My {mostly} diy natural skincare & make-up

Ever since making the move over to natural skincare for my face via oil cleansing and LOVING it, I've decided to work other all-natural, mostly diy products into my other skincare regimens. Since so many of you ask me, and since I find myself having these all-natural skincare conversations almost daily, I've finally got enough information digested and tested out to put together a well informed post.

After trying a few different concoctions and other organic store-bought products I've settled into what works best for me and am very, very happy with the effectiveness, price point, and of course chemical-free-ness (esp. as I am hoping to bake another lil bun in the oven soon) I hope you can try some of these out for yourself, & let me know what you think of them!

I make my own body moisturizer, facial cleanser, facial moisturizer, toner, make-up remover, & deodorant:

BODY MOISTURIZER:
DIY: I use Fill spray bottle with oil (would recommend jojoba oil, liquid coconut oil, or almond oil), a few drops of vitamine e oil, + a few drops of your favorite essential oil (My favorites are lavender or patchouli and lime or patchouli and orange)

You can get little travel spray bottles pretty much anywhere - Target, Walmart, Dollar Stores, etc. and you can find your essential oils at any apocathery, Whole Foods, or online (I like Ananda's Apothecary but Amazon carries pretty much everything too). Whole Foods or a local apothecary is great if it's your first time buying so you can smell the samples and ask questions and talk to the store reps.

DEODORANT:

DIY: Straight up lime juice. Fill in spray bottle and refrigerate. You can either juice fresh limes or use store bought lime juice, both will work great.
A lot of store bought brands use lime or lemon juice in their deodrant already and you will find that just using lime juice will work just as well and also smells really good. I was a little doubtful and hesitant in trying this out but I am so, so happy I finally did. No more chemicals or wasting money, and I'm fresher than I ever was before, win-win-win. Seriously, try it, you'll be happy you did.

FACIAL:

DIY Oil Facial Cleanser: A post all to itself, here. & you can buy my custom facial oil cleansers here.

DIY Facial Moisturizer: I don't use any moisturizers because my OCM keeps my skin properly hydrated. Sometimes I won't wipe off all the oil completely to give a little extra moisture/glow throughout the day. Of course, drinking lots of water helps too.

DIY Exfoliator: Occasionally I will use my homemade brown sugar exfoliator. This I probably do once a month, maybe a little more frequently in the winter months.

Make-Up Remover: My oil works really great at removing both eye and face make up.

Toner: Mix 2 part Apple Cider Vinegar to 1 part water. Combine in travel container, shake well, and apply to face with cotton ball after cleansing or before applying make-up. (Read more on the amazing topical benefits of apple cider vinegar here).

SOAP:

I love Beau Savon's handmade soaps, which have all natural ingredients and contain no preservatives or lather enhancers. They smell amazing and there are so many different kinds to choose from but some my favorites are Champagne Swizzle, Crimson & Clover, European Blend, & Milk & Honey. (Great to give away as gifts too - these are beautifully packaged and can buy 4 or 5 bars at a time for discounts).
Also currently loving the castile soap from Dr. Bronner's. This stuff is amazing & just a little goes a very long way!

HAIR:

Shampoo & Conditioner: I use Pureology (the purple bottle, "Hydrate" line) which is absolutely ah-maz-ing. It contains NO sulfates and is 100% vegan and still top notch salon quality. It is on the more expensive side, but it totally pays off. One bottle will last you forever. You just need a very very small amount to get a really good lather and it leaves your hair so, so incredibly soft & sleek. 

Deep Conditioner: Coconut Oil once every month or so. 

Styling products: Moroccan oil. This is the only product I use in my hair and am a huge spokesperson for it -- It is full of protein to strengthen your hair, omega-3 oils and vitamins for shine, as well as antioxidants. You can work a tiny, tiny bit through damp hair and then blow dry to lock in moisture and nutrients, and it will simultaneously serve as a stylizing & volumizing agent as well.

