of the produce in the first column with organic produce
2. Ask your supermarket about their pesticide policy, some European supermarkets (mostly in Belgium, Germany, UK) have taken measures to reduce pesticides in/on their fruits and vegetables.
3. Try to eat locally and seasonally, fruits and vegetables grown out of season have been shown to contain more pesticide residue than when in season.
4. Peel and cook foods where possible
5. Scrub hard foods such as apples, carrots etc.
6. Rinse all foods before peeling
7. Strip leafy vegetables like lettuce of the outer leaves and rinse well.

 

DIY Pest control

My journey into organic gardening started as a science project for my son. It then morphed into planting some herbs and small vegetables, but while the rocket tasted great most of my hard work was eaten by aphids and other  insects. So, of course, I turned to the internet (surprise! surprise!) looking for a non-toxic way to get rid of them. I found a couple of good formulas for a repellent and pesticides that mostly use items I use for cooking.  In this way the pests are gone, the kids are not harmed and I get to enjoy my roka salad.  So here are a few pest control recipes that I and others have used. But first, a few things to keep in mind before getting started;

1. It’s better to spray in the early morning or the when it’s cool in evening. Do not spray when temps are over 27c or the plants may “burn”.

2. First, test on a small portion of the plant then wait a day to see if there is any negative reaction

3. “Less is more” don’t increase use or amount of the ingredients.  Use gradually till you see results. i.e., garlic, chilli and soap can actually harm plants if large amounts are used.

4. Although I’ve not had experience with this as I have a balcony garden, in large gardens some bugs are good, so when using general pesticides, as much as possible use them directly on the pests to avoid getting rid of good ones.

Recipes and Formulas:

Let’s start with soaps. I used this on the surrounding area of the plant containers and  you can use this on leaves, but don’t use on blossoming plants. This works on aphids, and mites. In a clean spray bottle mix a few drops of mild dishwashing liquid with a couple of pints of water and spray liberally. Adding couple teaspoons of cooking oil as it helps it to cling to the leaves.

- For getting rid of tent caterpillars try getting a bucket of water with some dish soap in it. Using a mop soaked with the soapy water ‘wash’ the tent in the tree. The soap breaks down the natural oils in the nest.

- This is a general pesticide. It may repel some pests and will get rid of others. What you need is a thoroughly cleaned spray bottle, 1 bulb of garlic, a pint of water, some ground chilli, cayenne is good.  For sticking power on large leaves add a couple of teaspoons of mild hand/dish soap. Blend the garlic with the water and pepper; let them steep, then strain the liquid to get lumps out. If you are using soap add it the very last after straining. You can keep it in the fridge for around 5/6 days in a glass container.

The following are repellents.

- Clove and lavender oils are good repellents for flying insects and silver fish. I use it as a room spray for mosquitoes and ants.

- This is for a different kind of pest – weeds, but as I live in a flat I’ve not had an opportunity to use. If someone tries it please let me know how it works. An ounce of table salt to a gallon of water sprayed on weeds or straight salt, especially in non-garden areas can stop weeds.

- Also, salt sprinkled on plants or where snails / slugs congregate can discourage them. For your plants spray / sprinkle early in the morning when there is still dew on the plants leaves.

- For those who live near fields this has been shown to work well against mice. Soak cotton balls with pure peppermint oil and place near an entry hole or common place they have been sighted. The smell will keep them away; make sure you replace every couple of months or so.

Ants

- As a deterrent, trace the ant column back to their point of entry. Set any of the following items at the entry area in a small line, which ants will not cross: cayenne pepper, cinnamon, citrus oil or turmeric. Also are good to place near any ant hills. On vertical paths place Vaseline or Vicks.  I washed my floor with a mixture of vinegar (white), water, soap (mild), lavender and clove oil every couple of days for around a week and that seemed to work.

- For a pesticide try some boric acid mixed with sugar placed near the ant hill. The ants will take it to the queen. But make sure that pets and kids don’t go near it.

If you know of any other natural pest control I would love to know about it.

- Happy gardening

 

Do your indoor plants do anything besides look nice?

In the 80’s NASA did an interesting study on cleaning indoor air pollutants. What they found was that some plants clean 3 common indoor pollutants, trichloroethylene, benzene, and formaldehyde from the air fairly well.

Formaldehyde is common everywhere, its in building materials, and household products like cleaning products, plastic shopping bags, paper towels. Benzene is a common solvent which is found in oils, plastic, detergents and paints. Trichloroethylene is used in paints, adhesives, inks, and varnishes.

