product review – Page 5 – Jellybeans in the City

Have a box of good cheer with MDJ Cookies

It’s been three-and-a-half months since our seemingly well-ordered life has been upended by the community quarantine and I won’t be surprised if we don’t find ourselves a little out of sorts with the world every once in a while.

You know what comforts me when the doldrums come?

A little bit (or a lot!) of something sweet – like a cookie! – can get me right back into a cheerier mood. It’s not just about the rush of sugar in bloodstream. It’s more about the comfort and warmth that emanates from a piece of well-made cookie.

This morning, just as I was about to take a well-deserved break from working with multiple gadgets open and heated discussions scrolling up my screens, a box bearing my name (well, IG handle actually) arrived from MDJ Cookies.

Talk about a welcome sight!

MDJ Cookies (from owner Martine De Jesus’ name) is a tribute to her mom’s baking prowess. Using her mom’s recipes, Martine gets to spread little packets of good cheer through her cookies. As she puts it: her cookies feel like a warm hug you can eat!

As soon as I opened the box, the smell of freshly baked cookies wafted to my nostrils and made me think of my own Sunday baking sessions with my mom when I was a little girl. Oh, such happy memories!

And guess what: the box’s cookie contents are no less cheery. Check them out!

Salted Brown Butter Chocolate Chip (Php30/pc | Php190/6pcs | Php370/12pcs). The good ‘ole chocolate chip cookie gets an upgrade with use of brown butter and a bit of salt.

Birthday Cake (Php35/pc | Php220/6pcs | Php430/12pcs). There’s something so festive about this cookie… Is it the colorful sprinkles? Or the sweet smell of toasted marshmallows? Whatever it is, it’s good for any day worth celebrating.

White Chocolate Macadamia (Php40/pc | Php250/6pcs | Php490/12pcs). A creamy and milky cookie wonderfully complemented by buttery macadamia nut pieces.

Dark Chocolate Macadamia (Php40/pc | Php250/6pcs | Php490/12pcs). This time, the luscious macadamia nuts come with semi-sweet dark chocolate.

Double Chocolate Fudge (Php40/pc | Php250/6pcs | Php490/12pcs). Double the treat for chocolate lovers!

Red Velvet (Php40/pc | Php250/6pcs | Php490/12pcs). The cookie version of the rich deep-red colored chocolate cake with cream cheese icing.

Peanut Butter Bomb (Php40/pc | Php250/6pcs | Php490/12pcs). Any kid knows that peanut butter and cookies are a winning combination. Add in a piece of peanut butter candy for some real decadent sweetness.

Loaded Crinkles (Php50/pc | Php310/6pcs | Php610/12pcs). A fudgy chocolatey treat for the certified sweet-tooth.

While my faves among these yummy treats are the Peanut Butter Bomb and the White Chocolate Macadamia, all variants feature a moist buttery texture and just the right amount of sweetness to highlight the featured ingredients.

To get your hands on these sweet delights, send MDJ Cookies a message via Instagram or Facebook with your name, address, contact number, delivery date, flavors (with quantity of order) and mode of payment (GCash and BPI are accepted).

Plus, personalize the box with the recipient’s name for just an additional Php20.

Sure, the situation in the metro, and in our own daily lives in The New Normal may seem stressful and daunting; but with a little bit of good cheer, I’m sure we’ll pull through.

Are you a cookie lover, too? Give yourself a box of good cheer and give these a try!

Product samples were provided to facilitate an honest review.

Check out my blog posts on other small enterprises and startups in the food business:

Ready-to-eat dishes from San Miguel Foods and Petron Treats

Momshies, does working from home still leave you with little time to prepare and cook your family’s meals?

Worry no more, because San Miguel Foods has a line of pre-cooked dishes that are sure to be showstoppers at the dinner table.

With these ready-to-eat dishes, you won’t have to stress yourself out in the kitchen: all you have to do is heat, serve and enjoy!

I was able to serve some of these to my fam for lunch. Check them out:

Cook Express Chicken Karaage (Php424 for 1 kilo). Karaage is a Japanese cooking technique in which food items – mostly chicken – are marinated and lightly coated in flour prior to frying in light oil. After I’ve heated the chicken karaage in my oven, I found it close to restaurant quality, especially when accompanied with Japanese mayonnaise.