NAILS:

Not all my nail polish is organic or vegan, but I recently started on two new, non-toxic, vegan-friendly brands, Butter & Scotch Naturals and love them both A LOT. Favorite Butter brand color: Yummy Mummy. How appropriate. Favorite Scotch brand colors: Roasted Mellow and Neat. You can find acetone-free removers now at mostly all convenient stores now but Butter also manufactures a nail polish remover pack that is acetone-free with more favorable scents like pina colada or almond, and Scotch a soy polish remover.

MAKE-UP:

You should note that I very rarely wear make up anymore these days. I love, love make up, but since becoming a mom, and staying home with Landon, I really only put make up on when we go out socially on the weekends. 

I have a lot of make-up, and not all my make-up is chemical-free {yet} but I will run you through my favorite products that I use most often:

Foundation:

Currently using up my Bobbi Brown foundation stick (not organic/vegan) which I really like, but have problems smearing something all over my face that is not 100% organic or vegan. It does however work really, really well, and was about $45, so am just finishing the stick. I put a little bit of my facial oil on my face first before applying so it blends better and moisturizes, and looks more natural.

I also use Lush powder foundation which is vegan and made with jojoba oil. Will also add in a little bit of my oil mixture to this to make this a more of a tinted moisturizer, which comes out amazing.

Eyeliner & Mascara: I've tried organic certified mascara but had zero luck with it (But to be honest, I've only tried Organic Wear by Physicians Formula) However, this mascara did not last long at all and ran and left black smudges under my eyes within an hour of putting it on.....I used it twice and then chucked it in the trash and resorted to my favorite "They're Real" mascara by Benefit (truly amazing) and favorite thin black eyeliner from Maybelline. 

Lips:

Burts Bees tinted lip balm in color Hibiscus. This is a staple that I always have on me, looks good with or without make up, is the perfect color, and is 100% natural.

Chanel rouge allure velvet lipstick in #42 (my fave) - not organic but I only wear for special nights out and it is truly the best lipstick product I have ever known.

For a basic chapstick at night with no color I use plain old petroleum jelly as well as Lansinoh lanolin. I know that sounds kind of gross but it is the purest thing out there and safe for even the tiniest of babies to ingest and works really well to moisturize and protect severely dry lips/skin.

Current favorite lip balm are Dr. Bronner's 100% organic lip balms (the peppermint is awesome!)

FOR BABY:

Bath Wash & Shampoo: Everyday Shea. This stuff is only $10 for 32 fl oz and a little goes a verrry long way. I've had this now for months and we still have a long way to go. It smells absolutely amazing, made up from shea leaf to moisturize & soften lil baby's sensitive skin. I love the blend of this lemon, eucalyptus, and mint for a really nice, invigorating yet also calming scent.

Also use this same brand for shampoo, either lavender or vanilla mint scented. Again, a tiny bit goes a long way. I used to buy Landon new toiletries almost every single week but since switching over to Everyday Shea, I haven't had to buy him wash or shampoo in months.

Moisturizer: Landon has ezcema so we use an intense moisturizer, Hydrolatum which I absolutely love. It is super moisturizing, and made up entirely of petroleum and purified water. It works especially well for eczema flair ups and is gluten free, steriod free, peanut free, and alcohol free. And it doesn't leave behind the greasy residue that you get with Aquaphor or Eucerin. Great, great product :)

Diaper Cream: Burt's Bees all the way. I've tried every single ointment out there (organic and non-organic) and Burt's Bees works the best by FAR and also smells so, so good. If you are looking for all-natural, some mamas like the organic Budreaux's Butt Paste - I haven't had much luck with it but I know it's popular amongst other health/product conscious mamas. I've also heard lots of mamas using Coconut Oil for diaper rash, this hasn't worked well for us but reportedly does for some.

Got any other all-natural diy or vegan products that you currently use & love? Please leave a comment and share! I'd love to hear more :)

Also, if you are interested in learning more about why you should make the move from conventional OTC skincare products and cosmetics to all-natural DIY products or certified vegan/organic products, please watch this short youtube video:

tea for me

Landon caught a cold last week and of course by default that means it gets passed onto me too. I've been researching some good herbal teas to make recently and saw this one to help soothe sore throats that is so, so good, and so easy to make, and my throat was instantly better within the day.