Research was conducted on nineteen common household plants. The results showed that they are good at clearing up these pollutants; however some worked better overall, while others were more effective in getting rid of specific pollutants.

I have listed below these findings by the chemical they were best at cleaning up.

Benzene – English ivy, gerbera daisies, pot mums, peace lily, bamboo palm, and Mother-in-law’s Tongue were found to be better

Trichloroethylene – peace lily, gerbera daisy, and bamboo palm were good.

Formaldehyde – bamboo palm, Mother-in-law’s tongue, dracaena warneckei, peace lily, dracaena marginata, golden pathos, and green spider plant were all good.

The study found the following 10 planets to be the most effective at overall of clearing indoor air pollution.

•Bamboo Palm (Chamaedorea Seifritzii)                               •Chinese Evergreen (Aglaonema Modestum)

•English Ivy (Hedera Helix)                                                       •Gerbera Daisy (Gerbera Jamesonii)

•Janet Craig (Dracaena “Janet Craig”)                                   •Marginata (Dracaena Marginata)

•Mass cane/Corn Plant (Dracaena Massangeana)

•Warneckii (Dracaena “Warneckii”)                                        •Mother-in-Law’s Tongue (Sansevieria Laurentii)

•Pot Mum (Chrysantheium morifolium)                                •Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum)

 

What is Leaching into Your Food?

One of the best inventions of our time has to be Tupperware, wonderful plastic containers that keep things fresh and odor free while neatly stacking in our fridge. I personally love them and use them for more than leftovers.  As much as I use them, after reading some articles about how chemicals in plastics can leach into our food, my love of them became tempered. According to research, at room or cool temperatures chemicals leachage is small, but when plastic containers are heated the amount of chemicals leached into food rises dramatically. Here are a few points I jotted down from the articles.

Basically, ‘know your plastics’. There are around 7 types of plastics and every plastic container from Tupperware to baby bottles have a number on them to identify the kind of plastic used.  You may see the letters or the number in a triangle usually on the bottom and they are:

1 Polyethyelene terephthalate (PETE)

2 High-density polyethylene (HDPE)

3 Vinyl, polyvinyl chloride (PVC)

4 Low-density polyethylene (LDPE)

5 Polypropylene (PP)

6 Polystyrene (PS) (white trays under packaged fresh foods)

7 Includes polycarbonate, acrylic, polylactic acid, fibreglass

Avoid number 7 for  food storage. I threw out my scratched ones and used any new ones for knickknacks like buttons, etc.  Also avoid 3 and 6. If you are using plastics for storing foods use only 1, 2, 4 and 5.

Although plastics 1, 2, 4 and 5 are ok for storage, here are some dos and don’ts when it comes to using them:

1. Plastic that says its ok for use in microwave or dishwasher simply means that it won’t melt, so it’s best not to use them in a dishwasher or microwave. Wash plastics by hand to avoid getting them scratched. If they do either get rid or use for nonfood items.
2. Avoid using PVC cling film/ plastic wrap in microwave or wrapping food in it. Look for non-PVC cling film to wrap food in.
3. Use as much as possible, glass or stainless steel for food storage.
4. Let food cool down before storing in a plastic container. In addition, letting food cool down before putting the fridge will cut down on energy used by the fridge to cool it down.

Although we can’t avoid using plastics, as they are everywhere, we can know our plastic to be better informed about to use it.

 

Teaching kids responsibilty early

Being a mum is no easy task, you try to rise your kids so that they become responsible, consciences adults, but if you and they are constantly bombarded by Tv and other mums with got to have kids things, its easy to fall into the ‘spoil kids rotten’ hole.  When your kid comes to you and says ‘please mummy can I have the such and such toy’ and you say ‘no’ and then get ‘but so and so’s mum gave him it’, you feel that you are letting your child down.  We all at some point or another, before becoming parents, said that we would give our kids a life we didn’t have, raise them different, but at some point we fall into the ‘guilty parent’ trap, where against our better judgement we give in to pressure, from our kids (but ultimately from other parents) into giving them the latest toy or trainer or even lush birthday party.  When it came to the point when my clothes allowance (and hand on heart I really needed new clothes MC Hammer was in the charts when I last brought clothes, OK not that bad but you get my point) ended up spent on them to keep up with the mini Joneses, I said enough is enough.