Cook Express Lechon Paksiw (Php495 for 1 kilo). I usually encounter lechon paksiw the day after big celebrations like fiestas or Noche Buena because this is the Pinoy mom’s answer to “”What happens to all those lechon leftovers?” (at least those not carried away by the Tupperware-toting guests, hehehe!). The leftover lechon is simmered in vinegar and the liver-based lechon sauce resulting in a dish with fork-tender roasted pork meat in sweet-sour-savory sauce that’s good for another family mealtime.

Cook Express Beef Kare Kare (Php693 for 1 kilo). I have great appreciation for kare-kare every time it is served to me at the dinner table because I know how much effort went into making it. My mom used to grind peanuts herself, meticulously clean and boil the animal parts prior to cooking up a great tasting peanut-y beef stew. This one has the same tender meat and peanut sauce I love and is enjoyed best with bagoong. Add in some veggies string beans, eggplant slices and pechay and it’s almost like the kare-kare that my mommy used to make.

Chef’s Selection Fresh Corned Beef (Php655 for 900 grams). Corned beef is called that because in the process of salt-curing the meat, it is treated with large grains (or “corns”) of salt. Today, it is one of my favorite breakfast food when served with fried rice and a sunny side up egg. This corned beef version differs from the canned iteration because the beef comes in chunks, not flakes. Still, it can be sliced up thinly to be sauteed with garlic and onions, or added to beef broth and veggies for a fresh take on nilaga.

So momshies, there’s no need to sweat it out in the kitchen. Just order these ready-to-eat dishes and more from San Miguel Foods through this website and schedule pick up at your nearest Petron Treats store.

Thanks to Harvard of AlwaysHungry.PH for sharing from his ulam stash!

The Jelly List: Desserts for Delivery During Quarantine

How are your sweet cravings, foodies?

Sugar addicts like me are sure to be missing their usual dessert places with many restos and cafes closing shop during the enhanced community quarantine.

If your usual dessert haunts are currently inaccessible, you’ll be happy to know that desserts and baked goodies from these stores are available for delivery.

1. Cookies from Sugar Creations by Alex

“C is for cookie. That’s good enough for me.”

For all you Cookie Monsters out there, mommy Alex whips up crave-worthy cookies like Dark Chocolate, Dark Oatmeal, Classic Chocolate Chip and Smookies.

To order, call +63 988 5447945, or send a message via Instagram or Facebook.

2. Breads from Chloe Creations Bakeshop

Even if you’re working from home, you can still use a coffee break.

Have a few pieces of Ubechizdesal or a slice or two of Banana Loaf to go with your favorite cuppa.

To order, call + 63 915 3196411 or send a message via Instagram or Facebook.

3. Cakes from Carla Kusinera

C’mon… you know there’s always room for dessert! There’s nothing like a sweet treat to cap off a great meal.

So how about a slice of Carla Kusinera’s light and fluffy Creme Brulee Cake or decadent Chocolate Cake?

To order, call +63 917 5638785 or send a message via Instagram or Facebook.

4. Mocha Dalgona Avocado Gelato from What’s Your Flan?

With the summer heat intensifying, what we sometimes need is to cool down with a a frozen treat.

Indulge yourself with a tin of Mocha Dalgona Avocado Gelato (with real Dalgona candies) from What’s Your Flan?!

To order, call +63 916 4978876 or send a message via Instagram or Facebook.

5. Burnt Basque Cheesecake from Sweet Samthings

My birthday-in-quarantine was still a happy one with this lusciously milky and custardy Burnt Basque Cheesecake from Sweet Samthings.

To order, call +63 917 6183443 or send a message via Instagram or Facebook.

6. Apple Pie from Yellowbakerbug

Want a taste of home-style apple pie? I know I did last Mother’s Day!

That smell of cinnamon that wafted from the crumbly and sweetly spiced pastry from Yellowbakerbug got me and the fam salivating! Its crisp apple slices and buttery crumb topping make it a perfect dessert for my Mother’s Day meal.

To order, send a message via Instagram or Facebook.

Now you know who to call to sate your sweet cravings during quarantine!

Thanks to Harvard of AlwaysHungryPH for sharing the goodies from Chloe Creations Bakeshop, Karla Kusinera and What’s Your Flan?

Check out my other adventures compiled into Jelly Lists:

Delicious home-cooked meals from The Happy Kitchen

There is something magical that happens when family and friends sit down together over a home-cooked meal.

