Archive for April, 2010

Scandle-ous Friday wrap-up

Friday, April 30th, 2010

Man, it has been a week. Last month we moved our office location. Our specific warehouse wasn’t ready so we moved into a temporary one. Well yesterday our permanent one was available so we moved yet again.

And allergy season is upon us in humid, sticky Texas. But other than that it has been a great, productive week.

So get your Scandle on us this Friday here:

Next week it is all about Mom so if you haven’t gotten the right gift, set up the right activities or (YIKES) not even thought about it yet, come back next week for some tips and ideas

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Spice up your diet

Wednesday, April 28th, 2010

I LOVE spicy food. I try to use some type of pepper in everything I make. And my mom always told me that peppers were good for your diet but I thought it was just another mom myth

But new research proves this myth to be true. And while some people just can’t stand the heat, the study also proves that mild peppers can help burn calories too.

In a recent study, a group of 34 men and women consumed a low-calorie liquid meal replacement to study the effects of dihydrocapsiate (DCT), a chemical found in a strain of mild chili peppers.

Three times a day, a third of them were given a placebo pill, a third were were given a pill containing 3 milligrams of DCT, and a third were given a 9 milligram pill.

The women who were given the largest dose of DCT burned an extra 100 calories a day.

In prior studies, research on hot chilies found that they boost metabolism and burn more calories than a diet without spice.

Chilies are no miracle weight loss product but every little bit helps. While the results are favorable to the women, scientist say that more research is still needed and if you just can’t handle the heat, don’t add it!

To spice or not to spice? Can you handle the heat?

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Peachy Perfection

Tuesday, April 27th, 2010

Texas peaches are in season, time to freshen up your facial routine!!!

It is spring so that means fresh fruits and veggies are everywhere, especially local farmers’ markets.

Not only are peaches a delicious way to get your daily fruit intake, they are a main ingredient in hundreds of beauty products.

Peaches are packed with vitamin A, which is known for boosting the production of healthy cells and getting rid of the dead ones. It can also help to reverse some of the damage caused by the sun over an extended period of time.

I love this at-home remedy. It is great for your skin and easy on your wallet

When shopping for peaches always chose the ones with a deep orange color, they contain the most vitamin A.

Peachy Keen Facial

1 medium peach

1 tablespoon of honey

oatmeal (as needed)

  • Take the peach and cook it until it is soft.
  • Mash the cooked peach using a fork.
  • Add the honey and enough oatmeal until the mixture is thick.
  • Apply to the skin and let it sit for about 10 minutes.
  • Rinse off the peach facial masque with cool clean water.

You can increase the ingredients by 1 each for as much as you need to create a body treatment.

What’s you favorite peachy treatment? Got any special beauty recipes?

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Posted in Beauty Care & Treatments, Beauty Treatments, Budget Friendly Beauty Treatments, Facials, Home Treatments, Skin & Body Care/Treatments, Spa | No Comments »

Pour some sugar on me!

Monday, April 26th, 2010

I don’t know about y’all but I HATE to wax. I always get really red and break out. I have tried at-home treatments, professional salons and everything else I can to rid the hair without the unwanted pain and irritation.

But there is one thing I haven’t tried that has become the new, all-natural way to strip, your hair that is

Sugaring is the newest alternative to waxing. Along with the extreme reduction in pain and irritation, sugaring is all-natural. A real sugar treatment is made up of sugar, lemon juice, water and sometimes essential oils.

Another great advantage is that the sugar paste is water soluble. If you are doing an at-home treatment and need to start over, you can remove it with water, unlike wax that has to be removed with either a specific cleanser or baby oil.

Many advocates say it is less painful because the sugar paste only adheres to the hair and dead skin cells. Wax pulls out the hair follicle as well as live skin cells, creating a painful, sensitive area in some.

Have you tried sugaring? Is it all it is cracked up to be?

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Scandle-ous Friday wrap up

Friday, April 23rd, 2010

Happy Friday!!!!! Hope y’all had a great week and are ready for the weekend. I know I sure am, as long as it clears up this afternoon!!!! Rain, rain go away, come again on Monday

Be sure to enter the following giveaways:

  • Wishing Penny
  • Review Retreat
  • Busy Working Mama

Thanks to all of our new followers this week. I look forward to blogging with you.

HAPPY WEEKEND and good luck to everyone on the giveaways! If you entered the Any Lucky Day.com giveaway be sure to check back, the winner should be announced this afternoon.

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Happy Earth Day - is it your Lucky Day?

Thursday, April 22nd, 2010

Happy Earth Day y’all!!!

Today, Scandle is featured on Any Luck Day and we are sponsoring an Earth Day Giveaway.

Head over to Any Lucky Day for you chance at a Scandle Experience Starter Kit with one ceramic and one refill in a Sinamay reusable box.

While good luck to everyone that enters the giveaway, it is important to remember that Earth Day is celebrating 40 years of bringing about awareness and appreciation for Mother Earth.

