vegan beauty – Page 2 – Vegan & Cruelty Free {VCF}

If you follow a lot of vegan profiles on Instagram, then you’re probably no stranger to Shankara Naturals. I haven’t heard of them until I saw one of their ads on the ‘gram and after persistent viewings scroll after scroll after scroll, I decided to click “Shop Now” and look a bit more into their company. Before you say anything, no they did not send me anything. They actually offer a sample pack that’s really convenient for vegan bloggers and other commitment-phobes like me…for $10 and FREE shipping (hallelujar). So I added it to my cart and actually checked out (the latter of which is rare).

You can pick from three lines and I opted for the one meant for people with oily skin, called Kapha. As listed on their site, the others are: Vata (Dry) and Pitta (Combination/Sensitive).

This travel pack comes with three tiny glass bottles about the length of your thumb and the width of your pinky. You get: Anti-Age Serum, Balance Treatment Oil and Muscle Release Oil. You also get two tiny jars and one larger jar. The two include the Balance Moisturizer and a Microcrystal Exfoliant. The larger jar is the Purifying Cleanser.

I can tell you right off the bat that the best product out of all of these is the anti-age serum…unfortunately I found out that while this serum is cruelty-free, it’s not vegan (womp womp).

Actually, I learned that not all of their cruelty-free skincare products are vegan or cruelty-free. They spell it out in their FAQs:

Where do most of your ingredients come from? We source ingredients from all over the world, and manufacture here in the US.

Do you test on animals?No we do not. All products are PETA cruelty-free approved.

Are Shankara products Vegan? All products are certified vegan by PETA except that contain honey powder, yogurt and/or milk protein. These products are: Deep Cleanse Treatment, Anti-Age Serum, Moisturizing Mask, Dead Sea Salt Scrub and Allure Mineral Bath Salts.

Are Shankara products organic? We use many organic and wild crafted ingredients.

The balance oil though and the balance moisturizer are both fantastic! The serum (the one time I used it without realizing it wasn’t vegan) was actually really nice, and was tacky at first application but left my skin feeling taut. Now I’m curious to try their other serums, and with the right coupon, I just might!

Question of the Day

What new skincare products have you tried? What are you on the hunt for? I’m currently looking for amazing serum!

Vegan and Cruelty Free Beauty

Vegan & Cruelty-Free Shampoo!

November 1, 2017October 31, 2017 Samantha

Lookout world–a head of shiny, gorgeous hair coming through! If you have dark hair that gets oily after like half a day (hello), then you know that you have to work your schedule and everything you do around when you wash your hair. Going on a hot date? Ok, need to plan to go to the gym before that so I can wash my hair and let it dry so I can look cute for dinner. The toss up is: How do I not wash it everyday?…because every news, book and Instagram post says it’s bad for us (it’s true). So with that said, I wash my hair every other day, and if I’m lucky, every two to three days. But the secret to maintaining a good lookin’ head of hair (aside from an awesome vegan diet), is what you wash it with!

I’ve tried the apple cider vinegar no-poo option, but all that really does is clean your scalp, and leave oily strands behind. It’s also hard to use that kind of no-poo method if you use styling products–and I use heat protectant, hair spray and mousse. Oil joins the party at times.

Back story done. Onto the main event. So what shampoo do I use to maintain some healthy, no split-end hairs? One I recently found, have been using for a while and am loving (it smells amazing and I secretly smell my hair like a creeper hourly).

Hask brand products are new to me. TBH I picked it up at Target because I desperately needed shampoo and it was on sale (mind you, it’s still more expensive than Garnier, Herbal Essences and other popular brands for the amount you get). And to be real, I’m cheap so it’s actually not that bad at just $5.99 regular price. But once I got home and jumped in the shower, I immediately fell in love with the smell. This Orchid & White Truffle scent? UGH. STOP. SO GOOD.