When people get together at the dinner table, an array of freshly cooked dishes spread before them, good conversation, good vibes and good times are not far behind.

However, with today’s hectic lifestyle and busy schedules, not everyone would have the time to constantly slave over the stove to come up with mouth-watering meals.

Enter The Happy Kitchen.

And by enter, I mean invite it to your home to bring you and your loved ones the flavors you love and grew up with.

The Happy Kitchen (or THK) is the brainchild of Risa Cirineo, a full-time food entrepreneur based in Cainta, Rizal.

She originally operated a canteen in her home to take advantage of a new business opportunity presented by a new school opening nearby, as well as an office canteen in a car dealership.

When she had to close down the office canteen, she jumped on a new and more practical business opportunity: selling party trays online.

In 2018, she started doing exactly that: selling party trays of comfort food such as Beef Caldereta, Kare-Kare and Sisig on Facebook to anywhere in Metro Manila.

Today, her product lines include include party trays, packed meals and “paluto” requests of comfort food and party favorites, some of which were sent over for me and my family to sample:

Beef Caldereta (Php650 good for 6 | Php1,100 good for 10). A mainstay in many family gatherings and fiestas, the caldereta is a showcase of Spanish influences on Filipino cuisine. Named after the caldera – the cauldron where the ingredients are stewed in – this dish combines simple ingredients such as marinated beef, rough-chopped vegetables and a bit of liver pate to bring about a comforting and hearty dish. In THK’s version, the meat was melt-in-your-mouth tender while the tomato sauce was rich in beefy flavor with a bit of cheese and just a hint of spice.

Special Pork Sisig (Php500 good for 6 | Php850 good for 10). This Kapampangan dish is actually one of my daughter’s favorite viands and would usually order it whenever we dine out. She took a liking to THK’s rendition of this classic dish as it was not overly oily and the crunch chicharon bits gave it added texture and flavor. This dish is great as an appetizer or as bar chow.

Chicken Cordon Bleu (Php600 good for 6 | Php980 good for 10). Another party classic, this dish is made of chicken breasts thinned and wrapped around pieces of ham and cheese, then breaded and pan-fried to a golden brown. It’s great as a viand accompanied by rice or by itself as a finger food during cocktails, and is usually a hit with the kids because – duh! – cheese and chicken. 🙂

Korean Chicken (Php520 good for 6 | Php880 good for 10). With all things Korean being a hit in the Philippines these days, it’s no wonder that THK began offering Korean-style braised chicken to its clientele. Risa built on her mom’s recipe – a family favorite for years – by adding gochujang to this dish made with tender chicken pieces in a flavorful sauce of aromatics and herbs. This fresh take on a chicken-based viand is a hit with my son.

These dishes from The Happy Kitchen showcase the care and pride that Risa puts into her cooking. They feature meats that are tender to the bite, veggies with some crisp freshness and flavors that appeal to everyone in my family.

Many thanks to Risa for sending over these THK best-sellers!

Here’s how you can get these delectable dishes for your family dinner or clan gathering:

Visit The Happy Kitchen on Facebook to check out its menu of available dishes.
Text the following details to +63 922 3057613 or +63 917 5493643 at least three days in advance: your name, contact number, your orders and your preferred delivery date, time and address or your preferred date and time of pickup
Pay via bank deposit or online fund transfer to BPI or BDO: 50% downpayment at least three days before pickup or delivery and the remaining 50% one day prior to pick up or delivery

Aside from party trays, THK’s dishes are also available as packed meals good for meetings or as crew meals, with sets priced at Php110 for 1 viand + 1 rice, Php135 for 1 viand + 1 vegetable side dish + 1 rice, Php165 for 2 viands + 1 rice and Php195 for 2 viands, 1 vegetable side dish and 1 rice.

Disclosure: Product samples were provided to enable an honest review.

Check out my blog posts on other small enterprises and startups in the food business:

Sweets to the sweet from Inang Charing

Everyone who knows me is probably already familiar with my sweet tooth.

I’ve always had a strong affinity for desserts: cakes, cookies and creams. My belief is that there’s always room for dessert. In fact, the dessert at the end is what I usually look forward during meal time.

And the sweet treats from Inang Charing’s are definitely worth the anticipation.

Former BPO employee Mylene Capili had a love for sweets and a skill for baking. Dreaming of having her own cafe someday, she studied Hotel and Restaurant Management in college.

