Pure Pit Balm is a natural deodorant for underarms.

What is a natural deodorant?

“Natural” deodorants can be made at home. They are typically a mixture of emollients & baking soda… plus maybe some essential oil for scent. The general idea is that they’re made from ingredients you have in your pantry.

Why mess with a good thing?

I’ve got an antiperspirant that works. So why change?

1. There are notions that antiperspirants can contribute to the development of brain diseases in older age☆. Apparently this has not been replicated in recent studies. But it got me to thinking about slapping random things on to my skin.
2. I work at a scent-sensitive location. And of course Mr. Nals (the ginger) is scent-sensitive°. So this made me think of crap that we randomly inhale – chemicals galore in perfume, lotions, cleaners, soaps, fresheners.
3. Antiperspirants make my pits ashy gray. When I’ve tried to go without, my pits clear up*. This is just for esthetics but I’m not a big fan.

Do you know that skin is the largest organ?

Why not just quit using it?

I ‘ v e t r i e d ! But it gets real stanky at certain times. So, I’ve purchased commercially-made “natural” deodorants, crystals, rubbing alcohol, witch hazel and plain coconut oil. These irritated or cut the skin, dried it out, required frequent reapplication, stained my clothes and were ineffective.

So getting back to the belle of the ball…

Pure Pit Balm is made with shea butter, coconut oil, non-aluminum baking soda +/- essential oil for scent. Kells is allergic to shea butter and couldn’t participate in the review.

My concerns were that I’ve used natural deodorants before, with minimal positive effect. But Miss Pure Pit Balm perservered and supplied 2 complimentary jars – Sensitive (unscented, less potent) and Lavendar (more potent).

My experience

I first tried Sensitive. Application: After showering, I applied a pea-sized amount to each dry pit. I let my body heat melt and absorb the product. Then I got dressed. Effects: It actually worked great! There was no irritation and no stink! Now remember: it’s not an antiperspirant. So I still got swamp pits. (Translation: more laundry for me.) That was ok because it meant I wasn’t putting crap on my skin. And, my skin looks vibrant, healthy with no bloody ingrowns!

I’ve used it daily for >1 month. At the end of the day, or after exertion, I occasionally smelled an earthy alkaline odour. I think this was the result of an intense love affair betwixt my sweat and baking soda. So if I felt like I was getting sweaty, I’d wipe & air dem pits out. This seemed to mitigate the odour.

In conclusion

The product comes in a little glass jar (2.5 ounces, 74mL). With typical use, it should last 3 months. You can choose scents: Grapefruit, Lemongrass, Lavender or unscented Sensitive. Sensitive contains less baking soda so it was easier to smother on than Lavendar. Oh but la Lavendar smelled divine. As it was full-strength, my sensitive skin was physically irritated because I rubbed it in too much. This irritation was only intermittent, mild & always went away after a minute. Miss Pure Pit Balm suggested I stick with Sensitive, and to not use after hair removal.^

There’s an informational brochure, details on jar labels and a fabulous website.

Recommendation

Nals would recommend Pure Pit Balm. In the very least, you should try it out just to give your pits a break from excess chemicals. Plus, you’d be supporting a small local (Canadian) business!

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Footnotes
☆refer to this article.
°Both my mum & I loved scented lotions and potions. We bought vats of it, and madly rolled around in them like pups in a dead skunk carcass. So when I met Mr. Nals & he told me perfumes bother him, I was upset. And when we moved in together, I had to give my carefully curated scents to my mom. Oh Van Cleef & Arpels First, how I still long for you & TommyGirl.
*Ashy gray pits are mainly an issue for people of colour.
^(If you’ve paid attention to labels or estheticians before, you know that you actually shouldn’t even gym or sweat or swim within 24 hours of waxing. Let alone, adding deodorant.)

Years ago, Osamu Sushi‘s owners stopped in to the very shop that our baby Kells was working in.

Their suggestion: that her team have their Christmas dinner in the restaurant. They did… and it was fabulous!

Fast forward 15 years… after a hardcore workout¹ with Koach, Kells suggested that the 3 of us have a celebratory dinner at the very same Osamu.

Starters

→ Agedashi tofu ←

crispy hot cubes of tofu sitting in a savoury pond of dipping sauce.

→ Spicy Prawns ←

oh my lord. You’d need to sit down for this. You’ll also need to order your own. Don’t bother sharing. Sure it’s large enough but it’s too delicious. Big juicy prawns, noodles, crispy haricots verts, julienne of red bell pepper are lightly tempura-battered and fried. Like a sultry singer draping her curves over a piano, the“spicy” sauce² is drizzled on top. We had to order a second serving!

Dinner

→ Volcano Roll ←

– larger specialty roll –

exploding with delightful spicy tuna and fabulous flavour-texture combos

← Paradise Roll ←
– larger specialty roll – jam packed with cream cheese, mango and other goodness.

→ Dynamite roll ←

crispy and tasty.

