Pause.

Hi all,

I have a few posts in my queue that I haven't put up, but I've recently made the decision to put this blog on pause semi-indefinitely.

I will continue to work in fitness, nutrition, beauty, health and happiness, but after a  little over two years with this blog - as much as I have loved working on it - has become more "work" than actions I like to work on, such as mentoring directly, personal wellness coaching, exercising, dancing, and continuing to educate myself on all the topics I've touched on these years.

I'd love to continue being in touch with you all via other avenues, you may reach me at:
Facebook: facebook.com/OmniSamantha
Twitter: twitter.com/MsSamanthaMarie
Instagram: instagram.com/MsSamanthaMarie
Snapchat: @OmniSamantha:
Website: samtalia.com
G+ MsSamanthaMarie
Email: samantha at samtalia dot com /

Please never hesitate to reach out. I will see you around. :)

Always,

Yours in health and happiness,

Samantha Marie

Healthy Halloween Snacks

Who says Halloween has to be all about candy? Halloween has always been one of my favorite, if not my favorite, holiday. Growing up it was all about your costume and decorations in your home. Now that I'm a not-self-proclaimed heath nut, I don't want to shy away from all the snacks & treats that come with it. Finding yummy healthy alternatives are really fun too! Check some of these out, or head over to my Pinterest, where I got them from. :)

Super cute bananas cute in half & peeled cuties!

Cheese cut-outs! Of course there needs to be cheese.

Carrots & black olives - I think this would be great with some white "ghost" dip.

Have a very happy, fun, and safe Halloween!

October Natural Products

I hope you had a wonderful summer & are getting ready for the transition into the fall & holiday season. Here are some fall favorites for the month of October. Later this week I'll post some ideas for healthy Halloween snacks. :)

 

 

 All doTERRA products can be purchased through me at mydoterra.com/mssamanthamarie

Yours in health and happiness,

Samantha Marie

Yay It's Genetically Modified!

I was so happy to read on a coffee label that it was made with GMOs. No really.

For as much and as long as I've tried to fight the good fight to get foods labeled that contain genetically modified ingredients, my reaction to finally seeing it in person was probably opposite of expected, even to myself. Companies have asserted that horrors would happen if they were forced to provide such a label, perhaps fearing drastically declining sales. Getting foods labeled that contain GMOs was less a witch-hunt and more a struggle for information and the right to make an informed decision. I want to know what it is that is being put into my body, whether it is food, medicine, or an earring. Whether they are "good" or "bad" has less to do than my right, and my personal decision. People know alcohol and sugar isn't good for them, but they know what it is they are consuming when they put it into their body. They are making an informed decision and accepting whatever risks may come.

I buy organic whenever I can. I always thought I wouldn't buy anything with a GMO label. Yet here I was reading this label, thinking to myself, "I rarely drink coffee. This sounds good and I actually respect this brand more, forced to or not, for being one of the first products to have a genetically modified label on its package." And I bought it.

Am I a hypocrite? I think I'm more of a normal human in this instance. With my 98% healthy lifestyle of organic vegetables, consistent workouts, and essential oil remedies, I'm perfectly okay with making the informed decision to purchase a genetically modified coffee, the occasional pizza, or Irish Car Bomb.

Hopefully you value the ability of yourself to make informed decisions too. :)

Yours in health and happiness,

Samantha Marie

Natural Alternatives for September 2016

Hello there!

I hope you've had a wonderful summer and enjoyed the sun and are ready to settle in now that it's back to school time. I got my InTune for homework & study time, and Citrus Bliss to keep me awake at work.

Products of the Month:

At mydoterra.com/mssamanthamarie you get 3 of the most popular oils: Peppermint, Lavender & Lemon free! Only until September 15th with any 160 PV order. If you're wondering how I use each of these oils, or which way you should use them best, please respond back to me and I will contact you personally ASAP now until 9/15/16. Add two drops of Lemon to a glass of water and drink. Diffuse Lavender or put a couple drops on your pillow before sleep. Add two drops of Peppermint to your protein shake, like I did here (yum).
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doTERRA has 10% off DDR Prime during the month of September. Don't forget to take your vitamins! I take mine every morning. DDR Prime is a proprietary blend of CPTG Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade® essential oils that help protect the body against oxidative stress to cellular DNA. The essential oils in DDR Prime provide antioxidant protection and support a healthy response to cellular stressors.* Melaleuca, or Tea Tree oil, is best known for its purifying qualities, which make it useful for cleansing the skin and home surfaces, purifying the air, or promoting healthy immune function.* Melaleuca Touch combines with fractionated coconut oil for an easy application on skin.

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Sunsational Flavors are only $30 for 4 yummy oils to add to different summertime dishes and drinks: Tangerine, Dill, Spearmint, and Cumin come in four 5ml bottles, and with about 80 drops in each they will last a long time! doTERRA has a recipe for Rosemary & Spearmint soap: http://doterra.com/US/en/blog/recipe-rosemary-spearmint-soap

20 Skincare and Makeup Summer Reviews

With so many, this season's review load will be quick and dirty! Kind of like my summer haha

* LivingProof Flexible Hold Hairspray - I put this in my travel bag for quick weekend or overnight trips. This brand is big in Sephora for hair, but I'm not super in to it. 7/10 rating

* Dr. Dennis Gross Alpha Beta Ultra Gentle Daily Peel - Picked this up as a 100pt perk to use for 3 days - loved it! You use the pads until it is no longer moist (why is moist a word people hate so much?). Definitely want to pick up again. My skin felt awesome. 10/10

* Makeup Forever Pro Finish Compact Pressed Powder - This has been my go-to compact powder since I left MAC's compact behind some 4 years ago (whenever MUFE released this line). The color does fairly well blending in to skin, but I feel like it can make my skin look dry. I bought a new shade, but keeping my eyes open for a new one to love. 8/10