When she was gifted with an oven, her passion for baking was rekindled.

Her first foray into the baking business began in 2013 under the name Dress Up Brownies, with her lucky BPO coworkers as her first customers. They were the first to get a taste her revel bars and brownies. In a burst of inspiration, Mylene and her partner offered dressed-up brownies, bars custom-decorated similar to cupcakes according to their customers’ request.

Her drive for both her job and her side business was challenged a year later when her grandmother, who raised her and her siblings, passed away. She resigned from her job to focus on Dress Up Brownies but her grief over her grandmother’s passing contributed to her business going on hiatus for two years.

A big order for her mini chocolate chip cookies for her sister’s high school reunion in 2018 spurred her to revive her business.

Wanting to pay tribute to her beloved grandmother, she rebranded her business, adopting the name her grandmother was called by neighbors when she was growing up: Inang Charing.

Thus, Inang Charing’s Cakes and Pastries came into being.

With her grandmother serving as her inspiration, she was motivated to create more baked goods for people to love.

Today, she operates Inang Charing’s Cakes and Pastries with her partner, Bem, who oversees sales, marketing and procurement of ingredients, while she handles the baking and pricing of the finished products.

They expanded their product line from brownies, revel bars and custom pastries to include cookies, cakes and cheesecakes, some of which I was able to sample.

The Triple-Flavored Cheesecake (Php785) presents three mouth-watering toppings on a three-inch tall cheesecake. The cheesecake itself is rich and compact, mildly sweet with a smooth and creamy mouthfeel. Its toppings of Mango, Blueberry and Nutella add different dimensions to the dessert. Also available are single-flavor (Php735) and double-flavor (Php755) variants.

The Chocolate Truffle Liquor Cake (Php265), on the other hand, is a decadent 5-inch diameter confection of layers upon layers of chocolate goodness. A moist chocolate cake flavored with chocolate liquor serves as the base layer covered by a thick and creamy ganache and a generous sprinkling with cocoa powder.

Lastly, the Salted White Chocolate Almond Cookies (Php50/pc) are delightful treats with complex flavors and textures owing to the white chocolate chips and toasted almonds scattered on top of moist and chewy cookies.

So if you’re looking for a showstopping cake for your party or just want to stock up on desserts to give your meals a wonderful ending, check out Inang Charing’s Cakes and Pastries.

Many thanks to Mylene for these scrumptious sweets.

To get your hands on these and more from Inang Charing’s, course your orders through its Facebook page or Instagram account with a three-day lead time and pay via BPI bank deposit a day before the delivery.

Disclosure: Product samples were provided to enable an honest review.

Check out my blog posts on other small enterprises and startups in the food business:

Product Review: Sweet Scents from Perfume Dessert

Fresh from a happy lunch adventure at the vegetarian resto just below it, a friend and I came upon a store selling perfumes.

Most of its inventory consist of imported brands but what caught our attention were the unusually packaged scents whose display takes pride of place along one of the store’s walls.

Named Perfume Dessert, each variant is inspired by a luscious sweet confection. And you know for a known sweet tooth such as myself, that fact is enough to catch my interest.

Each 30ml crimped spray bottle which prevents leaks and scent diffusion is encased in a colorful cardboard tube, making the perfume quite handy and secure when inside one’s purse. This distinctive packaging also makes Dessert Perfume variants pretty and unusual gifts for the fashionistas who love scents.

Perfume Dessert is an eu de parfum brand that originated from London, UK. This version of perfumes has a lower concentration of fragrant essential oils than parfum, but higher than in eu de toilette. When applied, Perfume Dessert’s scent can last for four to eight hours.

I got three bottles of Perfume Dessert (I bought one while I received two as product samples). I usually choose the scent that suits my mood at the start of the day and I take it with me to the office or on my errands (which just shows how handy they are!).

I choose the Fruit Tart scent when I feel sweet and feminine. It’s great for dinners out with Hubby.

French Macaron‘s more floral scent suits me for afternoons spent outdoors with the kids.

The sweet vanilla scent of Cake Pops, on the other hand, gets me in the mood to face another busy day at the office.

At only Php250 per 30ml bottle, Dessert Perfume definitely fits the working mom’s budget.

(Methinks it would be so easy to get Hubby to buy me some more bottles, yeah? I’ll probably test this theory when my bottles are used up so wish me luck!)

