Citrus Zinger Review

I was really pleased to be allowed to review the Citrus Zinger from Zing Anything. At www.zinganything.com one can find the Citrus Zinger, Aqua Zinger, Vodka Zinger, and Salad Zinger. The Citrus Zinger retails on their site for $16.99. 

I received the bottle in minimal packaging, which got us off to a great start. A plastic sleeve over the bottle and a fitted cardboard box were all that was used to package the Citrus Zinger. There was a tag hanging from the neck and an instruction sheet inside the bottle. Unfortunately, I found it quite difficult to remove the instruction sheet and had to piece it back together to read it. I couldn't find any way to remove it except through the mouth of the bottle. After I finally succeeded, I read the simple directions aloud while my daughter followed them. 

First, you unscrew the base. While holding the bottle upside down, press and twist a halved citrus fruit firmly onto the juicer. Then put the base back onto the bottle. Holding upright, remove the lid and add water. That's it! The base filters the seeds so they don't get into your water, but it allows pulp to come through. 

We found the resulting drink tastier chilled, so I recommend adding a few pieces of ice. 

After the water was finished, we refilled the bottle without changing the lemon. I was pleased to find that the lemon flavored another bottle of water without changing the fruit out. 

To wash the Citrus Zinger, simply remove the base and lid and rinse thoroughly. I wish the juicing piece was removable because I would feel better if I could dissemble the bottle further when washing. However, their method did seem to work fine. 

I found the Citrus Zinger easy and fun to use. It made quick work of lemon water without lots of slicing, squeezing, and mess. I look forward to trying it with a lime next and maybe I'll get creative after that. And I'd love to try the other Zingers at ZingAnything.com. 

The bad news is, I may never get to use the Citrus Zinger myself. My daughter loves it! Her exact words were "This is mine!" 

Sponsor Spotlight and Review: Bee Alive

Bee Alive is a company that makes natural supplements and skin care products from honey and royal jelly. What is royal jelly? That's what I wanted to learn, too! Here's a nice summary from the Bee Alive website:

Royal Jelly is a natural nutritious complex with many bio-active compounds, including 10-HDA found nowhere else in nature. Within the bee hive, Royal Jelly is produced as the exclusive food of the Queen Bee.

The number of worker bees in a hive may be in the tens of thousands, but there is only one Queen. Royal Jelly is eaten by the Queen Bee, and because of her exclusive Royal Jelly diet, the Queen Bee becomes different from the other bees in three significant ways:

- The average worker bee lives about 6 weeks, while the Queen Bee lives an astonishing 4 to 6 years.

- The Queen Bee is twice the size of female worker bees.

- The Queen can lay up to 2,000 eggs a day, often laying 100,000 to 200,000 eggs each year.

When it comes to providing the Queen Bee with sustenance, growth, and long life, Royal Jelly can only be described as one of nature’s miraculous foods. No where else in nature does the food fed to one member of a species, genetically identical at birth with other members, determine its morphology and lifespan.

Known for boosting energy, vitality, and stamina, royal jelly is used widely in Europe and Asia as an anti-fatigue compound. The following are naturally occurring in royal jelly: B Complex vitamin, amino acids, minerals (including calcium, magnesium, pottassium and zinc), peptides, nucleic acids, and a substance that is unique to royal jelly called 10-HDA.

Honey is naturally anti-bacterial and I already used honey for the occasional bump or blackhead. Honey masks are known to help prevent acne breakouts because they don't just cleanse, they inhibit the growth of bacteria. 

Recently Bee Alive sent me a 120 day supply of royal jelly supplements in two different forms. I will be reviewing those in early 2013 because it typically has to build up in the system to see results. 

But they also sent me their Spa Essentials Balance Petite Collection, which I can tell you about now.

