facial oils – Vegan & Cruelty Free {VCF}

Sephora & Vegan Beauty Haul

December 7, 2017December 7, 2017 Samantha

What else do you do when you have a coupon for Sephora? You spend your life savings and withdraw from your 401(k) to spree is what (jk–but am I really). Well I’m on a tight budget (hello dream house), so I really only got the things I need. Come snoop through my cart!

1. Fresh Sugar Lip Caramel Hydrating Balm

If you need a new lip balm that smells like divine heavenly angel food cake and caramel on a plate, then you need to get this. Not only that, it feels dang good on the lips–your boyfriend, husband, girlfriend, lover, cat will thank you.

Unfortunately guys, I learned some tragic news thanks to Ethical Elephant: Fresh is NOT Cruelty–Free! Sadly, this doesn’t look good for Fresh considering all imported cosmetics into Mainland China are required by law to be tested on animals and by Fresh choosing to sell in these stores, they must consent and agree to have their products/ingredients subject to animal tests.

2. Farsali Beauty

Ya’ll, I am BEYOND excited about these two. I only got the mini sizes of Farsali Beauty Unicorn Essence and the Rose Gold Elixir because I wanted to test them out first, and also because the full-size options are hella expensive (bye bye dream house), so I opted for the little bottles. Also I like Farah, so I had to support her.

From their website: Our naturally inspired products are always cruelty-free, and made with exceptional-quality in mind. YAY! <– not from their site, only my enthusiasm.

3. Asili Naturals Bath Bomb

I mean, you know I can’t go a couple weeks without talking about my #1 homie, Asili Naturals, my most favorite VCF brand of all time. So of course, this Rosemary Jasmine bath bomb joins the haul party.

4. Fresh Sugar Roll-On

Aside from the fact that Fresh Sugar is NOT VCF (did you hear that noise? That’s my heart breaking), I am most excited to try this product because it’s both an anti-perspirant AND deodorant and most “healthy” deoderants are only the latter. This will most likely go back because it’s not VCF. Womp womp.

P.S. I also got a little sample of the Solid Beauty Blender cleaner because I love my Real Techniques Beauty Blender…is that cheating to us the BB cleaner for my Real Techniques sponge?

Question of the Day

What have you guys picked up lately that you’re loving?? We want to snoop!

Friday Face Off, Vegan and Cruelty Free Beauty

Friday Face Off: Facial Cleansers (Soap)

October 13, 2017October 13, 2017 Samantha

We all want squeaky clean faces without hearing squeaks from harmed animals. With that said, today, we are starting off our FIRST EVER VCF Friday Face Off with facial soaps! What could be more fitting for a Friday Face Off than that, okurr?

Let’s start with one of my tried and true favorite brands: Asili Naturals. If you’re new to them, Asili Naturals is a plant-based skincare line that, unlike others on the market, is so crazy affordable AND is actually truly plant-based. Unlike Origins or other brands that claim to be plant-based, Asili Naturals uses only the best and you can tell; not just when you use the product, but also when you take a look at the ingredient list.

It’s ALWAYS (I’d bet my life on it) whole ingredients. I mean check it out. All that’s in this Asili Naturals Face Soap (how cool is that–it’s handmade) is coconut oil, purified water, castor oil, sodium hydroxide, apricot oil and black seed oil shea butter. Ya’ll. That’s literally 6. Count ’em. SIX ingredients.

I know what you’re thinking. Sodium hydroxide? That’s the one that’s unlike the others on that list. Well if you want to literally clean your face, sodium hydroxide is necessary. It’s a safe chemical agent used for saponification, or in layman terms, it’s used to dissociate dirt from water. The rest, like the coconut oil, apricot oil and all else are there to treat your face to the best of oil yummyness. I usually follow this up with some sort of facial oil and then slather my body with Asili Naturals body butter after.

Let’s move on to the more commercial product, Dove Soap. TBH, I love Dove Soap commercials. They’re seriously so convincing, and what’s more convincing is that doctors often recommend it as a facial soap to people suffering with acne. And I’m not going to lie, I’ve seen the results: it works…that or my friend just has amazing genetics. I’m willing to bet on the latter. But when I really thought about it, I began to wonder–are they cruelty-free? Are they vegan? What’s in this soap? So I looked into it.

14 ingredients, guys. FOUR. TEEN. That’s a LOT. And if you look closely at them, not one of them is a naturally occurring or plant-based substance. They’re all chemicals. When I realized this, my eyes about popped out of my head. Worst yet (sorry Dove), not one of those ingredients is an oil or a moisturizer to really treat and calm your face after ridding it of dirt.

Ok, no I lied. This is the worst yet. Dove is NOT vegan OR cruelty-free. So using Dove is like using soap that was used to torture a super innocent animal that thought it was just getting cleaned. Nope.

Verdict? Asili Naturals wins! AND it’s Bloo Certified.

What’s your favorite facial cleanser or soap to use? Share with us below! Enjoy your weekend, everyone!

Vegan and Cruelty Free Beauty

The Secret to Younger Skin: Rose Hip Oil

October 11, 2017October 11, 2017 Samantha

Everybody listen up because if you haven’t gotten on the body oil bandwagon yet, it’s time to climb aboard. Ok, so maybe body oil isn’t quite a “trend” really…I mean women have been putting baby oil on their bodies for decades. Only now, in the 21st century, we just made it sexier.

Body oil is by far the biggest and easiest life hack to getting the softest, smoothest and most supple skin. Sure it’s a little slippery at first, but that’s where I come in. I tested oils upon oils for ya’ll and I found one that finally sinks right in without leaving you looking and feeling like melted vegan ice cream (cherry garcia, anyone?). VCF Tip: Dry oils work best when you want something that absorbs quickly into the skin.

Unlike a lot of other natural goodness, each type of oil has different benefits, and today, we’re zoning in on one. Now let me let you in on Adriana Lima’s secret to her beautiful face (aside from the genetics)…rose hip oil! Top this off with some cruelty-free SPF face lotion and you’ll be aging backwards like Benjie Button.

Rosehip oil has many benefits. Now if you want to look like Adriana Lima, you probably need a little bit more than this magic in a beautiful bottle, BUT it’s a great place to start.

Should you really put this oil on your face though? Uh, YES! Let me tell you why. It’s PACKED with anti-oxidants, which may as well be synonymous with anti-aging. It’s properties are also suuuuuper small, which means it can get into at least three layers of skin so it’s really working from the inside out. Even Livestrong.com knows what’s up: The vitamin C antioxidants stimulate collagen production, according to the Cleveland Clinic. It also helps reduce fine lines and wrinkles….and Vitamin A has small enough molecules to go deeper into the skin. It improves the skin’s moisture levels and reduces wrinkles and fine lines.

Put a little oil between your fingers and start patting into your face with gentle massaging motions. You can also use it all over your body to get that sexy J.Lo glow.

You can find this Measurable Difference Rose Hip Oil on Amazon for $20, but if you’re lucky, you can find it at your local T.J. Maxx for $5.99, which is where (thank the lucky stars) I picked it up, and fell in love. #notsponsored I’m 100% most definitely going back to stock up on more of their products to test out for you guys because who doesn’t like having baby butt soft skin, okurr?

Have ya’ll tried rosehip oil? What oils do you use and love? Share!

And yes, this is #Bloocertified! What is #Bloocertified? My dog tests products worldwide and if it’s both vegan and cruelty-free, she gives it her stamp of approval, so look out for the image above to know if the product we’re reviewing is VCF!