What you'll need:
- 1 tea bag of herbal tea (any kind you want - I used a de-caffinated black tea with orange and spices).
- 1 spoonful (or approximately 1 tablespoon) of unrefined coconut oil.
- 5 whole cloves (or two pinches ground cloves).
- Honey (however much you would normally use to sweeten, I use approximately 1 teaspoon). 
3 Easy Steps:
1. Brew your cup of herbal tea. 
2. Drop the cloves into your mug (or if you are using loose tea put them into your tea ball and brew your tea).
3. Stir in honey & coconut oil.  
Drink almost to the bottom, but don't drink/choke on the cloves ;) 
Keep this recipe in your back pocket for the next time you are sick or have a sore throat, you'll thank me later!

*My favorite lil honeypot that took me two years to find: here :)

Review & Giveaway: Ink Cards!

All you busy mamas will definitely be thanking me for introducing Ink Cards into your life. This is a free app that can be downloaded on your iphone (or android) that lets you choose from a number of different greeting cards for any occasion, and then lets you personalize your card to your recipient. You can type in your own greeting or thoughtful message, upload your own photos from your phone if you want, and then type in your recipient's address and they will receive your card in the mail, & all for just $1.99. That's with postage included! No more last minute trips to the store for the belated birthday or congratulatory cards, rummaging through your house for stamps, trips to the mailbox, and spending hours trying to pick out the perfect card. All this is now at the convenience of your fingertip. The quality of their cards are really great and their designs are super cute. I ordered a test Valentine's Day card for Chris and I already got it in the mail and can't get over how adorable it is. 

Since I love this product so much, Inked has agreed to give Mumma's Corner's readers 10 free cards (postage included!) with promo code "mummascorner" or simply by clicking on this link below:

https://sincerely.com/promo/mummascorner

I promise you'll love it as much as me :) Let me know what you all think!

#VineApp

You may have seen this latest sensation everyone's been buzzing about, the new Vine App. The app allows you to record short 6-second videos on your iphone very easily, there's no editing required on your part, you just hold down your finger on the screen to record, lift your finger off the screen during any "dead time," then hold your finger back on the screen to pick up recording, and then it ties them all together in one video. The app allows you share them to your feed just like instagram, only instead of pictures, they're little mini-videos.
We already consume so much screen time in between twitter, facebook, pinterest, and instagram. I'm wondering if we can even handle another social media platform like this. It’s been very interesting to witness all these platforms emerge, become more popular, and overlap with each other. We used to tweet our thoughts, now most of us just tweet our instagrams and posts. We used to create personal facebook albums for events and times in our lives, now we post check-ins and our instagrams or mobile pics. And now this app has brought us to a whole new level into someone's life...We are literally watching video feeds of people's lives and hearing them talk. (This took me a little while to figure out but there is sound, just turn your phone from vibrate to ringer). Are thoughts and photos simply not enough for us anymore? It seems we're always wanting something more, something better, but technology is moving faster than we can keep up with ourselves. At first glance, this all felt a bit too much. I thought, I don't have enough time for something else! But it intrigued me. I created an account and posted my first video, and I was hooked. This thing was very cool. I'm big on taking home videos, but I've definitely been slacking the past year or so. My flip video doesn't make it out with me everywhere and my iphone videos takes up too much free space on my phone, so this app seemed brilliant to me. It definitely sparked some creativity and I'm really excited to see how other people will use this to market their brands and sites. But I do know the app has a issues with people posting pornographic video clips, so maybe this will turn into the myspace for iphone apps and fizzle out, I don't know.
I'm still getting the hang of this app, I think the concept is really cool but its features are still a bit wonky and I'm interested to see how it updates. Can I share to facebook or email it to someone, or save it to my phone or computer? Will there be filters in the future? Will we be able to find friends to follow/import from facebook and instagram? Or is it going to stay exclusive to Twitter? Will they start censoring the porn problem?
I'd love to hear your thoughts on this new app-sensation, & if you're interested, you can follow my videos at @lisabauman. Let me know what you all think of this & if you're on the bandwagon, give me your username so I can have some people on my feed too :)

Home Videos

**Edit -- This was old page that I'm republishing as a post ...just trying to reorganize my site a little bit without losing this content. 

