Cheap tricks and snake oil

Cheap tricks and snake oil There are a number of cheap tricks that cosmetic companies use to fool us into believing that we're purchasing something that is 'natural' or otherwise good for us, when it is anything but. Here are a couple of examples:

Incorporating 'natural', 'organic' or 'botanical' into the brand or logo

This means absolutely NOTHING. Such products may contain minuscule amounts of natural ingredients, along with a whole host of chemical nasties.

The regulations currently state that 'ingredients must be listed in descending order by volume or mass, however ingredients present at less than one-per cent may be listed in any order.'

So very dilute herbal extracts such as certified organic floral waters (a by-product of making essential oils) are commonly added to cosmetic products. This is pure deceit, aimed at making you and I believe these products are more herbal or natural than they really are.

A rose by any other name...

Formaldehyde is a cheap preservative which is used in some major brand hair care products. It is toxic, carcinogenic and probably the most irritating ingredient used in personal care products. It is listed as "formalin" on product labels instead of its recognised name, formaldehyde, to veil its presence. This is legally acceptable.

Hello? Isn't formaldehyde what taxidermists use to preserve dead animals?!

Hypoallergenic

This means that some common irritants have been left out, but the product may well still contain heaps of the usual suspects.

Parfum/fragrance

This ingredient is everywhere, even in some of my favourite 'natural' brands. It can mean that a synthetic substance has been added, possibly to make the product smell nicer. It masks hundreds of ingredients, including phthalates, which disrupt the endocrine system and could cause reproductive and developmental harm.

It is absolutely infuriating not to be able to trust any of the familiar brands we know and love, but unfortunately we can't. Informing yourself as to what ingredients mean and constant label-reading are the only ways to ensure that your skin care regime isn't causing you harm and that you really are choosing natural skin care products.

That's why we created Ikigai. We've done all the label-reading and research for you, and you can trust any of the products you find on the site to be chock-full of wholesome ingredients and no nasties.


Passionate about skincare and beauty, Kate was horrified when she found out about the toxic chemicals lurking in her favourite products. A passionate desire to educate others on how to make safer choices led to the birth of Ikigai, the Organic & Natural Skincare Boutique

Female Libido Loss - Common Causes and Cures

Female Libido Loss - Common Causes and Cures You are always not in the mood for the intercourse, which disappoints your partner most of the time. Much as he would like to be as understandable as he is, he just can't seem to get the point of your lack of sexual desire. You on the other hand feel very much guilty about the whole situation. You know you always mess up each exciting night that you lie in bed with your partner. You are trying, alright but it simply isn't enough to get you feeling hot. There is nothing wrong with your man, that for sure you are very much aware of, but you just can't feel that surge of hot blood in your body - that libido you need is not at all present every time your partner starts showing his affection for you. The flame has died down even when it has not started to burn yet. It was as you can describe it - frustrating and you just feel so helpless.

Female libido loss is common to women. There are many women who haven't recognized the problem yet, thinking that lack of sexual desire is normal for female species. Some women claim that they can live without sex and without any thought of it. There are women on the other hand, who are aware that they are suffering from a condition called, Female Sexual Arousal Disorder. It is a condition where a woman feels no excitement about sex or a great drop in female libido level.

Female libido loss is caused by many factors. A certain woman may experience female libido loss due to physical causes like anemia, which is common to women. Anemia is caused by lack of iron supply in the body. Diseases like diabetes are also one of the causes. Alcoholism and drug abuse may also greatly affect the supply of libido in the body. Hormonal changes may also contribute to the situation. Some women experience libido loss after giving birth.

Female libido loss may also be attributed to the following psychological factors: depression, stress, work-related problems, anxiety, and bad experiences in the past especially during childhood like sexual abuse or rape, hang-ups, unsettled differences or serious problems with your partner, or lack of privacy at home.

The good thing is, there are known cures and treatment for female libido loss. Sexual enhancement products are made available for women with this problem. There are herbal supplements that can revive your sexual desire and make you as passionate as you were before during sex. There are also natural ways to increase a female libido like going for exercises that boosts your sexual capability, preparing your body and your thoughts for sex and even eating diets that include aphrodisiacs that are known to boost your sexual energy. One can also start discussing this with a therapist if the problem is psychological or to a physician if the loss is due to a physical cause.

