SoapBox Acne Clearing Black Soap Bar for Face & Body> #BlackBarBeautyChallenge

 

Have you ever thought about the ingredients that are in your soaps? Where they came from? Who made them? I am always drawn to natural products, I don’t want to wash my face or body with something that has chemicals or additives that could potentially soak into my skin or my kids skin. SoapBox makes nothing but natural ingredients that smell amazing and make an impact while doing so.

FYI: This post is WAYYY longer than I normally write reviews, but I wanted to detail HOW the soap works. I didn’t want to just explain it DID work, but HOW it’s better for your acne, eczema, and even psoriasis. This soap is HANDS down the best I’ve used for my oily skin and I felt the difference immediately. Black is the new clean, didn’t you know?

PLUS> for every item they sell, SoapBox donates a bar of soap, a month’s supply of water, or a year’s supply of vitamins to a child in need around the world! A+ from me♥

The base of SoapBox bar soaps are made with all natural olive, coconut, soybean, and corn oils and scented with a blend of all natural essential oils. We also include organic shea butter and unrefined sea salt both of which provide natural benefits for your skin.

Authentic, healing, rejuvenating. Black soap is made from activated charcoal and a blend of all natural essential oils, and has been used for thousands of years to improve skin health. The activated charcoal, along with sea salt and shea butter gives the soap a mild gritty texture great for exfoliating and revitalizing your skin everyday.

 

I have always had very oily skin that’s prone to the occasional acne breakouts. Sometimes I think my pores might be deeper than Florida’s sinkholes. Seriously! I am NOT exaggerating, when I do get acne it is very deep and hard to rid of. I also have a severe problem with getting blackheads on my nose.

As you can see in the picture, the Black bar soap has a bumpy rugged texture. That my lovelies is the sea salt and activated charcoal. If you’ve been battling oily skin, acne, or blackheads—here’s your cure and it doesn’t cost an arm and a leg.

Adult acne is kind of sadistic, don’t you think? Weren’t those blackheads and acne bumps supposed to fade when we left our teen years? Not for some of us, sadly. We’ve all been there- trying this and that, products that contain harmful chemically induced ingredients. Not SoapBox products- you NEVER have to worry about that.

• All-Natural Black Bar Soap is ethical and great for your skin
• Each 4-ounce bar is completely free of gluten, palm oil, paraben, petrochemicals, phthalate and sulfate
• PETA-certified vegan, cruelty free and packaged with 100-percent recyclable fibers to make a positive impact on the environment
• Black bar soap is made from charcoal and other essential oils, which have been used for thousands of years to exfoliate and moisturize skin
• With each purchase of this refreshing bar of soap, SoapBox donates a bar to a child in need

Ingredients: Olive Oil, Coconut Oil, Soybean Oil, Corn Oil, Organic Shea Butter, Sea Salt, Activated Charcoal, and a Blend of All-Natural Essential Oils

This soap will hook you on the very first use. It works and you can feel the difference in your skin texture within just that FIRST use. My skin felt refreshed and clean yet didn’t feel overly dry or tight. It’s like it scrubs deep into the oil’s soul and smashed it before it even had a chance to even think about causing acne. How awesome.

   

Directions: Lather up with your hands, washcloth, or scrub pad. Apply the lather to your face, body, or just your oil-prone areas making sure that you close your eyes. Gently rub in a circular motion, pressing harder on your acne/blackhead areas. Rinse it right off (within 30 seconds) with warm water. Rinse again with cold water to close your pores.

Let your skin air dry or lightly dab with a towel. TIP: Depending on the amount of oil your skin produces, you might want to wash twice daily. This could also be used as a mask (left on for about a minute).

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Everyone wants that glowing, healthy oil-free acne-free skin, yet we have ALL been looking in the wrong places. There are just so many skincare companies that try and sell us their “break-through” products, yet don’t actually do much at all for your oil-prone skin.

