Melabuild – Page 4

Mosquito Season

April 17, 2023 By Melabuild

I love spring! It’s probably my favorite season. Every nice day is a prelude for more to come. With lush greenery gloriously popping out after several months of lifeless looking landscape. The dead zone of late fall and early spring get interrupted only by picturesque winter snow wonderfully blanketing the gloomy landscape. Spring transforms it all into a miraculous reminder of a beautiful renewal cycle.

I don’t believe I have ever mentioned in my posts that both my wife Sheryl and I are lifelong Michiganders. That’s not at all relevant to the Melaleuca business model but it is relevant to this post. I enjoy all four seasons but the transitional period between fall and winter, and winter and spring, are not on my favorites. And the downside of spring is that it never takes long for mosquito season to bloom as well. It’s usually short in our area for the most part, fortunately, but this is a perfect time to feature a really incredible Melaleuca product I have not yet emphasized—their Natural Insect Repellent.

This product alone could easily win you over to the Melaleuca model!

I came close to featuring it last year with my post on Your Body’s Largest Organ but this time I will zero in on it, not only for its safe application to your skin but an ultimate test it passed with what is likely among the most extreme conditions you’ll find outside of maybe rainforests in the Southern Hemisphere.

Three years ago, while vacationing on Michigan’s Lower Peninsula side of the Mackinac Bridge, we were also very near Michigan’s International Dark Sky Park, the international designation shared by only 40 some throughout the world. If you are not familiar with “dark parks,” they are isolated places protected against light pollution so you can enjoy the ancient-like glory of an uncontaminated night sky.

This particular park also has an undesirable dark side. We knew in advance to expect the wicked little demon spawn, mosquitos, counterfeiting the dense starry “cloud” above as you gaze into the heart of the Milky Way galaxy, forming their own cloud on the park below—a ravaging and intensely thick population, thriving on a July evening, trying to showboat the beauty above with their hellish assault below.

Besides Melaleuca’s Natural Insect Repellent being based on entirely natural oils that are very pleasant to humans, it performed very well in this hostile environment that would have otherwise ruined the experience. We had the perfect (cloudless and moonless) evening for stargazing. We could certainly hear the little blood suckers swarming everywhere but as soon as they came swooping in for the booty they would veer off and seek a different target.

We did have to reapply the repellent about every hour or so due to the voracious determination of those single fanged mini vampires but I’m very glad we didn’t have to treat our skin with toxic chemicals and literally trade one evil for another. Under normal conditions you can expect a few hours of protection but that experience demonstrated how the product performs under truly extreme conditions.

Toxic Load!

March 18, 2023 By Melabuild

This subject is very much at the heart and core of this entire site and has been since I began it almost 4 years ago. But an occasional reminder is a good thing. Melaleuca themselves are featuring the topic this month so I don’t mind following their lead and doing the same thing.

I don’t need to duplicate their effort, just simply refer you to it as it includes a useful chart highlighting just three of the highly toxic chemicals found in almost every cleaning product sold in retail stores. They also mention that an online search for any of these three toxins will quickly reveal how scary these chemicals really are.

Most people probably don’t think of something like the leading brands of glass cleaner as being dangerous but they are! Using these products as little as once a week was found to be just as harmful as smoking a pack of cigarettes every day!

The one point I would add since when I began this site back in the middle of 2019 and it was pre pandemic, exposure to these toxins has escalated exponentially and I am quite sure that future studies, despite the risk of being viewed as scare mongering, are going to reveal some even more tragic insights. For myself personally, having been free from this tyranny for nearly two decades and now being more sensitive to being re-subjected to it, I find it very assaulting to spend much time in buildings that have been meticulously “sterilized” for the sake of so called safety.

I should end by emphasizing the obvious and stating that Melaleuca products do NOT contain these toxic chemicals (very much like the “Never Ever!” principle from last month’s post), and, that Melaleuca products outperform those toxic products at about the same, and often significantly lower, costs.

See the Melaleuca blog post…

Melaleuca’s Safer for Your Home blog also has some great videos…

Where’s the Beef!?

February 16, 2023 By Melabuild

Anyone old enough to remember any part of the early 1980’s would immediately recognize, “Where’s the beef!?” Here we are, literally a full 40 years later, and the beef is currently found near Melaleuca’s Idaho corporate headquarters in a place called Riverbend Ranch.

