American Made Contest from Martha Stewart

I just entered.

It's a scary thing to put yourself out there purposely for people to judge you.

And that's what I just did.

Actually, I do it on a daily basis just having a business, but this feels different. It's more direct. People have to vote. And they judge you completely on your photos and two paragraphs of information where you're limited to 1000 characters. They judge you on your ability to convince them that you're awesome.

Especially with only 1000 characters. Or maybe it's better there's a low limit (I know I can get wordy!).

Anyway, here it is:



Check it out. Judge me. And hopefully vote for me. Voting starts at the end of August.

It only lasts for one week.

The shortest, most nerve wracking popularity contest ever.

XoXo,

Lisa

www.wunderbudder.com

K.I.S.S. (not the band)

Keep It Simple, Stupid.

Although this saying, and its variations, have been around for decades, it's Michael Scott (from The Office) who taught me this lesson.

As I'm typing this, I think I may have written about this before, but it needs to be said again. Or maybe I just need to rant a little.

Keep It Simple (without the "Stupid" is much nicer, but with the "Stupid" in Michael Scott's voice is how it happens in my head).

Simple is how I like to do things. Sometimes I feel like I, and Wunder Budder, get judged for this. It could be all in my mind, because as I'm recently discovering, there are many things I've been tricked into thinking (it's a long personal story).  But, I do sometimes feel like all the years I've spent studying herbs (plus my in-depth certification in 2000), and all the years I've spent studying aromatherapy (again, plus my in-depth certification in 2003), are ignored because I like to keep it simple.

I love experimenting, but my go-to herbs are the same, especially for skincare. Why would I use 10 different herbs in a skin formula when just one would do, and do better? Not only that, but putting 10 different herbs in one formula, means that there is so little of each one, you can't actually benefit from any of them.

The same with oils.

If you follow the trends, you might see, or believe, that coconut oil is thought to be practically magic. It's not. You probably have heard how you can use it for everything from skincare to polishing wood. Although that's true, it's true of most oils. Multiple uses is not a special characteristic of coconut oil. On a scale of 1-10 for skincare, I give it a 5. It's not a bad oil by any means, but it's not the best. This is just one girl's opinion, but it's one girl who has experimented with practically every oil available for over ten years. It absorbs pretty well, so it's not super greasy, but it doesn't feel that great on the skin, and it doesn't last as long as others. Plus it smells really strong, which is a plus for some, but not for me. Unfortunately, since most people know very little about oils, they try the ones that are hyped the most and think they're as good as it gets. I made a limited edition body butter with a coconut oil base, purely because I kept being asked for it. I love it, this body butter, but coconut oil is still not at the top of my list.

But, this isn't supposed to be another rant on the trendiness of coconut oil, it's about keeping it simple.

If there are 10 oils in a blend, or 12, or 7, or any more than 3 in my opinion, you're not benefitting from them. Just like essential oils in an aromatherapy blend (any more than five is no longer a therapeutic blend, it's heading to a perfume), too many carrier oils is overkill. It serves no purpose, other than to make it (falsely) look fancy. Don't fall for it. K.I.S.S.

I don't mean to trash people who like coconut oil, or other small businesses like mine who make products with too many ingredients. I just want to spread the word that just because something is hyped, it doesn't make it better. And a product with too many ingredients just means you don't benefit from any of them.

Keep It Simple.