You may think that that retinol infused product sitting on your bathroom shelf is the go-to product for your oily skin, but it isn’t. It DOES help unclog your pores so the oil isn’t getting trapped inside, but it’s stripping layers off your skin every time you use it, which isn’t good. It will eventually cause your skin tone to become uneven. Overexposure of retinol can actually thin your skin and make you look much older than you are. WOW- from acne to wrinkles. That changed hands drastically, lol.

Who would’ve thought that a $5 bar of soap would put so many big name companies to shame? HOW does it work so well? Activated charcoal (AKA activated carbon) is carbon that has been conducted (AKA treated) with oxygen. The oxygen turns the charcoal into a very fine powder by opening the millions of tiny pores between the carbon atoms. Those pores are what soaks up the oils and impurities in your skin cells.

              

                    Image Source: Wikimedia Commons; Magnet

Think of the charcoal as a magnet. The magnet practically drags other metal towards it right? Well the charcoal does the same with dirt, bacteria, and impurities inside of your pores. It drags them out so they don’t have a chance to settle and cause breakouts or blackheads.

             

                  Image Source: Wikimedia Commons; Sea Salt

The Sea Salt is naturally rich in minerals and the best kind of therapeutic exfoliation. As you can see in the picture, Sea Salt is naturally abrasive. Sea salt is salt formed from the evaporation of seawater. Sea salt contains calcium which is known for it’s pore-cleansing properties, and bromide which soothes the skin.

Washing and rinsing with warm water opens your pores so that your skin can soak up the nutrients in the sea salt. The abrasive scratchy like texture exfoliates the skin cells, removing the dead ones and making way for healthier cells to grow.

Do NOT pop your pimples or squeeze your blackheads. This soap will naturally dry out the oils and reduce the intensity of the acne. Touching your face and squeezing on the breakouts is a big no-no because it could end up leaving acne scars. They might look bad RIGHT now, but it’ll be even worse with permanent spots.

Are you finding yourself applying pore clogging makeup just to cover your acne? You know it might cover it for the moment, but it causes your pores to become even more blocked, right? It’s a vicious cycle that we have to break through. What if you could go makeup free and feel confident about it? No oil, blackheads, or acne. Just clean, amazing feeling, oil-free, acne-free skin?

Give this a try, you won’t be sorry I promise you that. PLUS you’re helping children who would otherwise go without. $5 for all that amazingness, YES please. LOL.

What I'm asking is that you buy a bar of this soap, use it, and then watch your skin transform into something you can be confident about. Tired of covering up with makeup, only the makeup makes it worse? Break out of that cycle. Buy you a bar (or 5, you'll be sorry you didn't) use it, and then share your beautiful, make-up free, breakout free Selfie with me!! Do this‪#‎BlackBarBeautyChallenge‬ and then share via social media with that hashtag. I will be thinking of something amazing to giveaway for those that wanna break up with their oily skin AND it's only $5. AMAZING I tell you! Never used anything like it.

 

Connect with Soapbox to see their other amazing products.

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, & Pinterest

 

Don’t forget to tag SoapBoxSoaps if you do the challenge. Leave the link to your social media shares below.

 

Neutralize your Game Day Menu

Let’s face it. Football Sundays (Thursdays, Saturdays and Mondays) can be taxing on the body. Rooting for your favorite team can lead to some serious stress and stomach acid, especially when you add spicy snacks and frothy beer to the mix. A Medical News Today study found when a fan’s team is losing they are 16 percent more apt to eat junk food.

We’re not suggesting you toss out the chili, sliders or guacamole from your buffet. But here’s a list of some foods you might want to mix into your game day menu to help neutralize your digestive juices so you can healthily nosh through the playoffs.

1. Serve up some team-themed fruits and veggies. An apple a day keeps the doctor away so you can give a healthy cheer for your team. It’s also great for memory, reducing stomach acid and more. Try dipping apple slices in caramel and serving them covered with team-colored sprinkles or plating upright-inspired carrot sticks.

2. Grilled not fried. Fried chicken wings are a game day favorite, but they are also full of fat and calories. Try grilling chicken instead with a delicious rub or marinade.

