New York Biology Frankincense Essential Oil

So today, I'm giving you all a double-dose in my series on New York Biology's Essential Oils (you can catch my previous post here). For those just joining in, this is a sponsored series, meaning that I was sent these oil for free in exchange for my reviews. This does not change that all thoughts and opinions in this post are my own! That being said, let's talk FRANKINCENSE!

New York Biology's Frankincense oil is the Boswellia Serrata kind, coming straight from India. It's scent has a soft earthy tone to it. The earthy aroma makes it pleasant, and not overbearing, which I love! NYB's Frankincense oil can be purchased on Amazon.

Frankincense has many medicinal properties. It's even been suggested in some studies that it can help fight certain cancer cells that have become resistant to chemotherapy treatments.

So what are some of the other medicinal properties? Well, take a look at the list below.

• Antidepressant
• Reduces anxiety and stress
• Helps to treat insomnia (my husband and I actually use this, blended with lavender, in our diffuser at night)
• Helps to relieve congestion and other respiratory issues
• Has antibiotic properties that can help with conditions like urinary tract infections

Granted, the list above is only a FEW of the many benefits that come from Frankincense oil. There are plenty more not listed! The fact that Frankincense oil has so many medicinal uses is exactly why it's one of the most sought-after oils on the market. It's definitely a staple in my own medicine cabinet.

As a reminder, if you're just joining this series, you can check out some of New York Biology's other oils below:

• Tea Tree
• Sandalwood
• Lavender
• Bergamot

Tuesday, I'll be back with my review & thoughts on NYB's Peppermint Essential Oil, so stay tuned! 

New York Biology Bergamot Essential Oil

Continuing with the series I've been working on for New York Biology's Essential Oil collection, THIS post will be focusing on Bergamot oil.

Bergamot is an oil that has a sweet and uplifting citrus-y scent. I'd never actually tried Bergamot before, as I tend to stay away from strong citrus smells, however, the aroma isn't actually that bad! It's noticeable in a pleasant way, but isn't overwhelming.

Being as I'd never been adventurous enough to try Bergamot oil before receiving this bottle, I did some research to find out what sort of benefits it hold.

Some of the benefits are as follows:

• Works well as an antidepressant
• Has uplifting properties that also help to reduce anxiety and stress
• Can be used to help treat insomnia (I always LOVE oils that help with that!)
• Helps to relieve congestion and other respiratory issues
• Has antibiotic properties
• Because of the antibiotic properties, it can be used for things like urinary tract infections. 

There are a host of other benefits too, of course, which is why I'm honestly kicking myself for not introducing Bergamot to my oil collection sooner!

One thing that should be noted is that most Bergamot oils contain an ingredient called bergaptene, which becomes poisonous if exposed to sunlight, and causes photo-sensitivity. New York Biology's Bergamot oil (which you can find on Amazon) doesn't have this ingredient, which makes it even safer to use.

I received this oil free in exchange for my honest review, and I'm so glad that I did! If you're just joining this series, and curious about some of the other oils I've discussed so far, you can check out the list below!

• Tea Tree
• Sandalwood
• Lavender

The next oil that I'll be discussing in this series is Frankincense, so stay tuned!

***This is a sponsored post. I received this product free in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are genuinely my own!***

New York Biology Lavender Essential Oil

I promised you all that I'd be doing a series on New York Biology's essential oils. Number 3 in the series is their LAVENDER oil. Lavender is one of the most popular essential oils on the market, and with good reason!

New York  Biology's Lavender oil (which can be purchased on Amazon) is of the Kashmir variety, and is from India. The aroma for this oil is definitely potent. I could smell the oil faintly through the bag, and even more so when I actually OPENED the bag that it was delivered in. This is not to say that the smell is overpowering! The aroma is actually quite pleasant!

Part of the reason why Lavender essential oil is so popular is because it has many benefits. The benefits for Lavender oil include both, topical use as well as aromatherapy benefits. Let's start with the aromatherapy benefits (my favorite).

Aromatherapy Benefits of Lavender Essential Oil:

• Helps to induce sleep, and increases sleep regularity
• Reduces stress and anxiety
• Can help with respiratory issues like sinus congestion, cough, bronchitis, and even whooping cough
• Improves blood circulation, and helps to lower blood pressure

Topical Uses for Lavender Essential Oil:

• Can help promote hair growth when regularly rubbed into the scalp
• Can be used as a lice treatment
• Natural bug repellent (Goodbye, mosquitoes!!)
• Reduces irritation and inflammation from bug bites
• Can help with pain relief

There are a lot of other ways to use Lavender oil that aren't listed here. It's no wonder why it's one of the most popular essential oils on the market! It's definitely a staple in my oil collection. Again, this particular Lavender oil can be purchased on Amazon.

Out of curiosity, what are some of your favorite uses for Lavender oil?? I'd love some fresh ideas!

Don't forget to stay tuned! The next oil I'll be discussing in this series is New York Biology's Bergamot oil!

***This is a sponsored post. I received this product free in exchange for my review. All opinions are genuinely my own!!***

New York Biology Sandalwood Essential Oil

The other day, I left a review on New York Biology's Tea Tree oil (which you can find here). Today I'll be reviewing NYB's Sandalwood oil.

This particular Sandalwood oil is the Santalum Almbum, which is the purest you can find. It originates from India.

My husband and I use this in our diffuser most of the time. The scent of this specific Sandalwood oil (which you can find on Amazon) is so potent, that you literally only need one drop of oil (it's much too strong if you use more than that).





