Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Review: Enessa Rescue Blemish Control

As a teenager, I can remember thinking acne would only be a brief stumbling block I'd have to endure for a few years on my transition from child to adult.  Boy was I totally and completely wrong!  Not only is it still a problem for me years later (hint: my 20 year high school reunion was last year), it is also still a problem for my Mom.  In other words, it is never, ever going to go away.  AHHHHH!!!!

Although, I've ultimately resigned myself to the fact that I will always struggle with those pesky, red bumps popping up on my face, literally overnight, I have found the perfect product to help me better control the breakouts.

Enessa Rescue - Blemish Control (0.5 fl.oz) $39.95

Ingredients: Golden Jojoba*, Neem Oil, Essential Oils of Tea Tree**, Manuka**, Cajeput**, Lavender*, Juniper**, Eucalyptus*, Cypress * and others. *Organic ** Wild Harvested
  •  Recommended Use:  Enessa Rescue Blemish Control is recommended for use on topical, surface acne.
  • Packaging: It is packaged in a dark blue glass bottle with a spray pump.  My only gripe with the packaging is that you can't see through the glass at all, so it is impossible to see when you are running low on the product. As someone who uses this product religiously, I would absolutely freak out if I ever ran out.  Please make the bottle a little more transparent, Enessa!  Pretty please! :)
  •  Texture & Application:   The product is a mixture of oils a little will go a very long way.  Apply one drop directly to the blemish or to the problem area of your skin, two to three times a day.    
  • Scent: I pick up on the eucalyptus essential oil the most in this product.  Overall the scent is really not overly strong though, and you won't even notice it when you put it on your skin. 
  • Bonus:  This product is made with organic and/or wild harvested ingredients. 
Verdict:   I've been using this product for a couple of years now and I absolutely adore it.  Not only does it lessen the frequency of the breakouts I experience but it also really seems to help lessen the duration of them, too.   It won't dry out your skin like products containing salicylic acid are prone to do.  It also doesn't make my skin look like a oil slick.  A lot of people think putting oils on your skin would have that effect but it really doesn't at all.  The oils will absorb right in, and help keep your skin looking well hydrated!  As stated above, Enessa's Rescue Blemish Control is recommended for helping with topical acne. For those who have trouble with cystic acne, they have another great product called Enessa Clove Acne Control which is going to be a little bit more powerful since it has to get deeper under the skin to heal.

What is your go-to green beauty acne fighter? 

~Chrissy

Disclosure: All links provided in this post are Amazon Affiliate links.

Sunday, June 1, 2014

Three Great Natural Flea & Tick Products for your Dogs

"Summer, summer, summer time.  Time to sit back and unwind."  -Will Smith

It sure is time to sit back, unwind and hopefully not have to worry about flea and ticks attacking your dogs.  I don't know how it feels outside in your neck of the woods, but here in Nebraska it is hot and humid already and it's not even technically summer yet!  I fear we'll be in for one heck of a long, hot summer if this is any indication.  Whatever the case, it is definitely flea and tick season so we are ready to tackle the season right...with natural products! My husband is the one who researched and chose all the products we are using to help battle the fleas and ticks in our yard naturally.  It's only the best, non-toxic products for our sweet doggies!  Our battle strategy is to treat both the yard and the dogs, so to be doubly assured that those pesky bugs stay far away!  Not only will these products help keep the bugs at bay, but all of them actually smell really good because they are full of wonderful essential oils!  

Vet's Best Natural Flea + Tick Yard and Kennel Spray* (32 fl oz) $14.88
~Ingredients: Water, Sodium Benzoate, Citric Acid, Peppermint oil, Eugenol (Clove extract), Sodium Lauryl Sulfate

~This product is designed to be used on the yard itself.  It is a bottle you attach your hose to and spray over your entire yard.  One 32 fl.oz. bottle will treat 4,500 sq. ft.  This is the first year we've tried this product.  So far we've applied one treatment in our backyard and the results have been positive.  The application process was very easy and straightforward.  It didn't harm the grass in any way.  Our yard still looks healthy and lush.  My husband said it was really nice to not feel like he had to wear a HAZMAT suit when he was out spraying it in the yard.  He mentioned how nice and pepperminty it smelled as he was applying it and that little bubbles formed as he was spraying it.  How fun is that!?  The instructions don't mention how often you should apply this product, so right now our plan is to treat the yard once a month and we'll see how it goes. 

Vet's Best Natural Anti-flea Easy Spray Shampoo* (16 fl oz) $10.24
~Ingredients: Water, Sodium Benzoate, Citric Acid, Peppermint oil, Eugenol (Clove extract), Sodium Lauryl Sulfate
~This shampoo is unique in that you spray it on your dogs coat dry, lather it in well for 5-10 minutes (if you can get your dog to stay still for you long enough!), then add a small amount of water, lather again and rinse off.  Our dogs skin wasn't irritated at all by this product.  Our skin wasn't irritated at all by this product either!  It smells fantastic, although initially it is pretty strong.  The instructions don't mention how often you should apply this product.  We've shampooed our dogs once already and will likely do it once a month. 

Mercola Natural Flea and Tick Defense Spray* (8 0z) $17.95
~Ingredients:  Purified Water, Lemon Grass Oil, Cinnamon Oil, Sesame Oil, Castor Oil
~This is a spray used on your dogs coats.  Be careful to keep it out of their eyes. nose and mouth when spraying it though.  I will spray it on a paper towel and rub it on their head, ears and neck to be on the safe side!  Our dogs haven't had any skin irritations with this product.  The smell is pretty strong initially but it fades fairly quickly and is still overall very pleasant! (And, 100 times more pleasant then those toxic flea and tick remedies we used to use!)  The instructions don't mention how often you should apply this product.  Maybe I am just so used to the toxic products we used in the past which would warn you how often you can use them. I keep looking for this same kind of thing on these natural, non-toxic ones.  Be that as it may, we're using this product a couple times a week.

After using all these products we haven't seen any ticks or fleas on our dogs or on us, for that matter.  Our battle strategy seems to be working as planned! Woo hoo!!!

There are so many natural flea & tick products on the market, I'm curious about what products you use for your dogs and what your experience has been using them?

~Chrissy

*Disclosure: I am an Amazon.com Affiliate