Checking in – August 1, 2026

Checking in – August 1, 2026
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Saturday
August 1, 2026
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Hey friends!
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I wanted you all to know I am still here! [Contrary to possible speculation, I have NOT dropped off the planet!]
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Next Up:
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We’ve got some more Trader Joe’s products to report on, so stand by for those. This pending Trader Joes product testing and reporting was – like the Trader Joes product articles published earlier – also not funded, so please do keep those contributions coming! Thank you so much. Your monthly Patreon support is critical to fill much of the gap in funding for the testing and reporting on many of these pending products. Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!
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If you are not yet a paid Patreon member, here’s the link to join us on Patreon (any size monthly contribution makes a difference – even $1.00 or $2.00 – but please do check out the new $25.00 and $50.00 levels while you are looking at the membership levels (they have an extra “bonus” membership benefit!): https://www.patreon.com/leadsafemama/membership
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Here’s a link with all seven of the Trader Joe’s reports that we have published so far:
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https://tamararubin.com/category/trader-joes-product/
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We are also working on updating the sunscreen chart to have it include ALL of our published results (including several new ones published over the past couple of months). Here’s the link which has all of our published sunscreen reports:
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https://tamararubin.com/category/sunscreen-testing/
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Here’s the link to the current (not-yet-updated) sunscreen chart (check back on this link on August 5th when the latest update will be posted):
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https://tamararubin.com/2026/05/sunscreen-chart/
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More Testing Pending Too:
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We have a new electrolyte lab report to be published soon (SALTT), some new European toothpaste products, and a new prenatal supplement from Ritual. These are mostly products for which testing and reporting was fully funded (with one partly funded by a $50/month Patreon member as their third month reward! — again please check out those new Patreon levels if you have not yet – especially if you want to help guide our testing in a little more direct way. Thank you!)
https://www.patreon.com/leadsafemama/membership
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FAMILY STUFF!
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I have been a bit busy with personal stuff this week.
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My two oldest kids’ birthdays were July 28th and 29th. AJ turned 24 and Colescott turned 30 (and Charlie turned 18 earlier in the month too!)
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For AJ’s birthday he did me an enormous favor – helping me to help Avi move out of college in Hawaii (after Avi had lived there two years!) Avi leaves Honolulu tomorrow, headed to Scotland to begin doing astrophysics research and study with the Royal Observatory in Edinburgh. I am currently in the middle of setting things up to help Avi move into a new apartment in Edinburgh so that he can get settled early and have a good start for the new academic year.
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It has been a very, very busy time with some big happenings and big transitions for my family.
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Avi just finished paid research position for the summer with the University of Hawaii’s Institute for Astronomy (at Manoa), research funded by the National Science Foundation! He was studying solar flares and also did some other research which resulted in the orbit of an asteroid being named after him (so cool!)
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My two eldest offspring — AJ & Colescott — just did a cross country summer tour as the opening act for the band Haute & Freddy. Haute & Freddy is (apparently!) one of Lady Gaga’s favorite new bands, so this is kind of a big deal. My kiddos will be doing a Fall Tour with Haute & Freddy and then segments of a Europe Tour with them too. You can find the Tour Dates on the noted link below (but if you want to make sure to see them, keep an eye on the Rubin Brothers’ pages for the dates where my kids will be definitely be opening).
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Here’s an article about my kids from this summer’s tour:
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https://www.hollywoodrebound.com/rubin-brothers-haute-freddy-big-disgrace-tour/
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Here’s another:
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https://instinctmagazine.com/haute-freddy-get-your-freak-on-and-on/
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Here’s the Tour Dates: https://www.hauteandfreddy.com/tour
Here’s my kids’ instagrams if you want to follow them and check out some of their music and their antics (you can also find their music on Spotify and other streaming channels):
Colescott: https://www.instagram.com/colescottrubin/
AJ: https://www.instagram.com/ajrubinart/
Avi: https://www.instagram.com/aviontheartisticspectrum/
The Rubin Brothers: https://www.instagram.com/rubinbrothers/
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Here’s their American Idol performance (with Katie Perry, Luke Bryan & Lionel Ritchie) if you missed it:
https://www.instagram.com/p/DCXlxD4yDA1/
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If you would like to give my kids a gift for their birthdays please do consider joining my boys on Patreon. They are working on raising funds to create props in support of the volunteer work they do with children’s hospitals and retirement homes throughout the United States. They provide a critical service, performing for / entertaining / singing with children recovering from illness and older adults in need human engagement. [Yes, I’m definitely very proud of these kids, especially after all they have overcome!] Here’s their Patreon link – they only have five Patreon members right now, and it would be fun to get them up to 30 for Colescott’s 30th birthday this week! Thanks in advance:
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https://www.patreon.com/cw/RubinBrothers
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Thank you for your patience with me during this busy time for my family!
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I will write again very soon.
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We should be able to get back to publishing lab reports by August 4th!
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Tamara Rubin
Owner, Lead Safe Mama, LLC
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Photo taken earlier in July, 2026.