Topical Uses for Sandalwood Oil:

• Astringent
• Reduce inflammation for warts, pimples, etc.
• Can be used as an expectorant
• Helps decrease blood pressure

Aromatherapy Benefits of Sandalwood Oil:

• Relaxation
• Mental Clarity/Focus
• Helps reduce depression & anxiety
• Helps to treat insomnia
• Reduces stress
• Natural aphrodisiac

There are SO many more uses and benefits for Sandalwood oil that I wish I had time to list them all! New York Biology's oils are genuinely some of the purest that are on the market. If you're not using essential oils in your household, I highly recommend using them. You'll wonder why you didn't start using them sooner! Stay tuned. I'm actually working on a series of reviews for New York Biology's essential oils (I'm super excited about this!!), and my next one will be for their Lavender oil.

***This is a sponsored post (as is the rest of the series). I received this product for free in exchange for my review. All opinions are absolutely 100% my own!***

My Review of #NewYorkBiology Tea Tree Oil

So, essential oils are something that our family has started using within the past year. I love that they have medicinal purposes, and that they come from nature. Tea tree oil has definitely been a go-to oil for me (I have 3 daughters, and it's a natural head lice preventative). Over the last 2 weeks, I've been testing New York Biology's Tea Tree oil, which was sent to me for free for review purposes.

New York Biology's Tea Tree oil comes straight from Australia (Where the Tea Tree is originally from), and is of the purest form of Tea Tree oil that you can find.

 I've used other brands of Tea Tree oil that weren't as pure, and could notice the difference as soon as I opened this bottle. The scent was MUCH more potent and noticeable than the brand I'd previously been using.

Aside from being a head lice preventative and treatment, there are a number of other purposes that this oil can be used for.


Some of the purposed that Tea Tree oil can be used for as listed below:

• Acne
• Fungal infections
• Bacterial infections
• Abrasions and minor cuts
• Arthritis
• Asthma
• Dry skin
• Chapped lips
• Plantar warts

There are MANY other uses, aside from those listed above, for Tea Tree oil. It's actually one of my FAVORITE oils, and you can find it here.

Again, I received this oil free in exchange for my review, but all opinions are genuinely my own! P.S. I've got more oils from New York Biology that I'm super excited to be reviewing over the next few weeks! Essential oils have truly changed my family's life, and I honestly can't wait to share all the different medicinal benefits with everyone! (Yes, I'm an Essential Oil nut, haha!)

ISA Professional Victorya Flat Iron Hair Straightener Review

I've been in the market for a new hair straightener for what seems like forever now! Not just any straightener will do. I love my hair, I love styling it, etc., but I also want to keep it healthy and PROTECT it. I wanted a straightener that was built with those needs in mind. I'm so happy to have found one!

The ISA Professional Flat Iron Hair Straightener, which you can find here, is currently priced at $118, and I can tell you from experience that it's worth every penny!















Some key features to this straightener (as also listed on their website) include:

•  100% Solid Tourmaline ceramic plates
• SMART Automatic Temperature adjustment (personally my FAVORITE feature)
• Universal Voltage
• Fast and safe straightening, curls, & waves
• 360 degree no tangle cord
• Full 2 year warranty

As you can see, this straightener has a nice sleek design, and I love the red plates on it. I also like that the on/off switch is on the inside of the straightener, because I don't have to worry about accidentally turning it off while I'm straightening my hair. 

As you can see on the left, my hair's natural state is this weird combination of being kind of straight, but kind of wavy at the same time. 

I love how sleek and straight my hair is after using this hair straightener!

Am I satisfied with this hair straightener? Absolutely!! My hair is noticeably more soft now when I straighten it. Also? It only takes about half the time to straighten my hair now, compared to how long it used to take with my OLD hair straightener.

If you're in the market for a new flat iron, ISA Professional is a brand you need to consider. You truly get good value from this product! I know I'll be going back for more hair supplies in the future!

***I received this product free in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are genuinely my own!***

For Inquiring Minds...

I feel like it's been half past FOREVER now since the last time I made a "personal" post, so what better time than now, right??

Part of the reason for my lack of personal posts would be the fact that it's summer vacation, and my kids have been keeping me busy & on my toes! Like right NOW, for example. It's shortly after 3:00 a.m., and my sweet toddler has had me awake since around about midnight. Granted, SHE has not been awake the entire time. Once she woke me up, however, the act of me being able to fall asleep again went completely out the window. Thank goodness for COFFEE.

Those who follow the blog regularly know that I've spent the summer testing and reviewing products. It's been a great way to keep from feeling stressed! This week I've got some campaigns I'm working on that are all about #HairLove. I'm really excited about them!

Those who follow the blog regularly also know that I haven't posted the Houston Chronicle inserts for the majority of the summer. I will be starting to post them again once the new school year rolls around. The reason? On mornings when I type up the HC coupons, I wake at 3:00 a.m. to grab my paper and get started. During vacation time, this generally leaves me grumpy, and not fun to be around. So I made the decision to get proper amounts of rest while my girls are home for summer. They're my top priority, and I want them to enjoy the HAPPY me.

While I may not post many personal posts on this blog very often, you can still keep up with me on different social channels! (I'm always posting SOMEWHERE). I'll leave the links below:

• Twitter
• Instagram
• Pinterest
• YouTube
• Tumblr
• Google+

One of these days, I'll get around to making a FB page! I've got some other adventures I'm about to embark on, and some new survey sites that I'm adding to my personal list of favorite sites. I'll post more on that later!

For now, I'm going to log off and finish my coffee. I just wanted to give everyone some explanations, and let y'all know why my posting habits have changed. I promise this is only temporary!