Melaleuca started out 2023 with the grandiose announcement that they have reached an agreement with an 1800’s style, high elevation, cowboy staffed cattle ranch to offer authentic, non commercial beef that is ideally suited to Melaleuca’s holistic wellness company business model. That means natural! They commit to a “Never Ever!” position on the growth hormones and antibiotics practices that infest the commercial meat production industry.

And like the Melaleuca model as a whole, I found the price points to be surprisingly low given the quality of beef being sold. They offer six bundle deals ranging from about $8 to $15 per pound (you could easily spend considerably more and I doubt the quality would approach this level). Each is about a 10# package so it’s easily manageable for small orders if you don’t have the need and/or space to store large quantities.

Also offered with this new rollout are Riverbend Ranch signature seasonings to add to your mouth watering beef selections.

The information is posted on a special section of the Melaleuca web site and the beef will be available to begin shipping in April.

Guy Stuff Part 3

January 18, 2023 By Melabuild

All right, the Guy Stuff Part 2 announcement of an all new release of men’s Alloy products I featured in June 2022 finally had its full rollout last month. That normally happens much faster but things are different now, presumably because supply chain issues slow down the normal process.

I was well stocked, as mentioned in Part 2, and prepared to wait much longer but being the first genuine men’s facial care line, I celebrated the 2023 new year with ordering a bundle deal of the new Alloy line even though I could have gone a year+ with what I have except for the shave gel, which, I was dangerously close to running out of due to neither the discontinued nor new formulation being available. I’ll be able to gift the extra products I have on hand and will gladly do so because I am so thrilled with the the new ones.

I am so very glad I took this plunge because it’s everything it’s touted to be. The promotional claims sound almost too good to be true but the new products meet every standard being promoted! Due to a rare occurrence of having to call Melaleuca because of a defective sprayer in a recent purchase of hair spray, a type of call that has happened maybe about 5 times in our 17 years of being customers, I mentioned my enthusiasm with the new Alloy line, and, in addition to appreciating my feedback, it was consistent with what others were saying. That was not surprising given my own experience but I’m glad other guys were offering accolades.

Drum roll…

The Luxury Bath Bar (shown both packaged and the bar itself unwrapped second from left) and the Antiperspirant & Deodorant (second to end on right) I have had or been using for some time, but the rest were delayed in their release, and all are shown in general order of use from left to right.

I will highlight these products primarily from an experiential perspective but I highly recommend the Melaleuca web site as it has some valuable information and usage tips that won’t be covered here. This product line is unlike any other and significantly deviates from established norms but Melaleuca knocked it out of the park on this lineup. For one, there is no traditional “after shave” and if you’re willing to part with established protocol you’ll be glad you did. I’ve found great value in not getting too stuck in my ways and this is one more case where I am seriously glad for not being stale and crusty.