My husband and I have way too much fun with our little honeybunny. We bought the Flip camera recorder when he was only 3 months old to make sure we got lots of home videos taken to look back on. Not knowing where the past 10 months went, I am SO happy we got this. I want to make a point of recording lots of little everyday occurrences (not just holidays & birthdays, but of course I will be documenting those as well) because I feel like that's really where you capture some of the most humorous & memorable moments. These are in order of most recent - oldest. Hope you enjoy viewing them as much as we enjoy living them :)

Oct. 2012 -- Little Talks

Dec. 2011 -- Landon Christmas Day 2011

Nov. 2011 -- babbling, splashing, singing landon on his 2nd thanksgiving morning

Oct. 2011 -- Almost Sliding 

Aug. 2011 -- First Steps :)

June 2011 -- cake!

June 2011 -- Take a Stand

May 2011 -- Talking, Tickled Landon

May 2011 -- Lando on the move

May 2011 -- Mother's Day bike ride, bebe in tow

May 2011 -- more biking footage

Apr. 2011 -- Water Landon!

Apr. 2011 -- swimming with the Bauman's (on crack)

Mar. 2011 -- dancing landon, 9 mo. old doing "the wiggle"

Mar. 2011 -- hysterical landon

Dec. 2010 -- laughing with dad on Christmas night

Nov. 2010 -- Landon's First Thanksgiving and first time meeting my family

Nov. 2010 -- More footage from Thanksgiving 2010

Sept. 2010 -- first smiles...socially at least and not while passing gas

Sept. 2011 -- Tummy Time Gone Bad

No Cable // My Master List of Documentaries

We're going on month 6 now with no cable, & it's nothing I've missed. I've never been a big TV person, or TV person at all for that matter, so having no cable hasn't been a challenge for me. Many nights my husband and I like to unwind together and watch a movie or tv show before bed, but we have a cheap video store up the street for rentals when we're in the mood for some cuddles & popcorn. I get my news stories online & my HGTV fix when I'm working out at the gym and I'm so much more content knowing that Landon is playing with his favorite trains or "reading" books instead of watching Sponge Bob Square Pants (god help those kids).
This isn't to say my kid has no screen time at all, he still has a TV in his playroom for movies that we own (big Disney fan, Baby Einstein, & other Thomas & Cars films) and he will frequently take my iphone and ask for "choo choos," meaning, YouTube videos of live train footage. (He will actually scroll through my phone and choose the video he wants to watch....kids these days and technology). But this will entertain him when I have to get stuff done, cook, or when I have to take him along to run some really boring errands with me. So overall I keep his screen time limited and I get to control what his little eyes and ears absorb, and (right now at least) I get to shield him from learning from the garbage, violence, and stupidity that is out there.
When I tell people I don't have cable, they look at me like I just told them I've been living without electricity or running water for half the year. But I strangely feel like a better person for not having it. Our lives our simpler, its one less bill in the mail, & it fosters a home full of conversation and DOING, and and that is the type of home and family life I want to cultivate.
All that being said, my husband and I still do enjoy a good scary movie or getting sucked into a good TV series every now & then (Breaking Bad, Boardwalk Empire, & Homeland, to name a few), but more than anything, I enjoy sitting down and watching a good, non-fictional, documentary. I've really only seen a few documentaries but I just spent a long time compiling a master list of documentaries that I want to rent or buy in the future (below). This isn't to say that I already agree with some of these titles {yet}, but just that I'm interested and want to be more educated on.
