That time I went to: The Soap Barn

I love Yankee Candles. The votive ones, jarred and even the Car Smart Scent Vent Clips. That got me thinking of some small scale candle making. So as we do, I Googled for raw products and Soap Barn popped up.

At first I was confused because I felt like this was some secret place that was kept from the world then I got angry when I found that this place was right under my nose! You literally pass it on the N3 Highway at Linksfield. I browsed the heck out of that website to make sure I'll get all the items. Since I found them I go in at least every six months.

The store looks basic but it is truly the Aladdin’s Cave for DIYers and hobbyists. You can buy single portions to bulk of raw items like fragrance, bicarb, Epsom Salt, clays, waxes to finished products like shampoo, bath bombs, lotion and soap. Even packaging and storage for finished items. This “basic” store can be genuinely overwhelming as the product possibilities are endless so I do suggest going on the website and browsing the recipes if you are not sure.

I have had multiple hauls from the store but here are a few repeat buys:

African Black Soap Pet shampoo:

What disturbed me about mainstream dog shampoo is that I had to wash my pets with soap that I have to wear gloves for. How is that safe? This bubbles up nice and rinses out with ease.

The African Black Soap range also has hand wash, shower 'gel' and shampoo, as wel as a solid soap for our not-so-millenials. I have bought a normal pet shampoo in between the black soap, but it dried out my pets' skin. I love this stuff. Add to cart 4 eva!

Pro Hack: I also add Tea Tree oil and in Mosquito time, Lemon Balm or Citronella, then re-poured it into their reusable pump bottle for easy use. (Also wastes less because it dispenses measured amounts rather than an endless stream) I wash two Amstaffs (mid sized dogs) weekly for 3 to 4 months with 500ml.

Shea Butter:

Now I know Black Girl Magic is about the mystic, beauty and strength of black women. But I bet if we reverse engineered Black Girl Magic, that a segment of it would be Shea Butter. It absorbs well and leaves skin with a glow. This winter is rough on my skin because I've been outside in the dry air more often. Also my feet become so dry i can litterally peel skin off my heels. TMI. I started dipping straight into my tub of Shea. It's expensive for the bigger 500ml tub but it will last longer than you think. It's heavy so you don't need a lot. NOW teach me more of your magic beautiful Black girls!

Pro Hack: I bought wind up lip balm tubes, melted some Shea and poured it. I'd like to think it work like those hip new type balm make up removers. It melts the make up off. I needed to remove a heavy liquid lip and it worked like a bawse.

Zinc Oxide:

The struggle with sunscreens for me was real. A few years ago, like, 5, I got a few red dots on my hand when I was on vacation. I chalked it up to stress. You know the type when you go away to relax and come back to triple the work because “It's-not-my-job”. That next year (exactly), after two days at the coast MY WHOLE BODY was covered in this rash. I was allergic to sunscreen.💀💀💀

For the next few years I had the worst time finding sunscreen. Then I decided to check out natural/ organic sunscreens and the prices shot up. It is double the money for an already expensive product.

When I saw this it just went straight into my basket and look at that price though. . . 👍👍

Pro Hack: Instead of mixing up a weird batch of a mixture of Shea and Coconut oil, mix it in with their Gel, Lotion or Aqueous cream Bases.

Bicarbonate of Soda:

I use this for a few applications. Here is my carpet powder. I also use it as a exfoliater, to remove build up of products in my hair, to stretch out washing powder. I use at least 1 kg a month so it's super economical for me to buy bulk.

Pro Hack: For stinging burns make a paste of bicarb and water and apply it on the burn. A few years ago I had a bad burn (I think it was close 3^rd degree) and today I can't even tell that I was burned. (images too graphic to post)

Candle Supplies:

This was my first haul here. AAW! That is why the clay is here as well as the balm tubes.

I wanted to make candles to use/ give as presents. The upfront starting price was a large amount but I still got more candles out of that than if I had to use that money to buy candles. I also made a healthier candle because I used soy wax.

The thing that really caught me out was the large fragrance range. From Almond, marshmallow to Watermelon and ylang-ylang. I wanted it all.

Pro Hack: Here is a website that works out fragrance loads. You're welcome.

Facial Mask Items:

If I had to have a 'True Life: Addicted to . . .', it would be face masks. I try and apply a mask at least once a week. I definitly can see the improvement in my skin, Break outs are more controlled and my skin looks more even. For the same price of a month's worth of clay masks, you could buy a bag of clay (Bentonite/ Kaolin/ English China) and few Essential oils (Lavender/Tea Tree/ Rosemary) and have masks for days.

