virtual edition of me

"christmas" shopping out of shopping centers

noreply@blogger.com (virtualeditionofme) — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 08:44:00 +0000

December is a very convenient month for shopping - shops are full and Christmas fever brings discounts all around. But many of us don't like spending time in shopping centers, mingling with the crowds, listening to noise of people talking and loud music and last but not least, catching viruses. What if we have a chance to shop in a different way? Sitting on a couch with laptop, browsing cool stuff and checking discounts in no hurry and discomfort? And getting "christmas presents" (or whatever) 30%, 40%, 50% off? Online shopping is just that and much more. This year it was especially successful. Shoes, clothes, tech stuff, toys and cosmetics, we got great prices and some free postage and incentives as well. And last week a "Santa" from Post office, DHL, UPS etc. knocked on our doors almost every day :)

So I'll survive "merry December" and soon welcome beautiful January when everything will calm down, I will bake a first cake for my little son and there will be a lot of snow I hope.

In memoriam. Tomaz Humar, 1969-2009.

noreply@blogger.com (virtualeditionofme) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 21:06:00 +0000

We dream or we live. He lived, living his dreams. Now he dreams, eternally. Himalaya wanted him, forever. We have him in our hearts, in our best memory. R.I.P.

smartphone for smart business

noreply@blogger.com (virtualeditionofme) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 08:42:00 +0000

my new play/business toy BB Storm 9500 for a new start(up) :)

and one marvelous user-generated smartphone application of the near future (I hope in SI as well) Waze

Slovenija 2020, call for action

noreply@blogger.com (virtualeditionofme) — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 10:02:00 +0000

Slovenija 2020 has been formed as Facebook, Noovo and LinkedIn groups with more than 500 members at the moment. Members contribute suggestions what should change in Slovenija to make a better future. Everyone should contribute if we want to make our future bright. If we leave it to the politicians, we won't be happy in 2020. Don't wait, don't be shy, wake up, speak up. You can write your three suggestions as a comment to this post or by joining the groups or post the reply on Twitter.

Some additional suggestions have come on my mind:

- additional taxes for high consumption cars (progressive taxation acc. to consumption)
- clear and decisive policy for conserving natural heritage with minimal respect to commercial interests - strict regulation for any intervention in protected natural habitats and natural parks in the means of construction, traffic, infrastructure and events
- national tourism strategy with respect to the nature and the fact it's a small country with limited capacities and nature where there's no place for mass tourism; encouraging eco and nature friendly tourism capacities and arrangements for eco-aware and responsible tourist

Slovenija 2020: my 3 suggestions

noreply@blogger.com (virtualeditionofme) — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 06:17:00 +0000

1) subventions for eco building and energy sources
2) reduced taxes for startups and eco companies
3) efficient public transport, free of fosil fules

adding 4.) prohibition of TV advertising

overall: culture (r)evolution from consumerism to responsible citizenship

suggestions by other colleagues that could be top 3:

- high taxes for pesticides
- alternative and mainstream medicine
- equal alternativne and mainstream medicine
- sistematic learning of enterpreneurship for young and elderly
- reduction of public and state adminitration for 80%

cosmetic updates #3

noreply@blogger.com (virtualeditionofme) — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 07:54:00 +0000

Great post of Marshall Curtis MD, producer of Raw Organic. About production of organic cosmetics, local ingredients, Soil Association standards ... and caring for the environment and ourselves. That's the producer I support.
Shared from Imperfectly natural site.

don't buy (hiking poles) in Hervis

noreply@blogger.com (virtualeditionofme) — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 20:35:00 +0000

We bought a pair of Kilimanjaro hiking poles in Hervis, Ljubljana (Citypark) price 25 eur. They broke down on the first hike - my agile boyfriend tested them - I wonder what would happen if I used them when carrying my baby. We took them back in store with a complaint and they said they cannot return the money, but they can repair the poles. What? Repair? Why would I use these deficient, dangerous poles again? And they keep selling all others ... don't buy them! Or better, don't buy at Hervis at all. It's one hell of a bad store. If you do sports, buy in specialized stores with quality assortment and advising staff.

