Vegan Beauty Review» organic soaps

Still Swooning Over Strawberry Hedgehog

Sunny — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 19:44:55 +0000

If you haven’t yet delved into the world of awesomeness that is Strawberry Hedgehog, you need to get on that shit STAT! What I love most about SH is that everything is free of gross, ass-nasty chemi ingredients, and all the yummy pamperin’ goods are super natural (not to be confused with supernatural), 100% vegan, and are made by one of the sweetest and craftiest ladies on the planet (word up, Tracy!)

My current faves:

Lemon-Jasmine Whipped Body Creme: Now, you might be anxiously searching SH’s site looking for this deluxe blend of whipped heavenly body crème, but you won’t find this particular scent! This is a tease for Strawberry Hedgehogs’s US Crème Club. For just $48, you can pamper yourself with 3 months of freshly made organic vegan whipped body crème (4oz jars) delivered straight to your door. This crème is made with the purest, most nourishing ingredients (organic, fair trade shea & cocoa butters with organic sweet almond & apricot kernel oils)—your skin will be dying to drink this yummy concoction up!

Cooling Blemish Spot Treatment, $12: Pre my eco/green beauty conscious days, I was all about Clearasil… nevermind that it sometimes bleached my clothes or zapped any bit of moisture out of my skin. Now that I’m all about incorporating more natural and organic beauty goods into my daily regimen, this blemish treatment is my savior. Btw, I ♥ that it’s a roll-on and I ♥ that it’s tingly! Sweet birch and chamomile essential oils decrease inflammation while tea tree essential oil kills bacteria to aid healing plus a proprietary blend of oils to minimize the appearance of pores. Just apply before beddies and allow it to do its thang.

Neroli Hydrating Facial Mist (orange blossom), $9: This multitasking refreshing spray is wunderbar! You can use it as a toner (which I’m all about—it spritzes so evenly, provides the perfect amount of moisture and has a delicate, relaxing aroma), a pillow spray, a pick-me-up aromatherapy boost, or you can use it to help set your mineral makeup. Badass, huh? This particular blend is calming-soothing-sensual which beautifully complements my bedtime routine to a T.

What’s your favorite Strawberry Hedgehog treat?

Spray Lotion and Wine Scented Soap? Yes, Please!

Sunny — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 22:32:34 +0000

Yup, that’s right! I found a vegan company that makes lotion for those days you feel like spritzing on your moisturizer rather than slathering it on. And wine scented soaps?! I found a whole bunch of cool skin care goodies from Kalliste Bath & Body, and they’re all handmade, mostly organic, natural and 100% vegan. My faves…

Soap Bars ($6.50): These soaps are not only delicious looking, but they are delicious smelling, too! All Kalliste natural soaps are made with vegetable glycerin and pure organic oils. Did you know a lot of conventional soaps are made with animal fats and oils (among other nasty ingredients)? Barfies! Anyhoo, I got my hands on a Riesling Fruit Bar and a Merlot Spice Bar of soap and O.M.G. First of all, they were beautifully wrapped (felt like Christmas came early), and I could smell them before I even unwrapped them. These soaps smell feminine and bold, floral and fruity and simply… pretty. I may not drink wine in real life but I am officially a soap lush!

Vegan Almond Lip Balm ($4.50): I LOVE that this lip balm comes in a slide tin! LOVE it! It’s easy to store in my purse or pocket and honestly, it’s fun to open and close. This vegan balm (beeswax-free, YAY!) contains only vegetable and plant oils, butters and waxes. It’s moisturizing, tasty, it makes my lips feel quenched, and it smells like marsipan (←best part)!

Citrus Aromatherapy Lotion ($12.60): This spritz-and-go lotion is perfect for when you’re on the move, in a bit of a time crunch or just prefer a refreshing spray of anytime moisturizer (sometime I just don’t feel like gettin’ my hands all goopified or I’m straight-up lazy). This lotion absorbs super fast and it feels great; it gives your skin the extra love it needs with vegetable and fruit oils and butters like shea, mango and almond. The citrusy smell (grapefruit, lemon and orange), which is gender-neutral (so go ahead and spritz some on your man candy) is delicate and light. I leeeeerve it!