When growing up my parents taught me the value of money, whatever I wanted (above the basics) I had to earn it, by helping around the house, and this I believe made me a very responsible person, so why am not teaching my kids the same thing, I fell into the ‘guilty parent’ trap.  My kids are still young but in  this day and age kids grow up very quickly so I told them that if they want new toys they will need to work for it.  I will give them money for any help they give me around the house, the more they help the more money I give them.  My eldest son loved it, he went around like a cyclone, tidying up, helping his little brother wash his hands, get dressed and he even did some sweeping.  OK they are small so the jobs werent that great, I still needed to help out but it was the effort that was more important.  Once they saw the money, they understood that its was not just work for nothing.  So far my eldest has been able to get himself a few toys from his hard work, the youngest has had a couple of toys too, from a half-hearted yet valiant effort.

I think that it’s never too early to teach kids responsibility, they learn cause and effect early on (if I throw this on the floor mummy will pick it up), so why not if I want something I have to work for it.  Now every time my eldest plays with his toys he tells me which ones he paid for himself.

 

Mother’s Day Massacre

Or rather the Massacre of Mother’s Day.  I’ve been a mummy now for 6 years and have had a total of zero mother’s day, due to hubbie forgetting (even after constant reminders) and he’s idea that this is day is just a manufactured day, ok fair enough, it is a little, but it’s not the gifts I want but the appreciation, even though I know that many mum complain about the same thing, being unrecognised and under appreciated this is for us, once a year to be recognised and appreciated.

This post is my rant about how this (and a few others) mother’s day was massacred.  The day started by the kids waking me up, and a promise by them and hubbie of breakfast (as usual), a continental breakfast. Bread, jam, cheese, croissants, problem no bread or croissants, what to do? Hubbie couldn’t go to the bakery because he just woke up (45 minutes after the kids woke me up), the kids couldn’t go to the bakery because well kids, so wonder who would go and get the bread and croissant for the Mother’s Day breakfast that is being made for me.  Decided to treat myself with a muffin too.  So breakfast ingredients got, having laid out the rest of the ingredients on the table, we started the breakfast.  It was lovely spread if I may say so myself, then the clean up, apparently only I know where the broom is in the broom closet.  Clean up done.  Hubbie adviced my that he needed his grey shirt for work the next day, grey shirt is in the laundry, so mother’s day laundry done.  while I was at it might as well do the rest of the mother’s day ironing, so done.  Now kids are bored so what is mothers day that spending time with kids and entertaining them, done.

No doubt you are no bored, how is this mothers day different from any other, it isn’t, oh apart from the breakfast that was made for me, in spirit that is.  Lunch was supposed to be a surprise take out, but wise hubbie said that as we already had chicken why not eat that with some pasta, and do I mind boiling the pasta.  The rest of the day pretty much followed like that, you may ask where is hubbie, well between eating and watching a bit of TV, he was working on the computer.  You know I didn’t mentioned, which I should, is that yesterday he took the kids out to the part so I can get a couple of hours to myself, aaww nice, it was so that I can do the ironing without the kids bothering me, aaawww.

So another mother’s day massacred.  Out of this slight disaster did come something nice, my eldest drew a picture for me of me and my friends at my mother’s day party, so the day ended with a sweet note.  I wait with anticipation as to what will happen next mother’s day!

 

Its A Fishy Story

Spring is here, hooray! The weather is warming up and we can even start to eat outside. To me spring is a time to enjoy seafood. Ok, I know we can eat fish and seafood anytime but I somehow enjoy it more around springtime, don’t ask me why. It just seems like seafood season to me. So, with that in mind, I thought that I would write about fish, that is, which fish to eat and which to avoid due to the levels of mercury in the fish.  Also, the * indicates over-fished species, so it would be better not eat them and eat sustainable fish instead. Thus, we can be healthy and environmental friendly at the same time!

In all the information I went through, these pieces of advice were prominent:

1. Pregnant and breast-feeding women or those who are trying to become pregnant should limit how much tuna they eat. Canned tuna usually has less mercury, so limit the amount to around two medium cans or one fresh steak per week.
2. Pregnant women and children up to the age of 16 should avoid swordfish, shark and marlin as they have the highest amounts of mercury.
3. Other people can eat the above three fish, but small amounts – around one portion a week.
4. Adjust portion sizes to suit younger children.

The following list comprises the mercury content of some fish; for a wider variety of fish and more information on the subject visit www.food.gov.uk and http://www.nrdc.org/health/effects/mercury/guide.asp

• Over fished *: These are either over fished or caught in a way that is environmentally unfriendly.
• ** Farmed Salmon may contain PCB’s, which in the long-term can be bad for your health.
• A dolphin on a of a can of tuna indicates it was caught without harming dolphins.

