Eucerin - Deodorant - 0% Aluminium (ACH) - Empfindliche Haut (Sensitive Skin)

This deodorant has no aluminum, alcohol, or parabens.

It is a 'medical grade' deoderant for sensitive skin and can be used after shaving/epilating or if you have eczema. 

The scent is faint and clean.

I liked this and it works ok, I just personally prefer an antiperspirant.

Price: 1/5 ($12.93 for 50mL)
Scent: 5/5 (although I personally prefer a citrus, floral, or woody scent)
Effectiveness: 4/5

Art Break - Candy Chat Parcel

I wanted to send some treats to the ladies of the 'Candy Chat' podcast.

I sent them Dickmann's, Nimm2 bonbons, Ritter Sport (winter edition), Hanuta, Constanze Mozart balls, Küsschen, and Kinder hippos (they have already tried them but I know they like them).

I thought I would also include a piece of embroidery.

Sketching it out.

First word.

Show title!

My first ever 3D rose.

A close up.

All the roses!

And all done!

I put some felt on the back to polish it off.

For the box I decided to decorate it with some simple designs.

Drawing them out in my art book.

On the box.

"If I fits I sits!"

Inside the wrapping I added some colourful stars.

Love this little cutter.

I got this peach wrapping with white hearts to wrap it all in.

 All wrapped up!

Verdict: They loved it!!

Ovulation Predictor Kits

I stopped taking the pill a few months back and I wanted to see if my body was getting back into normal cycles.

So I thought I would do some OPKs (ovulation predictor kits) to see if I got an indicator of ovulation.
These are used mostly by people who are trying to conceive to have an indication of when they ovulate, so they can make sure they have sex on and around those days.
These tests don't prove ovulation happened, but can give evidence toward showing that it happened.

OPKs look at the level of lutenising hormone (LH) which sharply peaks when ovulation occurs (again no guarantee that an egg is released).

The hormones in the female reproductive cycle is quite amazing.

You can get cheap test strips or expensive digital kits (I like the cheap ones) and you just dip them in your late morning/mid afternoon pee.
Unlike a pregnancy test, you don't use first morning pee.

So here is a month's worth of things that have touched my pee.
This was a few months after coming off the pill, my cycles are normal.

On CD 10 (cycle day 10) I had to test twice because the first OPK was a dud. 

It gave a smeared control line and the test itself was cut thinner than they normally are cut.

The dud is on top.

On CD 14, I ovulated! (Or rather had a high enough LH surge which is a possible indicator of ovulation.)

It was late that evening and was back to negative (with a line) the next day, so you could miss it pretty easily.

For a more certain indicator of ovulation, you can try Basal Body Temperature testing (BBT).
But I won't do that unless I need to because waking up at the same time each morning to take my temperature is not my idea of fun.
A positive OPK is enough for me at the moment.

Price: 5/5 ($10.65 for 30 tests)
Effectiveness: 5/5

* The next month I felt funny on cycle day 13 so I did one test in the afternoon and BAM positive OPK on one test!

A bit faded because it is a few hours old... I'm great at doing things in a timely fashion.

Don't be afraid to get in tune with your body.

Coming of Lexapro

I was on 10mg of Lexapro for a while (just enough to stop the paranoia and the depression from taking hold).

I went down to 5mg for a few months, and I only needed that 5 mg.

Now coming off it completely for medical stuff and it is rough!

It's only 5mg, why does it hurt so much?

Day 4 was the worst, I was on an emotional roller-coaster.
In that one day I was so sad, furious, and laughing.
The brain zaps are the most annoying.

I have been drinking so much hemp tea and taking cannabidiols three times a day, and this has been an incredible help.
It sucks that you can't get CBD in Australia.

By day 7 I found I felt drowsy all day, this was my indicator that I didn't need the hemp/CBD anymore.
I know it's not true, but for me when pain medicines start giving me funky side effects I like to think that I'm ok without them because they don't have enough pain to work on anymore.

By day 11 it was becoming clear just how much anger/frustration/sadness was being treated by the medicine.
I'll like Melbourne, four seasons in a day.

I will suggest that you avoid caffeine, it seems to make the withdrawal symptoms more prominent.

It took 2 weeks for the withdrawal effects to be gone completely for me.

When I can, I'm coming back for you, meds!

The Body Shop - Oils of Life - Intensely Revitalizing Sleeping Cream

This is called 'Intensely Revitalizing' and I think that is quite fitting.
My skin was a little rough before using this and one week later it looks plumper and smoother.
I love this!

It contains black cumin oil, rosehip oil, and camellia oil, and has a herbal scent that is not overpowering.
It is a thick cream that absorbs quickly (~5 minutes) but it does leave a residue, which acts as a barrier overnight.

It is a bit expensive but if you are looking for a cruelty-free night cream that works, give it a try!

Price: 2.5/5 ($51.70 for 80mL)
Scent: 4.5/5
Effectiveness: 5/5

Podcast Review - Sleep With Me

I am yet to finish an episode of this show... because I keep falling asleep.

Ramblings, observations, and tattered stories, told to you in a relaxed manner by our host Scooter lull you to sleep. 
It's a bit like falling asleep with the television on except you aren't woken up by the blasting of an obnoxious advertisement.

Scooter doesn't focus on a concise story line and that is part of the genius, you aren't kept awake by focusing on a story.

It's interesting enough that you are happy to put it on and listen to it, but not so interesting that you stay awake.

I have been told that it gets quieter and more rambling as it goes on, but I can't confirm that, I've never been awake for that long.

Thank you Scooter, I look forward to going to bed now, sleep onset insomnia can't win against your show.

Category: Self Care
Rating: 5/5