Want info on new Kalliste products (like wine soaps), sales specials, limited time discounts, secret coupon codes and giveaways? Friend Kalliste Soap Shop on Facebook!

Strawberry Hedgehog Soap and Creme Giveaway

Sunny — Thu, 13 May 2010 02:00:29 +0000

When I think about all the vegan beauty products that I’ve reviewed over the years, Strawberry Hedgehog always tops my favorites. Whether you’re looking for organic and vegan soaps, body crémes, facial moisturizers, bath salts, or sugar scrubs, Strawberry Hedgehog has the best of the best. Tracy, the mastermind of this business is a soap making wizard! She’s always coming up with creative new soap scents to match the seasons.

The last time we had a Strawberry Hedgehog giveaway on VBR, it was a huge success, so I’m very excited to present this new giveaway! Three (3) very lucky VBR readers are going to each win 1 soap (any scent they choose) and 1 jar of organic whipped body créme – that’s a $30 value!

All you have to do to enter to win is go to Strawberry Hedgehog’s website and pick out your favorite scent for the soap you’d like to win and simply comment below. I know my favorite scent would be Sandalwood-Vanilla! The 3 winners will be randomly selected and announced on May 22nd. Good Luck! Now go! What are you waiting for?

Update: Winners of the Strawberry Hedgehog giveaway are: Kylie, Holly B., and Zenimue! Congrats!

(winners were selected using random.org)

Tracy was kind enough to send me a jar of her whipped body créme to try and lemme just say, she has perfected this recipe. This is insanely creamy, smooth and nourishing–I’m literally obsessed with it. It has such a delicately sweet smell and it goes on like buttah.

Check out how pure these ingredient are…

Ingredients: Herbal tisane, organic aloe vera juice, veggie emulsifying wax, veggie glycerin, organic sweet almond oil, organic apricot kernel oil, organic fair trade unrefined shea butter infused with herbs, organic fair trade cocoa butter, grapefruit seed extract, rosemary extract, vitamin e (soy), organic food grade extracts

You all are definitely in for a treat! I can’t wait to hear what you guys think about Tracy’s beauty products.

Get your summer soaps!

Strawberry Hedgehog: green and glamorous beauty with homestyle charm

Giveaway: Autumn inspired Strawberry Hedgehog soaps

Organic, vegan soaps from Hawaii make me feel like a tropical princess

Sunny — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 15:20:19 +0000

I’m very proud to say there is definitely no shortage of organic, vegan bars of soaps. Vegan soaps are not only the healthiest for your skin but the quality of these soaps is unlike anything else. There happen to be a lot of fabulous vegan soap companies in Hawaii but I recently discovered a new tropical gem, Maui Soap Company. They are an independently run, small business that make vegan and organic bath & body products like lotions, soaps and lip balms that are simply exquisite.

I got the chance to try their Lime Litsea Soap ($5.49) and it was a tropical delight. These soaps are made on Maui and it’s like they pack all the essence of the island in each bar of soap. I’ve been wanting to go to Hawaii for such a long time, and it’s soaps like these that make me want to book a flight out there asap. Maui Soap Company uses the purest, most natural, organic ingredients. Here are the ingredients for this particular bar of soap…

Ingredients: Saponified oils (organic olive oil, organic palm oil, and organic coconut oil), mango butter, lime essential oil, litsea essential oil, and sprulina

I also got to try their Vanilla Lip Balm ($3.99). Vanilla is one of my all time favorite scents; I think it’s because it reminds me of cake. So the thought of smearing vanilla, cake-like goodness on my smackers is always a good thing. This lip balm is soothing and it’s the perfect consistency. We all know it’s hard to find vegan lip balms. Most lip balms unfortunately contain bee vomit (which is what honey and beeswax essentially are). Seriously why can’t all lip balm manufacturers rock candelilla wax in their lip balm formulas? Anywho, I frickin’ love this lip balm. Bottom line: it smells delicious and it makes my lips feel nutritious.

Ingredients: Organic palm fruit oil, organic coconut oil, candelilla wax, organic jojoba oil, vanilla oil, Vitamin E

I highly urge you to support these small, independently run businesses that practice sustainability, promote health and the vegan lifestyle.

