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Journal 11/52: Current Playlist

Journal 11/52: Current Playlist

Apr 8, 2018 | Journal, Lifestyle

Journal 11/52: Current Playlist

It’s been too long since I made a playlist. My iPod – which contained pretty much all my music was stolen and my hard drive backups crashed, and since then I’ve never bothered rebuilding my music library. Still I love music, I do.

Dua Lipa

My current girl crush. Her voice is what I wish my voice sounded like, and she’s gorg. She rocks socks.

Spotify’s Good Vibes playlist

Whatever’s on there when I’m driving to work in the morning, just nice and easy on a sunny day at Coconut Point or even when it’s pouring.

The Greatest Showman soundtrack

When I need to get extra pumped at work. I’ve been known to turn this all the way up on my iMac so everyone can sing along with me. If my work life had a soundtrack…

Lianne La Havas

When Ian is jamming out and picks these chords and I immediately sing Midnight. Her acoustic version in the SoFar sessions are 100% my fave.

Phum Viphurit

Accidentally stumbled upon Lover Boy on YouTube and when I heard his music thought he was John Legend. But I saw the video and it’s this 21 year old Thai-born New Zealand-based Hong Kong-resident singer!

David Byrne

What I listen to when I’m making dinner with my boyfriend and I’m dancing around our tiny kitchen like ooh this is so romantic and fun and we’re so cute.

Alabama Shakes

Her voice trills give me the thrills! All her music strikes my soul, and always takes me back to the time I would be driving home after visiting my boyfriend in Aoloau and it just gave me all the feels.

Slow jazz/ Bossa Nova/ café music

I don’t know what genre this is but the music I’m talking about has all of these 3 things combined. I love to hear the clinking of the plates being picked up by busboys, muted chatter in the background, and a grainy quality to the piano and drums. So good.

Quiet

Quiet

Apr 2, 2018 | Moments

“Quiet doesn’t need to mean boring or unfulfilling, it doesn’t show that you’re any less hard working or any less deserving of special opportunities, it just means that things have changed, your list of priorities are different to others and as always, those differences are what makes you beautiful.” – Megan Ellaby

CREATE: DIY Natural Organic Deodorant

CREATE: DIY Natural Organic Deodorant

Apr 2, 2018 | Create, Lifestyle, Sustainable Living

My mom always told me, simplicity is beauty. And after all these years, I’m applying that nugget of wisdom to my armpits… you heard right!

Did I ever tell you that I went a whole month *without* deodorant?

Yeah, probably not what my mom meant.

The story goes, that back in December 2017 I ran out of Old Spice Wolfthorn deodorant (which I am unashamed to say I used and shared with my boyfriend lol). And I already had planned that when it ran out, I would switch to a natural product.

At this point I was already taking baby steps to a more sustainable lifestyle, so in the process, I did a full on natural detox.

No deodorant for a month.

I was constantly nervous about my B.O. and the stress sweat struggle is real you guys. I started using lime slices to deodorize naturally (this works wonders!). So if you ever decide to switch to a natural deodorant, the first step is to expel all those harmful chemicals you’ve been soaking in through your pits for a month.

During my detox, I tried looking for natural deodorants to purchase and got a couple of recommendations from friends on different brands to try. But after reading some reviews about baking soda rashes and a double take on the price range of organic options, I turned to a more DIY approach.

DIY Natural Organic Deodorant

WHAT YOU’LL NEED:

– Natural Shea Butter

– Organic Cold Pressed Coconut Oil

– Bees Wax Pellets

– Essential Oils (for fragrance)

– Arrowroot Powder

– Baking Soda

– Glass OR ceramic mixing bowls (or Double Broiler)

– Measuring cups

–  Clean old deodorant container

TO MAKE:

Fill 1 bowl with boiled water and place another bowl on top, to use as a double broiler (If you have a double broiler, you can just use that! Or you can use a glass or ceramic bowl that fits over a small pot. This was my makeshift double broiler).

Add 2 tablespoons of coconut oil and 2 tablespoons of shea butter – stir and melt.
Add 4 tablespoons of beeswax – stir and melt. I live in a warm tropical climate so if you live in a cooler climate, you can use less beeswax.
Add 1 teaspoon of baking soda – stir and melt. Baking soda may be an irritant to some people so if you have sensitive skin like I do, only use a teaspoon or less. I would have left it out altogether but baking soda helps act as the deodorizing agent.

Add 2 tablespoons of arrowroot powder. This creates a more solid consistency.

Add 10-15 drops of your preferred essential oils for fragrance. I used tea tree oil and lavender oil.
Stir it all up until it’s completely smooth, and you’re almost there! Remove from your double broiler set up and pour into an old deodorant container while still hot. I cleaned out and emptied my Old Spice container to reuse.
And that’s it! Set your brand new natural organic deodorant to cool at room temperature. You can also put it in the freezer for a couple of minutes to speed up the process. You’ll know it’s done when it’s firm.
To customize, try different essential oils to change up the fragrance, and add your own label to make it look legit. I added a sticker from an old surf movie we had laying around.

FINAL THOUGHTS

My own personal and biased review? I love it!

My boyfriend also loves it ~ yes, we still share deodorant lol.

But really though, it works great!

The Pros: it’s made with completely natural organic products. It smells amazing. It doesn’t stain clothes, and it keeps me smelling fresh for the day.

The Cons: the consistency is a little stickier than I had hoped, but a simple solution is to just dab it on and rub it in. A little goes a long way.

An Alternative: I actually really liked using lemon slices on my armpits. I still use it every other day when we have lemons or limes.

The key takeaway here is that switching to a natural deodorant is a brilliant idea and it’s super simple to do yourself and it’s great for your health and the environment!

Thanks for reading!