It was founded by U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson as an environmental teach-in held on April 22, 1970. And is now observed by almost every country.

Don’t forget to check out easy tips to bring some green to your life and take small steps to make every day earth day. Good luck in the Earth Day Giveaway!

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Coutdown to Earth Day - choosing the right spa

Wednesday, April 21st, 2010

It is important to remember that while most of us are doing our part to be green, Earth Day is also a great way for marketers to create campaigns aimed at “greener” consumers.

From large consumer chains to small businesses, the word green seems to be today’s “it” word. The spa industry has always been associated with greener living because most spas embrace the green philosophy.

But spas can sometimes contribute just as much, if not more negative energy use and consumer waste as any other industry.

When looking for a green spa it is important find out the answers to the following:

  • Do they use truly organic or earth friendly products? Many companies’ claims have not be validated with substantial ingredient labels and manufacturing processes.
  • Do they recycle? How do they dispose of paper and other recyclable goods? What kind of paper do they use?
  • What do they use for lighting? High energy bulbs or the new low watt, low energy ones?
  • How are the towels and clothing washed? New detergents have been developed that sterilize in cold water just as they would in hot water, saving much more energy.

What are some other things to look for in a green spa? Do you have a favorite spot we should know about?

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Posted in Beauty Care & Treatments, Green Living, Skin & Body Care/Treatments | 2 Comments »

Countdown to Earth Day - choosing the right beauty for the inside

Tuesday, April 20th, 2010

Natural beauty doesn’t just come from the products we put on our skin but it also comes from what we put into our bodies.

In recent posts I have highlighted a lot of different dietary choices when it comes to healthy living. But not only does food affect your waistline, it affects your skin, hair and nails.

So in continuing with our Earth Day special, I thought we could touch on choosing “green” food and no I don’t mean more veggies

Here are two of the most important tips on how to prepare meals that are both healthy and good for the planet.

  • My favorite is buy locally grown foods, think farmers’ markets. The transportation of those foods uses much less fuel than say a cross-country truck stocked full of fruits and veggies. It also helps local farmers and vendors.
  • Use seasonal ingredients. These foods are less likely to contain harmful pesticides because they were seeded and harvested in one season.

How do you green your diet? Got any other green tips?

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Countdown to Earth Day - Choosing the right beauty product company

Monday, April 19th, 2010

It is T-minus 3 days until Earth Day so I thought it would be the right time revisit the topic of “greening.”

This time last year, we focused on The 7 Sins of Cosmetic Greenwashing. While we still do not have a single regulator for “green” beauty cosmetics more and more regulation is beginning.

Beauty companies are now getting a little better at being honest about their products.

If a beauty product is labeled with the following terms, (while you should still read the ingredient list, we haven’t gotten everyone on board yet) you can begin to trust them just a little more than this time a few years ago.

  • Biodegradable: anything that can be broken down with the assistance of microorganisms. (Think the new Sun Chips bag) So if a beauty product claims to be biodegradable, their packaging and product must be able to compost naturally.
  • Green: this is where it gets tricky. Green is technically associated with a movement or philosophy. Just because a product is labeled as green doesn’t mean it is. The company might have adopted a policy aimed at “greening” the design or contents. Try to look for a product with more than just a “green” sticker on it.
  • Eco: refers to the positive interaction of man-made materials and naturally occurring elements and their balance to each other.
  • Organic: another gray area. Organic standards can vary from country to country or even regions within one country. The use of conventional non-organic pesticides, insecticides and herbicides is greatly restricted and is the main theme that groups items in this category together. (The FDA has cracked down significantly when it comes to the regulation of organic foods but not beauty)

But because there is no single international standard for this concept, the International Organization for Standardization considers such labels too vague to be meaningful.

There is no single governmental agency that regulates these terms for beauty products so we should still proceed with caution.

If you are purchasing beauty products from other countries look for certification from these agencies:

  • Products manufactured in Europe can apply for an Eco-label pending the EU’s approval
  • EMAS is another EU label that signifies whether an organization management is green as opposed to the product.
  • Germany uses the Blue Angel certification, based on Germany’s standards.
  • Even our northern neighbors have a label of the Environmental Choice Program and only products approved by the program are allowed to use the label.

So what’s going on in the US, how do we make our claims more substantial in the international community?

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Scandle, Scandle, everywhere

Friday, April 16th, 2010

Yay….its Friday. Although the week started off pretty shaky (no internet for two weeks) it has leveled out and things are back to normal, well as normal as they can be here

I haven’t been able to update y’all on our giveaways in a while so what better way to start off the weekend than with some free stuff?

  • Moms Own Words
  • Tatum’s Family Reviews
  • Living My MoMent Huge Blogoversary (over $1600 in prizes)
  • Coo Coo Courtney
  • Familylicious Reviews (hurry, this one ends this weekend)

Be sure to check out Christine’s, owner of Scandle, interview on Entreprenue.com for some great tips on how to move your business out of the house.

HAPPY FRIDAY Y’ALL!!!!!!!

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