Alloy Calming Face Wash – One thing I found particularly interesting is Melaleuca’s mention that this is not just a facial cleanser, it prepares your face for a closer shave. That seemed like a bold claim but it works! I’m sure it enhances powered shavers too but I’ve been a blade shaver for more than 40 years after my first shaver (a Norelco) gave out and I found blade shaving so superior I could never go back. But in over 40 years of shaving, I have NEVER had such a close shave which is even more comfortable than the already stellar quality previous Melaleuca shave gels (I had about 2 weeks with the old shave gel to experience the difference and the new shave gel amplifies this difference even more).
Alloy Luxury Glycerin Bar – There’s actually an Affinia shampoo and conditioner step on showering days before this one but this is a revised and improved bath bar over the former version. I ran out of the Alloy Classic bath bars just in time to begin using this new one with the rest of the new Alloy line. Like the new Alloy Antiperspirant & Deodorant, the new bath bars were released several months ago and I had them in stock ahead of time. The new Alloy line does still include (upgraded) liquid body wash but I’m a bath bar guy so I don’t have that.
Alloy Shave Gel – The previous upgrade on this product a year and a half ago was also mentioned in Part 2 because it was such a surprisingly dramatic improvement. It’s less dramatic this time but plenty dramatic enough. It lathers luxuriously richer and thicker and only requires a very small amount—about a teaspoon to be worked up into that creamy facial covering serving as your first introduction to a wonderful new relationship. It works super well with the Face Wash in step 1 that really amps up the experience and shaving comfort. I know from how good it already was, any improvement would be great but when paired with the new facial care, you may think it sounds like hype until you try it.
Alloy Cooling Facial Tonic – In Part 2 I also mentioned the Sei Bella facial care because until now there wasn’t a facial care just for men. That system utilizes a spray on toner whereas this one is called tonic and performs the same function except it more specifically aids in rebalancing facial skin from the inherent offset caused by shaving—one that is significantly minimalized by the nutrient rich formulation of the revised shave gel.
Alloy Tightening Facial Serum – I find it interesting they call the above tonic cooling because this step seriously cools the face much more, in addition to its primary task of preparing the skin to derive more benefits from the next step, applying moisturizer.
Alloy Mattifying Moisturizer – This both moisturizes (yes guy’s skin does need that) and levels out the natural sheen men’s skin has because we are prone to more oily skin than women. I will attest to that being very true but at least the Sei Bella I was using before also mattified.
Alloy Antiperspirant & Deodorant – Melaleuca specifies letting the facial serum penetrate before applying the moisturizer. For this reason, on shower days, I apply the antiperspirant & deodorant before the moisturizer. Unlike the previous version though, this new Alloy Antiperspirant & Deodorant offers 48 hour protection so on the in between shower days I just simply wait an extra minute (ish) for the serum to penetrate. Since it was released over the summer I’ve been using this new antiperspirant & deodorant version for a while after exhausting my supply of the Alloy Classic version.
Alloy Eau de Toilette – Currently in three scent choices, each specified as limited time on availability, I chose the Sandalwood & Amber fragrance. I’ve also queued up the Bergamot & White Musk for my February order even though I expect probably about three years to use them up but there are no expiration dates on these. Melaleuca opting to call it eau de toilet over cologne, I believe was in error as I’ll note below, but the product description is accurate and the high notes in this fragrance are indeed resilient and take at least an hour to significantly begin transition to middle notes. One thing missing in the product description or images is whether or not the bottle has a metered sprayer. The classic Alloy cologne does, so I expected this would too. I’m glad to report it does, so you can safely use it in a controlled amount without making everyone think you are marinated in it.

I think someone in the Melaleuca ranks got the naming of Alloy Eau de Toilette wrong on two levels. The first level is eau de toilette isn’t very appealing outside of its French origin. The second level is that the generally accepted distinction between cologne and eau de toilette is that cologne has a stronger concentration of fragrant oils over alcohol content whereas eau de toilette is the opposite. Cologne is more enduring in fragrance while eau de toilette fragrances evaporate more quickly due to alcohol diluting the fragrant oils. Melaleuca’s product description states the opposite difference as rationale for calling this new product an eau de toilette. Rest assured, this product is loaded with fragrant oils, and staying power, so you don’t want to apply too much!

Fortunately, I knew to expect Melaleuca’s product description to be accurate (the price is also a giveaway) so I didn’t go out in public smelling like I fell in the vat.

As a final note, in addition to the natural ingredients used to achieve the effectiveness of each product, the entire facial care line has a light but consistent and pleasant masculine fragrance. Top that all off with the choice of eau de toilette fragrances and we’re talking a serious upgrade to any guy’s personal care routine!

February update: I’m pleased with the Bergamot & White Musk I ordered this month and am glad to alternate. As a matter of strictly opinion, my instinct to start with the Sandalwood & Amber was the better choice but I still recommend both. I find the Bergamot & White Musk to be pleasingly softer while the Sandalwood & Amber is elegantly more pronounced without going too far. My wife Sheryl responds highly favorable to both. I have no immediate plans to order the Blood Orange & Vetiver as even the product description mentions it as bold and the fragrances I have are tastefully suited to my personal preferences for subtlety with shorter travel differences (even though pleasant) during the high note stage.

Happy 2022 Holidays!

November 26, 2022 By Melabuild

First of all, I’ve lived most of my life where the expression Happy Holidays wasn’t offensive, nor was Merry Christmas for that matter. It’s sad that either should be but I choose not to be weak and petty or easily offended. Life is too precious and too short to be walking on eggshells of political correctness. Let PC be damned for all I care!

It wasn’t an issue when I was a young child in the 1960’s and I refuse to give a rat’s ugly tail about it now. I certainly won’t allow people with no joy in their life to steal mine. This is a joyous season! Yet we have those among us that want to spread misery. To quote a now famous young darling from among their ranks, “How DARE you!”