Vid's first adventures

noreply@blogger.com (virtualeditionofme) — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 10:14:00 +0000

Trance heaven @ Ljubljana

noreply@blogger.com (virtualeditionofme) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 05:26:00 +0000

It was a night of trance. Music got us high, dreams were real. Trance god played for us till the morning. Tiesto in Ljubljana, 24.6.09. Full energy, great performance, 4 hours of pure trance. We want more!

official video report:

one of "the best of" videos:

attachment parenting

noreply@blogger.com (virtualeditionofme) — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 22:10:00 +0000

I am a fan of attachment parenting and I've practiced it even before I got to know its principles and philosophy.

Recently I found interested article describing the term "shutdown sindrome" on Dr. Sears' website. I'm glad that I don't give a shit to comments about spoiling the baby.

launch of Firefox 3.5 (30.6.)

noreply@blogger.com (virtualeditionofme) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 21:07:00 +0000

leaders who are not

noreply@blogger.com (virtualeditionofme) — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 22:09:00 +0000

A very good HBR article on the worst leaders (or what leaders shouldn't be): Ten Fatal Flaws That Derail Leaders

make your own shampoo #2

noreply@blogger.com (virtualeditionofme) — Sat, 16 May 2009 22:01:00 +0000

My recent home made shampoo is the following:

- white Ghassoul clay
- neem powder
- peach kernel oil
- almond oil
- coconut oil
- distilled rose water
- ylang ylang essential oil
- chamomille essential oil
- lavender essential oil

I mixed the ingredients together and made a paste which I massaged into scalp and left it on hair for 10 minutes. Then I rinsed it with aritha (soapnuts) brew and nettle infusion.

It feels quite strange, washing hair without any lather, but yet very cleansing. After washing, hair looks great with nice volume and shine. It doesn't feel silky (that I miss) yet very easy to handle and form. What is important is the right proportion of ingredients. Last time I didn't use enough coconut oil (which acts as conditioner) so my hair was too dry (but I could condition it with oil additionally and then rinse it again). But it's not hard to try and figure out the right combination - it's worth it, having my own tailor made shampoo. And I can leave my hair with it for a week or more!

cosmetic updates #2

noreply@blogger.com (virtualeditionofme) — Wed, 06 May 2009 20:04:00 +0000

Further report on Essential Care: Aloe Vera Body Wash is great. Extremely gentle, nice silky texture, fragrance free allows to add my favorite essential oils (so I prefer it to their other body washes). Chamomille for my baby, Lemongrass for my man, Ylang Ylang for me, a few drops of Patchouli for both ... here we go enjoying bath and shower.

Same way can be used Akamuti's fragrance free soap (Organic Liquid Castille Soap) but I miss aloe vera and the texture is rather oily than silky. Great for hands and hair.

Akamuti: I find their face care products the best ever.

- Rose face cream (Replenishing Face Cream) (now I know why bestseller). This is the first cream ever that doesn't give a feeling of my face being packed into plastic-named-cream or some face fluid feeling like a sticky water. This cream doesn't give a feeling like I put some strange substance on my skin. It feels like a natural part of it. It doesn't spoil the skin's natural activity. And it works great on pores. A mixture of pure cold-pressed and essential oils only with beeswax base obviously does the best job! Works on eye area as well, no need for special eye cream.
- Orange cream cleanser (Sweet Orange Cleansing Cream). A gentle and purifying oil mixture with beeswax base. Efficient, smells delicious, easy to apply, easy to remove.
- Rose and orange (neroli) facial toner (Organic Facial Mist). Not an alcohol kind of toner, just pure flower distillates. Doesn't irritate eyes and nose. Refreshing, soothing, purifying ... I couldn't wish anything else.

Each of these three products is superb and together they make a perfect combination.

Next time I will post a report on my new home made shampoo.

blogging. the next generation.

noreply@blogger.com (virtualeditionofme) — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 12:16:00 +0000

Blogging is far from being dead. Although I posted some time ago that it's out. With a smile :) Well it's not, it has just introduced in next generation. No more personal reflections or "dear diary" kind of blogging with irrelevant content that matters to blogger her/himself only. I've never liked this kind of blogs. Although my blog is personal I always have in mind to post information that could be useful to readers in their everyday lives. But blogging has come much further from sharing our lives and exchanging our ideas and experience. Blogging is about business communities, new journalism, social networking and interactive PR. Blogs are where new businesses arise, new ideas grow, new groups form, new thinkers develop, new events happen. Blogs connect to each other and they connect with social networks to join their powers.

