Carmex Comfort Care in Watermelon Blast Review

I've been on a quest- to use all my old gaming consoles---with new to me "old" games. Mainly workout games. I'm trying to get back into regulairly working out. Usually once the weather warms up, I find motivation. Which I have definitely found. I'm trying to keep it interesting with new "games" though. Some of them have been duds- but for me variety is the spice of life or the key to keeping active.

In the meantime, let's talk lip balm. Completely unrelated. 

Carmex claims: 

Help restore lips to their natural beauty with this combination of exceptional ingredients and watermelon flavor in a soothing lip balm stick.

• Crafted with a soothing blend of colloidal oatmeal and cold-pressed antioxidant-rich fruit seed oil
• Helps restore lips’ natural beauty with long-lasting moisture
• Visibly smoother, healthier looking lips

I thought I had tried something from Carmex years ago. But maybe not. Carmex is an old school brand- it has been around for decades. Originating from Wisconsin in 1937. I think everyone has tried it at some point...I think I have tried it too. Either this or the Blistex that comes in the a tub. I get them confused. 

Back in the day, I knew someone who was a superfan of this chapstick-it was funny because I always thought they were saying Carmax instead of Carmex 😂.  They had the countries of accents.

I can be very picky about my lip balms. I prefer mainly a naturally derived brand. I find the ones with all kinds of junk in them really don't work and dry out the lips/make you dependent on them. 

I like this lip balm. I think it works really well and after it wears off, my lips don't feel dry and like i need to immediately reapply. It came in a two pack- which is much appreciated. I need to switch this one out with my current  lip balm (got it free!) - because that one is horrible. I will apply it in the AM and have dry lips ALL day. This is miles better than that one.

But yep- this one is nice. It doesn't remind me of any watermelon scent I have ever smelled. It smells very similar to pink starbursts (my favorite color). I used to pick through Starbursts so I could get the pink ones. The pink starburst is strawberry flavored. 

From what I can tell it also comes in some other flavors- Sugar Plum, Peppermint, and Mixed Berry so they have something for everyone if this scent isn't your jam.

The ingredients are pretty great. I'm glad more mainstream brands are making more natural lip balms. I also appreciate the beeswax. Beeswax are the best lip balms! 

ricinus communis seed oil (castor oil), cera alba (beeswax), theobroma grandiflorum seed butter (cupuacu butter), raphanus sativus seed extract (radish seed extract), flavor, astrocaryum murumuru seed butter (murumuru butter), rhus verniciflua peel cera, rhus succedanea fruit cera, vaccinium macrocarpon seed oil (cranberry seed oil), ascorbyl palmitate (vitamin c palmitate), tocopherol (vitamin E), copernicia cerifera wax (carnauba wax), avena sativa kernel flour (colloidal oatmeal), stevia rebaudiana extract (stevia extract), helianthus annuus seed oil (sun flower seed oil)

Overall, I really like it. It's something I would repurchase if needed. I just wish they would switch to a plastic free tube

Knossos Olive Oil Soap with Donkey Milk and Pomegranate Peel Review

 I bought this on my trip to Greece last year. Everywhere I go I always try to snag a bar of soap. I've used all the "milk" soaps. Goat Milk, Camel Milk, Buffalo Milk. This is the first Donkey Milk soap I came across so of course I had to snag it.

Knossos claims: 

Olive oil soap with Donkey Milk, Pomegranate Peel & fragrance, made 100% by olive oil (no mixture with other kinds of oils). It doesn’t contain color substances or chemical preservatives. 

Suitable for Face & Body.

I can't think of this soap without thinking of Donkey from Shrek. I even have to say it with my Shrek accent. Who know Donkey's produce enough milk that you can use it for soap? 

From the website it looks like this is meant to be sold in bulk for gift shops etc. Which is whereI got mine. Originally intended as a body soap but I found the scent to be lacking so I used it as a facial soap. The scent is just regular old soap. For some reason I thought it was supposed to be scented Pomegranate. But the pomegranate is just there to provide a little exfoliation. I think. 

Otherwise it's a nice soap. Gets my face squeaky clean. It's also slightly drying...so in the winter following up with moisturizer was necessary. 

I think my skin has felt smoother and a little brighter since using it. From what I have read Donkey Milk is supposed to be amazing for the skin. It has all kinds of essential vitamins and proteins that benefit the skin. It's anti-inflammatory and supposed to be good for all kinds of skin issues. 

Ingredients:

Sodium Olivate, Aqua, Parfum, Donkey Milk, Punica Granatum (Pomegranate) Peel Powder, Sodium Chloride, Hexyl Cinnamal, Linalool.

Overall, it's a solid soap. I think for me it would be interchangeable with any other milk soap but it's nice to try something different. Also something simple that just works.

Chicken and Apple Salad Sandwiches, Brown Windsor Soup, and ChocolateTruffles

One more post before I go play some games to end my day. I need to make my next grocery list and figure out what I'm making for the coming week.

Starting with chicken salad. I don't think I have ever made chicken salad. Mostly I made tuna. I think it's time to switch it up. I predict a lot of chicken salad in my future this summer. It was so easy to make and the perfect light dinner option. Didn't even take long to make. I even really liked the addition of the cranberries and apples. I served mine on croissants like the original recipe did and also made split pea soup as a side to use up the rest on my cabinet.  

Next up, Brown Windsor soup. We are back in the Unofficial Harry Potter book. And cooking up all the UK recipes I had never heard of. It's definitely too hot for soup..but this was pretty good. I think it would be the perfect fall/winter soup.It doesn't have the best reputation according to the Wikipedia page but I thought it was decent. Doesn't look amazing..but what can you do. 

