Calming Foods – Certain pre-bedtime snacks, such as a small bowl of plain yogurt, can help calm and soothe little ones.

The culturing process makes yogurt easier to digest than milk, but be sure to stay away from fruit flavors as the added sugar may cancel out the calming effect

Aromatherapy – Adding calming scents to a warm bubble bath before bedtime can help the body and mind unwind.

Try any one of the California Baby Aromatherapy Bubble Baths for a fun bedtime routine.  Starting at $12.79 or buy 2 for $23.90!  HUGE 130z bottles.

Massage – Gently massaging children of all ages while they lie in bed can help set the stage for a full night’s sleep.

Try massaging gentle strokes with the California Baby Massage Oils Buy 2 for about $20 at Amazon.

I personally have used the Calming Massage Oil.  And currently use it.  Rubbing it along my neck, temples and shoulders.  Great to give myself a slight massage when I am feeling pressure and stress. This article may be geared towards little ones, but California Baby is one of my favorite lines and one of the first ones I ever started using!

Late July Organic Snacks Review & Giveaway

Late July Organic Snacks is a family owned and operated company that cares deeply about family and the integrity of our products. All of their products certified USDA organic and proudly wear the organic seal.  And on any given day you can find three generations at work including six-year-old Stephen and two-year-old Benjamin.
Late July doesn’t only make Organic Snacks, but makes them with no high fructose corn syrup in it, no hydrogenated oils, no trans fats and containing whole grains and antioxidants!  Can you even believe it?

And they don’t taste like cardboard!  They are actually quite tasty!  As most of you know I am not a chocolate fan, so I wasn’t sure I would like either flavor, the Milk Chocolate or the White Chocolate, but I ended up eating nearly the whole box of Milk Chocolate Mini Sandwich Cookies! 

Late July also makes two other varieties of  a sandwich cookie. Both have chocolate cookies, but the filling is what separates them! One type filled with vanilla bean and green tea filling and the other with dark chocolate.  Their names are aptly, Vanilla Bean and Dark Chocolate.

Late July also carries organic Peanut Butter Crackers. One of my favorites!  They also have Rich Saltines and Classic Saltines.  I am sure I missed something over there, so go take a peek and tell me what you want to try!

Late July Organic Snacks are sold online at at Late July and find them at Amazon.

Late July Organic Snacks also wants to let one of you readers take their healthy treats for a test drive!  One winner will receive one of each cookie box and a sampling of all their single serve snacks – around a $25 value.

To enter, go browse around the Late July Organics Snack site or their online shop and tell me something cool you learned!

Extra Entries: (you must do the mandatory entry, then the extra entries, please leave a separate comment for all entries)  =)

• Subscribe to Prissy Updates (emails) You must must validate the email.

• Sign up for my RSS feed.

• Vote for me at Divine Caroline and get THREE extra entries. (and lots of love from me!)
  

• Write a positive review (a sentence is fine) of Prissy Green at Alexa.com, and leave the name you used.  5 star review=2 entries.

• Use the Share button below, Stumble, Digg etc. Leave a link or User name. Do as many or as few as you like. (no technorati)

• Follow  Prissy Green on Twitter and Tweet the contest. You can do this daily.

• Blog about this contest for THREE entries. ** You must link to the giveaway.

Disclaimer:I was   provided me with a samples of these products to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose.  Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return for the free product.

Contest will conclude on 12/2/09 at 11:59pm EST.  Winner will be picked via random.org and verified per the rules.  Open to US only.

Natural Grace Review and Giveaway

Owner Heather McCoy first became interested in natural skin care in 1995 when her oldest daughter, “Grace” was born.  As a baby Grace’s skin was very sensitive and she was always breaking out with hive like patches all over her body which made her absolutely miserable!  After several trips to the Pediatrician her doctor concluded that “it could be anything” causing the breakouts.  Heather was desperate to find a solution so she began to research and learned about the dangers associated with the use of so many chemical ingredients found in most commercial or synthetic bath and body products.  She then began educating herself in herbal skin care and Aromatherapy and was hooked!  Once Heather started using quality natural products on her daughter’s skin she was happily cured of all the blotchy spots and a much happier baby.  From then on her little girl was a “Natural” Baby and a company was born.

The key to a great product is using the best ingredients. All of their products are Aloe Vera Based, Safe, Affordable, Fresh, Earth Friendly & Made in USA.

They never use any toxic ingredients, parabens, sulfates, synthetic fragrance oils (Phthalates), artificial colorants, retinols, petroleum and are never tested on Animals (Cruelty Free).