We do however share a common bond with the PC establishment that ought to produce at least a nod of approval. I personally hate waste. We recycle. We, and I strongly include Melaleuca for their forward thinking corporate approach, believe in environmental responsibility. Every PC person on the planet ought to love Melaleuca. Much of what is called “green” however is a scandalous (highly corrupt) sham so we part ways from the green machine there. Green itself is good and R&D should be sought (we can achieve it) but I have a strong aversion to hypocritical virtue signaling and corrupt bullshit.

Okay, as I write this admittedly unusual holiday greeting and have fun doing so, it also comes at a time when I’m celebrating the holiday season for 40 years now as a follower of the Christ we are celebrating. I don’t know the exact date but take this day and go back up to within a couple weeks, somewhere in the middle section of November 1982 when I was just roughly a few weeks from my 22nd birthday, I was radically saved out of a very ungodly lifestyle. I was a mess but I’ve never been the same since.

I looked at my life analyically and forecasted a realistic projection of where I was going and didn’t like it. I didn’t grow up with any religion or church attendance, nor any knowledge of the Bible than what was common at the time (which was very little and usually distorted), just a belief in God and not much more, nothing that changed my life. That changed 40 years ago and I marvel at how long that’s been, passing so fast, and how different my life has been from how it would have been otherwise.

I discovered a simplicity to the gospel that gets largely missed and keeps people from having it change their life. I LOVE how the Message Bible puts it in the first 9 verses of Ephesians 2:

It wasn’t so long ago that you were mired in that old stagnant life of sin. You let the world, which doesn’t know the first thing about living, tell you how to live. You filled your lungs with polluted unbelief, and then exhaled disobedience. We all did it, all of us doing what we felt like doing, when we felt like doing it, all of us in the same boat. It’s a wonder God didn’t lose his temper and do away with the whole lot of us. Instead, immense in mercy and with an incredible love, he embraced us. He took our sin-dead lives and made us alive in Christ. He did all this on his own, with no help from us! Then he picked us up and set us down in highest heaven in company with Jesus, our Messiah.

Now God has us where he wants us, with all the time in this world and the next to shower grace and kindness upon us in Christ Jesus. Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It’s God’s gift from start to finish! We don’t play the major role. If we did, we’d probably go around bragging that we’d done the whole thing! No, we neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and saving.

That’s the simplicity. No one can do it on their own, but if you sincerely ask and let the Jesus we celebrate do it for you and in you, that’s life changing.

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas!

Salon Quality Hair Care

October 15, 2022 By Melabuild

Ever since being a teenager I have used quality hair care products. That was partly due to my having had a significantly above average oily scalp. With the wrong shampoo my hair would barely make it through the day and NEVER a second day without blatantly greasy looking hair. Quality shampoos were good for that second day so long as my activities didn’t require extra showering. Besides, cheap hair care products aren’t good for anybody!

As a Melaleuca customer, I’ve always found Melaleuca’s Affinia hair care products to rival the Pantene I used to use, and at a better price. That’s still true, as with the exception of hair spray and styling gel, I still use the Affinia products. Admittedly though, the fact that Affinia hair spray and gel are no longer available influenced the change but switching to higher quality products has been a beneficial experience.

With both my wife Sheryl and I being in our early 60’s, even though we have both aged plenty gracefully, she has amped up her salon services which includes extra benefits for using salon quality hair care products. Melaleuca once again shines (quite literally) in this regard with their Sei Bella hair care line. Last month I treated her to a nice bundle of these products.

The results are in…she LOVES them!

In addition to the shampoo and conditioner, the set also contains the expected styling gel plus a styling cream that enhances her natural waves and holds better curl (she especially likes this product). While less needed for her, she also has the detangling/smoothing spray for easier brushing and hot iron prep spray to protect hair from heat abuse. The bundle didn’t include the hair spray but it didn’t need to because we’ve been using the Sei Bella hair spray for some time.

This experience includes yet another great side note. While enjoying time out with a couple we are good friends with, our friend’s wife happened to brush up against Sheryl’s hair with her hands in an affectionate embrace and was so shocked she blurted out, as she couldn’t resist checking it out more thoroughly, “Girl, you are using some SERIOUS hair care products!!” You can’t ask for a better response than that!

The salon of course would rather have us buying their products but as I write this I’m thinking we should introduce the stylist to these options, especially since they are significantly more impressive than the salon brands, and with a price to quality advantage.