3. Have a healthy supply of nuts. Peanuts have long graced the counters at every sports bar, but when it comes to nuts, almonds are a delicious and healthy alternative to serve up at your football soiree. Rich in protein and essential fatty acids, almonds have been linked to promoting good heart health, which you’ll need when your team is pulling out an overtime win!

4. Offer a different kind of chips and dip. Instead of the traditional tortilla chips and salsa, try serving up hummus and pita chips. Rich in protein, hummus helps fight hunger cravings and balance blood sugar levels, to curb excessive eating that often happens at a football game or party.

5. Wash down your game day snacks with a healthy helping of high-alkaline, functional water. According to Dr. Ralph E. Holsworth, director of clinical & scientific research for Essentia Water, alkaline water can help neutralize stomach acid to balance the digestive tract, hydrate faster and reduce belly bloat. Less bloat leaves you room for eating more snacks and fitting into last year's jersey. If you’re planning to imbibe, try to have a glass of water for every alcoholic beverage consumed to reduce dehydration risks.

 

Disclosure: This is not a sponsored post.

 

Prosperous Pooch: Organic Flavored Dog Treats; Pumpkin Spice & Thanksgiving Feast

 

My dogs are pigs. If they didn’t bark, I could swear they have spiral tails and a pink snout. I swear when I feed them, you’d think they’d never eaten a day in their life. Dogs, like us- love to munch around on snacks as well. Did you know that most of the store bought treats contain a ton of preservatives and calories? Dogs can get overweight and unhealthy just as we can.

           This is Harley, my Alaskian Malamute/Lab mix.

We can better what our animals eat by feeding them organic treats and food. They aren’t piled high with artificial colorings or stuffed with preservatives. Prosperous pooch is an amazing Etsy site dedicated to homemade organic dog treats ran by Monica Bojt.

The packages arrived very quickly after I spoke to her, and they were packaged very well. They had “DO NOT CRUSH” on the outside of the package. Because you know for a fact if your mailman doesn’t see that, they will definitely try and shove it in your mailbox, or at least mine does.

We were sent Pumpkin Spice & Thanksgiving Feast.

Pumpkin Spice

• Materials: oat flour, brown rice flour, pumpkin, molasses, cinnamon, allspice, ginger, flax seed, peanut butter, ascorbic powder

Cheyanne, Spunk, and Buddy are very big fans of pumpkin. They love to have it added to their food, and is pretty nutritious for them too—so win.win. When I seen that the treats were pumpkin spice, I knew they’d love them. Harley, I wasn’t so sure about—he wasn’t around last Fall because he wasn’t born yet. He thought they were alright, but he didn’t seem to love them like the other dogs did.

They smell amazing, like freshly baked pumpkin biscuits. That’s because that’s what they are, although the dog variety. They feel crispy and are easy to break, so they aren’t hard on your dogs teeth at all. Even the smallest of dogs won’t have a problem chewing these up.

Pumpkin everything is everywhere now, especially with Halloween just ending and Thanksgiving coming. I’ve seen so much pumpkin floating around, some stuff I wasn’t even sure could be pumpkin related. Lattes, Cookies, Breads, and even butter & Pringles (sayyy what?). People proved me wrong though, lol.

So, give your 4 legged friends some pumpkin treats while you’re devouring that amazing pumpkin pie or something else pumpkin spiced.. shh.. they won’t tell.

You can buy them in two weights—4 oz. for $3 or 8 oz. for $5.

 

Thanksgiving Feast

• Materials: oat flour, turkey, brown rice flour, ground flax, chicken broth, dried cranberries, carrots, sweet potatoes, honey, rosemary, cinnamon, ascorbic acid

Harley, Cheyanne, Spunk, and Buddy gobbled these up. Harley was a huge fan of these. I swear I wish I could have gotten a picture of how high he was jumping to retrieve the treat. I wasn’t even sure he could jump that high, lol.