Since my blog is personal and I have other things to write than about what I like and how I live, I am developing my professional blog as well. I will let you know when I publish it. Until then, follow me on Twitter for my thoughts or read me as a guest "thinker" on Infa's thinking page.

Recent eMarketer Report on Blogging

what's wrong with what we eat

noreply@blogger.com (virtualeditionofme) — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 19:37:00 +0000

Food production as we know it today requires huge amounts of water in the whole production chain.

1 l of milk requires 1000 l of water.
1 kg of poultry requires 5000 l of water.
For 1 kg of pork 10000 l water.
For 1 kg beef 20000 l water.
For comparison, production of average car requires 150000 l water.
1 kg vegetable is loaded with 200 l water and 1kg fruit with 700 l water.

I borrowed and translated the following words from the respected Slovene ecologist Anton Komat: Global nutritional system is collapsing. ... We have to move the energy base of civilization back to the sun and reestablish the local food production with minimal costs.

eco nappies

noreply@blogger.com (virtualeditionofme) — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 08:07:00 +0000

I decided to use washable nappies instead of disposable even before my baby was born. The decision was easy due to the following facts about disposable nappies:
- they contribute a substantial share of world's non degradable waste
- they contain chemicals (harmful of course) to make baby feel dry
- the expenses are high, in thousands of euros

So there came the harder job - choosing the nappies. The offer is varied and available online. So I had to define the criteria otherwise I would be lost in the market. I decided the following:

- I want organic cotton or bamboo nappies for better comfort and health
- nappies should be one sized so I won't have to buy new size when baby grows (one-sized nappies are better value for money as well)
- for better convenience I chose "all in one" nappies - without separate nappy cover and with attached soakers (so you don't need to put the nappy together before use)

After reviewing the offer I chose the following for testing:
- ItiitBitti All in One (they're not one-sized but I tested them anyway)
- TotsBots Easyfit
- bumGenius all in one organic cotton
- Pop-in nappy by Close parent

I decided for TotsBots which are far the best due to the features:

- best fit (baby doesn't look as the bottom is the center of his body :)) and shape, it looks as thin as disposable nappy
- best material - very soft bamboo inner material
- fast drying (soaker can be pulled out when drying).

IttiBitti are to thick and they are not one sized. bumGenius are nearly as thin as TotsBots (but not so thin since organic cotton is thicker) but the organic cotton needs too much time for drying. And they are not shaped as good as TotsBots (less trimmed I suppose). Pop-in are very thick, not shaped very well and slow drying. And the soaker material is not soft at all.

Now we enjoy with TotsBots. They are also great for mum to use, very easy to fold and fasten on playful baby. And they have very nice design. We have some white and some colored nappies so that can be washed with either white or color laundry. To be honest, if I wanted to choose even more completely organic nappies, I would buy unbleached bamboo TotsBots with separate nappy covers. But this was a kind of compromise. I tried the disposables as well (Moltex and Bambo, both eco certified). Unfortunatelly the first month my baby was to small for any cloth nappy to fit him. What bothered me the most was that enormous amount of waste. And buying them all the time. Now I use them sometimes when going out (to a doctor or somewhere where there isn't the right time and place to handle the dirty washables).

There are many online shops with washable nappies so I only refer here to those where I bought them: www.softbots.co.uk, www.babipur.co.uk and stoffwindelcompany.de. Or just google the "washable nappies" or "eco nappies" and you'll find many offers. In Slovenia, washable nappies are available in online eco shops (e.g. Ekolife), in online baby shop Soncek and by nappy vendors Racman and Storklja (both online as well).

Critics say that washable nappies contribute to higher energy and water consumption due to washing and drying. I wash them with other laundry and I bought enough nappies so I only have to wash them once or twice a week. I don't use laundry dryer. And I use soap nuts instead of any harsh washing powders. The only disadvantage I see is a little more of a "dirty job". But it's worth it.

cosmetic updates

noreply@blogger.com (virtualeditionofme) — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 08:27:00 +0000

I found out that Akamuti's cream moisturizers and balms are just great (up to now I was only eager to use their butters). Recently I'm especially beeing amazed with Tangerine Twist Foot Smoothie although I've thought so far that Shea Cocoa Mint Foot Butter is the best foot product ever. And I am extremely enjoying their delicious Buttered Rose & Almond hand cream.