The excitement exudes from Heather’s emails to me.  It is so much more fun to work with an excited owner then a company just going through the steps of PR.  Don’t get me wrong there are some fantastic PR reps out there, but working with the owner of a company allows for more insight and chemistry for a great review and product response.

Sensual from Natural Grace

Heather sent me two products to test out.  I have to tell you.  I heart them both.  The first is a HUGE container of her Elegant Touch Perfume Balm Sensual.  I wish I could use a scratch n sniff webpage just this once.  The scent is alluring and yet so soft and light. Enriched with skin conditioning Cocoa Butter, Sweet Almond and Apricot Kernal Oils to sooth & an exotic blend of pure essential oils to entice the senses.

Scent: Exotic blend of Ylang Ylang, Patchouli, Orange Sweet, Lavender, Sandalwood, and Jasmine.  There is no scent from these that seems to be the top note.  It is more like they all combine to make one sweet, exotic and sexy scent.  Because of the large 2 oz.  container, I have been using this as a cuticle cream too.  I have it in a basket I keep in the living room and reapply all day.  Not because the scent has left, but because I want to smell it all over again!

Olives and Butter Cream Body Whip

Heather also sent me Natural Grace’s Olive and Buttercream Body Whip with Aloe, Olive & Shea Butter. Finally, an incredibly moisturizing body cream, that I can dress immediately after applying. I don’t always shower in the morning, so being in the buff, an applying lotions can get chilly! I like to be able to throw on some clothes after, Or even use at night before dressing for bed, but the thoughts of getting cold is not always appealing. Knowing I can get dressed as I apply, helps keep my skin nice and moisturized! So far anyways! We’ll see if I still feel the same way come 20 degree highs!

With just a slight scent of Lavender, Rosemary and Citrus Essential Oils, you can layer with the Sensual Balm and really feel special! The Shea butter and aloe an truly healing, and feel so light and emollient. This may just become my go to moisturizer all year long!  In fact I love the line so much, they will be one of the select few I carry at the new Prissy Green store!  (coming soon!)

Natural Grace would like to offer one Prissy Green readers $25 gift certificate!  There is so much to Natural Grace’s shop then just this Sensual Balm and Buttercream Whip.

So to enter, visit Natural Grace and tell me what other product there you would like to own or give for the holidays.

Please choose something besides the two items reviewed.

Extra Entries: (you must do the mandatory entry, then the extra entries, please leave a separate comment for all entries)  =)

• Subscribe to Prissy Updates (emails) You must must validate the email.

• Sign up for my RSS feed.

• Vote for me at Divine Caroline and get THREE extra entries. must leave vote #.
  

• Write a positive review (a sentence is fine) of Prissy Green at Alexa.com, and leave the name you used.  5 star review=2 entries.

• Use the Share button below, Stumble, Digg etc. Leave a link or User name. Do as many or as few as you like. (no technorati)
• Become a Fan of Natural Grace on Facebook.
  

• Follow  Prissy Green and Natural Grace on Twitter and Tweet the contest. You can do this daily.

• Blog about this contest for THREE entries. ** You must link to the giveaway.

Contest winners are always chosen by random.org and verified per rules.  Contest ends at 11:59pm EST, on 11/30.  Open to US.

Disclaimer: Natural Grace provided me with a free samples of these producst to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose.  Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return for the free product.

Organic Personal Care to Be Held to Same Law as Organic Food

National Organic Standards Board Votes to Crack Down on Organic Personal Care Cheaters2009-11-06 – Organic Consumers Association

In a milestone victory resulting from years of work by the US organic community to address known fraud in the organic marketplace, the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) has voted 12 to 1 for the USDA National Organic Program (NOP) to enforce the law for organic personal care just like they do for organic food.

This would mean shampoos and other body care products that claim to be organic, but are not certified, would be forced to drop the organic claims made on their products or improve formations to meet organic standards.

Ronnie Cummins, Executive Director of the Organic Consumers Association (OCA) had this to say.

“I’m really pleased by the NOSB’s recommendation.  Brands that are using the word organic improperly should be on notice that USDA enforcement is imminent. Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan has said that she is going to get ‘tough on crime’ in the organic industry. At the NOSB meeting this week, National Organic Program director Miles McEvoy announced a ‘new age of enforcement’ in organic. I expect them to make organic cosmetics fraud a top priority. In the meantime, retailers should start cleaning up their body care aisles. Whole Foods Market, for one, was a big supporter of the NOSB recommendation.”