Check out these sweet scents at these retail outlets:

54 Payna Street, Veterans Village, QC (Tel: +63 2 7516355 or +63 977 0855658)
2nd Floor POS1, Tomas Morato, South Triangle, QC (Tel: +63 2 7516355)

For more information on Perfume Dessert, visit its Facebook Page.

Product Review: Shaleve Ginger Shampoo and Conditioner

I have been blessed with naturally straight hair but it does tend to get oily, even greasy at times. I quite surprised that despite this, my scalp tends to get flaky, especially when I feel stressed. (This is a big problem for me as I like wearing dark colors.)

I also have a problem with hairfall: after washing my hair, I would see strands clumping together at the drain.

While many commercially available hair care products do purport to address my hair concerns, I oftentimes don’t see or feel the improvements as immediately or as signifcantly as I would like.

Then I was sent a bottle each of Shaleve Ginger Anti-Alopecia Shampoo and Shaleve Ginger Physiotherapy Hair Care Conditioner to review.

My first thought was: Ginger? On my hair? Really???

I’ve known for a while that this root crop has a lot of medicinal properties but this is the first time I’ve encountered its application to hair care.

Actually, many of ginger’s qualities that make it a superfood also make it a boon to hair.

Ginger has natural antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties that can help soothe scalp problems such as dandruff, dryness and itchiness. It also helps regulate hair sebum secretions, addressing my concerns with oily hair.

To use, wet hair thoroughly and apply the Shaleve Ginger Anti-Alopecia Shampoo evenly to hair, massaging the scalp for two to three minutes until a slight foam is generated. (Note that this shampoo is not as bubbly or foamy as more mainstream shampoos.). Then rinse off with clear water.

Afterwards, gently massage the Shaleve Ginger Physiotherapy Hair Care Conditioner onto the scalp. Leave on for five minutes then rinse thoroughly.

Personally, I love the light and fresh feeling these products bring to my hair. They also leave a nice and subtle herby sent that stays on my hair all day.

These hair care products are imported and distributed by Berfly International Trading Corporation, a supplier of a complete range of beauty, body and bath-stuffs for discerning consumers in the metro.

The Shaleve Ginger Anti-Alopecia Shampoo retails at Php148 per 300ml bottle while the Shaleve Ginger Physiotherapy Gair Care Conditioner sells for Php174 per 300ml bottle.

Both of these products are available at Berfly’s showroom at 6th Floor LJK Building Km 21 Ortigas Avenue Extension, Brgy. San Isidro Cainta, Rizal or at the company’s online store at Facebook.

For inquries, call +63 966 1975536 or email berflyinternational@yahoo.com.

Coco Dolce supports organic farming with its coconut-rich chocolate bars

Coconut and its various derivatives have long been touted for their contributions to the flavors and health benefits of food prepared with them.

My foray into Kultura Filipino’s “Crafts for a Cause” exhibit where I chanced upon the Coco Dolce stall, however, was the first time I heard about using coconut products in chocolate production.

This unusual feature is in line with the tenets that Coco Dolce producer, The Freefood Co., operate by. Its guiding principles include: better health, helping rural areas develop into sustainable communities, and respect for the planet and its resouces.

Its chocolate bars, therefore, are made from a rich blend of fine cacao beans, low-glycemic coconut sap sugar, virgin coconut oil and vanilla. These ingredients were sourced from Mindanao’s organic coconut farming communities and from local growers of indigenous cacao and nuts across the country. The resulting chocolate products are free from GMOs, harmful processing agents and preservatives and other chemicals that may adversely affect one’s health.

Organic coconut sap sugar, in particular, has a low glycemic index level of 35, making Coco Dolce bars suitable for people who need to manage their sugar intake.

The bars are manufactured by chocolate artisans using the traditional conching method. This involves the heating and mixing of the chocolate’s ingredients over long periods of time. The process helps in developing the chocolate’s flavor through frictional heat, release of volatiles and acids, and oxydation.

I bought two of Coco Dolce’s 45g chocolate bar variants: the Milk Chocolate (whole milk powder added to the other ingredients) and the 65% Dark Chocolate.

The bars hold well without refrigeration yet has a smooth texture upon biting. The chocolate flavor is rich, helped by the non-cloying and milder sweetness of the coco sugar.

Over the holidays, I plan to gift some bars to my titos and titas who are trying to control their sugar intake. Because the holiday season is a time to enjoy good food, right?