And last up- I made truffles. No picture because they just don't look good. I was really excited about this recipe- thought it would lead to me making all kinds of truffles. But these are underwhelming. Really it's way more satisfying to just EAT THE CHOCOLATE AS IS! So I probably won't be making anymore truffles. Here is the recipe if you wish to avoid it.

And that's all! Not a bad week in the kitchen for me....

TLC

TLC. They have songs that really take me back to the exact time period I heard them. The 90's was full of amazing girl groups- there were so many great ones I wouldn't be able to pick just one. Nowadays...I can't think of one. Where did they all go? All  we get are collabs. 

But anyway TLC. 

We'll start with Waterfalls. I loved that song. It came on ALL the time when it first came out. I never had any idea what the song meant at the time- it's a sleeper wisdom imparting type song if you really listen to the lyrics. The message went straight over my heard at the time..but this one is probably a song many people need to stop and listen to. Don't go chasing waterfalls. 

Creep is a classic. I've heard this song a million and 12 times. This is the first time I realized he cheated first and she just cheated back 😂 

I slept on the Red Light Special for years. This is the most Babyface sounding song. I knew he wrote it immediately- no need to even look it up. I love all Babyface penned songs- this is no exception.

The best song  of 1999. No Scrubs. They played this every other song on the radio back then and I enjoyed it every time. It can't be overplayed for me. I know all the scrubs were mad that year. This and Bills, Bills, Bills (Destiny's Child) really taught me something.  

And now- OG TLC. I love this music video. So 90's. This is one of those songs where it was a few years before I figured out what it was about 😂

And last (but not least) we have Baby, Baby, Baby. Another Babyface penned hit. 

I'm really missing the 90's right about now. I'm about to go have me a 90's listening party. 

Beekman 1802 Honeyed Grapefruit Goat Milk Soap Review

 A couple weeks ago I was complaining that it was too cold- so not it's too hot. Candle season is definitely over. And I had to run and get a new air conditioner. Although I really wish I had central air. The heat is unbearable without central air. Anyway, that probably means more showers- so more soap reviews.  

Beekman claims:

Goat milk, grapefruit, and exfoliating guava leaf combine to create a soap that's soft in texture and brightly scented, giving your skin a natural glow. 

Creamy goat milk and botanicals deeply nourish and moisturize skin, giving you long-lasting freshness with a velvety foaming lather that cleanses without stripping skin’s moisture. 

Benefits:

• Triple-milled to last even longer, extending all of the benefits of nourishing goat milk down to the very last lather
• Goat Milk boosts skin health with the same pH as human skin, and it’s rich in lactic acid, vitamins, and minerals to help renew and strengthen skin

I've used a ton of grapefruit scented soaps/ shower gels. And with this weather it sure does sound like a very refreshing scent option. Except this wasn't as refreshing as I had hoped.

It's a nice scent. I guess. I don't really love it. More like I tolerate it but it isn't bad. It's not exactly what I imagine when I think of honeyed grapefruit. I was expecting a zest and punchy scent with honey notes. I don't know what to describe this as. But it smells like something I would love in a cleaning spray. I just didn't think it was all that special as a shower scent. It's pleasant. But probably forgettable. 

My skin is soft though. And it seems to clean pretty well. Lather well. Rinses clean. Beekman makes pretty good soaps. It's just the scent can be hit or miss for me.

Ingredients:

Sodium Palmate, Sodium Cocoate and or Palm Kernelate, Water (Aqua), Glycerin, Fragrance (Parfum), Sodium Chloride, Caprae Lac (Goat Milk), Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Psidium Guajava Fruit Extract (Guava Leaf Extract), Cl 77891, Pentasodium Pentetate, Cl 77492, Cl 77491

Overall, not for me. It's not bad...just nothing special. Usually this might be where I recommend something similar that's a little better but most grapefruit scented soaps/shower gels are just one of those things that is nice to try once and move on. None of them are really standing out to me. I think if you want a true grapefruit scent maybe the bar soap from Fresh or The Body Shops shower gel.

Marinated BBQ Artichokes and Lancashire Hot Pot

 I feel like I've had an exhausting week in the kitchen...I haven't. But it sure feels that way. 

Hopefully this is a super short post.

Starting with artichokes. I've had spinach and artichoke dip. But nothing else with artichoke. This particular recipe took forever and I could not figure out what the instructions were telling me to do because I'm just not familiar with artichoke. And the vids didn't help. It take forever to boil the chokes, then it takes more time to make the marinade and dressing. And I didn't even use the dressing. Because i figured the whole thing was a bit pointless. I think I threw away the heart- which is supposed to be the best part. And I really don't know what part of the leaves you are supposed to eat. So I quite after marinading it and at as is. The marinade was bomb though.And the dressing was good even though I really freestyle most of it. I didn't grill it- I just figured I would quit while I was ahead. So I ate it with marinade on it. Feels like I wasted a lot of time and energy for very little result. So I probably won't be making anymore artichoke anytime soon or in the next few years.

This was it...I just made rice and quick BBQ chicken to go with.  

Then I grabbed my Unofficial Harry Potter book...I'm heavy into the hearty recipes. This is a Lancashire Hot Pot. Seemingly more well known than the previous Hot Pot I made. I almost used Chuck but decided to just go traditional and use lamb. I've made quite a few lamb dishes this year. This one was OK. I wanted the potatoes to be crispy but it won't be with the way the recipe was written. It wasn't bad. Very filling. I think there are better Lancashire Hot Pot recipes out there though...my favorite way to eat lamb is just seared chops. Wouldn't make it again---- but as always it was nice to try something new.

Doesn't look that great- but it is what it is! 

Pretty unexciting week for me. Maybe next week will be a bit more exciting....