My boyfriend is amazing; he shares my love for natural skin care products, and during his most recent visit to Pennsylvania to visit family, he has been visiting local independent soap shops and stands. He’s been going all out picking out amazing new products for us to try (guess who has an early June birthday, holla!). On my favourites page, I mention the Wash Your Mouth Out Soap Company, who’s stand I first became acquainted with during an early March visit to York Pennsylvania’s Central Market! Their lavender vanilla whipped shea butter smells like heaven, and it is an amazing treat for cuticles, hands, and all your dry bits. Check out my love’s most recent indie soap company haul, to your left!
I cannot contain my excitement to try all of these amazing new products! They hail from York PA’s Sunrise Soap Company! What do we have here? Blueberry-scented natural soap (OMG), an Orange Patchouli Lavender Clove moisture stick (great for elbows, lips, heels, wherever you need it!), In Your Face Shea & Cocoa Butter with Goats Milk and Clay Facial Soap, a rhassoul clay mask of sorts, Happy Henna Shampoo Bar, Watermelon-scented natural soap, and Patchouli Vanilla essential oil soap! I nearly crapped myself when he sent me this picture. This weekend is going to be the best extended spa night ever! I am just happy he and I get to share these sudsy moments together!
Expect reviews! Have a lovely rest-of-the week, everyone!
Tagged as:
coconut oil,
essential oil,
henna,
natural,
olive oil,
palm oil,
pennsylvania,
shea butter,
soap,
sunrise soap company,
wash your mouth out soap company
Each and every Monday, I am going to showcase all the different manicures I wore during the week! I’d rather do this, than bombard you with a daily manicure post (and there are days when I don’t paint my nails). Here are the manicures for the past week!
A pinky-purple pastel to start off my week!
Pastels and neons are my absolute favourite colours to wear. They stand out, and can really brighten up an outfit! You will never catch me wearing dull pinks or dusty rose colours. Orly’s Lollipop is the colour I’m wearing here. It is such a vibrant pink, with a subtle purple tint. So gorgeous, and a regular favourite of mine!
A second ombre attempt!
Still pretty messy, but I really enjoyed doing this purple ombre set of nails. I used Orly’s Lollipop, Essie’s Playdate, and Essie’s Bahama Mama for this design. The purples faded into one another well. I discovered the ombres work best for me when I cut the cosmetic wedges in sizes that are barely the size of my nails. Makes it less messy, and I find I can be more accurate with where I place the colour. Give ombre nails a try!!
Dotting tools are so fun and so easy to use!
This is the first time I really played around with a dotting tool. I only have one at the moment (as I wait for my Winstonia dotting tool set to arrive), but I was surprised at how easy (and fun) this technique could be! I love how the layered dots look at the tips, especially! I used several colours here. Orly’s White Tips, Essie’s Sexy Divide, Essie’s Bahama Mama, and Orly Color Blast in Electric Blue.
Festive summertime dotted design!
These designs were made with Sally Hansen’s LustreShine in Scarab, Sinful Colors in Timbleberry, and Orly’s Hook Up! The colours remind me of summer, and I love how bright and festive this looks!
Last week was a fun week for nails! Check back next Monday for more nail awesomeness! Remember to follow me on Instagram for even more nail pics!
Tagged as:
beauty blogger,
beginner,
dotting tool,
manicure,
nail art,
nails
If you’re new to face masks, and aren’t sure at all where to start, here is one that I’d suggest! Queene Helene‘s Mint Julep Masque. It is a clay-based mask (containing kaolin, and bentonite clays). Horribly outdated graphic design aside, this mask is totally worth your while to try out. It is a skin care classic, and a favourite of many! It is not available in Canada; prior to spending a good fraction of my time in the US, I was constantly teased with tales of how great this mask was. It was one of the very first purchases I made at a Walgreens in New Hampshire last summer. At the time it cost me $4.
Queene Helene advertises this product to be free of any animal ingredients, and no animal testing. Here is their statement about being cruelty-free on their site.
To use this product: wash your face with a cleanser, then squeeze enough product out to cover your entire face in a thick layer of this stuff.
Great things about this mask:
- *Smells like mint bubble gum!
- *Clays absorb excess oils and toxins from skin
- *Zinc oxide is a known treatment for skin conditions, such as acne and oily skin
- *Sulfur is proven to help heal and prevent further outbreaks of skin conditions like eczema, rosacia, and acne.
- *Easy to apply, and easy to rinse off with a warm cloth or hands
- *Found at most major drug stores in the US, and costs under $6 or less
Not-so-great things about this mask:
- *It does contain methylparaben, which is a preservative, and many people prefer to avoid it
- *It is not fragrance-free, and they do not specify exactly the source of the fragrance
- *Contains propylene glycol: used in many cosmetics as well as processed foods, which many prefer to avoid – here is an article about it!
IMO, the pros outweigh the cons here. This mask has never caused any irritation for my skin, and also works great as a spot treatment (I will apply a thick layer to the blemish, and leave on for an hour or more). Queen Helene also has several other face masks I am excited to try. If you are looking for an affordable mask as an acne treatment, or a way to improve your complexion in general, check it out! This will probably work best when it is gradually implemented into a proper skin care regimen.
Tagged as:
acne,
bentonite,
clay,
face mask,
kaolin,
oily skin,
relaxing,
treatment