It is also important that you discuss the matter to your partner. His support is what you need at this phase in your life.


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Tribute MasterCard - Review

Tribute MasterCard - Review The Tribute Credit Card is a sub prime unsecured card. Often this card is used to re-establish a damaged credit score.

The First Bank of Delaware issues this card. They are a reputable sub prime lending institution.

Your card can be used to improve your credit score. It will create a positive payment history on your credit by making your on time monthly payments.

Your payment history is factored heavily when your credit score is calculated. This card will also help your ratio of available credit to debt. This ratio is how much debt do you have compared to the credit you have that is not being used.

You will have an annual fee with this card; this is common with bad credit cards. Your APR will be 19.50% which is the industry standard.

This card will report monthly to all three major credit bureaus. You initial credit limit will be $300.

This card is unique because they are committed to approving most applicants. If you credit is severely damaged you can still be approved for this card, however instead of a $300 limit your card will have a $70 limit.

However using your card responsibly and you will have limit increases for both cards. There are no finance charges and no account set up fees for your card.

You will not have to pay an application fee and there is no minimum income requirement. They offer easy approval and free online account access.

With both the $300 credit limit and $70 credit limit card you will be eligible to receive periodic credit limit increases. In addition you will have a 30 second online decision when you apply.

To get the most benefit on your credit report from your card you should try and keep the balance at approximately 25% of you credit limit. This is because it shows the bureaus that you do use your card and you are using it responsibly.

In sum we do suggest the Tribute MasterCard. When used properly it is a very effective tool to rebuild a low credit score.


For more about the Tribute Credit Card or information about easy credit cards or for a review of the Orchard Bank Credit Card visit us.

Is An Event Over When It's Finished?

Is An Event Over When It's Finished? As the last delegate left the conference, Quinne McLachlan sat down at her laptop and started to write a review of everything that had happened. She was the event organizer and all through the proceedings she had been taking scribbled notes about the main points of interest, delegate questions that had not been fully covered by presentation material and presenters who had been well-received or those who had courted controversy.

She found that her role as coordinator throughout the event gave her time to watch both the presenters and the audience. All of the carefully planned elements of the conference could be tested and she could gauge whether they produced the effect that was expected.

The results of a successful (or disastrous) event can be as much of a marketing tool as the event itself. Writing up the proceedings may be something that you have promised delegates anyway but don't miss an opportunity to send a summary to trade publications and other interested media. If you have the opportunity to include case studies of delegates experiences before, during and after the event, this adds the extra human interest angle to the story.

Use the event branding and produce a range of versions of the event outcomes for different audiences.

Produce a one page press release that can be circulated to all of your chosen media contacts. If you don't have any contacts yet, here is a short list to get you started:

• Editors of trade publications

• Editors of local press

• Editors of local current affairs TV and radio

• Editors of national press

• Editors of national current affairs TV and radio

If you have a marketing or PR department, they may want to manage this process.

• Produce an edited version to be circulated to delegates.

• Produce a full version for your company archive and also to be published on your organization's website.

Celebrating success

The very last but definitely the most important task you will have is to celebrate the success of your event with your event team. Organizations vary in the way that they do this. Surprisingly, some companies don't celebrate success at all but you will want to encourage your team to work with you again. So, make a point of popping a bottle of bubbly, having a blow-out meal, passing round the chocolates or chilling at the local spa. Whatever you choose don't forget to say a big thank you for the long hours and the unending skill and patience everyone brought to the event.

Quinne typed the last full stop on her laptop. The conference summary made excellent reading. She was sure she could get some space in the trade press and get some good forward publicity for their next round of conferences.

Finding the rest of the conference team, she helped them with the last of the tidy-up, and, remembering that an army marches on its stomach, she invited them all to a blow-out supper at a local hostelry.