→ Negitoro and salmon rolls ←

Negitoro is Nals’s go-to fave. These makis were mmmm so good!

Conclusion

Yes you must try this place!

⇓N&K Tips⇓

We were hungry & had just worked out… but that was defo too much food. We probs should not have ordered the last 2 rolls. Especially for Kells and Koach, who also ordered a beer.
Osamu is open for lunch and dinner. So pop on over to nearby Coquitlam Centre for shopping before or after your meal. You could go for a pedi at Aveda Spa, then have a late lunch with drinks at Osamu.
You could also work up an appetite at nearby Coquitlam Crunch .

Footnotes:
¹ Stay tuned for our Muscle Development After Fabulous 40 series. (For Kells it’s Almost Fab Forties.)
² Very flavourful and not chili hot

This quaint little area is actually part of Bellingham, Washington. (Kind of reminds us of areas of North Van, New West and Vancouver’s West End with a bit of Steveston.)
Kells had had breakfast there previously. So she corralled us into the same joint named Skylark. I had been dying for some

clam chowda (as mentioned previously) and finally! I had a chance to get me a big ol bowl of it. It was delightfully creamy smooth with good flavour and bites of clam and potato. Then we shared the po-boy and thai fish sandwich. And whoo big portions!

Po boy was great. Would’ve been excellent with more oysters.

Thai tilapia sandwich was delish but a bit messy to eat.¹

Place is bigger than it looks – front entrance leads to another dining area.

Ambience was quiet. Its eclectic style reminded us of a spot between a tea parlour and OSF. Service was good. They don’t hover. Menu was vast with various breakfast, brunch & lunch dishes.

K’s after-brunch photoshoot

A f t e r b r u n c h We couldn’t very well have gotten back in the car with these 2 full rockabellies. So we walked around to burn off some calories² and took pix. Then some shops beckoned to us. 3 French Hens in particular. It was a shop that carried mainly clothing with a few other doodads. I was flabberghasted to see a capelet³ there… and one that fit me!

N’s after-brunch shoot

C o n c l u s i o n

∴If you’re in the mood for brunch and window shopping, Fairhaven is defo an option to consider.

What are your thoughts on Fairhaven, 3 French Hens or Skylark?

Feel free to comment below.

Footnotes
1. can be ordered without cilantro!
2. TBH, we wanted to walk around to window-shop.
3. Capelet photos coming soon.

When you first enter the place, it looks surprisingly large with high ceilings. However due to muted lighting and dark wood furniture, it is feels intimate. Just off-centre, they have their wine/liquor larder. It looks like a huge wooden centrifuge from the industrial era*. This large pillar runs to the ceiling, with 360-degree shelving. There are stairs snaking around the side like a DNA helix.  (Kells and I wanted to go explore but there was a pesky ‘stairs not in use’ sign… and we didn’t want to make a scene… At least not that evening.)

We were wineless that night.  Kells had a Cosmo, extra tart. I had a beer**.

We ordered the Baked Brie to start. It was gift wrapped in

crispy phyllo, and accompanied by apricots, carmelized onions, walnuts, grapes and house crackers. The whole mess was delightful. Everything complemented each other perfectly. And the grapes were an amazement — halved and warmed, with salt. You may think ‘egads how odd!’ But trust us… your tastebuds will thank you.

For our mains, we couldn’t decide from Maine Lobster Mac and Cheese, seared Diver Scallops with grits (daily special) or Wild Mushroom Rigatoni. We were also eyeing the Veal and Pancetta Bolognese (I love me some parpadelle) and Pan Seared Muscovy Duck Breast. Due to availability and what was popular we went with Scallops and Bolognese.

The Diver Scallops were beautifully seared, toothy but tender and slightly sweet on the inside. Though cooked perfectly, grits were a little flat in flavour. (Grits are hard to season). The Bolognese was rich with al dente flavourful parps.

Kells was here before and enjoyed the Lobster Mac and Cheese. This is also a popular dish…Kells gives it 2 thumbs up. (But someone^ forgot her lactaid and we didn’t want to take a chance with someone’s^ gnarly digestive results if someone^ partook of the lactose-laden kryptonite.)

And we ended with Vanilla Bean Crème Brûlée. Holy caboodles!Beautifully torched top…sweet and smoky. The crème was mindblowing… flavourful, great mouthfeel, not super sickly sweet. An amazing way to end a good meal.

Staff: Our waitstaff Maddy was fabulous! She was super friendly, genuine and knew when to come by to ask questions (ie: not when we just took a big bite).

Conclusion: Purple Café is a must-try!

Have you gone to Purple Cafe?

What delights have you ordered?  

Tell us what you think below, in the Comments section!

End bitties

* did scientists have centrifuges in the industrial era? If they did, this is what my mind pictures.
**Wine is not sitting well with Kells’ system these days. This is a sad state of affairs for her. So, in blog-sisterhood, I didn’t get wine even though we were at a winebar.
^someone=Nals