Vegan Beauty Review» Strawberry Hedgehog

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?

My Favorite Vegan Things

Sunny — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 22:51:48 +0000

List of goods:

Healing Waters Salt Soak, $20
Strawberry Hedgehog Peridot Perfection Soap, $8
Burnt vanilla soy candle from The Soap and Paper Factory, $18
Bonding Over Beauty by Erika Katz, $14.95
Smashbox Photo Finish Hydrating Primer, $42
C.O. Bigelow Ultra Mentha Lip Shine, $7.50

What are some of your favorite vegan things?

Strawberry Hedgehog Soap Club Giveaway!

Sunny — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 22:11:05 +0000

Calling all soapaholics! If you love pampering yourself with the most deluxe, heavenly, beautiful-smelling, all-natural soap—get ready to freak out!

In case y’all haven’t been clued into my obsession with Strawberry Hedgehog, checkity check check it (here: ♥, ♥ & ♥)!

Btw, I recently got to sample some of Tracy’s top-selling magical soap creations: Sweet Orange-Clove, Lavender-Vanilla, Sparkling Sapphire and Peridot Perfection—oh-em-gee! Not only are they insanely pretty-smelling, but they are beyond gorg! I just wanna sniff ‘em and stare at ‘em all day (and of course bathe with ‘em too) … Y’all are in for a treat!

Tracy, the mastermind and soap makin’ diva behind Strawberry Hedgehog is giving away a 3-month Platinum Soap Club Membership!!! If you win, you’ll receive three bars of fresh soap (a birthstone soap and two seasonal ones) the first week of the month for three months! This is an $87 value. The club itself is structured as a major discount, so it works out to $72.60 for 3-month Platinum Members (that’s 20% off retail). ←i.e. If you don’t win this contest, you should sign up for this soap club anyway (too good of a deal)!

To enter to win this 3-month Platinum Soap Club Membership, simply “like” Strawberry Hedgehog on Facebook, and comment below with your favorite Strawberry Hedgehog soap (if you’re new to this uh-mah-zing soap company, head on over to the website and pick a soap that you’re dying to try). A winner will be chosen at random and notified on Friday, Sept. 30th, 2011! Good luck! xx

The Ultimate Vegan Lip Balm Recipe

Sunny — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 19:02:30 +0000

The following guest post is by Tracy Perkins of StrawberryHedgehog.com. She makes specialty handmade vegan bath & body products, and she has a special vegan lip balm recipe to share with you all!

I make many a product over at StrawberryHedgehog.com. From organic oils soaps to whipped body creme, I have my hands full with my current product line. Over the years I’ve had to streamline and eliminate some products so I can handle things best and give 110% to what I am doing. On that list of products once loved and eventually nixed was my fabulous vegan lip balm. I tend to use my unrefined shea butter now, or straight mango butter, but a good tube of lip balm can’t be beat, especially if it is tinted!

In comes my buddy, Mary, vegan mineral makeup extraordinaire and fellow crafty-guru behind GothCupcake.Etsy.com! She mixed up a couple of beautiful lip-safe mineral pigment blends, I had all the goods for the balms and we made a fun filled night of it!

Ratio: (given so you can play with the recipe and make smaller batches – try tbsp instead of cups for a smaller qty)

3 parts butters
2 parts wax
4 parts oil

Tinted Vegan Lip Balm
makes 2 1/4 cups, i.e 18oz, i.e. lots of lip balm!

1/4 cup unrefined shea butter
1/2 cup fair trade cocoa butter
1/4 cup candelilla wax
1/4 cup carnuba wax
1 cup jojoba oil
1/2 tsp vitamin e oil (soy)
* 90-180 drops essential oil or organic flavor oil
* 3/4 tsp mineral pigment

Your measurements should be of the melted material so use a heat resistant measuring cup to measure and heat. Many recipes call for a double boiler but because I like to use the same container for heating and measuring I use the microwave in 30 second bursts and remove when there are no solid pieces remaining. I like to melt my waxes first, then my butters and then add my oil. When you add your oil it may cause it to solidify a bit so just pop it back in the micro for a few more rounds of 30 seconds. Test the consistency on your hand (this is crazy hot! Don’t burn yourself, I stir with a chopstick then let it cool a bit on the end and put a dab on the back of my hand to see if the consistency is what I am going for).