I tested wide range of Essential Care products and it's definitely my top choice for hair and body wash. I like their purity (they characterize as "purists in skincare") and the high Soil Association standard. More info will follow.

make your own shampoo

noreply@blogger.com (virtualeditionofme) — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 16:48:00 +0000

Yes, I make one. It's not a simple one considering ingredient list, but it's simple to make it.

You need:
- herbal powders
- floral/herbal distillates (optional)
- essential oils
- cold pressed oils

This is it. What makes it hard is to choose and combine the right ingredients in the most efficient amounts for your own hair and scalp. I am still trying out the best formula.

My recipe for dandruff and itchy scalp:
- aritha (soapnut) powder
- amla and neem powder
- tea tree distillate
- olive, coconut and avocado oil as base oils
- essential oils: bay leaf, tea tree, ylang ylang, peppermint, eucalyptus and lavender
- neem, manuka and myrrh oil as additional oils
- himalayan salt (or natural unbleached sea salt)
- warm water

Mixed together in a soft, thick liquid, it's great for shampooing.

Here is another recipe I will try for long, normal hair:
- aritha, shikakai and neem powder
- olive and coconut oil (maybe I will use the mix of saponified olive and coconut oils offered by Akamuti), red palm oil, peach kernel and macadamia oil
- essential oils: ylang ylang, sweet orange, rosemary, lavender and chamomille
- nettle extract (made by my own)
- himalayan salt
- warm water

I'll report how it feels.

cosmetic ingredients

noreply@blogger.com (virtualeditionofme) — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 11:48:00 +0000

Since I am a fan of organic cosmetic and I recently especially favor Akamuti due to its purest ingredients without any additives (and it works great) I feel obliged to raise awareness about cosmetic ingredients. Following is a typical list of chemical ingredients used in conventional cosmetic which has no place in organic cosmetic and it should have no place on our skin and consequently, in our bodies. The list and descriptions are copied from Akamuti's site since I find it very brief and clear. I've already written some words on chemicals in cosmetic in this post.

Parabens
Parabens are synthetic preservatives which can be found in most skin & hair products. They are usually derived from petrochemical sources & are easily absorbed by the skin. They are known skin irritants & have been shown to disrupt hormone activity & lower male fertility. They mimic the actions of the hormone oestrogen. Parabens come in the form of methyl, ethyl, butyl & propylparabens.

Preservatives
Apart from parabens, there are many other preservatives to be found in your average skin & hair product. These include alcohol denat, BHT, EDTA, polythene glycol, propylene glycol & many more. Many are known skin irritants & very toxic to the body. Some preservatives enhance the skins absorption of other poisonous substances.

Petrochemicals
Petrochemicals are the by-products of the petroleum industry. This includes paraffin wax (see below). Petrochemical ingredients include perfume & fragrances, emulsifiers, petrolatum, propylene glycol & mineral oil. Mineral oil is manufactured from crude oil.

Paraffin
This common ingredient comes in the form of a wax or a liquid, derived from the petroleum refining process. Paraffin wax is a grey sludge which needs to be bleached & processed before it is deemed suitable to work with. It forms the base of many creams. It is used to work as a lubricant & emulsifier.

Phthalates
Phthalates are a group of synthetic chemicals used in cosmetics as solvents & fragrance enhancers. They have been found to be toxic & have been linked to cancer. Two phthalates have now been banned for use in cosmetics by the EC Directive because of their toxicity to the human reproductive system. If phthalates are added to a product as perfume enhancer there is no requirement by law to list them as 'ingredients' on the label.

Perfume
Perfumes can very easily be inhaled & absorbed through the skin. However, they take a very long time to be removed from the body once they enter. They accumulate in fatty tissue & are toxic to many of the body's internal organs. Most perfumes are toxic solvents with volatile compounds, that are as common in the garage as they are in your face cream. In fact the same solvents used to make perfume/fragrance are found in glue. In concentration these scents are addictive. Cosmetic companies do not need to disclose the chemicals they use to make up their fragrances. Perfumes are environmental pollutants, carcinogenic & damaging to the central nervous system. Many are now labelled by the Environmental Agency as 'hazardous waste'.