At the end of September, the OCA promised to announce the names of brands that have cheated consumers for years and recommend honest organic brands in order to promote certified organic personal care. As of today, the Boycott/Buycott is in effect.

Major Brands OCA Will Boycott:

Desert Essence Organics Body Care, Organics by Noah’s Naturals, Giovanni Organic Cosmetics, Nature’s Gate Organics, Amazon Organics, JASON Pure Natural and Organic, and Avalon Organic

Major Brands With USDA Organic Seal and OCA Will BUYcott, encouraging Consumers to support:

Alteya, Amrita, Baby Bear Shop, Badger Balm, Buddha Nose, Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps, Earth Mama and Angel Baby, Kimberly Organics, Little Angel, Mercola, Motherlove, ONEgroup, Organicare, Origins Organics, Purely Shea, Rainwater Organic Lotion, Rose Tattoo Aftercare, SoCal Cleanse, Seasons of the Soul, Sensibility Soaps/Nourish, Terressentials, Trillium Organics, Vermont Soap.

Dan Giacomini, the only NOSB member who voted against the personal care recommendations did so because he felt the board was looking at things in a limited way. He wanted to address fraud in all product sectors, such as dry cleaning and not simply personal care.

The Coming Clean Campaign has been working to clean up the natural and organic personal care industry for the past six years. To view the Certification Commitment Contract; the NOSB Recommendation or for further information on the Coming Clean Campaign, go to: http://www.organicconsumers.org/bodycare/index.cfm

In response to the fore mentioned article, published on http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_19549.cfm Trillium Organics Founder and Formulator Karen Ciesar states,

“Trillium Organics and the other companies on the BUYcott list have been taking the steps to ensure our products are verifiably Organic for many years, without much hope that the consumer could tell the difference between real and pretend organics. It’s heartening to see that organic integrity is starting to gain a legal foothold in our marketplace”.

I personally want to point out that just because some of these companies are not certified organic doesn’t mean that they aren’t natural, or aren’t better then say, Dove, Oil of Olay, Estee Lauder etc etc etc.

What this ruling means is no more trickery. If it is organic, then you will have it certified. At least in order for them to boast about it being Organic. Another way to try and halt some of the major greenwashing the goes on every second in this country.

I think this is fantastic! And well overdue. Hopefully this will make it a little bit easier for the everyday consumer to know exactly who is organic and who isn’t.

Now if we could only do something about all the greenwashing. ::cough-Clorox greenworks::

Should You Go Organic?

Here’s evidence that organic foods are worth the pricier price tag:

Kids who ate pesticide-free foods had levels of organophosphates six times lower than those on conventional diets, University of Washington researchers have found.

Organophosphates are chemicals linked to neurological damage, leukemia, and other cancers

The study was a comparison of  24-hour urine samples from 18 kids, ages 2 to 5, who ate a diet of 75 percent organic foods and 21 kids eating the regular stuff. They measured breakdown products from organophosphates (OP pesticides), which are among the most common agricultural pesticides in the US.  (hello developmental defects)

Because organic foods can make your grocery bill higher, try opting first for organic versions of foods highest in pesticides:

• apples



• apricots
• bell peppers
• cantaloupe
• celery
• cherries
• cucumbers
• imported grapes
• green beans
• peaches
• spinach
• tomatoes

Try using frozen varieties when you can.  They have more nutritional value then the produce at the store.  Because they are flash frozen the nutrition is not compromised. Just don’t microwave them in the plastic bags they come in.  Even if it tells you that you can.

Vapour Organic Beauty Review

If there is only one product you buy for yourself this fall, it has got to be  Vapour Organic Beauty’s Stratus Skin Perfector.   Trust me on this one.  It is a magic wand.

Stratus is a breakthrough Vapour product that dramatically raises the bar for cosmetic performance and purity. This one product is the essential first step in any regimen. Stratus immediately brightens the complexion, evens skin tone and diminishes the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Look brighter and younger as light is reflected in the most flattering manner to provide an instant cosmetic youth boost. Use underneath Atmosphere foundation for a flawless finish.

Revolutionary formula designed to make immediate improvement in the appearance of your skin

• Utilizes the power of light reflection to make skin appear instantly brighter and healthier
• Fine lines and wrinkles diminish immediately
• Skin tone is evened and appears smooth, firm and refreshed

Contains a Certified Organic complex of pumpkin and papaya

• Provides deep moisturizing
• Provides powerful anti-oxidant protection

Contains Lysine

• Essential skin nourishing amino acid
• Creates elegant velvety feeling

I have been using this A LOT.  Even when I normally wouldn’t wear makeup… aka working on the blog here, in my pj’s.   But this makes my skin look so radiant, I can’t help myself!  I also use it as a highlighter, cheeks, eye bone.  A real magic wand.