If it is too thick/waxy, add more oil, too thin, add more butter. Play around with the oils and butters you use – cocoa is harder than shea, jojoba is a liquid wax so provides a more shelf-stable product and is great for your lips. Castor oil would have a wonderful consistency that might lead to longer wear while apricot kernel or sweet almond would be light and readily absorbed. Once you have the consistency you like start adding your organic flavor oils and essential oils.

We split our batch into two at this point so we could have two colors/flavors. Be sure you are using high quality oils! Never ever ever use a “essence” “perfume” “fragrance” or anything of the like. Organic extracts are great for scents that can’t be obtained as essential oils. If you are using extracts be sure they are in an oil base rather than alcohol as alcohol will not mix with your lip balm, it will just bead up and be yucky. Be careful with citrus, mints, anise, cinnamon, and clove as these are wonderful but powerful oils. Test as you go to see if it is too warming or cooling and play around. Also, if you wouldn’t eat it from your garden or spice cabinet do not use the essential oil in something that goes on your lips – i.e. no mugwort lip balm!

Our oil combos:
Tropical Bliss:

90 tangerine essential oil
30 coconut organic extract

Peppermint Kiss:

60 peppermint essential oil
60 spearmint essential oil
60 vanilla organic extract

You can add in some mineral pigment as long as you know it is safe for lips. Just because it is a mineral doesn’t mean you can use it without caution. Lead is a mineral, my dearies, you don’t want that on your lips! :c) Micas and iron oxides are your best bet. Mary mixed up two beautiful mica blends for our use! A coppery, sun-kissed blend and a shimmery wine tint, both beautiful. Just stir them in gently until the color is distributed throughout. If things start to solidify put them back in the micro for 30 seconds but use a lid once the essential oils are in to avoid them volatilizing too much.

Now you can pour! Tubes and a little pouring tray can be found online and are very helpful to do many at once but you can just as easily use empty candy tins, small jars, etc. For the trays and tubes just pop them in securely and begin pouring. Don’t worry about getting it on the tray or even spilling over (as long as you are working on a very clean surface, of course!) as you can just scrape off the cooled excess, remelt, and pour again. Once cooled thoroughly scrape off the top, wiggle and twist to get the lip balm out (I find this is easier in the thin tubes), wipe off or scrape off the top for an even and clean surface and put on the lid! You’ve just made magical home made vegan lip balm. :c) Any excess can be poured into a Tupperware and kept for your next batch.

Why Conventional Soap Sucks

Sunny — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 00:04:10 +0000

Conventional soap is full of nasty crap that you don’t want on your skin—trust me. I’m just gonna break it on down…

Conventional soaps contain Sodium Lauryl Sulphate (foaming agent) = evil ingredient/suspected carcinogen
They are basically detergent bars made with petroleum (aka crude oil) products—yuck!
Those strong unnatural fragrances (read: chemicals) they add are inTOXICating…
Who wants to bathe with animal fat anyway? (think: Fight Club) I much prefer plant oils (like olive and coconut), thank you.
Why support companies that test on animals when you can go the cruelty-free route?

Seriously, doesn’t your skin deserve better?

Here are a few vegan, cruelty-free soap companies that I highly recommend:

Strawberry Hedgehog – Check out the Candy Corn and Pumpkin Spice soaps, people!

Dr. Bronner’s Soaps – LOVE their peppermint liquid soap; I use it every day! It’s the ultimate tingly, minty fresh maker!

Herbaria – The French Lavender bar is amah-zing.

Maui Soap Company – Try the Lime Litsea soap. This one is great for the kitchen sink.

Maui Tropical Soaps – My fave is Coconut Mango; it’s a fruity tropical delight.

Hawaiian Bath & Body Soaps – Try the Mango-Papaya soap… smells insanely delicious (I dare you not to eat it)!

Kalliste Soaps -The only place I know that has wine-scented soaps.

Mountain Girl Soap – Highly recommend the Rosemary Mint Bar – earthy & divine!

Nothing beats natural soap that’s 100% handcrafted, made in small batches, fresh, chemical-free, cruelty-free and vegan.

What are some of your favorite vegan bars of soap?

Buy soap, save animals!

Sunny — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 21:58:37 +0000

Strawberry Hedgehog’s Raven House Charity Soap Set (tea tree-rosemary facial soap, eucalyptus-lime, sweet orange-clove, and lemongrass-ginger) has some of Tracy’s best selling organic oils soaps, and as a bonus, you get to support a great cause! $20 of every $30 from this set sold between 6/8-7/10 will go to Raven House Animal Sanctuary!

$33 value, save $3!

Tea tree-rosemary facial cleanser ($9) clarifying-cooling-purifying

This mildly scrubby bar of organic oils glycerin soap is just as perfect for your face as our other bars are for your body! Whole rosemary provides strong antioxidant activity, peppermint refreshes and brightens skin and gently exfoliates while pure tea tree essential oil kills break-out causing bacteria! this gentle, cleansing, and balancing bar is great for all skin-types but is perfect for oily to combination skin!

Eucalyptus-lime handmade body soap: ($8) refresh-purify-balance

AS SEEN ON TV! This green beauty will open your eyes and your sinuses with healing eucalyptus, cheerful and uplifting lime and key lime, as well as a hint of lavender. Perfect for anyone with sinus issues or bombarded with pollution on a daily basis.

Sweet orange-clove handmade body soap: ($8) warming-comforting-cheering

FARMER’S MARKET BEST SELLER! This orange-swirled bar has the refreshing, cheerful scent of pure sweet orange and the mysterious comfort of pure clove bud. Think fresh, homemade pomander and you’ve got the idea. Vibrant color from natural annotto seeds!

Lemongrass-ginger handmade body soap: ($8) vitalize-strengthen-center

Inspired by a signature high end spa scent, this baby is made to energize! With the green-fresh scent of lemongrass and the spicy warming scent of ginger this yellow lovely is balanced out with just a hint of cedarwood. Colored only with anti-inflammatory turmeric.

Ingredients: 100% certified organic coconut oils with some certified organic palm oil (saponified), H2O, veggie glycerin, sorbitol (from berries), sorbitan oleate (from vegetable essential fatty acids), pure essential oils, natural herbs, spices, and minerals

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

Jeweled Triton: Fair Trade, Recycled Glass Jewelry

Sunny — Mon, 10 May 2010 23:13:11 +0000

Do you realize that beer and soda bottles make some of the most beautiful jewelry ever? Well, it’s true! Everyone knows I’m a big fan of Tracy of Strawberry Hedgehog… she is a talented and creative baker, crafts maker and soap master. She’s a genius! It turns out this geniosity runs in her family. Her sister Brooke makes stunningly exquisite recycled glass jewelry. Please go check out her Jeweled Triton Etsy page! Her earrings are made out of recycled glass pieces and metal that is conventionally mined (she uses sterling silver, copper and 14k gold fill). The recycled glass beads are Fair Trade from Ghana (where they often use these beads as currency). The beads are vibrant, colorful and cheery; they give Jeweled Triton pieces a sophisticated, fun and artsy flair.

I was very fortunate and excited to receive a pair of these eco-friendly earrings – the Sunshine Yellow Recycled Glass and Sterling Silver Earrings (pictured below). I love them sooooo much that I’ve been wearing them every single day (they just happen to go with almost everything in my wardrobe). I love how creative and fun Brooke’s earrings are; they’re ear candy! I always get so many compliments on these earrings when I wear them out. If you’re in the mood to treat yourself to some handmade, delicately crafted, Fair Trade, colorful, artsy jewelry–you have to go the Jeweled Triton route. You can thank me later.

