Vitacost and Fresh Faced Haul

A few things I've ordered online recently, I think a couple have the potential to become holy grail!

From Vitacost I ordered the Hugo Balancing Conditioner, Kiss My Face hold up styling mousse, George's Aloe Spray Mister, and Honey Girl Organics Face and Eye Creme Extra Sensitive. So far I am loving them all.

 From Fresh Faced I ordered 10 samples, I really wanted to try the Vapour Beauty Illusionist Concealor and ended up selected the maximum amount of samples to help justify the shipping. 

What's in my Shower?

I'll start by saying I am almost completely satisfied with my shower routine. I adore all the products except the shampoo I'm using. I'll get back to that, first, here is what I keep in the shower. 

1. Giovanni Root 66 Max Volume Shampoo - This has a few ingredients I'm not thrilled with but the true reason I'm not happy with it is I find it leaves a residue in my hair and my hair gets oilier quicker then with other shampoos. I don't use conditioner as I have very fine and oily hair, after the shower I do put a drop of argan oil in my ends. I am still looking for the right shampoo/conditioner combo to balance my hair.

2.  Rocky Mountain Soap Company Foaming Wash in Vanilla Coconut - This is heavenly! The foaming pump provides plenty of lather that cleanses without being at all drying. The scent cannot be beat, a sweet vanilla coconut cupcake!

3. Rocky Mountain Soap Company Peppermint Shave Bar - Don't be mistaken, this is nothing like shaving with soap! It lathers into this rich cream and provides a close shave, doesn't clog your razor and smells super refreshing. It is so moisturizing that if you are in a time crunch you can even get away without applying lotion after you shave. A new favourite of mine!

4. Schick Quattro for Women Trim Style - For years I used a Venus razor thinking it was the best one, but recently switched to Schick Quattro and not only are the blades cheaper they provide a way smoother shave.

5. Honey Sugar Olive Oil Face Scrub - I use my homemade scrub whenever my face is feeling a little bumpy or dry. The olive oil and sugar combo really smooth things out and the honey soothes.

6. Vals Veggie Soap - I use this to wash my face, especially after I use the scrub, I like to let the oil soak into my face during my shower then wash off the excess at the end. 

7. Sephora Precision Pore Cleansing Pad - This soft rubbery pad is great for massaging cleanser into the skin.

Wishlist Wednesday

A few of the items I've been lusting after online this week.

 

Pure Anada Mascara. Pure Anada is a Canadian brand dedicated to creating safe and effective products. I've been eying up the brand for a while and am hoping to find some in store but if not I'll be ordering online soon.

 

Vapour Organic Beauty Illusionist Concealer. I love my powder mineral foundation but with the dry winter I'm looking to switch to just a creamy concealer where I need it. 

Honey Girl Organics Face and Eye Creme Extra Sensitive. I've been looking for an eye cream with simple ingredients, this may be the one!

What products have you had your eye on lately?

Natural At Home Pedicure

I like to keep my toes presentable all year long and I prefer to do it at home. If we are being honest, nail salons kinda gross me out! This is the routine that gets me the results I like without too many products and without being too time consuming. I do the full routine about every two weeks with a few touch-ups in-between. 

Step One: With dry feet use the Revlon Pedi Expert to remove calluses and rough skin. This thing looks a little intimidating but I have had fantastic results with it. Just make sure to go gently, applying very little pressure. Remove calluses with the larger grit file going both directions, then refine with the smoother file going in only one direction for the smoothest result.

Super Food Smoothie

Nothing feels better to me then starting out the day with a nutritious fresh smoothie. (Although I will admit I am slightly partial to a good diner breakfast also, but only on occasion!) This is a low-sugar, high nutrient blend that also happens to be delicious. A good first step if you are hesitant about green smoothies or juice.

The Recipe:

1/4 cup natural plain yogurt (mine lists only skim milk, cream and active bactira cultures as ingredients)
1/2 cup blueberries
1/2 cup raspberries
1-2 handfuls spinach
coconut water to achieve the consistency you prefer

Korres Wild Rose Mineral Foundation Review

I have been a fan of mineral foundations for years. I started, like I'm sure many did, with Bare Minerals. I used their Matte formula for about three years and really liked it. When it came time to repurchase I was considering switching to the orginal formula as I was finding the matte to be a little too matte and dull for me. During my research I noticed that the Bismuth Oxychloride was irritating some peoples skin so I wasn't thrilled with either the orginal or matte options. At Sephora I noticed the Korres Mineral Foundation ($36.50), liked the ingredients and the finish and decided to take a chance.

The Ingredients: Boron Nitride, Zinc Oxide, Rosa Canina Fruit Oil. May Contain: Mica, Titanium Dioxide, Iron Oxides
*This list is off of my package purchased about six months ago, Sephora now lists slightly different ingredients.