They smell delicious even from a human standpoint. They smell like cinnamon mostly; I can only describe it as cinnamon bread or maybe a cinnamon bun without the icing. You can see the dried cranberries in the texture, and they are easy to crumble as well.

The dogs love these and they can chew them very easily. They feel like a hardened flat biscuit and “snap” when they are broken. They are sealed very well, and keep for a long while after they are purchased. We give both these 2 paws up! (well really 8 paws up, but still) lol.

These would be the perfect stocking stuffer for your four legged friends!

You can buy them in two weights—4 oz. for $5 or 8 oz. for $9.

Homemade, Preservative Free and Organic!

 

Did you know that wheat, corn, and soy are one of the number one causes of allergic reactions in dogs? Not only does it cause allergies, it is also harder for dogs to digest as well as a filler for commercial products used to cut costs. That's why Prosperous Pooch uses NO wheat, corn or soy products in any of the products offered.

Does your dog have a special dietary issue? Let Monica know and she can definitely find you a treat that will be healthy and tasty for your pet.

Connect with Prosperous Pooch:

Website & Facebook

 

About Monica:

 

Disclosure: Stylish Southern Mama received samples for her 4 dogs; all opinions are honest.

 

ULTIMATE TIPS FOR BIKINI BOTTOMS; Choosing The Best Fit

 

                    

                Disclosure: This post is a sponsored guest post from Sunbain.

Every year when summer season is about to start, we all start to worry about our figure and finding a bikini that will make us feel ravishing. There are so many choices: Moderate, minimal, full, and skirted, thong or boy shorts. Which one is the right one for you? Whether you go on vacation or a romantic getaway you definitely need options.

We need to select the right bikini bottom depending on our body shape and style. If we want to make our buttocks look bigger, low-waisted is the answer. We can emphasize our figure with ruffles and stripes. For a smaller impact, darker colors will create this fantasy and minimize our volume. This is the reason why every woman should have a black bikini. If what you need is for your legs to show off more, high-waisted bottoms will definitely provide you with this unique look.

Hip-waisted bikinis and boy shorts create a shorter leg effect.

ACCORDING TO YOUR BODY STYLE

Short Torso: Low rise bikini bottoms helps stretch out the middle section. Stay away from boy shorts they can make your torso even smaller.

Longer Torso: Low-waisted bottoms and bikini with side ties are very flattering.

Smaller Waist: Look for ruffles, drapes or skirt. Color blocked panels give the illusion of a trimmer waist while prints like diagonal or v shaped help to create a leaner silhouette.

Hide Love Handles: Bottoms with a moderate coverage that sits on your hips. You can also pin up a retro suit that have high to mid- rise coverage.

SWIMSUIT COVERAGES

Minimal: These minimal cuts are great for tanning. These slim bottoms are made to create a chic cheeky design. Very flattering and expose your buttocks to flaunt your figure.

Moderate: They are the most comfortable cut and style. This design offers medium coverage to maximize fashion in a way that your body is comfortable and conveniently sexy.

Full Coverage: Perfect for active styles. They are designed to provide additional coverage and a great solution to surfers and swimmers. This cut is very traditional, yet flattering to the lower stomach and bottom.

At the end of the day there are so many choices and options to pick from. Don´t be afraid to order different sizes for your top and another one for your bottom because you could have small bust with larger hips or the other way around. Keep it tasteful!

               

                               Swimwear at SUNBAIN.com

Anything you pick or choose, wear it with confidence. Use cover-ups or sarongs, if necessary, and can help you feel more comfortable when you are out of the water. You may prefer the beach, pool or lake, but there is one thing that we all women agree upon and that is getting our new swimwear for next season can be intimidating. Get the look you want depending on your style.

 

Disclosure: This is a sponsored guest post from Sunbain.

 

11 Awesome Places to Promote & Submit Your Giveaway

As bloggers, we ask the same question every time – where are the best places to submit giveaways? Where will the giveaways will get seen by people who want to enter? But isn’t spammy and gets considerable traffic?

