The Scent of a Man

Ok, so you guys have GOT to try this! I discovered that you can actually make deodorant!
Waaaaaaaait! Don't stop reading and start thinking, "This time she's really gone off her rocker".

Like you probably are also, I was apprehensive when I heard about it. But after reading much on the subject, I thought, "what could I possibly lose?"

What's more, I read that store-bought deodorants usually have harmful chemicals in them. And they could stain your clothes. And you pay much more for them. Ok, so those reasons are not in order of importance. (But neither are the discussion points in a political meeting brought up in order of importance. Or so I heard.)
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(you're thinking about the relevance of that one, aren't you?)

WOOHOO! YIPPEE! WAKA WAKA! YAHOO! GOOGLE and what have you! It works!

Proof: my husband has been using this concoction that I whipped up for him, for about three months now, and he has no complaints at all. And I have none either (bear in mind I am closest in proximity to him every day - and night). We've even been going hiking of late, which really brings out the sweat in us, and still there are no untoward after-effects, if you know what I mean.

Why was my husband picked for this experiment? Cos he's always game for anything that saves him money I try out. He's my biggest supporter like that, y'know.

Sometimes.

I mean, SOMEtimes...


I had to look high and low for the proportions again because, as usual, I forgot where I got it from - maybe Google, maybe Pinterest, maybe another blogger...

Here goes:

5 tbsp. of extra virgin coconut oil
1/4 – 3/8 cup of baking soda
1/4 – 3/8 cup of cornstarch
Essential oils (optional)




This is the coconut oil I use, and no, they don't pay me for saying this. pfft. Don't be put off by this ingredient - it does have a mild fragrance which you may or may not like, but it actually gets toned down with the addition of the other stuff. I buy this in the cosmetics section at Mydin (where else? I live practically next door to Mydin). It costs a little over 9 ringgit but don't forget, you only use 5 tablespoonsful of it.

The cornstarch can also be substituted with arrowroot powder..which I have no idea is what and very likely neither do you, so I shouldn't have bothered with this sentence of 34 words and 3 numbers.
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(you counted, didn't you?)

The essential oils (the suggestion was for tea-tree oil) I didn't bother with, because I didn't know where to get any. And as we have found out, it is unnecessary. It says optional in the ingredients list anyway. Then why call it essential, huh? huh? Really!

Just use a spoon and mix all these ingredients up in a bowl - it's that easy!




You should get a paste-like consistency. If you don't, just add more oil if it is too dry, or more cornstarch if too wet. The consistency should be like....KFC's mashed potatoes. I don't think Colonel Sanders will mind if I say this, do you? Hey, I'm helping people with their personal hygiene!

My first batch I put into a glass jar with a lid and my husband applied it under his arms with his fingers. Then I read of one lady who actually emptied her roll-on deodorant and filled it up with this paste. Hmmm...does that mean I should actually buy a roll-on one now since we haven't been getting any for some weeks already?

This batch I've put into above mentioned KFC's mashed potato takeaway plastic tub. By now Colonel Sanders should love me...I recycle.

Now that I've made a new batch just for this blog post, and my husband still has a lot from the last (first?) batch....does anyone want to try this out? Just be sure to label it. Or someone might think it's you-know-what and eat a glob of it. You can have the fun of choosing your own label for it. I think I'll call mine...

Oh, you help me with a name. I can't think anymore.

Beauty in your Trash

Here's a wooden high chair that my tuition kid's mother was throwing out! Wha- ?
Like a wet kitten stuck in a deep monsoon drain, I rescued it immediately.





















It only had one flaw, but I didn't care. I could see its potential!
















I painted it yellow. Yellow makes me happy. (I even painted my kitchen walls yellow - the shade was called Jovial!)

But I wasn't happy with the shade of yellow the paint shop had. I wanted something more mustard-yellow. No worries, it'll get fixed somehow.






















I sanded to distress it - with an electric sander
which vibrates so badly you feel you've been
de-fragmented when you're done using it.












Then I used wood stain to stain it.
Now I was happy with the colour.















But still not happy-happy, you know? I wanted a second tier.

I had, some time earlier on, collected a thingy I found cast away under a tree (really! the things people throw away!)



Is this a headboard for a child's bed, or the railing of a cot, perhaps?

















I knocked off the slats...
















And nailed them to make my second tier.
And painted, sanded, distressed and wood stained the new tier.














Moral of this story: What's trash to someone is treasure to another.

Please don't throw things like this away! Call me. I'll come to their rescue.

I may not be faster than a speeding bullet
... or more powerful than a locomotive
... or able to leap tall buildings in a single bound
... I certainly do not wear blue onesies with red underwear on the outside

... but I can drive.


So how cute is this?






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