* Jose Maran 100% Pure Argan Oil - This little bottle went wayyy too quickly. I understand the Argan oil hype now though. My skin was super smooth. Was a bit pricey to go through so quick though. 9.5/10

* Olay Regenerist Fragrance Free Face Cream - YES! Olay! Didn't want to like it when I got my first Olay cream in a VoxBox a couple years ago, but I do. Bought this jar at Target myself! As drugstore skincare brands go, I can get behind this one. 9/10

* NARS Lipgloss in Babydoll - Love NARS lip glosses. Kind of want to try them all eventually. Shiny thick pink 9/10

* Dr. Brant Microdermabrasion Age Defying Exfoliator - One of my favorite exfoliators, next to Kate Somerville 9/10

* Origins GinZing - To help brighten and give a more "awake" look to eyes in the moisturizer, but I use it all over my face in the morning. Origins is one of my favorite skincare brands, but I'm not the hugest fan of the brightening look in skin care - I'd rather it be reserved for makeup. 8/10

* Boscia Luminizing Black Mask - One of my other favorite skincare brands, and I especially love their black skincare line. 8/10 for weird application & removal

* Estee Lauder Perfectionist CP+R - Did an investment in this product though Sephora -wasn't cheap, but lasted a long time and did a fairly well job of leaving my skin smooth and moisturized over the couple months I used it. 9/10

* Origins High Potency Night-A-Mins - Possibly my favorite night cream that I keep going back to. My roommate says is smells like oranges. I default back to this one if there's not something else I'm trying at the moment. 10/10

* Dr. Jart Ceramide - Ceramide has been coming up on a lot of skin care products the past couple of years & I love it. Absorbs really well into the skin & helps with cell renewal. 9/10

* Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair - Smooth night cream that's not greasy. Not the hugest fan of ingredients though. 8/10

* Dr. Brant 3 D Filler Mask - Skincare product from a skin care brand that feels more like a makeup prep product. Maybe it's my indecisiveness on what category this product should actually be in, and how I really want to use it that makes me defer from going back to it, even though I've had at least three different trial sizes so far. A little heavier than I prefer things to be on my face, other than that, it's fine. 7/10

* Buxom Lip Stick Marker - This was like a dark yet natural lip stain, perfect for a little color at the gym. The more trial lip things I get from Buxom, the more I'm liking this brand. 8.5/10

* Clarins Beauty Flash Balm - I feel like it took me two years to get through this thing. Don't let the beauty balm name fool you - it is thick & doesn't blend into skin - it actually tells you NOT to rub it in. I normally love Clarins products, but not this one. 5/10

* Benefit High Beam - It's that little round thing that the wording on the package rubbed off haha. I kept this in my makeup bag in my purse & lasted me about 9 months! I loved it for a brow bone highlighter, and also used it sometimes on the tops of my cheekbones and towards my temples. Probably my favorite cream highlighter! 10/10

* Inglot Lip Cream - Bought this in Vegas when I forgot lipstick/ lipgloss in my hotel room & didn't want to go back. Loved it! Consistency is somewhere between lipstick and lipgloss, and color density was in-between too - kind of like the best of both worlds! Inglot has a store in the Forum Shops in Caesar's Palace that I will be visiting again on another trip. 9/10

* Too Faced Primed & Poreless Primer - Probably one of my favorite face primers (Benefit has one I love as well). Though seemingly thick to put on, it actually feels like thin satin on your face. It does such a great job of blurring imperfections that you can wear it alone. 10/10

Hope you all enjoyed this run-down! Feel free to add comments below on your experiences with these products.

Yours in health and happiness,

Samantha Marie

L'Oreal Influenster VoxBox

Recently I got this stacked VoxBox from Influenster to try out a bunch of makeup products from L'Oreal, which particularly focused on lashes. It came with two eye shadows, eye liner, a mini brow kit, Voluminous mascara primer and Voluminous mascara.

Makeup-snob in me wasn't expecting much. Besides my coveted e.l.f. $2 liquid eyeliner, drugstore brands don't often make it into my bag. I was out of state for a couple of days visiting my mom, so I figured it would be a good time to try these products for a couple of days when I figured I wouldn't have to be out in public much (Oregon, versus San Francisco on a daily basis).

First up was the eye shadow duo. I used the light on my brow bone & the darker on my lid & crease. The shimmer slate actually had amazing dimension - It looked shimmery where I wanted it to, but also appeared matte in my crease where that would be more ideal. It reminded me of some of my favorite Too Faced eye shadows - which is one of my favorite eye shadow brands. 

The brow kit seemed pretty light for my skin and hair - as my natural hair color is dark brown. I ended up bleaching the top part of my hair about a week after I received this VoxBox though, so it ended up working out perfect - and I've been using this on a daily basis since!

I have mixed feelings when it comes to mascara primers. Maybe it's because I'm not used to them, or I'm picky with my natural eyelashes, or the fact that Makeup Forever Smokey Extravagant is still my #1 mascara for over a year and a half now. The primer was slightly more thick then I would have liked it to be, but it DID do a great job of making my lashes appear fuller, which is always a plus, no matter how full your lashes already are naturally. 

I would definitely recommend trying the eye shadows and Voluminous primer & mascara. I'd probably like to try out some more eye shadow colors to see if they have similar effects, and this is now the #2 drugstore brand mascara I would buy - Rimmel London made me a fan of their Lash Accelerator Endless a couple of years ago.

All products I receive from the Influenster VoxBox program are free to me for testing purposes. I enjoy sharing my both good and sometimes brutally honest negative reviews with all of my readers. 

Feel free to message with any questions!

Yours in health and happiness,

Samantha Marie