Ingredients Tested on Animals
Be aware of claims such as "Not tested on animals". This can mean that the finished product is not tested on animals but the individual ingredients may very well have been.

A-Z List of Commom Cosmetic Ingredients
Acetone - a chemical component found in fragrances, termed a hazardous waste.
AHAs (Alpha-hydroxy-acids) - chemical antiaging exfoliant that burns away the top layer of skin.
Alcohol denat- used as a solvent & preservative.
Bentonites -
BHT - a carcinogenic synthetic preservative & antioxidant which release formaldehyde.
Benzaldehyde - a chemical perfume found in skin & hair preparations.
Benzyl acetate - a chemical component found in perfume, a known pollutant & carcinogenic. Benzyl alcohol - found in perfume, soaps & shampoo it is a respiratory tract irritant.
Benzophenones - chemical fixatives which slow the rate of perfume evapouration.
Carbomer - A synthetic gelling agent which also increases shelf life.
Collagen - animal derived insoluble protiens which suffocates the skin.
Cetearyl/cetyl alcohol - isn't actually an alcohol but a thickner & emulsifier.
DIA (Diethanolamine) - readily absorbed chemical which reacts with preservatives to form highly carcinogenic substances, called nitosamines.
EDTA (ethylene diamine tetra acetic acid) - a toxic preservative.
Ethanol - Listed as 'hazardous waste' it is found in many perfumed products.
Formuldehyde - a poisonous colourless gas used as a preservative. Carcinogenic & neurotoxic.
Nitosamines - these are not intentionally added to cosmetics, but form when certain chemical ingredients are blended together, particularly 'amines' family. (eg. Diethanolamines)
Propylene glycol - a cosmetic form of petroleum oil, used in antifreeze. A preservative, fixative, solvent & surfacant.
SLES (Sodium laureth sulphate) The alcohol form of SLS see below. *
SLS (Sodium lauryl sulphate) A rapidly absorbed detergent which is reatined in th body's organs.*
*Both SLES & SLS are potentially carcinogenic if they react with other chemical ingredients.
Talc - (magnesium silicate) is often contaminated with asbestos.

This list is constantly being updated & is by no means exhaustive!

spring is here

noreply@blogger.com (virtualeditionofme) — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 18:38:00 +0000

And it's never been so beautiful. Long walks with Vid, weekend trips to somewhere, tea&cakes on the sunny cafe terrace, longer days and more sunlight, early flowers, trees and grass turning green and finally, jogging season (for me starting today).

Vid is enjoying it, too.

perfect breakfast

noreply@blogger.com (virtualeditionofme) — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 10:31:00 +0000

Breakfast is the best meal. With good breakfast, mornings can be the best part of the day so I never skip it. Recently, I feed my baby and play with him in my usual breakfast time so I usually have late breakfast (almost kinda brunch) with additional ingredients and it's even more enjoyable.

My breakfast is as healthy as it could be and I stick to some rules, such as:
- always eat fruits first
- never skip fruits, linseed, grains and yoghurt, other ingredients/dishes are optional
- all ingredients should be organic (fruits, bread, yoghurt, grains ...) or if not possible, at least completely natural, additive free
- never drink juice (other than freshly squeezed fruit) or any drink with caffeine.

My breakfast must have ingredients are:
- fresh fruits (organic apples, oranges, kiwi etc.)
- mixed grain, corn and spelt flakes with linseed and sunflower seed and yoghurt: flakes and seeds are without any additives, organically grown and produced - such as Demeter; yoghurt is home made - I make it with fresh (non-homogenized) organic milk (by Slovene producer)

My "extended" breakfast includes home made bread (made with organic full-corn wheat, spelt and rye flour, natural emulsifier-free yeast, organic seeds - linseed, sunflower and pumpkin and a little himalayan salt), organic hazelnut cream (a delicious alternative to Nutella!) or fruit spread (be careful that you choose one with no sugar added, no other additives and no jelly - I like St. Dalfour), sometimes butter from local organic farms and additive free honey, some additional fruits and organic grain coffee (such as Vogel's Bambu, Naturata or Rapunzel) which is a very healthy and delicious alternative to coffee or black tea. Recently I've also been taking vitamin supplements for pregnant and breastfeeding women - natural, in juice form.