Spa Essentials is the name of Bee Alive's skincare collection. This Balance Petite Collection is only available for a limited time. Designed for Christmas gift giving, it comes in a very cute, re-usable, jute gift bag. Included inside are the following:

• 1.8 oz Foaming Honey Cleanser
• .5 oz Enriching Royal Jelly Creme
• .5 oz Royal Jelly Serum
• .6 oz Honey Masque

I love the cleanser. It's in a plastic bottle with a foaming pump dispenser and is very mild and gentle. The Masque goes on smooth and silky and gets sticky as it sits, but it was fun to pamper myself with a facial masque and my skin felt much smoother after using it. My sister and I had a great time trying it! Girl time! The Serum is designed to go under your face cream if you use one or use it alone. The Serum firms without making my skin feel tight. This is by far my favorite of the products in this bag! The Royal Jelly Creme is thick but not heavy, having the consistency of a thick mousse. It went on smooth and light and moisturized without feeling or looking greasy. 

I was very pleased with these products and would highly recommend them to anyone looking for a natural skincare regimen! 

You can buy your own Balance Petite Collection, for yourself or as a gift, for only $49.95 by clicking here. Sold separately, these products would cost $88.40!

OR

Win it now! Bee Alive has also generously decided to give one lucky reader a Spa Essentials Balance Petite Collection during the Winter Wonderland Giveaway Hop. You can enter by clicking here between December 1 and December 15, 2012!

Mott 50 Sun Protective Clothing Review & Giveaway

I recently received a beautiful item from Mott 50 to review. Mott 50 is a line of clothing that provides lightweight, stylish items with UV protection. UPF, or Ultraviolet Protection Factor, is the clothing equivalent of SPF in sunscreen. Mott 50's clothing, which is designed specifically to block the harmful ultraviolet rays of the sun, offers UPF 50. In comparison, an average white tee offers UPF 5. 

I received the Colleen Wrap Jacket in poppy, which is from their "bamboo basics" line. It also comes in navy or white. I loved the look and feel of the jacket as soon as I opened the package! The poppy color is an orange-red and very pretty. The fabric is made from 92% bamboo, a sustainable resource (yay!), which feels cool to the touch and is super soft and lightweight. 

I tried the jacket with on and found it very cute and comfy with just a tank top underneath. It's very casual with the cord tie, so it looked great with jeans, but no matter how many combinations I tried, I just couldn't make it look dressy enough for work. I think if the tie had been different, it would have been a little more versatile. But then, I don't work outside so I don't need sun protection at work. I do think this would make a great option for sun protection at the ball field! 

After seeing the jacket on, I decided it really might look great as a bathing suit cover-up. I tried it for our next trip to the pool and I was right! It looked great and was long enough since I am short. This gave me an opportunity to check out the sun protection, too. It worked! I didn't get any sun that I could notice on the parts that it covered! I really love the way the fabric feels cool against my skin when I put it on. If I got to hot, I just took it off to get wet in the pool, then toweled and put it back on. It was still cool to the touch, even after being draped across my chair in the hot sun!

Mott 50 has lots of other options, too. They offer tops, jackets, tunics, dresses, pants, skirts and accessories, as well as swimwear of course. I love that they carry a women's line and a men's line. Their goal is to give us more freedom to enjoy the sun in a healthy and comfortable way. I say they are successful! To see more clothing from Mott 50, or to order, visit there website at www.mott50.com. You can also find them on Facebook by clicking here!

Now for the super good news! Mott 50 has generously offered to give one lucky Mama Making Changes reader a Colleen Wrap Jacket just like mine during the Spa for Ma Giveaway Hop! This jacket has a retail value of $110 and it can be yours! To enter, just click here to be redirected to the rafflecopter entry form any time between August 18 and August 31, 2012. Good luck!

Disclosure: The reviews and or opinions on this blog are my own opinions. I received the above to review. No monitory compensation was received. I was not required to write a positive review. Your experience may differ. The opinions I have expressed are my own I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR Part 255: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsement and Testimonials in Advertising.