Pro Hack: You can trend it up with some activated charcoal and because you are mixing it up yourself, it's fully customize-able to your skin's needs.

Containers:

I love the variety of containers available for finished products. From 500ml spray bottle to 2ml atomizer (I bought a few so I could decant some perfume for on the go in my handbag)

Pro Hack: Their packaging is super reusable. I like whipping up things and storing them in the tubs I bought them in.

Final Thought:

I feel like this shop is selling items anyone could make a business out of. A bath and body range.(I'm imagining with the Spa fragrance of Avo and cucumber or Bamboo) Candles. (Marshmallows or something weird like banana) Skincare. (Just add water mud masks or SLS & Paraben free face wash) House hold products. (Thinning out the Black Soap, add essential oils and use as a natural dish soap) Even cosmetics and fragrances. There are a million creative possiblities.

É's tips:

• WARNING!!! As with any new hobby, start up is a bit expensive but after that, you just buy as you use
  
• If you are looking into making candles, body butters and potions that require you to melt products. I suggest to buy a small pot and stirrers for your hobby. I lost a good pot to candle wax. 😢
• If you decide to use fragrances, be sure to work in a well ventilated area or else you will need to stop because headaches get real.
• International company, Yankee Candle, started with a guy who made a candle for this mom and people saw it and wanted one too.
• Hoelson Sisters Facial oils started with experimentation of basic oils.
• Lush started as a small business that made everything in-house.
• The Body Shop was started by Anita Roddick as income for her and her children

The Soap Barn Website and Facebook

That place is my jam. Go there.

é

Cheap to Free: Winter Tips

In the last weeks of Autumn we were truly feeling the big chill of Winter. Freezing at night, icy in the shade and dry all the time. That's not even when the wind picks up.

Here's some of my tips and tricks to deal with Winter life:

Pep 200mm X 200mm Coral Fleece Blankets:

This is the first of my PEP buys. In normal PEP stores it's usually towards the back of the store and some malls have a PEP Home. I love picking up trend pieces there. Now I know there is always a question about quality with cheap products (R149.00) BUT the leopard print blanket is 5 years old! I also wash them often so they hold up quite well. They are nice to hide cracked up leather seats:

Lola doing some low key modeling

Nice for decoration

But also:

Double Blanket Bed Hack:

Now this is a recent thing I tried. I don't even know if it is a thing. I've been having a problem were the duvet is some how too small for the bed. Especially since it's been getting colder. Instead of going to buy a bigger (more expensive) duvet I hang a blanket over the edge each side. It may sound and look not so aesthetically pleasing but it does the trick. No one is cold at night.

I store the blanket under pillows during the day

Cheap Dog Sweater Hack:

My dogs (even though they originated in England) are cold in Winter. These two shiver and full out refuse to go outside if it's cold. (On several occasions I had to leave them inside unsupervised because they objected to go outside in the cold.)

Animal abuse, clearly.

Instead of buying a dog sweaters or coats, I sized them up and bought cheap PEP kiddies shirts. They also have hoodies but they got bigger in Summer. The last ones I bought a bulk pack of PnP Clothing long sleeves. With minor no sew alterations they are warm (I cut the sleeves in half and cut it like a high low top for the boy-boy because pee pee on a shirt is not cool.)

Close your curtains:

It looks like I only have grey curtains 🙈🙈🙈

Most homes in ZA don't have double glazed windows. When I stand near my windows I can feel the cold seeping into the house. Just pull them closed and they will absorb the cold from outside and make it feel more cosy inside.

Eucalyptus and Peppermint Oil:

Wow yeah I'm going there with the oils. I just don't like going to doctors. I have a nose issue so even if it's minor, I am guaranteed to have full on congestion. Now I had all types of nasal sprays prescribed and that stuff is not always great. My two methods are:

My Humidifier:

This is my expensive winter thing I bought recently (available at here at Takealot.com and I see in the front of Dischem's end of Autumn.) So pricey but cheaper to buy and run that a doctors visit with meds. (Also didn't have to leave my house. It came in 2 day.) I advise if you do suffer from congestion to get one. I got the 4 litre because 2017 is the year of extra.

Shower Sauna:

How has this gone unnoticed? I love this. HERE is the article. There are so many ways to get spa like effects with a bath but you only get steam showers when you Google 'Shower Spa'. The gist of it is that you shower and stuff then drop a few drops of any aromatherapy oil on a wet towel and sit in the steam for 10 minutes to inhale the good properties.