I can thank Carley’s Smooth and Clear for helping me like this too.  My skin is so clear, I don’t need coverage as much as I need help evening my skin tone.  Magic Wand.  So easy to use, just swipe and smooth in.

Their whole collection is the answer for thirsty winter skin.  The Atmosphere Foundation is created with Sunflower Seed Oil and Castor oil, complete moisture.  Yet non-clogging, and acts as an eraser on lines, wrinkles, sunspots and scars. A richly pigmented, hydrating mineral make-up?  yes ma’am, our prayers were answered.

What I have noticed is that the pigment actually stays where I put, and doesn’t disappear after a couple of hours.  I have not always had that luck with “stick” make-ups.

Vapour Organic Beauty has each ingredients listed on each product page.  The whole line is 70% Organic, but 100% natural.

Unique stick application

• Apply to skin straight from stick; blends beautifully into the skin with fingertips or a sponge
• Portable and elegant

Because it is created with so many nourishing ingredients, make sure you moisturize very lightly.  Or better yet, only in the dry spots.  Like the nose.  If not it might be too much moisture.  I would not be able to wear the foundation in the summer, I am a little too oily, but I will be using the Aura Multi-Use Blush, and the Stratus Skin Perfector.

The Blush comes in 3 flattering shades.  If you need more, add more. If you used to much, just smooth it in!

From left to right, Crush, Spark and Torch

I have the color Torch.  It might look a little intimidating, but I love to just look naturally flushed, and this is the color for me!  It also makes a fantastic lip color.  I have a lot of color naturally  in my lips, so I like to wear colors that look more like a stain, subtle.  This blends with my lip color, and creates just the right amount of attraction to my lips.

Vapour Organic Beauty also carries Illusionist Concealer, Trick Stick and Mesmerize Eye Colors.  Plus Elixir Lip Gloss and Siren Lipstick.  I have been using their Enigma (plum) Lip Gloss.  Extremely hydrating, and just a smidge of color.  Roboust shine for days!

You can purchase Vapour Organics at VapourOrganicBeauty.com.

WWOOF and See the World

WWOOF

Ever know someone that you knew was destined to see the world?  No matter how they do it, they just have the will and drive.  Maybe it is you, or maybe it is you child?

I was recently introduced to a way to volunteer on organic farms and see the world!  And surprise, it was started in the UK back in 1971!  Since then WWOOF has become an international movement that has helped many people share most sustainable ways of living, as well as letting them see the world.

WWOOF stands for World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms.

WWOOF is a total exchange, you work their sustainable farms and you will be repaid by the WWOOF host with food accommodations and also learning!  You will learn organic farming, and sustainability.

WWOOF puts those that are looking for volunteer help, with those that are looking to volunteer.  You don’t have to go to a different country, you can find a WWOOF farm near you.

WWOOF organizations publish a lists of organic farms, smallholdings and gardeners that welcome volunteer help at certain times and that will do the proper exchange. The diversity of hosts available offers a large variety of tasks and experiences.

Volunteer helpers (”WWOOFers”) choose the hosts that most interest them and make direct contact to arrange a stay. Volunteers usually live as part of the family.  Check in to your American Visa.

I thought this was such a unique program, that I wanted to pass it along to you.  I know i wouldn’t be fit to do this.  But I know tons of people that would love the chance!

Revolution Organics Review and Giveaway

Revolution Organics, a 1 year old USDA Certified Organic skin/body line fresh out of Canada is a new favorite of mine.  Especially their “Glow”.

Yep one  you gets the whole shebang.  So to enter visit Revolution Organics and tell me these TWO things.  What one product would you use the most, and what would you use the All Over Body Balm for?

Extra Entries: (leave a separate comment for each you do in order for them to count!) =)

~ Subscribe to Prissy Updates (emails) You must must validate the email that is sent to you!!!
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Love This Site Awards :: Prissy Green – DivineCaroline

No pressure or anything, but I think this site deserves to win a Love! This Site Award from DivineCaroline, so please, vote soon!

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Get an Extra Entry into any ONE contest for voting! Just leave a comment, on the contest you want the extra entry for, and leave your vote #!!

Contest winners are always chosen by random.org and verified per rules. Contest ends at 11:59pm EST, on 11/2. Open to US only.

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