Documentary Master List (in alphabetical order):
*Lots of these are free to watch in their entirety on YouTube, & if not, most all have trailers on YouTube that you can watch before renting/buying.
A Beautiful Truth
A World Without Water
Addicted to Plastic
The Age of Stupid
Agenda: Grinding America Down
All in This Tea
American Politics All you Can Eat
Are Vaccines Safe?
Babies
Beyond Treason
The Big Sell-Out
Birth As We Know It
Birth Into Being
Born Into Brothels
The Botany of Desire
Burzynski, The Movie
Bush Family Fortunes
The Business of Being Born
Chow Down
Collapse
The Corporation
The Cove
The Creature From Jekyll Island
A Crude Awakening: The Oil Crash
Cut Poison Burn
Cut: Slicing Through The Myths of Circumcision
Crazy Sexy Cancer
Dear Zachary
Diet For A New America
Dirt! The Movie
Dive! the movie
Doula
Dying to Have Known: The Evidence Behind Natural Healing
Earthlings
The 11th Hour
The End of Poverty
Enron: The Smartest Guys in The Room
Ethos
Eustace Mullins: Murder By Injection
Farmageddon
Fat, Sick, & Nearly Dead
Fat Head
Fed Up!
Fiat Empire: Why the Federal Reserve Violates the U.S. Constitution
Flow How Did a Handful of Corporations Steal Our Water?
Flu and Flu Vaccines, What’s Coming Through That Needle
The Fluoride Deception
Food Beware: The French Organic Revolution
Food Fight
Food, Inc.
Food Matters
Food Stamped
For Liberty: How the Ron Paul Revolution Watered the Withered Tree of Liberty
Forks over Knives
The Future of Food
Freedom Fries & Other Stupidity We'll Have to Explain to Our Grandchildren
Fresh
Frontline: The Medicated Child
Frontline: Sick Around America
Frontline: Sick Around the World
Gasland
Generation RX
Gentically Modified Food - Panacea or Posion?
Gentle Birth Choices
The Gerson Miracle
GMO Film Project 
Grass
The Greater Good
Healing Cancer From The Inside Out
Hemp Revolutio
The Human Experience
The Idiot Cycle: What You Aren't Being Told About Cancer
Ingredients
Innocents Betrayed
Invisible Empire A New World Order Defined
Killer At Large
King Corn
Life Running Out of Control
Loose Change
Louise Hay: You Can Heal Your Life
Making of A Killing
Money, Banking and the Federal Reserve
The Money Masters
Money Talks: Profit before Patient Safety
More Business Of Being Born
The Naked Truth
Natural Born Babies
The New Medicine
No Impact Man
Nutricide & Codex Alimentarius
One World Birth
Orgasmic Birth
OutFOXed: Rupert Murdoch’s War on Journalism
Pregnant in America
Processed People
Queen of the Sun: What Are the Bees Telling Us?
Radically Simple
Raising Cain
The Real Dirt on Farmer John
Scientists Under Attack: Genetic Engineering in the Magnetic Field of Money
Tapped
The Secret of Oz
Seeds Of Deception
Simply Raw: Reversing Diabetes
The Story of Stuff
Stupidity
Supersize Me
Sweet Misery
Sweet Remedy: The World Reacts to an Adulterated Food Supply
The Tapping Solution
Thrive
Transcendent Man
Unconditional Parenting
Uncovered: The War on Iraq
The Union: The Business Behind Getting High
Vaccination: The Hidden Truth
Vanishing of the Bees
We Feed The World
What in The World Are They Spraying?
What The Bleep Do We Know?
What’s on Your Plate
Who Killed the Electric Car
The World According to Monsanto
A World Without Cancer
Zeitgeist

Seen any of these? Let me know what you think is a 'must view' or what's not worth checking out.

Have any other recommendations or suggestions? Let me in on 'em!