Wash your hands:

This has saved me from the sick (and if I was sick, I saved others). So simple but if you know #officelife, there is always some sick idiot who rarely washes their hands. They cough, give you germ laden paperwork you asked for 3 days ago. (Side note: They are also the ones who stay home conveniently on Friday as well as Monday because they are sick. #JustSaying) Or you know/ have a child that goes to the place that keeps sickness alive: Preschool.

Also always keep a tube of hand sanitiser AS WELL AS hand cream (winter hand washing is drying for skin) in you desk and bag. I would rather look OCD then sick.

Lip Balm:

Imma keep it real: I love these fake 4ss eos orb lip balms. I like pearl balms, ones with light pigment, gloss type to real old school tin types. With the matt lipstick trend (that has become a pillar in the beauty community) formulas tend to be drying. During the day I can remove the matt lipstick with lip balm and after blotting reapply it. I also suggest if you are going to do matt lips, to apply lip balm before even applying foundation so it has time to moisturises the lips before application.

Bonus Tip! The Over the Counter:

*Please Note: I am NOT a medical professional. I am suggesting these items that work for me. If you feel poorly and don't feel better for a few days, please consult with your doctor.

Now after that disclaimer: I hate going to the doctor. Sometimes when I sit in the waiting area I feel myself miraculously being healed and can run a 5 km fun run and I'm not even a runner. No lies, my one doctor asked me if I'm seeing another practice because the last time I was there was 5 years before (This story is 2 years ago).

My first pick is Oscillococcinum. YAS COME THRU WITH THAT NAME!!!! This is the most expensive one. One little vial of powder does magic. It's also homeopathic.

Next is Med-Lemon. My mother swears by this. If you have a nagging head ache that doesn't go away (no I'm not talking about the office idiot who can't work the copy machine) this would help for that too.

Last is McNabs Super Guard. Their products are my jam. Only good things are used to make this and as a bonus, you get a cool motivational quote square. It's no GMO, wheat AND dairy free.

The biggest thing these have in common is NONE of them will make you tired or sleepy. You are taking these to not need down time, what's the point if you can't focus on the job?

And that is all the things that make Winter a better time for me and hopefully for you as well.

é

April 2017 Favourites

The fourth month has passed so here is the good ish:

Silicone Make Up Applicator:

I am not calling it a sponge because it's not. I love this thing. The only advise I have is don't use too much BB/ CC/ Foundation because it will take forever to blend. I bought mine on Takealot. (Search Silicone Sponge *eye roll* in Health & Beauty)

Renew Perfect Colour in Passion Pink (NOT SO light pink)

That stuff is so bright.

After 5 washes it started to look almost like on the box. I got a super lot of compliments then EVEN from high end hair studio stylist to people who work the tills.

Saved fashion:

I washed and without thinking through a non-tumbledryable dress into the dryer and is was suddenly so short. After consulting the internet and several Pinterest pins, I put some hair conditioner in a bucket with warm water, then added the dress. It soaked for about an hour. I put it on spin cycle and hung it to dry. BOOM saved my dress.

Stepped away from posting on Social Media:

I didn't take a hard break but there is pressure as I like to always like to show the good side. Many people mistake that for my life EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. They think all I do is drink coffee, paint my nails and serve looks. (I had people in my real life mock me over my Insta feed. You do the awkward laugh but all I wanted to say in STFU) I was just free to do stuff and even have A LOT of make up free days.

Pioneer Woman's Coconut Curry Shrimp:

Or as we call they in ZA Prawns. I modified the recipe for Meatless Monday by using Fry's Battered Prawn Style Pieces instead of shrimp.

Here and here for Sriracha. I bought mine at Fruit and Veg Foodlover's Market in the Asian section (where you buy the sushi rice you never use :o)

Sleepo:

I use this app for relaxing before bed, colouring in and even when I need to concentrate. You can make your own mix of ocean, rain, city and the wide outdoors sounds. It also has 3 white noise sounds.

Freeze bread:

What the what?! Yes I started hoarding bread. Then it started to go bad so I started freezing it. I have an assortment of loafs, rolls and sandwich bread. For a full sandwich loaf, I just defrost over night and its fine. I toast it if I just want a few slices. For a full loaf of rolls, preheat your oven to 180ºC, then bake it for 8 minutes. As fresh as new.

