Spring's in the air (and on our skin)

The sun is out more and more every day, and the spring has definitely (and finally!) arrived. This means that it’s that time of the year where we should look in busting out that sunscreen (at least for the pasty pale folks such as me)!

Most people have a bottle or two from last summer, hanging somewhere around the house. But before you slather yourself and your kiddies with that, there are few things that you should keep in mind:

On the hunt for "PARABEN-FREE"...

So if you've read my last post, you know that I've decide to part ways with all things containing parabens, at least, to the best of my ability (because, let's be honest, there is no way to go completely paraben free since they put these preservatives in medication and other things...).

What the heck are parabens you ask? According to Wikipedia, parabens are chemicals used as preservatives in cosmetics and pharmaceutical products. Check your bathroom, as parabens are often found in shampoos, moisturizers, shaving gels, spray tanning solutions, makeup and even toothpaste! They are also used as food additives.The main concern with METHYLPARABEN, PROPYLPARABEN, BUTYLPARABEN, ETHYLPARABEN, and ISOBUTYLPARABEN is that these can mimic estrogen and can act as potential hormone (endocrine) disruptors. For me, parabens can cause contact dermatitis :( Apparently, some of these parabens can react with UVB (i.e. when your skin is exposed to sun) and can cause skin aging and DNA damage as well.

But enough of the scary stuff!

Let's talk nails...

I often think about writing reviews for some of the products I use - the ones that impact me strongly (positively or negatively, either way). But I never get around to actually doing that! ...Well, not true, I've done a few reviews on baby products on my blog :)

This review is about a nail product that I recently discovered... I love my nails; they are long and don't break too often. Usually I cut them relatively short, but that's where the care often ends - being a busy mom, I have absolutely no time waiting for a nail polish to dry! And let's face it, if you want a nice manicure that will stay there for longer than a day before chipping, you have to put on 2 coats. And if the colour is in the dark shades, you want to use a base coat + top coat. So that's 4 coats of polish that have to dry! What mother has got time for that? Not this one!

So the product is Sally Hansen 14-day Nail Shield: