Borba

Today I would like to sing the praises of Borba Replenishing Aqua-less Crystalline Lychee Fruit. These are little powder packets that you mix with 16 oz. of water and drink. They were created to promote "Healthy Skin from Within."

I bought this product in the hope that it would make my skin look better, but the nice surprise was that my allergies dramatically improved. I had awoken to a stuffy head, runny nose and sneezing literally every day for the last 2 years. I tried everything under the sun. I drank all different kinds of herbal teas and took vitamins. I had my house tested for air quality problems. I switched to fragrance free laundry detergent, went to my family doctor, an allergist, an endocrinologist, and a dermatologist. The only thing that worked was prescription allergy meds which I did not want to have to take every day. I was so depressed by my allergies and at my wits end because they tested me for everything and I wasn't allergic to any specific thing they could identify. I started drinking the lychee borba, and within 2 days I woke up with clear sinuses and haven't had a problem since. Of course I can still set my allergies off by using irritating products, but the day-to-day misery is gone. I am so thankful to have found this product!

I must warn you, it is not cheap! I found a box on clearance at Ulta for $30 which was the only reason I chose the lychee fruit flavor. I didn't even know what a lychee fruit was, much less how it tasted. But I have to tell you, it is absolutely delicious! I think it tastes like a green apple jolly rancher candy. It tastes sweet, yet has no sugar. It is calorie free, aspartame free, sodium free, preservative free, and has zero carbs. This particular formula is supposed to boost moisture, diminish dryness, sensitivity and roughness and promote healthy balanced skin. I noticed another person commented on a website that they drank it to help stave off colds.

Borba has so many vitamins and minerals in it you wouldn't believe. Check out these stats: 420% Vitamin C, 330% Vitamin E, 150% B6, 420% B12, and it contains papaya, guava, lychee, green tea, flaxseed & grapeseed. They have other formulas for clarifying, firming, age defying, etc. They are all packed with nutrients and come in flavors like pomegranate and acai. I buy the 60 count box. I just started on my second box. Ulta sells a 60 pack for $100. I checked a lot of web-sites and they all sold for $100 except for Amazon.com sells them for $91.20 and a website called http://www.eskinstore.com/ sells them for $65. That is a great bargain! Now, I have never ordered anything from this website but it says they include free samples with every sale and they offer "rewards points." Even if you spent the $100 for two months worth of drinks (you only drink one per day) it would average $1.67 per day. That is pretty cheap when you consider you would spend about $1.50 at a coke machine or almost $4 for a small latte. At $65 for a 2 months supply you are looking at a little over a dollar a day. They also sell smaller boxes of 14 packets. I am sold on it!

If any of you decide to give it a try, let me know how it worked out for you.

Lotion Alternative

Today I wanted to share my alternative to lotion. When my allergies kicked in a couple of years ago, I found it difficult to wear most lotions because of the fragrance in them. And while there are fragrance free lotions out there, applying them after you get out of the shower just takes extra time and effort. So I started using Neutrogena Body Oil Light Sesame Formula - Fragrance Free. As the label implies, it has sesame seed oil in it. I apply it right after my shower - while I'm still in the shower. It's best to moisturize while your skin is still damp because it retains more moisture. I put it on my legs and arms, making sure to cover my elbows. Sometimes I rub it on my heels too because they tend to get dry. If you are a bath girl, you can add it to bath water to soften your skin. You can purchase this at Walgreens, Ulta, Walmart, Target and most grocery and drug stores. Neutrogena offers the same body oil with fragrance. The bottle looks the same but does not have the label "fragrance free" on the front so watch for that. Sometimes a store doesn't carry the fragrance free version or they are out of stock so you may have to shop around for it. Good luck!

Hello World!

Today is my very first experience with blogging. Hopefully it will be interesting to some of you and therapeutic for me. I'm one of those people who have lots of ideas but never actually take action and follow through with them. So, yea me. I'm proud of myself. Anyhoo, I thought I would blog about something that I deal with day after day, and that is having fair, sensitive skin.

I know there are a lot of young ladies out there blogging about products and cosmetics, but my angle is a bit different in that I'm 40 years old, very fair skinned, and extremely sensitive. All you fair skinned girls out there know that our cosmetic color needs are a bit unique. Put the wrong color red on your nails and you look like you're bleeding. Put on some blush with a bit too much pigment and you look like a street walker. Put your colors on too light and you look like a corpse. It's a delicate balance. A walk on a tight rope every day.

This morning I thought I would go for "the natural look." I thought I looked pretty good when I went out the door, but once I got to work and looked in the bathroom mirror, I was horror sticken! Someone bring me some bright lipstick STAT! We all have those days.

And this morning I rediscovered a beautiful neutral colored gloss in my stash. As I swiped it on I thought, "This is my new favorite color! I'm going to wear it everyday!" Well, within 5 minutes my nose was running like a water faucet and I sneezed all the way to work. I mean, is it really necessary to put fragrance in a lip color? It is right under your nose people! That is my new beef with the cosmetics companies. Please do not put fragrance in your skin products and cosmetics! There are so many wonderful products and beautiful colors out there that many of us want to try. Please hear our cry!