That's my that!

é

D.I.Y. Bath Caddy

Ah yes and welcome back to the blog. Well today for you, I've got a post on something I wanted but don't have the money to need.

Now I have a Lush problem. A strong one.

Unicorn

Aesthetics

I post them to Instagram then search the hash tags I added and there are these people who use like 5 bath bombs in one tub. You've got too much money my friend but I digress. There are these people who know how to take a proper bath. I know it's probably staged but the romance of it had caught me.

Then when I went to a family braai and besides wanting to steel their oven and prawn sculpture:

they had these cute stainless steel bath caddy.

So started the search. Takealot.com had BUT when I had money it was out of stock. Then I saw again at Checkers in the home section and almost R400 it just that bit too much for a want. Walking past that to the section with the shelves and got inspiration. I thought why not but a shelf for a quarter of the price, cut and treat it and BOOM. If that happened, this post would be done BUT I did have a few things that I already have to make a cool bath caddy:

é Notice: The last time I did wood work I was 11/12 years old. It was part of Art and the male teacher did not care to teach girls properly because apparently girls don't need to know basic skills of wood work just like boys didn't need to know how to cook. School is sexist that way.

Wood (I had a pallet. Here and here are links from Takealot if you want to buy online)

Crowbar/ Pry bar / zombie smasher to take apart the pallet

Saw

Hammer

Nails

Note book

Tape measure

Pen or pencil to make notes and mark wood

The rest not pictured is:

Sanding paper (I had a Mouse I used)

Wood glue

Vinegar

Vegetable oil

Clean paint brush

First off I drew what I wanted and measured up the bath tub. I measured the width and the width of the edges of the tub:

Here I realised I should have taken wood work and technical drawing instead of art in High school

Then I took apart the pallet. Charlie had to be chased away a few times. As I'm taking apart the pallet I remove the nails. I don't feel like going to the vet or getting a tetanus shot. Too real for a cheap D.I.Y. today.

Charlie looking to go on a trip to the Vet

é Notice: I broke 2 planks while prying the pallet. Pallets aren't made with top notch wood and many stand out in the weather so be prepared for breaks and rotten wood.

Half way through I decided to deviate from my sketch and add a third slat (is that a term?) because I wanted the shelf a bit wider. I marked the wood with the measurements of how wide I wanted the caddy and started sawing:

I asked my ancestors why I was having trouble sawing and the answer I got is that I should let the saw do the work.

I used the off cuts of the pieces for the cross members.

I took out the Mouse and started sanding the slats. I used the 180 grit. I could go in with a finer grit but I didn't.

Now comes a more complicated part. Mark where you want the cross members. They keep the boards together and stops the caddy from freely moving around side to side. I glued it at the width of the edge of the bath at 6 cm. Then when it was dry I flipped it around and knocked nails through the top. I picked the the nail by sizing it so it goes through the cross member but not through the other side. Screws are apparently easier BUT I had nails

I didn't want to go to Builders to get a treatment for the wood. The one closest to me has staff who acted badly because of my hair (at the moment it is pink). (The security guard stared so hard at me he didn't even pay attention to what he was doing, then the ladies at the till points started screaming as they laughed at me which made me feel uncomfortable so I can only assume they don't want my money) So Home, DIY & Stuff had this easy solution. One part of vinegar to 3 parts cooking oil.

DONE!!!

rustic but I won't deduct points for that

I didn't fill the bath to stage because I took a shower the previous day. I also am too broke to buy new bath bombs, bubble bars or bath melts. So for this month we can just pretend. Also please note my Yankee Candle is also finished.😩😢😞

é

Making the Best of Load Shedding v2

Now this may be a foreign concept to readers in other countries (as most of my readership recently are from the US and Canada) but it ZA it is so real. Load shedding is like a power “sharing” scheme brought in by our monopolized power supplier Eskom. They don't or didn't, depends on their excuse, make provisions for our growing power supply. That means in winter we have some neighbourhoods have power and others don't for a few to many hours. (We also don't have gas as much as in other countries. Ovens, stoves and water heaters/ geysers are all electricity. When the power goes off you sit with your finger in your bum)

So real that we have memes

This post is born from an unfortunate instance. To avoid making this a soap box for a rant about the government, I'll just say persons stole our power cables. (This happens EVERYDAY in ZA!!!) And it sounds like this time they weren't lucky to walk away. (Yes some survive pulling out LIVE POWER CABLES).

