Wednesday, June 29, 2016

Live Inspired with love and in gratitude

Don't you just love it when a company is uplifting and puts a pep in your step. It's even better when their products give you that same feeling. That's how these Live Inspired Organics products make me feel.


I came across the lovely Gina, the woman behind Live Inspired Organics (this photo is from her website), on Instagram. I was first drawn to her positive posts and daily affirmations, but then I saw how she poured her love and gratitude into her handcrafted, natural pampering products. Naturally, when she offered to send me some to try, I responded with a happy and grateful, "yes."


It's no surprise that I tested the Live Inspired Organics Essence of Strawberry Sugar Scrub first, as you know how much I adore a good scrub (recognize the Mirame bikini from my last post? Of course, I care about keeping my skin in tip-top shape for summer). I immediately noticed it's minty fresh strawberry citrus scent and the natural color (there aren't any artificial dyes added to this scrub, so don't expect it to be bright pink). It looks like little wet sand granules, ready to soften and smooth my skin for the beach.


And that's what this scrub does with pure cane sugar*, coconut oil*, sunflower oil*, pure almond oil*, uncut strawberry essence oil, sweet orange essential oil*, peppermint essential oil*, raspberry tea, kosher lecithin* and elderberry fruit extract (*denotes certified organic ingredients). It has a tendency to separate, as there aren't any added chemicals to prevent that from occurring. Just give it a stir and apply it to wet skin in the shower. The rich, luxurious oils keep this scrub from flying all over the place, which means less waste and clean up later. It also moisturizes your skin as you scrub and rinse the granules away. A bit of the oil stays on your skin, giving it a gorgeous glow.

At this point, you probably won't need any extra moisture, but if you opt to use the Live Inspired Organics Essence of Strawberry Body Velvet, you are in for a luscious treat. It not only smells as divine as the sugar scrub, but it also looks like the decadent whipped cream icing on a cake.


Distilled water (I never would have guess it was in there, as this cream is so rich), coconut oil*, 100% natural aloe vera gel, sunflower oil*, beeswax, pure kokum butter, kosher certified soy and non-GMO vitamin E oil, uncut strawberry essence oil, sweet orange essential oil*, peppermint oil* and elderberry fruit extract (*denotes organic ingredients) are whipped into this heavenly body butter that's so thick and creamy that you can hold it upside down without losing a drop. Thank goodness it comes in this tub to make it easy to get every last drop out and all over your skin, which will gladly drink it up (this stuff actually absorbs well and makes your skin incredibly soft and nourished).


Speaking of drinking it up, Gina also sent me some of her LOVE Herbal Tea, which goes so perfectly with her pampering line of products. The combination of organic rose petals, organic damiana leaf, organic orange peel, organic roasted cacao nibs, organic cinnamon chips and organic vanilla bean looks beautiful to the eye, smells sweet, is totally relaxing and tastes exactly like what's in it (although it's also nice to use as a facial steam; how's that for double-duty?).


This loose tea is simple to make by either using a paper tea bag, coffee filter, French press or tea steeping ball. Allow the tea to steep in hot water for 5-8 minutes until your golden goodness is ready to drink.

I couldn't find my tea steeping ball in the moment that I wanted a cup (the water was hot and ready, leaving me with whatever I could find at the time), so I placed a mini mesh strainer on top of my Live Inspired Mug (yes, you can buy one, too). As you can see, I made sure to have the water at a high enough level to sufficiently steep the tea.

This tea tastes like love (I included the above mug photo from the Live Inspired Organics website, because it obviously represents the mug better than my pic). It's sweet, floral and spicy with a hint of vanilla. I can even get a sense of the roasted cacao nibs, and if you're anything like me, you'd have to agree that something chocolate would be included in the flavor of love. The cacao nibs don't, however, taste like traditional chocolate; instead, they provide a very subtle roasted flavor, similar to coffee (but not so much that a non-coffee drinker wouldn't enjoy it).

Last, but not least, Gina sent me her Live Inspired Organics Essence of Strawberry LOVE Lip Balm. Again, it has that minty fresh strawberry citrus scent and a natural color from only organic cocoa butter, organic kokum butter, beeswax, pure almond oil, organic sunflower oil, organic coconut oil, strawberry essence oil, organic sweet orange essential oil and organic peppermint oil. It's firm in the tube, but melts the moment it touches your lips. It feels quite nice. I especially like the oval tube shape, which makes it easy to grip and to fit in your pocket.

Thanks so much Gina for giving me the chance to try your line. I'm so grateful for the opportunity and can genuinely feel the love you put into all of them.

I encourage my followers to try them, too. If you do, let me know your thoughts on Twitter at @Rawdorable and/or Instagram (also @Rawdorable).

* Live Inspired Organics sent me these products for review.
All opinions are my own :)