For more info: Maui Soap Company

Dr. Bronner’s Magic Organic Soaps inspire change

Sunny — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 18:01:45 +0000

Guest blog post by Carolyn Rinne

I honestly didn’t know what to expect from all-natural, vegan bar soap. I used a conventional brand of soap for years, and felt like it was time for a change: better for me, better for animals, better for everyone and the earth. So, when I came across Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps lavender bar soap ($4.19) in a grocery store one day, I decided to take my chances and give it a go. Let me just say, I will never buy conventional soap again. This soap smells incredibly floral and fresh, better than any faux scent. It also does the job exactly the same as any other soap out there, but it’s made of nothing but pure, natural ingredients: . Most importantly, it’s cruelty-free. And it’s made with 100% certified Fair Trade ingredients, so everyone really does win from buying this brand. I know that I will be buying it again, along with other products from their rather large line. I hope all of you enjoy it as much as I do!

For more info: Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps

Organic beauty products for people and pups!

Sunny — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:19:07 +0000

Jackson Sage has a fabulous, luxurious line of pure, botanical bath and body products for humans and our furry friends (canines in particular).

Jackson Sage makes amazing soaps that are all handmade, cold-processed and contain natural oils, butters, herbs, clay and pure essential oils. They are beautifully packaged and they smell divine. A single bar of soap just sitting on your bathroom counter will scent the entire room, eliminating the need for any type of air fresheners or plug-ins.

Handmade organic soaps $6.50 each

These soaps rock my world:

Blue Eucalyptus & Lavender Soap ($6.50): This exfoliating and deep cleansing bar of soap contains Fair Trade Shea Butter, Organic Almond Oil, French Green Clay, Apricot Meal, Blue Eucalyptus and Lavender Essential Oils. Eucalyptus and Lavender – two my favorite scents together? I’m sold. I’ll take 12! Speaking of, holiday season is just around the corner and these soaps would make great gifts!

Rhassoul Lavender Soap ($6.50): This soap contains Rhassoul Clay, Shea Butter, Lavender Essential Oil. I like the word Rhassoul; I think it’s beautiful (go on, say it out loud). This soap has detoxifying, toning and moisturizing properties. It smells wonderful and makes my skin feel super smooth.

Garden Hippie Soap ($6.50): Before even reading the ingredients I figured Hippie = Patchouli… and I got a lil’ nervous. Even though I’m not particularly a fan of patchouli, this combo of Rose Clay, Shea Butter and Pure Essential Oils of Patchouli, Geranium & Lemongrass was perfect! I’m in love with this soap. Maybe it’s also called “hippie” soap because it inspires love (for the soap).

After sudsing it up, I highly suggest you moisturize with some Lavender Recovery Body Cream ($27): This cream contains moisturizing shea butter, healing aloe vera, skin firming Atlantic kelp, anti-oxidant rich red rooibos tea, age fighting hibiscus extract and calming, pure lavender essential oil. This cream is pure, vegan, it smells beautiful and the consistency is just right. I’ve been using this cream on my body right before I go to bed and it really helps ease me into a sleepy, relaxing mode.

Body Recovery Cream $27

Pooch Products:

Dog Shampoo Bar ($10): This gentle bar of soap contains natural glycerin, moisturizing jojoba oil, healing neem oil and pure essential oils. This formula has anti-inflammatory and insect repellent properties and it’s perfect for dogs with dry, itchy and sensitive skin. Your pooch is your baby, and your baby deserves the finest and purest skin care.

Dog Shampoo Bar $10

Jackson Sage also make amazing an Herbal Dog Shampoo ($16), Hot Dog Balm ($13), Therapeutic Herbal Mist ($12) and Dog Conditioning Mist ($12). Don’t judge me but I used a lil’ of the dog conditioning mist on myself and it added a beautiful, healthy shine that my hair desperately needed. I only used a little bit and it totally helped keep my frizzies at bay. Hmmm, researching all of these dog beauty products makes my want to adopt a pooch pal. Perhaps it’s in the forecast.

For more info: Jackson Sage