Sunshine Yellow Recycled Glass and Sterling Silver Earrings, $40

Spring Greens Recycled Glass and Gold Drop Hoops, $80

For more info: Jeweled Triton

Giveaway: Autumn inspired Strawberry Hedgehog soaps

Sunny — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 18:28:27 +0000

This set of 4 handmade, vegan, Autumn-inspired Strawberry Hedgehog soaps — Orange-Clove (a blend of cheerful Valencia orange and grounding, spicy clove bud), Lemongrass-Ginger (a year round favorite jazzed up for Fall with a hint of cedarwood), Candy Corny (a tooth-achingly sweet vanilla-almond scent) and Pumpkin Spice (a blend of real pumpkin and all the spices of pumpkin pie) – (which is a $32 value) can be all yours! All you have to do is leave a comment for a chance to win. Feel free to say what your favorite soap scent is (you can make one up if you’d like).

I happen to be a huge fan of Strawberry Hedgehog! These soaps are all handmade in small batches (so they are über fresh), are completely natural (free of any chemicals, preservatives or additives) and are 100% vegan! Yahooooo!! And, c’mon, Candy Corny soap! YES PLEASE!

A winner will be randomly chosen and announced October 6th. Good Luck!

UPDATE:

*The winner of the 4 Autumn-inspired Strawberry Hedgehog soaps is…

Jen H.! Congrats!

(winner was selected by using random.org)

For more info: Strawberry Hedgehog

Strawberry Hedgehog: Green and glamorous beauty with homestyle charm

Get your summer soaps!

Strawberry Hedgehog contines to blow me away

Strawberry Hedgehog continues to blow me away

Sunny — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 20:52:00 +0000

Tracy Perkins of Strawberry Hedgehog is one of the most creative people I know. She’s like an organic magician when it comes to her earthy potions and concoctions. Her soaps, body butters, lip balms and basically everything else she creates are true masterpieces of geniosity. Can you tell I’m a fan?Not only are her products vegan, but she’s vegan as well and you can read all about her vegan recipes and crafts on her blog.

Strawberry Hedgehog Products I dig:

Pure Lemon Whipped Body Créme ($12): The is a perfect springtime scent. It smells wonderfully fresh and kind of desserty. It’s decadently creamy and feels amazing on the skin after a nice bath. It’s scent is uplifting, refreshing and energizing. It comes in a cute 6oz. jar (you can order it in a 17oz jar as well) which Tracy encourages everyone to reuse or recycle.

Fair Trade Organic Unrefined Grapefruit Ylang-Ylang Shea Butter ($12): First off, I would like to say this is one hell of a deal. This product is thick and I can tell it is going to last me a very long time. A little bit goes a long way. Now let’s talk about this ridiculously yummy scent! It’s a mix of foody and moody. The grapefruit aspect makes you want to eat it up. It’s scent is energizing and fresh. The Ylang-Ylang gives this body butter a sensual, romantic flair. I think this particular shea butter might make for a great massage for that special someone. Shea butter does wonders for the skin. It’s packed with Vitamins A&E and has amazing healing properties so use it frequently.

For all you dudes out there, here’s a manly scented soap, Smudge ($8): This soap combines cedar and white sage with undertones of of lapsang souchong tea, ginger and pepper. It’s also a two toned gray bar of soap, so it’s dudely in every way possible. It has a very sexy scent to it. I’m going to insist my husband start bathing with this a.s.a.p.
Tracy of Strawberry Hedgehog does a wonderful job of incorporating aromatherapy into all of her products and she labels them accordingly on their packaging. That way, if you’re shopping for someone who’s stuck in the doldrums, you can pick a cheery product that will put a smile on his/her face.
I also got a chance to try two of Tracy’s Charity Soaps: Fresh Lemon-Rosemary (for St. Baldrick’s Childhood Cancer) and Pink Grapefruit-Peppermint (Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer) – they are not only super pretty to look and inspire a cheerful mood, they help support amazing cancer research foundations (50% of all charity soap purchases go toward these organizations).

Lip Balms (Lemon-Mint Kiss, Lavender-Tangerine, Grapefruit-Rosemary) ($3): These are some of the best lip balms I have ever tried. They are sleek and creamy, smooth and nourishing, perfectly moisturizing and smell heavenly to boot. I love the slender tubes they come in. They fit perfectly in my purse or in my pocket. It’s kind of hard to find amazing vegan lip balm. It’s actually hard to fiind vegan lip balm, period. You will be so stoked when you give these a try. They are only $3 each so try them all!

For more info: Strawberry Hedgehog
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