EWG Skin Deep Rating: 1 (on a 0-10 scale, 0 being lowest hazard)

All Natural Skin Care Routine - AM and PM

To be honest, I have never been a multi-step, complicated skin care girl. I like minimal products with minimal ingredients. My skin has improved immensely since I switched to natural products. My skin type is normal to combination. I am prone to an oily T-zone in the summer, and dry patches around my mouth and eyes in the winter. I get occasional acne usually around my period or high stress times. 

What's In My Purse?

I love seeing what people carry in their purse so I thought I would share what's in mine. I consider myself to have a relatively minimal 'purse-load'. Missing from the photos are my house keys, transit pass and phone.

Bad, Better, Best - Facial Scrubs

This is the start of a new series I am planning. Comparing a 'traditional' product, a seemingly natural product and a very pure product. Today the focus is on face scrubs. I will admit I am sporadic scrubber. I dry brush my body almost daily but go in phases with how often I exfoliate my face.

The ingredients in bold either rate a 5 or above according to Environment Working Group Skin Deep Database, or are listed by  The David Suzuki Foundation as dirty.

 

Photo From Bellasugar.com

The Bad: St. Ives Fresh Skin Apricot Scrub (about $5 at drugstores)

Ingredients: Water, Walnut Shell Powder, Glyceryl Stearate SE, Propylene Glycol, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Corn Meal, Cetyl Alcohol, Linoleamide DEA, Cetearyl Alcohol, Glyceryl Stearate, PEG-100 Stearate, Lanolin Oil, Emulsifying Wax NF, Apricot Kernel Oil, Sambucus Nigra Extract, Primula Veris Extract, Sunflower Extract, Matricaria Extract, Ceteareth-20, Triethanolamine, Carbomer, Methylparaben, Ethylparaben, Propylparaben, Phenoxyethanol, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Methylisothiazolinone, Fragrance, Titanium Dioxide.

Quick Take: EWG Product Hazard Rating 6 our of 10. Skip it, there are far too many concerning ingredients!

Ode to Coconut Oil

Besides apparently being the 'World's Best Cooking Oil' coconut oil has so many uses it's hard not to love. It smells like a exotic beach and melts into a silky oil on the skin. Depending on your room temperature it may be a solid or liquid, it works equally well in either state. Here is my ever growing list of things you can do with this fragrant oil.

How to Smell Lovely - Naturally (Lavanilla Love!)

It was years after I started to go natural that I even attempted changing my antiperspirant to a natural version. Even then I went through several that I felt made me smell even worse then if I wore nothing at all! So discouraging because antiperspirant is loaded with chemicals I really try to avoid and I really wanted to be rid of it but not at the expense of being too smelly. So, about a year ago I discovered La Vanilla products.

What's on my Nightstand?

 

I like to keep things simple and contained yet easily accessible. This Fossil tin that my watch came in works perfectly to rangle all of my nighttime essentials. 

Natural Headache Remedy

As someone who is prone to sinus and tension headaches but also has an aversion to taking pills (for minor aliments anyway) I was thrilled to discover the Neti Pot! I have been using it for several years now, I bought it out of desperation when my indoor allergies were threatening to ruin my vacation. You can find them at most drugstores, I've seen them in plastic and ceramic. I have the plastic one because I like to take it with me when I travel.

DIY Eye Balm

This eye balm was the product of an experiment gone very right. I have been using coconut oil as my night time eye cream for a while but had been looking for a product with more anti-aging benefits. Most of what I saw was full of hard to pronounce ingredients that I wasn't comfortable with, or was full of great ingredients but too expensive of too hard to get my hands on. I decided on a base of coconut oil then added vitamin E oil for it's antioxidant and anti-aging properties, and bit of aloe vera gel to lighten up the product and add a soothing effect.

Birthday Night - Natural Pampering Routine

For my birthday this year I had the house to myself and I was in the mood to indulge in some budget friendly and natural spa treatments. So I gathered all the essentials; red wine, People: Style Watch, my kobo and some new products I wanted to try. I started off by turning on some Jack Johnson and filling the tub.

 I have been doing Blogilates lately and I was dying sore, so I added some Rocky Mountain Soap Company Sport Bath Salts ($5 for a single-use sachet) to the running water, the salts and essential oils are meant to be soothing for aching muscles. Grabbed my ice lemon water and magazine and hopped in. Oh my goodness this was the best bath I've taken in quite a while. The scent of the bath salts was perfect! Very light but still present, fresh and pure smelling, and best of all the scent is completely natural coming from only essential oils. I was surprised by the rosemary and lemongrass combo - really refreshing.