Here are the answers. These are websites that are up-to-date with their postings (meaning the authors have recently been posting to their sites), and get tons of traffic who want to see your giveaways. Post away!

Also, if you’re a reader LOOKING for more giveaways, by all means visit these sites. You cannot join the FB groups, but you can enter giveaways on the websites. (and good luck☼)

 

Giveaway Promote- Giveaway Promote is ran by a good blogger friend of mine, Bridget Gillian. She has an amazing site for both adding your giveaways and finding others. If you’re a blogger, she will let you submit your giveaway for free. You can pay just a small amount to be promoted at the top of the site as well. (which is better because MANY people are looking to her for the most amazing giveaways). You’ll find everything- gift cards, money, electronics, kitchen gadgets, cloth diapers…etc. SO much more.

Submit your giveaway here: Giveaway Promote

 

Makobi Scribe- Makobi Scribe is a blogger just like the rest of us, but she put a new giveaway linky up monthly I think. You just submit your giveaway to the linky list, takes about 3 seconds.

Submit Your giveaway here: Makobi Scribe

 

Contest Corner- Another blog dedicated to bringing the best giveaways and letting you submit them. Doesn’t take very long, captcha is required (although it’s the 3 number captcha)

Submit your giveaway here: Contest Corner

 

Mom Bloggers Club- You’ll have to sign up for Mom Bloggers Club, but it’s something you want to do as a blogger anyway. Mom Bloggers Club is filled with sources of information and some amazing bloggers along the way.

Submit your Giveaway here: Mom Bloggers Club

 

Etsy Giveaways- This is just what it sounds like, a place to submit your giveaways from Etsy shops. So that people who want to win handmade goods, don’t have to sift through a giant pile.

Submit your giveaway here: Etsy Giveaways

 

Giveaway Monkey- This site is dedicated to giveaways and contests, although it isn’t like a sweeping website (which I find a little spammy and hard to sift through). This is a great website! Submit your giveaway right at the top!

Submit your giveaway here: Giveaway Monkey

 

Giveaway Bandit- This is an amazing giveaway submission site, although it’s more than that. It’s a regular blog as well, but people definitely visit to see the giveaways. I definitely love how everything is organized within certain categories right in the tab. Makes it easy to move around.

Submit Your Giveaway here: Giveaway Bandit

 

Bloggy Giveaways- This is also a site dedicated to the blog giveaways floating around.. Your giveaway must be live and at least $75 to be able to submit it. But the site also has a linky to submit those that aren’t.

Submit your giveaway here: Bloggy Giveaways

 

 

FB Groups

Blog Giveaways-List Yours Here

Blog Giveaways & Sweepstakes

Giveaway Listings

 

Know any more amazing sites to list or find giveaways? drop me a comment..

 

Beast Quest Series by Adam Blade

Disclosure: Stylish Southern Mama was provided books to review, all opinions are completely honest.

We were sent 3 Beast Quest Series books for review. My son is 7 and can’t really read chapter books yet, so I read them to him. It’s a great way to spend time together and he loves the stories. My stepson is 12 and can read them without help, and he loves them too.

We loved reading about the different characters and the journey of Tom. Inside the book are amazing little drawings which gave my kids a hint as to what they look like. It isn’t a picture book, but the illustrations throughout the book are amazing!

The stories are filled with fun adventures and tons of action. These book series totally make my seven year old want to read a little faster so he can be like his big brother. This thrills me to no end, I want my kids to love reading and these book series really help. It shows them that books are journeys into another world and is fun. These are just the right length for their age. It isn’t too long, but keeps them entertained and wanting to turn the next page, and the next.. they are very addicting. Plus, each book has 4 trading cards in the back… how cool!

 

These short chapter books center around Tom, the courageous boy hero, Elenna, his strong-willed friend and expert archer, and their trusted companions, Storm the jet-black steed and Silver the danger-sniffing wolf, as they venture across the Kingdom of Avantia.

