Summer Skin Care Regiment

During hot summer months we all have to adjust our skin care regiment. As a nicer and hotter weather moves in more people break out due to increased perspiration and increased time we spend outside. Because of this, our skin produces extra oils and accumulates extra dirt and debris, thus allowing more pimple-causing bacteria to grow. My skin type is combination and I find summer the most challenging time for my facial care. All I'm trying to do during summer is to keep my oil production down and milia or tiny bumps (with white heads or without) under control. You can't really cure these problems, all you can do is prevent them. During hot months make it a habit to wash your face with soapy water a number of times a day. If you have oily skin, wash your face at least twice a day with our Tea Tree Cucumber facial bar or Geranium facial bar. If you have dry skin, wash your face not only in the morning but also at bedtime to remove excess oil and makeup. Creamy Classic Lavender facial bar or Milk ‘n Honey bar would be your best choices. If you have combination skin, I recommend using Geranium facial bar or Milk ‘n Honey twice a day during hot summer months. You can also use our All-Natural astringent toners to clean your face as many times as you need. And here is a hint on how to get the most out of your toner: during especially hot days keep your toner in a refrigerator and use it all over your face and neck to wipe out the dirt, to replenish and refresh your skin.

Everyone spends more time outdoors during the summer, which means that environmental debris and pollutants can have an additional impact on your skin's ability to remain elastic, free of bacteria and excess sebum. I personally notice more problem spots after a day of gardening or day at the outdoor art show. The great way to deep cleanse, sooth, draw out extra oils and firm your skin would be to use of our All-Natural Clay Facial Masks once a week and even more often during summer. Clays are widely used in spas all over the world. I love them especially for their ability to detoxify tone, gently exfoliate and deep cleanse our skin. They are full of rare minerals and they are designed by nature to absorb impurities from skin as they dry. After 15 minutes of our clay mask treatment you will wash away (together with clay) extra sebum and dirt, and add a few years to your looks by returning natural elasticity to your skin. Oily Skin owners: Sea Kelp Detox is for you. Dry and sensitive skin owners: Strawberry Fig would benefit you best. Combination skin: Banana Mango would work great for your skin.

Due to hotter weather you may feel less need to use your moisturizers and it is perfectly fine. For our Facial Serum users I would suggest to play with your usage amounts or maybe even postpone use of it completely during the summer. Try using less drops per area and spread it thinner on your face. Just recently I started using my serum every other day instead of every day and I am thinking about cutting it down to once a week. I just wash my face with Milk 'n Honey soap (in my soap dish now) as many times as I need , use my new favorite Apple Twist Toner and I am good to go until evening! For Oily or Combination Skin owners I would recommend replacing your moisturizers completely with our All-Natural gentle Facial Toners. They are light, refreshing, soothing and moisturizing.

If you have extra oily areas, you can dry problem areas with Glycolic Acid pads. 10% Glycolic Acid and 5% Cylicilic Acid formulation is mild enough to not give you any skin irritations. You can get pads at your dermatologist office or online. Read list of ingredients carefully to make sure there is no Acetone!

Adjust your makeup regimen to the summer climate and your outdoor activities as well. Select powder blushes and eye shadows rather than cream products because they are less irritating and more likely to hold up in hot and humid weather. Use mineral foundations that will double you as SPF protection. If you need a good mineral foundation you can find some here and here. Learn how to apply natural-looking, barely there makeup for those outdoor occasions.

Enjoy your summer friends! Till next time,
Liana.

Sixth Fan Page Giveaway

Our number of fans has finally reached 200 mark. It has been jumping up and down due to recent changes on Facebook, but I think it is safe to assume that it is a solid mark now. This giveaway is all about summer! The winner of the sixth giveaway will get a $25 Gift Certificate to our store. Please feel free to share this giveaway with your friends, however there are some rules: to enroll in MH's 6th Fan Page Giveaway you must be a Marmalade Hills fan on Facebook; you must be 18 years of age or older; and you have to leave a comment to this post on our blog.

Please leave your comment and tell us: what is your favorite summer scent? It can either be your favorite fruit, flower, food or simply a scent that can instantly remind you of summer even during coldest winter months.

Please leave your comment underneath this post. If you leave a comment as anonymous, don't forget to sign your comment. This giveaway will be closed for comments exactly one week from today-June 1st. As always random winner will be announced on our Fan Page.

I am looking forward to your comments! Good luck!
Liana.

Clean Sweep 2010 with my family

As you may remember, during the Earth Day weekend my family participated in our locally organized Clean Sweep 2010. In the prior years we used to go for walks in the neighborhood and collect litter whenever we felt like doing it. It was a great way to get some fresh air and do a good thing. And as our daughter got older and learned about Earth Day and taking care of Earth at school, we have decided to make our random family litter hunts more official. So I called our township hall and signed us up. They were providing garbage bags and official t-shirts in XL sizes (don’t ask me why XL).
That Sunday was one of the gloomiest days this Spring. It rained the whole morning and it was chili, wet and sticky in the afternoon. But we were determined to do it. So we got our gloves, rain gear, sweaters, blankets, garbage bags and a magic grabber tool that my husband got at the hospital after his back surgery a few weeks prior to this event. If you are planning on doing Clean Sweep with your family you HAVE to have one and I you can buy one in any drug store or on the internet. This tool came extremely handy when picking up plastic bottles from hard to reach, thick bushes or soaking wet plastic bags from the ditches, our daughter had lots of fun with it. Most of the items that ended up in our garbage bags were fast food packaging, Styrofoam cups, plastic bags and lots of plastic bottles! You wouldn’t have believed the amount of plastic bottles we found! It is disturbing to think that someone can just abandon these things in the middle of the street with no shame.
So here is what we got after two hours of walking just 1 mile distance in a nice family oriented, suburban neighborhood: two full 30 lb garbage bags! All rinsed off with a hose and sorted into recycling bins for garbage collection day.
After two hours of wet and gloomy outside we came home with red cheeks and had the most awesome Carrot Cake with Green Tea! It was all worth it!