Published by My Booking Manager. A convenient, professional, time saving and cost effective way to accept registrations, bookings and payments for your next seminar, workshop, trade display or membership event Obtain your FREE report "20 Steps To Running Successful Seminars Roadshows Workshops And Events Report" at http://mybookingmanager.com

Best Cell Phones With Free Televisions

Over the last couple of years mobile phone costs have come down, whilst the price of monthly contracts sold by the network providers has remained pretty well unaltered (though you can get more inclusive minutes that said, you do get more inclusive text messages and minutes than you once did). This means that the cost of a mobile phone is proportionally less than it used to be when compared alongside the overall value of the phone contract. In the past cell phone retailers would offer free handsets by way of an incentive for consumers to purchase a contract. Some retailers would even charge a fee for the mobile phone on top of the contract price. Mobile phones were very expensive, and often considered a premium product or status symbol. Today with more widespread use and resulting economies of scale even the top cell phones can be bought cheaply.

Ironically this presents a bit of a dilemma for retailers trying to market cell phone deals by way of of incentives to offer the customer. The effect has been increases in the number of different deals with incentives, such as cell phones with a free broadband dongle, cell phones a free television, cell phones with free instant cash back, and most popular of all mobile phones with free laptops.

TV's are one of the more recent products added to the line up of free items obtainable with mobile phones. Just a a couple of years ago, the thought of being able to get a free 32” telivision cost free with a cellular phone would have seemed outlandish. However, we have witnessed sizable changes to the market for television systems that have made these deals feasible.

The technology used to manufacture televisions has altered immensely through the last one or two years resulting in the widespread introduction of HD and LCD television systems, as well as the the trend toward digital television. The result is that great numbers of consumers have updated their old televisions. Increases in sales have resulted in immediate price reductions of LCD tv sets, which had been extremely dear when they were first released.

This increase in sales of new televisions, coupled with their comparatively low price makes them a great incentive for possible cellphone customers. There are numerous people considering changing their television for a more modern model. If one of these people is also in the market for a new cellphone and sees one of these mobile phone free television offers it can be a great incentive to buy. Wherever possible, aim to get an offer of an established brand of tv as these tend to be ofmore reliable, for example, look online for mobile phones with free Samsing televisions.


As with any purchase, you should understand the actual cost of what you are getting, so, compare the value of other mobile phone free tv deals to make sure the value of the tv you are being offered is comparable to the worth of other free gifts being offered. Make sure you have a look at the instant cash back promotions on offer, and then see how much you can pick up a tv for from a cheap online store. It is possible that you could actually get an even better offer by taking cashback from the store and purchasing the television set yourself.

Nokia mobile phones: With an impressive list of features

Nokia mobile phones: With an impressive list of features A perfect blend of fashion and technology, Nokia mobile phones offer high quality performance with excellent picture taking stills. Combining photography, video and communications and connecting people, the latest Nokia phones make mobile communications more enjoyable. From flip phones to the candy bar style phones, you would find a Nokia phone that reflects your personality. You don’t have to worry about the good quality images with high resolutions built-in camera and a larger memory space to store lots of songs and videos.

The latest Nokia mobile phones combine smart phone features with an elegant design. These phones demonstrate Nokia’s commitment to offer powerful handsets that assist you in your daily lives. Designed for smart and fast mobile working, Nokia phones are now affordable with the great mobile deals available in the online mobile shops. These amazing deals let you to select a mobile phone handset and a tariff option, depending on your preferences, calling habits and budget. This way you can procure the handset of your choice with affordable tariff plans, free texts, free insurance, 12 months free line rental, etc.

With advanced imaging functionality, the Nokia N90 comes loaded with features, including a 2-mega pixel camera with a Carl Zeiss lens and an amazingly high-resolution screen. Packed with advanced photo, video audio and messaging features, the phone is targetted at high-technology enthusiasts. You can share images and video clips instantly via MMS, email or by uploading them to web albums.

Incorporating the latest technologies, the Nokia N91 supports a wide range of digital music formats and multiple connectivity options. This single device can be used to enjoy entertainment, access information and capture and share pictures. The 2 mega pixel camera taking print quality photos, email support, web browser and video sharing features help to deliver the best multimedia experience.

These latest Nokia mobile phones are on offer with attractive contract deals and affordable line rentals.


Mobile Phone Deals a complete stand of Mobile phones offers you Nokia n97 with best networks with 3 to 12 months deals.