Sponsor Love

2013 is the year I've decided to start partnering with other companies and blogs for sponsorship and advertisement. I'm careful to only work with people and companies that are a good fit with Mumma's Corner blog and lifestyle and will never host a giveaway, have a guest post, or promote a company or blog that I am not truly passionate about myself. On that note, I'm very excited to share with you some wonderful mamas and companies that I truly love, and am very excited to have here in my Corner.

EVERYTHING BIRTH

I've blogged about this company before here but Everything Birth is a truly amazing site that promotes and sells all things related to natural birth, cloth diapers, midwife supplies, & some really great all-natural mama and baby products. I personally love their bumgenius all-in-one cloth diapers and all-natural laundry detergent (cloth friendly!), and I'm a big fan of all their Hyland's homeopathic remedies for babies and children.

SHABBY APPLE

Shabby Apple is a vintage-inspired women's clothing company that offers tons of super chic and classic pieces, from dresses to bathing suits to jewelry and accessories, it has everything you need to look and feel like you're a star on Mad Men. Some of my current favorites: this, this, & these. *Shop now through 1/31 for 20% off their entire site with promo code "NewYears"

SOMEDAY...SUNDAY

Meet Tracy from Someday Sunday. Tracy is a sweet mama to beautiful 9 month old girl Harlow Paige (awesome name right). Love spending time in her blog where she documents the challenges and joys of a modern young family and heading back to work after 9 months of staying at home with her little one. So much in store for this little family of three!

DREAMS TO DO

Meet Ariel from Dreams to Do. Ariel is one amazing working mama to two little ones with perhaps the most adorable family in the Pacific Northwest. Love her sense of humor & she is a very talented writer with an honest approach on motherhood and celebrating a life outside parenting focused on dreams, ambitions, and living a life worth living. 

THE MOMMA DIARIES

Meet Kami from The Momma Diaries. Kami is open and honest and holds nothing back here, where mostly every mother can relate and find comfort and support in her stories, in areas we don't always talk about ourselves. You are sure to enjoy her site and 'diary entries' about trying to conceive baby #2 and growing their little threesome into a family of four.

Now go check out some of these amazing mamas & sites! :)

Would love your support

Hello again friends :) Top Baby Blogs has reset their rankings, & if you enjoy spending time in my little corner of the world I would please ask you that VOTE for us (it's just one quick click! & if you really want to show your love you can keep voting, once every 24 hours). I really hate asking but I promised I will only ask when they reset their ranks. & it's that time of year again so I'm kindly asking :) We really appreciate all your support!

Oh and also, quick update, THIS has begun:

We're slowly introducing it and not doing the 3-days-no-pants thing {yet} but if you have any advice or tricks let us in on it!

Unloading

Cleaning out my iphone & posting some pics from our Christmas vacation out east & some random recent photos. Most of these pics have already been posted to my instagram (@lisab3) but for those of you who aren't on IG, here you go:

Landon really surprised me and was literally the best flyer ever. He was obsessed with wheeling around his new luggage from mimi & grandpa, waited patiently in line at security, was fascinated at looking out the airplane window at all the planes and trucks, & then as soon as the engines started he passed out for the duration of the flight. I know.

 First night out @ the annual Cliff Doggie Christmas Party 

Good times with good friends at Our 'Friendsmas' <3

Met my cousin's baby Ayden for the first time. Landon was abs smitten and so sweet towards him. Def ready to be a big broder.

The flight back to Chicago. The best little traveler once again.

Christmas with Chris' side of the family. Chris as Santa Claus was a little scary. 

 holidays & traveling = ensuing crazy (lack of) sleep schedule. Taking naps in unusual places...Still trying to get back into a normal routine.

 Busy first week of January: Coffee dates & meetings all week, designed a new button for my blog by night, then slept in nice & late Saturday morning & woke up to fresh brewed coffee from the hubs. It's the little things.

Tried on bridesmaids dresses for Brittany & Mike's wedding! Loving the chiffon Amsale dress the bride chose & trying to decide which style to wear. Suggestions welcome :)

Now just relaxing after a busy weekend and getting ready for another busy week ahead...Have a great week everyone :)