Weddingbee

I’m definitely planning on wearing it on my wedding day, underneath my makeup, and it also works great by itself- no makeup for me on moving day! My only warning is that the smell isn’t fantastic (seaweed doesn’t really do anything for me anyway), but the results are great.

What’s your best hot-weather beauty secret?

photo from www.thebodyshop.com
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Somehow we started talking about how impossible it is to find plain, women’s deodorant that doesn’t contain antiperspirant. My kindred spirit! There are so many men’s deodorants on the market, but it’s definitely slim pickings for us women. Uncomfortable with the idea of preventing my pores from sweating in an area with so many lymph nodes, combined with the thought of my family history of breast cancer, I’ve spent many, many years trying to find women’s deodorant. Besides, deodorant never leaves a white powdery mess on dark clothing.

When I was young I used a Lady’s Speed Stick Teen deodorant gel….it was green. I remember seeing it on pharmacy shelves up until at least a few years ago, but now that I google it, I see it comes in 5 new flavors (strawberry!) but it is now also antiperspirant.

I’ve also tried the J/Â/S/Ö/N products, and Tom’s of Maine, and while they are “natural” and don’t contain the dreaded aluminum chlorohydrate, perhaps they’re a bit too natural for me as I found that they didn’t work entirely well at cutting smell.

When I was a teenager, my mom brought me back an unmarked bag of jagged “alum crystals” from the Philippines, which she made me grind to a powder with a mortar and pestle. It worked the very best at cutting smell but the mortar and pestle bit was a bit tedious and I resorted to using a sporty men’s deodorant for many years since I wasn’t satisfied with Tom’s or the J/Â/S/Ö/N products. When I thought about it - I wondered just how different “alum” was from aluminum chlorohydrate, too. It did, however, allow me to sweat, so it couldn’t have been that bad.

So then a couple years ago, I found an alum crystal product on the market. And it is the best thingI’ve ever found. You just wet it (which I very well could have done with my bag of alum crystals had they not been so jagged), and apply. No smell, and it lets you sweat. Another problem with a lot of the women’s deoderants I’d tried is that they’re gel-y and therefore sticky, perhaps promoting sweat and odor causing bacteria. Not so with the crystal. The crystal is my best friend, and it even comes in a travel size! It is so worth the $6 or so at your local pharmacy.

I’m reeling a little at the thought of my non-strapless wedding gown in the august heat, and I may indulge myself with a watermelon antiperspirant for just a day. Because with what few lady’s deodorants are available on the market, I was always jealous of the 100+ different scents that you could get for antiperspirants.

Anyone else out there have an aversion to antiperspirant, too?
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One of the products that I’ve been using for years is Origins’ No Offense deodorant. It is pricey for deodorant, but the stuff works wonders and is alcohol free so you don’t get crazy broken skin. Also, I heard a lot of breast cancer survivors use this deodorant because it’s all natural without any harmful chemicals. I used to hoard it because Origins discontinued it for a while, but now I am happy to report that is always available online.

Now for the rest of the bod… donning a huge A-line dress with lining isn’t going to help my sweat-free bridal look, so I am taking precautions and like the big baby I am, getting some body powder!

{Image from here}

I tried the Shower-to-Shower one, but kept making a mess everywhere, so I think I’m going to need some kind of puff or brush. The Kabuki brush from Elf seems like a good bet. At $8 it’s a bargain to all the other body brushes I’ve seen (which range from $15-55!!!). The brush would also be great for applying bronzer or shimmer powder.

{Image from here}

The classic Jean Nate one includes a puff so that may be another great portable option for all those lovely outdoor shots we plan on taking.

Anyone else wants have any additional tips on how to stay “fresh”?
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{Image Source}

Perhaps I can?

Not really. {image source}

I’ve instead replaced coffee with good-for-me H20. Perhaps, I can get good looking skin, too.

Have you had any dietary changes so that you can look and feel good on the big day?
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With the wedding quickly approaching, I started thinking again about whitening my teeth. I love coffee so I needed a little something to brighten things up. The Crest strips have been just what I needed. I only have to leave them on for five minutes in the morning- showering, blow drying my hair, checking my email- which makes them wonderfully convenient. The Premium version may be a quicker fix, but for a girl with sensitive teeth, faster isn’t always better. A few weeks after starting the treatments, my teeth were clearly whiter and pain free.

I just wanted to share in case anyone else had been scared off of the strips. It might be the sensitive toothpaste + weaker strips, but I am very happy with the results!
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I know that some people take Pepto Bismol to avoid ARF (Asian Red Face) while drinking, but I doubt that it would have the same effect on me since my hardcore blushing is caused by shyness, not alcohol. I guess it wouldn’t hurt to load up on some good ol’ Pepto. Any suggestions on how I can avoid looking like this (see photo below) on our wedding day?

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