OW MERCURYEnjoy these fish!	MODERATEEat 6 servings or less per month	HIGHEat 3 servings or less per month:	HIGHESTAvoid eating:
Anchovies	Bass (Striped, Black)	Grouper*	Mackerel (King)
Clam	Carp	Mackerel (Spanish, Gulf)	Marlin*
Cockles	Cod (Alaskan)*	Orange Roughy	Roughy*
Cod (UK)	Halibut (Atlantic)*	Sea Bass (Chilean)*	Shark*
Crab	Halibut (Pacific)	Tuna (Canned Albacore)	Swordfish*
Crab (Domestic)	Hoki	Tuna (Yellowfin)*	Tuna (Bigeye, Ahi)*
Crawfish/Crayfish	Lobster
Exotic prawn	Monkfish*
Flounder*	Perch (Freshwater)
Haddock	Red fish
Haddock (Atlantic)*	Skate*
Hake	Snapper*
Herring	Tuna (Canned chunk light)
Lobster	Tuna (Skipjack)*
Mackerel
Mackerel (N. Atlantic, Chub)
Mullet
Mussels
Oyster
Perch (Ocean)
Plaice
Pollack
Prawns
Queen scallop
Salmon(Canned)**
Salmon (Fresh)**
Sardine
Scallop*
Scampi
Sea bass
Sea bream
Shrimp*
Sole (Pacific)
Squid (Calamari)
Trout
Whiting
Winkles

Remember, fish and seafood are good for you and should be part of a healthy diet. By eating sustainable fish we not only get the nutrition we need but we also help the environment.  Enjoy spring and enjoy a few shrimps on the barbeque……..Oh, my…I’m making myself hungry!

 

When mother in-laws over step the mark

This will be a rant to vent my anger.  It’s the time old problem ‘mother in-law’.  I think kids should spend time with grandparents they play an important part in their lives, but what if these grandparents, or more precisely grandmother over steps the boundaries every single time, and this time puts the kids in a position that they feel they have to keep a secret from their parents to keep the peace.  My mother in-law did something that my hubbie and I expressed was not allowed, my eldest knew that so he felt pressured as to whether he should tell me what happened or not.  This is too much for a little kid to deal with and the mother in-law should not have done that, even though she knew this was a boundary she should not have crossed.  I of course was not upset with my kids, they are kids, I felt bad they felt this pressure.  I do blame the mother in-law for over stepping her bounds, as she has done so many times and does not seem to understand the word ‘boundary’, I also blame hubbie, yes hubbie, this is his mother he should have expressed to her where her boundaries are, which he did not very well.  I believe that he should respect his mother but when it comes to the up bringing of our kids and our relationship, clearly defined boundaries should have been set for her, and there should have been more of a united front (hubbie uniting with me) when frist time she over stepped the mark, then maybe we would not be on this position.  Trust is a fragile thing, when its lost its hard to get back, she has lost my trust in her, out relationship is strained, and hubbie and I are in a tense situation with each other, and in all this the kids are in the middle, even though I am trying to not show them my feelings so they don’t feel strained, it is hard.  Will my and my mother in-laws relationship be able to be build again, I don’t think so, will there be trust for her from me, I don’t know.

 

Top 5: cut onions without tears

I love to eat onions, mostly spanish red onions, not because they taste good, which they do a little, but mostly because they are good for you, for your heart and blood pressure.  Although I love to eat them, I hate to cut them up, it is one of my pet peeves about cooking, because they make me cry.  So I asked around and researched different ways to cut onions up without tears.  Here are my Top 5 tried and tested way to ‘Cut Onions Without Tears’

#5.  Placing a piece of bread in your mouth and having it hang out (avoid doing when people are around or you will be made fun of).  This actually does work , I tried it with white bread, so not sure it works the same with brown/wholemeal bread, but bread is bread right

#4.  Put peeled onion under cold water before cutting.  This one is good, 9/10 times it has worked a treat, the one time don’t know why?

#3. Put in fridge, to make the onion cold.  When I first tried this I was a little sceptical (more than the piece of bread) but it really did work.

#2. Wear goggles. You may look daft but this works ever time, I wore the kids swimming goggles.

And the best way to assure no tears when you cut up onions, guaranteed to work every time, is……

#1. Get someone else to do it for you.  I found this to the best way out of all of them!!