Healthy, balanced, energetic, delicious!

Top 5 Lessons Learned about Social Media, Social Networking, Twitter, and Business

noreply@blogger.com (virtualeditionofme) — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 19:34:00 +0000

Top 5 Lessons Learned about Social Media, Social Networking, Twitter, and Business

Posted using ShareThis

readers of this blog come from 52 countries

noreply@blogger.com (virtualeditionofme) — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 12:01:00 +0000

You're reading a really global blog, as far as Google Analytics shows. If I can believe the statistics, readers of virtual edition of me come from 52 countries. The top 5 countries from which visits originate (not unique visitors) are:

- Slovenia
- United States
- United Kingdom
- Finland
- India

It was a good choice that I write in English. Otherwise there will be no such statistics and information flow would be limited to Slovenia.

I also present the distribution of visits from top 2 countries (see pictures below).

Another stats I found interesting: browser usage of my visitors. It's very much in favor of Firefox and I like that. Anyway, I use Safari and it's been represented by 7% of visits.

I find it quite good although I don't have any benchmark - my blog has 62% of returning visitors who spend on average 2 min 44s on site. Nearly half of visitors come directly on site and the third of traffic is sourced from referring sites (primarily from Blogger, Facebook, and blogs by authors who include me in their blogroll or where I put my comments). Around 16% of visits come from search engine. It could be improved I guess.

Distribution of visits in Slovenia and USA

baby cosmetics. organic.

noreply@blogger.com (virtualeditionofme) — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 10:07:00 +0000

After one month use, following are my first findings for baby cosmetics. I've tried Dr. Hauschka, Essential Care, Akamuti and Weleda. I haven't tried (yet) The Organic Pharmacy since prices are much higher and according to my experience products couldn't be so much better. So, the first month results are here:

- Akamuti's Shea Baby Bottom Butter is the greatest for little bottom - it's shea butter with some nice oils (smells of peach and chamomile). Be careful if baby is sensitive to essential oils (well, it only contains chamomile and goes very well with my baby's skin). Great also for face and massage. Quite similar to Akamuti's Shea Baby Bottom Butter but without delicious smell is Essential Care's Soothing Salve. Also multi-purpose.

- I will also try Akamuti's Coco & Almond body butter for face and massage since it's not really appropriate to put hands in the same pot when changing the diapers and moisturizing the baby's face. Well, I tried Akamuti's Soft Peach Baby Moisturizer as well but I don't like it. Actually I am not very fond of their moisturizers and balms - I love their shea butter and cocoa butter based butters.

- For baby bathtime I use Essential Care's Baby Gentle Wash & Shampoo. Very gentle, nice smell, efficient (two drops make a bath and are enough to wash the baby) and multi-purpose (body wash, shampoo & bath) so there's no need for several products. Also good for mum's shower. Convenient package with pump. Dr. Hauschka's Rose Body Wash is also great for washing the baby (and mum's shower), but less convenient for the bath (in this case Akamuti's Bedtime Baby Bath Milk would be fine).

- Dr. Hauschka's Rose Day Cream for baby's face is a choice if you want the best for your baby :) It's also great as a bottom cream but the price is not appropriate for this use. Weleda's Calendula Pflegecreme is also quite good - not as good as Hauschka but much cheaper. And multi-purpose (face, body, bottom).

- For baby massage it's best to have one of the above mentioned products (creams and butters). I think solids (i. e. butters) are better since they're easier to control on the baby's body than liquid oils. Anyway, I also have Akamuti's Peach and Chamomile Baby Oil but most probably I will use it for myself. As I said, liquids are not convenient to care for a baby who is always moving on a changing table.

Well, I also have to mention the products for pregnant (and after labour) tummies. For me, the greatest product is Akamuti's Mum's Tummy Butter. Based on shea butter, great coldpressed oils, the perfect smell (never have it enough), the perfect texture. I still use it as a body moisturizer, I can't stop. For those who prefer oil to butter, Dr. Hauschka's Blackthorn Body Oil is great and it smells gorgeous (but it's a quite heavy smell). I tried The Organic Pharmacy's Stretch Mark Oil and Weleda's oil as well. They're a good but not so great (and The Organic's is far too expensive).