But again, looking at the good side (if there is a good side to someone paying for stealing power cables with their life) here is my top things to have a good load-shedding experience. (you can use this if your power is unreliable as well):

Get a cool bag to keep everything together and keep it in a place where it's easy to access in the dark. This is what I call my Mermaid bag that I got for R20 at Typo. It's the 'Not Just a Tote Bag' from the #cottononfoundation.

Any LED battery powered light is cool for immediate light. I have a head lamp but there are many other options like camp lights or even a normal flash light.

Keep a fresh box of candles in the bag with a candle holder (I use a clean Cheese spread jar) and matches or a lighter. Bonus tip: Have a candle burning in the bathroom. Then you don't have to walk around with a candle like and old timey person and then you burn your hair or the house down.

Especially now with winter approaching it's a must to have a blanket for the cooler nights.

Easy snacks are a must because chances are a power outage will happen over a time you want to cook. That is the law. Chips and bars are good. If you are not going to have people sneaking bites, some biltong. Dried fruit and nuts are cool too. Bonus tip: Don't open the fridge and freezer too much. Things will warm up and defrost faster.

Also have a charged power bank for your phone. Its not like back in the day where everyone had a landline that has it's own power. Get cool here atSuperbalist or here at Takealot. Bonus tip: Stuck with out a charge? Most cars or car radios have a USB port. Or switch your phone the Ultra power saving mode. It stretches your battery power twice as far (if not more as it limits some of it's apps)

Pack in some power-less activities like a pack of cards. Battle ships are also good. I was stuck without power alone and group activities are impossible (my dogs didn't want to participate in Uno as it might destroy our friend ship #takefourcards) so I pulled out my colouring book. Here is my previous post that has activities that don't involve unfriending.

I hope this post is helpful as Eskom executives' multimillion Rand bonuses. And not their helpline.

é

Flower arranging

When I started this blog I want to teach you cheap, easy life tricks some make impossible or make it seem like you need a life time of knowledge to perfect. Decor, style, cooking, make up and other nitty gritty things people are afraid of because there are professionals in the field. I'm not saying you should learn how to rewire your house or bend and weld your car a new exhaust. Some stuff needs a pro.

Flower arranging is one of those things I feel that, if using your logical human brain, is easy. Here is my way of arranging a bunch of flowers:

My supplies are

Flowers

A Vase

Scissors

Bleach

Sugar

You can use any flowers in this arrangement I used roses. In the other picture I used a mixture of flowers in a standard bouquet. Now I know a lot of things like doing a minor service on my car and how to work my complicated tumble drier (I physically had to read how to use it. And friends who also bought one also told me how they battled) but I don't in general know flower names. I know like roses and lilies and stuff but I go for colours I like or what fits the room. Mostly the colour I like. You also don't necessarily have to use flowers. Some stems with leaves or even herbs can look fresh and chic.

Now vase sounds fancy. Like you should spend R200 on a container to arrange your flowers. I don't have money or time for that. Really? Like for real? I use a simple washed mayonnaise bottle. Ina Garten doesn't have time for that. She uses drinking glasses (See easy tips #50). Put that R200 or more back into your pocket.

To stretch the life of the flowers you can add one teaspoon bleach and 2 teaspoons of sugar to about 1 litre (4 cups) water. I mix it in with a chop stick.

Measure your flowers to your container. Remove all leaves from the stem that would be under the water line

Cut the stem to an angle for more surface area to absorb water. 

To arrange just use your natural mind of symmetry. We all have that. It works on the concept of 'If it looks right, it is right'. Use what looks right to your eye. With the height and colour. If the colour and size of the bloom does not look right, like if there is too much yellow or what, just move it until it looks right. Use what your eye tells you because it's a thing your mind does naturally everyday. Probably without you even noticing.

Place and Instagram that shit.

É tips:

• Check water regularly. The purple roses lasted a good week and a half so I had to refill the water a bit
• Buy yourself flowers. Fo' real. On a budget? There are some bunches for R35. You don't have to buy every week/ day or even month. But just do it.
• Don't stress too much about the arrangement or knowing the names. We use lipstick for blush. Blankets for throws. Linens for table cloths. Martini glasses for pudding bowls and bananas for eggs baking a cake.
• If you have extra leaves from a standard bouquet, layer it around the edge of the flowers.
• Remember to remove all leaves that would be under the water line. They could rot and become all weird and slimy in the water

Hope this let's you start having more flowers in your living areas. What's your favorite flowers?

é