Till next time friends,
Liana.

Chicken Sausage and Bell Peppers Spaghetti

Every busy mom loves easy, healthy recipes and here is one of my favorites! This recipe will provide a dinner for a small family of four and it is a great way to make your kids eat vegetables - with pasta! Everything goes with pasta, right?

You will need 4 chicken sausages from your favorite market; box of your favorite spaghetti; 3 bell peppers: yellow, orange or red work best (not green bell pepper); 1 large white onion; 1/4 cup of Olive Oil; grated parmesan.

1. Add full sausages to non-stick pan (no oil required).
2. Brown sausages on each side. Just wait for them to become semi-firm and lightly browned on each side. Do not overcook.
3. Slice your peppers medium and onion medium thin.
4. Take out cooked sausages and let them rest for few minutes on a cutting board.
5. You can start a pot with water for cooking spaghetti now.
6. Add Olive Oil and sliced vegetables to the same pan. Cook until they turn translucent and soft.
7. Slice cooked sausages in an angle and add sausage slices to the pan with vegetables. Stir well and let everything cook on medium heat for 7 minutes, or just enough for juices to blend and get absorbed by meat.
8. Serve vegetable-sausage mix over hot spaghetti and sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese! Done!


Can you say YUM-O?

Michigan State Youth Entrepreneurship Panel

On April 27th I will be speaking and sharing ideas with local high school students at the "Youth Entrepreneurship Panel" organized by Michigan State University Extension Youth & Community Development. I am so delighted by this invitation and excited to see those wonderful kids who are in their spare time thinking and trying to become entrepreneurs! I already feel so proud of them! I can just wish for my kids to do the same when they hit high school :)

Earth Week 2010

Originally Earth Day was created to inspire awareness and appreciation for Earth's environment. The celebration of Earth Day on April 22nd began in the United States in 1970 and was the brainchild of Senator Gaylord Nelson. Forty years after the first Earth Day, the world is getting greener! Just last weekend at the Detroit Zoo I overheard a little girl asking her mom: "Mom, can I recycle this?" pointing at a piece of plastic candy wrap. It was so cute and so heart warming :) Good job moms and dads!
We ALL contribute to a better tomorrow and every effort on our side, no matter how big or small - matters! "Be the change you want to see in the world" -Mahatma Gandhi.

Marmalade Hills was born in a quest for natural and safe skincare products. In our formulations we use only wholesome, plant derived and natural ingredients that are the best thing for your skin and your wellbeing. And just like many other wonderful "green" companies out there, we are trying to raise awareness about safe and natural skincare ingredients and products. But our efforts do not stop just there. As a business we try to minimize production and post production waste by using natural, plant derived and biodegradable ingredients, by recycling metal, plastic, glass, and paper materials, by printing our labels on recycled paper, and using only recyclable packaging. We also offer a Recycling Credit for our returning customers. We are still reusing our shipping peanuts, but just last week I have found a lead to a new and exciting Eco-friendly packaging solution. It will take some time to implement it, but you can be sure - we are improving, as we grow!

On personal frontier we try to live a responsible life and set right examples for our kids. For some years we have been going on hikes around the neighborhood with our oldest daughter and picking up litter. It is a great activity and it gives kids another dimension on responsible living. This year we have decided to make it official and join forces of Clean Sweep team of Bloomfield Township during the weekend of April 24th and 25th. Our family adopted Franklin Rd section between Quarton Rd and Lone Pine Rd, so if you are in the area drive by and wave!

Happy Earth Week! Please, respect your Mother!

Till next time,
Liana.

Spring Into Wings Raffle

During our "Spring Into Wings" show in Kalamazoo, MI we have been inviting people to participate in Marmalade Hills raffle. After a short delay raffle results are finally here!
I will contact all the participants about the raffle once. Only those who have checked the box for receiving updates in the future will be automatically signed up for our Newsletter and receive 15% off their next online order. Just mention SPRINGWINGS at check out and difference will be refunded to you after your payment clears.
I have 18 email addresses in our sign up sheets. I have numbered all the participants as they were added to the list and here it is as follows:
1-Jill S; 2-Vicky M; 3-Joyann G; 4-Laurie J; 5-Chelsea M; 6-Julie P; 7-Cameron V; 8-Arlynn S, 9-Lukenia J, 10-Shawn J, 11-Cheryl, 12-Stephanie S, 13-Dianna H, 14-Cheryl E, 15-Jennifer M, 16-Sue V, 17-Liz P, 18-Amy M.
The lucky winner will be getting our Luxury Omega 3 Facial Serum
Drum roll please...

And the winner is Cheryl! Congratulations Cheryl! I will be sending you Marmalade Hills Facial Serum as soon as I receive your mailing address. Email me at liana@marmaladehills.com with that.
Thank you very much to everybody for signing up and who joined our Fan Page! We hope to see you all at "Christmas at Wings" show this December.

Till next time,
Liana.

P.S. I just realized that I have not left my contact information. Cheryl please email me with your address at contactus@marmaladehills.com