Although I looked at it upwards and sideways before I bought it, I thought, this can’t possibly be VCF. So I looked into it. They’re definitely 100% cruelty-free! From their FAQs section:

“We definitely DO NOT test on animals! That’s terrible… I’m hurt that you even think we do – and my puppy Harley is offended too! We make sure our suppliers and vendors supply safety and regulatory information on our ingredients so we don’t run into any issues. We love our furry friends and would never do anything to harm them! (P.S. We’re glad you’re concerned about this too)”

Since some of their products contain honey, I can’t say that all of their products are vegan, but they seem pretty darn close.

As for the consistency, a little goes a long way I’ve found…which makes the extra bucks worth it in the end. I mean really, $5.99 ain’t bad.

What are your favorite shampoos? I fell in love with one so quickly that I had to share!

Friday Face Off, Vegan and Cruelty Free Beauty

Friday Face-Off: Artis Makeup Brushes

October 20, 2017October 14, 2017 Samantha

Artis makeup brushes disturbed the makeup industry and every Youtube Beauty Guru kind of lost their ish. Needless to say, I was part of that crowd, but I was also super skeptical. They do look kind of like toothbrushes, after all. So I decided to put them to the test.

Let’s start with the Artis brush. You’ll have to excuse the fact that I only bought one because…

Price. ONE Artis brush. That’s right, just ONE Artis brush ranges anywhere from $40 to $70. The one pictured below is the Artis Elite Smoke Oval 7 Brush, which costs $62, and closer to $65 with tax. I picked mine up at Nordstrom.

Quality. Although the packaging is nice, it doesn’t feel like $70 packaging, whatever that may be. What I did like about the quality of the brush was the sturdy handle and the good balance it has. You can’t tell from the image below, but it’s balancing on just one of my fingers, so it has a good weight ratio.

Also, the bristles are really soft and the perfect amount of dense. It feels soft to the touch and smooths on makeup without leaving brush strokes behind. According to Nordstrom, it is made exclusively with CosmeFibre, a revolutionary engineered fiber made for applying cosmetic and makeup products.

VCF? With that said…yes! Artis is cruelty-free and vegan. The brand strictly believes against animal testing.

Now, let’s take a look at one of the many dupes on the market for the Artis brush. The one I purchased came in a kit of 10. It is the Yoseng Makeup Brush Set.

Price. I bought this set of 10 Yoseng Makeup brushes on Amazon for $13.99. All of the brushes came in their own plastic sleeves, all packed in another plastic pouch. This pouch was in a black box and as with most Amazon purchases, it came unharmed and intact.

Quality. I couldn’t believe it guys. When it comes to the quality of the bristles, it wasn’t a far cry from the Artis brush head. They felt just as soft and evenly spread my makeup…WITHOUT leaving brush strokes or brush hairs behind. I seriously couldn’t believe me eyes. Compared to my Real Techniques brushes, these brushes evenly smoothed the powder over my foundation and set everything into place. Btw, the Yoseng Makeup Brush set also comes in four color options: Black, Golden, Rose Golden and Silver. #notsponsored (seriously, how many times can I say that). I opted for the Rose Gold, only because it’s pretty and shiny, and ya girl’s a sucker for shiny.

The one negative thing when it comes to the quality of these Artis makeup brush dupes is that the handle feels rather clumsy. I tried to take a photo of balancing it, but I wasn’t able to so that weight ratio simply isn’t there. Which, TBH, I’m not sure it matters. But when I was applying powder onto my face after prepping my skin with SPF face lotion and matte foundation, I felt like the handle may break at any moment–but only time will tell.

VCF? According to the Amazon page, the material is high quality premium synthetic fiber, free from chemical treatment & hypo-allergenic & cruelty-free. So yes! They are!

Verdict? Purely based on price and quality for value, the winner is the Yoseng Makeup Brush set, with Artis super super close behind. If you’re thinking about splurging on the Artis makeup brush, I say go for it, BUT see if this type of brush is for you by purchasing a dupe first. And of all the dupes, this 10 brush set is solid.

What are your favorite VCF makeup brushes? Do you own Artis brushes and like them? What dupes have you tried?

Let us know! What would you like us to test out next for Face-Off Friday?

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!

Tag: vegan beauty

Vegan Skin Care Line: Shankara Naturals Review