Within each subseries, Tom and Elenna encounter new worlds, dangerous challenges and deadly Beasts cursed by the Evil Wizard Malvel’s power.  Although the series is numbered, each book is a stand-alone story and comes with a collectable trading card perfect for engaging reluctant readers, encouraging conversations with friends or just getting kids excited about the next Beast Quest book.

The Warlock's Staff Series 9#52 Silver The Wild Terror

         

Malvel's evil knows no bounds. He has used his dark magic to turn Elenna's faithful wolf, Silver, into a terrifying Beast. Can Tom and Elenna rescue their friend, or will they lose him forever?

 

The Warlock's Staff Series 9 #53: Spikefin The Water King 

      

Malvel has created another deadly Beast to stop Tom from saving the realm of Seraph! Spikefin is a vicious sea creature who drags his victims to a watery grave. Is this the end for Tom and his perilous Quest?

 

The Warlock's Staff Series 9 #54: Torpix the Twisting Serpent

             

Tom's quest reaches a terrifying climax! If Malvel takes the Warlock's Staff to the Eternal Flame, he will rule all lands forever. But there is one more Beast to battle: Torpix the Twisted Serpent! Only by defeating both Torpix and Malvel will Tom fulfill his quest.

The entire series is available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble for under $6. It would be the perfect stocking stuffer!

Adam Blade is in his late twenties, and was born in Kent, England. His parents were both history teachers and amateur artists, and Adam grew up surrounded by his father's paintings of historic English battles - which left a lifelong mark on his imagination. He was also fascinated by the ancient sword and shield that hung in his father's office. Adam's father said they were a Blade family heirloom.

Stay tuned for the Giveaway… 3 winners will win 3 books!

 

 

 

 

Neato Customizable Galaxy S4 Phone Case Skins

  

This review was brought to you by AdvertiseWithBloggers.com and Neato Cases– Enjoy

The best thing about having a Samsung Galaxy S4, is all the amazing customization's that are available. I mean, who could resist all those designer skins and cases? I, for one, love to make things my own. Make them unique to my tastes. Who has the money to buy a new case for each design we want? Definitely not me.



That’s where Neato Skins come in. You don’t have to spend a lot of money to get the customization that you want. The Neato skins are blank phone case inserts that you can design and print all by yourself. No matter what you’re itching to make—pictures of your kids, your favorite sports team, your anniversary vacation…

What comes inside the box?
*5 Blank Skins
*Clear Phone Case
*Paper Test Sheet
*Instructions
*Online Design Software Code

Creating your own phone case is very simple. You download the software (the code comes inside the box), design your skin, insert your Neato skin into your printer, and done! I took a different step, I didn’t use my printer.



I whipped out my paints and let my kids help me design the cases. It was a good way to spend some creative time together, and they had tons of fun! I did too. I coached the kids on what to do after they chose their colors, we had all kinds of fun designs after we were done.


I wrote the “Stylish Southern Mama” and let my kids paint the colors by tracing over it. They also drew me a “flower” at the bottom. How awesome. There isn’t a case that you can’t have with this. We made all 5 with paint.

 
 
See all the cool designs they made? I proudly display these on my phone. They are something I can keep long after my S4 is outdated.

They are easy to apply (like a sticker), and easy to remove as well. I love that I can peel them off without them leaving behind sticky residue. The case looks as clear as it did before I ever applied the skin. A+ from us!! We love it.

You can also do a Google Search for “Samsung Galaxy S4 backgrounds” if you aren’t up to designing your own. I just like to create stuff, so I decided to paint. The possibilities are absolutely endless. Whatever you like, you can add it to the skin and sport your “unique” love of horses, flaming hearts, your Christmas Holiday family picture…


Images Source: Wallpaperawesome.com

This would be the PERFECT gift for someone who loves custom skins. For $20 you get 5 skins, the software, and the clear case that goes on the phone. They even have refill packs so you can create even MORE designs. I’m addicted already.

What would you design if you won your own Skins? The giveaway will be posted shortly. :)

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links or sponsored content. All opinions are my own and completely honest.