essentials

Getting Ready for Back-to-School with Neutrogena Naturals Skincare and Other Healthy Essentials

September 3, 2014 by Kathryn 28 Comments

Before we know it, it will be time to stock up on school supplies, outfit our children with a new wardrobe and prepare for the busy back to school season. And while pencils, notebooks and fall clothes are on every mom’s shopping list, they certainly aren’t the only back-to-school essentials! I remember when I was a teenager, HEALTHY ESSENTIALS™ for my medicine cabinet, such as a good face wash and moisturizer, were always a must to help me prepare for that first day of classes. After all, nobody wants to start the school year with acne!

Now, at 33, acne is still something that I battle every month, and after years of experience trying different products, I know firsthand that the more heavily medicated acne-fighting products will often make a breakout even worse by aggravating skin. So when I got the chance to review the new NEUTROGENA® NATURALS™ line as part of the Chatelaine Tasters & Testers program, I had to give it a try. These products are over 94% naturally sourced, effective even on acne-prone skin and still gentle enough to use every single day!

I tested out the NEUTROGENA® NATURALS™ Purify Facial Cleanser, Purifying Pore Scrub and Multi-Vitamin Nourishing Daily Moisturizer. I decided to use the facial cleanser in the morning and the pore scrub at night, following up with the moisturizer both times. And in just a few days, I was in love. The Purifying Facial Cleanser has a great fruity scent that reminds me off watermelon and foams up nicely on my skin. Yet when I rinse it off, my face still feels nourished instead of tight and dry. The Purifying Pore Scrub has, in my opinion, the perfect texture for an exfoliator. I am big on exfoliating, but finding a product that scrubs skin thoroughly without being too harsh is tricky. The new NEUTROGENA® NATURALS™ scrub does the job perfectly. [Read more…]

Cook Like a Professional with Knives from Cooking with Cutco-Giveaway

September 11, 2013 by Kathryn 168 Comments

I love to cook and it’s something that I’ve been doing since I was old enough to knead bread dough with my mother and flip pancakes with my father. I was incredibly lucky to have parents that were willing to let me help in the kitchen and talented home chefs with knowledge to give. From my mother, I learned the logical process of following a recipe and the importance of exact measurements, essential skills for successful results when baking. From my father I learned the magic of randomly throwing together favourite ingredients to create a dish that was delicious and original. But something neither one taught me was the difference that proper kitchen equipment can make.

As a result, when I first moved out on my own, I bought a cheap non-stick cookware set and used it for almost a decade after. I eventually switched to a cheap stainless steel set that still wasn’t especially impressive. But finally I realized that sometimes, great food requires great equipment, and so I invested in some essentials including a fabulous set of cast iron frying pans and a set of copper saucier pots. My knives, however, were the same cheap ones that I bought along with my non-stick cookware and I was becoming more and more desperate for a really good knife. (Especially since the ones I had were starting to break!)

[Read more…]

Let Philips AVENT Soothe Your Little One With the Natural Essentials Set-Giveaway

August 26, 2013 by Brenna 69 Comments

I am always on the lookout for the best products for my baby and Philips AVENT has such a great assortment of high-quality and effective breast pumps, bottles and other feeding products that it’s always been one of my favourite brands. That’s why I was delighted to be recently chosen as a Philips AVENT Mom. I’ll be featuring a few reviews of new products from the company over the coming months and sharing my thoughts, as well as offering some great giveaways for you! The first item I received to review was the AVENT Natural Essentials set. This convenient set has everything a parent needs for feeding and sterilizing. The set contains four bottles, two newborn soothies a bottle brush and an express sterilizer!

I didn’t use a pacifier for either of my other children but when my third baby started sucking her thumb even with a full tummy, I thought it might be a good idea to try one. I had avoided them in the past for fear of interfering with my children’s tooth and gum development and because I dreaded the uproar that I imagined would come with taking it away some day in the future. Still, if she was going to suck her thumb anyways, I thought I might as well give her something that I can actually take away when the time comes. So I was very excited to try the the newborn Soothie pacifiers in the kit. These pacifiers are favoured by the medical profession and I thought “If I am going to try a soother, this is going to be the one.” [Read more…]

Three Diaper Bag Essentials for a Mom on the Move

August 21, 2013 by Kathryn 11 Comments

I have always been a woman that loves to be on the go and having children didn’t change that at all. Even when my boys were just newborns, I took them out on long walks around the neighbourhood or out to local mom and baby events. It let me get out of the house and enjoy some adult conversation and exercise, while my boys got to see new sights and enjoy the outdoors.

Being out of the house so much, I quickly learned that my diaper bag was my best friend. A mom on the move needs to be prepared for all kinds of baby emergencies and every time I was caught without something I needed when away from home, I added another diaper bag essential to my supplies.

baby on the go

The most important items in the diaper bag were, of course, the diapers themselves. It’s a fact of life that the one time a diaper bag doesn’t get restocked with diapers will be the one time that a mom encounters a very messy emergency when out of the house. I like to restock the diaper bag as soon as I get back from an outing so that I will never have to rush home in a panic. Huggies Snug & Dry Diapers are an absolute must in any diaper bag since the SureFit design provides up to twelve hours of leak protection. And the diapers fit nice and close to a baby’s body to help them stay in place no matter how squirmy a little one is! [Read more…]

Beat the Heat! Four Tips for Exercising Safely When the Weather Gets Warm

May 7, 2013 by Kathryn 6 Comments

Spring took a long time coming, but the weather is finally warmer and the season for outdoor activities has arrived! Exercising outside can seem like a no-brainer. When the sun is shining and there a fresh breeze blowing, who would want to be closed away indoors? But hot days bring their own challenges when it comes to exercising, so make sure when you head out for a run or a game of soccer, you’re taking a few simple safety precautions! These four tips will help ensure that you’re exercising safely in warm weather:

four tips exercising safely summer

1) Stay Hydrated

Don’t wait until you’re thirsty to drink water. Drinking eight ounces of water for every fifteen to twenty minutes you spend exercising is a common recommendation from most health professionals. And snacking on plenty of juicy fruits and vegetables can also help hydrate your body while replacing valuable electrolytes and nutrients lost during exercise. [Read more…]