Aside from SM’s Kultura Filipino outlets, Coco Dolce chocolates may also be purchased online in The Good Store.

Check out my review of another artisanal chocolate –Malagos single origin premium chocolate.

Malagos brings award-winning single origin premium chocolate from Davao

As with most plants, cacao beans, from which chocolate is manufactured, take on the characteristics particular to the region where they were grown and harvested. This is called their terroir.

Cacao beans that have been blended lose their terroir, hence the preference of some chocolatiers for single-origin chocolate products.

Davao-based Malagos Agri-Ventures Corporation, for example, produces the award-winning single origin premium Malagos Chocolate. This product line grew out of the resolve of the Malagos company matriarch, Mama Charita Puentespina, to reinvigorate the Davao’s cacao industry which crashed in the 1980s.

Instead of just exporting cacao beans to serve as raw materials for foreign chocolate manufacturers, Mama Charita drove the company’s cacao growing and post-harvest practices, as well as campaigned to make cacao a priority crop in the region.

Today, Malagos Chocolates is an internationally recognized and awarded brand. It is made from high quality cacao beans, grown in the Malagos farm in the foothills of Davao’s Mount Talomo.

The beans are carefully fermented, sun-dried and roasted in temperature controlled roasters, then ground to a fine texture at par with international chocolate standards. These processes are all done without the product ever leaving Davao, making Malagos Chocolates all natural, single origin and tree-to-bar.

I chanced upon Kultura Filipino’s “Crafts for a Cause” exhibit over the weekend and replenished my chocolate stash from the local brands featured there.

I picked the 65% dark chocolate; being the lowest percentage cacao content among the brand’s offerings, I think this variant offers the best balance between sweet and bitter chocolate flavors.

And apparently, I’m not the only one that thinks so. Malagos Chocolate’s 65% Dark Chocolate has won international awards, particularly in Academy of Chocolate’s Tree-to-Bar category in 2017, and in the World Drinking Chocolate Competition organized by the International Chocolate Awards in 2015.

Fancy a bite of this award-winning, single origin dark chocolate treat? Malagos Chocolates are available at SM Kultura Filipino branches in SM Mall of Asia, SM Makati, SM Megamall, SM AURA, SM North EDSA, Taal Vista and Pico Loro.

For more details, visit malagoschocolate.com.

Product Review: Belo Baby Cologne

Among the first batch of samples I got from Sample Room is a small bottle Belo Baby Cool Drizzle Cologne. Despite the unwritten rule that grown women should gravitate towards perfumes, I retain my preference for baby colognes. I guess it’s a combination of two factors: One, baby colognes are much cheaper than perfumes, a high-end cologne would, more often than not, cost less than many of the low-end perfumes. Two, colognes tend to have light fresh scents which I find a lot more palatable than the heavier and more floral scents of perfumes.

It is packaged in a handy 50ml spritzer bottle which fits in most bags and kikay kits. I like its fresh scent that lasts for a good couple of hours. It does not feel so astringent-y when sprayed on, owing to the glycerin component that helps to moisturize and chamomile-derived Bisabolol (known to have anti-irritant, anti-inglammatory and anti-microbial properties) that helps to soothe skin. Formulated without parabens, phtalates, EDTA and coloring agents, Belo Baby Cool Drizzle Cologne is dermatologist-tested, hypoallergenic and safe for all skin types, so it should be safe for you and your little ones to use. It also doubles as a hand sanitizer; that means we have less stuff to carry in our bags.

To use, spray a small amount on your hands and apply thoroughly as often as you like.

Belo Baby Cool Drizzle Cologne comes in 50ml (priced at Php64.75) and 100ml (priced at Php79.75) spritzer bottles. It is available at all leading supermarkets, department stores, groceries, and drugstores nationwide, and online via Zalora, Lazada and Cudsly.

To quote a wise man, Mr. Jonathan Van Ness of the hit Netflix show, Queer Eye: “It’s not vanity, it’s self-care. There’s a difference.”

Just because we are busy working moms (and even more so because of it), we need to take better care of ourselves, to feel good about ourselves, to give our kids a good example and to make sure we are at our best when we need to be.

The free sample was provided by Sample Room, an online community where you can “try before you buy” beauty and personal care products to get the ones which best match you. I just needed to pay for the shipping of the items I requested.